Systemic Business Community

SABI Session 4, Thursday, July 19, 2009, 16:00 – 18:00, ISSS Brisbane

The fourth of four sessions of the Special Integration Group on Systems Applications in Business and Industry is centered on topics on practical, everyday business issues.

Teresa Ann Daniel, “Workplace Bullying in American Organizations: the Path from Recognition to Prohibition”

Incidents of workplace bullying are on the rise in the American workplace. Researchers have compared recent concerns about bullying to those expressed about sexual harassment twenty years ago. Statistically, though, bullying occurs far more often than does sexual harassment; in fact, the U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey (2007) reported that bullying is four times as prevalent as illegal, discriminatory harassment.

This paper explores the evolution of employee legal rights in American organizations, with a specific focus on parallels between the serious organizational problems of workplace bullying and sexual harassment. It also examines the legal, legislative and policy protections currently available to employees both in the United States and internationally, proposed systemic changes, as well as likely prospects for change in the immediate future.

Keywords: workplace bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, legal protection, legislation, policies

[Abstract (1209) as text] [Paper (1209) as PDF]

Ximing Sun and Ray Collins, “Systems Thinking, Relationship Management and Supply Chains”

Managed supply chain systems typically begin from business-to-business relationships which over time expand to encompass more and more parts of the chain. Harland (1996) first classified supply chains in terms of four sequential levels of management and integration: a firm’s internal integration (level 1); buyer – supplier integration (level 2); through – chain integration (level 3); and network integration (level 4).

Globalization has spawned cross hemisphere and cross country supply chains that operate in a far more dynamic and influential external environment than ever before. Evidence is accumulating that this external environment significantly impacts on supply chain performance at all four levels of integration, but in different ways at each level. It impacts least at level 1, and most at level 4. This paper shows that in level 2 and 3 China-Australia agrifood supply chains, the influence on whole-of-chain performance of the external environment of the country itself is more powerful than the influence of within-chain relationships.

This finding suggests that firms engaging in relationship management at the chain level need to take a more holistic approach. Managing within-chain relationships is necessary but insufficient unless it is done in the context of the chain and its external environment as a dynamic system.

Keywords: system performance; supply chain management; external environment; agrifood chains; relationship management.

[Abstract (1185) as text] [Paper (1185) as PDF)]

Thanh Van Mai and O.J.H. Bosch, “System Thinking Approach as a Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development”

Tourism is not simply an industry, but is an open, dynamic, and complex system. It includes many interacting components, and involves many different stakeholders. The development sustainable tourism impinges on and is subjected to many different factors. The limitation of traditional approaches in tourism research are now becoming apparent as they often only explore particular parts of the bigger tourism picture.

This is a conceptual paper that will provide an overview of using a systems thinking approach in dealing with the dynamic and complex nature of the tourism industry on the Cat Ba Islands Biosphere in Vietnam. An overview will be given of the interdependencies and interactions between the constituent parts, focusing on the causes of complexity and dynamic behaviour of the system. The way in which systems thinking has radically chanced the way in which research problems are addressed, and its usefulness as scientific method in defining problems and formulating and testing potential solutions will be described.

[Abstract 1146]

Yong Pan, “Improving the ‘Cyber Lemons’ Problem With the Counteracting Mechanism in Chinese E-Commerce Market: Based on the Data from Taobao.Com (China)”

As the e-commerce of the limit of space and bring up the virtual reality in the e-commerce market, the ‘cyber lemons’ problem resulting from the informational asymmetry of the qualitative uncertainty is getting worse, which is restricting the useful and profitable business.

Based on the data from Taobao.com?China?, this paper demonstratively analyzes the characteristics of ‘cyber lemons’ problem in Chinese e-commerce market and discuss the function of counteracting mechanism such as credit evaluation system , quality-intermediary and reputation. Finally, this paper offers some strategic thought for eliminating the cyber ‘lemons’ problem with the counteracting mechanism.

Keywords: cyber ‘lemons’ problem, counteracting mechanism, credit evaluation system, reputation, quality-intermediary

[Abstract (1109) as text] [Paper (1109) as PDF]

These authors will lead discussions following the style of the Singerian Inquiring System as practiced in the SIG on Systems Applications in Business and Industry.

daviding July 5th, 2009

Posted In: ISSS