Auditing program evaluation audits: Executive training exercise for assessing management thinking, planning, and actions

The present article is an application of Schank's (Schank, Roger C. (2005), Lessons in Learning, New York: Wiley.) “principle #1: just-in-time information delivery makes information useful….OR, don't tell people things that they cannot immediately make use of.” The article describes five activities that always occurring implicitly and sometimes explicitly in managing a product, brand, or service: scanning, planning, implementing, assessing, and administering. Management and financial audits of actions and outcomes of programs are sometimes required by firms and government legislative bodies. Similar to the use of written checklist by pilots of the multiple steps involved before plane take-offs, management audit templates are useful for insuring complete and in-depth assessments of management actions and outcomes. This article provides such a management audit template and illustrates its use. The article includes an invitation to the reader to use the template immediately in evaluating both an audit report and a marketing program that the audit report details.     

The Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) translated into French: internal structure and predictive validity

The Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI, Holton et al., 2000 ) considers 16 factors likely to influence the transfer of training to the workplace. The purpose of this study is to translate the Learning Transfer System Inventory into French and to examine (1) the internal structure of the translated instrument; and (2) its predictive validity. The Learning Transfer System Inventory was administered to 328 participants from six companies during the week following the end of a training program. The transfer questionnaire was filled in by 106 of those participants 1–3 months later. The results showed that a principal component analysis reveals a factor structure very similar to the original structure: the 16 original factors are replicated. Second, seven factors display statistically significant correlations with transfer: learner readiness, motivation to transfer, transfer design, opportunity to use, transfer‐performance expectations, performance‐outcomes expectations and performance self‐efficacy. Comparisons with four similar previous studies allow us to draw directions for future research on the instrument.     

超宽带微功率冲激雷达接收机的优化及实现

为实现一种真正平衡的采样接收机,并解决以往接收机存在的采样模板脉冲泄漏问题,设计了一种新的平衡采样头。通过分析模板信号宽度对检测效率的影响,结合实际微功率冲激雷达(MIR)采样接收机所需考虑的事项,优化了模板信号的波形和宽度,并实际生成了平衡模板信号,最终实现了所提出的采样接收机。测量结果显示,在M IR系统低于120 mW功耗的前提下,可将其作用距离扩展至30 m。     

Learning in international new ventures: A systematic review

The present paper reports the findings of a systematic review on learning among International New Ventures (INVs). Learning has been studied fairly extensively by scholars in the field of organization theory. Learning is a prerequisite for internationalization, and the behavior of individuals working in INVs seems to indicate a strong predisposition or aptness to learning. In spite of this, research on learning among INVs has been limited and fragmented up to the present time. In seeking to advance the research niche of INV learning, we conducted a systematic review of articles published on learning within INVs. Our contributions are related to: (i) providing a review of current knowledge of learning among INVs; (ii) relating the findings of our review to the organizational learning theory proposed by March (1991); and (iii) a future research agenda.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: China 2000: Emerging Business Issues,Sue Newell Studying Organization: Theory and Method,Tony J. Watson Switch on Your Mind: Accelerative Learning Strategies at WorkCarole Elliott Work‐Based Learning. The New Frontier of Management DevelopmentLinda Vega Castro Effective Training Strategies. A Comprehensive Guide to Maximizing Learning in Organizations,Dr. Juana Patlán Pérez     

An Application of Focus Theory to Project Management Processes

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of the degree to which Focus Theory, a general theory about group productivity, can be used to improve the productivity of project management activities. Guided by the theory and the principles of collaboration engineering, we developed a collaborative template for project progress status reporting. We evaluated the template in both face-to-face and distributed group interactions. The study indicated that a collaborative template helped structure status reporting activity and provided a permanent record of project status for future reference. As a result, it was efficient and effective for team leaders to prepare topics for project status meetings by using the template. The meetings became focused on topics outlined on the template and meeting participants commented that the meeting record helped them keep track of what had been either accomplished or decided. The major limitation observed for use of the template was that, when used in distributed and synchronous interactions, it needed to be augmented by voice communication because communication in text-only format, as provided by the template, was too time-consuming. We discuss implications of the research outcomes with respect to the usefulness and limitations of Focus Theory.     

