Lynette Louw, Johan K. Bosch and Danie J.L. Venter
Presents the findings in respect of two research objectives, which form part of a larger research project on the status and nature of Master of Business Administration (MBA…
Abstract
Presents the findings in respect of two research objectives, which form part of a larger research project on the status and nature of Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes in South Africa. In a summary form, the relevant research objectives are: to compare and contrast the opinions of MBA graduates and employers (representing business practice) on the relative importance of core courses for running a business, and management skills and traits required in the business environment; to achieve the above, two independent empirical surveys were conducted, canvassing the perceptions and opinions of 633 MBA graduates and 245 employers. The main findings emphasised the relative importance attached to core courses and management skills and traits by both MBA graduate and employer respondents, but also the substantial disparities between these two groups. Concludes with the implications of these findings.
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Lynette Louw, Johan K. Bosch and Danie J.L. Venter
The primary purpose of this article is to report on the opinions and perceptions of graduates of the quality and standing of South African Masters of Business Administration (MBA…
Abstract
The primary purpose of this article is to report on the opinions and perceptions of graduates of the quality and standing of South African Masters of Business Administration (MBA) programmes. This article seeks to assess specific outcomes of the MBA programmes offered by South African business schools; to gauge the quality of the MBA programmes of South African business schools, based on graduates’ perceptions; to extract factors relating to the MBA programme outcomes; and MBA programme quality; and to elicit the opinions of graduates on the future development of the MBA programme in South Africa. The main findings pertain to the MBA graduates’ perceptions of the outcome and quality of the MBA programme as well as the most prominent findings in respect of the open question on the future development of South African MBA programmes, from the perspective of graduates.
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Prihana Vasishta and Anju Singla
An individual's capacity to manage finances has become critical in today's environment. The availability of various sophisticated financial instruments, combined with the…
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An individual's capacity to manage finances has become critical in today's environment. The availability of various sophisticated financial instruments, combined with the economy's complexity and rising uncertainty, has prompted a significant push to analyse from where the youth learn about managing their money. This study intends to investigate the differences in the selected social predictors (Parents, Friends, School, Books, Job Experiences, Life experiences and Media) that influence the money management behaviour of emerging adults. The data was collected through a structured questionnaire from 230 undergraduates in the age group of 18–22 years. To test the normality of data, Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) test was applied and further Kruskal–Wallis test was found to be the appropriate method based on the identification of statistically significant deviations. The results show that parents have been considered as the most influential predictor (X = 3.565) of money management behaviour among emerging adults. followed by Life Experiences (X = 3.526). Whereas School and Job Experience were the least influential social predictors with mean value of 2.278 and 2.130 respectively. The study provides insights to the regulators, academicians and policymakers to initiate innovative strategies and processes for helping emerging adults for effective money management to increase their academic performance in a stress-free environment. Further, this paper contributes towards effective money management advice by recommending implementation of tools, apps and programs relating to Financial Literacy for better Financial Behaviour. Lastly, the paper provides implications that focus on enhancing the financial literacy of the parents as they act as role models for their children by teaching them skills to manage money.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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Jonas Boström, Helene Hillborg and Johan Lilja
The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge concerning the dynamics and potential cultural tensions that occur when applying user involvement and design thinking (DT) for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge concerning the dynamics and potential cultural tensions that occur when applying user involvement and design thinking (DT) for improving quality in a health-care setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a case study following a quality improvement (QI) project in a medium-sized Swedish county council in the field of somatic care. The project involved eight health-care professionals, one designer, four patients and two relatives. A multiple data collection method over a period of ten months was used. It included individual interviews, e-mail correspondence and observations of workshops that covered the QI project.
Findings
The result shows tensions between QI work and the daily clinical work of the participants. These tensions primarily concern the conflict between fast and slow processes, the problem of moving between different fields of knowledge, being a resource for the individual clinic and the system and the participants’ expectations and assumptions about roles and responsibilities in a QI project. Furthermore, these findings could be interpreted as signs of a development culture in the health-care context.
