Business & Economics Collected Works - Theses

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    Management education for the architect
    Milton, Hans J. (University of Melbourne, 1969)
    This Research Project has investigated the need for management education of practicing architects who are graduates of some years' standing. A survey of architects in Victoria through a Questionnaire on Management and discussions with architects and other professionals of the building team have clearly established the following: 1. The architectural profession is a heterogeneous one consisting of employers (proprietors, partners, some associates) and employed architects from many employment areas. Accordingly, different problems and needs are perceived by the various groups. 2. There is considerable concern among architects that the role of the profession in modern society is being ' threatened and that the architect is slow to adapt to changes in environmental conditions. 3. There is almost complete agreement within and outside the profession that the architect needs to improve his 'managerial' skills, although suggestions vary as to which areas are important or how to go about it. 4. Overall only a small percentage of architects has had formal education or training in management. Significantly, employed architects in the public sector are best served in this respect. S. Over 80 percent of respondents to the survey have expressed interest in management education and willingness to participate in a training program. 6. The profession expects, almost unanimously, an increased involvement in the education of practicing architects by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 7. Support exists for both a full-time and a part-time program. A strong view has been expressed by a number of respondents that management education should not be conducted by architects on their own. An examination of all needs expressed has led to the recommendation that two management courses are desirable: a basic task-oriented course (part-time) and an advanced business-oriented course (full-time residential), with only limited joint teaching material. The basic course is aimed at all architects who direct projects and control staff but who are not involved in top-level management. The programme should assist in the development of a disciplined approach to project and contract administration. An eight to ten week afternoon or evening course is recommended which would take the place of the Advanced Study Course Fl 'The Architect and Management' which was introduced by the Victorian Chapter during 1969 and extends over three evening sessions. The advanced course is aimed specifically at the experienced architect who has organisational management responsibilities, and its content deals with business administration rather than task management. For this reason a residential course is recommended which would give senior architects from various activity areas the chance to live, work and relax together for a concentrated period, broaden their outlook and analytical capacities, assist in the interchange of ideas and development of positive means for improving architectural administrative competence. It is also suggested that other professions associated with the building industry should be included. Management ideas and principles assimilated in this way may then percolate from the top down in architectural organisations. A minimum residential period of one working week plus two weekends is considered necessary although a longer period would be desirable. Suggestions for course syllabuses for both courses have been detailed in Part Five. The material developed for the management courses outlined could well be made available in handbook form at a later stage, although perusal of a handbook is but a poor substitute for participation in a course as it lacks the interchange of ideas between people. Further, a fundamental reappraisal of content and emphasis in architectural undergraduate education relating to management is recommended. Most topics suggested for the basic course should ultimately be introduced in the undergraduate curriculum.
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    Financial planning and appraisal for mergers and acquisitions by diversifying companies
    McDougall, Fred Malcolm ( 1971)
    The title of this thesis, "Financial Planning and Appraisal for Mergers and Acquisitions by Diversifying Companies", contains three phrases, namely "financial planning and appraisal", "mergers and acquisitions", and "diversifying companies". Because various meanings are associated with these phrases in accounting literature, it is necessary as a preliminary step to give them precise meanings for the purposes of this thesis. (From introduction)
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    The Ford strike 1973: a critical analysis of the industrial relations processes used by Vehicle Building Employees Federation
    Lambden, W. Jon ( 1974)
    This is a report on a highly complex and controversial subject. At the time of writing, some six months after the event, it is clear that the Ford Strike of 1973 is widely viewed as one of the major industrial relations events in Australia in recent years. It is also certain that the popular preoccupation with the strike will soon be reflected in the academic world: already there is appearing substantial literature devoting at least partial attention to the subject from a variety of view points. It would require a considerable volume to deal comprehensively with the subject, much less this literature; no doubt a tome will eventually appear but in the meantime, partly as a requirement of the M.B.A. degree, but mainly as a result of my interest and participation in postgraduate courses and seminars in industrial relations at the University of Melbourne, my treatment is deliberately selective. I have made little attempt, for example, to explore the perspectives of the psychologist, economist, or historian. I have not attempted to provide complex statistical analyses of the various dimensions of the strike, nor have I more than touched on the vexing problems of assessing the consequences of the stoppage. My focus has been rather on the cause of the dispute and the meanings for those involved. In this respect my treatment is, regrettably, rather parochial and arbitrary. Nevertheless, I hope that the reader will find my approach enlightening and stimulating. (From Preface)
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    Business goodwill: an analysis of its conceptual foundations
    Courtis, John Keith ( 1970)
    The original intention was to write a thesis that critically reviewed several techniques that have either been employed or advocated in valuing the goodwill of a business. While working along these lines it became increasingly apparent that the accounting literature dealing with 'goodwill' was only superficially conversant with the real nature of the concept that was being valued. There was a surprising gap in the literature examined of any significant analysis of the fundamentals of the concept - all the more surprising since one might expect accounting theorists, at least, to be sufficiently stimulated to enquire into the nature of goodwill, more so as its intangibility stamps it with a nebulous quality. This striking deficiency in the literature led to a rethinking of my aims in researching this area of financial accounting theory, and before long I was forced to decide whether to follow the well-trod paths of valuation techniques and their associated problems, or whether to blaze an original trail and analyse the foundations of the concept itself. The latter course was chosen, primarily in an attempt to partially fill this gap in the literature, but also with the secondary aim of providing, in a humble way, a springboard for further considerations into the nature of the concept. With hindsight now that this research project has been completed, it can be categorically stated that this study would have been much easier if a destructive approach had been taken (i.e., a critical analysis of existing valuation theories) instead of the constructive one that was adopted (i.e., the formulation of one's own ideas as to what constitutes the underlying nature of the concept). In an endeavour to make a positive contribution to the controversy surrounding this topic in accounting, this thesis conducts an analysis into the conceptual foundations underlying the goodwill of a business. The first chapter takes note of the existing confusion in legal and accounting circles as to the nature of the asset and argues that the goodwill of a business represents an 'environment' within which a going-concern operates, an 'environment' which is based on four areas of influence: customer goodwill, employee goodwill, industrial goodwill and financial goodwill. Chapters two to five inclusive take each of these areas in turn and analyse the conceptual foundations appropriate to each. The sixth chapter argues that these various areas of influence produce an overall environment or 'status quo' for each firm, and that this environment is what is meant by the expression 'the goodwill of a business'. In order to reduce the size of chapter one, Appendix A lists 82 definitions that have been extracted from a chronological survey of the literature. (From Preface)
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    The form and content of internal accounting reports in municipal government in Victoria
    Harris, Geoffrey John ( 1971)
    The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of the internal accounting reports presented to the councillors of fifteen Victorian municipalities. The fifteen municipalities included in the study do not represent a random sample of the 210 Victorian municipalities. There are several different types of municipalities in Victoria. Some municipalities are small in area and are characterized by very high population densities, some municipalities are large in area and are sparsely populated while others are characterized by rapidly growing populations. A classificatory distinction between the different types of municipalities was made because different types of municipalities encounter different problems. It was thought that the form and content of the internal accounting reports could vary in response to the different types of problems encountered by each type of municipality. The following classification was used: 1. Inner-suburban (developed) municipalities. 2. Outer-suburban (developing) municipalities. 3. Country-urban municipalities. 4. Country-rural municipalities.(From Introduction)