bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using student feedback in designing student‐focused curricula
Authors: McCuddy Michael K. , Pinar Musa , Gingerich Elizabeth F.R.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The whole process of reviewing and redesigning curricula is an exercise in managing change. Given the multiple stakeholders in the educational enterprise, the many forces that impact upon those enterprises, and the organized and complicated activities in which those enterprises engage, the management of curricular change can be a daunting challenge. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that this challenge can be met by adapting and applying knowledge and techniques from the discipline of organizational development and change (ODC) and by including student feedback as an important source of diagnostic input in the change process.

Design/methodology/approach

A process used in one American school of business for incorporating meaningful student input into the curriculum review and planning process is described. The paper reports on the use of a student survey and student focus group to generate feedback in two areas of the college's curricular concerns: the structure, operation, and impact of an introductory business course offered in the first year of the undergraduate experience; and second, the potential addition of majors, minors, and a course requirement in the business school's curriculum. The paper explains how the survey and focus group were used, summarizes the results provided by each diagnostic venue, and discusses how the diagnostic information is currently being used in the college's curricular design process.

Findings

It was recognized that there are many drivers of curriculum development, most importantly the needs and desires of employers for educated people who have the skills and competencies that can help their organizations survive and succeed. Employers constitute the ultimate marketplace for the output of educational institutions.

Originality/value

It is hoped that this example application of ODC techniques for diagnosing the need for curricular change will stimulate others to embrace ODC as they think about the broader issues of change in educational institutions, and in responding to needs for curricular change.
Three decades of implementation of school‐based management in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria in Australia
Authors: Gammage David T.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the process of implementation of school‐based management (SBM) has worked within the public school systems in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria in Australia. The period covered was 1976‐2006.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach adopted was the mixed methodology which included empirical surveys, interviews with stakeholders and documentary analyses including Parliamentary acts, statutes, school board or council constitutions, research reports, parliamentary and official reports.

Findings

The findings suggest that both systems had a strong commitment to the proper implementation of SBM towards the improvement of school outcomes and student achievements. Whenever problems arose stakeholders were keen to sort them out and move forward by covering the gaps to avoid the repetition of similar problems. Both systems have succeeded in strengthening their own model of SBM and are satisfied with the achievements through SBM.

Research limitations/implications

In the context of school systems in the ACT and Victoria, all relevant stakeholder groups and political parties were committed to the implementation of SBM and schools have been able to build a high degree of trust and confidence between the internal and external constituencies in a gradual process. But, it may not be the case in other contexts.

Originality/value

The paper's value is in attempting a comparative study of SBM within two different school systems in Australia since the mid‐1970s, highlighting the distinct approaches taken for the introduction and implementation of the concept including constrains and impediments confronted in some cases.
Critical management in knowledge organizations
Authors: Macpherson Reynold
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to invite educational managers and management educators to reflect critically on practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the point of Socrates' death, the paper suggests ways of reflecting on actions using ethically‐critical, socially‐critical, environmentally‐critical, politically‐critical and globally‐critical perspectives.

Findings

Ways and means are found of reflecting on actions with special reference to the concept of value and the unique nature of knowledge organizations.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in recommending a blend of Rawlsian egalitarian liberalism and Deweyan democratic and educative pragmatism to support ways of being critical in management education, research and in practice.
Emerging technologies in global communication
Authors: Calabrese Raymond L. , Roberts B.E. , McLeod Scott , Niles Rae , Christopherson Kelly , Singh Paviter , Berry Miles
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how practitioners from Canada, the UK, Singapore, and the USA, university educational administration faculty from the USA, and the editor of a premier international journal of educational management engaged in a collaborative process to discover how to improve the preparation and practice of educational administration on a global basis.

Design/methodology/approach

An appreciative inquiry theoretical research perspective was used to discover a positive core of experiences that could add to cultural proficiency as it relates to educational administration.

Findings

In each cultural context, the central nature of the highpoint stories focused on appreciative ways to work with other people. The stories suggest that relationships and collaboration are at the heart of an educational administrator's practice. It was discovered that twenty‐first century educational administrators operating in a global context believed that they could become difference makers in education.

