Abstract This study examines the impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) and the moderating role of empowerment on employee voice behavior. A sample of 314 supervisor-subordinate dyadic exchanges was collected from a manufacturing firm in Mainland China. The results provided support the view that LMX and empowerment were both significantly associated with employee voice behavior. The positive relationship between LMX and employee voice behavior was stronger when employees received higher levels of empowerment. Theoretical and managerial implications of the research are discussed.

Abstract This paper provides an overview of the evolution of management theories with an emphasis on human resource management (HRM). It examines the early philosophical viewpoints which laid the foundation for the development of management theories. It traces the evolution of management theories from the pre-industrial revolution through the two world wars to the era of rapid economic growth of the 1960s to the 1980s. In recent years, management theories had become more multi-faceted where emphasis has shifted from behavioural science to organisational structures and quality assurance. With rapid globalisation and increasing importance of cultural awareness, the paper concludes that more research will be needed in the area of cross-cultural and multi-national human resource management.

Abstract International agency or correspondent banking (corbanking) is cross border bank to bank businesses that agent banks act on behalf of principals. Despite drastic changing banking environment, corbanking remains from doing business by mainly fee based, packaging reciprocal products and services, and so on. Corbanking is therefore identified as an alternative to serve clients worldwide in a strategic low cost way. Best practice to identify for entering corbanking relationships and selecting their correspondents are the themes of this paper, which are useful for financial institutions to make strategic and operational decisions for their expansion. Eighteen determinant factors to establish corbanking relationships and nineteen selection criteria of correspondents were identified through literature reviews, case studies, and exploratory surveys. Empirical surveys were conducted on 43 sample banks in Australia, which were further categorized in ten bank groups. Analytical methods included descriptive statistics and stepwise least square regression with case studies. The findings were: the most significant factor for financial institutions to enter correspondent banking systems was the bank size and a lower ranking factor was location not physically present, whereas there was different consensus for different bank groups about the selection criteria for agents overseas.

Abstract This study addresses the management of transformational change by chief executives in nongovernment organisations (NGOs) in Hong Kong. The study takes an exploratory approach with interviews of 18 chief executives from a cross section of Hong Kong's NGOs. The findings indicate that organisational transformation is driven by increasing competition within the NGO sector and from commercial firms, by a demand for greater transparency and by internal forces. These factors are countered by structural inertia. Leadership of the organisational transformation of an NGO is permission-based; agreement from the various stakeholders must be gained to execute a successful transformation. The chief executive should have a humanistic style and be visionary, ethical and participative. Constant communication and involvement facilitate this process. Through this approach, followers will have a greater commitment to the organisational transformation. Organisational change is a combination of planned and emergent processes. The chief executive should relax control and foster a nurturing environment for transformation. This research suggests a leadership style, behavioural approach and model for managing change that will provide chief executives and senior leaders with useful considerations and insights.

Abstract In this paper, I try to complement the existing literature by empirically examining the effect of price clustering and price barriers based on the international stock market. Evidence suggests that a strong effect of clustering and barriers is observed on last digit 0. Such effect is not robust and persistent on last digit 5. In addition, the cross-country analysis shows that price clustering and barriers become intensified in countries with a more transparent and open environment.

Abstract Defining and measuring organizational culture (OC) is of paramount importance to organizations because a strong culture could potentially increase service quality and yield sustainable competitive advantages. However, such process could be challenging to managers because the scope of OC has been defined differently across disciplines and industries, which has led to the development of various scales for measuring OC. In addition, previously developed OC scales may also not be fully applicable in the hospitality and tourism context. Therefore, by highlighting the key factors affecting the business environment and the unique characteristics of hospitality industry, this paper aims to align the scope of OC closely with the industry and to put forth the need for a new OC scale that accurately responds to the context of the hospitality industry.

