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Turbulent times include economic crises, recessions, health pandemics, war situations, including the recent COVID-19 crisis which had significant economic and social ramifications. Turbulence impacts the economy, businesses, and societies as whole. Crises impact the education industry not only in terms of teaching and learning but also the next level of learning outcome as job opportunities and career growth of the stakeholders. University systems play a major role in handling turbulence and generating resilience methods to ensure the least possible impact on the sector. The entrepreneurial mindset of the universities encourages them towards risk-taking, becoming initial movers, and being innovators in their approaches (Etzkowitz et al., 1998). This chapter provides a broader understanding of different types of turbulence, as well as the intensity of impact on the higher education sector. It also discusses how these turbulent times come with opportunities which can be leveraged by institutions. With an extensive literature review and understanding, it proposes a conceptual multilayered model to support entrepreneurial development. This study employs desk research methods to understand, review, and propose methods and methodology to encourage and adapt universities handling turbulence and crises. Lack of research in handling crises and turbulence in the case of higher education makes this study imperative. The outcome extends the conceptual understanding of turbulent situations and will help the universities to self-introspect and understand the ways for reacting to these changes, crises, and turbulences. Discussion on National Education Policy enhances the understanding for educators and universities to utilize added opportunities.

This study investigates the reactions of public sector organisations to the accountability pressures of online dashboards and the impact of this reactivity on reporting systems. This study explores the concept of “reactivity,” which explains changes in organisational behaviours in reaction to being evaluated, observed or measured.

This study adopts a case study methodology to investigate organisations’ reactivity to an online dashboard within the Italian system of state museums. Data were gathered through a real-time dashboard initiated in 2019, complemented by interviews, participant observations and secondary sources collected over a period of three years.

The results indicate that online dashboards provoke a divergent but coexistent response: competitive reactivity when museums modify their behaviours to improve performance disclosed in the online dashboard, and polyphonic reactivity when museums question the algorithm’s validity and accuracy on the basis of the online dashboard. This finding reveals the emergence of layered accountability, with organisations balancing public expectations and hierarchical standards through manipulation and boycott, thereby giving rise to a decoupled system of measures.

This research contributes to the literature on public sector accountability by highlighting the dual nature of reactivity, both conforming to and resisting the imposed metrics. This study enhances our understanding of the interplay between digital accountability mechanisms and organisational responses, offering insights into the complexities of adapting to real-time, data-driven environments in the public sector.

After the COVID-19 epidemic, educational paradigms experienced radical changes, especially in the way that architecture was taught. This chapter explores how architecture education evolved because of the current economic crisis, and how COVID-19 has affected instructional approaches. The main goal is to expose emerging educational strategies and their consequences for encouraging flexibility and resilience in architectural instructors and students. The study used a mixed-methods research methodology to gather information from stakeholders, educators, and students of architecture by combining document analysis of academic theses and publications with semi-structured interviews. Data analysis techniques such as thematic coding and pattern recognition revealed distinct categories of influencing factors, such as technological advancements, pedagogical modifications, student engagement and support, curriculum changes, faculty development, resource allocation, assessment and evaluation, as well as global and cultural considerations. The results highlight the varied and dynamic character of the pandemic’s effect. The crisis sparked a faster adoption of digital technologies, bringing forth blended learning and novel pedagogical approaches. As a significant result, resilience helped instructors and students overcome uncertainty by enhancing flexibility and using transdisciplinary methods. It also demonstrates how architectural education has persevered in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic and has the potential to spur larger changes in education. The possibility of sample bias and the crisis’s dynamic character are limits, though. Future research might examine the long-term effects of these emerging methods beyond crisis situations to expand the study’s results and influence the ongoing development of architectural pedagogy in a continuously changing global environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted global education, with over 190 countries closing educational institutions, affecting 1.6 billion learners worldwide. This crisis led to a staggering 70% increase in Learning Poverty in low- and middle-income countries, with estimated lifetime earnings loss amounting to $17 trillion. In response, institutions swiftly implemented emergency remote learning (ERT), transitioning to online platforms and leveraging artificial intelligence and adaptive learning tools. This shift, embraced by all stakeholders, facilitated continuity in education amid unprecedented challenges. Moreover, social media platforms emerged as vital tools for promoting learning, fostering engagement, and facilitating global collaboration among students. However, sustainable education requires more than technological dissemination; it necessitates a holistic approach integrating technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, social media, and innovative pedagogies. This chapter explores the implications of these advancements in higher education, amid a deglobalized world, emphasizing the need for an integrated and futuristic approach to address contemporary challenges.

The higher education industry has undergone major transformation because of the COVID-19, including a move away from globalization. Deglobalization is the process of reducing global interconnectedness and increasing self-reliance, often through the imposition of trade barriers and the localization of economic activity (Eftimie, 2017). Many nations have had to resort to placing travel restrictions and virtually closed their borders during the pandemic time, making it even more challenging for overseas students to pursue higher education abroad. Additionally, the pandemic has increased opportunities towards online education, making it simpler for students to receive quality education from their home countries making it possible for students who may not have been able to otherwise attend in-person classes (Ashour et al., 2021). This trend has also been influenced by political and economic forces like nationalism, protectionism, and international economic difficulties. Higher education institutions are consequently putting more emphasis on partnerships and collaborations at the local and regional levels (James, 2017; Pan, 2021).