Originality/value

The findings from this study provide encouragement for extended global collaboration for practicing educational administrators as well as those who are responsible for their preparation. The findings also suggest that using collaborative technologies in the framework of a cross‐cultural educator partnership can enhance the preparation and practice in educational administration programs.
Corporate governance, accountability and mechanisms of accountability: an overview
Authors: Brennan Niamh M. , Solomon Jill
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to review traditional corporate governance and accountability research, to suggest opportunities for future research in this field.

Design/methodology/approach

The first part adopts an analytical frame of reference based on theory, accountability mechanisms, methodology, business sector/context, globalisation and time horizon. The second part of the paper locates the seven papers in the special issue in a framework of analysis showing how each one contributes to the field. The paper presents a frame of reference which may be used as a “roadmap” for researchers to navigate their way through the prior literature and to position their work on the frontiers of corporate governance research. The paper is primarily discursive and conceptual.

Findings

The paper encourages broader approaches to corporate governance and accountability research beyond the traditional and primarily quantitative approaches of prior research. Broader theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, accountability mechanism, sectors/contexts, globalisation, and time horizons are identified.

Research limitations/implications

Greater use of qualitative research methods are suggested, which present challenges particularly of access to the “black box” of corporate boardrooms.

Originality/value

Drawing on the analytical framework, and the papers in the special issue, the paper identifies opportunities for further research of accountability and corporate governance.
Does superior firm performance lead to higher quality outside directorships?
Authors: Gupta Aditi , Otley David , Young Steven
Published: September 2008

Purpose

Holding the number of outside directorships constant, this paper aims to test whether executive directors from superior performing firms are subsequently rewarded with better quality outside directorships.

Design/methodology/approach

The quality of new outside directorship appointments is modelled using a two‐step Heckman selection procedure to control for the probability of acquiring a new outside board seat. Outside directorship quality is estimated using an index formed from series of observable firm‐specific characteristics proxying for the following three latent aspects of quality: prestige, reputational risk and monetary rewards. The index aggregates across these three dimensions to produce an overall quality score, with higher scores signifying higher quality directorships.

Findings

Tests based on a sample of UK executive directors who subsequently acquire at least one new outside board seat show that the quality of newly acquired outside directorships is positively related to past and contemporaneous performance at the executive's own firm. Recent past performance appears to be a more important determinant of the quality of outside directorships than long‐run performance reputations. However, effects are largely confined to executives that either switch between boards or enter the outside directorship market for the first time.

Research limitations/implications

Findings support the view that the market for outside directorships operates (at least in part) as a meritocracy by rewarding executives from superior performing firms with better quality outside board appointments.

Originality/value

Prior work on the market for outside directorships focuses on explaining cross‐sectional variation in the number of outside board seats held. The paper is the first to measure and model directorship quality.
Corporate governance: what about the workers?
Authors: Sikka Prem
Published: September 2008

Purpose

To stimulate debates about the creation of corporate governance mechanisms and processes which would help to secure an equitable distribution of income and wealth for workers.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper builds on a political economy of income and wealth inequalities. It argues that corporate governance mechanisms and processes are rooted in particular politics and histories. The state is a key actor. It provides a brief history of the UK corporate governance debates relating to income distribution, industrial democracy and disclosures. It provides social data about the extent of income inequalities.

Findings

The paper shows that the UK lacks institutional structures and processes and mechanisms to enable workers to secure a higher share of the firm's income.

Research limitations/implications

The study primarily focuses on some aspects of the corporate governance structures, practices and income/wealth inequalities in the UK. Its implications could also be relevant to market‐oriented liberal states with “consensus” or “majoritarian” electoral systems.

Practical implications

To encourage debates, the paper puts forward a number of suggestions for changing electoral and corporate governance practices together with disclosures that could give visibility to income and wealth inequalities.

