In the Australian construction industry, large companies develop corporate social responsibility (CSR) in order to maintain an image of being a good corporate citizen. CSR relevant to the construction industry is defined including the following activities: moral obligation to be a good citizen; sustainability; reputation; relationship with employees and unions; relationship with suppliers and community representatives; and commitment to reporting on CSR. CSR is then examined through 85 interviews conducted with members of boards of directors, suppliers, employees, customers and community representatives of 17 large corporations. In order to be recognized as a socially responsible business, the corporations should: apply a corporate governance structure that takes into consideration working environment concerns; improve their sustainability, occupational health and safety measures, relationships with suppliers and commitment to local community protection and engagement.Corporate social responsibility, construction industry, corporate governance,
The paper presents a two-level personnel selection fuzzy model: short list and hiring decision. The model is an attempt to minimize subjective judgment in the process of distinguishing between an appropriate employee and an inappropriate employee for a job vacancy. The model comprises an analytic hierarchy process of three levels. The lowest level relates to the preliminary selection or shortlist procedure. Modifying multi-objective models of decision-making, the main decision elements are assumed as linguistic fuzzy variables. The problem is considered broad, since the worth values of the variables are calculated as expected values of the fuzzy variables. The second level relates to the hiring decision or selection of a ®nal candidate for an employment opportunity. The selector assesses his/her own expectations of the short-listed job applicants. The expectations are treated by a probabilistic±possibilistic approach. The top level is the expected utility of hiring the successful candidate. Compared to the traditional way of selecting an appropriate short-listed job applicant this model minimizes individual judgment at both short-listed and hiring decision levels. The model is illustrated by a case study.
This paper explores the application of fuzzy causal networks (FCNs) to evaluating effect of health warnings in influencing Australian smokers’ psychosocial and quitting behaviour. The sample data used in this study are selected from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey project. Our research findings have demonstrated that new health warnings implemented in Australia have obvious impacts on smokers’ psychosocial and quitting behaviours. FCN is a useful framework to investigate such impacts that overcome the limitation of using traditional statistical techniques, such as linear regression and logistics regression, to analyse non-linear data.
The paper examines the role of knowledge management in changing organisational culture. Successful organisations manage knowledge towards high market share. Corporate Governance of Construction Industry companies is under scrutiny not only for financial performance but also for ethical issues such as preserving a healthy environment. A specific approach to knowledge management helps to clarify the role of main players in corporate governance in supporting a healthy environment. The approach also identifies what is key knowledge the Australian Construction Industry corporations should pay attention to preserve their sustained competitive advantage.
Electronic business is based on using computers and networks in all aspects of business. This new business concept is developing its own culture, which faces many ethical dilemmas. One is the role of the chief information officer (CIO). As a leader of information technology application in the organisation, the CIO's ethical behaviour influences the ethics of the electronic business culture in the organisation. In electronic business both the chief executive officer (CEO) and the CIO are responsible for the organisational culture. That is, the CIO has capabilities for reasoning, forming values and making information decisions that contributes to creating corporate core values. From an employee's perspective the CIO is treated as the employer. But being employed by the organisation in a similar way to the rest of the employees, the CIO can also be treated as an employee of the organisation. This duality in the role of CIO causes ethical dilemmas that may be solved through establishing ethical codes that are based on existing global ethical codes. Explores the nature of ethical dilemmas related to e-business and proposes possible solutions, drawing on information from case studies of two Australian companies.
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