Returns on key accounts:do the results justify the expenditures?

Purpose – The use of key accounts has become a mature trend and most industrial firms use this concept in some form. Selling firms establish key account teams to attend to important customers and consolidate their selling activities. Yet, despite such increased efforts on behalf of key accounts, sufficient research has not quantified the returns on key account strategy nor has it firmly established performance differences between key and non-key accounts within a firm. In response to this shortcoming, this study aims to examine returns on key accounts. Design Methodology/approach – Data were collected from a global consulting firm. The data collection started two years after the implementation of the key account program. Data were collected on recently acquired customers (within the previous year) at two time periods: year 1 and year 3 (based on company access of data). Findings – Initially, key accounts perform as well or better than other types of accounts. However, in the long term, key accounts are less satisfied, less profitable and less beneficial for a firm’s growth than other types of accounts. Because the returns to key account expenditures, thus, appear mixed, firms should be cautious in expanding their key account strategies. Research limitations implications – The study contributes to research in three areas. First, most research on the effectiveness of key accounts refers to the between-firm level, whereas this study examines the effect within a single firm. Second, this study examines the temporal aspects of key accounts, namely, what happens to key accounts over time, in comparison with other accounts in a fairly large sample. Third, it considers the survival rates of key accounts versus other types of accounts. Practical implications – The authors suggest that firms also need to track their key accounts better because the results show that key accounts are less satisfied, less profitable and less beneficial for a firm’s growth than other types of accounts. Originality/value – Extant research has not examined these issues.

Education, earnings, and rates of return: The case of Taiwan

Educational planners and economists have long recognized the importance of education as a form of productive investment in both advanced countries and developing countries. In the case of Taiwan, along with impressive economic growth, there was an even faster rate of growth of the government's investment in education. This leads some to question whether education has any role in economic development. ^ The purpose of this study is to provide a broad overview of the role of education, in terms of private rates of return to education, in Taiwan. In the process, a variety of hypotheses about human capital theory are examined and an empirical study of Taiwan's earnings functions are tested to show that education can be an important instrument to increase private rate of return, even under conditions of scarcity of natural and physical resources. Data was collected using the Manpower Survey and Manpower Utilization Survey, conducted by the government. Research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequencies, and regression analysis. ^ Results indicated that the Manpower Development Plans have been the decisive influence in allowing Taiwan to develop its human resources and achieve success in meeting the needs of Taiwan's economy. The structure of age-earnings profiles showed a strong relationship between earnings and education, and the profiles that successively shift upward are associated with higher levels of education. In the cross-sectional results of the rate of return in 1997, each additional year of schooling leads to a 6.2% increase in income. As to the private rates of return to different levels of education, the results found that the private rates of return are 2.88%, 4.85% and 10.05% for primary, secondary and higher education respectively. In an intertemporal comparison for 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1997, the results showed no significant trend except the private rates of return for primary education have been falling from 3.9% to 2.88%. ^ On the basis of this study, for individual student or family in Taiwan, there is likely to be a strong demand for education, particularly at the higher level. Therefore, a well-developed higher educational level becomes essential and the content of curriculum in higher education becomes another crucial question facing planners in Taiwan if they are going to use education as a means to foster economic development. ^

Employer participation in Florida school -to -work initiatives

This study used a cross-sectional design and descriptive research methodology to assess the characteristics and practices of employers participating in Florida school-to-work (STW) initiatives, the factors influencing their participation, and their STW partnerships with schools. The study also examined the relationships between employer characteristics and participation. ^ A sampling frame of 15,202 employers from the 28 Florida STW regions was constructed. Data were collected via a mail survey with a random sample of employers, using a researcher-designed questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and analysis of variance. ^ At the 95% confidence level, it was estimated that the mean establishment size in the population is between 25 and 51 employees and that employers have been involved in STW partnerships between five and seven years. ^ The study revealed broad-based employer participation in three of four areas: Working with Students, Working with Educators, and Internal Company Practices Supporting STW. A fourth area, Building a System, showed generally low participation. Data indicate that workforce needs are important incentives to employer STW participation beyond their desire to contribute to education or the community. Data also indicate that lack of information on STW is the greatest barrier to employer participation. ^ Sample employers have more positive perceptions of the value of their partnerships with schools than of the quality of the partnerships. Ninety-four percent agreed that students are better prepared for work and careers as a result of the partnership's activities. More than half agreed that a sense of trust and good communication exist between educators and employer partners. ^ Employer variables found to have a significant, positive relationship with participation include size (coefficient of determination r2 = .116), years in STW partnerships (r2 = .128), and perceptions of partnership quality (r2 = .092) and value (r2 = .112). ^ A major conclusion based on the findings of this study is that employer participation is optimized in initiatives that achieve important STW outcomes for students and build long-term relationships between employers and schools. Another that in Florida, the STW Opportunities Act of 1994 has not resulted in substantially greater employer involvement in building a STW system. ^

