Case Study Of Institution Research Articles

Institutionalizing Operational Risk Management: An Empirical Study

This paper examines the development of operational risk management (ORM) in a financial organization, focusing in particular on the role of IT in institutionalizing the new regime. Through an interpretive case study in a major US financial institution, the paper uses Giddens’ structuration theory to examine how it adjusts to the demands of protecting itself against new operational risks. The discussion and results of our study are expressed in three propositions: (1) the regulatory context and technological development affect the shape and the outcome of ORM; (2) implementing ORM is a process of reflexive monitoring and transforming organizational practices in a financial institution; (3) the role of IT in ORM is contingent on the extant organizational structure and on the choice of risk management approach.

Perinatal palliative care: a developing specialty

Neonates and babies have the highest death rate in the paediatric population. Perinatal palliative care aims to enhance the quality of life of babies with a life-limiting condition and their families. However, very little data is available on perinatal palliative care and its impact on babies and families along their journey. End-of-life decision-making for babies with an adverse prognosis also remains ethically challenging. This paper provides an overview of perinatal palliative care and its development, and then considers some of the issues affecting this field by looking at single national, institutional, and patient case studies.

Measuring Factors Effecting MBA Students’ Academic Performance by Using Categorical Regression Analysis: A Case Study of Institution of Business Economics, Istanbul University

Education institutions worldwide have always given a great emphasis on the factors governing the performance of their students. There have been many studies that sought to examine this issue and most of these studies have focused on pointing out the hard work, demographic variables (education, income, age, marital status), self-motivation as factors that have a significant effect on the MBA student's academic performance. Besides these factors, some social (student-class mates relationships, student-lecturer relationships), individual (work experience, skills) and organizational (location, work atmosphere, technology facilities) factors are assumed to have effect on MBA student's academic success.The aim of this study is to determine some factors effecting MBA Students’ performance at Institution of Business Economics of Istanbul University. Accordingly, demographic, social, individual and organizational factors are studied. A survey is conducted to collect the data. Categorical Regression Analysis (CATREG) is applied as Statistical Method. CATREG is an optimal scaling method and can be used when the dependent variable and also the independent variables are any combination of numeric, nominal and ordinal. Categorical regression quantifies categorical data by assigning numerical values to the categories, resulting in an optimal linear regression equation for the transformed variables.

Theory to practice: Canalside Studio, a case study

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to look at the experiences of university academic staff setting up a small computer games studio to provide work placement opportunities for undergraduate students and the supporting role of industry. Design/methodology/approach – The case study uses sense making to explore the boundaries between “simulated” and “real” work in an educational setting. Findings – For students and teachers to work together in a commercial setting, relationships have to be reconstructed. Teaching focusses on developing the individual and personal attainment, the work environment prioritises the team so that organisational and business needs are met. Differences in culture and working practices between industry and academia and the organisational constraints of a university, present challenges for academic staff engaged in enterprise. Research limitations/implications – The authors recognise the limitations of a single institution case study and intend further investigation into factors around employability, enterprise education and the availability of work experience for students studying in the creative technologies including experiences in other institutions. Practical implications – Practical experience and business knowledge gained through the studio development process by the student and staff, has informed the curriculum through the introduction of team-working modules. The studio provides a unique interface between the university and games industry partners. Originality/value – The study shows the value of a university-based games studio in providing work experience for students and enhancing employability and provides insights into university/industry partnering.

English as the Lingua Franca in Transnational Higher Education

Although there seems to be a wide held assumption that transnational higher education programs have to be taught in English to be legitimate “international” programs, there are a few examples globally of international branch campuses that teach in languages other than English. Using seven institutional case studies from around the world, the research seeks to identify the motives of universities for establishing campuses abroad that deliver degree programs in languages other than English. The problems and issues experienced by these institutions are examined and their future prospects are considered. The main motives of the seven featured institutions for establishing campuses abroad were found to be altruistic rather than financial, but teaching in languages other than English presents advantages and disadvantages to institutions. In 2012, none of the seven institutions had more than 800 students although two institutions had been in existence for more than 16 years, indicating success at some level.

Pay Satisfaction of Employees: A Case Study of a State-Owned Science Institute in China

A pay system is regarded as one of the most important and feasible measures to motivate employees. With the deepening of China’s economic reforms, funds have decreased for state-owned science institutes (SOSIs)—forcing them to reform themselves as well as their pay systems in order to become competitive enough to survive in the market. Based on Adams’ equity theory this study describes the pay system reform of a SOSIs in China, explores the changes in pay satisfaction from before and after the reform, and analyzes factors that influence the pay satisfaction. The data include original historical documents and 1,007 questionnaires about personal information and pay satisfaction in 2010. The results indicate that pay satisfaction significantly improved after the pay system reform, and four dimensions of equity, namely individual, internal, procedural, and external, have significant positive effects on the staff’s general degree of pay satisfaction, although, procedural and individual equity have more positive effects than internal and external equity. Male employees are more satisfied and sensitive to the reform.

