In late 2004 a New Zealander, John Hood, will become the first external appointment to head Oxford University in its 900-year history. Napier-born and raised, Dr Hood studied engineering at Auckland University where he took his doctorate in 1976. He then took up a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford, where he added an MPhil in management and played cricket for the University. These two universities continue to command a special place in his affections. A 19-year career in industry with Fletcher Challenge – at the time New Zealand's largest corporation – took him to senior group responsibilities as CEO of Fletcher Challenge Paper. In 1999, he took on his present role as Vice Chancellor of Auckland University. His record there of innovative and dynamic leadership has surely been instrumental in attracting the attention of his other alma mater, and in attracting him back to Oxford.

The story of Kiwi International Airlines is a brief one. Begun on a 'shoe-string’ in 1994 by Ewan Wilson, the airline had collapsed by 1996. But during that brief time Kiwi Airlines had a dramatic effect on trans-Tasman airfares. This case is designed to allow a discussion of the reasons behind Kiwi Airlines initial success and ultimate failure. The case is particularly suited to explaining the concept of Judo economics or Judo strategy.

In Lewis Carroll's classic poem, ‘The Hunting of the Snark’, there is little understanding about what a ‘Snark’ actually might be. There is similar disagreement about the ways in which contemporary universities should be led and managed, and few writers move beyond broad generalisations for action. This is particularly truc for writers analysing higher education from the perspectives of sociological analyses (eg. Meek & Wood 1997) political economy, and institutional theory perspectivcs (eg. Marginson & Considine 2000). Building on recent research by Poole (2000, 2001a), the paper charts current understandings of university governance and leadership, identifies research gaps, and begins to explore how apparently dichotomous managerial choices may be reconciled by university leaders confronting the complexities of managing the enterprise university.

To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care
To pursue it with forks and hope
To threaten its life with a railway-share
To charm it with smiles and soap!
For the Snark's a peculiar creature that won't
Be caught in a commonplace way.
Do all that you know, and try all that you don't:
Not a chance must be wasted today!
(Carroll 1973)

This paper addresses the issue of corporate sustainability. It examines why achieving sustainability is becoming an increasingly vital issue for society and organisations, defines sustainability and then outlines a set of phases through which organisations can move to achieve increasing levels of sustainability. Case studies are presented of organisations at various phases indicating the benefits, for the organisation and its stakeholders, which can be made at each phase. Finally the paper argues that there is a marked contrast between the two competing philosophies of neo-conservatism (economic rationalism) and the emerging philosophy of sustainability. Management schools have been strongly influenced by economic rationalism, which underpins the traditional orthodoxies presented in such schools. Sustainability represents an urgent challenge for management schools to rethink these traditional orthodoxies and give sustainability a central place in the curriculum.

We pick up the case as the new venture moves from a decade of dedicated scientific research into the early stages of becoming a commercially viable business. The case considers the potential of the Near Infra Red (NIR) spectroscopy technology to revolutionise the fruit markets of the world as well as the realities of trying to change existing practices and culture. The dilemma of first-mover advantage as compared to learning from the mistakes of early competitors is included. Various possible business models are introduced. The case also asks the students to consider some of the key issues of a new product/service launch.

Management education has the responsibility to provide industry with graduates equipped with relevant management competencies (Christou 2002). This paper agrees with this view and reports on the first and second stages of a longitudinal study that explores tourism and hospitality students' perceptions of their competency development in the first and final year of the Bachelor of Business in Tourism program. A self-assessment instrument that measures perceived competence in management competencies and roles within the Competing Values Framework (CVF) (Quinn, Thompson, Faerman & McGrath 1996) was used. Results from this investigation indicate that since the outset of their tertiary studies, students perceive they have begun to develop a majority of the competencies and roles tested. Students' perception of improving skills and competencies in these roles indicates they are taking steps towards mastery of management (Quinn et al. 1996), and thereby acquiring competence in areas important to their careers in industry. The outcomes of this research contribute to development of appropriate educational experiences, which in turn assist competency development that enhances student career opportunities and experiences.

How appropriate is the MBA as the major vehicle for management education in Australia as we enter this new century? This question is explored from two perspectives. First, the implications of the changing social, economic and political context of management education, particularly the emerging needs for a sustainable and reflexive society. The second perspective will explore the recent debates around epistemology and their potentially important implications for related curriculum design issues. Assumptions about the nature of knowledge dominant in the 1960s formed the very rationale behind the design. At this time the assumption that knowledge was cumulative and each discipline had an uncontested knowledge, which could be taught in foundational subjects was central to the MBA's development. We question the ability of such subjects to capture the diversity of the disciplines they seek to represent and whether this design is the best way to develop graduates with the ability for reflexivity in action, who can broach different worldviews and have skills that can negotiate the transformations required of corporate Australia. The MBA is at the crossroads - can it regenerate through an incremental changing of curricula, to incorporate the active engagement of students with these issues? Or do we acknowledge the contested nature of knowledge creation and that the MBA is fundamentally a child of modernism which is no longer appropriate, and create a new holistic and integrated curriculum which is separate from the wide range of assumptions that currently underpin the MBA.

Fred Cowan had spent the first half of his working life in the timber industry in New Zealand. He had worked his way up through the industry with different companies and at a number of mills. At one point, he had been managing one of the largest sawmills in New Zealand. He had also done a fair amount of consulting on sawmill project, both in New Zealand and overseas (see Appendix 1 for an extract from his curriculum vitae), but for some time had wanted to own his own sawmill. He achieved that when the new Central Manawatu Timber (CMT) Edgehill mill opened in May 2001, with Fred as a joint owner with two partners.