Originality/value

The paper links corporate governance debates to broader political choices.
The individualization of corporate governance
Authors: Dewing Ian P. , Russell Peter O.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the single regulator of firms in the UK financial services industry. The Act grants extensive powers to the FSA such that it can impose by rules and regulations additional corporate governance requirements on firms in the financial services industry. The legislative and regulatory requirements also extend to individuals under the FSA approved persons' regime. The purpose of the paper is to examine this individualization of corporate governance.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper first explores the rise to significance of internal control and risk management in corporate governance and regulation, and links this to Beck's risk society and individualization theses. The extent of the individualization of corporate governance by the approved persons' regime is explored by examining three sources of evidence: the FSA's documents setting out the approved persons' regime; the initial perceptions about the implementation of the approved persons' regime from interviews with high‐level individuals in the financial services industry; and the outcomes of illustrative FSA enforcement actions against individuals.

Findings

The findings are that the FSA has developed a comprehensive and formidable apparatus for the individualization of corporate governance in the UK's financial services industry. It is argued that a discourse based on the interpretive evaluations of internal control and risk management may be replacing a discourse based on the quantitative techniques of management accounting, which may be characterised as the demise of the “calculating self” and the rise of the “auditable self”.

Practical implications

The FSA's approved persons' regime could be developed as a model for other areas of the private and public sectors, where for regulatory purposes it may be desirable to identify approved or official roles.

Originality/value

The ability of regulators to “make” corporate governance by rules and regulations is relatively unexplored. Also, the focus of corporate governance is on firms rather than individuals. The paper considers the extension of corporate governance from the firm to the individual that may be achieved by regulation.
Beyond the boardroom: governmental perspectives on corporate governance
Authors: Stein Mitchell J.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This paper aims to examine corporate governance and consequences of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act (SOX) in the US from a socio‐political perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

The author employs neo‐liberalism and its related mentality of governmentality to develop an analysis of how corporate governance and reforms such as SOX are socially constructed through autonomous agents, including managers and accountants, and various power relationships that comprise government.

Findings

This paper theorizes that legislative reform, such as SOX, represents pervasive mechanisms of disclosure, surveillance and power, and an insurance rationality designed to manage the new and significant risks of corporate governance. A framework is established which conceptualizes SOX as the intersection of neo‐liberalism, political rationalities and governmental techniques, and accounting practices which lead to the elements of security, quantification and shareholder value. Through this framework a model of risk as governance is developed that examines SOX through technologies of the self, calculation and insurance, designed to act upon managers using knowledge about control or financial statement weaknesses. Such mechanisms identify corporate governance risks, which can be acted upon by outside experts, such as accountants.

Originality/value

The major inference from this paper is that corporate governance research in accounting should pursue new lines of inquiry, which will permit the more profitable extension of existing research. Such inquiry should focus less on empirical corporate governance factors and more on the relationships, and power constructs of corporate governance, as well as how legislative reforms employ tactics to normalize the behaviour of not only managers, but also accountants.
Rationality, traditionalism and the state of corporate governance mechanisms
Authors: Uddin Shahzad , Choudhury Jamal
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of corporate governance practices in Bangladesh. This paper demonstrates that the traditionalist culture mediates the rationalist/legalist framework of corporate governance in Bangladesh.

Design/methodology/approach

A series of semi‐structured interviews were conducted. Observations and the personal working experience of one of the researchers, along with documentation, provided rich sources of information for the paper.

Findings

The findings show that families have a dominant presence in all aspects of corporate governance. Boards of directors in companies play a significant part in serving the interests of families rather than those of general shareholders.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on corporate governance practices in a traditional setting and shows how traditional culture and values are in conflict with the rational ideas imported from a different setting.

Originality/value

The paper adds to the literature on corporate governance, especially in the context of less‐developed countries. It will be of great value to researchers and practitioners seeking to gain a better understanding of corporate governance frameworks in various settings.
Internal control, accountability and corporate governance
Authors: Jones Michael John
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to compare modern internal control systems with those in medieval England.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses a modern referential framework (control environment, risk assessment, information and communication, monitoring and control activities) as a lens to investigate medieval internal controls used in the twelfth century royal exchequer and other medieval institutions. It draws upon an extensive range of primary materials.

Findings

The paper demonstrates that most of the internal controls found today are present in medieval England. Stewardship and personal accountability are found to be the core elements of medieval internal control. The recent recognition of the need for the enhanced personal accountability of individuals is reminiscent of medieval thinking.

