The role of trust in the resource allocation process of an old university

Allocation procedures, have attracted considerable interest among higher education institutions in recent years. Relevant previous research indicates that several universities adopt different approaches to the resource allocation problem, employing models and procedures that reflect their organisational arrangements and their internal socio – political dynamics. We argue that while studying accounting processes in their organisational context, the role of trust should also be considered carefully. In particular, it is very important to consider the attitudes of the individuals involved and interacting within organisational processes, and especially the trust between them, which plays an important role to the overall good governance of these processes. In our study, the role of interpersonal trust in an old Scottish University resource allocation process is examined. The study indicates that trust is a very necessary insight to the facilitation of social structures of accountability that enhance a better governance of the resource allocation process.

"You have ruined this entire experiment…shall we stop talking now?" Orientations to the experimental setting as an interactional resource

One limitation widely noted in sociolinguistics is the tension presented by the ‘observer’s paradox’ (Labov, 1972), i.e. the notion that everyday language is ‘susceptible to contamination by observation’ (Stubbs, 1983: 224). The observer’s paradox has been perceived to present significant challenges to traditional sociolinguistic researchers seeking to explore the processes at work during ordinary interaction. More recently, scholars have begun to argue that in fact the presence of a recording device, rather than being a mere constraint on spoken interaction, is in itself an interactional resource explicitly oriented to by participants (Speer & Hutchby 2003; Gordon 2012). Drawing on a collection of transcripts collected in experimental conditions as part of a wider project exploring the relationship between language and identity, this paper seeks to explore how these orientations manifest themselves in the context of Instant Messaging (IM) conversations. We show different orientations to the experimental setting, and different understandings of the role of the researcher – represented in this case by the IM chat archive – as both a topic of discussion and as a participant themselves.

Sustainable competitive advantage in electronic business: towards a contingency perspective of the resource-based view

Our understanding of the nature of competitive advantage has not been helped by a tendency for theorists to adopt a unitary position, suggesting, for example, that advantage is industry based or resource based. In examining the nature of competitive advantage in an electronic business (e-business) environment this paper adopts a contingency perspective. Several intriguing questions emerge. Do 'new economy' companies have different resource profiles to 'old economy' companies? Are the patterns of resource development and accumulation different? Are attained advantages less sustainable for e-businesses? These are the kinds of themes examined in this paper. The literature on competitive advantage is reviewed as are the challenges posed by the recent changes in the business environment.Two broad sets of firms are identified as emerging out of the e-business shake up and the resource profiles of these firms are discussed. Several research propositions are advanced and the implications for research and practice are discussed.

The resource underpinnings of competitive positions

Competitive positioning is central to market-focussed management, comprising the choice of target market the firm will operate in, and how it will compete in that market. Positioning decisions are complex and require the firm to find a profitable match between market requirements and firm ability to satisfy them. Equally important, however, is the longer term sustainability of any position created in the market place. Drawing on theory from the strategic management and marketing domains the authors argue that the competitive position achieved is a key marketing resource with the potential to generate sustainable competitive advantage. The paper examines alternative competitive positions, the marketing resources necessary to underpin them, and how they are defended against competitor imitation or encroachment. Some positions are found to be inherently more defensible than others.

Integrating strategic groups and the resource based perspective:understanding the competitive process

Although the strategic group and resource based perspectives are frequently presented as mutually exclusive, we argue otherwise. The resource based view informs strategic group analysis through a firm's product or service portfolio by offering a richer perspective on strategy and an additional lens for competitive group interpretation. Products act as the locus and bedrock for corporate decisions and form the backbone upon which market strategies are constructed. A "corporate genome" analogy is presented to illustrate how this process occurs within the U.K. pharmaceutical industry. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What can higher education contribute to improving social mobility in the UK?

At a time when the UK may slowly be emerging out of what, for many in higher education, has been a period of ‘unprecedented change’ (Universities UK, 2012) in which institutions have found themselves having to balance increases in student expectations and demands against decreases in funding and resources, this special edition focuses on an issue that is becoming ever-more important – that of the relationship between social mobility and higher education. Drawing upon the findings of the Higher Education Academy’s March 2013 Conference: What can higher education contribute to improving social mobility in the UK?, the six papers gathered here give between them a clear indication of the proactive and synergetic manner in which the sector is responding to the resource and funding challenges which it currently faces.

