scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers in "Contemporary Management Research in 2006"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identified the required competencies and developed a competency model for effective performance in the job of the Chief of General Administrative Sub-Division in the Department of Agriculture, Thailand by using Behavioral Event Interviews (BEIs) (Spencer & Spencer, 1993).
Abstract: Human assets are one of the most important resources available to an organization Employee competence and commitment largely determine the objectives that an organization can set for itself and its success in achieving them Therefore, the demand for effective people has continuously increased among public and private organizations The Competency-based approach is a technique that has become integral to human resource management during the last thirty years Competence encompasses knowledge, skills, abilities, traits, and behavior that allow an individual to perform a task within a specific function or job (Boyatzis, 1982) The objective of this study is to identify the required competencies and develop a competency model for effective performance in the job of the Chief of General Administrative Sub-Division in the Department of Agriculture, Thailand by using Behavioral Event Interviews (BEIs) (Spencer & Spencer, 1993) The study has found that there were twenty-three competencies that superior job performers used in handling their jobs Consequently, the researcher uses current level of importance as primary information to recommend nine competencies in a competency model The competency model will help the Department of Agriculture to respond to government policies on human resource management It will provide the Department with useful information about what specific characteristics is required for the job and how to implement further enhancement of personnel in this position The competencies will also enable the Department to determine the critical current competencies necessary for success in the job and the strategic competencies necessary for future success BAI2006 PaperID#6339

117 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined and explored the electronic commerce adoption and evaluation issues and practices of Australian SMEs during the planning and implementation stages and found that most SMEs failed to link their objectives for e-commerce adoption with their organizational goals as well as to involve users during planning stage.
Abstract: This research examines and explores the electronic commerce adoption and evaluation issues and practices of Australian SMEs during the planning and implementation stages. The results indicate d that most SMEs failed to link their objectives for e-commerce adoption with their organizational goals as well as to involve users during the planning stage. In addition, pre-project justification process and change management were often not properly carried out. Although it was found that almost all senior executives and managers were committed to the IT investments in e-commerce during the implementation stage, most of these organizations did not manage user resistance effectively. Moreover, it was also disappointing to see that most SMEs failed to conduct IT investment evaluation processes during the implementation stage. Finally, no formal IT benefits realization methodology was carried out in any of the SMEs interviewed.

55 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A practical procedure which combines both the ISO 9126 standard and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to optimize the ERP selection problems is presented.
Abstract: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is one of costly and crucial projects for business investment. Due to the selection criteria of ERP software are numerous and fuzziness, selecting the optimal ERP software is a critical process in the early phase of an ERP project. This paper presents a practical procedure which combines both the ISO 9126 standard and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) approach to optimize the ERP selection problems. There are total 32 criteria sifted out which include 21 software quality criteria of ISO 9126 standard. Two practical cases which belong to different industries are applied to illustrate the practicality of the procedure, one is semiconductor manufacturing industry and another is chain store retailer service industry. We find that there are diverse weights for software quality criteria between these two industries. We also find that the cost issue and time issue are significantly important in both two cases. Keywords: ERP, Decision Making, ISO 9126 Standard, FAHP

45 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the distinctness of Chinese conflict management styles and provided solid evidence for such differences by using multiple negotiation simulations to illustrate how Chinese people conflicts and how their preferred conflict management style affect their negotiation behaviour and outcomes in business negotiation.
Abstract: Researchers have been investigating the distinctness of Chinese conflict management styles, yet have to provide solid evidence for such differences. This study provides support for this issue by using multiple negotiation simulations to illustrate how Chinese people conflicts and how their preferred conflict management styles affect their negotiation behaviour and outcomes in business negotiation. Results show that compromising and competing, instead of accommodating, are two preferred methods for conflict resolution in China. Managerial implications are then discussed, which concludes this paper.