The contribution of Victor Hugo to the liberation, emancipation, and changing perceptions of women in 19th century French society

The over-riding perceptions of Victor Hugo’s attitudes towards women are intensely coloured by his deep-seated Romanticism and his well-testified, stifling and over-bearing treatment of women in his personal life. As such, Hugo’s contribution to the feminist struggle of his time has been woefully overlooked in the larger scheme of his social and political activism. Through a close examination of his largely unstudied public discourse on women’s rights, this thesis situates Hugo’s feminist views firmly in the context of Enlightenment feminism and 19th century feminism, while also drawing heavily on the illuminating principles of Enlightenment feminism. In particular, this thesis examines Hugo’s support for several of the most determining issues of 19th century French feminism, including women’s right to education, equal citizenship, universal suffrage rights, and the issue of regulated prostitution. Further, by examining the way in which Hugo’s views on women’s maternal role extended far beyond the limited vision of domesticity bolstered by the ideology of ‘republican motherhood’, this thesis engages in a re-appraisal of Hugo’s literary representation of maternity which identifies the maternal as a universal quality of devotion and self-sacrifice to which all humankind must aspire for the creation of a just, egalitarian, and democratic society. Though at times inevitably constrained by his Romanticism, this thesis demonstrates the extent to which Hugo’s feminism is grounded in his wider vision of social emancipation and is underpinned by a profound empathy, compassion, and moral conscience – qualities which are just as fundamental today, as they were for Hugo when participating in the fitful, though decisive, feminist struggle in 19th century France.

The Debate on First Nations Education Funding: Mind the Gap (Working Paper 49)

It is at long last becoming part of the public discourse that improving living conditions and opportunities for First Nations communities in Canada is a national imperative. It is also widely recognized that the education is critical to fostering a better future for First Nations people. Yet, for many First Nations youth, particularly those on reserve, completing even high school is well beyond reach. The graduation rate of First Nations people living on reserve was 35.3 per cent as recently as 2011 compared with 78 per cent for the population as a whole. At the same time, the First Nations population is young and growing fast - in First Nations communities 49 per cent of the population is under 24 years of age compared to 30 per cent of the general population. Despite some incremental improvements in education success rates for First Nations students in recent years, the education gap between First Nations and the rest of the country is increasing. The concerns expressed in the 2011 Auditor General report continue to hold weight: "In 2004, we noted that at existing rates, it would take 28 years for First Nations communities to reach the national average. More recent trends suggest that the time needed may still be longer.

A Simple Model of Access and Capacity for Post-Secondary Schooling in Canada (Working Paper 40)

This paper develops a simple model of the post-secondary education system in Canada that provides a useful basis for thinking about issues of capacity and access. It uses a supply-demand framework, where demand comes on the part of individuals wanting places in the system, and supply is determined not only by various directives and agreements between educational ministries and institutions (and other factors), but also the money available to universities and colleges through tuition fees. The supply and demand curves are then put together with a stylised tuition-setting rule to describe the “market” of post-secondary schooling. This market determines the number of students in the system, and their characteristics, especially as they relate to “ability” and family background, the latter being especially relevant to access issues. The manner in which various changes in the system – including tuition fees, student financial aid, government support for institutions, and the returns to schooling – are then discussed in terms of how they affect the number of students and their characteristics, or capacity and access.