Originality/value

It investigates internal controls in medieval England for the first time and draws comparisons to today.
Under the knife: a national survey of six sigma programs in US healthcare organizations
Authors: Feng Qianmei (May) , Manuel Chris M.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

Medical and policy literature reports many six sigma applications at specific healthcare organizations. However, there is a lack of studies that investigate the broader status of six sigma in US healthcare systems. The purpose of this paper is to present the results from a national survey of six sigma programs in US healthcare organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the design, distribution, and analysis of a nationwide survey, this paper assesses the implementation of six sigma in healthcare facilities. Two sets of surveys were designed based on whether an organization has adopted six sigma or not.

Findings

Findings from this paper indicate the common six sigma projects implemented in healthcare organizations, typical implementation durations, cost benefits, and major barriers in implementation, and so on.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited by the low‐response rate owing to time and budget constraints. Through the dissemination of this paper, it is hoped that more organizations will become interested in this subject and participate in future studies.

Originality/value

This work is the first study to investigate the implementation status of six sigma in US healthcare systems. It will share experiences amongst six sigma institutions and promote its application in many institutions. The findings will provide instructive information to six sigma practitioners and researchers, and particularly to health care management.
Customer focus level following implementation of quality improvement model in Tehran social security hospitals
Authors: Mehrabi F. , Nasiripour A. , Delgoshaei B.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The key factor for the success of total quality management programs in an organization is focusing on the customer. The purpose of this paper is to assess customer focus level following implementation of a quality improvement model in social security hospitals in Tehran Province.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was descriptive‐comparative in nature. The study population consisted of the implementers of quality improvement model in four Tehran social security hospitals. The data were gathered through a checklist addressing customer knowledge and customer satisfaction.

Findings

The research findings indicated that the average scores on customer knowledge in Shahriar, Alborz, Milad, and Varamin hospitals were 64.1, 61.2, 54.1, and 46.6, respectively. The average scores on customer satisfaction in Shahriar, Alborz, Milad, and Varamin hospitals were 67.7, 65, 59.4, and 50, respectively. The customer focus average scores in Shahriar, Alborz, Milad, and Varamin hospitals were 66.3, 63.3, 57.3, and 48.6, respectively. The total average scores on customer knowledge, satisfaction and customer focus in the investigated hospitals proved to be 56.4, 60.5, and 58.9, respectively.

Originality/value

The paper is of value in showing that implementation of the quality improvement model could considerably improve customer focus level.
NHS Lanarkshire's leadership development programme's impact on clinical practice
Authors: Sutherland Angela M. , Dodd Frances
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of a clinical leadership programme on senior clinicians within National Health Service Lanarkshire, in terms of key constituents for fostering leadership development, specific skills developed and impact this has had on clinical practice.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research design was employed over several stages, involving 44 senior clinical managers, with member validation substantiating findings and thematic analysis used to analyse data collected.

Findings

The programme's impact was evident in acknowledged change to participants' attitude, behaviour and performance with examples conveyed to demonstrate both the effect on clinical practice and perceived organisational benefits gained. The use of role play, scenario planning and enquiry‐based learning approaches were deemed critical in achieving such change.

Research limitations/implications

Time constraints merited two different cohorts being examined simultaneously during the various stages of the programme. A longitudinal study is underway encompassing the evaluations of several cohorts through various stages of the programme to enable time‐based comparisons to be made and enhance the rigour and scrutiny of the programme's impact on clinical practice.

Originality/value

The paper is foremost in determining structure and processes employed on the programme, specific leadership skills developed, subsequent effect on clinical practice and perceived organisational benefits gained but not necessarily contemplated by staff prior to embarking on the programme, such as the emergence of communities of practice.
A user evaluation of a local air ambulance service in North Wales
Authors: Siôn ap Gruffudd Gwilym
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state and utilisation of user evaluation consultation adopted by Wales Air Ambulance (WAA) within the policy context. It is intended to provide a baseline for further evaluative research in the field and to highlight existing practices and resources. Gaps in strategic planning and service delivery are identified, with local recommendations proposed.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi‐structured, in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with ten participants drawn from a convenient sample representative of stakeholders including practitioners, fundraisers and operational staff. These groups represent primary actors involved in the delivery of services and policy implementation and also secondary actors involved in the delivery as users. Documentary analysis of WAA dispatch policy and protocols combined with secondary quantitative data of key performance indicators was undertaken.

