Top Unionist calls for partnership with business

TOP UNIONIST CALLS FOR SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP WITH BUSINESS

The country’s top unionist has called for a “social partnership” between unions, business and government to ensure New Zealand’s future growth.

Council of Trade Unions President Ross Wilson makes his case in the latest issue of the University of Auckland Business Review, the country’s biggest-circulation business magazine.

“I think we need a social partnership under which the CTU and Business New Zealand, and perhaps other organisations, actively engage with each other and with government to devise innovative and sustainable solutions,” writes Mr Wilson.

Mr Wilson acknowledges his proposal will provoke lively debate within the union movement.

“The essential question is whether there is a will for government, business or the union to commit to such a model with integrity.

“People are bruised by the experience of the 1990s. But the more inclusive government policies of the past few years are building confidence again. The real question for unions is whether business is ready to break from the policies of the 1990s and make the watershed change.”

Finance Minister Michael Cullen last week indicated the government was considering the prospect of a “social compact” with business and unions to boost economic growth.

Mr Wilson’s article, “The Role of Unions in Building an Innovative and Productive Society,” leads the latest issue of the University of Auckland Business Review.

Other articles include:

The Fletcher Experiment with Targeted Stocks: Can you re-slice a pizza to be bigger and tastier? Capital restructuring receives heightened attention when novel approaches are attempted. The implementation of targeted stocks by Fletcher Challenge met with a mixed reaction initially, followed by poor performance and then disassembly, recounts Deutsche Bank analyst and former University of Auckland postgraduate student Josh Bolot.

How Large Multi-Nationals Manage Their Knowledge Most organizations and individuals don’t know what they know. As a result, costly mistakes are repeated, good ideas are not used and money is frittered away. Marcus Birkenkrahe, until recently Knowledge Manager at Royal Dutch Shell, shares his experiences in applying KM in industry.

Continuity, Not Change: The next organisational challenge Change has become so pervasive in contemporary organisations that managers and leaders have come to value change in and of itself. However, managing continuity can be more challenging than managing change, argues Darl G. Kolb.

The Theory and Practice of Investment Advice in Financial Planning Ed Vos and Francis Milner investigate the investment advisory practices of financial planners in New Zealand and ask how they measure up in their application of investment theory.

A Snoop at Privacy Issues on the Internet in New Zealand University of Auckland postgraduate student Winnie Chung discusses concerns and examines the incidence of personal information gathered by websites and the sites’ use of privacy statements. Businesses should be aware that consumers are looking for privacy protection.

(Articles can be emailed to media on request)

With an ABC-audited circulation of 17,949 and an average issue readership of 36,000 (ACNielsen Media Research National Readership Survey July 2001 to June 2002) the University of Auckland Business Review is the biggest-circulation business magazine in New Zealand. The twice-yearly publication retails for $14.95.

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