The impact of triadic strategic alignment on organisational performance in Yemen

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business ManagementTo survive and succeed in the very competitive business environment, firms should have a clear business strategy supported by appropriate information technology (IT) and marketing strategies. Whilst many prior studies argue that strategic alignment between, for example, business strategy and IT strategy generally enhances organisational performance, strategic alignment including multiple factors has received little attention and strategic orientation of firms is rarely considered. This research, drawing on configurational theory and strategic management literature, aims to understand the performance impact of triadic strategic alignment between business, IT, and marketing strategies based on strategic orientation of firms. A number of hypotheses are proposed to examine the relationship between triadic strategic alignment and organisational performance through the use of structural equation modelling, and to identify generic types of triadic strategic alignment. The hypotheses are tested through MANOVA using data collected in a questionnaire survey of 242 managers in Yemen. The findings indicate that (1) there is an ideal triadic strategic alignment for prospectors and defenders; (2) triadic strategic alignment has a positive impact on organisational performance; and (3) triadic strategic alignment provides a better indication of the nature and performance impact of strategic alignment. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to support the arguments and to clarify how strategies should be aligned. This research also contributes to managers’ knowledge and understanding by suggesting how a firm should coherently align its strategies to improve organisational performance

Practical Measurement for Strategic Growth in an International School District

The accountability era of the past three decades failed to produce significant educational change, yet the standardized measures of student performance in primarily cognitive domains that epitomized that era continue to consume a disparate amount of energy and influence a disproportionate degree of decision-making in education organizations. That strategic-growth-crippling perseveration on standardized assessments is compounded by a general lack of change-process training, understanding and purposeful use in education contexts, and particularly exacerbated by the inability of education organizations to institutionalize effective innovations. The purpose of this study was to understand how a school district’s leadership team might move beyond a perseveration on parochial standardized assessments to innovate and employ a range of practical measures designed to bolster the district’s strategic improvement and embed operational innovations across the organization through a comprehensive change process. Acting from outside the district as a consultant, the researcher used critical education theory to inform a pragmatic-transformative worldview and appreciative-inquiry approach to that proposed change as well as emphasize the strengths and limits of the district leadership’s application of transformational leadership for organizational improvement. To provide an extensive example of a practical measurement tool, the Change Path Model (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2016) is compared to the school district’s accreditation-informed change process; through that practical assessment, strengths of the district’s change process are appreciated and built upon while a lack of straightforward measures for successful institutionalization of innovations within that change process is emphasized and subsequently resolved by the description of novel organizational measures that could be used by the district’s leadership team to positively inform the district’s strategic growth. The researcher concluded that the innovation and institutionalization of a broad range of practical, context-specific improvement measures should accelerate a school district’s strategic growth. The limits of using a pragmatic, structural-functionalist approach for social-justice change are acknowledged, and the need for more research into the use of a purely transformative approach to change is considered

Effectiveness of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Major Projects in Abu Dhabi’s Oil And Gas Industry: End-User’s Perspective

Even though project management discipline is gearing towards the improvement of project effectiveness, traditional project management is responding slowly due to either false preconceptions or ineffective communication among project parties. A research study is needed to contribute to knowledge and practice on the effectiveness of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting strategy and consequently increase the chance of achieving product success at the site level. The objective of the research presented herein is to assess the effectiveness of EPC contracting strategy in meeting product objectives, from the end user’s perspective. Required data are collected using an online survey questionnaire targeting end-users working in six major oil and gas projects in Abu Dhabi. The questionnaire data are analyses using the structural equation modeling (SEM) statistical technique. Research findings reveal statistical significant correlations between the “effectiveness” concept and its respective factors. Being the first known research evaluating the influence of both “end-user’s engagement” and “alignment of objectives” criteria on project effectiveness, it provides several contributions to literature and practice. These contributions are particularly illustrated as 1) the development of a conceptual measurement model for the “effectiveness” phenomenal concept, which could be applicable to researchers interested in examining such concept,( 2) the identification of possible factors shaping the conceptual domain of “end-user’s engagement” and “alignment of objectives” criteria in the oil and gas industry, (3) the operationalization of the conceptual measurement model based on measurement instruments verified by both literature and industry experts, and (4) the assessment of the strengths of influence of the causal factors on the effectiveness of EPC as well as the statistical significance of these relationships. The present research raises the awareness of oil and gas industry practitioners towards the influencing factors of “effectiveness”, “engagement” and “alignment” concepts. The generated SEM model thus serves as a motivation tool for acknowledging the end-users participation in various project phases and maintaining a proper alignment between project objectives and product objectives for the purpose of improving the project effectiveness

Effectiveness of Engineering, Procurement And Construction (EPC) Major Projects in Abu Dhabi\u27s Oil And Gas Industry: End User’s Perspective

