Colm Fearon, Simon Starr and Heather McLaughlin
The aim of this paper is to explore student views of blended learning in a university setting based on the use of audio lectures, seminars, discussion boards and wikis.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore student views of blended learning in a university setting based on the use of audio lectures, seminars, discussion boards and wikis.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 14 seminar (focus) groups consisting of approximately 20 students each, over a two year period, provided qualitative views of how students believed blended learning would be useful for their degree and future careers.
Findings
Students found the blended learning approach very flexible and preferable in many cases to traditional face‐to‐face learning. Key themes in terms of emerging benefit themes included: flexibility and support; motivation and sharing ideas; class interaction and explanation of ideas; better than pure eLearning; communicating and teamwork; developing project leadership skills.
Research implications/limitations
This exploratory study of university students is important because they are aware of the value of blended learning and transferable skills for the workplace. The research is limited because it is qualitative, yet it still provides a useful insight into the benefits and value of blended learning from the student perspective.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of qualitative research on the benefits of blended learning and this paper examines the value of the overall approach for university students and the workplace.
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Colm Fearon, Simon Starr and Heather McLaughlin
The purpose of this paper is to create a conceptual analysis of key strategic issues for developing blended learning within a university or higher education (HE) setting.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to create a conceptual analysis of key strategic issues for developing blended learning within a university or higher education (HE) setting.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies key issues based on focus group analysis with students and reflections from staff. A conceptual grid framework was used to develop insight into blended learning and to enable a pragmatic approach for strategy making.
Findings
A discussion of key issues for strategic analysis is presented. Traditional lectures are not as popular as more interactive seminars. “Pure” e‐learning in terms of computer‐based training is not as desirable as a blended learning approach because face‐to‐face interaction between students and staff is not present. Blended learning is useful as a supplementary resource for students and a way of improving collaboration and group work. It takes time to develop a blended learning strategy and care must be taken to balance stakeholder needs as well as preserve the wider HE student experience.
Practical implications
Findings are not generalizable because the approach adopted is qualitative and conceptual in nature, yet useful insights are provided into key issues regarding blended learning within a HE setting. The conceptual analysis approach used in this paper is useful for practitioners in the organizational development of blended learning.
Originality/value
There is a paucity of useful qualitative research regarding the analysis of blended learning for strategy makers and this paper examines some key issues for analysis and organizational development.
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Antonio K.W. Lau, Richard C.M. Yam and Esther P.Y. Tang
While the beneficial impact of supply chain integration (SCI) and modular product design are generally acknowledged, few empirical studies have examined how an organization can…
Abstract
Purpose
While the beneficial impact of supply chain integration (SCI) and modular product design are generally acknowledged, few empirical studies have examined how an organization can achieve better performance through SCI with modular product design. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between SCI and modular product design, as well as their impact on product performance.
Design/methodology/approach
By surveying 251 manufacturers in Hong Kong, structural equation modelling is used to test the research constructs and the hypothesized model.
Findings
The results confirm that information sharing, product co‐development and organizational coordination are crucial organizational processes within SCI. Companies that have high levels of product modularity appear to be good at product co‐development and organizational coordination directly and at information sharing indirectly. Furthermore, companies that have high levels of product co‐development or product modularity appear to have better product performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper theoretically and empirically identifies three specific organizational processes within SCI (information sharing, product co‐development and organizational coordination), which affect modular product design and product performance. These more specific findings were previously absent from the literature. However, the study is limited to the cross‐sectional nature of a survey study, the operationalization of SCI and product modularity, and the nature of the product types.
Originality/value
This paper empirically examines the relationships between SCI and product modularity, which has seldom been attempted in previous research. It clearly identifies exactly which processes within SCI are directly and indirectly related to product modularity.
Details
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The literature on modularity is extensive, but most research has been concerned with the manufacturing sector and much less with the service sector. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
The literature on modularity is extensive, but most research has been concerned with the manufacturing sector and much less with the service sector. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existing research, to provide a critique of the empirical literature on service modularity and to discuss future research opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
To perform this analysis of service modularity, a list of top-tier journals in the field of business management and organisation was compiled. From there, each and every article was identified, examined, coded and classified into high-level themes. These were then reviewed, analysed and interpreted.
Findings
This paper argues that the application of modularity in services will likely be influenced by certain characteristics that distinguish services from products. Second, modularity, from the service perspective, has been closely connected to productisation of services, and the discussion of modularity related to services has been greatly influenced by the earlier discussion on product modularity. This paper concludes that modularity in the service development context is still seeking its theoretical “identity” and requires further theoretical and empirical work on service design modularity conceptualisation, methods and measures.