Findings

In total, 80 per cent of the sample stated their satisfaction with WAA dispatch policy with no perceived need or benefit to further development of policy or local agreements. About 70 per cent of participants had received direct comments that were 100 per cent positive from primary users/patients. All organisations shared the same concerns regarding lack of appropriate present communication.

Research limitations/implications

The research design was driven by practicalities of time‐scale and resources. Owing to these constraints, plus the legal and ethical requirements relating to the involvement of patients in research, primary users were not included in this study. Areas for future research are identified.

Practical implications

Recommendations being implemented by WAA include further engagement with primary users of the service in order to enhance standards.

Originality/value

This paper reports the first empirical research conducted with WAA and users of the service.
Primary health care service delivery in South Africa
Authors: Phaswana‐Mafuya Nancy , Petros George , Peltzer Karl , Ramlagan Shandir , Nkomo Nkululeko , Mohlala Gorden , Mbelle Margaret , Seager John
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The paper's aim is to determine the role of non‐profit organizations (NPOs) in filling possible gaps in primary health care (PHC) service provision.

Design/methodology/approach

District (n=10) and sub‐district needs (n=14) analyses were conducted in five South African provinces. In each case, the district/sub‐district manager was interviewed using a semi‐structured interview guide.

Findings

The service gaps identified were understaffing/lack of capacity, difficulty in retaining and recruiting staff, service disparities, inaccessibility of services/low‐service utilisation and limited funding. It was believed that NPOs could fill these gaps. About 83 per cent perceived the relationship between government and NPOs as good. Contract monitoring, quality of service, communication and quality control were said to be unsatisfactory. The majority of sub‐districts (11) indicated that they provided supplies to NPOs; 50 per cent perceived the relationship between the sub‐districts and NPOs as good or very good. NPOs have critical role to play in PHC service delivery.

Originality/value

The study provides critical information required to make informed effective strategic decisions that support district/sub‐district performance and sustainability in a decentralized health system.
Personal and organizational determinants of well‐being at work
Authors: Diez‐Pinol M. , Dolan S.L. , Sierra V. , Cannings Kathleen
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The traditional perspective in the occupational and organizational psychology literature aimed at understanding well‐being, has focused almost exclusively on the “disease” pole. Recently, however, new concepts focusing on health are emerging in the so‐called “positive psychology” literature. The purpose of this paper is to test multiple possible linkages (or profiles) between certain personal, organizational, and cultural variables that affect both burnout and vigor. Burnout (disease) and vigor (health) are assumed to represent two extreme poles of the well‐being phenomenon.

Design/methodology/approach

An innovative statistical treatment borrowed from data mining methodology was used to explore the conceptual model that was utilized. A self‐administered questionnaire from a sample of 1,022 physicians working in Swedish public hospitals was used. Standardized job/work demands with multiple items were employed in conjunction with the Uppsala Burnout scale, which was dichotomized into high (burnout) and low (vigor) score. A combination of ANOVAs and “classification and regression tree analyses” was utilized to test the relationships and identify profiles.

Findings

Results show an architecture that predicts 59 percent of the explained variance and also reveals four “tree branches” with distinct profiles. Two configurations indicate the determinants of high‐burnout risk, while two others indicate the configurations for enhanced health or vigor.

Originality/value

In addition to their innovative‐added value, the results can also be most instrumental for individual doctors and hospitals in gaining a better understanding of the aetiology of burnout/vigor and in designing effective preventative measures for reducing risk factors for burnout, and enhancing well‐being (vigor).
Cross‐cultural invariance of consumers' price perception measures
Authors: Watchravesringkan Kittichai (Tu) , Yan Ruoh‐Nan , Yurchisin Jennifer
Published: September 2008

Purpose

In response to the impact of market globalization and concerns over the universality of marketing measures, this study seeks to examine the measurement invariance of consumers' price perception scales cross‐culturally with samples drawn from four Eastern Asian countries, i.e. China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). In addition, this study further examines the differences and similarities in the mean levels of consumers' price perceptions across the four samples.

