Exploring the user – IT professional relationship

Drawing on theoretical developments within the innovation literature, a conceptual model has been developed that draws a distinction between the adoption and assimilation of information technology (IT). The substantive conclusions are that a number of incongruences exist between IT professionals and end-users. These cover 1) the mismatch between business needs and the technology solution 2) inability of adoption processes to address issues of a social, organizational, or user nature 3) failure to recognize the importance of the process of interaction between various parties to technology assimilation. By addressing the assimilation process, the conceptual model offers a way to reframe our understanding from a user perspective

The Effectiveness of Customer Education: evaluating synchronous and asynchronous e-learning technologies

This paper considers the role played by customer education in enhancing their engagement by enriching the customer experience. Enrichment may be seen in terms of enhanced customer communication or service co-creation. This is often mediated by the effectiveness of customer education. Consequently, organisations are evolving new ways of educating their customers to carry out their roles as co-producers. Increasingly this process depends on the latest synchronous and asynchronous e-learning technologies, requiring significant resource investments. Whilst it is easy for organisations to become absorbed with the latest technological trends, we suggest a refocussing on how customers actually engage in learning and skills acquisition. A conceptual framework is developed that combines key concepts from IT service delivery with well-established models of learning acquisitio

A Role for Management Accountants in Best Practice Benchmarking

Best practice benchmarking (benchmarking for short) generally refers to the pursuit by organisations of enhanced performance by learning from the successful practices of others. Comparisons of processes which contribute to strategic success are made with other parts of the same organisation; competitors; or organisations operating comparable processes in a context which is in some way relevant. Benchmarking continues to grow in popularity in both private and public sector organisations – but does it always produce the desired outcomes? Although spectacular gains from benchmarking are claimed particularly in practitioner literature, there is also growing evidence of disappointment with the effectiveness of benchmarking. It can be very time consuming to undertake and manage, and ensuring that sharing information with competitors is to the mutual advantage of partner organisations is difficult. With this in mind, it is important to recognise that management accountants play pivotal roles at organisational interfaces and therefore could play a (more) significant part in successful benchmarking activities. This paper will report on an ongoing research project at the Open University Business School, funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, aimed at understanding, in depth, the processes which are undertaken by Management Accountants, in the name of benchmarking. The project team are using postal questionnaires and case studies to identify the features of successful benchmarking practice, and the characteristics of benchmarking organisations or benchmarking processes which are considered to be problematic. This research centres on an extensive survey of Management Accountants. This research has begun to identify the contribution which Management Accountants can make to successful benchmarking and the factors which have led organisations to abandon benchmarking activities. This study is also facilitating better understanding of the relationship between organisational size and level of benchmarking activity, the impact of benchmarking clubs, and the perceived costs and benefits of benchmarking to stakeholders. The final phase 3 of this research will focus on providing innovative ways to make the findings available to management accounting practitioners

Historicizing Citizenship in Post-War Britain

Citizenship has been widely debated in post-war British history, yet historians discuss the concept in very different, and potentially contradictory, ways. In doing so, historians are largely following in the footsteps of post-war politicians, thinkers, and ordinary people, who showed that citizenship could – and did – mean very different things. The alternative ways of framing the concept can be usefully described as the three registers of citizenship. First, there are the political and legal definitions of what makes any individual a citizen. Secondly, there is the notion of belonging to a national community, an understanding of citizenship which highlights that legal status alone cannot guarantee an individual's ability to practise citizenship rights. Thirdly, there is the idea of citizenship as divided between ‘good’ or ‘active’ citizens, and ‘bad’ or ‘passive’ ones, a differential understanding of citizenship which has proved very influential in debates about British society. This article reviews these registers, and concludes by arguing that all three must be taken into account if we are to comprehend properly the nature and citizenship as both status and practice in post-war Britain

