• Home
• Module overview
• 1. The challenge of management
  • Introduction
  • 1.1 Defining management
    • 1.1.1 The art of getting things done through people
    • 1.1.2 Defining management by its functions
    • 1.1.3 Is management a profession?
  • 1.2 Management knowledge , skills and performance
    • 1.2.1 Types of managers
    • 1.2.2 Effectiveness and efficiency
    • 1.2.3 Managing the customer within
  • 1.3 The evolution of management thought
  • Conclusion

• 2. Understanding external environments

  • Introduction
  • 2.1 Putting the e xternal environment into focus
    • 2.1.1 Classifying external elements
    • 2.1.2 The changing environment
    • 2.1.3 The international dimension
  • 2.2 Relating the o rganisation to its environment
    • 2.2.1 So many issues: Which should you focus on?
    • 2.2.2 How do you acquire the relevant information?
    • 2.2.3 Clarifying the relationship between the internal and external environments
  • Conclusion

• 3. Social responsibility and ethics in management

  • Introduction
  • 3.1 Business is not value neutral: Social responsibility, obligation and responsiveness
  • 3.2 Focussing on ethics
    • 3.2.1 Why business ethics now?
    • 3.2.2 Ethical quandaries
    • 3.2.3 Approaches to ethical dilemmas
    • 3.2.4 Defining your ethics
  • Conclusion

• 4. Managerial decision making

  • Introduction
  • 4.1 Decision making and problem solving
  • 4.2 The nature of decision making as part of management
    • 4.2.1 Programmed and non-programmed decisions
    • 4.2.2 Certainty, risk and uncertainty
    • 4.2.3 Urgent vs important decisions
  • 4.3 Problem solving: making the most of opportunities
    • 4.3.1 Looking further at problem solving
    • 4.3.2 The effective decision making process
    • 4.3.3 Improving managerial problem solving: overcoming barriers
    • 4.3.4 Thinking 'outside the box' and creativity
  • 4.4 Interrelated problems
  • Conclusion

• 5. Managing strategically

  • Introduction
  • 5.1 Planning ahead
  • 5.2 Strategic management
    • 5.2.1 Some definitions
    • 5.2.2 The process of strategic management
  • Conclusion

• 6. Organisational design and structure

  • Introduction
  • 6.1 The terminology of organisational design
  • 6.2 Strategic organisational design and structure
    • 6.2.1 Types of organisational structure
    • 6.2.2 Strategic organisational design
  • 6.3 Teamwork
    • 6.3.1 The success of teamwork
  • Conclusion

• 7. Organisational culture and workforce diversity

  • Introduction
  • 7.1 Defining organisational or corporate culture
    • 7.1.1 Culture defined through its response to change
    • 7.1.2 Culture defined through the influence of the external environment
  • 7.2 Strong and weak cultures
  • 7.3 The functions of culture
  • 7.4 Creating and sustaining culture
  • 7.5 Types of culture
    • 7.5.1 Dominant culture
    • 7.5.2 Subculture
    • 7.5.3 Core values
  • 7.6 Changing culture
  • 7.7 Cultural diversity in the maritime industry
  • Conclusion

• 8. Change management

  • Introduction
  • 8.1 Dealing with change and the changing nature of change
    • 8.1.1 In what areas of the organisation can managers expect change?
    • 8.1.2 Reacting to change
  • 8.2 Key issues accelerating change
    • 8.2.1 External forces
    • 8.2.2 Internal forces
  • 8.3 Managing change
    • 8.3.1 Reactions to change
    • 8.3.2 Why employees resist change
    • 8.3.3 Emotions accompanying change
    • 8.3.4 Overcoming resistance
    • 8.3.5 Leadership and successful change
  • Conclusion

• 9. Motivating for performance

  • Introduction
  • 9.1 The nature of motivation
  • 9.2 Theories of motivation
    • 9.2.1 Do rewards really work? needs theories
    • 9.2.2 Are substantive rewards the only motivator? process theories
    • 9.2.3 Learning behaviour reinforcement theory
    • 9.2.4 Social learning theory
    • 9.2.5 Putting it all together systems theory
  • 9.3 The power of positive thinking
  • 9.4 Motivation: The implications for managers
  • Conclusion

• 10. Leadership

  • Introduction
  • 10.1 The nature of leadership
    • 10.1.1 Thinking about 'leaders' and 'leadership'
    • 10.1.2 Theories of leadership
    • 10.1.3 Refining our definition of leadership
  • 10.2 Perspectives on leadership
    • 10.2.1 Manager, leader, or both?
  • Conclusion

• 11. Teamwork

  • Introduction
  • 11.1 Work groups and group dynamics
    • 11.1.1 Work groups, work teams, taskforces, self-managing teams and team building
    • 11.1.2 High-performance teams
  • 11.2 Managing meetings and committees
  • 11.3 Group decision making
    • 11.3.1 Some advantages and disadvantages
    • 11.3.2 So, do groups make better decisions than individuals?
  • Conclusion