Abstract There are many iconic high rise buildings in Hong Kong, for example, International Commercial Centre, International Financial Centre, etc. Fire safety issue in high rise buildings has been raised by local fire professionals in terms of occupant evacuation, means of fire-fighting by fire fighters, sprinkler systems to automatically put off fires in buildings, etc. Fire risk becomes an important issue in building fire safety because it relates to life safety of building occupants where they live and work in high rise buildings in Hong Kong. The aim of this research is to identify the fire risk for different types of high rise buildings in Hong Kong and to optimise the fire prevention management for those high rise buildings with higher level of fire risk and to validate the model and also to carry out the study of the conflict between the current fire safety building code and the current trend of green building design. Survey via the 7-point scale questionnaire was conducted through 50 participants and their responses were received and analysed via the statistical tool SPSS software computer program. A number of statistical methods of testing for significantly difference in samples were adopted to carry out the analysis of the data received. When the statistical analysis was completed, the results of the data analysis were validated by two Fire Safety Experts in this area of specialisation and also by quantitative fire risk analysis.

Abstract The approach described in this paper relies on a radical and innovative approach to enable a management system to demonstrate conformity to the requirements of an unlimited number of management system standard requirements, at the cost of performing a single mapping exercise. This unique approach relies on interposing a 'process reference model' between the process evidence of the enterprise management system and the normative requirements of various management systems standards of interest. This approach requires that the process evidence of the enterprise management system is mapped to the process reference model elements - a once-off exercise. The mapping of the process reference model elements to the various management system requirements is also performed as a 'once off exercise, and is completely independent of the enterprise management system. By quantifying the judgements made when creating these various links, and by appropriately aggregating the data to derive quantitative results for the extent of the coverage of process reference model (by the management system process evidence) we can derive the extent of the coverage of the requirements of the various management system standards of interest. This leads to a novel result that the question 'how much ISO 9001 have you got?' can be expressed in meaningful, quantifiable and accurate terms, based on objective evidence.

Abstract In the context of the increasing globalisation of value chains the management of both manufacturing and service firms find themselves faced by contradictory pressures to reduce costs whilst at the same time engaging with customers and suppliers in product improvement and innovation. For advocates of lean production methods the answer is often to be found in a check-list approach to rationalising the present modes of value creation within any organization. Much can be gained by combining such approaches with modes of continuous improvement or kaizen. As Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) have brilliantly illustrated, the most successful of Japanese firms have achieved their ability to adapt and to innovate through the uses of internal and external appropriation of tacit knowledge. For these authors this implied not only a 'bottom-up' structure of formal organization but also a means of listening and translating experiential knowledge into codifiable product and process designs. In the Japanese context this was seen as being brought about by the day-to-day integration of group decision making into operational management as well as the use of special project teams. The application of the methods has proved much more problematic for Western managers, although Japanese transplants have been relatively successful in the same Western context. In this paper I suggest that leadership styles and the formal organization of knowledge creation have to be seen as being congruent both in their aims and in the manner in which they are operationalised. Managers have also to begin by recognising the basis for the psychological contract held with outside customers, suppliers and other organizational members. Quality, especially in service fields, is often in the eye of the beholder!

Abstract Students, their families, employers and the government want the assurance that students will get “good quality” education. The question is: what does “good quality education” mean? This paper seeks to provide the answer as well as some concrete criteria and proposals to improve the objectives and quality of the education systems. We argue in this study that the quality of higher education and student satisfaction is a cumulative construct, summing various facets and variables of the educational institution, such as technical, functional, infrastructure, interaction and atmosphere variables. In this research we describe a study involving a new instrument, i.e. the 5Qs model and a new method which assures the reasonable level of relevance, validity and reliability, while being explicitly change-oriented. The main goal of the empirical part of this study is not to evaluate the performance of the staff or to analyze the student assessment or satisfaction, rather to test the new 5Qs model. The use of the 5Q dimensions provides both a structure for designing a higher education quality measurement instrument and a framework for prioritizing results and findings.