Constance R. James and Keith Whitney
Over the last two decades, Under Armour (UA) has emerged from being the “underdog” in the sports apparel and footwear industry to being a leader in the industry, with a fierce…
Abstract
Synopsis
Over the last two decades, Under Armour (UA) has emerged from being the “underdog” in the sports apparel and footwear industry to being a leader in the industry, with a fierce attention to performance and great skill at picking up-and-coming athletes who emerge as superstars. This case underscores its administrative heritage, competitive strategy, and growth potential as a global player in a highly competitive industry. It addresses the tension between being a performance brand while launching lines for women vs technology applications and conflicts between its growth strategy and macro-economic forces. It highlights areas in which it has succeeded against macro-economic forces and where it has not.
Research methodology
The research relies primarily on secondary sources and countless studies of UA and its major competitors. Primary research is based on databases, videos of UA’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Plank, and articles from Bloomberg to The Baltimore Sun (UA’s headquarters) on the history, growth and future of UA. It also includes observations and site visits to one of its signature brand house stores as well as intensive research and directed studies with students in the USA and China.
Relevant courses and levels
The case can be applied to undergraduate, graduate or executive business classes in: business policy and strategy; general management; (sports) marketing; leadership or organisational behaviour classes.
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Jonathan Willson, Jenny Craven and Richard Eskins
The purpose of this paper is to report on the web_access project, funded through the EC Lifelong Learning Programme. The paper aims to provide a context for the proposed study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the web_access project, funded through the EC Lifelong Learning Programme. The paper aims to provide a context for the proposed study programme and describe current work in the development of the curriculum and content.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis has been undertaken of the state of the art in education and training for accessible web design in the English language, starting with the national situation in the UK and then further‐a‐field by highlighting international resources. The main outcome of the two‐year multilateral, multi‐partner project is to develop a joint study programme in accessible web design.
Findings
While there is evidence of the inclusion of design for all in ICT teaching, as well as the provision of free and commercial tutorials and workshops, analysis has found provision to be fragmented and none to date has been identified as leading to a professional qualification or certificate in accessible web design that is recognised by industry or employers. The proposed curriculum for the study programme described in this paper aims to address this issue.
Originality/value
While there is evidence of the inclusion of design for all in ICT teaching, as well as the provision of free and commercial tutorials and workshops, analysis has found provision to be fragmented and none to date has been identified as leading to a professional qualification or certificate in accessible web design that is recognised by industry or employers.
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Mihir Ajgaonkar and Keith D’Souza
The subject areas are organizational management, organizational behaviour and human resource management.
Abstract
Subject area
The subject areas are organizational management, organizational behaviour and human resource management.
Study level/applicability
The study is applicable for courses in human resource management and organizational behaviour as part of masters-level programmes in business administration and management, executive development programmes on organization design and development for middle/senior management.
Case overview
In 2003, Elizabeth and Sunil Mehta had founded a voluntary organization, “Muktangan”, focussed on child-centric education through innovative pedagogy for the community of the urban poor. Elizabeth, an educationist, and Sunil, a highly successful business person, joined hands to contribute to the well-being of urban poor to make a difference to their lives. Elizabeth and Sunil presented a proposal to impart education for “the children of the community, by the teachers drawn from the community” to the residents of the slums in central Mumbai. With a humble beginning of running a small pre-school, Muktangan now manages seven schools with 3,400 children and 500 teachers, and a teachers’ training centre with a capacity to train 100 teachers a year. Muktangan won acclaim for its unique pedagogy and a very effective child-to-teacher ratio. Over the years, Elizabeth and Sunil led Muktangan with a strong passion and a “hands-on” approach. Of late, Elizabeth and Sunil faced questions from their donors about the sustainability of Muktangan with respect to leadership and management succession. Elizabeth and Sunil had a vision for Muktangan for self-directed growth with an empowered team. Muktangan embarked on the journey to create a leadership for self-directed growth. Sunil, Elizabeth and team Muktangan conceptualized and implemented a change management intervention with help from an external consultant to build the desired organization.
Expected learning outcomes
Outcomes are understanding issues involved in the leadership, organization design and management of change, particularly of those organizations engaged in social change and development in developing societies.
Supplementary materials
The Muktangan Story: Part A – An Organizational Study; The Muktangan Story Part B – Winds of Change; Teaching Note; References: Bradach J. (1996), Organizational Alignment: The 7-S Model, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02,163. Cooperrider D. and Whitney D. (2005), “A Positive Revolution in Change: Appreciative Inquiry”, In The Change Handbook. The Definitive Resource on Today’s Best Methods for Engaging.Whole Systems, by Peggy Holman, Tom Devane, and Steven Cady. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Cooperrider D., Whitney D., and Stavros J.M. (2008), Appreciative Inquiry Handbook for Leaders of Change (Second Edition), Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Greiner, L.E. (1998), “Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow”, Harvard Business Review, May-June, 3-11. www.muktanganedu.org/ accessed 12 April, 2018. Kessler, E. H., (2013) (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Management Theory, Sage Publications Kotter, J. P. (1996), Leading Change, Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Lewin K. (1951), Field Theory in social science, Harper & Row, New York. Waterman, R. H., Peters, T. J., and Phillips, J. R. (1980), Structure is not organization. Business Horizons, 23(3), 14-26.
Subject code:
CSS 6: Human Resource Management.