Increasingly, we believe, B schools are at a crossroads and will have to take a hard look at their value propositions. (Datar et al., 2011)

Increasingly, we believe, B schools are at a crossroads and will have to take a hard look at their value propositions. (Datar et al., 2011)

While this was said more than a decade ago, it could not be further from the truth even today. In early 2020, the pandemic, a black swan-like event, struck suddenly, forcing educational institutions to adapt in the blink of an eye. Business schools (B-Schools) too had to transition and adapt to a new learning normal. Platforms like Webex, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc. became the new classrooms across the globe. The pandemic forced the industry to change and enabled the adoption of technology much faster than what was estimated. The metaphor of the chrysalis is apt in the context of B-Schools as they emerged out of the pandemic. The new order required B-Schools to relook at teaching pedagogy, learning mechanisms, methodologies for evaluation, collaborations, and industry connect. While digital literacy gave way to digital citizenship, there was a need to nurture it responsibly. As students move forward in their journey of becoming digital citizens, it becomes necessary to evolve norms and practices that will be acceptable.

This study aims to assess the spread of environmental literacy graduation requirements at public universities in the USA, and to highlight factors that mediate the adoption of this curriculum innovation.

The author analyzed the undergraduate general education curriculum requirements at all 549 public BA-granting higher education institutions in the USA between 2020 and 2022.

The study found that only 27 US public universities out of 540 have an environmental literacy graduation requirement, which represents 5% of universities and is substantially lower than previous estimates.

First, this study provides a more complete, more reliable and more current assessment of the graduation requirement’s presence at US tertiary institutions, and shows the number of universities that have implemented this innovation is lower than was estimated a decade ago. Second, it draws from the scholarship on the infusion of sustainability into the university curriculum to provide a comprehensive discussion of factors that mediate the pursuit and implementation of the graduation requirement. As well, it identifies factors that played a key role in one pertinent case.

The 7th decade manager (7DM) is an overlooked and under-researched group in organisation studies. This paper explores the changes which 7DMs experience in later life through the lenses of age, work and identity.

An interpretivist methodology was adopted and data were obtained via semi-structured interviews with 32 managers across 10 different sectors in England and Scotland. These data were analysed thematically.

Change manifested itself in various contradictory ways across three domains of age, work and identity. Age was experienced dichotomously, with these 7DMs identifying as subjectively younger yet openly (if reluctantly) accepting signs of ageing. They appeared more tolerant and kinder but could be impatient and outspoken. Work remained important, providing structure, a sense of purpose and camaraderie; however, career progression was not. Altruistically, the 7DMs exercised generativity by providing their colleagues with counsel in both work and personal matters. Their sense of self and identity work featured prominently, particularly in the liminality associated with the impending cessation of work. Preparation for the psychosocial transition to retirement was lacking.

This project would have benefitted from a larger and broader cohort demographic. Whether there are any significant gender or ethnic differences in attitudes, values or approaches to work cannot be ascertained from the data obtained. Future studies should therefore include a greater diversity of participants. There may also be merit in investigating if any differences exist for the ex-military 7DM manager compared to others.

Organisations can benefit from greater recognition of the value experienced managers in their later working lives can bring. Both the broader community of managers and their employers would benefit from leveraging the experience, knowledge and attributes of older managers in their passage through their 7th decade and better prepare younger people to succeed them.

Different agencies such as government, employers, professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Trade Unions or consultancies may wish to explore the benefits and practicalities of preparing the individual for the transition to retirement. Importantly, this should address the psychosocial connotations associated with ceasing work. Whilst this applies to all 7th decade workers, we suggest that there are some challenges that are peculiar to being an older manager.

Whilst much is known about older workers, research relating to older managers, especially those in their seventh decade, is largely absent. This paper illustrates the changes and challenges they experience in both their professional and personal lives, some of which seem to be unique to this age group and many of which would benefit from being addressed in organisational policy and practice as well as further research.

The case is a secondary sourced case. Information for the case was found from news articles and interviews.

David’s Bridal was a privately held corporation generating $1.3bn in annual revenue and employing over 12,000 employees. David’s Bridal filed bankruptcy not once but twice. This case examines the bridal industry and the environmental factors that led to the two bankruptcies. Bridal dresses are at the top of wedding categories. Environmental factors causing bankruptcy included online competition, reputation as seen through the eyes of the consumer, COVID, and supply chain challenges. David’s Bridal first looked to Jim Marcum to turn the corporation around and when this failed, they created a new management team after the second bankruptcy to save the company.

The case is designed as an interdisciplinary case for undergraduate leadership, advanced accounting or undergraduate strategy courses. The case was tested in MGMT 330: Leading People in Organizations. This case is appropriate for junior- and senior-level students.This case will be used in ACCT 402: Advanced Accounting – a senior-level course. The case gives perspective on going concern opinions and the strategic implications of bankruptcy.Possible textbooks▪ Christensen, T., Cottrell, D. and Budd, C. (2023). Advanced Financial Accounting (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill.▪ Hoyle, J., Schaefer, T. and Doupnik, T. (2024). Advanced Accounting (15th ed.). McGraw-Hill▪ Rothaermel, F. T. (2024). Strategic Management (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill

The purpose of this study is to construct a robust index and subindices to measure the quality of corporate governance for 266 firms listed in South Africa from 2004 to 2021.

Public information on the compliance of King Code of Good Corporate Governance is used to construct a main index predicated on provisions relating to board characteristics, accounting and auditing and risk management. These categories are transformed into three subindices. All constructs are scored with binary coding and equally weighted.

Cronbach’s alpha test reveals that the index and subindices are highly reliable measures of corporate governance. The principal component analysis supports the construct validity of all measures.

The index is limited to only three corporate governance subcategories and only focuses on South Africa.

These corporate governance indices provide governing authorities, policymakers, investors and other market participants direct information on the quality of corporate governance in South African firms.

As South Africa lacks a formal corporate governance indicator, the development of an appropriate corporate governance index and subindices contributes towards understanding the quality of corporate governance in South African firms. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to conduct robustness tests on corporate governance indices designed for South African companies.