editor-in-chief editorial board - bpir.com › pdf › jie.pdfprize winning muhammad yunus...

Editor-In-Chief

Faïz Gallouj(Université des sciences et technologies (Lille 1(– France) e-mail: [email protected]

Editorial Board

Mohamed Buheji (University of Bahrain – Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Hayat Ali (University of Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Tillal Eldabi (Brunel University – London, UK). e-mail: [email protected]

Haitham Jahrami (Ministry of Health – Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Robin Mann (Massey University – NZ). e-mail: [email protected]

Ahmed Shorrab (University of Sharjah- UAE). e-mail: [email protected]

Rui Franganito (Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, Cape Verde, África).e-mail: [email protected]

Shrinivas Gondhalekar (Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai – India). e-mail:[email protected]

Said Al-Hasan (University of South Wales, UK). e-mail: [email protected]

Dunya Ahmed (Supreme Council for Women – Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Jameela Al-Salman (Ministry of Health – Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Sadeq Al-Alawi (University of Bahrain - Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Mohamed Noman Galal (Egyptian Council for Foreign Relation). e-mail: [email protected]

Noora Al-Shamlan (University of Bahrain - Bahrain). e-mail: [email protected]

Journal of Inspiration Economy: An International Journal

List of Editorial Board Members Vol.1 | No. 1

Sep. 2014

2

Journal of Inspiration Economy: An International Journal Content Vol.1 | No. 1

Printed at UoB Printing press

University of Bahrain

3

Journal of Inspiration Economy: An International Journal Content Vol.1 | No. 1

4 “Inspiration Economy”: A New Journal Faïz Gallouj

11 Why Inspiration Matters? Mohamed Buheji, Zahraa Saif,Haitham Jahrami

23 Double-loop Learning across Healthcare and Teaching Professions

Pauline JoycePaula Kinnarney

37 Enhancement of Project Management to Support and Drive TransformationaleGovernment

Shauneen Furlong

63 Insights into Informal Benchmarking Alan Samuel, Nigel P. Grigg, Robin Mann

89 A comparative study of higher educationinstitutions in North Rhine-Westphalia(Germany) and their marketing approachesto student recruitment from China

Said Al-Hasan, Brychan Thomas,Nina Maria Mülders,and Denis Melle

111 How SMEs Can Manage Their Networks – Lessons Learnt from Communication in Animal Swarms

Katri Valkokari, Pasi Valkokari

131 Bahrain Governance Framework: Towards Efficient Use of IT

Harikrishnan Sugumaran Zakareya Ahmed Al-Khaja

Content

4

Journal of Inspiration Economy: An International Journal Foreword Vol.1 | No. 1

“Inspiration Economy”:A New Journal

Faïz Gallouj

Professor, University Lille 1, Clersé FranceE-mail address: [email protected]

IntroductionIt is always good to present something that has only just come into being, which is why it is

such a pleasure to be inaugurating the first edition of the Journal of Inspiration Economy. In this foreword, our objective is to outline the general reasons underlying the creation of this review, as well as the objectives assigned to it. The founding hypothesis is that contemporary econo-mies have reached a new stage in evolution such that we are in need for more inspiration in our socioeconomic practices.

Inspiration: from art and religion to businessInspiration is a complex phenomenon that is difficult to define. It describes a particular psy-

chological dynamic, a fortuitous creative whisper, which is said to give rise, in blossoming, to satisfaction, joy and a feeling of being comforted. It is an ancient notion originally associated with the sacred and religious, as well as with artistic or literary creation. Etymologically speak-ing, the term ‘inspiration’ is rooted in the Latin ‘in spiritum’ - which literally means ‘having the Spirit (that is, God) within you’. We should also bear in mind that, in Ancient Greece, artists were meant to be inspired by the Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

The sacred, non-rational dimension of inspiration would not, a priori, be conducive to this no-tion of conquering the business and management field. Although it clearly does not fall into the scope of substantial calculatory rationality, neither does it fit with procedural rationality, unlike intuition - which - in the managerial field in particular, is sometimes (though wrongly) considered a synonym. Yet inspiration, as a creative force, is propagated through economic activity. This propagation is not surprising for those economic activities closest to artistic activity (the whole creative activities field) or those which share with the religious activities - if not a moral aspira-tion, at the very least an ethical and civic one - alongside a preoccupation or empathy for one’s neighbour (public services, care services, etc.). However, this propagation goes well beyond: indeed it is universal (pervasive). Increasingly, all economic activity is affected. As the notion of inspiration shifts away from the artistic and religious sphere, and toward the economic sphere, we note that its transcendental nature is coupled with a relational one. In this way, the external environment is also commonly designated as a source of inspiration.

Foreword

5


A working general definition of inspiration might be: “the process that lets humans (re-)discover their potentials, in interaction with others, so as to trigger their learning, creativity, in-novation, competitiveness and welfare, for their own benefit as well as for the benefit of their community, organisation/firm, or the world “ (Buheji, 2014).

Towards an inspiration economyEconomic and managerial literature has multiplied the labels we use to designate con-

temporary economies. Examples we might mention include: information economy, knowledge economy, intangible economy, permanent innovation economy, quality economy, experience economy, access economy, new economy, net-economy, services economy, transformative economy, etc.

These labels, each of which refers back to a more or less solid and/or influential theoretical corpus, describe the facets of a single reality, namely: the third industrial revolution, founded on information technologies. Inspiration is a further facet, now fully emerging out of this reality, a facet that some have no hesitation in considering the premise for a fourth industrial revolution. Thus, contemporary economies are economies in which inspiration is playing an increasingly important role. These are inspiration economies. Such an observation fully justifies the creation of a journal devoted to the analysis of their dynamics.

However, inspiration is not just another facet of contemporary economies. Its effects come earlier (upstream). It constitutes an essential springboard which contributes to triggering other facets - whether in terms of innovation, knowledge, experience, service, insights, mindset and paradigm shift or other aspects. In an inspiration economy, inspiration is not an end in itself, but rather the helm which allows a course to be set towards an end (for example, the production of an innovative service, the consumption of goods whose production is not harmful to the environ-ment, or the development of inclusive technologies).

The inspiration economy is an economy of relations (or interactions) and meaning. The ris-ing importance of an “everything is service” logic supports this interactive or relational dimen-sion of the inspiration economy. As for the search for meaning, this is implicitly present in the paradigm of the experience economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1999), which considers consumers to be no longer in search of consuming goods or services but rather of having an enriching ex-perience (one which is meaningful, involving engagement, an experience which transforms the consumer). Therefore one can consider inspiration economy as “a collective effort of how we rediscover inspiration and how we manage it towards better economy” (Buheji, 2014).

The inspiration economy can be seen as an economy of relations at various analytical levels: individual, company, city-wide, regional, or national (cf. the following point). It is an economy that would enhance our societies contribution by re-discovering our potentials, thus helping even the less fortunate individuals or communities overcoming their limitations.

These various agents are linked by reciprocal inspiration relations. Thus, even as they are competitors, producers inspire one another, consumers inspire producers and vice-versa, and consumers are invited to co-produce and co-create. Regions and nations inspire one another in the same way. Even disciplines would be aligned to exchange practices more openly.

6


The relational dimension of the inspiration economy may manifest itself horizontally, or verti-cally. In this second case, inspiration can work top-down, or bottom-up. For example, in terms of innovation, the bottom of the pyramid can inspire the tip. This is the approach known as ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BoP): it is brilliantly illustrated by the works and experiences of Nobel Peace Prize winning Muhammad Yunus (micro-credit), as well as those of C.K. Pralahad (2006). This BoP approach underlies frugal innovations (Jugaad innovation), that is, simple innovation (tech-nological or not), produced at low cost, yet having considerable social repercussions and im-pacts. It is noteworthy that BoP and frugal innovations (as well as green / social innovations more generally) born in developing countries can be sources of inspiration for developed coun-tries. This is particularly true of micro-finance, which has spread through developing countries in the wake of the economic crisis.

It is this relational dimension of inspiration that we find in well-known economic phenomena such as, for example, spillovers, open innovation, networks and innovation systems. Spillovers are the spin-offs of what others inspire in us. These come to light, for example, in job rotation, or open innovation situations, that is, where there is co-operation, reciprocal inspiration between multiple actors to produce innovation. Innovation alliances, partnerships, systems and networks are just specific modalities for setting up an open innovation model.

As an economy of meaning, the inspiration economy goes one step beyond the experience economy, which, as we have already stressed, postulates that a consumer consumes an ex-perience, rather than a given item or service. The postulate of the inspiration economy is that consumers only consume (and producers only produce) what inspires them - in other words, what is meaningful to them. So it is no longer just a matter of product quantity (goods or services or a goods-services systems) or product quality which counts, but the end result (aesthetic, ethi-cal, social) of production and consumption. The inspiration economy calls both consumerism and productivism into question. We are seeking to maximise neither consumption or production; rather, we are asking questions about the meaning of our consumption (production) and the consequences of our consumptions (productions) on ourselves, on others and on our environ-ment. It is a different mindset approach. We are also asking questions about our work, and its meaning, with a desire to raise our aspirations. In an inspired economy, this quest for meaning is at the heart of sustainable development issues in their various facets: economic, environmen-tal, and social. As a facet of the inspiration economy, the environment economy is concerned with the preservation of our physical environment, whereas the care economy, in contrast to the traditional economic rationality (individualistic and optimizing) is one that is focused on others rather than on the self, an economy that’s concerned with the well-being of others, through a rediscovery of the virtues of altruism, trust and empathy with the problems of others.

This twin dimension of the inspiration economy raises several issues:- First and foremost, we note that the quest for meaning can lead to a quest for connection. A

product consumed by a given actor may be meaningful only because it creates connections (social relationships). This is what can lead a consumer to choose the local market, rather than the supermarket.

- This quest for meaning and connection comes together in the emergence and development of what we have termed Public Private Innovation Networks in Services (ServPPINs) (Gal-

7


louj, Rubalcaba and Windrum, 2013). Indeed, ServPPINs describe collaborations between public and private service organisations within the innovation field. These differ from tradi-tional innovation networks in several ways. Firstly, relations between the public actors, the third sector (non-profit associations and NGOs) and private actors are positioned at the centre of the analysis. Next, service providers (often from the third sector) are the principal actors in this. Finally, non-technological innovation (service innovation and social innova-tion), often neglected in the literature, are taken into account here.

- From these two perspectives, the inspiration economy calls for new tools with which to measure wealth. This can no longer be evaluated simply in terms of quantities produced and monetary values, but must now also include alternative wealth indicators which take into ac-count intangible values, which reflect an economy’s degree of inspiration: not just its Gross Domestic Product, but in a way, its Gross National Happiness (Gadrey, 2002 ; Stiglitz et al. 2009).

All in all, we could say that contemporary economies are (or will increasingly be) governed by a truly universal law of inspiration, which is somewhat reminiscent of the universal law of imi-tation put forward by a precursor of Joseph Schumpeter, French thinker Gabriel Tarde (1890).

A generalist, multidisciplinary journal Bearing in mind the above remarks, it would be a mistake to believe that the JIE is aimed at

a thematic niche. On the contrary, it is a generalist journal covering a broad thematic spectrum: innovation, creativity, knowledge, services, leadership, sustainable development, etc; whom are presented in table (1) below for a more detailed (though not exhaustive) list. However, we cannot help but recognise that certain themes give rise to relations more quickly than others, with the inspiration issue or in relevance to reviving economies. This is true, for example, of in-novation and sustainability problems.

Table (1) List of thematic fields for JIE

• Economy Inspiration • Inspiration Economy • Society Inspiration • Organizational Learning • Organizational Innovation • Organizational Competi-tiveness • Organizational Excellence • Organizational Knowledge Management • Knowledge Economy • Learning Economy • Innovation Economy • Social Engineering

• Society Co-existence • Social Integration • Disruptive innovation • Accelerated learning • Business of Inspiration • Service economy • Experience economy • Social innovation • Alternative welfare indicators• Sustainable development • Healthcare Inspiration • Healthcare Innovation • Healthcare Quality

• Healthcare Improvement • Healthcare Leadership • Healthcare Management • Technology inspiration • Technological excellence • Electronic entrepreneurship • Technological innovative diffusion • Inclusive technology • Technology Competitiveness • Government Inspiration • Society Development • Entrepreneurship Spirit • Organizational Psychology

8


Similarly, given the origin of the concept (art, the sacred, religion), and its psychological na-ture, the notion of inspiration, applied to the various thematic fields mentioned above, calls for a multidisciplinary approach. This is why the JIE seeks to become a resolutely multidisciplinary journal. Inspiration is also at the heart of inter- Humanities and Social Sciences relations. In this way, the economic paradigm (founded on homo oeconomicus) has successfully inspired many fields such as politics (cf. public choice) and history (new economic history) - to the extent that we have been able to talk about a veritable imperialism of economics. However, to limit our-selves to a single example, economics was itself inspired by psychology, in order, for example, to develop what we refer to as ‹behavioural economics›.

Different levels of analysis of the inspiration economyAs we have emphasised above, the notion of inspiration originally applied to the individual

(transcendental dimension). Yet inspiration is not a closed, inward-looking attitude – it is about being open to others and to one’s environment. We are inspired, and we inspire others.