Complex skills and academic writing:a review of evidence about the types of learning required to meet core assessment criteria

Assessment criteria are increasingly incorporated into teaching, making it important to clarify the pedagogic status of the qualities to which they refer. We reviewed theory and evidence about the extent to which four core criteria for student writing-critical thinking, use of language, structuring, and argument-refer to the outcomes of three types of learning: generic skills learning, a deep approach to learning, and complex learning. The analysis showed that all four of the core criteria describe to some extent properties of text resulting from using skills, but none qualify fully as descriptions of the outcomes of applying generic skills. Most also describe certain aspects of the outcomes of taking a deep approach to learning. Critical thinking and argument correspond most closely to the outcomes of complex learning. At lower levels of performance, use of language and structuring describe the outcomes of applying transferable skills. At higher levels of performance, they describe the outcomes of taking a deep approach to learning. We propose that the type of learning required to meet the core criteria is most usefully and accurately conceptualized as the learning of complex skills, and that this provides a conceptual framework for maximizing the benefits of using assessment criteria as part of teaching. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

Multi-level genetic algorithm for the resource-constrained re-entrant scheduling problem in the flow shop

The re-entrant flow shop scheduling problem (RFSP) is regarded as a NP-hard problem and attracted the attention of both researchers and industry. Current approach attempts to minimize the makespan of RFSP without considering the interdependency between the resource constraints and the re-entrant probability. This paper proposed Multi-level genetic algorithm (GA) by including the co-related re-entrant possibility and production mode in multi-level chromosome encoding. Repair operator is incorporated in the Multi-level genetic algorithm so as to revise the infeasible solution by resolving the resource conflict. With the objective of minimizing the makespan, Multi-level genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed and ANOVA is used to fine tune the parameter setting of GA. The experiment shows that the proposed approach is more effective to find the near-optimal schedule than the simulated annealing algorithm for both small-size problem and large-size problem. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Goal orientation and its relationship to the business family, and family business performance, within the UK’s family owned and managed mid-sized businesses

Mid-Sized Businesses (MSBs) are defined by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as having a sales turnover of between £25 million and £500 million. A key gap in family firm/business research and literature to date is, understanding the role and importance of non-financial objectives (such as family harmony, tradition and business longevity), and the role the family plays in creating a wide set of business performance objectives (both financial and non-financial) in these businesses. This dissertation contributes to filling this knowledge gap by drawing on Family Systems Theory applied in a business context, and within an overarching Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm.

The complements towards developing a new risk management framework and Its applicability to the Nigerian power sector

The availability of regular supply has been identified as one of the major stimulants for the growth and development of any nation and is thus important for the economic well-being of a nation. The problems of the Nigerian power sector stems from a lot of factors culminating in her slow developmental growth and inability to meet the power demands of her citizens regardless of the abundance of human and natural resources prevalent in the nation. The research therefore had the main aim of investigating the importance and contributions of risk management to the success of projects specific to the power sector. To achieve this aim it was pertinent to examine the efficacy of risk management process in practice and elucidate the various risks typically associated with projects (Construction, Contractual, Political, Financial, Design, Human resource and Environmental risk factors) in the power sector as well as determine the current situation of risk management practice in Nigeria. To address this factors inhibiting the proficiency of the overarching and prevailing issue which have only been subject to limited in-depth academic research, a rigorous mixed research method was adopted (quantitative and qualitative data analysis). A review of the Nigeria power sector was also carried out as a precursor to the data collection stage. Using purposive sampling technique, respondents were identified and a questionnaire survey was administered. The research hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics (Pearson correlation, Chi-square test, t-test and ANOVA technique) and the findings revealed the need for the development of a new risk management implementation Framework. The proposed Framework was tested within a company project, for interpreting the dynamism and essential benefits of risk management with the aim of improving the project performances (time), reducing the level of fragmentation (quality) and improving profitability (cost) within the Nigerian power sector in order to bridge a gap between theory and practice. It was concluded that Nigeria’s poor risk management practices have prevented it from experiencing strong growth and development. The study however, concludes that the successful implementation of the developed risk management framework may help it to attain this status by enabling it to become more prepared and flexible, to face challenges that previously led to project failures, and thus contributing to its prosperity. The research study provides an original contribution theoretically, methodologically and practically which adds to the project risk management body of knowledge and to the Nigerian power sector.