Even though project management discipline is gearing towards the improvement of project effectiveness, traditional project management is responding slowly due to either false preconceptions or ineffective communication among project parties. A research study is needed to contribute to knowledge and practice on the effectiveness of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting strategy and consequently increase the chance of achieving product success at the site level. The objective of the research presented herein is to assess the effectiveness of EPC contracting strategy in meeting product objectives, from the end user’s perspective. Required data are collected using an online survey questionnaire targeting end-users working in six major oil and gas projects in Abu Dhabi. The questionnaire data are analyses using the structural equation modeling (SEM) statistical technique. Research findings reveal statistical significant correlations between the “effectiveness” concept and its respective factors. Being the first known research evaluating the influence of both “end-user’s engagement” and “alignment of objectives” criteria on project effectiveness, it provides several contributions to literature and practice. These contributions are particularly illustrated as 1) the development of a conceptual measurement model for the “effectiveness” phenomenal concept, which could be applicable to researchers interested in examining such concept,( 2) the identification of possible factors shaping the conceptual domain of “end-user’s engagement” and “alignment of objectives” criteria in the oil and gas industry, (3) the operationalization of the conceptual measurement model based on measurement instruments verified by both literature and industry experts, and (4) the assessment of the strengths of influence of the causal factors on the effectiveness of EPC as well as the statistical significance of these relationships. The present research raises the awareness of oil and gas industry practitioners towards the influencing factors of “effectiveness”, “engagement” and “alignment” concepts. The generated SEM model thus serves as a motivation tool for acknowledging the end-users participation in various project phases and maintaining a proper alignment between project objectives and product objectives for the purpose of improving the project effectiveness

Exploring the Role of Collective Teacher Efficacy in Closing Achievement Gaps: A Review of an Urban District Model School Program

Abstract Urban Academy is one of Urban Diverse School Board (UDSB)’s model schools situated in Ontario, Canada. A model school program was created to provide students with equitable access to resources and learning opportunities. Despite UDSB’s commitment to equity and inclusion, this urban school continues to experience persistent achievement gaps when aggregate data are analyzed. Based on student data, the achievement gap has been strongly connected to demographic factors such as low socioeconomic status (SES) of the parents. Educators’ beliefs and assumptions of low SES as an external factor posit achievement as a dilemma beyond teachers’ control. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), guided by Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols’ s (2016) Change Path Model and Donohoo’s (2017) Collective Teacher Inquiry Model, addresses a problem of practice (PoP) that needs school leaders to explore the closing of achievement gap through the promotion of collective teacher efficacy (CTE). According to research, CTE positively correlates with improved student performance. Academic achievement tends to be poorer in schools with lower sense of CTE while improved academic performance is higher in schools with greater sense of CTE. In order for Urban Academy to experience change and close achievement gaps, this OIP recommends a blend of transformational and transformative leadership approach known for fostering collaboration, addressing inequity, and modelling valued behaviours and beliefs (Sun & Leithwood, 2012; Shields, 2010; 2013). With deep learning and reflections through collaborative inquiry, the preferred solution of this OIP is to explore how CTE can be enhanced to effect transformational change that will improve student academic achievement

The Dynamics of Information Collaboration: A Case Study of Blended IT Value Propositions for Health Information Exchange in Disability Determination

Recent developments in health information technology (health IT) for health information exchange suggest that successful public-private collaborations should devote more attention to understanding the dynamics of collaboration. In the context of health information sharing for disability determination, this case study examines early instances of public-private interorganizational sharing of health information. The theoretical focus of the paper is on the construction of blended value propositions and their role in collaboration for health information exchange. For this purpose, we performed a case analysis of a prototype health IT application to be shared between the United States Social Security Administration and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The case analysis found that business, socio-organizational, and technical dynamics were operative during the planning and execution of the prototype. From a theoretical perspective, the case study provides insight into blended value propositions in terms of understanding and potentially predicting the success of newly established Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). The findings have implications for further development of collaboration value propositions and their evolution over the course of IT deployments for health information exchange

Managing the sublime aesthetic when communicating an assessment regime: The Burkean Pendulum

The importance of understanding students’ engagement is prominent in higher education. Assessment is a main driver of student engagement, a phenomenon known as backwash. I argue that students’ engagement with learning is often driven by an aesthetic motivation. I establish the connections between Burke’s (and Kant’s) conceptualisation of aesthetics as a dichotomy of beauty and the sublime (which I label the Burkean pendulum) to motivation. I explore the links between this aesthetic motivation and the assessment regime focusing on the Burkean/Kantian sublime and suggest four communication strategies to manage the sublime when it arises in students’ education journeys. My contributions are twofold:firstly, I introduce the Burkean Pendulum as a means for educators to reflect on the aesthetic aspects of their designed assessment regimes. Secondly, I propose a framework of communication strategy narratives (Thriller, Horror, Exploration, and Action) that could be used to manage the sublime of the assessment regime

Innovative learning in action (ILIA) issue four: New academics engaging with action research