The management sciences have made these individual and micro-economic levels their own in many interesting fields: for example, inspirational leadership, coaching, benchmarking, etc. Unlike transactional leadership (founded on hierarchy and constraint, the reward-punishment regime), inspirational or transformational leadership inspires, motivates, is more about mak-ing people want to achieve than imposing targets upon them, offering a model to be followed. Generally, we consider such leadership to have a more positive effect on the performance of followers than does transactional leadership. Coaching is a methodology whose objective is to unbridle people’s capacity for inspiration, in such a way as to allow them to reach deep inside themselves, the better to ground their relation to others. Benchmarking is a method which al-lows people to draw inspiration from best practice. Management clearly stands to gain from the laws of inspiration- however we could also ask whether inspiration might not also generate cer-tain undesired effects: the risks of cognitive lock-in, autocratic drift, or mystical illusion, for ex-ample. If the inspiration economy is, as we have stated, an economy of relations, then we might well ask: what is the optimal degree of openness favourable to inspiration, and does inspiration increase with the degree of openness to others? Does it fall off once it has reached a certain threshold? In other words, should we be multiplying openings to others in order to be inspired (extensive conception of inspiration) or reducing the amount of openings in order to make them deeper (intensive conception)?

As we have already stressed, inspiration is not just an individual phenomenon. It can exist at other analytical levels: collective, city, regional, national, and so on.

Thus, of the five cities or worlds of Boltanski and Thévenot (1991) (who describe the forms of agreement, different social objects and different modes of conflict/controversy resolution), one city is described as inspired. The ‘inspired city’ is defined by the following characteristics: Its key values are inspiration, creation, imagination, and interiority. The characteristics it values are: the unexpected, passion, the marvellous, spontaneity, and emotion. Those it shuns are: habit, external signs and realism. The subjects it values most highly are the artist, the child, the fairy, the fool, the genius, and the visionary. Its model tests are creation from scratch, the interior adventure, and spiritual wanderlust.

Certain nations are more inspired than others. This is truer of certain historical eras than

9


others (for example, the France of revolutionary times). Certain nations are sources of inspira-tion for others. This is often true of developing countries, which seek to take inspiration from developed economies.

Regarding the analytical levels of the law of inspiration, an important question which arises is the question of the shift from individual to the next level, from micro to macro, in other words: how do individual inspirations come together to result in a meso/macro-economic, or macro-social, state of inspiration? This question is addressed in the same terms as the familiar one about the shift from individual to collective or organisational learning. Indeed, organisational learning exists only in so far as it cannot be reduced to the sum of individual learnings. Similarly collective inspiration (i.e. inspiration of a group, a community, a company, a town, a region, or a nation) is different from the sum of the inspirations of the individuals or entities that make it up. In this way, it is probable that established institutions play an essential role in the logics of inspiration at national, regional and/or international levels.

Finally, this very first issue of JIE is composed of a wide variety of contributions, reflecting the importance and diversity of inspiration practices and methodologies in various fields and in different regions and countries of the world (Ireland, Bahrain, New Zealand, Finland, UK and France). The issue starts with a paper entitled “why inspiration matters?”, which, in a certain way, outlines the main missions of the journal. The next papers reflect different moves towards inspiration economy within different service areas such as education, healthcare, communica-tion, leadership, e-government, project management and benchmarking. Together with the JIE editorial board, I hope this issue would encourage more authors and readers to be part of the inspiration driven community and I look forward to their scientific contribution to JIE.

ReferencesBoltanski, L. and Thévenot, L. (1991) De la justification. Les économies de la grandeur, Gal-limard, Paris.Buheji, M. (2014) Notes on Journal of Inspiration Economy Editorial team deep dialogue and minutes of meetings.Chesbrough H. (2003) Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology, Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Gadrey, J. (2002) Croissance et productivité: des indicateurs en crise larvée. Travail et Emploi, n° 91, July, 9-17.Gallouj F., Rubalcaba L. and Windrum P. (2013) Public Private Innovation Networks in Services, Edward Elgar.Pine, J., and Gilmore, J. (1999) The Experience Economy, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.Prahalad C. (2006) The Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid, Pearson Prentice Hall.Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., and Fitoussi, J.-P. (2009) Report of the commission on the measurement of economic performance et social progress, Paris, September.Tarde G. (2013) The Laws of Imitation, General Books LLC, (French Edition, 1890, Les lois de l’imitation, Félix Alcan).

Journal of Inspiration Economy @2014: Scientific Publishing Center, University of BahrainJ. Ins. Econ. 1, No.1, (Sept-2014)Website: http://journals.uob.edu.bh, ISSN (2384-4752)

11

E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2, [email protected] 3

Why Inspiration Matters?

Mohamed Buheji1, Zahraa Saif2, Haitham Jahrami3

1 Assistant Professor, University of Bahrain

2,3 Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Bahrain

Received July. 2014, Revised July. 2014, Accepted August 2014, Published Sept. 2014

Abstract: Inspiration plays an important role for personal and professional growth and development though it tends to be an overlooked concept. This research study was designed to explore people experiences with inspiration and it investigates why inspiration matters. It is a qualitative study based on the grounded theory methodology which involved telephone interviews with ten persons holding top and high level management in their organizations. Research findings revealed that participants’ experience with inspiration is a worthy part of their lives, it is evoked by challenging situations, and it helps them meet their personal and business related needs. This research shades light on the inspiration role in changing or enhancing the individual characteristics and traits such as being more persistent, prudent and accountable which encourage further research in this area.Keywords: Inspiration, Innovation, Motivation, Insight.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 11-20 (2014)

12

IntroductionIn today’s competitive environment, we tend to focus on measuring competencies, abilities, skills and knowledge however we fail to recognize the importance of inspiration role. There are yet few research papers that we came across with that try to answer why inspiration matters? We know that inspiration is well linked with creativity and innovation by allowing one to think of new unconventional ways (Christensen et. al., 2010). Inspiration is also known to boost a person or even groups or societies from the challenging and impossible status to the enjoyable and possible achievements. One reason that inspiration tends to be overlooked is because of its fluid and intangible nature, albeit it is an experience that we all arefamiliar with.

What is Inspiration?Inspiration is about discovering your leap through dismantling the foundation of the problem as Hendrick (2009) mentions. Therefore, inspiration is about our ability to spot the upper limit of the human being within, thus enhancing his/her geniusity. Thus, as Hendrick (2009) put it, inspiration is about thriving in sustained abundance, love and creativity. Why Inspiration?Harding (1948) believes that inspiration plays the role for capturing and harnessing ideas. Therefore, different authors believe that inspiration is a motivational state that compels individuals to bring ideas into fruition and that such inspiration is important to the creative process (Christensen et al.. 2010 ; Thrash et al., 2010). Until recently inspiration is seen as a term limited to only prophets, righteous people and unique leaders (Carpenter, 1987). Today, the world of inspiration is spreading to all the countries, generations, genders, communities regardless of where, when, how and who limitations (Thrash, et al., 2010). The ability to inspire or get inspired is now a more frequent and consistent trend as compared to 20 years ago and it is certainly more progressive in the last few years. Inspiration is not any more about motivation for higher performance, it is more becoming as a core value for evaluating things (Hart, 2000). Inspiration is more needed today especially with the instability of social, economic and political environment, since it has the influence to building a common purpose among diverse communities (Iverson, 2011; Hart, 1998). When we inspire people we can involve them in the implementation of needed social transformation. A true inspiration gives a sense of independence and an ability to be autonomous and unique. An Inspired person means today he/she can be more self-serving, participative and self-confident (Hart, 2000).Thrash and Elliot (2004) believes that inspiration has not been well studied in from the point of view of expectations, experiences, needs, and interaction patterns nor was studied from the point of view of organization and cultural environment. This research study would try to start to fulfil this need of understanding role of inspiration through a designed investigation of “why inspiration matters” for individuals level using a sample from the Kingdom of Bahrain.

MethodologyMethod - The research methodology used to conduct this study is the one known as grounded theory. Grounded theory is a systematic research methodology in the social

M. Buheji, Z. Saif, H. Jahrami: Why Inspiration Matters?

13

sciences that involves the discovery of theory or propositions through the analysis of data. Grounded theory methodology is therefore a research method, which operates, almost in a reverse fashion from traditional social science research. Rather than beginning with a research hypothesis, the first step is data collection, through a variety of methods. From the data collected, the key points are marked with a series of codes, which are extracted from the text. Research question – Why inspiration is an important dimension for personal and professional growth and development?Participants - Informants in the study comprised 10 persons. The pool of participants included five Bahraini men and five Bahraini women who have been involved as national consultants for the Bahrain Centre of Excellence. Those persons were appointed as consultant due to their remarkable achievements, dedication, contribution and special area of technical expertise e.g. research, statistics, marketing. Those informants were also serving as middle or top management. The selection of these persons was based on personal connection of the first researcher. We wanted to get in touch with people who had experienced inspirational moments and who could be assumed to be willing to and capable of articulating their experiences for the researchers. In accordance with the methodological and epistemological recommendations of the grounded theory methodology, we wanted to select informants with varying level of information and experiences. The groups therefore represented the entire spectrum of potential informants, ranging from age, sex, educational background and so on. All suggested persons accepted the invitation to participate in the study. Data Collection - The collection of data consisted of telephone interviews with each of the study participants. Telephone interviews have major benefit in them that they simply allow easy access to the informants regardless of their geographical location or business work hours. This is a very important part because most informants selected in this study operate at different prime times and they will be very difficult to get hold of during ‘standard’ work hours and therefore agreeing with them on date and time for call made it significantly easier to contact them. Telephone interview are also cost- and time-effective compared to other interview methods, such as direct mail, cost much more. The issue of guaranteeing response is also a highlight to choose telephone over other interview venues. Telephone interviews are not without their disadvantages. Researchers have less control over phone interviews. Participants might be interrupted by other phone calls, get distracted by TV, mobile or internet browsing or any other similar activity. The authors want to also acknowledge that telephone interviews have the inherited shortage of limited complexity of questions because it is fairly difficult to get people to elaborate on their responses by phone. The reason is that most phone interviews must be limited to 45 or 60 minutes. The following questions were asked as standard in all interviews:Tell me about your own experiences with inspiration?

1. What about your experience X that inspired you?2. What in the environment related to experience X that inspired you? 3. Give me some examples of situations you have been inspired or inspired others?

Did they result in any change?4. What are the characteristics of individuals who inspire you?

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 11-20 (2014)

14

5. What are the characteristics of environments that inspire you?Common follow-up questions were added to these initial questions, a series of individually adapted sequential questions of the type “tell me more,” “give some examples,” “why?” and so on were used. Each interview took about an hour to conduct and recorded using the record in the smart mobile device with permission of the informant. The informants were assured that the recording would be destroyed immediately after transcription of information to protect their anonymity.

Analysis - The interviews were transcribed from the recording files and consecutively analyzed according to the constant comparative method after entry into Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. The first step of the analysis was open coding. Data were examined line by line in order to identify the informants’ descriptions of thought patterns, feelings, and actions related to the themes mentioned in the interviews. The codes derived were formulated in words closely resembling those used by the participants. Later, codes were compared to verify their descriptive content and to confirm that they were grounded in the data. As a second step, the codes were sorted into categories. This was done by constant comparisons between categories; and between categories, codes, and interview protocols. The third step consisted of fitting together the categories using the constant comparative method.

Results and DiscussionThe table (1) below shows the responses to the interview questions on the topic why inspiration matters.

Table (1) List of interview questions and answers

Q1. Tell me about your experiences with inspiration? Answers to this question stemmed around topics like:

• Meeting personal and business related needs• Inspired by problems and the need to solve them • Travelling around and see current trends there• Attending seminars and workshops related to the business operation• or personal development • Using social network platforms and channels• Through networking and meeting new people • Revising history

Q2. Give me examples of situations you have been inspired or you inspired others? Did the results in any change? Answers to this question stemmed around topics like:

• Participating in decision making• Dealing with challenges• Reading books and stories • Being around high-spirited and motivated persons• Following a leader at work• Meeting coaches and mentors• Being part of teams either for professional or personal development


15

Q3. What are the characteristics of individuals who have inspired you? Answers to this question stemmed around topics like:

• Persisted, high perseverance • Do not give up easily • Honest • Prudent• Fair• Responsible• Accountable• Approachable• Disciplined

Q4. What are the characteristics of environments that have inspired you? Answers to this question stemmed around topics like:

• Challenging environment • Hard situations

Anatomy of InspirationThe research interviews found most of the informants have positive perspectives about themselves. They think that their experience with inspiration is a worthy part of their lives. Most of them think that their experience with inspiration is associated with meeting personal, social and/or business needs. It is usually evoked by a problem that need to be solved or as a result of observing recent trends during travelling or as a result of using social networks platforms and channels. Networking and meeting new people and attending seminars either for professional or personal development can be an inspiring opportunity. Others indicated that revising history and reading some success stories or books is highly valuable for inspiration. This research emphasis what other authors called for a better understanding of the biological basis of inspiration (Thrash et al, 2010). The body of knowledge needs more work that will illuminate the process through which inspiration is compelled to transform ideas and spirit into products and solutions that may benefit our societies.

Forms of InspirationMost informants found that dealing with challenges, participating in decision-making, being surrounded by high-spirited and motivated persons and working with leaders were inspiring situations. Other inspiring situations highlighted were being part of teams, meeting coaches and mentors and reading books and stories. There was consensus that challenging environment or hard situations are the main characteristic of an inspiring environment. The most common characteristics of an inspiring persons as highlighted by informants include being persistent, highly perseverant, prudent, disciplined, honest, fair, responsible, accountable, punctual and approachable. This brings us to the conclusion that inspiring persons share leaders› characteristics. Similarly inspiration is a key feature for effective leadership style where leaders need to far beyond communicating their vision to create purpose and share meaning so others get motivated and passionate about that vision.

