Industry Agencies Research Articles

Management Strategy towards Unions in the Australian Travel Agency Industry

Abstract Mintzberg's five Ps of strategy—plan, ploy, pattern, position and perspective—are utilized in order to bring together the two relatively separate strategy literatures in the fields of organization studies and industrial relations. This framework is used to analyse the recent moves towards unionizing the Australian travel agency industry, and the response of management to such moves. The paper indicates the sensitivity the framework can provide in uncovering the multi-facetted nature of management strategy, but argues for it to be used dialectically, both across organizations, and over time.

Union Diversification and the Battle for Recognition in the Travel Agency Industry

As a strategy to halt the decline in union membership, the ACTU has targeted service industries and those dominated by women as areas of potential membership growth. The attempts by the Australian Shipping and Travel Officers' Association (ASTOA) and the Federated Clerks' Union (FCU) to organize the travel agency industry demonstrate the problems faced by unions in moving into such traditionally neglected areas. Despite low membership in the industry, and opposition from both the peak employer organization, the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), and the FCU, ASTOA has recently been successful in obtaining a consent award covering a small number of companies. This paper employs a dialectical approach to analyze the unions' campaign to organize the industry; the recruitment problems they faced; inter-union rivalries and AFTA strategies to retain control of the industry.

Minimizing the negative impact of a planned hazardous waste facility on the surrounding communities

A follow-up community survey (n=83) of residents living near a planned hazardous waste facility revealed that the majority of residents maintained considerable concerns over a four year period. They were worried about their health and safety, distrustful of the facility operator, and anticipated limited community benefits. Demoralization, a measure of nonspecific psychological distress, remained disturbingly high, with 41% of those interviewed scoring above the mean of community mental health center clients. One of the two communities studied had lower perceptions of risk than the other, suggesting that expectations of compensation may influence risk perception. Improved communication is needed between local residents and government agency and private industry personnel to address perceptions of danger and distrust. Primary prevention strategies are discussed to improve communication and monitor the health status of residents most at risk of developing physical and psychological problems.

Out of sight is not out of mind: Public opposition to ocean incineration

Abstract During the early 1980s, ocean incineration emerged as one of the hottest issues in the field of hazardous waste management. Ocean incineration involves the thermal destruction of liquid hazardous wastes on specially designed ships and was promoted by the Environmental Protection Agency and powerful industry groups as part of the solution to liquid hazardous waste disposal. Attempts to adopt ocean incineration led to heated debate and apparent defeat of efforts to introduce this technology. The arguments advanced by proponents and opponents are examined. Success of environmental groups opposed to ocean incineration is explained with reference to technical, environmental, socio‐political, and legal factors. Ocean incineration, promoted as a solution to “not‐in‐my‐backyard”; opponents, instead ran afoul of region wide opposition by coastal residents for whom the sea is a common backyard.

Deregulation and the Future of the U.S. Travel Agent Industry

The effects of airline deregulation on the U. S. travel agency industry are examined in this article. In September 1981, after this article was submitted for publication, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) made its final decision on the pricing phase of the Competitive Marketing case. The CAB's final decision is a form of maximum tariffs as this article predicted it would be, and the details of the decision are the same as discussed under the heading Maximum Tariffs. The article traces the events leading up to this decision as well as the current status of other deregulation issues affecting travel agents and the travel distribution system.

North American Travel Agency Industry Study. Travel Research International, Inc. Pacific Area Travel Association, 228 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California 94108. 1970. 84p. $20

North American Travel Agency Industry Study. Travel Research International, Inc. Pacific Area Travel Association, 228 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California 94108. 1970. 84p. $20

Determinants of Risk Premiums on Corporate Bonds

ECONOMISTS have long agreed that the rate of interest on a loan depends on the risks the lender incurs. But how lenders estimate these risks has been left largely to conjecture. This paper presents and tests a hypothesis about the determinants of risk premiums on corporate bonds. By risk premium is meant the difference between the market yield on a bond and the corresponding pure rate of interest. My hypothesis is as follows: (1) The average risk premium on a firm's bonds depends first on the risk that the firm will default on its bonds and second on their marketability. (2) The "risk of default" can be estimated by a function of three variables: the coefficient of variation of the firm's net income over the last