Design/methodology/approach

A convenience sample of undergraduate college students was employed. A total of 958 students with business‐related majors completed a questionnaire in Beijing, China; Seoul, South Korea; Tainan, Taiwan; and Chonburi, Thailand.

Findings

Having established psychometric properties and demonstrated the partial scalar invariance of measurements and structural parameters, the results indicated that the consumers' price perception scale containing five dimensions (i.e. price‐quality schema, prestige sensitivity, value consciousness, sale proneness, and price mavenism) appears to be useful in Eastern Asian cultures. In addition, results of latent mean comparison revealed not only some similarities but also differences related to the five dimensions of price across the four Eastern Asian samples.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation is the issue of generalizability of the findings because of the use of student samples.

Originality/value

This study is among the first to examine cross‐cultural invariance of consumers' price perception within Eastern Asian countries using MGCFA.
Differing perceptions of category killers and discount stores
Authors: Gable Myron , Topol Martin T. , Lala Vishal , Fiorito Susan S.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the responses of women college students to discount stores and category killers in terms of the importance of seven‐store characteristics as well as their expectations for these attributes. Another purpose was to determine differences, if any, between these two store formats. Further the moderating variables of shopping frequency and orientation were introduced to determine if they influenced the results.

Design/methodology/approach

Personal interviews were used to collect data from a random sample of women college students from one university through the administration of a structured survey instrument. Statistical analyses were employed to generate the results.

Findings

Differences were found in the respondents' perceptions for both importance and expectations for six of the seven‐store attributes. For one characteristic, continuity of supply, no differences emerged and this characteristic was deemed important for both store formats. Moderating variables did not alter the results.

Research limitations/implications

Given the limited nature of the sample, there is a need for replication of this research in other geographic regions, including international sites in order to corroborate these findings. Also, replication with men is needed.

Practical implications

This study provides guidance to both discount store and category killer executives on the types of strategies and tactics needed to better attract and retain women college students.

Originality/value

Attention was directed to women college students, a highly desired but often neglected market segment. Further, continuity of supply, an attribute not often indicated in most retailing texts emerged as very important and highly expected by respondents.
Dimensions of online community attributes
Authors: Kim Hye‐Shin , Yong Park Jin , Jin Byoungho
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop online community attributes based on Preece's sociability and usability framework to assess how online community attributes hosted by retailers or national brand companies may generate positive outcomes for consumers. Also, this study seeks to examine the effects of attribute dimensions on consumer benefits to verify its predictability.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey was administered in South Korea. A questionnaire was constructed which contained 26 items measuring online community attributes. These items were developed by the researchers to measure seven dimensions defining Preece's sociability and usability conceptual framework. The items were based on examples of determinants and measures of successful online communities. The Korean sample consisted of 135 male and 216 female adults in a large metropolitan area in South Korea.

Findings

Results partially supported Preece's sociability and usability framework. Results show three online community attribute dimensions purpose, people, and policy to be represented by a higher order factor sociability and two attribute dimensions dialogue and social interaction and navigation represented by usability. The structural model testing the relationship between sociability and social benefits and usability and functional benefits was confirmed and proved predictive validity for the online community attribute dimensions and the sociability/usability framework. On the other hand, no evidence of sociability influencing perceptions of functional benefits and usability influencing perceptions of social benefits could be found. Nonetheless, these results provide evidence that Preece's online community attribute framework measures “success” from a consumer benefits standpoint.

Originality/value

This study provides retailers and companies who host online communities with a practical tool with which they can assess their online communities as well as their online strategy.
The Learning Organization turns 15: a retrospective
Authors: Smith Peter A.C.
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Special Issue; to provide a practitioner's retrospective views of the learning organization concept; and to comment on the status of The Learning Organization journal.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach adopted involves recounting a personal history of a practitioner's experiences with the concept, and an observation on the health of The Learning Organization journal.

Findings

The paper finds that, although the learning organization concept is deemed narrow and out of date, it is judged to have had significant positive influence on organizational thinking. The Learning Organization is shown to be a healthy and popular journal.