(Cont.) Table (1) List of interview questions and answers

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 11-20 (2014)

16

Thrash and Elliot (2003) suggests that inspiration is delivered in various forms and that the term inspiration has many shades of meaning, and usually there are some variance in participants understanding of the concept (Hart, 1993). Best inspiration is seen to reach its heights of human motivation to the extent it awaken us to better possibilities (Steele, 1977). Inspiration thus falls squarely within the purview of psychology, and we hope that our research will serve as an impetus for further study of this important and neglected topic.Inspiration might come from new and striking combinations of ideas. So you might be a physician or an engineer or a lawyer, yet you are also one of the most prominent story authors or history scientist, and so on. Such inspirational characteristics however depend also on our ability to build sufficient knowledge on the subject. Most of inspired figures in our resent or old history are not made by wish, but by hard focused work and sacrifice. The inspired person does not decide exactly on the process of achievement, but rather focus on the process of perfecting the delivery time after time. Many Muslim scholars such as Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, Ibn-Rushd, Ibn-Alnafees and Ibn-Alhaitham have manage to get all of their contributions in different areas of knowledge with sustainable inspiration till today because of this holistic integrated knowledge and the spirit of perfecting there product time after time. This spirit of inspiration can be seen clearly today in leading countries products and services. Some leading scholars, practitioner and artists in our world today have managed to bring many ideas outside the norm of subject and became associated with inspiration, due to their ability to create the integration of these ideas with what make the difference to the world or at least to their specialty. This type of practice is called today disruptive innovation (Christensen et al.. 2010).

Relation between Innovation and InspirationInspiration has received little attention within the scientific community due to none clarity of inspiration meaning and it variety of disciplines origin such as in theology, psychology (Thrash and Elliot, 2003; Carpenter, 1987). Therefore, inspiration was rarely studied as an integrated definition that leads to innovation. Inspiration may be conceptualized not only in terms of the characteristics of the inspired state, but also as distinct processes that compose an episode of innovative trials. Innovation and inspiration have been linked together for a long time. Therefore, today inspiration can affect the level of innovation in every discipline and hence can flourish our life and our society’s unity and speed up the economic development and recovery (Christensen, et. al, 2010).Inspiration and innovation when they meet would be a source for an insight or what is called the “aha” moment (Catmull and Wallace, 2014). Others believe that through inspiration spirit ‘disruptive innovation’ can be implemented where a focus on reverse thinking and giving a new way on how the world should learn (Christensen et al., 2011). Therefore, authors like Thrash and Elliot (2004) find that the process of “being inspired by” gives rise to the core characteristics of evocation and transcendence, whereas the process of “being inspired to” gives rise to the core characteristic of approach motivation.

Inspiration as a MotivatorIn general the study support that Inspiration involves motivation in which the individual


17

strive to create an idea or do something new and creative. It is evoked without intentions as a result of interaction with people and/or the environment. Although inspiration is unconscious, through recognizing situations that tend to inspire us, we can proactively seek inspiration and create such stimulating experiences. To achieve this openness to new thought is a key pre-requisite as well as having psychological mastery, self-confidence, values and optimism are important to be inspired. It is worth indicating that inspiration may not always lead to positive effects. To achieve desired outcomes, we need to put what we have created into action rather than only getting enthusiastic about it.

Steele (1977) believes inspiration is often the motivator for questionable actions. Through this motivated people are often welling to sacrifice to discover more of their potentials. Inspiration can help us create and/or overcome challenging decisions in life (Allen, et. al, 1998). This means that inspiration raises or motivates our ability to create an environment where many people can thrive, grow, and live in peace with one another. Thus through inspiration harmony can be promoted thereby provide sustainability for future generations with ability to create communities of reciprocal care and shared responsibility. Inspiration depends on the type of stimulus or object you get inspired from. We get inspired from people, models, examples, ideas. Once inspired, we get motivated to transmit and actualize certain realization. Thrash and Elliot (2004) sees inspiration as a process of either being ‘inspired by’ and ‘inspired to’ which would lead to motivation. This research sees this clearly true to the sample taken in Bahrain. However, this research fails short to investigate whether the process of being ‘inspired by’ involves intrinsic value of a stimulus object, or even see how the process of ‘being inspired to’ involves motivation to actualize the valued qualities to a new object or individual as per (Thrash and Elliot, 2004).

Characteristics of Inspired PeopleThis research clearly shows as per the sample chosen that inspired individuals’ values making meaning to things and awakening something unique or new and usually appreciate innovation. We can learn here that inspiration is not just about creating a wholly unique idea but mainly may be about incorporating old valuable ideas into something unique. This really makes exposing to stimulating experiences and ideas a learning opportunity that can help people progress toward excellence. Inspiration as shown from the sample has positive impacts upon individuals as it can promote well-being, psychological health, happiness and satisfaction. It can strengthen relationships and empower people.

The research shades a possibility that our ability to inspire others depends a lot on the level of influence we can reach; i.e. our ability to develop a vision that is both clear and highly appealing for us or to others (Zarda, 2012). It is found that inspired people selected for this sample show confidence and optimism with more confidence by recognizing small accomplishments toward their goals and would have dramatic actions to symbolize key organizational values or might even lead by example, which supports the work of Hart (1998). Actually, Hart (2000) latter came to believe, after conducting a research for many years, that inspired people have characteristics as drive, honesty and integrity, self-motivation, self-confidence, Cognitive ability/intelligence, Knowledge of the business, emotional intelligence and flexibility, which are around the same characteristics and/or traits seen in this study. Therefore, it can be said that an inspired person differs usually from others by their ability to discover.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 11-20 (2014)

18

Inspiration nonetheless endures people with more explained innovation and would be willing to give much effort to the extent required to produce innovative work (Catmull and Wallace, 2014).

When you know you are inspired?The sample shows that people know when they are being inspired. The participants showed an overwhelming clear sense of self-satisfaction when they talk about inspiration. Sample shows Inspiration is about discovering what you are most love doing and spend more and more time doing it. So you know you are inspired when you start to enjoy the success and/or the good feeling that this doing creates so that to bring you more towards life satisfaction (Andrews and Withey, 1976). Brown and Pabon (2014) indicated that what we sensed in the sample of Bahrain that people feel more inspired when they have better ability to learn through seeing with the eyes of the heart and not only the eyes of your mind. The individuals of the research sample expressed their knowledge in being inspired explicitly through their sensitive feeling and high consciousness with coincide with Harts (1998 and 2000). This research confirms previous work which showed that inspiration status is recognized within us when we reach self-actualization, self-esteem and high belongingness (Lockwood and Kunda, 1999).

ConclusionsTo conclude, inspiration matters since it fulfills an important aspect of our life essentials be it our personal needs and/or professional growth and development. Inspiration as shown from the interviews feedback has a positive impact on our psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Nevertheless, inspiration has not been well-studied in terms of people needs and experiences and its potential impacts on individuals and organizations. As a recommendation, getting inspired and inspiring others are important, therefore we need to proactively seek and encourage inspirational experiences for both personal and organizational purposes. Exposure to stimulating experiences such as networking, observing recent trends around us, involving in decision-making and solving problems and being around high-spirited persons represent inspirational opportunities that enhance our learning and ability to innovate. These inspirational experiences can motivate people and help our societies integrate newly generated ideas into actions thus producing desired outcomes while enhancing our communities’ readiness towards change.


19

References Andrews, F. and Withey, S. (1976) Social Indicators of Well-Being. Americans Perceptions of Life Quality. Plenum Press, New York, USA.Brown, P. and Pabon, T. (2014) Own Your Future: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur and Thrive in an Unpredictable Economy. Gildan Media, LLC , UK.Carpenter, D. (1987) Inspiration. In M. Eliade (Ed.). The Encyclopedia of Religion (pp. 256–259). New York: Macmillan.Catmull, E. and Wallace, A. (2014) Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Transworld Publishers Limited, USA. Christensen, C; Johnson, C. and Horn, M. (2008) Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. McGraw-Hill Professional , USA.European Union (2009) European Regional Policy, an inspiration for Countries outside the EU? Applying the principles, sharing the lessons, exchanging experience. Publications of the European Union . Luxembourg.Ferrini, P. (2003) The Economy of Love: Creativity, Right Livelihood and Abundance. Heartways Press , USA. Harding, R. (1948) An Anatomy of Inspiration, 3rd ed. Cambridge: W.Heffer and Sons.Hart, T. (1993) Inspiration: An exploration of the experience and its role in healthy functioning, Dissertation Abstracts International, 54(2-B), 1077. (UMI No. 9316659).Hart, T. (1998) Inspiration: Exploring the experience and its meaning. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 38: 7–35.Hart, T. (2000). Inspiration as knowing. in T. Hart, K. Puhakka, P. Nelson, Eds. Transpersonal Knowing: Exploring the horizon of consciousness. State University of New York Press.Hendrick, G. (2009) The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level. Herper Collins, NY.Iverson, L. (2011) Thriving in Uncertain Times: 6 Success Strategies in the New Economy. (Audio) Made for Success, Inc.Landy, F. and Conte, J. (2004) Work in the 21st Century. McGraw Hill, New York.Lockwood, P., and Kunda, Z. (1999) Increasing the salience of one’s best selves can undermine inspiration by outstanding role models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 214–228.PRME (2013) Anti-poverty Working Group: Collection of Best Practices and Inspirational Solutions for Fighting Poverty through Management Education. International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies.Steele, R. (1977) Power motivation, activation, and inspirational speeches. Journal of Personality, 45, 53–64.Thrash,T and Elliot, A (2003) Inspiration as a Psychological Construct, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84 (4): 871-889.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 11-20 (2014)

20

Thrash, T. (2007) Differentiation of the distributions of inspiration and positive affect across days of the week: An application of logistic multilevel modeling, In A. D. Ong and M. Van Dulmen (eds.), 515-529. Handbook of Methods Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press, New York.Thrash, T. and Elliot, A. (2003) Inspiration as a psychological construct. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84: 871-889. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.871.Thrash, T. and Elliot, A. (2004) Inspiration: core characteristics, component processes, antecedents, and function. Journal of personality and social psychology 87: 957-973. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.87.6.957.Thrash, T.; Elliot, A.; Maruskin, L. and Cassidy, S. E. (2010) Inspiration and the promotion of well-being: Tests of causality and mediation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 98: 488-506. doi: 10.1037/a0017906Thrash, T.; Maruskin, L.; Cassidy, S.; Fryer, J.; and Ryan, R.; (2010) Mediating between the muse and the masses: inspiration and the actualization of creative ideas. Journal of personality and social psychology 98: 469-487. doi: 10.1037/a0017907.Topolinski, S. and Rober, R. (2010) Gaining Insight Into the “Aha” Experience, Psychological Science, Dec. 19: 6402-6405.Raymond, G. (1907) The Psychology of Inspiration: An Attempt to Distinguish Religious from Scientific Truth and to Harmonize Christianity with Modern Thought. New York: Funk and Wagnalls.Zarda, D. (1997) Business Inspirations by To Your Success: Thoughts to Give Wings to Your Work and Your Dreams. Compendium Inc; Gmc Crds edition.


23

Double-loop Learning across Healthcareand Teaching Professions

Pauline Joyce1, Paula Kinnarney2

1 RCSI Institute of Leadership, Dublin, Ireland2 Education Department, National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland

Received April. 2014, Revised June. 2014, Accepted June. 2014, Published Sept.. 2014

Abstract: This paper outlines a qualitative evaluation study of a leadership symposium, which was a partnership initiative, developed across two organizations and two professional groups (teaching and healthcare). It grew from a serendipitous meeting of like-minded academics, who were attempting to achieve similar outcomes with their student groups; namely, to disseminate graduates’ action-oriented projects in a public forum. Data was collected from graduates (n=16) via open-ended questions and reflections on their experiences of carrying out their projects. The findings of the study are presented around the challenges, opportunities and learning from leading these change initiatives, using double-loop learning as a framework to interpret these findings. The symposium, offered a unique opportunity for exchange of learning across professions, from an inter-organizational level. Keywords: Public-Private Partnership, Double-Loop Learning, Organizational Learning.

