ethical values, codes of ethics, ethical climate, psychological contract,

Organisational change is typically conceptualised as moving from the status quo to a new, desired, configuration to better match the environment. Change could, therefore, be seen as a departure from the norm, or alternatively as normal and simply a natural response to environmental and internal conditions. Static models of organisations are being displaced by dynamic models, which reflect the discontinuous nature of organisational change. Developments in theory suggest limitations to contingency approaches, which carry the assumptions of static models of change. Analysis of this case at PowerCo in Australia reveals a number of issues related to changes aimed at achieving a more commercial, profit-oriented, focus. Points out that the contextualist approach is holistic, in which these aspects interact with each other as change unfolds temporally. A contextualist framework permits models of change to be visualised as dynamic rather than static, having a temporal setting which has multiple causes acting as loops rather than simple lines. This enables change to be understood as a discontinuous phenomenon having the benefits, without the limitations, of rational contingency models.

Aims  This study explores whether there is evidence of an ideological component in the psychological contracts of professional employees, as well as evidence of credible supporting commitments by their employer. Background  Fundamental changes in the employment context have prompted many individuals to seek a closer alignment between themselves and their work, as well as with the organizational and broader societal contexts. For many professional employees identification with their professional ideology is a significant factor in producing such an alignment. Method  The study uses an exploratory qualitative approach to analyse interview data collected from a sample of registered nurses employed in an Australian public hospital. Results  The analysis identifies psychological contract terms best understood by reference to an ideological currency. It also suggests that the organization is perceived as obligated to provide credible support for that professional contribution, and the perceived lack of such support has significant impacts. Conclusions  The findings raise doubts about the utility of the concept of a psychological contract that recognizes only economic and socio‐emotional exchanges for understanding the psychological contracts of professional employees.

Marketing education in Australia and New Zealand Generally speaking, most recognised undergraduate marketing education in Australia and New Zealand is provided by universities and institutes of technology in the form of three or four year degree and (associate) diploma courses. Institutions vary in exactly what is offered and how it is offered and assessed. They also vary in the mix of theory and practical experience included in units. The basic offerings, however, are similar. A typical course curriculum will include units on various aspects of management and communication theory, information systems, economics, business statistics, business law, accounting and finance, as well as a range of marketing specific units. Students commonly undertake these units in a prescribed hierarchy which specifies "prerequisites" for later units, building disciplinary knowledge gradually in a sequence of units that otherwise stand alone.The process of education that students experience in a typical three or four year undergraduate degree program provides them with, in Senge's (1990) terms a "mental model" that is used to interpret the world. This interpretation includes the language learnt, the perceptions they share, the meanings they give events, and the skills and attitudes they possess. Consequently, this approach to course structure and delivery has profound consequences for the way students define and approach problems and develop solutions because it inclines students to regard subject areas as mutually exclusive rather than seeing them as part of an inter-connected whole. Students grow away from a multi-disciplinary orientation and into a limited single, or at best, dual disciplinary way of thinking. This situation, however, is not unique to education in Australia and New Zealand. Lamont and Friedman (1997) observe that students in North America "…compartmentalize courses" and, as a consequence, develop a single-rather than multi-disciplinary perspective to business problem-solving.One outcome of channelling knowledge in this way is that there is shared vocabulary and understanding that enable students to see events through a particular "lens". A downturn in profit, for example, may be seen by a marketing major as a problem stemming from sales performance, insufficient or inadequate promotional support; whereas an accounting or human resource major may perceive the problem to be caused by excessive overheads or a lack of motivated staff. Thus, solutions will be visualised in terms of a student's specific discipline-based training.The result of this education process is therefore a mental model that provides powerful focussed insights coupled with restrictive limitations. The power comes from the extent to which the accumulated discipline-specific knowledge and skills resident within single disciplines can be brought to bear on problems. The limitations arise because of the disciplinary focus which inadvertently encourages blinkered thinking and problem-solving. Thus students may be inadequately prepared to deal with the ...

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