Capacity building for transnationalisation of higher education

Purpose – Transnationalism and transnational concept are extensively researched in many social science areas; however, transnational management and transnational marketing is relatively a less explored research domain. Also, knowledge management for transnational education (TNE) marketing is not well-researched. Capacity building is an established research-stream, with a key focus on socio-economic and ecological development; however, prior research on capacity building from the context of TNE’s knowledge management and marketing is scarce. The purpose of this study is to analyse TNE marketing mix, to understand the influence of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) on knowledge management in TNE to uphold their transnatioalisation processes through capacity building in TNEs’ marketing management. Design/methodology/approach – An inductive constructivist method is followed. Findings – Organisational learning from the context of transnational market and socio-economic competitive factors, based on analysing the transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) is imperative for proactive knowledge management capacity in TNE marketing. Following the analysis of transnational stakeholders’ causal scope(s) to learn about the cause and consequence of the transnational stakeholders’ relationships and interactions, an initial conceptual framework of knowledge management for TNE marketing is proposed. Practical insights from different TNE markets are developed in support of this novel knowledge management capacity building framework of TNE, and its generalisation perspectives and future research areas are discussed. Practical implications – These insights will be useful for TNE administrators to better align their knowledge management perspectives and propositions with their transnational stakeholders to underpin TNE marketing. Academics will be able to use these insights as a basis for future research. Originality/value – This study proposes a novel conceptual stakeholder-centred capacity building framework for TNE’s knowledge management to uphold TNE marketing and supports the framework, based on practical insights from three different transnational markets

Requirement Prioritization Decision Factors for Agile Development Environments

In an agile development environment, project planners continuously prioritize work tasks so requirements that provide the most value are delivered first. This strategy is based on Value Based Software Engineering principles that different requirements deliver different levels of value and diverse stakeholders view the importance of the value of various requirements differently and thus, will prioritize them differently. However, we found that there are several core values that stakeholders have more agreement in terms of relevancy and importance than others. By knowing these core values, project planners have increased insights as to which requirements should be prioritized higher, hence, hopefully increasing overall stakeholder satisfaction and reducing project risk

The key performance indicators of the BIM implementation process

Contemporarily some firms in the construction industry are attempting to adopt a BIM method of working. Each of these attempts reflects a varying BIM adoption philosophy and inevitably different BIM technologies, implementation strategies and roadmaps. On the other hand, all these attempts are often motivated to attain competitive advantages for product delivery in the market place. The question of what the best method of adopting BIM has not been answered yet. That is to say, it is required to identify a standard method that will benchmark the different BIM adoption cases by comparing the efficiency gains in these cases: a standard benchmarking method can help the stakeholders to decide on the most appropriate strategies for themselves. This paper explains the live experience of BIM adoption in a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) project, undertaken between the University of Salford and John McCall Architects practicing in the housing and regeneration fields, with a particular focus on a set of KPIs that have been developed and tested through the action research strategy in the project. Weighting of these KPI’s has been developed from an architectural business perspectiv

Supply Chain Engagement Through Relationship Management?

Many studies carried out in relation to construction procurement methods have revealed evidence that there needs to be a change of culture and attitude in the construction industry, moving away from traditional adversarial relationships to cooperative and collaborative relationships. At the same time there is also increasing concern and discussion on alternative procurement methods, involving a movement away from traditional procurement systems. Relational contracting approaches, such as relationship management, are business strategies whereby client, commercial participants' and stakeholders' objectives are aligned. This paper reviews a range of relationship management project case studies undertaken between public and private organisations in Queensland, Australia and reports on the critical factors identified that influence the success of relationship management projects. The research takes place within the context of the supply chain and reflects attempts by a government agency to engage the supply chain through relationship management approaches. The advantages accruing from engagement include community benefit, added value and innovation. Relationship management is a system that provides a collaborative environment and a framework for all participants to adapt their behaviour to project objectives and allows for engagement of those subcontractors and suppliers 'down the supply chain'. It is about open communication, sharing resources and experiences, exposing the 'hidden' risks in the project for the benefit of all participants. The case studies suggest that leadership has a strong influence on the relationship management climate which needs to be facilitated and nurtured. Commitment and action by the senior management (and, so, parent organisations) can have a strong impact on the team and relationship management culture, indicating relationship management has a high chance of failure when there is inadequate support from top management. Like all relational contracting approaches, trust between relationship management partners is important. The authors conclude that without a positive approach to relationship management a sustainable industry and continuous improvement are not possible. So, the authors postulate that a 'sustainable supply chain' is essentially tautological without the existence of a clear relational vision that leads to both soft and hard infrastructure to assist and inform decision making and encourage relationship building. An example of this is discussed at the end of the paper

Developing win-win solutions for virtual placements in informatics: The VALS case

The placements and internships are one of the main paths to get professional background and some skills for students, especially in areas like informatics and computer sciences. The European-funded VALS project tries to promote the virtual placements and establish a new initiative in virtual placements called Semester of Code. This initiative binds higher education institutions, students, companies, foundations and Open Source projects in order to create virtual placements and solve needs that they have in relation with those placements. This paper introduces some projects about virtual placements that other institutions and companies perform, also the paper describes the needs, opinions and considerations about the virtual placements for each stakeholder involved in the placements, to finally explain the design decisions and actions behind the Semester of Code, and how they are intended to get better virtual placements and successful results

Knowledge management during radical change: Applying a process oriented approach

During periods of radical organisational change two elements - namely the organisation's strategy and its people - are affected profoundly. Strategic change involves refocusing the organisation in a direction that has little bearing on its past. People are affected by changes, as they are displaced to other parts of the organisation in different roles, or perhaps, are removed under the euphemism of de-layering, rightsizing and re-engineering. Hence, rather than enhance knowledge, senior managers inadvertently destroy knowledge during a radical organisational change. Yet pressures to change and the pace of change are unrelenting. Senior managers are forced to take an approach that can be summarised as ''change first - limit the damage to knowledge later''. Thus, this paper argues that organisations need a process to manage knowledge during periods of radical organisational change. The paper proposes such a process through case study evidence. It highlights actions managers take to ensure that they navigate the paradox of leading the organisation through radical change and nurture knowledge

Addressing the Conflicting Dimension of Groupware: A Case Study in Software Requirements Validation

This paper addresses the conflicting dimension of groupware, seeking the reconciliation of two very different assumptions about the users' attitudes using groupware tools: users either collaborate or negotiate to reach consensus. We argue that groupware should integrate the full spectrum of attitudes occurring between these two extremes. The designed solution integrates content and process support in a coherent model supporting low and high conflict situations. Furthermore, we propose a set of benefits and resistances, developed at the user-interface level, aiming to influence users towards low conflict attitudes when interacting with groupware. This approach was applied in a case study involving the development of a groupware tool supporting Quality Function Deployment for software requirements validation in a real-world organization. The case study indicated that the proposed approach was beneficial promoting consensus