21 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors attempt to present a critical summary of the discussion of information technology enabled supply chain and supply chain management and attempt to provide a framework that helps managers and practitioners to tackle this phenomenon.
Abstract: Supply chain management and information technology are two areas of research, which have attracted a lot of attention in academic and practitioner’s camps over the last decades. The discussion related to the deployment of information technology and electronic commerce in supply chain management has fostered a discussion about information technology enabled supply chains. The authors pinpoint, there is a lack of research which integrates this highly inconsistent and fragmented field. In this paper, the authors attempt to present a critical summary of the discussion of information technology enabled supply chain and supply chain management and attempt to provide a framework that helps managers and practitioners to tackle this phenomenon. It can be stated that management of information technology enabled supply chain is a complex process and that top managerial support is always welcome. Finally, we present limitations of the study and highlight some ideas for future research in this area.

21 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an analysis of selected Learning Organization methodologies that are deemed to be effective in assisting in the process of transforming a school organization into a Learning Organization -business process reengineering (BPR), dialogue, scenario analysis, and learning histories.
Abstract: Organizations that have transformed into Learning Organizations have a strong tendency to focus upon continuous improvement and have the ability to cope with major change more successfully and effectively. The concept of the Learning Organization is not confined to a particular type, size, and form of organization, and also includes school organizations. Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that little research on school organization as Learning Organizations has been conducted and documented. It has been shown that there is currently no Taiwanese school organization at any level that claims to have become a genuine Learning Organization. This research paper presents an analysis of selected Learning Organization methodologies that are deemed to be effective in assisting in the process of transforming a school organization into a Learning Organization – business process reengineering (BPR), dialogue, scenario analysis, and learning histories. It also reviews various Learning Organization improvement models and models of educational cultural change and learning. The paper proposes a blueprint to transform school organizations into Learning Organizations – the “Learning Organization model for school organizations”.

18 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors conceptualize the formation of organizational structures from the constructionist perspective, and find that organizational structures are unique constructions, subject to temporal and contextual variation.
Abstract: This study aimed to conceptualize the formation of organizational structures from the constructionist perspective. Avoiding the extremisms in equilibrium- and processbased theories, it adopts a recursivity-based approach, and draws most of its theoretical foundation from autopoietic systems theory. This study finds that organizations possess a "system organization,” formed through the shared sense of their actors and a “structural configuration,” which is founded on this shared sense. Based on the shared sense, this structural configuration is shaped by both formal organizational architecture and the temporal and contextual interactive processes of organizational actors. It suggests that organizational structures are unique constructions, subject to temporal and contextual variation.

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors apply readily available secondary data in identifying the potential of the ethnic markets in Australia for selected goods and services, and they hope that more marketers in Australia will see the potential and in the long run ethnic marketing will be an integral part of any marketing campaign run by a company.
Abstract: While there is an increasing number of companies realizing the potential that the diverse ethnic markets in Australia possess, majority still do not see the potential. When compared to the United States, ethnic marketing in Australia is still in a developmental stage. For many marketers, the problem is in knowing where to start. Looking from the practitioner’s perspective, this paper demonstrates how to apply readily available secondary data in identifying the potential of the ethnic markets in Australia for selected goods and services. By showing where and how to start, we hope that more marketers in Australia will see the potential of ethnic marketing and in the long run ethnic marketing will be an integral part of any marketing campaign run by a company. Marketers should reassess the usefulness and importance of secondary data in facilitating their formulation of strategic marketing decisions in different marketing mix areas.