The paper describes an investigation into the information search activities of senior Japanese executives involved in strategic decision-making in Japanese trading companies. The research task was conducted over a twelve-month period between 2000-2001, at five well-known Japanese kaisha (see Appendix 1 for a list of Japanese expressions used in this paper) headquartered in Tokyo. This paper identifies sources of information that are dev-eloped and used by executive decision-makers in evaluating strategic alternatives. As well modes of access to the identified sources are highlighted and analysed.

Results from the study indicate the prominence of distinctive Japanese managerial practices such as nemawashi and settai, in developing information sources. As well it was found that these practices strongly influence how information sources are accessed. Executive decision-makers from the Presidential level to Divisional Manager level who participated in this study were emphatic in their belief that strategic decision-making in most situations is reliant upon the network of information sources cultivated by decision-makers as well as their skill in accessing the various sources.

In skating over thin ice, our safety lies in speed (Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-82)

Organisational change stories are often constructed around a linear series of ‘successful’ events that serve to show the company in a positive light to any interested external party. These stories of company success sanitize complex change processes and offer data for change experts to formulate neat linear prescriptions on how to best manage change. This article criticizes this position and argues that change is a far more dynamic political process consisting of competing histories and ongoing multiple change narratives which may vie for dominance in seeking to be the change story. A central aim is to identify and unpack narratives of change in order to highlight a number of theoretical and methodological implications for management research. It is argued that post-hoc rationalized stories should not be used as a knowledge base for prescriptive lessons or theoretical developments, nor should research data simply be presented as a single authentic story of change. The need to study change overtime and to accommodate multiple stories that may be reshaped, replaced and modified raise critical issues of data collection and data analysis, as well as important questions on the place of the conventional case study as a conveyor of research findings. As such, the article calls for the more widespread use of the concept of ‘competing histories’ and ‘multiple change narratives’ in longitudinal studies that seek to explain processes of organisational change.

There are numerous methods of organisational cultural analysis, ranging from quantitative surveys with structured questions that are relatively quick to complete, to in-depth qualitative ethnographic studies that are more thorough, yet very time-consuming. Concept Mapping and Pattern Matching are two research techniques that combine the strengths of interpretive (emic) methods with some of the efficiencies of survey (etic) research. While Trochim's Concept Mapping technique has been previously employed in a study of organisational culture, Pattern Matching has not. The results of a study employing Trochim's Pattern Matching technique suggest that it can be a useful tool for an in-depth analysis of organisational culture. In particular, visual pattern ‘matches’ and ‘mismatches’ of cultural elements were portrayed for interpretation.

This case analysis traces the establishment and subsequent operation of Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the first company in Fiji extracting, bottling and marketing, both domestically and internationally, Artesian water coming from a virgin ecosystem found on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. The authors first discuss the product concept, the company and its expansion, and the role of Fiji Government in providing a legal framework and the necessary infrastructure for a new industry pioneered by Natural Waters of Viti. These are followed by an analysis of the US market, from which the company derives more than 90% of its revenues, and the marketing strategy employed in that market. The subsequent sections deal with export earnings, expected expansion into new markets, and the company's relations with the local community. The case concludes by summarising major achievements by the company and major challenges it faces now.

Over the last twenty years management courses offered in Australia have undergone considerable change. Most notable is the number of different programmes available and the varied content of these. However, in an environment which is changing rapidly, management education and its provision are under continuous review. Data gathered recently to examine the perceptions of academics in relation to management education, has drawn attention to an issue that warrants consideration. Should management academics be agents of change or should they simply make changes in response to new demands? The answer to this question has significant implications for the future development of management education. This paper seeks to examine the role that the management academic has in a situation of continuous change.

This paper reports the results of a survey investigating the institutionalisation of business ethics among New Zealand's top 200 organisations. A majority of the respondents indicated that steps were being taken by their organisation to incorporate ethical values into daily operations. However, fewer than a quarter of those surveyed indicated that resources were being set aside to accomplish the objective. The most popular tech-nique for institutionalising ethics was the development of a code of ethics. Training in ethics, ethics officers, and ethics committees were not in common use amongst the companies surveyed. Furthermore, very few organisations indicated that ethical behaviour was specifically rewarded. In contrast, a clear majority indicated that they punished unethical actions and made use of disciplinary processes to regulate employee behaviour. Follow-up interviews with a sample of managers from the organisations surveyed high-lighted a preference for the use of informal processes for the institutionalisation of business ethics.

While there is a growing body of research on telephone call centre management in the U.K. and the U.S.A., empirical studies in Australia are at an embryonic stage. To date, most of the studies have focussed on the management of employee performance. The principal aim of this study was to provide data on current compensation practices in Australian call centres and to determine the extent of their strategic and best-practice orientation. A second aim was to explore whether the strategic management of compensation can help to balance the tension between commitment to customer service and commitment to employee motivation.

Using data collected through a mail questionnaire survey of telephone call centres operating in a range of industries in Australia, the paper explores the effect of compensation practices on employee performance, absenteeism and turnover. Following a review of the literature on call centre management and the literature on compensation strategies, the findings are presented. Key findings include: a) a significant negative correlation between annual salary and the number of calls handled by full-time customer service representatives (CSRs); b) a significant positive correlation between casual CSRs' pay rates and turnover; c) a significant negative correlation between full-time CSRs' pay and absenteeism; d) a highly significant difference between the compensation strategies currently practiced in Australian call centres and the strategies call centre managers think should be practiced and e) Australian call centre managers report their compensation strategies are not very effective in increasing performance or employee satisfaction.