Ruth Simpson and Debbie Holley
Examines the impact of restructuring on the career progression of women transport and logistics managers. Research to date has indicated that restructuring can have detrimental…
Abstract
Examines the impact of restructuring on the career progression of women transport and logistics managers. Research to date has indicated that restructuring can have detrimental effects on women managers, as middle management levels are reduced through delayering and as the organisation takes on a more competitive and “masculine” culture. Results from this survey on women transport and logistics managers indicate that restructuring can have positive effects. While women experience longer working hours and increased workloads, they encounter fewer career barriers and a more positive attitude to women managers in the organisation. This may point to greater opportunities for training in a changing organisation and a higher probability of new posts and positions being created, as proverbial “dead‐wood” is shaken out. Perhaps more importantly, the climate of change may help to “unfreeze” and challenge entrenched attitudes and to create a new meritocracy, in which women can compete on a more equal footing with men.
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Debbie Holley and Richard Haynes
This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the…
Abstract
This paper explores issues raised during the development and implementation of a new multimedia learning experience, outlining the context to the research and focussing on the changing roles for teachers and learners in the light of evolving new technologies. A backdrop of successive government policies to widening participation is provided to show the current rationale for higher education institutions encouraging staff to move towards on‐line learning. At institution level, this paper discusses the potential issues in the classroom that arise by asking both staff and students to change from more traditional ways of learning. Then the second part of the paper details the teaching problem behind the “INCOTERMS challenge” and covers the development of the multimedia tool. The final section of the paper reviews the evaluation of the tool by the students and discusses the findings in relation to the issues raised in the literature review.
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New technologies have been seen as the way forward in education, and latched onto as a way of communicating with students at a distance. This has been matched by management…
Abstract
New technologies have been seen as the way forward in education, and latched onto as a way of communicating with students at a distance. This has been matched by management expectations of generating income from non‐traditional students, or those unable to attend class. Explores some of the practical and policy “reality gaps” when implementing on‐line learning. Focuses on an evaluation of student feedback when a traditional seminar was replaced by an on‐line learning experience in a university committed to widening participation. Concludes by suggesting ways in which those engaged with curriculum development and using communication and information technology can bridge these gaps.
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Debbie Holley, Sandra Sinfield and Tom Burns
In the United Kingdom Higher Education is propelled by Government policy and monitored by university recruitment, retention and teaching and learning strategies — and yet when…
Abstract
In the United Kingdom Higher Education is propelled by Government policy and monitored by university recruitment, retention and teaching and learning strategies — and yet when (international) students arrive at these publicly funded and accountable institutions the results can be “horrid, very very horrid”. Exploring the relationship between Government influence and corporate behaviour within the Higher Educational (HE) context of the United Kingdom (UK), this paper provides an overview of current Governmental policy towards resourcing higher education, and considers the impact of these policies for ‘Widening Participation’ students, including international students. The paper concludes with the experiences of one student, who narrates his “story” and as the story unfolds, we start to view the “system” of Government, University and Course through the eyes of an ‘outsider’. (Sinfield, Burns & Holley 2004). This personal narrative illustrates how systems — Governmental, Institutional and at Course level — can totally fail an individual.
Given the proliferation of United Kingdom (UK) media headlines around the recent financial meltdown and the subsequent allocation of blame to government, bankers, the Bank of…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the proliferation of United Kingdom (UK) media headlines around the recent financial meltdown and the subsequent allocation of blame to government, bankers, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority, it is clear that there is disquiet amongst the public as to how the crisis has been handled. Business schools, both in the UK and worldwide, have been accused of failing to address issues of governance in their curricula. Can the assumption be made that current curricula will have prepared students to evaluate this key concept critically? This paper seeks to address these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking a case study approach, this work sets out to explore the attitudes of a cohort of 43 final‐year undergraduate students studying in a UK business school. It focuses on an analysis of their written work on the sourcing of copper from Chile and its procurement by the UK Royal Mint for coinage.