E-mail: [email protected] 1 , [email protected] 2

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

24

IntroductionThis evaluation study explores the challenges and opportunities experienced by teachers and healthcare professionals in leading change across their organizations. A public-private partnership approach was taken to disseminate these experiences via a leadership symposium. According to Smith and Wohlstetter (2006) some educational leaders have experimented with a public-private partnership approach to expand resources and build capacity. However, there are a variety of partnership approaches. Quite apart from the opportunity to innovate, as is the experience discussed here, Lowndes and Skelcher (1998) highlighted the emphasis put on ideas which created flexibility, synergy, added value and leverage. These ideas are still relevant today. The approach presented here is based on an informal partnership of the authors (one from a public university and the other from a private college) emerging from an interest in exploring the similarities and differences across the teaching and healthcare professions, where students were tasked with the same remit of leading change projects in their organizations. During the planning of this approach a more formal partnership was taking place between the two organizations where the authors worked. This initiative ( a leadership symposium with two groups of professions) was viewed by senior staff of the respective institutions, as an inspirational leadership approach (Zenger and Folkman, 2009), where the authors motivated each other and graduates, by their actions, more than their words. The authors were, themselves, leading a project, which was a new partnership initiative, never attempted previously across the organizations. Reflecting back on the planning for the leadership symposium, the ten success factors identified by Jacobson and Choi (2008), although not explicitly followed, fit well with how the partnership evolved. The unifying vision, as the first success factor, for both authors, was the development of synergies across the professions and learning from these interactions. Commitment, open communication and trust (factors 2 and 3) were high on the priority list with many informal meetings and phone calls regularly. When it came to agreement on keynote speakers there was a willingness to compromise and collaborate (factor 4) and this showed a high level of respect (success factor 5) across organizations. The learning for the graduates in presenting their work publicly met the need to disseminate their work to a wider audience and fits well with success factor 6 of community outreach. Political support (factor 7) together with expert advice and review (factor 8) came from the top level of respective organizations as there was buy-in from the beginning from senior management. A sense of risk awareness (factor 9) was important too. Previously a symposium had been held in one of the organizations so that the format, with one set of graduates and one profession, previously worked well. Bringing together a new organization and an additional professional group was a risk, but the motivation of the authors was high, to make this a success. Finally clear roles and responsibilities (success factor 10) were outlined from the start so that the partnership worked smoothly from beginning to end. There is a paucity of research exploring the experiences across professional groups using an action-oriented research approach to guide change. Stark (2006) carried out a qualitative study with groups of nurses and educators where she facilitated action learning sets for both groups. Stark (2006) gathered data via field notes from participant observations. She also collected data via a reflective journal of critical incidents related to set meetings, over a 3 year period. In addition, she interviewed members from both groups during and after the

P. Joyce, P. Kinnarney: Double-loop Learning across Healthcare ...

25

action learning set meetings. Stark undertook eight interviews with four of the groups (two of each professional group) and eleven interviews with individual members of the action learning sets, who agreed to take part (seven educators and four nurses). Findings of this study highlighted that learning was immense and ‘sometimes painful’, especially when individuals confronted attitudes and behaviours in themselves that they criticised in others (Stark, 2006:29). This exploration of the professional identity of the teacher and the nurse was further developed by Stronach et al (2002) who suggest that the development of the professional requires trust and that such trust implies risks. According to Roberts (2004) doctors are continually developing as professionals and are not only expected to adapt to changes in medicine but they are also required to adapt to a changing society. This is true of all healthcare professionals. While much of the literature suggests that teacher leadership is more likely to occur and to flourish within schools that have a culture of trust and a collaborative climate (Tschannen-Moran 2004, Donaldson 2006, Muijs and Harris 2006, Yost et al. 2009), Fairman and MacKenzie (2012) found teachers leading within schools that did not have a supportive or collegial environment. The purpose of this paper is to present qualitative data which formed the responses to four key questions exploring the experiences of teachers and healthcare professionals who presented their action-oriented projects at a public leadership symposium. The program which the teachers completed was a Post-Graduate Diploma in Educational Leadership, taking place over one academic year. It aims to enhance the capabilities of teachers in their current work and to support their preparation for future senior leadership positions. The students are required to carry out an action-oriented project, which involves implementing an improvement in their school settings. The master’s in Leadership in Health Professions Education on the other hand, focuses on the standard of learning and teaching for health professionals, while at the same time enhancing leadership skills for occupying executive and management posts in health education. Similar to the teacher group the healthcare professionals are required to carry out an action-oriented project focusing on an improvement in education and practice (Joyce and Al Fahim, 2013).

MethodologyThis was a qualitative evaluation study, consisting of a purposive sample of 16 graduates from healthcare and teaching. The aim of the study was to explore the challenges and opportunities experienced by teachers and healthcare professionals in leading change across their organisations. The projects of sixteen graduates, eight from the teaching profession and eight from healthcare were presented during a leadership symposium. The department where the teachers underwent their postgraduate diploma focuses on education of teachers from kindergarten up to secondary school level equivalent. On the other hand, the department where the healthcare staff were enrolled focuses on leadership and education at a postgraduate university level, with interprofessional groups of healthcare professionals. The key objectives of the leadership symposium were to develop synergies across the professional groups; develop a network of professionals across teaching and healthcare; highlight comparisons and contrasts in experiences of carrying out the projects and to extend the dialogue of change in the community.Ethical considerations included the right of the graduates to decline the invite to take part in the study. Confidentiality of data which was not in the public domain was maintained by

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

26

grouping responses together and not identifying the individual names of participants. Data was collected via open ended guiding questions which participants were asked to respond to in writing. This allowed the participants to reflect on what aspects of their experiences were most important. The data allowed the researchers to obtain systematic comparisons to derive thematic concepts. In addition the participants were asked, following this data collection phase, to prepare 5 PowerPoint slides each, which highlighted the most important aspects of their experiences of leading projects in their organisations using the same four key questions. These focused on:

1. Key leadership challenges in undertaking the project.2. Key leadership opportunities offered by undertaking the project.3. Key lessons and learning for the wider professional community.4. Considerations for ‘leading change, as a professional’.

This meant that the participants themselves were involved in deciding on the key points, from their initial reflections, which they wanted to share in their presentations. For some of these professionals it was the first time they had an opportunity to present publicly, their thoughts about change to another professional group. Each presentation was facilitated by an academic staff member who invited questions and monitored the discussion. Feedback from the facilitators was documented in the form of reflections, by the authors, to further make sense of the data from the four key questions above. Reflections also included observations of the presenters who seemed nervous or confident.

ResultsThe qualitative data was analyzed by both researchers so there was agreement on thematic concepts identified. The authors used double-loop learning and the work of Argyris (1977), Senge (1990) and Argyris and Schon (1978) to frame the level of learning of the findings. Up to this point the graduates on both programs had reached level 3 of learning and the symposium was an attempt to challenge them to progress to level 4, Table (1).

Table (1) Influences at Different Levels of Learning

Levels of Learning Activities to progress learning

1 Individual ReflectionsPresentations to peers

2 Group Action learning meetingsPresentation to colleagues in the organization

3 OrganizationalSponsorship to carry our projectInvolving stakeholders outside of their own department, relationship building

4 Inter-organizational Presentation at Leadership SymposiumDissemination at conferences

Whereas single loop learning focuses on identifying errors in the environment and correcting these errors, for Argyris (2002), double-loop learning occurs when errors are


27

rectified by changing the underlying values which guide practice, before changing the actions. He suggests that highly skilled professionals, having spent much of their lives acquiring qualifications and mastering their disciplines, are frequently quite good at single-loop learning. However, when single-loop strategies go wrong they can become defensive and their ability to learn from these errors can shut down (Argyris, 1977). Relating this to organizational learning means that relevant learning happens at multiple interacting levels i.e. individual, group, organization and inter-organization (Table 1). The findings are interpreted in the context of double-loop learning under three key themes: Resistance to change; Extended/restricted professional and Exchange of learning.

Resistance to ChangeBy the nature of action-oriented projects there are many challenges in leading change. In response to the first question – what were the key leadership challenges in undertaking the project? - references to change and leadership are illustrated by similar-type quotes across healthcare and teaching professions. The experience of resistance is highlighted for example in the following quotes of the graduates:

Dealing with “difficult” members of staff who opposed changing the way things were done.Teachers working in the same classroom together – some felt uncomfortable with this. (Teachers)

Whereas Hardy and Lingard (2008) found resistance across school sites when there was a call for teachers to engage in collaborative learning, the latter quote suggests that this teacher found resistance while working within the same classroom.From healthcare staff:

There was animosity directed at a personal levelBack-tracking by key stakeholders / Challenge to maintain momentum (Doctor)

Both groups seem to reflect upon unspoken politics and defensive behaviour which they encountered during the process of implementing change. Again Argyris (1991) could interpret this as being related to the expereince of professionals being successful most of the time, not experiencing failure. Thus, when single loop learning goes wrong they can become defensive and this could manifest in resistance. Being able to communicate these feelings can be linked to the facilitation of an environment where professional learning is supported and enabled (Bradshaw et al, 2005). In addition to some negative challenges, there were positive responses to the challenges encountered across the professions. Both groups identified how, within the challenges experienced, the project allowed them to build positive relationships with staff, understanding better their environment, within their departments and across the wider community. Such learning has been supported through the decades by both professions (Fullan and Miles, 1992; Lles and Sutherland, 2001; Fullan, 2002; McAuliffe and Van Vaerenbergh, 2006) in recognising that change is systemic. The complexity of leading change is identified strongly by teachers and healthcare staff, in particular, stepping into different roles as required. The following quote from a teacher illustrates this very well:

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

28

A clear understanding that the leadership role is a complex one. As a leader I must be able to wear many hats: visionary, figurehead (represent the project publicly), champion, (communication of progress, needs, and ben efits), liaison and monitor (embrace, develop, and maintain my liaison role), chief negotiator (especially important in the early stages of a project, scope, costs, and schedule), negotiator (help team members resolve difficulties), motivator (keep the project moving, making sure I acknowledge and reward good work), talent spotter (enlist support of key personnel), team leader and player (be a role model in how I execute my tasks). I must also handle the “people” issues that may arise in the course of the project. There are an endless number of social-psychological issues that confront project leaders, but motivation, discipline, and conflict management are three of the more usual ones.

As with all change, communication was the most important lesson learned across the professions. This was discussed at length in the presentations of the projects. Ghavifekr et al (2013) concurs that the success of the change depends on the acceptance by organizational members. This involves motivating staff and communicating views and ideas for effective change, as was verbalized in the presentations from both professional groups. In fact Haughey (2006) suggests that networks, communities and teams can help create new patterns of learning within schools. Some of the above quotations refer to a strategic-change focus. According to Diefenbach (2007) the external environment is a powerful force and plays a major influencing factor in change management. In addition Bordum (2010) acknowledges the importance of hierarchies in the success of change so that change is resisted if the executive level only is targeted.

Extended/Restricted ProfessionalThe responses to question two around ‘Key leadership opportunities offered by undertaking the project’ and question three around ‘Key lessons and learning for the wider professional community’ are captured under the theme of the ‘Extended/Restricted Professional’. In healthcare and teaching many years are spent learning to perform as a healthcare professional or teacher. These forms of preparation have been coined as signature pedagogies by Shulman (2005) and are types of teaching that form the basis for how future practitioners are educated. Three fundamental dimensions of these critical aspects of preparation are ‘to think, to perform and to act with integrity’ (Shulman, 2005: 52). Signature pedagogies form habits and influence the culture of the professional’s work. He believes it is important that each profession recognises these habits in providing context for how they plan and implement projects in their settings. The literature on the extended and restricted professional (Hoyle, 1974; Haughey et al 1996; Ohlen and Segesten, 1998) helped us make sense of some of the responses we received to the enquiries. According to Evans (2007) restricted professionals are those who might have a narrow vision, are accepting rather than critical of their own practice and this can result in resisting change and innovation. The extended professional, on the other hand, continuously strives to improve practice and is continually examining for inadequacies and weaknesses which may be reduced or removed. Based on Hoyle’s (1974) work on teaching and education, Evans (2007) suggests that the restricted and extended professional concept is based on a continuum rather than on a boundary of two extremes. At the symposium both sets of graduates presented characteristics of the extended or restricted professional.


29

These quotes could suggest a view of the ‘extended professional’:Establishing a coalition of concerned parties with similar longterm goals and interests and developing a jointly shared vision of the change. (Healthcare staff)

Working closely with and harnessing the skills and abilities of colleagues with whom I would not have had the opportunity to work closely with in the past.Becoming published … and working closely with … on areas of literacy. (Teaching)

There is a suggestion of the importance of networking and of publishing in order to advance the careers of both groups. Marshall (2009) captures well the challenges, for doctors in particular, to demonstrate their competence and be accountable to society. She suggests that revalidation is one way to respond to these challenges. This encompasses personal development planning and demonstration of validation by peers. One way of achieving validation by peers is to publish papers in journals which are peer-reviewed. According to Marshall (2009) time spent by a clinician collecting evidence and devising ways of improving what they do, must be seen as a significant part of the work of a professional.According to Hoyle (1974) the restricted professional’s perspective is limited to the immediate in time and place so that workplace events can be perceived in isolation. Writing from a medical perspective, Cruess et al (2000) suggest that a gulf developed between the medical profession and society because of a better informed community who now demand accountability and transparency. Perhaps the notion of the restricted professional is as a result of a cautious doctor or teacher, for example, who are now more under the spotlight than ever before with new societal expectations and demands. However, this is the very time when double-loop learning is needed. Both the teaching and healthcare professions deal with high risk situations on a day-to-day basis and are under constant pressure to keep up-to-date and competent in their areas of practice. Any change initiative could in fact increase the potential of risk if they do not get the initiative right. The following response could suggest a ‘restricted professional’ perspective if we agree with Hoyle in perceiving workplace events in isolation or Cruess in being cautionary:

Teachers need to be encouraged to start small and to review and evaluate work regularly. When establishing communities of practice, ensure that they share a common concern and capitalise on schools interest to work together, by developing teachers’ skills of critiquing constructively each others’ work.

(Teaching)Yet, there is a sense in this quote that the teacher is collaborating and taking the bigger organization into consideration. For VanVeen et al (2001) this orientation towards the school as an organization fits with an extended role. For the healthcare staff member below there may have been a restriction in authority to carry out a project rather than a willingness to extend his/her role beyond a clinical remit:

First opportunity to devise and manage a change initiative from start to finish.(Healthcare staff)

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

30

Double-loop learning provides a framework for both professions in dealing with high risk situations as it allows for uncertain situations to evolve across professional boundaries dealing with the emergent nature of change. Another quote from a graduate, that ‘saying it all out loud’ at the symposium increased her learning of carrying out the project.