European higher education, the inclusion of students from under-represented groups and the Bologna Process

The central questions addressed in this paper are the following: (1) In the context of the (European Union) EU’s goal of severing the link between social class background and higher education participation, what progress has been made in widening access over the past two decades? (2) Has the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) helped EU countries to harmonize their policy and practice in relation to widening access to higher education? (3) What patterns of social stratification are evident in the institutional architecture of higher education across Europe, and how is this reflected in approaches to widening access? The paper begins with a brief review of the OMC, the mechanism used to harmonize social policy across Europe. In relation to higher education, the soft governance approach of the OMC is envisaged as the means of achieving the social inclusion goals of the Bologna Process. Data from Eurostat and the Eurostudent survey are used to analyse levels of higher education participation and differences relating to socio-economic status across Europe. The data demonstrate that access to higher education is strongly influenced by parental level of education and that higher education confers labour market advantages in all European countries. Four institutional case studies are then presented, drawn from different countries and higher education sectors. These case studies illustrate institutional stratification within each country, whereby students in highly selective institutions are more likely to come from socially advantaged backgrounds, whereas students in newer, vocationally orientated institutions are more likely to come from less socially advantaged backgrounds. The paper concludes by arguing that the OMC has been only moderately effective in promoting widening access for under-represented groups, since in the field of higher education there is lack of accord between the policy priorities of the EU and individual member states. Financial retrenchment across Europe is likely to have a negative impact on opportunities for under-represented groups in higher education.

Hinduism and Microfinance

Our purpose is to show that the microfinance industry practices can benefit from the culture and spiritual traditions of a country.We use the Bhagavad Gita and the codes of Manu and Kautilya to describe the background of Hindu teaching and practical wisdom. We use a case study of a Hindu microfinance institution. We find that Indian spirituality is a case-based application of learning through experience.The case used in this study is one of a religious organization led microfinance institution. It would be interesting to have follow up case studies of for-profit organizations and study their philosophy and links to spiritual traditions. We find that business in general, and microfinance institutions in particular, should adopt risk-based pricing. The specificities of each product, its delivery and price should be based on continuous learning from experience of helping customers. . Thus a case-based approach to product development and pricing is required.This paper is a response to the current criticism of microfinance and argues for more tolerance on the part of society and more sensitivity on the part of microfinance institutions. The case study shows that with the right attitude, it is possible to balance societal interests, customer needs and the institution’s growth.This is the first paper on microfinance which looks at outsourcing from a spiritual viewpoint and launches a debate on whether “playing God” is useful.

Structure and organisational behaviour of public research institutions under unstable growth of human resources

The study here analyses the structure and organisational behaviour of research organisations in the presence of shrinking budgets. A vital case study of large public research institution in Italy is investigated since it has a similar structure to other European research bodies. Empirical analysis shows negative rates of growth of human resources which are due to austerity programmes of governments to reduce public debt. Results support a pessimistic scenario for this public research body that might downsize the personnel of about 50% in the year 2024 or thereabouts, causing negative effects on performances of the national system of innovation. The method and findings provide vital information to policymakers for understanding the strategic change of public research institutions during environmental turbulence. Fruitful R&D management implications of human resources conclude the paper.

The Collaboration of Higher Education Schools and SME’s Institutional Structure Development

This paper research overview of the leader behavior literature highlighted the fact that there are inconsistent relationships between the behaviors that leaders engage in and the effects of these behaviors on member attitudes, behavior, and group effectiveness in Albania and Vlore region In addition, for each study the national/regional and institutional strategy was reviewed and university of Vlore and wider literature consulted to highlight references to university business interactions in either education or research. The paper research study structure covers: 1.The national/ regional framework; 2.The institutional framework; 3. Rationale behind the collaboration 4.The objectives/benefits of collaboration. 5. The activities and the progress in learning and teaching. The behaviors are important as witnessed by their occasionally significant relationship with follower attitudes and behavior. Second, the observation that these behaviors do not always produce significant and positive effects suggests that something else is transpiring such that in one situation the particular leader behavior produces significant effects and in another situation that behavior is relatively unimportant. The question that these observations raise is. The objective of the study is to undertake a selection of institutional in-depth case studies which reflect different approaches to university business cooperation across a selection. The study took a mixed method approach to the construction of the case studies. We are trying to analyze on Albanian conditions and especially in Vlore region, the effects of using different hypotheses in some definitions of leadership theories, the implementation of effects of leader behavior in organizations. In this paper research, we contend, weakens important institutional qualities, resulting in institutional degradation. Once institutional actors identify problems and weaknesses with existing institutions, previously institutionalized logics are disrupted and the search for new logics, forms, and practices begins. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n1p11

