Michael Edward O’Donnell
Biographic Data
| ID | 9537228 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Edward O’Donnell |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael Edward |
| FAMILY NAME | O’Donnell |
| SIGNATURE | O’DONNELL M E |
| AFFILIATIONS | UNSW Sydney |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8928-8068 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 42 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Well-Being in the Public Service
This study extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory in the public sector through a multi-level, qualitative examination of psychological well-being. Focusing on the Australian Public Service, we demonstrate that job demands and resources impacting employee well-being vary and interact at individual, team and organizational levels. Qualitative examinations of the JD-R theory are scarce, offering limited insight into these interactions. We p…
The unintended consequences of the blended workforce in the Australian Public Service
The adoption of a blended workforce model, comprising both ongoing and non‐ongoing employees, has become increasingly common in public sector organisations. Despite known challenges, including high turnover and knowledge gaps, its impact on middle managers’ well‐being remains understudied. The study addresses this by exploring how the blended workforce model affects middle manager well‐being within the Australian Public Service (APS). Using quali…
Different Approaches to Managerial Support for Flexible Working
Improving well-being is an important human resource management issue within public sector organizations as it is linked with improved employee and organizational outcomes. A key antecedent to employee well-being is work–life balance, which can be supported or impeded by flexible working. The extent to which flexible working supports work–life balance and, ultimately, well-being depends on how flexible working is implemented, where managers play a…
John Michael O’Brien (21 December 1945–10 January 2023)
Embedding Australian Public Service management reforms
Public sector leaders in the Australian Public Service (APS) can learn from the demise of programme evaluation introduced as part of managing for results reforms, as they implement the evaluation of agency performance outcomes under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (2013) (PGPA). This paper demonstrates that public sector management reforms require more than top‐down initiation by agency heads and that implementation need…
Work as a government 'scientist
An increasingly complex and competitive funding environment has led many public research organisations to intervene in the organisation of scientists' work. Government scientists represent a major component of the public research workforce but little is known of how workers in this sector have fared amid institutional and organisational change. Government scientists have applied research objectives but must still meet the profession's requirement…
Why Performance Management Should Not Be Like Dieting
Globally, organisations have long been preoccupied with using employee performance management to enhance organisational performance. However, due to the compliance‐based way in which it is often implemented, success has been limited. This paper proposes lessons can be learnt from adopting the analogy of ‘dieting’. Short‐term weight‐loss practices can lead to a cyclical pattern that generates weight gain, rather than loss, in longer term. This occ…
Unintended Consequences
The Workplace Remuneration Arrangement agreed between the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) provides for a 4.5% pay over 3 years for ADF personnel. This article makes use of the concept of the psychological contract to argue that this pay deal represents a breach of the Australian Government's obligations towards ADF personnel that is likely to have unintended consequences for their long‐term commitment to their ADF car…
Effective Practitioner–Scholar Relationships
This article presents a continuum of possible coproduction arrangements between scholars and practitioners and suggests that greater engagement is necessary to bridge the commonly cited problems that create the gap between research and practice. Reflections on an Australian case of a major public sector coproduction partnership, the highest degree of interaction on the continuum, are used to argue that successful engagement between practitioners …
The Chaebol and Labour in Korea
Continuity and Change
This paper analyses recent developments in wage bargaining in the New South Wales public sector under the Labor government. It contrasts the approach taken by the former Coalition government with that of its successor. The discussion is focused on the Memorandum of Understanding between the Labor government and the public sector unions. With the agreement of the unions, the government has reasserted both substantive and procedural control over pu…
Creating a Performance Culture? Performance‐based Pay in the Australian Public Service
This article provides a critique of the operation of performance‐based pay in the Australian public service from 1992 to 1996 and questions proposals for further experimentation with such managerial initiatives. Performance agreements underpinning performance‐based pay were unable to measure adequately the performance of senior officers undertaking policy work. Appraisal reviews of these agreements also failed to increase performance feedback bet…
A dynamic model of exchange
The terms synoptic and dynamic have been a focus of interest in the systemicfunctional framework in recent years. This paper compares these two approaches to representation, exemplified in terms of an exchange (conversation) model. The distinction is between models which view the exchange as a completed whole (synoptic perspective) , and those which view the exchange from each point within the exchange (dynamic perspective). The synoptic model is…
Another Stab at a Touchy Subject
Additional informationNotes on contributorsJames J. BradacMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Mr. O'Donnell is Assistant Professor of Public Communication at Boston University; and Mr. Tardy is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication at the University of Southern Mississippi.Michael O'DonnellMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barb…
Effective Practitioner–Scholar Relationships
This article presents a continuum of possible coproduction arrangements between scholars and practitioners and suggests that greater engagement is necessary to bridge the commonly cited problems that create the gap between research and practice. Reflections on an Australian case of a major public sector coproduction partnership, the highest degree of interaction on the continuum, are used to argue that successful engagement between practitioners …
A dynamic model of exchange
The terms synoptic and dynamic have been a focus of interest in the systemicfunctional framework in recent years. This paper compares these two approaches to representation, exemplified in terms of an exchange (conversation) model. The distinction is between models which view the exchange as a completed whole (synoptic perspective) , and those which view the exchange from each point within the exchange (dynamic perspective). The synoptic model is…
Creating a Performance Culture? Performance‐based Pay in the Australian Public Service
