Designing the Future of Banking: Lessons Learned from the Trenches

This case study in retail banking reviews the work of a Wharton School research team which has been tracking the process of change at one of the larger American commercial banks. The bank is referred to by the pseudonym "National Bank." The team's research focuses on how a bank chooses what changes to make and how to implement changes as new technologies, increasing competition, and more demanding customers force it to rethink product offerings and distribution channel design. In the case of "National," these forces resulted in a massive re-engineering effort designed to restructure the branch delivery system. The goal of the redesign was to streamline branch processes and relocate many administrative tasks and routine servicing of accounts to centralized locations. The physical layout of branches was changed so customers would be encouraged to use ATMs and call centers rather than consult with branch employees. Branch employees' efforts were to be directed toward sales rather than service and information systems and call centers were expanded. As pilot experiments developed and the project matured, the bank's initial focus on changes in physical layout of branches, information systems, and design of key business processes gave way to focus on changes in key jobs in the branch systems, human resource practices that supported these jobs, and on employees' reactions to the changes. As these changes were implemented, several problems arose and were addressed. First, rural branches in the early pilots felt that the new changes were inappropriate for their market, leading to a decision to abandon the original model of standardization across the entire system. Second, implementation of new technology proved a slower process than had been expected. Third, branch employees often found it difficult to successfully refocus on sales rather than service. Fourth, some customers were unhappy with changes that routed all their calls to a centralized location rather than to the their local branch. Finally, it was difficult to implement the human resource practices necessary to support the new organization. New position levels changed employee expectations of moving up in the hierarchy and caused some internal dissatisfaction and confusion. Employees feared layoffs. In dealing with these problems, a second pilot redesign was tested in urban and suburban markets, incorporating a number of process modifications to address these issues. New challenges have arisen, including introducing the changes to branches that have been acquired recently through mergers and acquisitions and introducing standardized innovations within a decentralized management system. These and a range of human resource issues continue to be addressed by the team. Despite the many challenges to implementing an effective new delivery paradigm at National, a number of the early pilots have demonstrated success in moving routine transactions to more official channels, while achieving the goals of increased sales and customer satisfaction. As a result of their ongoing analysis of National's redesign process, the authors have identified six key factors for success: Have a good phone center in place early and believe in it as a critical component of retail service delivery; Acknowledge the importance of human resource issues; Not only acknowledge but address the human resource issues early and clearly; Clarify employees' roles and develop new skills when needed; Not all employees need the same kinds of commitment; Be ready and willing to adapt your model, but be confident to resist attempts to maintain the status quo for the wrong reasons.

Parametric wave amplification and mixing in the ionosphere

Parametric wave amplification and mixing in ionospher

A Functional Approach to In-Service for Secondary Content-Area Teachers

This report describes the development and implementation of an in-service program in reading instruction for practising secondary teachers

The Future of Mobile Information and Communication Technology in Austere Environments: A Command and Control Technology Integration Perspective

The information and communications technology (ICT) field is undergoing a period of tremendous and rapid change. As ICT develops more rapidly, the United States Air Force needs to remain responsive and adaptive to maintain military advantages. The need to integrate ICT developments sooner than our adversaries prompted an assessment of guidelines evaluating how well the AF is doctrinally positioned from a Command and Control perspective to support integration of emerging ICT. A Delphi Study was commissioned by the 689th CCW to forecast the future of mobile Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in austere environments. Using the ICT forecast data as a basis, the panel provided inputs on the integration concerns the forecasted trends invoked and the effects of the forecast on the Measures of Effectiveness outlined in AF doctrine

Framing the Text: The Year 2000 in British Columbia

This paper presents an analysis of the text, intertext, and subtext of the Year 2000 document, a comprehensive statement of policies and objectives for education in British Columbia issued by the Ministry of Education in 1990. Examination of the relationships between the text and intertext of the Year 2000 reveals a subtext that fundamentally contradicts the stated objectives of the document itself. Rather than encouraging the development of students’ individu- ality, as the text of the Year 2000 document frequently advocates, its subtext reveals an educational agenda that would maintain social stability and economic prosperity at the expense of students’ individuality. The impossibility of a text imposing such control is discussed. Cet article présente une analyse du texte, de l’“intertexte” et du “sous-texte” de Year 2000, un document préparé en 1990 par le ministère de l’Éducation de la Colombie-Britannique et dans lequel sont énoncées de façon détaillée ses politi- ques et objectifs pédagogiques. L’examen des relations entre le texte et l’inter- texte révèle un sous-texte qui contredit fondamentalement les objectifs énoncés dans le document lui-même. Plutôt que d’encourager l’épanouissement de l’indi- vidualité des élèves, comme le prône à maintes reprises le texte de Year 2000, le sous-texte révèle un programme éducatif qui maintient la stabilité sociale et la prospérité économique aux dépens de l’individualité des élèves.

Perceptions of Reading Instruction

It follows that there exists an obvious need for elementary reading programs to be closely articulated with the developing and changing reading requirements of pupils as they progress through the elementary grades. There is an even more obvious need for close cooperation between teachers and administrators in order to implement reading programs that meet pupil requirements

Does Content-Area Reading Teach Content-Area Learning

The 1970s may be called the decade of content-area reading. From tentative, beginnings in the 1960s and before, content-area reading instruction gained recognition during the \u2770s as a great means of furthering students\u27 learning in the content areas

Implications from Psycholinguistics for Secondary Reading

Over the past decade, increasing interest has been shown in the implications of psycholinguistics for understanding the reading process. Mainly through the work of Goodman (1969; 1970) and Smith (1971; 1975), linguistic and psychological knowledge have been combined to describe the reading process of mature readers and the process through which children learn to read. The educational implications of this psycholinguistic model have been largely concerned with the learning-to-read process of elementary school children. But significant implications for secondary developmental reading instruction arc suggested as well. It is the purpose of this paper to identify and explore some of these implications from the point of view of classroom instruction

Children\u27s Literature and Back to the Basics

The comprehension of literature places different demands upon children than the comprehension of non-imaginative prose. This is because, in order to comprehend literature, children must enter and understand the highly imaginative worlds of literary creation. Although these worlds are charged with delight for the child, they are at the same time essentially unreal- they are the imaginative productions of their creators

Testing: We Need a New Perspective

In their recent study of reading assessment, Farr and Carey (1986) observe that over the past several years testing programs ... have exploded on the educational scene (p. 6). Those familiar with reading instruction and the assessment of children\u27s reading development must agree. Testing programs at the district, state, and national levels have proliferated recently as more and more pressure is brought to bear on teachers to demonstrate in some quantifiable fashion their success (or lack of it) in teaching children to read