Governing the urban wetlands: a multiple case-study of policy, institutions and reference points

SUMMARYWorldwide, coastal and floodplain wetlands are rapidly urbanizing, making them highly vulnerable to biodiversity loss, biological invasion and climate change. Yet urban wetlands management is an understudied area of global environmental research. Different policy approaches and institutional arrangements in place for urban wetlands governance have to be studied comparatively to obtain a better understanding of the current issues. This paper investigates four urban wetland policy regimes and the application of ecological reference points across four countries. The regimes are discussed within the context of global policy trends, urbanization patterns and environmental change. The analysis illustrates that the four cases deviate substantially in certain characteristics and converge in others. Global trends such as environmental treaties and restructuring of city spaces are common policy drivers for all cases. Conversely, the localized specific problems have yielded specialized policy responses in each case. Declaration of fixed biological reference points for wetlands were not used at any stage of the policy development process. However, the wetland managers formally or informally set up ecosystem-services oriented benchmarks for urban wetland management. Globally-applicable normative policy directives or universal ecological reference points seem bound to fail in urban wetlands governance. However, in designing effective urban wetland policy and institutions at the regional scale, both context-specific and generalized lessons from empirical policy evaluation of multiple case studies need to be jointly considered. Based on the characteristics of the policy regimes analysed in this study, a hypothetical framework for urban wetland policy evaluation is proposed; this has yet to be validated by empirical application to actual cases.

Open source assessment of academic library patron satisfaction

Purpose – While academic libraries have often purchased proprietary software to assess patron satisfaction, the open source movement has generated high-quality software available free of charge. These tools are useful alternatives in an era marked by tremendous budget cuts familiar to many academic libraries. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the ability of open source software to effectively and affordably measure the quality of service at academic libraries. Design/methodology/approach – The author's experience with using the open source tool LimeSurvey to administer a library survey over a three-year period serves as a case study for other institutions. A literature review contextualizes the history of patron satisfaction surveys within academic libraries and questions the lack of an open source presence. Popular proprietary survey software is reported as a viable but expensive option, leading to a detailed case study of Sarah Lawrence College's successful addition of open source software to its assessment procedures. Findings – LimeSurvey is a flexible, customizable, and cost-effective tool for a small college library investing in querying its patrons for constructive feedback as a means of improving user experience. Originality/value – This paper will be of value to any library on a fixed budget looking to assess patron satisfaction with resources and services. Very little literature currently exists on this topic, but as the open source movement continues to flourish this software can play an integral role in allowing libraries to cut costs but not indispensable patron feedback.

Marketing Education Online: A Case study of New Zealand Higher Education Institutions

Social Media interaction, an off shoot of web 2.0 environment has caused a paradigm shift in the way we communicate in a society. The modality of the purchase decisions has been radically influenced by this mode of communication. It is only a matter of capitalizing on this opportunity and having the best strategy in the current environment to succeed in changed market environment. Marketers should start focusing on developing high quality marketing strategies conforming to this new environment. This study investigates Social Media Marketing attributes of Higher Education institutions from New Zealand. It uses a customized tool namely Social Media Marketing Attributes (SMMA) Analysis to benchmark the practices from the institutions. Very little participation in using Social Media as a communication channels for marketing has been identified. A number of strategies are recommended to align the marketing with the demand and make the best use of this effective medium namely Social Media. The findings of this study have practical implications for the organizations working in this industry; where they can use the findings in developing effective customer centric marketing strategies.

Modeling Course Design and Delivery Processes: A Case Study in an Egyptian Higher Education Institution

Abstract In a competitive environment where academic institutions are under pressure to develop employable graduates, the quality of education has become a crucial differentiator. Hence, a major pragmatic motivation for this article was to be able to improve the quality of education: in particular, to improve the course design and delivery processes of one of the postgraduate programs within an Egyptian higher education institution. This improvement was achieved using process modeling approaches; a mixture of hard and soft modeling techniques were applied, and a case study approach was used to analyze findings both with respect to the utility of tools and the process improvement itself. Lessons learned led to suggestions for the best ways of combing approaches which included a ‘novel’ hybrid RAD-SSM model being suggested. This combined approach promises to be useful for analyzing different processes and identifying possible areas for improving educational processes.