5 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors observed the Taiwan TV commercial ads which use foreign languages on January to February 2004 and analyzed the contents of the foreign languages appearing in the ads from 8 aspects, including the language it appears (English, Japanese, etc.), the style the foreign language appears (voice or characters; brand name, slogan, song, sentence/dialogue or word/phrase), the proportion of appearance of foreign language in the TV ads, the nature of the ad (transmitting the product characters, expressing the feeling, the site (in Taiwan or in other country), the subtitle on
Abstract: This study observes the Taiwan TV commercial ads which use foreign languages on January to February 2004 and analyze the contents of the foreign languages appearing in the ads from 8 aspects, including the language it appears (English, Japanese, etc.), the style the foreign language appears (voice or characters; brand name, slogan, song, sentence/dialogue or word/phrase), the proportion of appearance of foreign language in the ads, the nature of the foreign languages in the ad (transmitting the product characters, expressing the feeling…), the site (in Taiwan or in other country), the subtitle on the screen (yes or no), the categories of the products and the nationality or race of the performers. Content analysis was used and the results reveal that English, Japanese and Korea are the most frequently used language in Taiwan TV commercial ads.

4 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, four dimensions of the online shopping channel, including informativeness, convenience, customer service, and experiential uniqueness, are proposed based on the literature review and expert judgments.
Abstract: A growing body of research has emerged related to the online shopping. In this study, the current literature related to media factors that influence online shopping behavior is extensively surveyed by identifying key dimensions. Four dimensions of the online shopping channel, including informativeness, convenience, customer service, and experiential uniqueness, are proposed based on the literature review and expert judgments. In addition, these key dimensions are discussed in the context of the established traditional channel literature; and the relationships between the traditional channel behavior and online shopping behavior are discussed. This research would help investigators to compare and contrast the developments in online shopping literature and the more established traditional shopping channel literature. The potential directions of future research on online shopping are addressed too.

3 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tracked changes in skill requirements of information technology (IT) professionals in Hong Kong and coded representative job advertisements that appeared in the newspapers over a period of fourteen years from 1990 to 2004.
Abstract: This study tracked changes in skill requirements of information technology (IT) professionals in Hong Kong. The study coded representative job advertisements that appeared in the newspapers over a period of fourteen years – from 1990 to 2004. As there are many IT job titles, this study focused on three – namely, programmer, systems analyst, and IT manager. The coding results showed that there are changing emphases among three types of skills, vis-a-viz technical skills, business skills, and systems skills. Technical skills, however, remained the most important for programmers while business skills continued to be the most sought after for IT managers. Systems skills are marginally less important than technical and business skills for systems analysts. One discerning result concerning skill changes is that business skills appear to be increasing in importance for programmers and systems analysts. The study discussed the implications of the results.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test the hypothesis of whether the good stocks are the socalled good corporations or not, based upon the concepts of behavioral finance, the capital markets are highly complex and uncertain.
Abstract: This empirical study tests the hypothesis of whether the good stocks are the socalled good corporations or not. Based upon the concepts of behavioral finance, the capital markets are highly complex and uncertain. Suppose the investors focus on the fixed rules and intuitions to make decisions, cognitive biases exist. Since financial experts have lower cognitive biases than investors because of their financial and professional capabilities, the good stocks they selected should perform better in capital markets. Actually, they do not, which indicating the criteria to select good corporations and good stocks are different.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the role played by information in transactions from the standpoint of transaction cost theory; as a result, this paper will describe the effects of information and communication technology on transactions.
Abstract: Modern society contains many transaction relationships that are supported by information and communication technology. Therefore, the evolution of information and communication technology extends the potential applications of transaction cost theory. This paper also contributes to the extension. This paper aims to examine the role played by information in transactions from the standpoint of transaction cost theory; as a result, this paper will describe the effects of information and communication technology on transactions in accordance with transaction cost theory and describe the simultaneous achievement of cost economizing and higher prices as an application of transaction cost theory. Using information and communication technology can help to economize transaction costs. However, it is also worthwhile to mention that rising costs of transactions become apparent simultaneously, particularly when network growth facilitates an increase in the number of new potential transaction partners. Even more important is the fact that when we attempt to return to the criteria for determining efficiency in transaction cost theory, we find the possibility of increasing the price of a good or service. Keywords: Transaction cost, Network, Price, Information, Communication