Originality/value

The paper is included in a Special Issue that is part of the series commissioned by the journal on organization‐related topics of interest to its readers. Its originality stems from its examination of the learning organization concept through a particular practitioner's lens, provoking reflection amongst others engaged in both the delivery and the consumption of practice and study.
Video killed the radio star, but has Google killed the learning organization?
Authors: Peters John , Snowden Kate
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the journal and organizational learning over the years.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach adopted is that of providing a viewpoint perspective to look at the concept of the learning organization.

Findings

By looking at organizational learning partly from the perspective of a publisher, this will, hopefully, provoke reflections, particularly amongst others engaged in both the delivery and the consumption of practice and study.

Originality/value

The paper is one of a series commissioned by the journal. Its originality stems from the subject‐matter and the authors' interpretation of organizational learning.
Once upon a time … tales of organisational learning
Authors: Tosey Paul
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to enrich the conceptual vocabulary of organisational learning by discussing the relevance of the interdisciplinary work of Gregory Bateson, an original and challenging twentieth century thinker.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper debates a number of principles identified by Bateson, which reflect patterns that appear in stories (including, for example, Sufi teaching stories) as well as in practical experiences of organisational learning.

Findings

Bateson's ideas have the potential to overturn assumptions about organisational learning and to offer new perspectives on the subject. The belief is that Bateson's thinking implies, for example, that communication is multi‐layered and paradoxical; that learning is always political; that organisational learning is emergent and transient; and that stories can provide more effective encapsulations of the complexities of organisational learning than rational analyses.

Originality/value

The paper offers fresh views on the conceptualisation of organisational learning that may assist practitioners to “think outside the box”, together with some practical insights and good stories.
Why we should abandon the idea of the learning organization
Authors: Grieves Jim
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose that the idea of the learning organization should be abandoned on the grounds that it was an imaginative idea that has now run its course. The paper seeks to explore the roots of the definition and provoke debate about the wisdom of retaining the concept. The argument is a challenge to readers to explore their own views in order to open up debate.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on an investigation of definitions of the term “learning organization”, the paper explores the theoretical premises of the learning organization concept. The relevance of empirical examples or applied nature of the concept is defined as the principal focus.

Findings

The literature review reveals two basic premises. These are, first, that the learning organization is an ideal worth striving for and, second, that systems theory provides a sound theoretical underpinning for the concept. The concept has resulted in confusion because of the theoretical and methodological premises on which it is based. Each premise is explored and found wanting.

Originality/value

The implications for research and publication are significant in that, whilst the paper seeks to open up debate about taken for granted assumptions related to the concept of the learning organization, it proposes that the concept should be abandoned and research should be focused instead on more pragmatic issues related to organizational learning. The argument uses a brief case example of Siemens to explore the difficulty in applying the “learning organization” concept.
Knowledge management and organizational learning
Authors: Walczak Steven
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This article aims to examine international studies of knowledge management (KM) and organizational learning (OL).

Design/methodology/approach

The approach takes the form of a literature review of KM and OL research that focuses on a business or businesses located outside traditional Western economies.

Findings

There is a need to increase research that examines KM and OL existing in different and multiple countries. Additionally, cultural factors should be included in KM and OL research analysis.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation is that the only practical empirical evidence is supplied through the highlighted articles in the literature review.

Originality/value

The article shows that, in order to increase the application of KM and OL research world‐wide, national culture and other geopolitical influences need to be represented in KM and OL models and measurement instruments.
Audit service quality in compulsory audit tendering
Authors: Boon Kym , McKinnon Jill , Ross Philip
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The paper aims to analyse audit service quality attributes that were perceived to be important in compulsory audit tendering (CAT) in local councils in New South Wales (NSW). It focuses principally on whether CAT leads to an impairment of auditor independence and audit quality.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was conducted of 235 NSW local council finance professionals and 35 local council internal auditors in May 2006.

Findings

The most important attributes in evaluating audit service quality were industry expertise, audit firm experience with a council, technical competence, independence, ethical standards and due care. The least important attributes were scepticism, freshness of perspective, audit firm size, and non‐audit services. There is considerable consistency in the findings with those in non‐CAT contexts.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is subject to the general limitations of the survey questionnaire method. A further limitation is that audit quality was assessed using perceptions of audit service quality by preparers of local council financial statements, rather than by users of those statements.