• 12. Managerial evaluation and control

  • Introduction
  • 12.1 Evaluation and control as a management process
    • 12.1.1 Why evaluate and control performance?
    • 12.1.2 Getting and using necessary information
  • 12.2 Levels of control
  • 12.3 Steps in the control process
  • 12.4 Assessing control systems
  • 12.5 Back to ethics
  • 12.6 Quality control systems
  • Conclusion

3.1 Business is not value neutral:Social responsibility, obligation and responsiveness

Not surprisingly, corporate social responsibility and performance have become more complex. The social context of business is receiving greater attention. Certainly during the last century and this there has been much change in what society expects and demands of its organisations and what managers view as their proper role in organisations. The external environment of most organisations contains a host of conflicting demands from stakeholders. Some organisations have responded positively by introducing socially responsible management systems - ranging from internal restructuring in a genuine effort to be socially responsible through to those organisations that opt for basic compliance with the regulations set out by law. In the following reading take note of Figure 4.1 on page 97 and Table 4.1.

In your text

Bartol, K M; Martin, D C; Tein, M H and Matthews, G W (2001), pages 93-104.

Let us make a general distinction between commonly used terms.

• Social responsibility is a social 'conscience' beyond that required by regulations of law and economics.
• Social obligation is the requirement of an organisation to meet its economic and legal responsibilities.
• Social responsiveness is the capacity of a firm to adapt to changing social conditions.

Then ask ourselves the following questions:

• Where does social responsibility begin?
• Where does it end?
• When is regulation necessary? When is it excessive?
• To what extent should organisations be responsible for their products (services)?

Many companies are responsive to contemporary social needs. Some organisations pay a great deal of attention, some too little. Perhaps much of the difficulty of being 'socially responsible' lies in the definition. You may see what I may consider socially responsible as not quite good enough, overdoing it or even irresponsible.

After decades of debate on the social obligations and the responsibility of organisations, generally the individual organisation must still determine its own orientation (outside of legal regulations). An important point should be made. It has become 'trendy' for organisations to claim that they are environmentally sound, friendly, and so on. You should realise that it is possible for an organisation to pay 'lip-service' to this notion, knowing that 'environmentally sound' is how the public and society wish organisations to operate. There are of course organisations that have a genuine commitment to ethical and social causes.

The following reading is an example of the Port of Brisbane environmental principles. If you look at the websites of other ports across the world or obtain a copy of their annual reports you will find similar responses.

Reading 3.1

Port of Brisbane Corporation. URL: http://www.portbris.com.au (accessed 2001, 15 June) [5 pages].

Think about the following examples relating to safety in light of the ideas introduced in this chapter and the implications for monitoring and responding to external influences covered in the previous chapter.

Example 1: Managing ship safety

Traditionally the safety of shipping and other maritime activities has been treated by what is called the prescriptive approach, whereby authorities draw up rules and regulations and the users obey them...

Ship safety is very much concerned with management, engineering and operations, underpinned by human factors such as attitude and behaviour. To achieve high safety standards many industries, particularly those in the chemical and offshore sector, have adopted the 'goal-setting' approach.

Source: Chengi Kuo (1998). 'Managing ship safety'. LLP .

Example 2: Working safely?

In all of the Australian States and Territories the government has legislated regarding the establishment and the maintenance of a healthy and safe workplace. To ignore such issues could result in an expensive lawsuit or industrial action by disgruntled employees. The following case illustrates the importance of monitoring and responding to the external environment.

Probably the most dramatic illustration of the importance of.legal decisions is the case of an LPG tanker operator employed by Boral Gas (Qld) Pty Ltd who was dismissed for overfilling customer's LP gas tanks. The decision by the Queensland Industrial Court centred of the ineffectiveness of Boral's safety training efforts.

It was held that simply ensuring that an employee receives training is inadequate preparation. Instead 'Organisations will have to prove that the training provided was effective'. Flowing from this case is a clear warning to employers and trainers to provide effective training.

Source: Hosie, P J (1992). 'Human resource managers and training: a peek into the future'. Asia Pacific HRM , volume 30, number 3, page 54.

Example 3: Responsibility and Mission

Robbins and Mukerji (1994) provide the following example related to an organisation's social responsibility and ethics. The example gives you an idea of the manner in which some companies have built social responsibility into their strategy.

Esso Australia 's mission statement says: 'Our purpose is to be Australia 's most advanced and successful energy company. We care that we enjoy our work and are proud of our company. We want to work in such a way that no one is hurt and the environment is protected. It is important that we contribute to the growth and character of Australia '. Esso's worldwide ethics statement includes such guidance as 'even where the law is permissive, Esso chooses the course of highest integrity'.

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