战略联盟的学习过程及其管理

随着商业环境的变化,战略联盟已成为企业提高竞争优势的有效途径,学习是企业参加战略联盟的主要动机。通过战略联盟学习类似于一种实物期权投资,在获取新知识和新技术方面将使企业更具有灵活性并能有效地控制投资风险。然而,战略联盟的学习过程比组织内部的学习过程存在更多的障碍。     

Book review

Book reviewed The Connecticon: Learning for the connected generation Frank Rennie and Robin Mason, 2004. Published by Information Age Publishing, Greenwich, CT. ISBN 1‐59311‐209‐2 (paperback) and 1‐59311‐210‐6 (hardback).     

Organizational Learning Capability: Theoretical Analysis and Empirical Study in the Context of Official Development Aid Project Teams

Although several studies have investigated Organizational Learning Capability (OLC), the question of its operationalization remains open. We review the OLC concept, analyze its relationship to Organizational Learning (OL), and assess the validity of its operationalization through three models (formative, reflexive, mixed). While part of the literature states that OLC has five dimensions (experimentation, risk taking, dialogue, interaction with stakeholders, and participation in decision making), our exploratory study of 41 Official Development Aid projects suggests the existence of an important sixth dimension for OLC: autonomy vis‐à‐vis the national supervisor. The theoretical and practical implications of this finding are then discussed. Copyright © 2013 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed: Marilyn J. Davidson, The Black and Ethnic Minority Woman Manager: Cracking the Concrete Ceiling Alan Cowling and Chloe Mailer (eds), Managing Human Resources (3rd Edition) James R. Davis and Adelaide B. Davis, Effective Training Strategies. A Comprehensive Guide to Maximizing Learning in Organizations     

研究性学习视角下《证券投资学》课程教学改革

研究性学习强调学生的实践能力和自主创新能力的培养和提高,在教学过程中,学生是学习的主体,教师起组织者、领导者、帮助者和促进者的作用。将研究性学习应用于《证券投资学》课程,通过创设问题情境,开放式教学、认知实习和模拟实训等教学模式,引导学生主动探索知识,激发学生创新能力的发挥,形成一个学生主动参与、开放和创新性的教学体系,有助于提高学生的实践能力和自主创新能力。     

The role of a municipality’s financial health in a firm’s siting decision

When deciding where to locate a new facility, a firm needs to consider the financial health of the municipality where its activities will take place. Unless it sites its facility in a financially viable community, a firm is putting a substantial investment at risk. Despite the importance of this issue, many firms pay insufficient attention to a municipality’s financial condition. Instead, they focus on matters such as the tax rate, the quality of the school system, or the absence of regulatory constraints. All of these features are important, but unless a municipality is financially healthy, they can evaporate before a company has attained its expected return on investment. There are 5 financial statements and 10 financial ratios that can be used to create a financial health template, which can help a firm to assess a municipality’s financial strength, or its counterpart financial weakness. The template goes beyond the debt-repayment focus of credit rating agencies to matters such as financial autonomy, cash flows, and borrowing capacity. We use data from three cities—Barcelona, Dublin, and Detroit (pre- and post-bankruptcy)—to demonstrate the template’s ability to facilitate comparisons among cities that are in different countries and that use different accounting systems.     

The Under-Examined Public: Making Sense of Industry Analysts and Analyst Relations

SUMMARY

The first section of this article looks at who the key analysts are in the U.S. and Europe, what it is they primarily do, and why they matter to the communication departments of IT and telecom vendors. A set of clear metrics is offered to gauge analyst influence across the board: on market intelligence, media, investors, and customers. The second section examines case studies of agency-driven and in-house managed analyst relations (AR) programs from both geographies, benchmarking the most successful strategies. From these and the direct testimony of analysts, a checklist or best-practices metric for analyst relations management is derived. The final section extrapolates from this model a template for measuring the results of analyst relations efforts. The template includes tools and services recently available through a new breed of agencies and consultants that specialize in evaluating analyst programs. It also, for the first time, broadens the tracking metrics to include the wide range of publics influenced by industry analysts (IAs).     

