How and why does serendipity plays an important role in a relatively small percentage of entrepreneurial successes? The concentration of entrepreneurs in the transition economy of…
Abstract
Purpose
How and why does serendipity plays an important role in a relatively small percentage of entrepreneurial successes? The concentration of entrepreneurs in the transition economy of Mongolia stimulated the authors’ desire to research these questions and to attempt to discover instances where serendipity played a major role in an entrepreneur’s success. This study does not pertain to the deliberate search for serendipitous innovation (those that are not a result of pure luck) or where mistakes play a prominent role in accounts of serendipity, e.g. Viagra, Teflon, Post it Notes and a plethora of others. This paper aims to relate to accounts of pure luck as in being in the right place at the right time.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted one intensive face-to-face interview (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) and two brief clarifying sessions conducted over Skype (Melbourne, Australia). During the face-to-face interview, open-ended questions were asked, copious notes were taken and electronic recordings were made. Recordings and notes were transcribed and used to develop this paper. During the Skype interviews, the authors took the opportunity to cross-check and verify responses from the face-to-face interview. This technique allowed the authors to accurately recount stories, points-of-view and to quote the respondent directly. Using qualitative data from the interviews enabled the authors to circumvent exaggeration and to preserve the probity of content within this study.
Findings
Serendipitous lightning is a rare phenomenon that has been acknowledged in scholarly papers but not fully researched. There are many samples of people finding something new and valuable, but are they attributable to serendipitous lightning? Little has been said about the phenomenon that begs the questions: Is it something that is too difficult to analyse and explain? Can you look for it? Can you plan for it? With no scientific basis, is it unexplainable and best left alone?
Research limitations/implications
Although Mongolia has experienced an upsurge in entrepreneurial activity since the collapse of the Soviet Union and its economic support, Mongolia may not have been a suitable location for this study. It was a matter of convenience as the authors were there on another project at that time. The scope of the study was limited by the lack of suitable respondents in a city of only 1.3 million inhabitants, which is over half of the total population of Mongolia. Time and costs were major considerations that limited this study. Examples of serendipitous lightning were extremely difficult to identify with the authors finding one suitable interviewee from a total of 55 scoping interviews. This equates to a 0.02% strike rate for the sample; however, there is no suggestion that further examples would not be forthcoming from a larger sample size.
Originality/value
Serendipitous lightning is a rare phenomenon that has been acknowledged in scholarly articles but has not been fully researched. The authors’ intention was to stimulate discussion of serendipitous lightning and to entice more people to become engaged and interested in researching the phenomenon. In addition, the authors contend that it is serendipitous lightning that ignites the fuse and whether the “flash of brilliance” is recognised and acted on depends heavily on the entrepreneur’s alertness and propensity to act swiftly. As such it is felt that there is evidence supporting the extension of existing theory on serendipity.
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Mike Rowe, Elizabeth Turner and Geoff Pearson
The authors consider current policy debates in the UK about the professionalisation of the police to respond to changing patterns of crime and, specifically, the suggestion that…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors consider current policy debates in the UK about the professionalisation of the police to respond to changing patterns of crime and, specifically, the suggestion that officers be educated to degree level. Drawing on the ethnographic evidence, the purpose of this paper is to focus attention on how officers learn, and continue to develop the applied, that is the craft aspects of the work of uniformed constables.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors draw on a long-term ethnographic project observing officers during the course of their duties. The focus is on the use of discretion and of particular powers. But in the course of the research, the authors also observe the way officers behave and the way they talk about their job.
Findings
The authors suggest that, while there may be a role for degree qualifications, attention needs to be paid to the practices the authors observe, practices that have long been the core craft skills of uniformed officers.
Originality/value
The authors suggest that, despite the emergence of cybercrime and other new forms of crime/threat, the evidence suggests that much has not. Not least, crime is not the only focus of police work.
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BRIAN LONGBOTTOM, COLIN CLEGG, PETER CLARKE, MIKE TURNER, DEREK FLETCHER and ROBERT HUNTER
The Shipbuilding Industry Training Board and the Skills Testing Service of the City and Guilds of London Institute, in cooperation with a number of leading shipyards, have…
Abstract
The Shipbuilding Industry Training Board and the Skills Testing Service of the City and Guilds of London Institute, in cooperation with a number of leading shipyards, have developed phased test programmes for eight of the principal craft trades in the shipbuilding and shiprepairing industry. These tests are intended for trainee craftsmen who have completed their first year's training off‐the‐job in a training centre and are undergoing planned experience training in their yards to the standard recommended by the Shipbuilding Industry Training Board. The tests cover the trades of electrician, fitter, joiner, pipeworker, sheet‐metal worker, caulker/burner/driller/riveter, plater/shipwright and welder. A test programme covers all the main tasks or key skills normally performed by skilled men in the trade. Each job test is assessed according to success or failure in covering its essential features. Tests are taken by trainees in the course of production in the yard and are assessed by production staff. The preparation of each set of tests began with a study in a shipyard to find out what work a trainee would be expected to cover during his planned experience training. The test jobs drawn up as a result of this study were carefully scrutinised by production supervisors from other shipbuilding and shiprepair yards. A number of firms were invited to conduct a pilot project using the tests for a number of trainees in their second, third and fourth years of training. The tests were amended in the light of reports received on these projects and grouped to cover the key skills involved. An assessment was then made of either the number of jobs or the particular jobs, the satisfactory completion of which was considered to be essential to qualify for the Board's Certificate of Craftsmanship. This project, which was begun in November 1969 and completed in March 1972, and involved some eighteen firms in the industry, is described in the following account provided by some of the people involved.