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Wesam Beitelmal, Keith R. Molenaar, Amy Javernick-Will and Eugenio Pellicer
The increased need for, and maintenance of, infrastructure creates challenges for all agencies that manage infrastructure assets. To assist with these challenges, agencies…
Abstract
Purpose
The increased need for, and maintenance of, infrastructure creates challenges for all agencies that manage infrastructure assets. To assist with these challenges, agencies implement asset management systems. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the importance of barriers faced by agencies establishing transportation asset management systems in the USA and Libya to contrast a case of a developed and developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review identified 28 potential barriers for implementing an asset management system. Practitioners who participate in decision-making processes in each country were asked to rate the importance of each barrier in an online survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Kendall Concordance W., and Mann-Whitney are used to analyze the collected data.
Findings
Through an analysis of 61 completed questionnaires, 14 barriers were identified as important by both the US and Libyan practitioners. A total of 11 additional barriers, primarily in the areas of political and regulatory obstacles, were determined to be important only for Libya. These 11 barriers provide reasonable insights into asset management systems’ barriers for developing countries.
Practical implications
The list of barriers identified from this research will assist decision makers to address and overcome these barriers when implementing asset management systems in their specific organizational and country conditions.
Originality/value
The research identified standard barriers to implementing asset management systems and identified barriers that were specific to the country context, such as political and regulatory barriers in Libya. When viewed with the asset management literature, the results show broad applicability of some asset management barriers and the need to contextualize to country context (e.g. developing countries) for other barriers.
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Older adults are increasingly being recognised as an important and growing consumer market, however they appear reticent in adopting new technologies. One contributing factor is…
Abstract
Older adults are increasingly being recognised as an important and growing consumer market, however they appear reticent in adopting new technologies. One contributing factor is that their needs are poorly understood by designers and products are thus poorly specified. Within the context of driving as a socially valuable skilled behaviour we applied a participatory design approach to engage with older people as valued partners in the design process.This article examines different strategies for involving older people as experts in their own domain, developing a better understanding of their needs and aspirations and empowering them within the design process. This research took account of new developments in car design and opportunities for intelligent driver assistance systems to support driver safety. The study found that older car drivers responded well to the opportunity to identify their needs and to evaluate prototypes and novel technologies. Their appraisal of these novel technologies particularly supported an improved understanding of the skilled behaviours of older drivers and of the mismatch between these and the technologies. When incorporated into the early stages of the design process, these evaluation activities offer important opportunities to enhance understanding of latent and implicit needs of older adults. In turn this can inform and refine design requirements.
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This experimental study investigates the connotative (measured) meaning of the concept “auditor independence” within three audit engagement case contexts, including two…
Abstract
This experimental study investigates the connotative (measured) meaning of the concept “auditor independence” within three audit engagement case contexts, including two acknowledged in the literature to represent significant potential threats to independence. The study’s research design utilises the measurement of meaning (semantic differential) framework originally proposed by Osgood et al. (1957). Findings indicate that research participants considered the concept of independence within a two factor cognitive structure comprising “emphasis” and “variability” dimensions. Participants’ connotations of independence varied along both these dimensions in response to the alternative experimental case scenarios. In addition, participants’ perceptions of the auditor’s independence in the three cases were systematically associated with the identified connotative meaning dimensions.
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Keith Adamson, Nancy Searl, Sonia Sengsavang, John Yardley, Mark George, Peter Rumney, Judy Hunter and Sakeena Myers-Halbig
Hospitals must systematically support employees in innovative ways to uphold a culture of care that strengthens the system. At a leading Canadian academic pediatric rehabilitation…
Abstract
Purpose
Hospitals must systematically support employees in innovative ways to uphold a culture of care that strengthens the system. At a leading Canadian academic pediatric rehabilitation hospital, over 90 percent of clinicians viewed Schwartz Rounds™ (SR) as a hospital priority, resulting in its formal implementation as a quality improvement initiative. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the hospital implemented SR to support the socio-emotional impact of providing care.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative descriptive study provides a snapshot of the impact of each SR through online surveys at four assessment points (SR1-SR4). A total of 571 responses were collected.
Findings
All four SR addressed needs of staff as 92.9-97.6 percent of attendees reported it had a positive impact, and 96.4-100 percent of attendees reported each SR was relevant. Attendees reported significantly greater communication with co-workers after each SR (p<0.001) and more personal conversations with supervisors after SR2 and SR4 (p<0.05) compared to non-attendees. Attending SR also increased their perspective-taking capacity across the four SR.
Practical implications
As evidenced in this quality improvement initiative, SR addresses staff’s need for time to process the socio-emotional impacts of care and to help reduce those at risk for compassion fatigue. SR supports and manages the emotional healthcare culture, which has important implications for quality patient care.
Originality/value
This research details an organization’s process to implement SR and highlights the importance of taking care of the care provider.
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Melissa Wong, Elliroma Gardiner, Whitney Lang and Leah Coulon
The purpose of this research is to examine whether personality and motivational driver differences exist across three generations of working Australians: Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine whether personality and motivational driver differences exist across three generations of working Australians: Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, and Gen Ys.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Occupational Personality Questionnaire and the Motivation Questionnaire, the study examined cross‐sectional differences in personality and motivational drivers across three generations.
Findings
The results are not supportive of the generational stereotypes that have been pervasive in the management literature and the media. Specifically, few meaningful differences were found between the three generations. Moreover, even when differences have been observed, these have related more to age than generation.
Research limitations/implications
One of the key limitations is the use of cross‐sectional data. To further explore this issue, it would be interesting to undertake a longitudinal study to assess personality preferences and motivational drivers of the different generations, when the participants are at the same age or the same point in their career.
Practical implications
The research emphasizes the importance of managing individuals by focusing on individual differences rather than relying on generational stereotypes, which may not be as prevalent as the existing literature suggests.
Originality/value
Managers and HR professionals may find the lack of differences across generations interesting and refreshing, in contrast with the popular management literature.