Innovation: Can it be an on-the-spot idea or must it be pre-planned?

This research investigates the importance of innovation; why we do it and, most significantly, how we do it. Research and teaching practice would inevitably suggest that a lesson must be planned – and this is not something with which we disagree. However, what this research aims to discover is whether we can be innovative within a session without it having being fully pre-planned. Can an ‘on the spot’ idea be as successful as something which is planned days or weeks before the session? Our research was carried out within UCLan. The pre-planned innovation was utilised in the Lancashire Law School (LLS) where students were required to ‘peer mark’ for a mock assignment at foundation level. This innovation asked students to engage with the marking criteria and apply it effectively to their colleague’s presentations. The results of this ‘experiment’ were encouraging. Feedback suggested that the students had a better understanding of the assessment criteria and, perhaps more importantly, although unintentional, an increased level of trust between student and tutor. We used what we shall term an ‘on the spot’ innovation in the Lancashire Business School (LBS). This asked students of systems’ development to engage with the diagramming techniques often used by systems’ analysts. This took place on the whiteboard at the front of the room and students were invited to add one relationship (connection) at a time. The tutor photographed each step and a PowerPoint presentation was made using each relationship to build the finished diagram. This was annotated and circulated to all students. Both innovative teaching techniques were effective in terms of the outcomes experienced by all participants. This research will identify that innovative teaching techniques do not need to be a wholly and succinctly pre-planned activity. Innovation within teaching strategies can be both a thought out process, and a more ad-hoc idea

Anger expression and suppression at work: causes, characteristics and predictors

Purpose: The current study aims to explore the causes, characteristics and consequences of workplace anger expression and suppression, with an additional aim of testing the emotional dimension of Affective Events Theory. Design/methodology/approach: Participants (n=187) from management and non-management positions completed an event-contingent anger diary over a period of four working weeks, alongside measures on trait anger and job satisfaction. Findings: Over fifty per cent of the sample disclosed anger causing events. In keeping with Affective Events Theory disposition was important, with trait anger higher in those disclosing anger causing events. There appeared a range of factors predicting the expression of anger, with these focused primarily on individual issues and pre-existing emotion rather than work characteristics. Practical implications: Originality/value: Through consideration of management and non-management workers and by using a longitudinal design, the study highlights the importance of individual factors in understanding workplace anger. It notes the value in focusing on discrete emotion. The findings offers clear direction for future research that could assist with enhancing models of workplace emotion, particularly if the aim is to account for discrete emotions

Are all internships beneficial learning experiences? An exploratory study

Purpose - Internships are becoming a more common feature of the career paths of young people, however there has been little consideration of how people learn on internships. Design/methodology/approach - This study analyses the experiences of interns and their supervisors on a research internship programme, using communities of practice as a theoretical framework. Six interns and six supervisors were interviewed approximately six to eight months after the internships were completed. Findings - Four cases derived from the interviews illustrate extreme types of experience in the internships: optimal conditions for development, intern non-development, supervisor frustration and mutual dissatisfaction. Research limitations/implications - Although the research is exploratory and limited to the experience of a small group of interns and their supervisors in one setting, it suggests that characteristics of the intern (such as motivation to learn) and the supervisor (e.g. willingness to provide support) can reduce or enhance the learning and development that is achieved during internships. Originality/value - This paper questions implicit assumptions that internships are always positive and valuable learning experiences