A Social Marketing Template for Solving the Musicians’ Dilemma Through Nonprofit Healthcare Networks

The Musicians’ Dilemma—the lack of affordable healthcare for the uninsured or underinsured musical entrepreneur—is actually a common problem plaguing not only 33% of musicians, but approximately 19% of the American population as a whole. The current research uses social marketing principles to conceptualize a template for designing a marketing program that meets the healthcare needs of the target market. Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is a nonprofit organization that links healthcare providers, local businesses, and community donors in a network providing basic preventive health services to this essential segment of the community. HAAM's business model is analyzed and cast on the social marketing framework so that it can be adapted for use by other music cities. Although the template could also be applied to serve other uninsured populations, it is critical that research be undertaken to understand the specific characteristics and needs of each target market and used to adapt the model to those populations.     

Ethical leaders: An essay about being in love

What it means to be an ethical leader is the focus of this paper. Leadership is more than an affair of the head, but fundamentally also one of the heart. Leaders are in love. Four essential and practical considerations are presented for discovering, developing, and using this perspective.James M. Kouzes is President of The Tom Peters Group/Learning Systems (Palo Alto, CA) and Barry Z. Posner is Associate Dean (Academic Programs) and Professor of Management, Santa Clara University (Santa Clara, CA). They have writtenThe Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 1987) and are currently exploring what people look for in leaders and the essence of effective working relationships.     

创建学习型团队:我国NGO人力资源管理新思路

学习型团队是学习型组织理论运用到NGO人力资源管理中的一种开拓性模式,它具有学习性、融合性和现代性三个特征。我国NGO引入学习型团队具有多方面的契合性,国外NGO实施学习型团队积累了许多优秀的做法。在我国NGO人力资源管理中创建学习型团队主要有五条基本进路:加强学习型文化建设,改善管理主体的心智模式;建立激励学习的机制,缔造组织员工的共同愿景;建立志愿活动流程,实现志愿者的系统化管理;建立团队的学习评估机制,实现员工的职业生涯规划;建立自主管理机制,加强团队人力资源开发。     

论科层制与学习型组织的相容性

科层制是现代组织尤其是现代企业组织的基本架构 ,它为所有企业的发展作出了极其重要的贡献。但自学习型组织理论提出以后 ,许多人认为科层制已经完成了历史使命 ,应该让位于新的组织模型。但这种新型的组织模式的结构特征 ,至今没有定论。其实科层制是一个弹性很大的框架 ,它经历了上百年的演变 ,有着极强的适应性 ,它完全可以与学习型组织相容从而既提高组织的灵活性又保持相对的稳定性。     

Influence of demographic factors and ownership type upon organizational learning culture in Chinese enterprises

This empirical study, using Western concepts incorporated into the Dimension of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) instrument and data collected from 919 employees in nine companies located in Guangdong Province, China, explored organizational learning culture in Chinese business settings. Findings suggest that the DLOQ is applicable to the Chinese context, and demographic variables, such as age and educational level, and the type of ownership of Chinese companies (state‐owned enterprises and privately owned enterprises), show differences in organizational learning culture. Discussions and implications are provided.     

An Examination of Learning Preferences of U.S. and International Students

Learning styles and preferences are often discussed topics in educational psychology, but are less prevalent in business education. International students are another understudied segment of business education. This article reviews literature regarding learning styles and preferences and examines whether U.S. and international students have different learning preferences using the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) model. The findings indicate a large percentage of both populations have multimodal learning preferences. For the students who have one preferred learning mode, differences do exist between international and U.S. students.     

出口经验、沉没成本与企业出口广化--来自中国微观企业的证据

企业恰当利用出口经验的学习效应可减少出口新产品和开拓新市场所需支付的沉没成本,从而推动自身的出口广化。本文基于2000－2005年中国海关数据库中企业－产品－目的国层面的出口数据,运用线性概率模型考察出口经验对企业出口广化的促进机制,发现企业自身和其他企业以往的出口经验对企业当期出口广化存在倒 U型的影响,且这种影响因企业所有制属性和贸易方式的不同而存在结构性差异。