Exchange of LearningThe symposium can be understood as a space which necessitated extended professional engagement, or as Vince (2004:73) might label as a ‘structure that connects’. This space provided an opportunity for graduates to publicly reflect. Argyris (1991) believes that if learning is to persist, professionals must look inward, in addition to solving problems. Such public reflection, in turn, can provide opportunities to engage with the consequential mixed emotions following attempts at ongoing learning (Vince, 2004). While discussing the politics and emotions surrounding projects might be seen as too high risk, we argue that this is where real learning can occur.

The fourth question challenged the graduates to reflect on considerations for leading change as a professional. The idea behind this question was for them to express their overall learning of carrying out these projects and to link this learning with being a professional. The responses to this question were quite varied both in length and in orientation. The following examples are from teachers:

When leading change it is essential to exercise acute situational awareness in gauging the teachers’ readiness to engage in the change process i.e. where they are in their career, personal considerations, levels of motivation, position in the organisation etc.

Sometimes we don’t have to look too far for the answers. By facilitating a process of reflection and collaboration we can uncover deep insights and generate meaningful, sustainable change.It is all about relationship building, being empathetic, able to view a situation from all sides, communicating honestly, keeping everyone updated, and inviting all to become involved, working with a critical mass and extending one’s circle of influence.

These quotations vary from the need to read the situation clearly to facilitating a process of reflection and relationship building, involving learning across levels one to three (Table 1).

Responses overall were brief from the healthcare professionals and drew on ethics, trust, self-belief and transformational leadership as seen in the sample of quotes below:

Behaving in an ethical manner, developing mutual trust and respect with co –workers and being transparent, engaging all stakeholders

Transformational leadership can help align organisational members as it provides for inspiration, motivation, intellectual challenge and individualised consideration for the greater good.

Resilience, self-belief, self-questioning, support structures, down-time, optimism.


31

The benefits of professions sharing their experiences opens up a new chapter in working across boundaries as it is too easy to consider one’s challenges unique to the specific profession. Tagliaventi and Mattarelli (2006) found that knowledge flows between professional groups but this is leveraged, in particular, by organizational proximity and shared values. Although their research was based around the healthcare professionals there is no reason why networks from one profession cannot link with other professions. Real world research involves people building relationships, managing upwards and getting buy-in at all levels. According to Bottery (2006) educators as professionals (both sets of graduates are actively involved in educating) need to engage in professional self-reflection if they are to make an impact on society at large. Bottery suggests that professionals should not be shy in sharing their knowledge and expertise but they also need to recognise others’ understandings and expertise in order to make improvements. Sharing encounters across professions will extend the dialogue of change and develop networks which may not have yet been considered.

ConclusionThis enquiry began with a conversation and casual meetings. It continues in that way as the authors start to evaluate the second symposium and generate further discussion with a wider group of academics. As action-oriented researchers and reflective practitioners ‘we face a shared future’ (Coughlan and Coghlan, 2012:184). While limitations of the small size of the sample are acknowledged there is some learning to be gained from this study. The symposium has acted as a springboard for the next cohort of students in planning their projects and encouraging them to think more deeply about the challenges and opportunities which lie ahead. This paper has given an account of a partnership initiative which has huge potential to cross education and healthcare in a way which has not been done previously. It has sown the seed for professionals at postgraduate level to explore further what other learning they can gain from each other if they cross the boundary of health and education. On reflection this should have always been an obvious fit, as healthcare professonals, by the nature of the current focus on preventative medicine, are educating the public about their health and how they can prevent many of the prevalent diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. According to Stronach et al (2002: 131) professionalism could be viewed in metaphorical terms as a ‘pulse’. Each professional performance can be articulated around some version of that pulse. In other words practices from the inside-out (from the heart) need to be encouraged and rewarded (outside-in). To be healthy it needs exercise (action) and recognition. We support the argument of Stronach et al (2002: 132) that ‘excellence can only be motivated, it cannot be coerced’. Shulman (2004) gives examples of communities of learners whose focus is on an action-oriented project which they present publicly as their final capstone experience. He calls this the ‘consequential task’ (p. 489). Some of the principles used by Shulman (2004) are that the learner is an active agent in the process and learning becomes more active through inquiry, dialogue and questioning. There is collaboration among learners and this is nurtured within a community or culture that values such experiences and creates many opportunities for them. Equally Hargreaves and Shirley (2009) suggest that students are not merely targets of change. They are active partners with a leading voice in their own development.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

32

Teachers and healthcare professionals play a vital role in educating the public. However, there is huge potential to broaden this initiative to other professions such as lawyers, engineers etc. What stops us developing synergies, for example, between engineers and doctors, lawyers and teachers, and so on? The authors view this experience as ‘dipping our toes’ into a territory which we believe has great potential. Others should consider exploring the crossing of boundaries outside of their own professions using a distinctive space for exchange of learning. All it takes is inspirational leadership.

Acknowledgements We thank all the graduates who took part in the leadership symposium.

References Argyris C. (1977) Double Loop Learning in Organizations. Harvard Business Review, Sep-Oct: 115-125.Argyris C. (1991) Teaching smart people how to learn. Harvard Business Review, 4 (2): 4-18.Argyris, C. and Schon, D. (1978) Organisational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective, Addison-Wesley, New York, NY.Argyris, C. (2002) Double-loop learning, teaching and research. Academy of Management, Learning and Education, 1(2): 206-219.Bradshaw, P., Powell, S. and Terrell, I. (2005) Developing engagement in Ultralab’s online communities of enquiry. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 42 (3): 205-215. Bordum A. (2010) The strategic balance in a change management perspective. Society and Business Review, 5 (3): 245-258. Bottery, M. (2006) Education and globalization: redefining the role of the educational pro-fessional. Educational Review, 58 (1): 95-113.Coughlan, P. and Coghlan, D. (2012) Collaborative strategic improvement through network action learning: The path to sustainability. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.Cruess R., Cruess, S. and Johnson, S. (2000) Professionalism: an ideal to be sustained. The Lancet, 356:156-159.Diefenbach, T (2007) The managerialistic ideology of organization change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 20 (1): 126-144.Donaldson, G. (2006) Cultivating leadership in schools: connecting people, purpose, and practice. Teachers College Press, New York.Evans, L. (2007) Developing the European Educational Researcher: towards a profession of ‘extended’ professionality. Paper presented at the European Conference on Educational Research, University of Ghent, 19-21 Sept (network 22: Research in Higher Education). http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/174160.pdf Accessed 12/9/13).Fairman, J. and Mackenzie, S. (2012) Spheres of teacher leadership action for learning, Professional Development in Education, 38 (2): 229-246.


33

Fullan, M. (2002) The change leader. Educational Leadership. 59(8): 16-20.Fullan, M and Miles, M. (1992) Getting Reform Right: What works and what doesn’t. Phi Delta Kappan, 73: 745-752.Ghavifekr, S., Afshari, M., Siraj, S,, & Zabidi Bin Abdul Razak, A. (2013) Vision- Driven Strategies and Policies for Managing Educational Systemic Change: A Qualitative Analy-sis. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 7(4): 333-341.Hardy I & Lingard B (2008) Teacher professional development as an effect of policy and practice: a Bourdieuian analysis. Journal of Education Policy, 23(1):63-80. Hargreaves A. and Shirley D. (2009) The fourth way: the inspiring future for educational change. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA.Haughey, M., Howard, P. and Marshall S. (1996) Technical expertise and teacher growth: results of teacher evaluation policy impact study. Journal of Education Policy, 11(2): 159-168.Haughey, M. (2006) The Impact of Computers on the Work of the Principal: Changing Dis-courses on Talk, Leadership and Professionalism. School Leadership and Management: formerly School Organisation, 26(1):23-36. Hoyle, E. (1974) Professionality, Professionalism and Control in Teaching. London Educa-tional Review, 3(2): 13-19.Jacobson, C. and Choi, S. (2008) Success Factors: Public Works and Public-Private Part-nerships. International Journal of Public Sector, 21 (6): 637-667.Joyce P & Al Fahim M (2013) Action-oriented research for master’s level dissertations: an opportunity to improve practice. CCA Quality Series No 6. Commission for Academic Ac-creditation, United Arab Emirates https://www.caa.ae/caa/DesktopModules/QualitySeries.aspx Accessed 6/4/14.Lles, V, and Sutherland, K. (2001) Organisational change: A review for health care manag-ers and researchers. National Coordinating Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisa-tion R&D, London.Lowndes, V, and Skelcher, C. (1998) The dynamics of multi-organizational partnerships: an analysis of changing modes of governance. Public Administration, 76: 313-333. McAuliffe, E. and Van Vaerenbergh, C. (2006) Guiding change in the Irish health system. Health Service Executive, Dublin.Marshall, M. (2009) Revalidation: a professional imperative. British Journal of General Practice, 59: 476-477.Muijs, D. and Harris, A. (2006) Teacher led school improvement: teacher leadership in the UK. Teaching and teacher education, 22 (8): 961–972.Ohlen,J and Segesten, K. (1998) The professional identity of the nurse: concept analysis and development. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 28(4): 720-727.Roberts, M. (2004) Producing Tomorrow’s doctor. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 56(4): 467-484.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 23-34 (2014)

34

Revans R . (1998) ABC of Action Learning, Lemos & Crane, London.Senge, P. (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Doubleday, New York, NY.Shulman, L. (2005) Signature pedagogies in the professions. Dedalus, 134(3): 52-59.Shulman L. (2004) The wisdom of practice: essays on teaching, learning, and learning to teach. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Smith, J. and Wohlstetter, P. (2006) Understanding the different faces of partnering: a ty-pology of public-private partnerships. School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation, 26(3): 249-268.Stark, S. (2006) Using action learning for professional development. Educational Action Research 14(1): 23-43.Stronach, I., Corbin, B., McNamara, O., Stark, S. and Warne, T. (2002) Towards an uncer-tain politics of professionalism: teacher and nurse identities in flux. Journal of Education Policy, 17(1): 109-138Tagliaventi, M. and Mattarelli, E. (2006) The role of networks of practice, value sharing, and operational proximity in knowledge flows between professional groups. Human Relations, 59(3): 291–319Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004) Trust matters: leadership for successful schools. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Van Veen, K., Sleegers P., Bergen, T and Klaassen, C. (2001) Professional orientations of secondary school teachers towards their work. Teaching and Teacher Education 17: 175-194.Vince, R. (2004) Action learning and organizational learning: power, politics and emotion in organizations. Action Learning: Research and Practice, 1(1): 63-78.Yost, D., Vogel, R., and Liang L. (2009) Embedded teacher leadership: support for a site-based model of professional development. International Journal of Leadership in Educa-tion, 12 (4):409–433.Zenger, J. and Folkman, J. (2009) The extraordinary leader: turning good managers into great leaders. McGraw-Hill, New York.


37

Enhancement of Project Management to Support and Drive Transformational

eGovernment

Shauneen Furlong Professor, University of Ottawa

Managing Consultant, Territorial Communications Ltd

Received May. 2014, Revised M ay. 2014, Accepted July. 2014, Published Sept. 2014

Abstract: While eGovernment’s first decade has been much more transactional than transformational, radical changes affecting eGovernment are needed in this decade: culture, different services, and relationships with all stakeholders; organizational arrangements; business processes; and resource management. The project failure rate is so high that transformational eGovernment progress is stalling.This paper identifies a synergistic holistic compendium of ten key challenges and barriers that prevent progress in the project management of transformational eGovernment projects and recommends that project management methodologies be enhanced to respond and cope with that compendium. Keywords: eGovernment, Transformational eGovernment, Public Sector Reform/Modernization, Project Management, Challenges, Barriers.

E-mail: [email protected]

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

38

IntroductionTransformational eGovernment is the continuous innovation in the delivery of services, citizen participation, and governance through the transformation of external and internal relationships by the use of technology, especially on the Internet. When introduced, it offered the hope and promise to revitalize and modernize public services; reinvigorate and improve services to citizens, business, and governments; and create an exciting environment for employees to work and contribute. Countries world-wide are inexorably engaged and urged forward by both push-and-pull motivational pressures to use technology to improve democratic participation, social harmony, and economic sustainability. Transformational eGovernment has not been the success hoped for around the world, and a number of the barriers preventing success have been identified and analyzed (Dawes, 2009; Nordfors, Ericson, Lindell and Lapidus, 2009; Oxford Institute, 2007; Sharif and Irani, 2010; United Nations, 2008; United Nations, 2010; Weerakkody, Janssen, and Dwivedi, 2011; World Bank, 2002; Ziemann and Loos, 2009). It has been harder, slower, and more complicated to deliver than what was originally expected, specifically from a business transformational agenda (BCS Thought Leadership, 2005; Roy, 2006). Transformational eGovernment promised hope for government transformation, public sector renewal, and revitalization of the role of bureaucracies in the 21st century. eGovernment delivered primarily on the transactional success of using the Internet to allow citizens closer and more direct access to government programs (Weerakkody, Janssen and Dwivedi, 2011); important and valuable, but not of the significance and benefit that was predicted. Transformational eGovernment remains slow and halting (Aikins, 2012) and shackled to the time-honored approaches of managing existing organizational assets rather than reaching out to create new management capacities that business transformation demands and technology affords. Even in Canada, where eGovernment was rated by Accenture number one in the world for five years in a row (Accenture, 2005, 2006, 2007; Government of Canada Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 2006), it is seen as being primarily a transactional success as opposed to a transformational one (Roy, 2006). Internationally there has been a high and critical failure rate related to IT solutions (Aikins, 2012; Fraser, 2006). More recently, the failure in IT solutions that was the bane of transactional processing is now appearing in eGovernment initiatives (Aikins, 2012; Arif, 2008; Heeks, 2008; Janowski, Estevez and Ojo, 2007). eGovernment failures are often hushed up (Heeks, 2003) and as Misuraca (2009) points out, the majority of eGovernment projects are failures as high as 70-80% and are not meeting the “messianic” expectations. Failures are costly; as per Irani, Al-Sebie, and Elliman (2006), the United Kingdom Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology reported that cancelled or over-budgeted eGovernment projects were greater than 1.5 billion British pounds.There are a number of reasons for the lack of transformational eGovernment success, including unanticipated organizational opposition, difficulties in communicating requirements, and obstacles to obtaining information from different government departments and agencies (Kamal, Weerakkody and Irani, 2011). However, there is some support for the belief that one of the most significant reasons for transformational eGovernment failure is ineffective project management (Aikins, 2012; Misuraca, 2009). The literature and this paper refer to the dearth of peer-reviewed information on the effective role of project management and its

