Until recently, BTEC courses have been seen as part of further andhigher education. Schools could not teach BTEC First and many of themlaboured under the illusion that they could…
Abstract
Until recently, BTEC courses have been seen as part of further and higher education. Schools could not teach BTEC First and many of them laboured under the illusion that they could not independently offer National courses. The experiences of one school, which recently successfully underwent the process of becoming a BTEC centre for the National Diploma in Business and Finance, are outlined. Reasons for success are discussed with a view to providing a guideline enabling more schools to set up similar centres in the near future.
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Louis P. White, Tsang-Jung Chang, Kuen-Yung Jone and G. Gary Hu
This paper investigates the influence of team characteristics and organization context factors on new product quality and compares these influences on Taiwanese (Collectivists…
Abstract
This paper investigates the influence of team characteristics and organization context factors on new product quality and compares these influences on Taiwanese (Collectivists) and American (Individualist) teams. For the Taiwanese teams, new product quality was positively affected by the capability of information integration and quality orientation of the firm, but was negatively influenced by speed-to-market pressure and level of product innovativeness. Functional and tenure diversity had no effect on new product quality. The capability of information integration in a team tended to reduce the negative effect of speed-to-market pressure on new product quality. For American teams, new product quality was positively affected by functional diversity, capability of information integration in the team, and quality orientation of the firm, but negatively influenced by supplier involvement. Customer involvement did increase the positive effect of the capability of information integration on new product quality.
This chapter provides a historical contextualisation of health tracking and public health communication from the post-World War Two development of the welfare state, through the…
Abstract
This chapter provides a historical contextualisation of health tracking and public health communication from the post-World War Two development of the welfare state, through the birth of neoliberalism, until today’s individualising practices of digital health tracking and quantification of bodies. Through an examination of these three phases of public health quantification of bodies, encompassing the socio-economic, cultural and political shifts since 1948, combined with the development and wide adoption of digital health and self-quantifying technologies, this chapter traces the changing landscape and the dramatic implications this has had for shifting who is responsible for maintaining ‘good’ health. This chapter illustrates how neoliberal free market principles have reigned over UK public health discourse for many decades, seeing health as no longer binary to illness, but as a practice of individual self-quantification and self-care. In turn, the chapter explores how the quantification and health tracking of bodies has become a dominant discourse in public health promotion, as well as individual citizenship and patient practices. This discourse still exists pervasively as we move into the digital society of the 2020s, through the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond; with public health strategies internationally promoting the use of digital health tools in our everyday, further positioning citizens as entrepreneurial subjects, adopting extensive technological measures in an attempt to measure and ‘optimise’ health, normalising the everyday quantification of bodies.
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Angus I. Kingon, Ted Baker and Roger Debo
This chapter addresses the behavioral problems and conflicts observed in multidisciplinary university commercialization teams. We examined 59 commercialization projects at one…
Abstract
This chapter addresses the behavioral problems and conflicts observed in multidisciplinary university commercialization teams. We examined 59 commercialization projects at one U.S. university, supplemented by a similar number of projects at other universities in the United States and Europe. We applied well-established ideas about distinctive “thought worlds,” including both cognitive and motivational factors to understand patterns of selective perception and issue prioritization. The resulting analysis allows us to draw tentative conclusions regarding improved management practices aimed at managing the conflicts and improving university commercialization initiatives. We discuss the generalizability of the results.
Explores critically the economic thought of Norbert Wiener with special reference to automatization, of which he was the father and philosopher. Considers the concept and theory…
Abstract
Explores critically the economic thought of Norbert Wiener with special reference to automatization, of which he was the father and philosopher. Considers the concept and theory in economic science and Wiener’s economics as an axiological science. Examines long‐time and short‐time (contest‐free) economic analysis as discussed by Wiener. Further considerations include the analysis of contest and Wiener’s militarology. Automatization is given special reference and Wiener’s analysis is presented and the humane resolution of the problem discussed. Wienierian ideas are further examined and related to the human condition in a final section: The mandate of heaven.