Findings
The findings indicate that students valued the inclusion of corporate social responsibility in its widest context, and would welcome earlier inclusion within their curricula.
Originality/value
This is a timely point in their academic studies, as the students are preparing for study at Master's level or for the job market. The coursework required research into the production process of raw material at the copper mines in Chile, as well as the ethical decision‐making process of a UK governmental agency. Although this is a small‐scale study, it does offer some interesting insights into student perspectives. The paper concludes with recommendations for future curriculum development.
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Debbie Holley, Saranda Hajdari, Dianne Hummal and Tomasz Scibior
This course has made me observe the international business environment in a completely different light, and has made me think about whether a ‘win-win situation’ is ever possible…
Abstract
This course has made me observe the international business environment in a completely different light, and has made me think about whether a ‘win-win situation’ is ever possible in an international business context, where the organisations are involved in extremely complex supply chains. (Dianne from Estonia who studied in a UK business school)
Ruth Simpson, Debbie Holley and Adrian Woods
This paper examines the impact of restructuring within the transport and logistics sector on women managers working at senior and less senior (middle/junior management) levels of…
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of restructuring within the transport and logistics sector on women managers working at senior and less senior (middle/junior management) levels of the organization. The majority of women experienced increased performance pressures and heavier workloads as well as an increase in working hours. At the same time, there were pressures to work at home (i.e. weekends and evenings) and reduced opportunities to work from home (i.e. during normal office hours). Management level emerged as an important factor in how these changes were interpreted. Senior managers perceived more positive outcomes in terms of increased motivation and loyalty. Despite a longer working week, they were less likely to report low morale as an outcome from long hours. In fact, irrespective of management level, women working shorter hours were more likely to report low morale as an outcome. Results are discussed in relation to literature on restructuring and careers, in terms of perceptual framing and in relation to different levels of investment in the organization.
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Gary Pheiffer, Debbie Holley and David Andrew
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of learning styles in developing learning in a higher education context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of learning styles in developing learning in a higher education context.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a case study of a year one introductory module for first‐year university students in a post‐1992 university.
Findings
It is suggested that learning styles in association with concepts of engagement and identity may be usefully and successfully employed in supporting, guiding and developing student learning. The importance of contextual factors is a factor that will influence learning strategies.
Originality/value
The paper is critical of other uses of learning styles and makes suggestions to develop and broaden the role of learning styles.
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Sandra Sinfield, Debbie Holley and Tom Burns
In the UK, higher education (HE) is being positioned as the new global business, and the power relations between its various stakeholders – society, the business community…
Abstract
Purpose
In the UK, higher education (HE) is being positioned as the new global business, and the power relations between its various stakeholders – society, the business community, management, staff, students – makes this not only uncharted, but also contested ground. This paper aims to map the new terrain with a focus on, and analysis of, one key government policy document: The Harnessing Technology (2005).
Design/methodology/approach
Critical theory and textual analysis are used to research and analyse power relations as inscribed in policy discourse – the structures, the language, and the voices. The document is explored particularly in relation to its impact on prime stakeholders within the new contexts of today's HE; a HE that is embracing information communications technology (e‐learning) – “for business”.
Findings
Harnessing Technology boasts a heteroglossia and the capturing of many authentic voices in its composition which should open up a dialogic between its stakeholders; in fact power is revealed as refined, unified – deferring to centralised authority. Textual analysis reveals HE as a journey into silence for the student as stakeholder, where the voices that are not repressed are those with economic and institutional power. This analysis shows the student is constructed as either silent or deficit and the conclusions suggest that rather than a discourse of transformation, “regulation not education”, is the real goal of the dominant educational stakeholders.
Originality/value
The critical approach to policy analysis in the paper can be adapted by others seeking to critique policy in a variety of different policy contexts. This is particularly significant where policy is not interrogated, but where nevertheless it influences institutional mission statements and the seepage pollutes practice.