Originality/value
This paper has reviewed several significant fields with which research on service modularity has been concerned. It captures and presents the core notion of service modularity in a critical way that might spur further research in the field.
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Traditionally Community Programmes have been sponsored by local authorities and voluntary bodies. In this article MSC describes what community programmes are and makes an appeal…
Abstract
Traditionally Community Programmes have been sponsored by local authorities and voluntary bodies. In this article MSC describes what community programmes are and makes an appeal for the business community to play a more active part.
President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton…
Abstract
President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton presidency, systematically have sought to undermine this president with the goal of bringing down his presidency and running him out of office; and that they have sought non‐electoral means to remove him from office, including Travelgate, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the Filegate controversy, and the Monica Lewinsky matter. This bibliography identifies these and other means by presenting citations about these individuals and organizations that have opposed Clinton. The bibliography is divided into five sections: General; “The conspiracy stream of conspiracy commerce”, a White House‐produced “report” presenting its view of a right‐wing conspiracy against the Clinton presidency; Funding; Conservative organizations; and Publishing/media. Many of the annotations note the links among these key players.
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Virgil Henry Storr and Arielle John
How should economists incorporate culture into their economic analysis? What empirical approaches to identifying, measuring, and analyzing the relationship between culture and…
Abstract
How should economists incorporate culture into their economic analysis? What empirical approaches to identifying, measuring, and analyzing the relationship between culture and economic action are most appropriate for economists? In particular, what can experimental economists learn from the methods of economic anthropologists, sociologists, and historians who study culture? We argue that while both quantitative and qualitative approaches can reveal interesting relationships between culture and economic actions/outcomes, especially in experimental research designs, qualitative methods help economists better understand people’s economic choices and the economic outcomes that emerge from those choices. This is because qualitative studies conceptualize culture as a pattern of meaning, take the relevant cultural data to be people’s thoughts and feelings, treat the market as a cultural phenomenon, and allow for novel explanations.
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Jari Huovinen and Sanna Tihula
Previous research has predominantly focused on the meaning of prior entrepreneurial experience in the context of habitual entrepreneurship. To date, however, little is known about…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has predominantly focused on the meaning of prior entrepreneurial experience in the context of habitual entrepreneurship. To date, however, little is known about how previous experience affects the way in which several firms can be managed simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to examine entrepreneurial learning in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship and clarify how it is possible to manage several firms at the same time.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study using a case method was conducted (Eisenhardt; Yin) by focusing on one portfolio entrepreneur. In this study, the case can be considered as unusual thus being suitable for a single‐case study. Data were collected through interviews and the entrepreneur also provided the researchers with a written description of the development and present situation of his entrepreneurial career.
Findings
This study proposes that failures may develop entrepreneurial knowledge as well as founding experiences. Development of entrepreneurial knowledge is viewed as leading to new ways of organizing and managing start‐up firms. Learning through previous experiences has strengthened entrepreneurial knowledge and contributed to the formation of the management team (MT). Without cooperation, delegation and sharing responsibilities, successful portfolio entrepreneurship would not have been realized. However, the results suggest that learning from failure is dependent on the entrepreneur's personal background.
Originality/value
This study seeks to bring new insight to portfolio entrepreneurship by concentrating on the entrepreneurial career of a well‐known Finnish entrepreneur by following the framework of Politis. In this case, a MT in each firm enabled effective control and management of the current firm portfolio. The study shows that in addition to the entrepreneurial team, the management teams can also have a significant role in the context of portfolio entrepreneurship although they have largely been ignored.
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Over the last ten years, researchers have increasingly focused on the pursuit of opportunity as one of the central acts of entrepreneurship. This chapter proposes a model of…
Abstract
Over the last ten years, researchers have increasingly focused on the pursuit of opportunity as one of the central acts of entrepreneurship. This chapter proposes a model of opportunity recognition which emphasizes the process through which entrepreneurs interact with their social contexts to develop opportunities, that is, to develop and shape ideas into attractive opportunities. The central research question is “how does an individual use his or her social context to recognize opportunity?” The question can be re-phrased in two parts, highlighting the two sides of the influence process. First, how do the people around the individual affect both the entrepreneurial thinking process and the opportunity ideas? And second, how does the individual structure his or her social context and use the people surrounding him or her for recognizing and pursuing opportunities?