S. Furlong: Enhancement of Project Management to Support ...

39

impact on transformational eGovernment project success even though there are non-peer-reviewed business publications and country audits (British Computer Society, 2004; Fraser, 2006) that identify ineffective project management as an important cause of ICT failure that impedes transformational eGovernment progress.Project management, as derived from generic project management methodologies, is a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling project activities; it began its modern accelerated growth in the 1960s (Kerzner, 2001). The systems approach creates a project management framework that is constructed from process groupings and knowledge areas. The implementation of this approach ensures that the work of project management activities is performed efficiently and effectively and is measured by such features as planning, cost, schedule management, scope control, and communications. In transformational eGovernment, the project management systems approach is not enough. Instead, in transformational eGovernment, project management must discover the interrelated sets of challenges and barriers that impede transformational eGovernment project success and respond to and cope with them from a “results achieved” perspective. The project management systems approach must become a basic entry level to the transformational eGovernment project management regime, and project results must be the project drivers that are measured by the effective management of objectives, stakeholders, clients, technical and subject matter experts, resources, and functional support services (Kerzner, 2001).There are many reasons cited for project management failure and many of them are attributed to one or more breakdowns in the traditional project management systems approach (Aikins, 2012). But when a project meets key stakeholder (user) requirements, many other project shortcomings are overlooked, such as cost overruns, late schedules, and scope creep. However, in the author’s opinion, transformational eGovernment project management must result in success by ensuring that project management evolves from a system activity approach to a system results approach that starts with identifying an interrelated set of transformational eGovernment project barriers and challenges. This research is focused on informationally enhancing the project management process in order to upgrade the traditional systems activities approach and support the project results orientation.To address the difficulties currently experienced specifically in eGovernment projects, it can be argued that the modern project management growth that began in the 1960s (Kerzner, 2001) now needs to be radically accelerated, become less process bound, and more results driven. Transformational eGovernment project management could take on the functions and features of other management professions similar to the example of accounting and finance. By comparison, accounting equates to enhanced project processes and finance equates to project results. Processes supporting results should far outweigh processes supporting activities. Transformational eGovernment project management should ensure that information management and information technology (IT) that has long been relied upon to assist governments in carrying out their mandates (Movahedi, Tan and Lavassani, 2010) deliver on the demand for “faster, better, cheaper” IT solutions. These demands are not abating as governments evolve from transactional management to eGovernment transformation.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

40

Creating transformational eGovernment citizen-centric solutions and organizations requires (Elliman and Irani, 2007; Schwester, 2009):• focusing on and targeting citizen-centric requirements, cultures, and mores; • responding to a broad and deep plethora of citizen demands; • using technology as an agent to integrate technical architectures, information structures,

and information from subject matter experts;• managing technology to blend new and legacy systems, redesigned processes, and

differently motivated human resources, while supposedly achieving cost and time savings;

• recognizing the lack of tools and skilled resources; and• evolving governments from paternalistic and hierarchical structures to collaborative

and networked organizations.The findings below stress the importance of managing diverse and conflicting stakeholder interests through the fluidity of incorporating technology to address business reengineered processes within organizational requirements that judiciously manage information within an enterprise-wide transformation.

Research AimThe aim of this research was to consider the feasibility of advancing transformational eGovernment by discovering and mitigating key challenges and barriers, and by focusing on one of the eGovernment’s missing tools - an informational-enhanced project management methodology that could more effectively participate in the design and drive the implementation of the transformational eGovernment outcomes. Project management has been named as a major culprit for the underwhelming success of eGovernment; it has contributed to limiting eGovernment transactional initiatives instead of transformational developments. Project management has been named a key factor in the failure in both delivering IT solutions and transforming government (BSC Thought Leadership, 2005; Fraser, 2006). Project management limits change instead of promoting it, and it could have unwittingly locked down the status quo. Therefore, the research objectives are to:

1. explore the reasons for the ineffective project management contribution to the lack of progress in transformational eGovernment; and,

2. study the feasibility of designing an informationally enhanced project management methodology that takes into account the impact of a holistic and synergistic compendium of specific challenges and barriers to transformational eGovernment that are not effectively addressed by existing generic project management methodologies.

This problem is exacerbated by the need to address the unique conflicting aspects of transformational eGovernment where departments and agencies act in the interest of the Ministries without addressing the needs of the “whole of government” (Anthopoulos, Siozos and Tsoukalas, 2007).


41

Research ApproachAround the world, almost all public sector institutions are struggling with either entering the eGovernment market or advancing and realizing its success (United Nations, 2008; United Nations, 2010). They are moving from the use of ICTs and the Internet for simple transactional activities to the provision of information and public services for the people (Bouaziz, 2008). Regardless of any country’s position on the eGovernment progress continuum, all can benefit from having access to the experiences and knowledge already gained from international colleagues. This experience provides a deeper understanding of the challenges and barriers and the role of project management that impacts the successful implementation and progress of transformational eGovernment initiatives. Based upon this insight, this author approached the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA) Secretariat, an organization representing national technology associations around the world, to arrange for access to their international members to administer an eGovernment survey that would serve to collect information for this research, and act as a medium to share eGovernment knowledge for the international members. It was intended and anticipated to deliver quantitative as well as qualitative data on the underlying causes behind slow eGovernment progress and on the feasibility of enhancing project management methodologies to address the causes. The research used the mixed-method research approach that included the design and implementation of a piloted and structured survey, data collection and analysis, and examination and testing of potential enhanced project management solutions. The focus of this research is on international transformational eGovernment activity and problems in project management, the transformation of public service and its organizational and operational arrangements, and international strategies for transformational eGovernment uptake. The surveys conducted in this research identified a synergistic compendium of ten key challenges and barriers that prevent progress in the project management of transformational eGovernment projects. As a way forward in addressing these challenges, this paper recommends that project management methodologies be enhanced to cope with that compendium. The following diagram (Figure 1 – Research Design Process) provides an overall summary and timeline of the steps involved in conducting this research and in developing, testing, and implementing the eGovernment survey.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

42

Figure (1) Research Design Process

Step 1 Literature review2006-2011Initiated and reviewed literature on eGovernment project management and eGovernment success, failure, and international progress.

Step 2 Initiated, designed, and piloted the survey2006In order to have access to research data, the author approached the executive and secretariat staff of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) in Washington, D.C., USA, to obtain permission to survey its members to examine international transformational eGovernment issues. The WITSA represents the national information and communications technology (ICT) industry associations in 80 countries. (At the time of the survey, WITSA represented 67 countries and 90% of the world ICT market.) The author had been a delegate at the WITSA conferences and used this opportunity and relationship to approach the WITSA personnel to propose to design, administer, and implement a transformational eGovernment survey for the educational use of the researcher in understanding international eGovernment barriers to success, and to share the results with the WITSA members.

The author created a WITSA Advisory Committee made up of 15 countries to review and accept the survey drafts that were to be administered to the WITSA members. The countries represented on the WITSA Advisory Committee were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Kenya, Macedonia, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore,


43

South Africa, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The information survey questions were developed to contribute to the main research objective of this paper (which is to determine how project management could be informationally enhanced to address problems in transformational eGovernment) by identifying the impact of project management on the failure of international transformational eGovernment initiatives. The survey questions focused on the following four areas impacting transformational eGovernment: • the countries’ approach to transformational eGovernment; • access and management of strategic transformational eGovernment information; • the degree of experience with transformational eGovernment progress; and • the role and impact of project management on the success or failure of transformational

eGovernment. The detailed and specific survey questions and their anticipated outcomes addressed a number of data requirements in the four areas outlined above. These data requirements included: summarizing information per country on its eGovernment status and approach, interests, priorities, experiences, reasons for successes, reasons that inhibited progress, lessons learned, advice to other countries, and case information if applicable. The author worked through the Advisory Committee mentioned above (15 countries) by creating survey question drafts and by projecting potential outcomes. Also, the author conducted a pilot with the Advisory Committee to test and assess the survey questionnaire, the data follow-up, and the analysis process—with specific attention to the validity of the collection and management of the (anticipated) quantitative and qualitative data. The survey began with an introduction, purpose, and explanation that the survey was divided into two parts: • Part I, with three sections addressed the basic elements of each country’s

transformational eGovernment approach, experiences and progress; and• Part II invited case study information with the intent to develop a case study

transformational eGovernment database that could be shared with other countries. The information to be collected in Part I was intended to be a combination of quantitative and qualitative information, and, as such, the mixed-methods research method, after having been compared to other research methods, was found to yield the most appropriate, valid, and useful findings. In addition, follow-up conversations and interviews to validate the data input provided additional and, to some degree, more relevant information on the individual country experiences and challenges in implementing transformational eGovernment.Subjective information was also sought on some individual questions, and this invited more general comments and feedback. The seeking of subjective information also elicited more data to provide transformational eGovernment case study input which was to be used to create a case study repository to be shared among other respondents. The individual survey questions and anticipated outcome are outlined in the following paragraphs, starting with Part I which focused on “eGovernment Experiences and Country

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

44

Approach” and consisted of three sections: Section 1 – Contact information, Section 2 – Strategic Information, and Section 3 – Experience with eGovernment. Part I, Section 1 included the survey contact information of the respondent, including country name, respondent name, respondent title/role, phone number, and contact email address. Part I, Section 2 on “eGovernment Strategic Information” was made up of nine survey questions, with some questions subdivided so that responses to 58 data points were requested. The first question in Section 2 asked if the country had an eGovernment policy (none, limited, or fully developed), if there were substantial (measurable) improvements as result of eGovernment, and a scale as to the importance of one to nine reasons for his/her country’s motivation in pursuing eGovernment. The reasons included the following: reduce costs and number of personnel, improve government efficiencies, provide citizen-centric services, proceed with public sector modernization, offer promises of interoperability and integration, take advantage of technology advancements, demand for 24/7 services through the Internet, shared infrastructure and security between programs and departments; and other. This question was followed by requested “yes or no” and a description if the country had a definition of eGovernment, a strategic approach for eGovernment applications, and if the national technology association (the responder) was involved with the eGovernment in any federal/national department. The next set of questions were on the eGovernment priority or area most important to the country strategy and requested the respondent to select a “none, medium or high” rating on the following categories: citizen information or business information and transactional capacity; a particular sector including, but not limited to, health, employment, education, tourism, financing, benefits, administration, transportation, taxation, voting, eCommerce, or another domain; issuance of certificates and permits; or any other motivation. The section concluded with a question on the year the respondent’s country initiated eGovernment and why, and the respondent’s assessment of where his/her country was on the eGovernment continuum (planning, initiating, emerging, implementing, or transforming). Part I, Section 3 on “Experience with eGovernment” included questions on successes in, and barriers to, eGovernment starting with requesting a description on positive or most rewarding results with eGovernment, followed by a similar request to describe negative experiences or more unsatisfactory results with eGovernment. The next question asked for a rating from one to eight on the order of importance for successes in advancing eGovernment, and the options included, but were not limited to: visible political support; bureaucratic support and dedicated funding; government interest to address citizen’s requirements; government interest to modernize and transform the public service; government interest to take advantage of Internet technologies; promises of cost savings, interoperability, efficiencies, and 24/7 service; horizontal governance structures; and other. Part I, Section 3 also included a rating of importance from one to thirteen on the reasons that inhibited the progress of eGovernment; namely, complexity of transformative and innovative solutions, lack of skilled technological staff and leadership qualifications, outdated business and financing models, outdated systems development methodologies,


45

significant organizational or bureaucratic opposition, focus on technological drivers instead of business drivers, extent of government interdependencies and collaborative partnerships, expectations for public service reform and modernization, relationship with private sector and numerous stakeholders, movement to citizen-centric applications, lack of political support and adequate funding, lack of professional management resources, and other. The next set of questions sought input on lessons learned, the hardest part of implementing eGovernment, the advice to member colleagues, and his/her approach to assessing or quantifying eGovernment success.The next question in Part I, Section 3 asked the respondent to agree or disagree that the following eleven factors created additional challenges in implementing eGovernment solutions: complicated working environment, partnerships, and governance structures; requirements for a holistic approach across agencies and jurisdictions; outdated business models and system development methodologies that didn’t recognize progressive elaboration and negotiation elements; pressure to over-promise savings, efficiencies, and interoperability benefits; lack of single organizational driver or accountability point; requirement for employee and citizen participation; importance of executive and political support and champions; issues of citizen access and security; expectations to modernize and streamline bureaucracy, interest in applying enterprise resource planning technologies, and shared services; and other. The last question invited recommendations to facilitate the progress of eGovernment in his/her own environment. Part II of the survey focused on “Case Study Information and Government Contacts,” and it asked for input on eGovernment success stories and applications, experience with eGovernment research, interest in working to further examine underlying barriers to eGovernment, and questions on the use of the online service. This survey was administered to 67 countries and invited commentary on the major challenges and barriers that impeded eGovernment success with the intent to offer and share information to facilitate the advancement of all countries in the eGovernment objective. The research survey was the principle source of the intended quantitative research data (but morphed into qualitative data as a result of the respondent input, and follow-up calls and inquiries). Clarifications of the survey answers by the follow-up interviews, interpretations of the survey responses, and assessments from the Advisory Committee were the principle sources of qualitative data. In addition to this survey focus, findings in the literature review, advice from the Advisory Committee, and early discussions with potential eGovernment survey members about their challenges and barriers to eGovernment progress provided the scope and specificity for the survey questions. The review of the proposed survey was conducted via email and conference calls, and, in response to the interests of the WITSA Advisory Committee and Secretariat, included an invitation to submit case study information for the creation of an international repository and knowledge sharing centre. The author arranged for the survey to be tested and piloted by Advisory Committee members before being administered to all members.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

46

Step 3 Survey distributed, data collected, analyzed, followed up, and findings released2006 The survey was launched at a WITSA meeting in Texas inviting 67 countries to participate and complete online. The author followed up with all participants and the Secretariat through email and/or conference calls to confirm input and learn more about the individual country’s experiences and concerns. The follow-up conversations often provided more insight to the author than the survey input as a more “unstructured” less formal approach engendered more conversation and more effectively bridged the cultural barriers and digital-divide differences. It also allowed more discussion on potential solutions and a general education on country specific eGovernment concerns. The follow-up was a significant source of qualitative data.