Practical implications
There are several practical implications. Among others, the insights can inspire how to approach and contextualize the current concepts, roles and methods of DT and user involvement so that they can be more easily understood and integrated into the existing culture and way of working in the health-care sector.
Originality/value
This study provides a unique insight into a case, trying to uncover what actually is going on and perhaps, why certain things are not happening at all, when user involvement and design practices are applied for improving health-care quality.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
Johan Magnusson, Jwan Khisro, Max Björses and Aleksander Ivarsson
The purpose of this study is to increase the current understanding of how public sector organizations dynamically balance exploration and exploitation of digital initiatives, i.e…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to increase the current understanding of how public sector organizations dynamically balance exploration and exploitation of digital initiatives, i.e. the enactment of digital ambidexterity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses Zimmermann, Raisch and Cardinal’s perspective of configurational practices for addressing the enactment of digital ambidexterity. The method comprises a qualitative, interpretative case study of a large municipality in Sweden, using both interviews and secondary data.
Findings
Through the perspective of configurational practices, the study identifies and describes a set of sub-practices that constitute the enactment of digital ambidexterity. This is then used for theorizing how configurational practices involve the balancing of closeness and distance.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited by being a single, non-longitudinal case of a Swedish municipality that has implications for generalizability and transferability. Moreover, it opens up for new perspectives to the future study of the enactment of ambidexterity in the public sector.
Practical implications
Organizations striving for digital ambidexterity are recommended to use the configurational approach to assess and design their governance to build ambidextrous capabilities through a combination of closeness and distance.
Social implications
This study is aimed at strengthening public sectors abilities for continued relevance for its stakeholders over time. With increased need for digital innovation within the public sector, the findings and recommendations derived from the study lead to increased innovation capability, which in turn is expected to lead to increased relevance of services.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that addresses how ambidexterity is enacted within the public sector following the configurational approach. As such, it opens up for new perspectives on organizational ambidexterity.
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The following list is a first attempt to catalogue and describe systematically the British Museum's extensive holdings of early opera librettos and related plays. The great…
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The following list is a first attempt to catalogue and describe systematically the British Museum's extensive holdings of early opera librettos and related plays. The great importance of these unpretentious booklets as supplementary and, more often than not, even primary sources for the history and bibliography of dramatic music, besides or instead of the scores, was already clearly recognized in the eighteenth century by Dr. Burney and other scholars. But it is only since 1914, the year in which O. G. T. Sonneck's Library of Congress Catalogue of opera librettos printed before 1800 appeared, that their documentary value could to any greater extent be put to general use in international musicological research. A similar bibliography of the British Museum librettos, while naturally duplicating many Washington entries, would produce a great number of additional tides, not a few of them otherwise unrecorded; it would provide the musical scholar with the key to a collection unequalled elsewhere in Europe, which owing to the peculiar nature of the material is not easily accessible by means of the General Catalogue.
Janke Dittmer, Joseph A. McCahery and Erik P. M. Vermeulen
There is arguably a balance between exploration and exploitation within a commercial organization which leads to sustainable growth and value creation. Exploratory activities are…
Abstract
There is arguably a balance between exploration and exploitation within a commercial organization which leads to sustainable growth and value creation. Exploratory activities are associated with search, innovation, risk-taking and experimentation. Activities, such as selection, implementation and execution are considered exploitative in nature. We show that the governance structures and mechanisms that are typically employed in venture capital-backed companies ensure an optimum balance between the exploratory behavior of entrepreneurs and the exploratory focus of venture capitalists. New players in the venture capital cycle, such as crowdfunding platforms and corporate venture capital units, often fail to understand the importance of the interaction and interrelation between the apparently opposing exploratory and exploitative activities. However, collaborative venture capital models that are currently emerging appear to restore the necessary equilibrium in the “new” venture capital cycle.