Research

This paper analyzes the structural causes of New Zealand’s housing affordability crisis, which has made homeownership increasingly inaccessible, particularly in Auckland (the world’s seventh least affordable city). While demand is partly driven by demographic shifts and cultural preferences for homeownership, the root causes lie in speculative investment, distorted fiscal incentives, and supply constraints. Historical tax advantages, low interest rates, and restrictive urban planning have inflated prices and diverted capital away from productive sectors. The paper argues that the crisis is not a simple shortage but a systemic market failure. It proposes an integrated policy framework to restore balance: taxing capital gains, securing bank deposits to limit moral hazard, reforming tenancy laws to make renting viable, relaxing density regulations, and streamlining building approvals. Together, these fiscal, regulatory, and urban policies could reduce volatility, reorient incentives toward social efficiency, and rebuild affordability for future generations.

This article examines how government incentives shaped France’s long-standing reliance on diesel, creating both economic advantages and unintended social costs. After WWII, diesel tax cuts supported recovery by lowering costs for farmers, haulers, and artisans. In the 1980s, facing Japanese competition and a surplus of unused diesel, the government doubled down, aligning fiscal policy with manufacturers specialized in diesel engines. The result: by 2018, 61% of French cars ran on diesel — one of the highest rates in Europe. Yet diesel’s hidden costs soon surfaced: increased fine particulate emissions, soaring public health risks, and an estimated 10,000 premature deaths per year. When the state sought to reverse incentives by equalizing diesel and petrol taxation, it triggered widespread protests and the Yellow Vest movement. This paper analyzes the role of incentives in this crisis, evaluates alternative strategies, and explores policy options for a sustainable, health-conscious transport future.

This paper analyzes Sir Ernest Shackleton’s leadership during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition through a human resource management lens, using the Investors in People framework. Despite the expedition’s failure to achieve its original goals, Shackleton’s people management turned a potential tragedy into a historic example of leadership under extreme adversity. The analysis reveals a high degree of maturity in inspiring and motivating people, fostering trust, and maintaining morale through transparency and empathy. However, the assessment also highlights critical gaps in delegation, leadership development, and participative decision-making. Shackleton’s approach is ultimately characterized by emotional intelligence, adaptability, and resilience, yet constrained by overcontrol and insufficient foresight. The paper concludes with actionable recommendations to strengthen empowerment, feedback culture, and transparency — insights that remain highly relevant for contemporary leaders navigating crisis, uncertainty, and complexity in organizational environments.

This paper analyzes Microsoft’s large-scale organizational transformation initiated by CEO Satya Nadella in 2014, following years of internal competition, stagnation, and declining innovation. Using Lewin’s Force Field Analysis and Bolman and Deal’s Four Frames, it assesses how Nadella reshaped Microsoft’s culture, structure, and leadership style to foster collaboration, agility, and innovation. The study finds that Nadella’s approach—centred on empathy, empowerment, and cross-functional cooperation—effectively removed restraining forces, unified fragmented divisions, and revitalized employee engagement. Structural decentralization, shared performance metrics, and cultural initiatives like the global Hackathon reinforced Microsoft’s mission to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” The paper concludes that Nadella’s success derived from addressing both human and systemic dimensions of change, aligning leadership behaviour, organizational design, and symbolic culture toward a sustainable learning organization.