The author released the survey findings report at a WITSA meeting in Athens, Greece in October, 2006. This report was provided to all WISTA members. The release of these findings was supported and complemented by presentation delivered by the author at the WITSA meeting at the same time. The report and presentation summarized the WITSA input on the following survey questions:

• evidence of improvements due to eGovernment actions; • each country’s place along the eGovernment continuum; • positive experiences and motivations; • recommendations to facilitate progress; • lessons learned; • negative experiences and barriers; • reasons that inhibited eGovernment progress; • hardest part of using eGovernment; • factors that created additional challenges in eGovernment; • countries interested in case studies; • advice offered to WITSA colleagues; and• WITSA suggestions to advance eGovernment.

Sixty-seven countries were invited to participate in the survey; 36 countries (54%) responded (some in complete form, some only partially completed; though all countries that responded received follow-up clarification and confirmation correspondence from the author to strengthen the survey findings).

According to the author, the most important findings delivered to the WITSA members were as follows (these findings were used to consult with the eGovernment Consultation Committee to develop the project management enabled solution and compendium of 10 challenges):

1. All countries face similar problems, irrespective of their position on the eGovernment continuum; this applies to the distribution of countries in the initial emerging stages (40%) versus those implementing or transforming their governments (60%).

2. Both developed and underdeveloped countries face similar challenges in managing cultural change within their organizations, implementing citizen-centric solutions, and adequately modernizing and transforming their public-sector institutions.


47

3. Benefits from eGovernment are not automatic; it depends upon how the initiative is implemented and incorporated into the government infrastructure and blended with government priorities. (Five respondents categorically stated there were no substantial improvements from eGovernment.)

4. Most countries approached eGovernment in the same manner and implemented comparable applications; but none expressed success in transformational change from within the public service itself.

5. Most countries had similar problems with change management, organizational opposition, the inadequacy of skilled labour, developing supporting infrastructure, encouraging citizen take-up and citizen-centric solutions, and dealing with the complexity of the government-wide interdependent solutions.

6. There are lessons and knowledge to be learned and shared between one another – what is missing is the mechanism to make the connections for collaboration.

7. Most of the positive experiences in eGovernment were limited to the transactional domain: call centres, websites for citizens, Internet access, filing taxes, finding information, paying fines, and registering vehicles.

8. Most of the negative experiences were in inadequate infrastructure, keeping content relevant, lack of citizen take-up, and delay of implementation.

9. The reasons that inhibited eGovernment progress were the complexity of transformative and innovative solutions, lack of skilled staff, organizational opposition, and government interdependencies.

10. The lessons learned ranged from the need to keep projects small, the importance of moving quickly, offering value, having a national plan, and skilled people.

11. The hardest part of eGovernment was the culture change, availability of funding, creating trust between government and solutions providers, the lack of legal framework implementing portals, and maintaining the content, breaking down the silos, and satisfying users.

12. The additional factors that challenge eGovernment are complicated work environments, outdated business models and systems development methodologies, lack of single organizational driver, the need for a holistic approach, and the requirement to engage citizens and address security needs.

13. The recommendations to facilitate progress were to ensure political support, develop cluster groups, break down silos and administrative resistance, ensure availability of qualified personnel, and to develop a well thought out plan to be communicated to all stakeholders.

14. These findings constituted matters of most interest to the members and, in terms of this research, highlighted and supported the literature review in the consistency of the barriers and challenges that inhibited eGovernment success.

These survey findings were summarized and released in 2006. The survey findings were also presented to the eGovernment Consultation Group and other key survey stakeholders for review, analysis, feedback, and corroboration. The author led an interactive, iterative

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

48

review and analysis of the survey and follow-up information with the objective of providing a well-articulated and valid record; the paper created a compendium of 10 transformational eGovernment challenges and barriers. This consultation activity to consolidate and validate the information from the survey findings was conducted through meetings, telephone discussions, email correspondence, and presentations to clarify, elaborate, consolidate, compare, and contrast the findings with the literature review. In this way, the author and consulted colleagues were able to develop a more in-depth appreciation and understanding of the actual “show stopping” barriers that impede the progress of the success of eGovernment. Through this research and follow-up consultation and analysis, a holistic, synergistic compendium of “transformational eGovernment challenges and barriers” was created, and each item in the compendium is supported by relevant literature, albeit in some cases the description and intent of the challenge is not precisely but rather only tangentially recognized. The examination of how project management could address these challenges was based upon the development of the compendium described below.

Step 4 Project management enhancement potential analyzed2007 - 2008The author followed up with a number of countries and the Advisory Committee to examine the feasibility of developing case studies to be shared and the feasibility of a examining a solution to the barriers and challenges. Project Management was identified as a major barrier, and the author undertook to assess project management as a potential facilitator to improve the management and successful implementation of eGovernment projects. Based upon the initial survey and follow-up discussions, as well as on-going international discussions with colleagues and the eGovernment Consultation Committee, the field of project management was determined to be lacking in adequately supporting eGovernment success and an area ripe for enhancement to more fully address transformational eGovernment needs. This research was based upon the hypothesis that the project management discipline does not effectively manage the delivery of eGovernment projects because it does not address the most critical challenges in managing eGovernment projects (Aikins, 2012).

FindingsAs stated earlier, based upon an interest to uncover the challenges and barriers that impede eGovernment success, an eGovernment survey was developed and administered by this author with the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), the national technology associations in 67 countries. The purpose of the survey was to determine the key problems and challenges inhibiting the success of eGovernment around the world and how project management could be enhanced to remedy them. It was also intended to summarize eGovernment information by country and include successful case studies that could be used as a learning tool and shared with other countries. Based upon these findings and extensive follow-up consultation with the survey members, the lack of modern project management tools to aid in the design and delivery of eGovernment across countries was highlighted as an inhibitor that could be examined as a potential application ripe for informational improvements.


49

The following eGovernment challenges were identified that could potentially be addressed through a revamped, technology-enabled project management methodology (a summary of each challenge is provided along with a short description). In addition, enhancements to the project management process to address these limitations in an eGovernment environment are also introduced.

a. Definition of the compendium of 10 international challenges to transformational eGovernment success 1. Requirement to manage diverse and conflicting stakeholder interests within a

governance frameworkStakeholder interests are usually conflicting because eGovernment applications are regularly developed with one or more departments and central agencies. Each of these departments and agencies has a unique legislative mandate; accountability regime; culture; history and background; and, more recently, security requirements.

2. Challenge to continuously adapt to and blend technology, people, and processesToday’s system environment is more organic than it was in the past; previously, system solutions were applied to a corporate service environment. Today’s systems are at the core of company performance, not on the periphery. They are significantly affected by evolving priorities and circumstances and are more integrated with the operational environment, including technological developments, the capacity of the resource experts, and constantly changing and evolving business processes.

15. Outdated business models that reward traditional applicationsMost business models do not recognize that collaborative and unprecedented solutions do not conform to the criteria for performance measurement targets, accurate costing and resource utilization, and work plan deliverables whose solutions are not known until they are negotiated and well into the implementation stage. Promises of cost and resource reductions, along with improved efficiency and effectiveness, gain the funder’s attention more than promises of transformation and innovation.

16. System development models affected by political realities and a new relationship with the private sectorMost system development models do not recognize the “stop and start” reality of projects affected by political cycles and funding priorities, and the need for system development fragments to be reused instead of continuously “starting over.” Though cancelling projects is generally due to changing systems objectives, it is critical to recognize the waste of precious resources and time and the inability to recover and reuse these efforts. However, public service has been impacted significantly through private sector contracting and outsourcing arrangements. The integration of private and public sector resources is now mandatory.

17. Lack of access to lessons learned and a body of knowledge for government-wide projectsProject managers are designing and implementing system solutions that are often unprecedented and government-wide, and yet they have no facility to access the

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

50

knowledge or benefit from the experience gained from other project managers in similar circumstances. The problem is that there is no way to harness previous experience and no demand to conduct and access lessons learned.

18. Promises of interoperability, integration, and cost and resource savings

The eGovernment environment is predicated upon a collaborative and partnership-based environment that requires sharing both work and accountability responsibilities, and it is usually argued (and ultimately funded) under a banner of promised cost savings and resource reductions.

19. Proliferation of information and the challenge to judiciously access and manage information

The information age exacerbates project management problems because of the massive and exponentially produced data that must be sorted out to effectively implement system solutions. The interconnectedness of information and system requirements is so overwhelming that projects suffer from the weight of information. Mining through this data to retrieve the relevant information produces a “spin and churn” that can be counter-productive; and this, along with the lack of authoritative control to wind through the layers of information, can derail the project.

20. Lack of a comprehensive holistic approach to project management as the driving force

Project management often plays the role of arbitrator, as it is often the agent that brings the disparate parties together to deliver a solution that was not driven by either party. This is usually the case with citizen-centric applications as they cross the program interests of each of the contributing organizations. Project management needs to drive the solution to change the business processes of the affected departments and turn the solution into a government-wide enterprise.

21. Limited access to vital subject matter expertise

Within governments, knowledge is either so vastly spread or not available that it is difficult for the project manager to understand the implications of systems design. The knowledgeable personnel are difficult to locate and approach given the hierarchical and organizational limitations, and are frequently reassigned and no longer accessible.

22. Organizational environment not presupposed to enterprise-wide transformation

Departments do not necessarily act as units of a government enterprise; they are vertically based with individual objectives and resource reward mechanisms. Accountability of each department is to its Minister and senior officials, and to the government acts for which it was created.

b. Description of the potential project management improvements to address the compendium of 10 international challenges to transformational eGovernment success

The following discusses the key enhancements required to project management methodologies to transform them from administrative and compliance processes to results and accountability driven mechanisms.


51

1. Requirement to manage diverse and conflicting stakeholder interests within a governance framework Project management within transformational eGovernment is currently a staff function that incorporates the established project management methodologies that are in use throughout the government project centers of excellence or other such government management control units. However, this staff function must integrate with the work standards and processes applicable to particular governmental operating units. The interaction of the project staff function and the operating unit line function is a key stakeholder requirement, particularly when the situation is complicated by conflicting stakeholder interests. The existing methodologies handle this requirement by leaving the project manager and team to sort out the procedures for working amid the danger of duplicate activities; unclear or vague responsibilities; and confused reporting lines. They do little to ensure that senior and other appropriate levels of management effectively participate in the development, delivery, and operations of transformational eGovernment portfolios of programs and projects. Rating and weighting the impact of stakeholders throughout the life of the project is key to project management success.The project initiating and planning processes described in the project management methodologies do not effectively lay out how the project team can gain a complete understanding of the existing transformational eGovernment processes and how the stakeholders interact externally and internally. The process of collecting requirements and creating a project scope document and a work breakdown structure does not sufficiently take into account the impact that stakeholders have throughout the life of the project. The scope of the business changes and the associated use of ICTs change. An information enhanced project management aid could categorize and ‘weigh’ the stakeholders influence. It could relate their interests to reporting requirements. It could monitor and incorporate changes to their interests and changing degree of influence. It could provide ‘intelligence’ to the project manager on the implications of accommodating changing interests; i.e. impact on other interests and additional time, cost, and reporting requirements. It could highlight to the governance committees the complexities and interdependence of stakeholder interests and the impact on project success and accountability without impeding development. It could highlight, for example, the gap between the interest in considering a government as a single enterprise versus the reality of managing different and competing departmental or ministerial interests and accountabilities. It could also relate interests of the delivery agent (responsible department) with the product – for example, to highlight the inappropriate assignment of accountability to a third party not directly involved in the product line.2. Challenge to continuously adapt to and blend technology, people and processesTransformational eGovernment projects are dependent upon robust and flexible ICTs; therefore, transformational eGovernment project management methodologies should include specific procedures to reflect this reality. The procedures should ensure that project managers consult with industry to test the viability of the proposed ICT enabled change; outline the need for a comprehensive and well-evidenced examination of the use of applications for meeting requirements of proposed transformational changes; and include an open and constructive relationship with ICT suppliers and providers. ICTs need to remain aligned with eGovernment technology, people and processes.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

