The purpose of this paper is to identify, describe and evaluate the different ways in which formal collective change agency is structured in specialist units inside 25 diverse…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, describe and evaluate the different ways in which formal collective change agency is structured in specialist units inside 25 diverse organisations. As such it is oriented towards a range of practitioners operating in HR, project management or with responsibility for delivering change in public and private sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a qualitative design, exploratory interview and case study research was conducted in organisations across the UK public and private sectors to explore how different change agency units operate within organisational structures.
Findings
Four dominant types of internal change agency unit are identified, varying in terms of their change impact scope and degree of structural embeddedness in the organisation. These units are described as transformers, enforcers, specialists and independents and share key concerns with securing client credibility and added value, effective relationship management and the use of consulting tools. Their roles and the tensions they experience are outlined along with hybrid forms and dynamic shifts from one type to another.
Research limitations/implications
The study could be extended outside of the UK and conducted longitudinally to help identify outcomes more precisely in relation to context.
Practical implications
Each of the four types of change agency unit identified is shown to be suited to certain conditions and to present particular challenges for collective change agency and for specialist management occupations engaged in such work. The analysis could usefully inform organisation design decisions around internal change agency.
Originality/value
The authors extend debates around the nature of internal change agency which has typically focussed on comparisons with external change agents at the level of the individual. Developing the work of Caldwell (2003), the authors reveal how emergent, team-based or collective approaches to change agency can be formalised, rather than informal, and that structural considerations of change need to be considered along with traditional concerns with change management.
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The character, growth and demand for football information services in England and Wales is examined. Questionnaires were sent to football clubs and supporters to investigate the…
Abstract
The character, growth and demand for football information services in England and Wales is examined. Questionnaires were sent to football clubs and supporters to investigate the quantity, quality and types of information services available, and whether the demand for football information is being met. It was found that there is more football information available than previously, through a wider range of services, and that demand for club information is growing. However, supporters feel the information is often of poor quality. The growth in football information services is attributed to the appeal of the game to non‐traditional supporters and the use of information services to market clubs as global “brands”. Democratic supporters movements have had a major influence on the development of football information services. The Internet is set to have a big impact.
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Connie K.Y. Mak, Ai-Ling Lai, Christiana Tsaousi and Andrea Davies
Consumer studies drawing on interpretative approaches have tended to rely on sedentary interviews, which the authors argue are ill-equipped to capture the embodied, tacit and…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer studies drawing on interpretative approaches have tended to rely on sedentary interviews, which the authors argue are ill-equipped to capture the embodied, tacit and pre-reflexive knowledge that conditions routinized practices. This paper aims to provide practical and theoretical framing of the walking-with technique, in particular, with reference to practice theories. Specifically, this paper draws on Bourdieu’s concept of the “habitus” to illustrate the “workings” of the habituated body in performing routine consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used the walking-with technique to elicit “mobile stories” with senior executives in Hong Kong. This paper explored how walking to and from work/lunch/dinner can open up culturally and historically embodied narratives that reflect evolving consumption practices throughout participants’ professional trajectories.
Findings
This paper demonstrates the uses of the walking-with technique by illustrating how embodied narratives foreground the pre-reflexive practices of mundane consumption. This paper illustrates how walking as a “mobile mundane practice” can expand a researcher’s horizon of understanding, enabling them to “fall into the routines of participants’ life”, “get into grips with participant’s temporal (time travel portal) and cultural conditioning” and “co-experience and empathise with participants through bodily knowing”. The authors argue that walking-with necessarily implies an inter-subjective sharing of intermundane space between the researchers and the participants. Such a method is therefore conducive to engendering co-created embodied understanding-in-practice, which the authors argue is accomplished when there is a fusion-of-habituses. Future applications in other consumer contexts are also discussed.
Practical implications
The walking-with technique embeds data collection in the day-to-day routes taken by participants. This does not only ease the accessibility issue but also render real-life settings relevant to participants’ daily life.
Originality/value
Despite receiving growing attention in social science studies, the walking-with technique is under-used in consumer research. This paper calls for the need to mobilise walking-with as a method to uncover practical and theoretical consumer insights in a way that allows for embodied and performative knowledge (know-how) to emerge.
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Sakirulai Olufemi Isiaq and Md Golam Jamil
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory mixed-method research approach was adopted in a classroom-based environment at a UK university. A rich account of student engagement dimensions (behavioural, affective/emotional, and cognitive) was captured through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. This was triangulated through reflective and in-depth validation of open-ended questions.
Findings
Results show higher behavioural and emotional engagement in simulator-based sessions, but relatively low cognitive engagement when compared with traditional programming sessions. A strong interweaving relationship between these three dimensions is evident in both the traditional and simulator approaches. Therefore, a balanced distribution of the dimensions is recommended for effective planning and delivery of programming sessions.
Research limitations/implications
Student engagement is multidimensional as it includes various internal and external/ecological factors. This study did not consider external factors, such as family and societal influence; it focused on the classroom-based environment.
Originality/value
This study critically examined the use of simulation as a means to foster student engagement in programming sessions. Findings suggest that a balanced activities within the three engagement dimensions can facilitate meaningful learning.