Blending process assessment and employees competencies assessment in very small entities

The ISO/IEC 29110 series aims to provide Very Small Entities (VSEs) with a set of standards based on subsets of existing standards. Process capability determination does not seem suitable for a VSE in terms of return on investment. Our approach proposes to move the viewpoint away from process and to the human resources. We propose a blended assessment model using the ISO/IEC 15504 for the level 1, but based on competency assessment for higher capability levels

Pathways and Progress: Best Practices to Ensure Fair Compensation

What are the most common barriers to fair compensation, and what are the most effective ways that organizations can overcome them? This cutting-edge report on compensation practices outlines flexible approaches and proven solutions that work for businesses and nonprofits of all sizes. Learn how leading employers have used these approaches to improve their compensation practices and obtain tools that are applicable to any organization.More reports like this one are available on WE's website under Media Center > Publications > Making Workplaces Fairer

Post-traditional Learners and the Transformation of Postsecondary Education: A Manifesto for College Leaders

Our traditional system of two- and four-year colleges and universities is not well-suited to educate post-traditional learners, writes Louis Soares. Postsecondary education leaders need to be challenged to embrace a future of innovation that may put their current institutional, instructional, and financial models at risk. This paper includes a brief primer on innovation, a profile of post-traditional learners, a look at the U.S. investment in postsecondary education and training, and concludes with three principles to "catalyze a manifesto for college leaders on how to proceed.

Predicting business/ICT alignment with AntMiner+.

In this paper we report on the results of a European survey on business/ICT alignment practices. The goal of this study is to come up with some practical guidelines for managers on how to strive for better alignment of ICT investments with business requirements. Based on Luftman's alignment framework we examine 18 ICT management practices belonging to 6 different competency clusters. We use AntMiner+, a rule induction technique, to create an alignment rule set. The results indicate that B/ICT alignment is a multidimensional goal which can only be obtained through focused investments covering different alignment aspects. The obtained rule set is an interesting mix of both formal engineering and social interaction processes and structures. We discuss the implication of the alignment rules for practitioners.Alignment; Artificial ant systems; Business; Business/ICT alignment; Data; Data mining; Framework; Investment; Investments; Management; Management practices; Managers; Practical guidelines; Processes; Requirements; Rules; Structure; Studies; Systems;

Increasing Effectiveness in Global NGO Networks

A tsunami hits a densely populated coast. Aid organizations mobilize, and the world watches as several national members of the same global network respond independently in an uncoordinated way. A new treaty is being developed that would allow countries to claim carbon offsets through forest conservation. But national leaders in the same global nonprofit network disagree about its value. A large organization solicits funds from a major U.S. foundation. At the same time, its sister nonprofit, with the same brand name, approaches the foundation. The funder's leaders are confused, and wonder about the seeming conflict. The question of how much to centralize -- or decentralize -- decision-making and operations has dogged global organizations for centuries. Studies of for-profits show that the best answer can be different at different points in an organization's growth. But few such studies exist for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and for too many of these nonprofits, the scenarios described above will sound all too familiar because they reflect flashpoints that occur when an operational structure is no longer optimal. What's needed is a way for an NGO's leaders to get out ahead of these flashpoints when possible, by learning to determine in advance when their organization's approach to operations and decision-making need to be revised, and along what lines. In an effort to help with this important task, we synthesized what we've learned through case work with a diverse group of global nonprofits; we also conducted interviews with the leaders and staff at more than 30 global NGOs. Our findings illuminate an emerging approach that blends the best of efficiencies at an organization's center and local innovation in the field

Building scale in community impact investing through nonfinancial performance measurement

The measurement of nonfinancial performance is becoming increasingly important in the community impact investing industry, where individuals and institutions actively deploy capital in low-income domestic markets for both financial and social returns. Quality data ensure that the creation of jobs, construction of community facilities, financing of affordable housing, and other benefits that characterize the sector are delivered cost-effectively and transparently. This paper discusses the limited practice and future direction of nonfinancial performance measurement by revisiting four key questions: ; 1. Does nonfinancial performance measurement really matter for investors? ; 2. If it does matter, is nonfinancial performance measurement even possible? ; 3. If nonfinancial performance is possible to measure, what form should it take? ; 4. How will nonfinancial performance measurement increase community impact investing? ; The paper examines the barriers to a more robust regime of nonfinancial performance measurement and posits both that innovation in the sector ought to be driven by the discrete but explicit needs and demands of investors, and that greater accountability has a special role to play in making disclosure more attractive. The report concludes that nonfinancial performance measurement directly informs the investment process and is essential to growing community impact investing because it provides latent sources of capital with market-level information on the tradeoffs between financial and social return. Although the industry is unlikely to discover the “silver bullet” of nonfinancial performance measurement in the near future, there is reason to be hopeful: measurement strategies can – and will – converge through private- and public-sector innovation.Community development

The university as an open platform? : a critique of agility

The agile organisation is a concept in a whole series of supposedly new organisational concepts of recent decades. The demand for agility in the organisational context is based on the assumption that the environment develops increasingly disruptively and that organisations must adapt agilely to these disruptive developments. However, the theory of disruptive development is fraught with problems, and, thus, the theoretical and empirical basis of justification for agile organisation is rather weak. The article discusses the dilemmas of agile universities in the form of nine theses. Agility does not solve the main problem of the lack of innovation. Agility, as defined by the majority, is a form of passivity towards the environment, yet it is not only about adaptation, but also about active transformation. We do not need more agility, but rather more innovation. The concluding remarks set out in four points what remains of agility for the university

Customized Employment Employers and Workers: Creating a Competitive Edge

[Excerpt] The Customized Employment process is a flexible blend of strategies, services, and supports designed to increase employment options for job seekers with complex needs through the voluntary negotiation of the employment relationship with an employer. The job seeker is the primary source of information and drives the process. The Customized Employment process begins with an exploration phase that lays the foundation for employment planning. Planning results in a blueprint for the job search, during which an employment relationship is negotiated to meet the needs of both the job seeker and the employer

Knowledge Management What Can Organizational Economics Contribute?

Knowledge management has emerged as a very successful organization practice and has been extensively treated in a large body of academic work. Surprisingly, however, organizational economics (i.e., transaction cost economics, agency theory, team theory and property rights theory) has played no role in the development of knowledge management. We argue that organizational economics insights can further the theory and practice of knowledge management in several ways. Specifically, we apply notions of contracting, team production, complementaries, hold-up, etc. to knowledge management issues (i.e., creating and integration knowledge, rewarding knowledge workers, etc.) , and derive refutable implications that are novel to the knowledge management field from our discussion.Transaction costs, organizational economics