Minorities, Measured Cognitive Skills and the Earnings of Canadians (Working Paper 26)

This paper uses the Statistics Canada Survey of Literacy Skills in Daily Use (LSUDA) to investigate minority-“white”(i.e., non-minority) income differences and the role education and English/French literacy and numeracy skills play in those patterns. There are three principal sets of findings. First, among males, some visible minority groups have substantially lower levels of the measured language and number skills than whites and other more economically successful minorities, and in some cases these differences play a significant role in explaining the observed income patterns. The minority-white income gaps are, however, much smaller for women, and the literacy and numeracy variables do not have much of a role to play in explaining those differences. Second, for men, the minority-white income gaps are largely confined to immigrants, and there are no significant differences amongst the native-born once various factors which affect incomes (including education and the literacy and numeracy measures) are taken into account. For women, though, minority-white income differences only emerge for certain Canadian-born groups when they are differentiated from immigrants, for whom different gaps become apparent. Finally, the measured returns to literacy and numeracy differ significantly by ethnic group and sex. Various implications of the findings are discussed.

Experience, Education and Subjectivity: A Comparison of John Dewey's and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Conceptions of Experience and Their Implications for Education

This thesis compares John Dewey’s philosophy of experience and Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, and illustrates how Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology can strengthen and further Dewey’s philosophy of education. I begin by drawing the connection between Dewey’s philosophy of experience and his philosophy of education, and illustrate how Dewey’s understanding of growth, and thinking in education, is rooted in and informed by his detailed philosophy of experience. From there, I give an interpretation of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology with a focus on his descriptions of subjectivity that he presents in the Phenomenology of Perception. Following this, I outline some of the implications Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology has on our understanding of rationality, expression and existence. In the final chapter, I make the comparison between Dewey’s philosophy of experience and Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology. After demonstrating how these two philosophies are not only similar but also complementary, I then look to Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology to provide insight into and to advance Dewey’s philosophy of education. I will illustrate how Merleau-Ponty’s understanding of subjectivity helps to support, and reinforce the rationale behind Dewey’s inquiry-based approach to education. Furthermore, I will show how Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology and its implications for rationality, expression and existence support Dewey’s democratic ideal and add a hermeneutical element to Dewey’s philosophy of education.

Gendered Responses to Global Crisis: Circular Migration and Return among Ecuadorian Families in Spain and Ecuador

This paper analyzes the impact of Spain’s economic crisis on social reproduction strategies of Ecuadorian migrant families in Madrid and Quito. The paper analyzes circular migration experiences and more permanent returns to Ecuador. I argue that these strategies and migrants' greater or lesser capabilities to move between different migration destinations show significant gender differences. On the one hand, men and women make a differential use of their migratory status to deploy transnational strategies and expand their mobility. On the other hand, migrants’ degree of mobility and flexibility with regard to the labor market and transnational social reproduction are derivative of a specific gendered order and sexual division of labor.

Facultad por Facultad. Origen familiar y empleo de los licenciados en CCSS y Humanidades de la UCM en el año 2003

Muchos estudios encuentran un efecto del origen social sobre la ocupación y el salario incluso tras controlar la educación. Este efecto, que suele ser pequeño, puede ser un artificio resultante del deficiente control de la educación. Este trabajo examina la importancia de controlar en detalle la educación desagregando las carreras universitarias. Estudiamos el clasismo del mercado de trabajo para una promoción de titulados en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) en los seis años entre su graduación en 1997 y 2003. Esta es la fecha de la encuesta gracias a la cual podemos medir la influencia del status social de los padres sobre las oportunidades de empleo de los hijos no con título universitario en general, sino con el mismo título universitario. Encontramos que la influencia del origen social sobre la clase profesional y los ingresos disminuye mucho cuando se controlan las titulaciones, y que no se observa en la mayor parte de ellas, pero sí en algunas, en concreto Políticas y Sociología y Económicas. Esta concreción allana el camino para investigar las vías por las que esta influencia se produce.

Challenges and barriers in primary school education: The experiences of Traveller children and young people in Northern Ireland

Exclusion, discrimination and widespread disadvantage are issues common to the Traveller community. Children from the Traveller community are often seen as the most at risk within the education system in respect of attendance, attainment and bullying. In this article, we consider the views of Traveller children and parents with respect to primary level education in Northern Ireland and assess the level of support that exists to help Traveller children within the education system. The findings from the research are discussed with reference to institutional discrimination and the varying experiences of children and their families, including an identification of positive attitudes to education contrary to typical stereotypes.