Practical implications

Audit firms will be better able to understand the audit service quality attributes valued by local council clients, to differentiate their promotional and service‐provision strategies, improve their audit quality, and better satisfy local council clients. Concerns that CAT may impair audit independence and audit quality do not appear to be founded.

Originality/value

Because the results are generally consistent with findings in non‐CAT contexts, there can be more confidence in CAT as a regulatory form of audit procurement.
Factors affecting corporate choices of postretirement benefits in the USA
Authors: Asthana Sharad
Published: September 2008

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of US firms' postretirement benefits choices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses empirical methodology (univariate and multivariate) to test the research hypotheses.

Findings

Industry norm, average employee age, financial structure, and firm size are significant factors in the determination of the proportion of compensation that is deferred. Industry norm, financial structure, and firm size are significant factors that determine the percentage of deferred compensation that is negotiated as defined benefits. Finally, industry norm, corporate tax rates, and cash flow help explain the percentage of defined benefits that are paid in the form of retiree health benefit plans.

Research limitations/implications

Data requirements might bias the sample towards larger sized firms. Data availability limits the number of observations in 2000 and 2001.

Practical implications

The trends in post‐retirement benefits reported in this paper are important for policy makers.

Originality/value

These findings have implications for the baby boomers. The trend to offer smaller proportion of compensation as deferred benefits reflects the increasing costs of deferral to the employers. This increases the employees' responsibilities to save on their own. This also would shift the retirees' dependence on the public pension system for their retirement income. The trend to favor defined‐contribution plans instead of defined‐benefit plans reflects the employers' attempts to diversify their risks of paying promised post‐retirement benefits by transferring the risk to the employee. On the other hand, the popularity of defined‐contribution pension plans also reflects the increased Government's incentives to encourage savings via 401‐k plans and employee's willingness to manage their own pension portfolios.
Corporate governance and the value‐relevance of accounting information
Authors: Habib Ahsan , Azim Istiaq
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine the relationship between corporate governance and the value‐relevance of accounting information in Australia.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses board, audit committee and external audit related variables to proxy for corporate governance. Value‐relevance is measured by the adjusted R2 derived from a regression of stock price on earnings and equity book values following Ohlosn's accounting‐based valuation framework.

Findings

Regression results show that firms with strong governance structure exhibit higher value‐relevance of accounting information. Results further show that firm‐specific economic variables are important determinants of the value‐relevance of accounting information.

Research limitations/implications

Significant regulatory reforms regarding corporate governance around the world give an impression that regulators believe that governance plays a key role in ensuring, among others, credible financial reporting. This paper provides support for such a view in Australian context.

Originality/value

This paper uses the relationship between accounting numbers and share price as the measure of accounting information quality and also considers the impact of ASX Corporate Governance Best Practice Code on the changes in the value‐relevance of accounting information.
The provision of non‐audit services and earnings conservatism
Authors: Zhang Beilei , Emanuel David
Published: September 2008

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the relation between non‐audit services provided by incumbent auditors and an important aspect of earnings quality – conservatism, using New Zealand data. Conservatism is defined as the adoption of accounting policies that accelerate expenses towards the current period and/or defer revenues to later periods. If the provision of non‐audit services undermines auditor independence and encourages the condoning of clients' aggressive accounting practices, this will be revealed by a reduction in accounting conservatism.

Design/methodology/approach

The method aims to determine whether Basu's conservatism is affected by the level and proportion of non‐audit services, where the dataset is partitioned into multiple levels of these services.

Findings

Using 528 firm‐year observations, evidence is presented for the existence of earnings conservatism in New Zealand. However, no evidence of a negative association between non‐audit services and earnings conservatism is found.

Research limitations/implications

Although widely accepted in the conservatism literature, the Basu model still suffers from some drawbacks. Issues of endogeneity may also contribute to the insignificant results.

Practical implications

The results are consistent with factors such as reputational penalties and litigation risk constraining auditor behaviour. Auditors in New Zealand may therefore still maintain their independence “in fact”, irrespective of the level of non‐audit fees (NAFs) purchased by clients.

Originality/value

This paper contains the first tests of conservatism using New Zealand data. It adds to the body of knowledge about the relationship, or the lack thereof, between NAF and desirable attributes of accounting.