Abstract Rooted in contingency theory, this study puts forth propositions stating (1) that superiors of business units which face higher environmental uncertainty will use a more subjective performance appraisal approach whereas superiors of business units which face lower environmental uncertainty will use a more formula-based performance evaluation approach, and (2) that a stronger fit between environmental uncertainty and performance evaluation style would be associated with higher business unit performance. Findings from 58 business units in eight Fortune 500 firms provide strong support to both sets of these propositions.

Appropriateness of accounting data in performance evaluation: an empirical examination of...

There are growing pressures for the public sector to be more innovative but considerable disagreement about how to achieve it. This paper uses institutional and organizational analysis to compare three major but different public innovation strategies. The paper commences by confronting the myth that the market-driven private sector is more innovative than the public sector by showing that both sectors have a number of barriers as well as drivers of innovation, some of which are similar while others are sector-specific. The paper then systematically analyses the three strategies for innovation. These are: New Public Management which emphasises market competition; the neo-Weberian state which emphasises organizational entrepreneurship; and collaborative governance which emphasises multi-actor engagement across organizations in the private, public and non-profit sectors. The article concludes that the choice between different strategies for enhancing public innovation is contingent rather than absolute. Some contingencies for each strategy are outlined.

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Collaborative innovation: A Viable Alternative to Market Competition and Organizational Entrepreneurship

Objectives Although employment is associated with health benefits over unemployment, the psychosocial characteristics of work also influence health. We used longitudinal data to investigate whether the benefits of having a job depend on its psychosocial quality (levels of control, demands and complexity, job insecurity, and unfair pay), and whether poor quality jobs are associated with better mental health than unemployment. Method Analysis of seven waves of data from 7,155 respondents of working age (44,019 observations) from a national household panel survey. Longitudinal regression models evaluated the concurrent and prospective association between employment circumstances (unemployment and employment in jobs varying in psychosocial job quality) and mental health, assessed by the MHI-5. Results Overall, unemployed respondents had poorer mental health than those who were employed. However the mental health of those who were unemployed was comparable or superior to those in jobs of the poorest psychosocial quality. This pattern was evident in prospective models: those in the poorest quality jobs showed greater decline in mental health than those who were unemployed (B ¼ 3.03, p<0.05). The health benefits of becoming employed were dependent on the quality of the job. Moving from unemployment into a high quality job led to improved mental health (mean change score of +3.3), however the transition from unemployment to a poor quality job was more detrimental to mental health than remaining unemployed (� 5.6 vs � 1.0). Conclusions Work of poor psychosocial quality does not bestow the same mental health benefits as employment in jobs with high psychosocial quality.

https://oem.bmj.com/content/oemed/early/2011/02/26/oem.2010.059030.full.pdf

The psychosocial quality of work determines whether employment has benefits for mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey

The quality of employment is often neglected in policy debates in Australia. Non-standard employment forms are dominating job generation in Australia. While the non-standard category is heterogeneous, it contains many jobs that exhibit characteristics of precariousness. Moreover, though precariousness is concentrated in non-standard employment, it is by no means confined to non-standard employment. Precariousness also affects parts of standard employment itself. This article is exploratory, aimed at taking up and applying the concept of precariousness to employment in Australia. It discusses the concept of precariousness, emphasising the importance of varied dimensions of labour insecurity. It then outlines the nature, spread and implications of precarious employment in Australia.

The Nature and Dimensions of Precarious Employment in Australia

Volunteers: The Organizational Behavior of Unpaid Workers

Since the beginning of the 1990s Australia has experienced a gradual but far-reaching process of labour market deregulation. Labour market deregulation has proceeded primarily through the dismantling of the distinctive system of awards-the main avenue of external, protective regulation in Australia for much of the 20th century. This paper examines labour market deregulation and its implications for the Australian workforce. It situates the changes in terms of their institutional starting point in the award system and the growing pressures in the 1980s for increased labour market flexibility. It argues that labour market deregulation is amplifying existing trends to growth in precarious employment, wage dispersion and the development of a low-pay sector amongst full-time employees. In addition, it is sponsoring a significant fragmentation of working-time arrangements.

Labour Market Deregulation in Australia: The slow combustion approach to workplace change

In the post‐Second World War period, working and social life has been organised around the concept of a standard day and week with premium payments for work undertaken during unsocial hours. In recent years, this standard model for organising working‐time has been placed under pressure from a range of supply‐ and demand‐side factors. Greater female and student participation in the labour force has led to a fragmentation of working‐time preferences on the supply side. Employers, on the demand side, have also sought to dismember the standard working‐time model to eliminate premium payments for unsocial work and to achieve greater control and flexibility in the allocation of non‐standard working hours. Employer demand for this type of labour flexibility has been one of the central rationales for the decentralisation of industrial relations systems in Australia and New Zealand. This paper seeks to assess whether employers in the more deregulated New Zealand system have instigated a vastly different non‐standard working‐time regime from their Australian counterparts. The article concludes that there are only minor differences in the distribution of non‐standard working hours in Australia and New Zealand. This finding challenges the notion that the arbitration system is a major impediment to the organisation of working‐time. Rather, it appears that production and operational demands are the central imperative in the structuring of working‐time within firms.

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Non‐standard working‐time arrangements in Australia and New Zealand

An increasing proportion of the population appears to be socially deprived. They are unable to enjoy either the level of leisure or consumption which most members of society expect. One of the main causes of social deprivation is the ways that labour markets operate. This paper discusses how labour markets become segmented, and the links between segmentation and social deprivation. The broader consequences of social deprivation are discussed, and it is argued that, if social deprivation is not to get worse, major change in social and economic policies is required.

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Labour Markets and Social Deprivation

A critical labour market issue in all developed economies is the growth of non‐standard forms of labour such as temporary, part‐time, casual work, fixed term contracts, sub‐contracting, homeworking, agency labour and so on. This paper provides survey evidence of employers’ past, present and intended usage of non‐standard forms of labour in three countries: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Our results indicate that non‐standard forms of employment do represent an important feature of the contemporary workplace, to varying degrees, in these three countries. However, our findings also show that standard, full‐time, permanent employment still remains the dominant form of employment in all three countries.

Peter Brosnan

Papers

Labour Market Deregulation in Australia: The slow combustion approach to workplace change

Non‐standard working‐time arrangements in Australia and New Zealand

Labour Markets and Social Deprivation

From standard to non-standard employment: Labour force change in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa

The political economy of the minimum wage.