Leverage, Volatile Future Earnings Growth and Expected Stock Returns

We provide theory and evidence to complement Choi's [RFS, 2013] important new insights on the returns to equity in `value' firms. We show that higher future earnings growth ameliorates the value-reducing effect of leverage and, because the market for earnings is incomplete, reduces the earnings-risk sensitivity of the default option. Ceteris paribus, a levered firm with low (high) earnings growth is more sensitive to the first (second) of these effects thus generating higher (lower) expected returns. We demonstrate this by modeling equity as an Asian-style call option on net earnings and find significant empirical support for our hypotheses.

Climbing Up the Leaderboard: An Empirical Study of Applying Gamification Techniques to a Computer Programming Class

Conventional taught learning practices often experience difficulties in keeping students motivated and engaged. Video games, however, are very successful at sustaining high levels of motivation and engagement through a set of tasks for hours without apparent loss of focus. In addition, gamers solve complex problems within a gaming environment without feeling fatigue or frustration, as they would typically do with a comparable learning task. Based on this notion, the academic community is keen on exploring methods that can deliver deep learner engagement and has shown increased interest in adopting gamification – the integration of gaming elements, mechanics, and frameworks into non-game situations and scenarios – as a means to increase student engagement and improve information retention. Its effectiveness when applied to education has been debatable though, as attempts have generally been restricted to one-dimensional approaches such as transposing a trivial reward system onto existing teaching materials and/or assessments. Nevertheless, a gamified, multi-dimensional, problem-based learning approach can yield improved results even when applied to a very complex and traditionally dry task like the teaching of computer programming, as shown in this paper. The presented quasi-experimental study used a combination of instructor feedback, real time sequence of scored quizzes, and live coding to deliver a fully interactive learning experience. More specifically, the “Kahoot!” Classroom Response System (CRS), the classroom version of the TV game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, and Codecademy’s interactive platform formed the basis for a learning model which was applied to an entry-level Python programming course. Students were thus allowed to experience multiple interlocking methods similar to those commonly found in a top quality game experience. To assess gamification’s impact on learning, empirical data from the gamified group were compared to those from a control group who was taught through a traditional learning approach, similar to the one which had been used during previous cohorts. Despite this being a relatively small-scale study, the results and findings for a number of key metrics, including attendance, downloading of course material, and final grades, were encouraging and proved that the gamified approach was motivating and enriching for both students and instructors.

Avaliação da eficiência dos programas de pós-graduação acadêmicos em Administração, Contabilidade e Turismo

The Triennial Evaluation of Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) is made according to several indicators, divided into several issues and items, and their weights. In these it is evident the importance of scientific periodicals. This study aims to evaluate the relative efficiency of post-graduate students in Business Administration, Accounting and tourism evaluated by CAPES in Brazil. The methodology used the data envelopment analysis - DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis). The data were obtained from the site and organized by the CAPES Qualis score. The analysis was performed by the DEA variable returns to scale, product-oriented (BCC-O), with data from the three-year periods 2004-2006 and 2007-2009. Among the main results are the average increase significantly the relative efficiency of the programs in the period 2007-2009 compared to 2004-2006 period, the highest average efficiency of programs linked to public institutions in relation to private, doctoral programs with the present average efficiency sharply higher than those only with masters, and senior programs in general were more efficient. There is also moderate and significant correlation between the efficiency scores and concepts CAPES. The Malmquist index analysis showed that more than 85% of programs had increased productivity. It is noteworthy that the main effect that influences the increase of the Malmquist index is the displacement of the border (Frontier-shift)

Neoliberal and Neoconservative Immiseration Capitalism in England: Policies and Impacts on Society and on Education

In this article we firstly set out the facts about the current stage of capitalism, the Immiseration stage of neoliberal capitalism in England. We note its relationship with conservatism and neo-conservatism. We identify increased societal inequalities, the assault by the capitalist state on its opponents, and proceed to describe and analyse what neoliberalism and neo-conservatism have done and are doing to education in England- in the schools, further education, and university sectors. We present two testimonies about the impacts of neoliberalism/ neo-conservatism, one from the school sector, one from the further / vocational education sector, as a means of describing, analysing, and then theorising the parameters of the neoliberal/ neoconservative restructuring education and its impacts. We conclude by further theorising this. With the election of a Conservative majority in the 7 May 2015 general election in the UK, the policies and processes of neoliberalisation and neoconservatisation are being intensified.