From Teacher-Centred Instruction to Peer Tutoring in the Heterogeneous International Classroom: A Danish Case of Instructional Change

This case study documents a seminar redesign from a teacher-centered instruction format to the collaborative ‘reciprocal peer tutoring’ (RPT) at Aarhus University, Denmark. Departing from Bourdieuian concepts and the notion of “superdiversity” by Vertovec, we argue that teachers have to meet student requirements within Danish Higher Education (HE). This student body is quite diverse, international and multilinguistic with different cultural expectations and knowledge standards.At the same time, the Danish HE tradition with its low degree of formality and an affinity towards collaborative learning, allows for non-traditional instruction styles as an answer to such heterogeneity. The object of our documentation is thus a seminar before and after didactical restructuring in a Danish setting.We document both the in-classroom methods of instruction before and after the implementation of RPT and the methods and instruments used to monitor this change. For this, we provide insight into student group reports, students’ learning reports, a lesson time table, seminar evaluations, focus group interviews, teacher-student communication and course descriptions.Our study contributes on several levels: firstly, we provide course responsibles with a detailed insight into how a seminar redesign to RPT can be achieved. Secondly, we provide a basis for introducing such change by documenting the positive assessment as an outcome of the monitoring. We thereby address diversity and in-classroom heterogeneity on a didactical level

BUSINESS MODEL COMMUNICATION AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN CROSS NATIONAL ACQUISITIONS

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the link between external business model communication and financial performance for ten cross-national acquisitions by Danish companies. Methodology: We tie stakeholder and shareholder theory to Magretta’s (2002) model, which capture a holistic approach to the analysis of newsletters and financial data. We further apply Fairclough’s (1992) critical discourse analysis and regression analyses to analyze the communication process and the accounting data after the acquisition, respectively. Findings: The study identifies a lack of business model communication in an acquisition process. Furthermore, our analyses show that 15 years after the acquisitions, the acquirers have generally not established substantial links between their own business models and the business models of the acquired companies. As to the quantitative analyses, above average narrative communication has a weak link to company performance. Antecedents of good communication are the number of stakeholders that have to be addressed, as well as the anticipated disruptive events after the acquisition. Research limitations: The analytically indicated links between external communication and financial performance have limitations due to a small sample and due to the complex organizational set-up where the acquired organizations’ financial performance is quickly absorbed into the parent company. Originality: This study is novel in its approach of applying a longitudinal qualitative as well as quantitative approach to business model identification in mergers and acquisitions. Furthermore, it provides linkages and discussions of business model conceptualization with stakeholder and shareholder theories. &nbsp

Customer accounting and free return policies of retailers

This case study deals with a retail company. It illustrates how the use of customer accounting can improve its profitability and reshape customer relationships. The case also discusses parameters of appropriate transfer pricing and incentive systems. Students can use this case as an illustrative example in class and use the open-ended questions to reflect on the managerial implications

Activity-based costing as a basis for transfer prices and target setting

Purpose: The article deals with a division of a large electronics company. The division intends to improve its product profitability using Time-driven Activity-based Costing. It also aims at aligning the incentives of executives by setting feasible transfer prices and motivating targets. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article illustrates how variance analysis and Activity-based Costing help managers to understand the different profitability of products better. Findings: The case study can serve both as a discussion basis in class as well as an exam for students in management, operations, and accounting. Practical Implications: Students will need to reflect on how a mechanical application of incentive systems can lead to dysfunctional decisions that run counter to a company’s business model. Originality/Value: The open questions at the end of the article serve the purpose of raising students’ awareness of the limits of cash-based incentive systems.peer-reviewe

Can The Business Model Of Handelsbanken Be An Archetype For Small And Medium Sized Banks? A Comparative Case Study

The Danish Banking sector faces increasing requirements regarding regulation and profitability, which especially threatens small and medium sized banks. This study analyzes whether the successful business model of Handelsbanken (The Handelsbanken Way) can serve as a blueprint for small and medium sized banks. We conduct a comparative case study by interviewing Handelsbanken and the disguised Danish Local Bank (DLB). The DLB is a representative example of small and medium sized Danish banks. This study is structured according to the frameworks from business model implementations and from implied organizational structures.Using the notion of Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010), this study reveals only minor differences in the business models of Handelsbanken and DLB. Despite the supposedly obvious advantages of The Handelsbanken Way, this study suggests that the financially troubled small and medium sized banks in Denmark will not necessarily benefit from the tactical choice of decentralization unless they incorporate specific adjustments. This study contributes to the existing theory if Handelsbankens approach to banking can improve the situation of financially troubled small and medium sized banks