Determinants of Information Systems Adoption and Deployment in SMEs: A Case Study of Micro Finance Institutions in TransNzoia County, Kenya

Information Technology has become a vital and integral part of every business in the World. IT is one of the strongest drivers for competitive, innovation and change in modern business environment. The SME sector in Kenya employs 80 percent of the total population and contributes over 40 percent to GDP. Majority of people employed in this sector is the youthful population. However, adoption and deployment of Information Technology in this sector has not been satisfactory compared to large corporations. This paper examined the Determinants to Adoption and Deployment of Information Systems in this sector. A quantitative Descriptive Survey Design was used in this Study. Data was collected from 3 SMEs in TransNzoia County using interviews and Questionnaire. Results obtained from this study shows that CEOs characteristics, IS characteristics, Organization's characteristics and Environmental Characteristics play a significant role in determining whether IS will be adopted and deployed in the SMEs. It is hoped that the findings from this study will enable policy makers in the ICT sector formulate proper legislative framework that informs how well ICT can be harnessed for the growth of the SME sector in Kenya. General Terms Determinants of IS Adoption by SMEs

A Third Master? Examining the Road to Alumni Philanthropic Giving at an Irish Catholic College

Drawing on the concept of two masters (Donahoo & Lee, 2008), this paper examines the emergence of a potential third master: philanthropic alumni donors. A case study of a Catholic higher education institution in Ireland, with the pseudonym “College Nua,” provides the platform for this research. This institution is in a unique position: the college is at the initial stages of formalizing the institutional structures for alumni relations and philanthropic giving. The empirical findings demonstrate the influence of the first two “masters” at the college, defined as the (a) priorities derived from the State policy balanced with the (b) intentions of the religious orders that remain affiliated to and involved in the stewardship of the college. By examining the existing informal practices with alumni at College Nua, this institution intends to create an administrative infrastructure to manage philanthropy. College Nua is establishing a philanthropic function that follows what the EU Commission (2008) describes as an alumni model of philanthropy, which demonstrates the power alumni donors may possess in steering the Catholic college's future strategy. Overall, the college leadership involved in the empirical study responded positively to the possible impact of alumni donors toward the institution. The informal relationships developed with alumni are encouraging to College Nua that the addition of philanthropic donors as a possible “third master” will enable the college to control its institutional destiny while addressing the demands of the first two masters: meeting national higher education policy and securing the Catholic tradition at the institution.

Just men? Towards the education of men for gender justice in a context of religiously legitimised patriarchy: A South African case study

This paper explores the education of men for gender justice in a context of religiously legitimised patriarchy, through a case study of a Catholic theological institute in South Africa. It draws on interviews with students and staff and participant observation conducted during a pilot study in 2011. The data highlight ideological justifications and internal norms which both support and oppose women's subjugation. The contestation of gender justice is seen in practice in both resistance and an emergent insider advocacy. Finally transformative examples of education for gender justice are described. The potential for such education is thus underlined.

Meeting the growing demand for sustainability-focused management education: a case study of a PRME academic institution

The current business landscape has created the impetus to develop management graduates with capabilities that foster responsible leadership and sustainability. Through the lens of Gitsham's 3C Model (Complexity, Context and Connection) of graduate capabilities, this paper discusses the experience of implementing the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (UNPRME) at the Graduate School of Management, La Trobe University Australia. The case highlights that universities should use both a top-down and bottom-up approach, engaging students in the implementation process. The analysis also shows that educational institutions face similar challenges to business organizations in terms of resource limitations, inertia and resistance to change. While significant inroads have been made at the course and discipline level, more work needs to be done. The use of the UNPRME as a guide for delivering sustainability-focused management education has provided an opportunity to structure the change process and to provide support through partnerships.

Provision of Distance Learner Support Services at U.K. Universities: Identification of Best Practice and Institutional Case Study

An investigation of library support for distance learners (DLs) was commissioned and conducted in partnership with the Distance Learning Support Service (DLSS) at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU). It aimed to collect evidence of best practice at U.K. university libraries and develop a better understanding of the needs and expectations of distance learners at SHU. The study used a mixed-methods research strategy. A review of the literature established key themes and informed the design of the data collection tools. Librarians from two different institutions were interviewed, and two separate self-completion questionnaires were distributed to librarians at U.K. universities and DLs at SHU. Sixty-six librarians (forty-one completed in full) and 112 DLs (109 completed in full) responded to the questionnaires distributed. Results showed limited use of synchronous virtual reference and user-education tools. The biggest challenge faced by librarians is collaborating with course tutors. A marked difference exists between what librarians believe are the most significant challenges faced by DLs and what DLs identify as challenges. Librarians need to experiment with technological innovations, such as synchronous virtual referencing tools, to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of future service provision.

Learner-generated podcasts: a useful approach to assessment?

This paper focuses on students as podcast providers rather than receivers and answers the question, ‘Are learner-generated podcasts a useful approach to assessment?’ Through the use of a single institution case study, this paper presents an evaluation of 53 (taught) postgraduate business students’ reflective learning assignments in which they chose to reflect upon their experience of podcasting. The evaluation of these reflective assignments focussed on five key themes that emerged; prior attitudes about the use of podcasting, benefits of podcasting, transferable skills, pedagogy and future use of podcasts.