Catherine Sweet, Tim Sweet, Beth Rogers, Valerie Heritage and Mike Turner
Based on a broad set of indicators of individual and company capabilities, this research sets out to establish a meaningful, straightforward benchmark of sales performance for a…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on a broad set of indicators of individual and company capabilities, this research sets out to establish a meaningful, straightforward benchmark of sales performance for a cross‐industry group of 19 companies, based on the perceptions of their salespeople.
Design/methodology/approach
The establishment of the benchmark involved the completion of questionnaires by 426 salespeople across 19 companies.
Findings
The research identified some areas for development common to most companies in the survey.
Research limitations/implications
Although comprehensive, this survey needs to be repeated over time to maintain the benchmark. Benchmarking can be helpful to many companies trying to improve their sales capability.
Originality/value
This is a practical case study of a benchmarking approach to developing the sales function in a number of organisations.
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UNITED STATES: Space scare may rally Ukraine support
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES285277
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Global government is on the rise, and with it a devolution of power to the grassroots. Subjugating nature is out of fashion and ecological living is the new imperative. The next…
Abstract
Global government is on the rise, and with it a devolution of power to the grassroots. Subjugating nature is out of fashion and ecological living is the new imperative. The next generation of leaders will emerge not from the political class but from ordinary communities, bringing with them new modes of learning and new definitions of intelligence.
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The benefits of the thin film multichip module (MCM‐D) approach to high density packaging for VLSI devices have now been amply demonstrated by a number of research groups. The…
Abstract
The benefits of the thin film multichip module (MCM‐D) approach to high density packaging for VLSI devices have now been amply demonstrated by a number of research groups. The successful emergence of a viable multichip module industry from this research base will, however, depend upon the installation of an industry‐wide manufacturing infrastructure. This will have to provide the necessary range of concurrent design capabilities, make pretested bare die available, and include multichip module vendors who can offer an integrated capability in module design, substrate layout and manufacture, advanced module assembly, packaging and test. Each of these areas of MCM‐D technology merits detailed attention in its own right, sufficient to justify many individual papers and presentations. This present paper focuses on just one of these topics and addresses the approach taken by GEC Plessey Semiconductors (GPS) to the development and control of a highly manufacturable MCM‐D silicon substrate process. The GPS ‘Process I’ four‐layer metal, aluminium‐polyimide substrate technology is described, the technology development and process control test structures are detailed and process characterisation data presented.
This paper seeks to present the Apprenticeships Task Force's (ATF's) evaluation of the business case for recruiting and training apprentices. The focus is on whether they provide…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to present the Apprenticeships Task Force's (ATF's) evaluation of the business case for recruiting and training apprentices. The focus is on whether they provide employers in the UK with a positive return on investment in key performance areas.
Design/methodology/approach
The ATF asked nine members, senior executives of large and smaller companies across various sectors in the economy, to provide evidence that their apprentices add value to business performance. Their information was based on company research, including financial and other performance data comparing apprentices with non‐apprentices.
Findings
The case studies provide compelling evidence that apprenticeships deliver strong business benefits such as increased productivity and staff retention, reduced costs and a more diverse workforce. Other benefits include: increased profits – BT estimated they gained a higher annual net profit of over £1,300 per apprentice when compared with non‐apprentices; higher quality of work – at BAE Systems apprentices fulfilled tasks correctly at a rate of 85 per cent right first time after completing their training; external recruits had a rate of 60 per cent; and career progression – over 90 per cent of line managers in British Gas's engineering operations trained as apprentices.
Originality/value
The case studies offer employers without apprentices a real insight into the apprentices’ enhancement of skills within an economy. They also provide a unique contribution to the body of knowledge used to assess the value of apprenticeships to employers.
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The purpose of this article is to examine the increasing number of opportunities for pre‐16 young people at schools in England to become involved in work related and work based…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the increasing number of opportunities for pre‐16 young people at schools in England to become involved in work related and work based programmes and to look at the key drivers of change and their impact.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is descriptive, covering current trends and also uses a case study example.
Findings
The conclusions of the article are that there is an upward increase in work‐based learning which is likely to continue significantly in the immediate and medium term. The article also highlights the increasing importance of employer engagement and understanding of the new initiatives.
Research limitations/implications
This article has been written from the perspective of Education Business Partnerships, who act in a brokerage capacity for schools, colleges and businesses. It is not based on statistical analysis directly from schools.
Practical implications
The increased flexibility offered to schools, and the possibility of varied contexts for learning, means that there will be a greater scope for schools to meet students’ learning needs.
Originality/value
This article will be of especial interest to any colleagues and employers involved in post‐16 provision of work based learning in terms of progression issues.