Charging Customers or Making Profit? Business Model Change in the Software Industry

Purpose: Advancements in technology, changing customer demands or new market entrants are often seen as a necessary condition to trigger the creation of new Business Models, or disruptive change in existing ones. Yet, the sufficient condition is often determined by pricing and how customers are willing to pay for the technology (Chesbrough and Rosenbloom, 2002). As a consequence, much research on Business Models has focused on innovation and technology management (Rajala et al., 2012; Zott et al., 2011), and software-specific frameworks for Business Models have emerged (Popp, 2011; Rajala et al., 2003; Rajala et al., 2004; Stahl, 2004). This paper attempts to illustrate Business Model change in the software industry. Design: Drawing on Rajala et al. (2003), this case study explores the (1) antecedents and (2) consequences of a Business Model-change in a logistics software company. The company decided to abolish their profitable fee-based licensing for an internet-based version of its core product and to offer it as freeware including unlimited service. Findings: Firstly, we illustrate how external developments in technology and customer demands (pricing), as well as the desire for a sustainable Business Model, have led to this drastic change. Secondly, we initially find that much of the company’s new Business Model is congruent with the company-focused framework of Rajala et al. (2003) [product strategy; distribution model, services and implementation; revenue logic]. Value: The existing frameworks for Business Models in the software industry cannot fully explain the disruptive change in the Business Model. Therefore, we suggest extending the framework by the element of ‘innovation’

Effects of Short Term Adiponectin Receptor Agonism on Cardiac Function and Energetics in Diabetic db/db Mice.

Objective Impaired cardiac efficiency is a hallmark of diabetic cardiomyopathy in models of type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) deficiency impairs cardiac efficiency in non-diabetic mice, suggesting that hypoadiponectinemia in type 2 diabetes may contribute to impaired cardiac efficiency due to compromised AdipoR1 signaling. Thus, we investigated whether targeting cardiac adiponectin receptors may improve cardiac function and energetics, and attenuate diabetic cardiomyopathy in type 2 diabetic mice. Methods A non-selective adiponectin receptor agonist, AdipoRon, and vehicle were injected intraperitoneally into Eight-week-old db/db or C57BLKS/J mice for 10 days. Cardiac morphology and function were evaluated by echocardiography and working heart perfusions. Results Based on echocardiography, AdipoRon treatment did not alter ejection fraction, left ventricular diameters or left ventricular wall thickness in db/db mice compared to vehicle-treated mice. In isolated working hearts, an impairment in cardiac output and efficiency in db/db mice was not improved by AdipoRon. Mitochondrial respiratory capacity, respiration in the presence of oligomycin, and 4-hydroxynonenal levels were similar among all groups. However, AdipoRon induced a marked shift in the substrate oxidation pattern in db/db mice towards increased reliance on glucose utilization. In parallel, the diabetes-associated increase in serum triglyceride levels in vehicle-treated db/db mice was blunted by AdipoRon treatment, while an increase in myocardial triglycerides in vehicle-treated db/db mice was not altered by AdipoRon treatment. Conclusion AdipoRon treatment shifts myocardial substrate preference towards increased glucose utilization, likely by decreasing fatty acid delivery to the heart, but was not sufficient to improve cardiac output and efficiency in db/db mice

Detecting Green-Washing or Substantial Organizational Communication: A Model for Testing Two-Way Interaction Between Risk and Sustainability Reporting

This paper contributes to the expanding landscape of methodological approaches and tools for investigating organizational sustainability communication. Our method allows for exploring two-way interactions between company risk and sustainability reporting. We present a basic but extendable method, while using only publicly available data. Our method adds additional features to established methods: It covers only risk (not returns), as theory mainly supports risk-reporting relationships and not return-reporting relationships. It tests for reverse causality of the risk-reporting relationship and links complementary explanations to different theoretical schools. Our method tests the model by employing data from a market with mandatory sustainability reporting to avoid self-selection bias