Search results

This paper examines ongoing research (Blass & Carr, 2006) exploring the development of future leaders using new and innovative approaches. Research asking experienced leaders about what they wish they had known 10 years ago is used to provide an insight into the critical incidents that shaped these leaders' careers. These critical incidents were used as the basis for an innovative leadership development programme for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) which is further examined in this paper.

To share the experiences of e‐learning pioneers with regard to the cultural change necessary for e‐learning to be successfully adopted in an organisation.

Based on 29 research case studies.

A cultural change needs to take place in organisations for e‐learners to engage in the process. Blending e‐learning with other forms of learning can be a useful introduction to the discipline, but enthusiasm soon wears off. Common resistances to the concept are explored including lack of time and the loneliness of e‐learning, and how the “any where, any time” element of the provision can be as much of a hindrance as of a help.

Suggestions given for ways of overcoming the difficulties encountered by the case study organisations.

Reflections of early adopters of e‐learning highlights areas of success and difficulty to help other organisations to avoid the same pitfalls.

As the boundaries between training and education have converged, the demand for the services of universities and the response of the traditional public have drifted apart, leaving a gap which has been filled by the development of the corporate university. Now the UK Government is proposing relaxing the regulations on university status which will allow corporate universities to gain degree‐awarding powers.

This paper charts the rise of the corporate university through turbulent times, looking at the external factors that have contributed to its development, and the internal benefits that have fuelled its success, drawing on a number of case studies. It also raises questions as to where it is going next.

The discussion focuses on the extrapolation of the current situation into the future, highlighting that corporate universities could pose an even greater threat to traditional public universities in the future as they may be better placed to provide a meaningful undergraduate experience to school‐leavers than is currently provided in the education sector.

The paper suggests a future for undergraduate education that has not yet been widely contemplated or even considered by parties in the education sector, and therefore it opens the arena for debate by raising awareness of the issues that are driving such a future outcome forward.

The purpose of this paper is to consider whether the future for e‐learning is as bright as it has previously been heralded, or whether it is likely to fade into the background over time.

The paper is based on 29 research case studies.

The importance of time and commitment are drawn out, suggesting that a slower pace of development may not necessarily be a bad thing. Organisations need to focus on what really matters – creating an environment that truly values learning, which for many may involved a substantial culture change. The importance of communication, promotion and marketing are presented, with the commitment from the top giving e‐learning the necessary status it needs in order for it to be taken seriously throughout the company. Selection of technology is also important as this can be a limiting factor to further e‐learning development.

Broader considerations for discussion as to whether an organisation is truly committed to an e‐learning future or not.

This article concludes the series by focussing on what the research tells us for the future development of e‐learning.

Building on part 1 of this series, this paper aims to look at alternative ways in which business schools can develop the future managers and leaders needed by organisations. It draws attention to an emerging gap in the marketplace and suggests one possible model for addressing it.

A year‐long future study was undertaken at Cranfield School of Management combining a range of traditional research methods and samples including literature review, surveys of alumni, academics and futurists, interviews with recruiters and human resource (HR) managers, a Delphi study with international participants, and interviews and a focus group with business leaders. The results were then analysed and combined to form the pictures developed in this article and its counterpart.

Following on from Part 1, this paper proposes a new “élite” qualification for senior managers and leaders to replace the Master of Business Administration (MBA) in the marketplace. This would allow the MBA to become the graduate conversion course in business necessary as an entry point into management. The Master's in Business Leadership (MBL) focuses on the individual rather than curriculum, and is a personal development journey rather than a functional knowledge‐based experience, as there is an assumption that this knowledge base is already there prior to the course being undertaken. This paper concludes with a comparative analysis of the MBA, the MBL and the International Master's in Practising Management which Mintzberg has proferred as his alternative to the MBA.

This paper provides a comparison of MBA offerings and potential substitutes. It also suggests a new curriculum for senior management education to prepare people for leadership in the future, while repositioning the MBA as a mass graduate conversion programme. By putting forward one possible way forward in the management education market, this paper hopes to open discussion for further development of the international management education sector.

The purpose of this paper is to share the reflections of a group of five academics who started supervising practice‐based doctoral students at a similar time in the same institution.