This article provides a critique of the operation of performance‐based pay in the Australian public service from 1992 to 1996 and questions proposals for further experimentation with such managerial initiatives. Performance agreements underpinning performance‐based pay were unable to measure adequately the performance of senior officers undertaking policy work. Appraisal reviews of these agreements also failed to increase performance feedback bet…
Another Stab at a Touchy Subject
Additional informationNotes on contributorsJames J. BradacMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Mr. O'Donnell is Assistant Professor of Public Communication at Boston University; and Mr. Tardy is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication at the University of Southern Mississippi.Michael O'DonnellMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barb…
Work as a government 'scientist
An increasingly complex and competitive funding environment has led many public research organisations to intervene in the organisation of scientists' work. Government scientists represent a major component of the public research workforce but little is known of how workers in this sector have fared amid institutional and organisational change. Government scientists have applied research objectives but must still meet the profession's requirement…
Another Stab at a Touchy Subject
Additional informationNotes on contributorsJames J. BradacMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Mr. O'Donnell is Assistant Professor of Public Communication at Boston University; and Mr. Tardy is Assistant Professor of Speech Communication at the University of Southern Mississippi.Michael O'DonnellMr. Bradac is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of California, Santa Barb…
A dynamic model of exchange
The terms synoptic and dynamic have been a focus of interest in the systemicfunctional framework in recent years. This paper compares these two approaches to representation, exemplified in terms of an exchange (conversation) model. The distinction is between models which view the exchange as a completed whole (synoptic perspective) , and those which view the exchange from each point within the exchange (dynamic perspective). The synoptic model is…
Creating a Performance Culture? Performance‐based Pay in the Australian Public Service
This article provides a critique of the operation of performance‐based pay in the Australian public service from 1992 to 1996 and questions proposals for further experimentation with such managerial initiatives. Performance agreements underpinning performance‐based pay were unable to measure adequately the performance of senior officers undertaking policy work. Appraisal reviews of these agreements also failed to increase performance feedback bet…
Continuity and Change
This paper analyses recent developments in wage bargaining in the New South Wales public sector under the Labor government. It contrasts the approach taken by the former Coalition government with that of its successor. The discussion is focused on the Memorandum of Understanding between the Labor government and the public sector unions. With the agreement of the unions, the government has reasserted both substantive and procedural control over pu…
The Chaebol and Labour in Korea
Unintended Consequences
The Workplace Remuneration Arrangement agreed between the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) provides for a 4.5% pay over 3 years for ADF personnel. This article makes use of the concept of the psychological contract to argue that this pay deal represents a breach of the Australian Government's obligations towards ADF personnel that is likely to have unintended consequences for their long‐term commitment to their ADF car…
Effective Practitioner–Scholar Relationships
This article presents a continuum of possible coproduction arrangements between scholars and practitioners and suggests that greater engagement is necessary to bridge the commonly cited problems that create the gap between research and practice. Reflections on an Australian case of a major public sector coproduction partnership, the highest degree of interaction on the continuum, are used to argue that successful engagement between practitioners …
Why Performance Management Should Not Be Like Dieting
Globally, organisations have long been preoccupied with using employee performance management to enhance organisational performance. However, due to the compliance‐based way in which it is often implemented, success has been limited. This paper proposes lessons can be learnt from adopting the analogy of ‘dieting’. Short‐term weight‐loss practices can lead to a cyclical pattern that generates weight gain, rather than loss, in longer term. This occ…
Work as a government 'scientist
An increasingly complex and competitive funding environment has led many public research organisations to intervene in the organisation of scientists' work. Government scientists represent a major component of the public research workforce but little is known of how workers in this sector have fared amid institutional and organisational change. Government scientists have applied research objectives but must still meet the profession's requirement…
Embedding Australian Public Service management reforms
Public sector leaders in the Australian Public Service (APS) can learn from the demise of programme evaluation introduced as part of managing for results reforms, as they implement the evaluation of agency performance outcomes under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (2013) (PGPA). This paper demonstrates that public sector management reforms require more than top‐down initiation by agency heads and that implementation need…
John Michael O’Brien (21 December 1945–10 January 2023)
Different Approaches to Managerial Support for Flexible Working
Improving well-being is an important human resource management issue within public sector organizations as it is linked with improved employee and organizational outcomes. A key antecedent to employee well-being is work–life balance, which can be supported or impeded by flexible working. The extent to which flexible working supports work–life balance and, ultimately, well-being depends on how flexible working is implemented, where managers play a…
Well-Being in the Public Service
This study extends the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory in the public sector through a multi-level, qualitative examination of psychological well-being. Focusing on the Australian Public Service, we demonstrate that job demands and resources impacting employee well-being vary and interact at individual, team and organizational levels. Qualitative examinations of the JD-R theory are scarce, offering limited insight into these interactions. We p…
The unintended consequences of the blended workforce in the Australian Public Service
The adoption of a blended workforce model, comprising both ongoing and non‐ongoing employees, has become increasingly common in public sector organisations. Despite known challenges, including high turnover and knowledge gaps, its impact on middle managers’ well‐being remains understudied. The study addresses this by exploring how the blended workforce model affects middle manager well‐being within the Australian Public Service (APS). Using quali…
Economics (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Business (8 works) · Public relations (7 works) · Marketing (5 works) · Public sector (5 works) · Public service (5 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (4 works) · Management (4 works) · Psychology (4 works)