Katrina Cottages: the value of place and permanence in a post-disaster landscape

Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the government\u27s capacity to provide adequate long-term housing to disaster victims. In response, Congress created a pilot program to test the efficacy of permanent disaster housing prototypes known as Katrina Cottages. However, implementation was hindered by a lack of planning and local opposition. In Mississippi, residents feared adverse impacts to property values, citing poor design quality resembling manufactured mobile homes as a primary concern. Using standardized local tax appraisals, this study finds that Katrina Cottages are valued significantly higher than manufactured homes. It further reveals no significant difference between Katrina Cottages and single-family homes. It also suggests a strong relationship between value and smart growth design metrics, including density, walkability, and urban context. However, it shows that Mississippi Katrina Cottages are valued lower than those in Alabama and Louisiana. Furthermore, analysis of community demographics suggests Katrina Cottages may be less valuable in wealthy communities

Implementation dynamics for CRM system development

This paper considers the implementation of CRM systems based on evidence from longitudinal case studies in medium-sized companies operating in the business-to-business sector. This research addresses systems implementation from two key perspectives. These are 1) the emergence of risks to implementations from an organizational context rather than a technological context and 2) the emergence of unwritten/unconscious strategies that contribute to the achievement of implementation success. An immersive case study approach is employed where video data is used to capture key phases of the implementation process. Analysis suggests that a set of four implicit contracts exist between the main actors, leading to a successful implementation, despite other failures. These ‘contracts’ are believed to make a positive contribution for CRM implementation practitioners by mitigating some of the ongoing organizational risks

Two Essays on Non-GAAP Reporting

Ph.D

Transcriptional profiling of colicin-induced cell death of Escherichia coli MG1655 identifies potential mechanisms by which bacteriocins promote bacterial diversity

We report the transcriptional response of Escherichia coli MG1655 to damage induced by colicins E3 and E9, bacteriocins that kill cells through inactivation of the ribosome and degradation of chromosomal DNA, respectively. Colicin E9 strongly induced the LexA-regulated SOS response, while colicin E3 elicited a broad response that included the induction of cold shock genes, symptomatic of translational arrest. Colicin E3 also increased the transcription of cryptic prophage genes and other laterally acquired mobile elements. The transcriptional responses to both these toxins suggest mechanisms that may promote genetic diversity in E. coli populations, pointing to a more general role for colicins in adaptive bacterial physiology than has hitherto been realized

Technology Assimilation: Understanding The User - IT Professional Relationship

It is argued that a substantial gulf exists between the investment made in technology and the ability of organisations to realise significant improvements in business performance. In the fields of Innovation and Technology Transfer there have been developments in the application of more process focused and human elements as a way of addressing the deficiencies of the previous generation of linear and more structured research. In this thesis the conceptual models from such research have been adapted and modified in order to apply it to the specific problem of the adoption and assimilation of information technology (IT). The conceptual models are operationalised through a set of research activities which include investigation into the congruence between technology deliverers and recipients, the technocratic nature of the IT professional role (as determined by employers), the values and perceptions of IT managers, the preoccupation of the IT research and practitioner literature, and the values and perceptions of IT users, as 'service' clients. The substantive conclusions are that the nature of the role of IT professionals is dominated by relatively project orientated and technology orientated characteristics. This, in part, inhibits the ability of organisations to develop strategy and for organisations to consider the service function of IT. This is displayed in the form of an interactive, conceptual model. The thesis also demonstrates the extent to which the distinction between the adoption of an IT technological opportunity, by an organisation, can be usefully distinguished from the problems of assimilating that opportunity into the daily routine of the organisation and therefore for business advantage.Ph

A CRM-based pathway to improving organisational responsiveness: an empirical study

Successful organisations are characterised by how they adjust their organisational practices in response to the external environment. The concept of organisational responsiveness has been used to describe this ability to respond to market changes. The role played by customer relationship management (CRM) in supporting this process is considered, with a focus on the contribution made by how CRM is approached and embedded in the organisation, effective information systems, and staff empowerment. Drawing on data from an empirical study of financial services firms in Brazil, the findings show that improved organisational responsiveness is more effectively enabled by a ‘CRM approach – systems effectiveness – staff empowerment’ pathway, rather than the simple ‘CRM approach – systems implementation’ pathway adopted by many firms. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are explored