This edition of ILIA showcases four papers which were originally submitted as action research projects on the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and Research programme. Within the programme we offer an environment where participants can explore their unique teaching situations – not to produce all-encompassing approaches to Higher Education (HE) practice but to develop an ongoing dialogue about the act of teaching. In effect, there are no generalisable ‘best’ methods of teaching because they never work as well as ‘locally produced practice in action’ (Kincheloe, 2003:15). Thus rather than providing short term ‘survival kits’ the programme offers new HE teachers a ‘frame’ for examining their own and their colleagues’ teaching alongside questioning educational purpose and values in the pursuit of pedagogical improvement. This ‘frame’ is action research which Ebbutt (1985:156) describes as: …The systematic study of attempts to change and improve educational practice by groups of participants by means of their own practical actions and by means of their own reflections upon the effects of their actions… We promote ‘practitioner-research’ or ‘teacher-research’ as a way of facilitating professional development for new HE teachers, promoting change and giving a voice to their developing personal and professional knowledge. Teachers as researchers embark upon an action orientated, iterative and collaborative process to interrogate their own practices, question their own assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs in order to better understand, influence and enrich the context of their own situations. The action researcher assumes that practitioners are knowledgeable about their own teaching situations and the fact that they are ‘in-situ’ and not at ‘arms length’ as the value-neutral, ‘scientific’ researcher is often claimed to be, does not invalidate their knowledge. Thus, practitioners are capable of analysing their own actions within a ‘reflective practitioner’ modus operandi. Action research is on-going in conception and well suited to examining the ever-changing and increasingly complex HE practice environment. Findings from action research are always subject to revision since it intrinsically acknowledges the need to constantly revisit widely diverse teaching situations and scenarios across everyday HE practice. Teaching is not predictable and constant, it always occurs in a contemporary microcosm of uncertainty. Action research provides an analytical framework for new HE teachers to begin to engage with this unpredictability on a continuing basis, that is its purpose and also its perennial challenge. The papers presented here describe how four relatively new HE teachers have begun to address the challenge of improving their practice within their locally based settings utilising the action research ‘paradigm’

Adapting ERP Systems in the Post-implementation Stage: Dynamic IT Capabilities for ERP

Background: Firms recently rely on enterprise systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), to integrate, automate, and support business strategy and operations. However, uncertain environments require firms continuously adapt their ERP systems to meet changing business demands in the post-implementation stage. What capability can drive ERP post-implementation adaptation (PIA) deserves further research. Based on the dynamic capabilities view, we propose that dynamic IT capabilities for ERP, namely IT sensing, IT learning, IT integration, and IT coordination capability, can drive ERP-PIA. Method: A cross-sectional and matched-pair mail survey of both business and IS executives was administrated for collecting data from the top 1,000 manufacturing firms in Taiwan. Partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was constructed for measurement validation and hypotheses testing. Results: Based on 128 samples (74 firms), our findings demonstrate the importance of the dynamic IT capabilities for achieving higher levels of ERP-PIA. ERP-PIA can facilitate greater organizational benefits from system use. Conclusions: This study conceptualizes and empirically demonstrates the importance of ERP-PIA, which provides a specific example of IT/IS adaptation. This study also conceptualizes dynamic IT capabilities for ERP, and theorizes how these capabilities interact to enable firms to adapt ERP systems to fulfill the emergent demands. This study improvs the understanding of the roles of dynamic IT capabilities for ERP in enabling ERP-PIA and organizational benefits through a richer theoretical framing than that of prior studies. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol12/iss1/2

An Examination of Oregon Department of Education\u27s Implementation Processes and Practices

The purpose of this study was to examine state-level implementation practices and processes of current initiatives or programs through personal interviews with implementation managers at the Oregon Department of Education. This study used a qualitative research design for gathering individual perspectives on their effective and ineffective processes and practices for implementation and identified commonalities across implementation managers and departments. This study answered three research questions: (1) What are the practices and processes described by implementation managers in this study as effective for the implementation of their initiative or program?; (2) How are implementation elements conceptualized, enacted, and measured by implementation managers in this study?; and, (3) Which elements are identified by implementation managers in this study as key to contributing to overall implementation effectiveness? The findings in this study identified 6 key themes and 20 sub-themes comprised of elements and components of implementation processes and practices. These findings were compared against three meta-frameworks found in the research on best practices in implementation: (1) Active Implementation Framework (AIF), (2) Quality Implementation Framework (QIF), and (3) Strategy Implementation Framework (SIF). I used the findings from this study to develop an Implementation Conceptual Framework and a Framework for Implementation Processes and Practices that can be used to: (1) develop an understanding of the interconnected systems of policies, processes, and practices that influence each other; (2) provide a process for breaking down complex implementation processes and practices; and (3) create a strategy for alignment and coherence across implementation of initiative and programs, while providing areas for variation and innovation