Challenges of implementing customer discovery in learning analytics: a case study of Algole

There is a strong mismatch between demand and supply in current state of higher education in India. Over a million students aspire for a seat in the coveted top tier universities offering around 15 000 places. The students have to undergo a series of entrance examinations and based on their performance top candidates are offered a place. This gap between demand and supply has given birth to a highly competitive environment where students reach out to professional coaching institutions to improve their chances of success in the entrance examinations. The teaching methods of the coaching institutions do not consider the characteristics of different students and do not provide guidance based on the students actual needs. Algole, a learning analytics startup, is building a system to optimize students test taking strategy and help them achieve a higher score in the entrance examination. To validate the problem and solution the Algole’s team used the knowledge of Eric Ries’ Lean startup and Steve Blank’s customer development methodology. This aim of this thesis is to discover the specific challenges of implementing customer discovery methodology, the first of customer development, in the field of learning analytics. The thesis further concentrates on Algole with an aim to discover flaws in their conducted customer discovery process and provide critique and recommendations for validating their business model hypothesis. To conduct this research authors had access to all the data Algole’s team had gathered during their customer discovery process and held several interviews with the team members. Based on this information a detailed account is given about the chosen methods used by Algole and by analysing gathered data the authors of this thesis derive to the following conclusions.http://www.ester.ee/record=b4442244*es

How Supervisors Influence Performance: A Multilevel Study of Coaching and Group Management in Technology-Mediated Services

This multilevel study examines the role of supervisors in improving employee performance through the use of coaching and group management practices. It examines the individual and synergistic effects of these management practices. The research subjects are call center agents in highly standardized jobs, and the organizational context is one in which calls, or task assignments, are randomly distributed via automated technology, providing a quasi-experimental approach in a real-world context. Results show that the amount of coaching that an employee received each month predicted objective performance improvements over time. Moreover, workers exhibited higher performance where their supervisor emphasized group assignments and group incentives and where technology was more automated. Finally, the positive relationship between coaching and performance was stronger where supervisors made greater use of group incentives, where technology was less automated, and where technological changes were less frequent. Implications and potential limitations of the present study are discussed

Harness the Power of Frontline Supervisors to Turn HR Policies into Performance Gains

Key Findings: • Frontline supervisors play a critical role in implementing HR policies by developing employees and managing performance. • Coaching counts—one-on-one feedback from frontline supervisors increases the bottom-line by improving individual productivity. • Coaching alone isn’t enough. It is much more effective when combined with other management practices—for example, group incentives that enhance collaborative problem-solving and learning, and reinforce the lessons from individual coaching. • The resources and constraints of workplace technologies can affect the return on your frontline coaching and HR management strategies. Don’t overlook the level of process automation and rate of technical change on the job

Work Organisation and Innovation - Case Study: Rabobank, Netherlands

[Excerpt] Rabobank Nederland (RN) is part of Rabobank Group, which provides financial services and insurance. It is the largest financial services provider in the Netherlands. The group operates in 47 countries and has an employee base of 59,670 full-time equivalents (FTE). In the Netherlands RN has an employee base of 6,800 FTE, which is more or less equal to 8,500 employees. RN is a cooperative, located in Utrecht, and the administrative centre for 139 (2011) local cooperative Rabobanks. The local banks are not branches of RN as each of them has its own banking licence from the central Nederlandsche Bank. The joint employee base of the local Rabobanks is 27,000 FTE. The 139 local Rabobanks, RN and affiliates, provide services to some 10 million clients, including 1.9 million members (Rabobank Annual Report, 2011)

National Evaluation of the Capacity Building Programme in English Local Government: Annex 3. Direct Support in Poor and Weak Local Authorities: Emerging findings

This report summarises emerging findings from initial scoping analysis and case study fieldwork with authorities that have received Direct Support from the Capacity Building Programme (CBP) for local government. The report is one of a series of outputs from the national evaluation of the CBP, being undertaken by a team of researchers at the Policy Research Institute (PRI) at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Cities Research Unit at the University of West of England

Alternative routes to good jobs in the service economy: Employment restructuring and human resource management in incumbent telecommunications firms

This is a practitioner report detailing findings from a three-year study on organizational restructuring and employment outcomes at 10 incumbent telecommunications firms, supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. It presents background on markets, ownership, and institutions in the case study firms and countries, and compares restructuring policies in three areas: downsizing and employment adjustment; diversifying employment contracts; and work organization and human resource Management. The report concludes with policy recommendations, based on findings from the study.ESRC Grant RES-061-25-044

HR: Innovation\u27s Accelerator

[Excerpt] Amazon and Borders. Netflix and Blockbuster. Uber and taxi drivers. Digital camera makers and Kodak. The list could go on and on. Individual stories of disruptive innovation such as these are some of the most well known - and ca utionary - business tales of our times. Yet, many firms remain blindly confident that such an outcome will never happen to their company. Recent research suggests otherwise. According to a 2016 report by the innova tion -focused firm Innosight, high M&A activity and billion -dollar startup valuations are creating significant market turbulence, with 28 companies being replaced on the S&P 500 index in 2015 alone. At current churn rates, Innosight estimates that by 2026, half of the entire S&P 500 will be replaced-a staggering and sobering figure. As such, the ability to develop deep innovation capabilities has never been more important, for both growth and survival. This year\u27s CAHRs Research Assistant (RA) project takes on this very topic, examining the intersection between HR & Innovation, and how progressive HR leaders can create value and impact through a range of human capital strategies and solutions. Consistent with past CAHRS RA projects, the research methodology for this paper was qualitative in nature, including 41 interviews with HR and business executives at 31 different partner companies, all within the Fortune 500. Unique to this year\u27s project, and in addition to the traditional focus on HR leaders, research assistants also spoke with more than 10 business and innovation leaders, to get a richer, deeper view of innovation. Interviews consisted of 11 questions, but largely focused on three key categories: Why is innovation often so hard? What factors lead to innovation success? How can HR leaders be innovation change agents within their company? Our findings and recommendations follow below

A legacy handbook for business support

Legacy Handbook reviewing emda's experience of business support activity. Identifies key achievements and draws out lessons learned that may be relevant to successor bodies active in this area