The supervisors engaged in a collaborative research process themselves, exploring their supervision practices, due in part to the relatively limited literature available in the field, and in part as a support mechanism to help them understand what they were doing.

As the first students have now completed, the learning from taking students through the cycle from start to finish for the first time is also now complete in itself. While the supervisors continue to learn both from and within the supervision process itself, that initial experience of supervising doctoral students is now complete and in many ways the doctoral development process of the students themselves.

This paper offers insight into the doctoral development process from the supervisor's perspective, and offers reflections on the supervision process itself, as well as insight into the difficulties that can be encountered when researching your own practice.

The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of marketing an e‐learning provision in‐house in order that it should succeed.

The study was based on 29 research case studies.

E‐learning itself has a somewhat negative image with a lot of people, and hence some companies have rebranded and renamed their e‐learning provision to “disguise” it as something else for uptake to increase. Money invested in the technology and design will not correlate with success unless implementation includes substantial effort in marketing. Even then it is unlikely to be successful without top level support on an ongoing basis.

It is important to promote the value of e‐learning at the early stages and on a regular basis thereafter.

Reflections of early adopters of e‐learning highlight areas of success and difficulty in order to help other organizations to avoid the same pitfalls.

To draw attention to what experience has shown are the “must consider” areas to be taken into account when considering an e‐learning intervention.

Based on 29 research case studies.

This article draws on the experiences of a number of companies which experienced difficulties in taking the e‐learning route. E‐learning should not necessarily be used to replace classroom training as it is not suitable for everything. You need to make sure that the learning or training needs drive the technology rather than the other way round, and the technology itself can pose a multitude of problems. The time involved is also commonly underestimated, as is the diverse range of people who should be involved in the start‐up team.

Attention is drawn to key areas for consideration when venturing into an e‐learning development.

Reflections of early adopters of e‐learning highlight areas of success and difficulty, to help other organisations avoid the same pitfalls.

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) is becoming increasingly publicly criticised by the likes of Mintzberg and other management writers. Much of their criticism is based on personal experience and opinion rather than any systematic research, and ready‐made solutions are proposed as alternatives. This paper (and its counterpart) are the result of a year of research into the future of the MBA. Its purpose is to question whether its current market decline is terminal or if indeed it can be resurrected.

A year‐long future study was undertaken at Cranfield School of Management combining a range of traditional research methods and samples including literature review, surveys of alumni, academics and futurists, interviews with recruiters and human resources (HR) managers, a Delphi study with international participants, and interviews and a focus group with business leaders. The results were then analysed and combined to form the pictures developed in this article and its counterpart.

The MBA is positioned here as a qualification that is plagued by market confusion as to what it actually represents and what its value is. A pre‐emptive post‐mortem is carried out into the future of the MBA and the future senior manager/leader, which highlights the gap between research and practice, league tables, e‐learning and attempts at internationalisation as some of the causes of the current malaise. The paper also looks at how some business schools are starting to address these issues in order to maintain the MBA as a valued qualification in the management marketplace.

This paper provides a comparison of MBA offerings and potential substitutes. It opens the arena of senior management education for debate by charting the future decline of the MBA, challenging business schools to make changes or witness the death of their cash‐cow.

This paper seeks to outline four scenarios developed for the future of the South West Midlands region of England. Like many depressed regions in the UK, the foundation industries that initially developed the region have gone. Manufacturing is continuing to decline and the low‐skilled economic underpinnings of the region have all but disappeared. The population, however, has not changed with the times, but remains low‐skilled and largely unemployable to many of the industries the region is trying to attract to regenerate itself. Despite this economically depressed picture, the region is renowned for its sense of community and regional identity, and hence crime is uncharacteristically low given the economic and demographic circumstances of the region.

A range of methodologies were employed to inform scenario building for the future of the region, including a literature review, interviews with employers and community leaders, a word association exercise and questionnaire with children approaching school leaving age, and data analysis of demographic and economic trends.

Four scenarios were developed as possible futures for the region to help inform policy making, in particular educational policy to encourage more young people to remain in education for longer and gain higher qualifications.

The paper offers practical ideas for (re)engaging young people in education in a depressed region where the value of education has never really been appreciated.

This paper offers readers alternative perspectives on an area of education that might otherwise be ignored and finds positive ways forwards to further promote education in the region.