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Purpose – To discover and unravel the contribution of women to innovation and invention. This chapter builds upon a book published in 2003, called, Ingenious Women. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose – To discover and unravel the contribution of women to innovation and invention. This chapter builds upon a book published in 2003, called, Ingenious Women. The purpose of the book was to discover the invisible women inventors and patent holders operating between 1637, when the first patent was awarded to a woman, and the outbreak of war in 1914. For the purpose of this essay, the time frame has been extended to the present.
Methodology – Historical patents are used as the main research base, supported by searches of other relevant databases, directories and specialist archives (census records, registered designs, company records, museum collections) as well as specialist literature.
Findings – The research illustrates that women and men were often part of a wide network of discoverers and innovators and were able, by using the latest technologies and materials available, to resolve problems both large and small.
Research limitations/implications – This categorisation on patent databases or directories and searches were by female first names or by object type. his categorisation highlights the historical assumption that women are not inventors. Although this search method highlighted hundreds of women, there must be many still undiscovered.
Practical implications – Not all the ideas went into production and some have now become obsolete. Others continue to be produced and have formed the basis of successful companies. Many women became entrepreneurs and developed businesses based on their inventions and some, as widows, successfully ran their deceased husbands' companies.
Social implication – The women in this hidden history often had to navigate a path through social attitudes and legislative frameworks. They are all an example to women today that anyone, regardless of gender, can be innovative and entrepreneurial. What is crucial is that the ideas being developed are unique and have a purpose.
Jill Perry-Smith and Leslie H. Vincent
In this chapter, we focus on the people component of the technology commercialization process. We review how the need for a variety of skills and knowledge sets creates unique…
Abstract
In this chapter, we focus on the people component of the technology commercialization process. We review how the need for a variety of skills and knowledge sets creates unique challenges and opportunities for the team, particularly given the complexities associated with commercialization and the need for creativity throughout the process. We suggest that simply having a multidisciplinary team in place does not ensure success and highlight the potential benefits and liabilities. In particular, we highlight the relevancy of team composition in terms of professional orientation and social network ties. We then review how team composition influences internal team processes.
Mark E. Mendenhall, Frank C. Butler, Philip T. Roundy and Andrew F. Ehat
This paper aims to study the formation and preservation of behavioral integration (BI) in the top management team (TMT) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the formation and preservation of behavioral integration (BI) in the top management team (TMT) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1844 to the present.
Design/methodology/approach
An analytically structured history approach within a case exemplar framework is adopted. Theoretical insights are extrapolated from the case study to form a process model of BI formation and preservation in TMTs.
Findings
The findings reveal that three factors primarily influence BI creation (induction, education and cementation) and that BI is preserved via an iterative process that is driven by CEO conservatorship, intentional mentoring and social modeling.
Originality/value
This study investigates an unexplored area in upper echelons theory: the process by which BI is formed and preserved in TMTs and presents a process model of BI formation and preservation that shifts attention in the literature from analyses of the effect of BI on various organizational outcomes to how it can be formed in the first place and then preserved.
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Helen LaVan and Yvette P. Lopez
This paper examines recent research on prejudice in the workplace by comparing the domains of management, psychology and sociology. It seeks to make recommendations regarding…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines recent research on prejudice in the workplace by comparing the domains of management, psychology and sociology. It seeks to make recommendations regarding future research directions in light of significant social movements that impact on prejudice and discrimination.
Design/methodology/approach
The design is built on an interdisciplinary literature review, drawing from research in management, psychology and sociology. In total, 450 recent articles were examined. These factors related to the individual, group and organizational/societal level of analysis to determine what we know about prejudice and discrimination in the workplace and what we do not know.
Findings
This study’s findings show that each domain of management, psychology and sociology makes distinctive contributions, thus providing scholars with a holistic understanding of prejudice and discrimination in the workplace.
Research limitations/implications
The use of content analysis, using both automated and manual coding and chi-square analysis, allows for a deep understanding of the existing research in all three of the domains. This approach allows for reliability and replicability. Noted are the relative absence of intersectionality, immutability and salience.
Practical implications
Recommendations regarding future research directions in light of significant social movements that impact prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors at all three levels are provided.
Originality/value
The study utilized a novel approach in examining prejudice in the workplace taking a grounded theory perspective, allowing the existing literature to shape the focus and results of the study. Using NVivo allowed for drilling down into the content of the articles to identify minor and major points of discussion relating to prejudice.