Economics - Theses
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ItemThe growth of large mining firms in Australia: case-study: C.R.A. Ltd.( 1981)To discuss the issue of the growth of business firms fully would carry us through the whole economic theory and practice. Rather than pursuing the question through all its ramifications, I intend to deal with some aspects of the integration of business enterprise which have immediate bearing on the characteristics of firms and their relationships with one another. Regardless of the method used to integrate business activities, such method must be flexible, that is, being capable of accommodating a changing population of firms performing changing operations. To achieve such flexibility, more than one flexible method of integration may be used. There are three basic methods which may be mixed in varying proportions in any particular situation, namely, integration by administration, by market transactions and by co-operation, Since we do not have one firm within which all business activities are integrated by administration, we have to face the problems of what determines the boundaries of firms boundaries of geography, of processes of products and of size and what determines the choice between the other two basic methods of integration, the market and co-operation, which are used to co-ordinate activities beyond the boundaries of firms. In this part an attempt will be made to discuss briefly the following issues: (a) Why do firms specialise in particular processes and products? (b) Why are some firms more specialised than others? (c) What determines the size of the firm? (d) What are the merits of the three basic ways of integrating business activities? (From Introduction)
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ItemCapital expenditure decision making in divisionalised companies: a study of the role of managerial performance measures and other contextual influences( 1990)The accounting literature in the area of divisional performance measurement reflects a significant rift between theory and practice. Theoretical debate has tended to focus on dysfunctional decisions, particularly in the area of capital investment, that may be made by divisional managers seeking to maximise their divisional ROI result. The empirical evidence, however, still indicates the widespread use of ROI and other theoretically questionable performance measures in practice. This research is an attempt to shed light on the rift between theory and practice by studying the capital expenditure decision process intensively in three divisionalised companies. More specifically, an attempt is made to explore the use of accounting measures of managerial performance, the incidence of dysfunctional decision making factors that may mitigate the importance of accounting measurement of managerial performance as decision making. The development of a conceptual framework for the study is greatly influenced by the need to study the role of accounting within its organisational context (Hopwood, 1983; Kaplan, 1984). The conceptual framework has two key elements:1.The distribution of capital expenditure decision making authority within the divisionalised companies, and2. The general nature of organisational control systems. The distribution of authority is conceptually based on the distribution of knowledge and influence, rather than formal authority structures. The conceptualisation of organisational control is broad, and includes both formal and informal influences on managerial behaviour. The findings reflect a distribution of authority which is knowledge-based in relation to initiation and screening elements of the decision process. The findings also provide an insight into the influences on divisional management capital expenditure decisions. In particular they illustrate the role of managerial service histories, corporate familiarity with divisional operations, strategic planning and multiple performance measures within the organisational control system. The development of this understanding has potential to enable us to move beyond the simplified organisational contexts within which we teach and the control of divisionalised operations (Kaplan, 1986). The findings also provide a stimulus to further research – either hypothesis testing in contingency research, or further exploration through intensive field studies.