52

An informationally enhanced project management methodology could highlight the impact of systems and projects on organizational business processes and the issues associated with personnel revising their workplace practices. It could assist in mapping and managing the business process changes resulting from the implementation and evolution of the project. It could also relate the organizational objectives to those particular practices, and identify potential technology enabled support; for example, offer an automated checklist to the project manager to recognize the organizational and personnel impact. It could revisit the changes and implications along the project implementation process as they are not static and are adjusted as the project evolves. Ultimately, technology could be designed to contribute to the core performance as these systems form the new basis of the organization’s capacity to meet its mandate.3. Outdated business models that reward traditional applicationsTransformational eGovernment business models must incorporate the decision-making structure that ensures strong and effective leadership of the ICT effort in support of the business change. Current practices too often reward applications that are easier to measure or understand or cost; not necessarily criteria that leads to complicated innovative changes for a transformational objective. If the feasibility analysis and project approval process could become part of the overall project management methodology, technological improvements could be developed to help support a shift in the business model criteria to fund the more controversial eGovernment projects. This could involve changing the criteria from performance specificity and delivery measures to rewarding more innovative and transformational based applications. 4. System development models affected by political realities and a new relationship with the private sectorKey project stakeholders are interested in a project’s results and products rather than the procedures that were used to carry out the project. Project delivery is a product that enables sponsors to assess the rate and quality of progress; and it permits the users to ascertain that their original request represents their actual needs, and reflective improvements.The project management methodology could be expanded to subsume system development approaches that meet partnership and transformational solutions. Technology could be provided to assist the management of information based projects, which would address the system elements and project management environment, and contribute to the negotiated effort of finding and delivering a project based solution. System development and the identification of requirements has become a more ‘moving target’. The relationship between government officials who express their requirements and the private sector capacity to lock them down is strained. The scope and requirements shift is due to changing political interests, funding levels, relationships, accountability regimes, resource availability, and individual influences just to name a few, and this is becoming increasingly difficult for the private sector to carry the cost of chasing requirements.5. Lack of access to lessons learned and a body of knowledge for government wide projectsThere are many reasons why lessons learned are not a factor: lack of time; incentives; resources; management support; the capacity and knowledge to collect store and access


53

the information. Useful lessons learned often focus around risks, issues, change requests, and ICT provider concerns. But just as importantly, methods of ensuring that project managers see the value in applying lessons learned to the uniqueness of their specific project. They must include their evaluation in the scope of ‘getting things done’. Analyzing lessons learned, in the form of a formal literature review, for example often results in getting things right the first time.Recent popular language discusses a ‘wicked problem’ to describe a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. The term ‘wicked’ is used, not in the sense of evil but rather its resistance to resolution. Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems.Project managers are rewarded for getting things done, and in this current regime action is better than thought or discussion – the perceived error of focusing on doing as being more important than reflecting. But lessons learned can lead to correct action and contribute to getting these things done and they can avoid the cost and effort of project rework through planning, training, and communicating.Lessons learned are not just theories; they can achieve results and cannot be ignored as they have in the past. The new methodology would ensure that the reflection on lessons learned would become inherent. A key feature where additional information could benefit the project manager is in having access to the experience and knowledge attained from actual ‘on-the-ground’ applications. The project management methodology could be expanded to support the overall project management and implementation of new solutions, and contributing to building a repository of experience could be of immense value towards the successful implementation of future projects. This approach could encompass the need to access and document experiences from individual projects for a historical database but more importantly, targeted as the agent to influence the design and implementation of future projects. 6. Promises of interoperability, integration, and cost and resource savings; Interoperability, integration, and cost and resource savings in transformational eGovernment requires a multi-layered multi-faceted backroom technology that is required to participate in a technology-driven public sector economy, and yet delivering upon pre-established savings or systemic approaches before deliverables are available often leads to inaccurate estimating that damages the transformational agenda. The project management methodology could be strengthened to provide project managers and governments the tools to achieve interoperability and integration. (Focusing on achieving cost savings is another matter, and perhaps not reasonable in the short term due to the high costs required to design and implement new systems.) Using technology to have access to the information required to deliver on interoperability and integration would be extremely helpful to the project manager. Having automated access to an understanding of the systems and processes required to accomplish interoperability and their interrelationships, as well as the business processes and systems to achieve integration would contribute greatly to eGovernment progress and ultimate success.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

54

7. Proliferation of information and the challenge to judiciously access and manage informationThe transformational eGovernment project manager faces, from the project outset, the onerous task of compiling indigenous information associated with managing a project. The project manager has to develop and manage all the detail associated with the processes, dates, tasks, costs, and people. He spends his time addressing these requirements and serving another master rather than ‘getting the job done’ and driving the project to success. However, these labours apply to both internal and external activities constantly focusing on administration and chasing estimates and managing relationships with the governance committees instead of being the prime user of this information. He collects and reports and becomes subservient to information management. This has been a traditional onerous effort by the project manager and he becomes mired in the numbers and irrelevant measures by running to placate the bookkeepers and governance players who usually are not wedded to the product output. (Hence the interest in the tiresome, nagging detail, and not necessarily relevant administrivia.) The transformational eGovernment project manager, in order to focus on project results, must optimize the use of available Internet tools to manage the collection, access, and storage of project information. But the transformational eGovernment project manager can no longer be the focus of the management of information; no longer be the omnipotent information manager. He must become the sage in receipt of this data, assembled by others so that he can effectively analyze project process and results. The project manager must ‘stop rowing and start steering’ or risk being swamped by the ubiquitous proliferation of project management information. He suffers from the ease to follow the bureaucratic requirements instead of challenging them in the name of product success and outcome. He unwittingly becomes the bottleneck of information – in and out; a key stakeholder who needs it most. Other people must assemble and manage the changing and interdependent data, so that the project manager as prime user may read and analyze the information, and no longer ‘feed the beast’. The management of transformational eGovernment information must use Internet based and technological tools to harness the power collective intelligence requires. Rather than being a handler of information the transformational eGovernment project manager must become a key intelligent user that understands the social, cultural, economic information environment in which transformational eGovernment operates. The transformational eGovernment project manager must prioritize results over processes, and be resolved to use the project information to detect and solidify unstated assumptions and ‘blind alleys’ and interfering governance committee members not committed to the final product. A broader project management methodology could benefit from the aid of better information and support in managing the interrelationships, location and access of information as it pertains to all facets of project management; this includes the horizontal and user related content information as well as the process related information required to manage the project itself. Content information would also assist in assessing the implications of changing and evolving requirements, users and stakeholder and governance committee reporting requirements.


55

8. Lack of a comprehensive holistic approach to project management as the driving forceIn the management of transformational eGovernment projects there are very few material individual or group incentives for performance albeit there is a long established commitment to public service. The individual driving criteria may erroneously be to the mechanistic project management reporting scheme and not to the project success; reporting successfully on measures such as timing or cost controls rather than on results. Concomitantly, few government organizations have created a ‘risk culture’ that rewards well-managed risk taking within the domain of transformational eGovernment project management. As a result the project manager tends to operate in a cocoon of project methodology processes that demonstrate performance and afford protection against possible criticism; the propensity to hide behind governance committees and their announced performance measures. Transformational eGovernment project managers and those organizations with related responsibilities for project contracting and associated decision-making often become entangled in project management methodology processes such as ‘earned value management’ (EVM) –esoteric to all except some specialists. Yet, there is no process dedicated to the realization of project results by the transformational eGovernment project manager. Furthermore, in enterprise wide government applications, when the project spans numerous departments and agencies each having varying degrees of interest and accountability, the project manager is often left to be the ‘driver’ and ‘prime user’; an unnatural occurrence yet imperative for project success. This situation is exacerbated when central agencies or special programmes fund the government wide initiative instead of the participating funders. The project management scope and tools for overall responsibility for project success could be expanded to recognize the project manager as the holistic driver, negotiator and consensus builder. In this capacity, he needs authority and information on the delicate interests both overt and unarticulated on the issues and complications that could derail or promote project success. Technology support and an expansion to and recognition of the scope and responsibilities of project management could contribute to project success. 9. Limited access to vital subject matter expertiseThere is likely no factor that contributes more to the success of any transformational eGovernment project than having an in-depth and complete definition of the project’s scope of work and, as importantly, having the ability to identify and measure the inevitable scope changes that occur during the life of the project.Project management methodologies rely heavily on scope processes and this includes the use of subject matter expertise. But the methodologies do not recognize the need to build capacity and capability within the project to develop scope and deliver project results based upon pragmatic subject matter expertise. Instead transformational eGovernment project management methodologies often look to ‘historical organizations assets’ that contain subject matter expertise, rather than having direct interaction with subject matter experts.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

56

To be effective in the development and delivery of transformational eGovernment project management, methodologies must incorporate procedures that broaden and deepen project management skills in managing ICT programs, as demanded by the information and digital age. This includes an adoption of subject matter expertise. During the management of transformational eGovernment projects, subject matter expertise is often developed by and inculcated into third-party consultants; because of this, they often become de facto project managers that hoard critical corporate knowledge. This becomes an issue that must be addressed by transformational eGovernment methodologies. The project management scope could be expanded to recognize the importance and difficulties in having access to the subject matter expertise within the client area for the project team when and as required. Though these personnel do not form part of the project team, they do influence the success of the project, and in an informationally enhanced environment, a project management methodology could include the facility to identify, manage, and have access to this expertise as required. 10. Organizational environment not presupposed to enterprise wide transformationIn transformational eGovernment there are usually a number of groups with a divergence in attitudes that are involved. And so there is the potential for problems caused by disparate vested interests. Power struggles can arise from: conservative verses risk-adverse approaches to project management; personal and organizational fear of the loss of power, authority, and influence; and ineffective communications around the boundaries and interfaces of impacted organizations. In some cases organizations are dedicated to maintaining existing parochial organizational arrangements and they are diametrically opposed to operational change.The project management scope could be expanded to recognize the interdependencies and breadth of a government enterprise, and could use technology to help tag and identify the relationships and associated transformational eGovernment activities.

Relevance As Emerging TopicOver the past two decades as a transformational eGovernment practitioner in the Government of Canada Federal Government, Independent eGovernment Consultation, and as a professor at the University of Ottawa, Canada, the author has experienced the operational practice and the academic theory (OECD, 2001; Oxford Institute, 2007; Roy, 2006) surrounding eGovernment. Academic theory has long promised that harnessing information and communications technology to the business of government would resolve many of its social, economic, and even political problems. And operational practice is now accepting the practicality of moving ICT beyond customer-facing processes to back office structures and practices as the appropriate approach to achieve that promise (Weerakkody, et al., 2011).However, progress remains slow and halting and this directly affected hands-on interface with the eGovernment theory and practice (Aikins, 2012; Roy, 2006). It highlighted many of the eGovernment issues and challenges and it crystallized many of the disparities between eGovernment theory and practice. It led to the author’s research into eGovernment.


57

This embryonic research effort began with information sharing and collaboration with fellow eGovernment practitioners, vendors and consortiums, special interest groups, and international organizations. This collaboration was focused on identifying and documenting a holistic assessment of the challenges and complexities impeding the operational implementation of eGovernment. This research work was enhanced by receiving an IBM student fellowship in 2007/2008 and the expression of intent by IBM in building a solution commensurate with problems and complexities. This initial research turned to in-depth eGovernment collaboration with international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations, and the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA).This research purports, as an original contribution, that a synergistic compendium of individual transformational eGovernment challenges and barriers has prohibited transformational eGovernment success. This has not heretofore been articulated or their individual and collective impact and significance documented in the literature. The literature does not provide a comprehensive understanding of each of the transformational eGovernment challenges and barriers that are identified in this paper. Kamal, Weerakkody, and Irani (2011) confirm that there is a dearth of literature on the role of stakeholders, and this supports that transformational eGovernment challenges and barriers have not been articulated to this degree in the literature.Transformational eGovernment barriers are discussed in the literature. But there is little evidence, recognition, or documentation of a holistic and interrelated set of transformational eGovernment related challenges beyond the list of “usual barriers suspects” cited as the common list that impede eGovernment adoption and systems development. There is no sense of the synergistic aspect of the impact of a compendium being greater than the sum of the individual challenges and barriers.The list of ten transformational eGovernment challenges is offered as barriers beyond the “usual suspects” cited as the common factors that impede eGovernment adoption and systems development. Dawes (2009) offers the following as the most common barriers: the purpose and role of government, societal trends, changing technologies, information management, human elements, and interaction and complexity; Ebrahim and Irani (2005) offer IT infrastructure, security and privacy, IT skills, organizational issues, and operational cost.In addition to addressing the ten individual challenges, this research addressed the need and importance to recognize the devastating and crushing impact of the compendium itself as a holistic and interrelated set that also needs to be addressed to manage not only the individual “parts,” but the “whole” as well. The result of this research was the recognition that sustainable transformational eGovernment is an ideals concept: a concept that has yet to holistically and comprehensively master the challenges and complexities that thread throughout eGovernment.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

58

ConclusioneGovernment has not been the success originally envisioned around the world when initiated over ten years ago (Aikins, 2012; Roy, 2006). Even in Canada, where eGovernment was rated number one in the world for five years (Accenture, 2005), the revolutionary changes to Government administration and democracy have not materialized. Many champions of technology in government and industry alike are convinced that we have only begun to scratch the surface of digital innovation (Roy, 2006). eGovernment’s first decade has arguably been much more transitional than transformational (Roy, 2006); and around the world progress has been even less (Aikins, 2012). Why has eGovernment not attained the promised success?

This research analyzes the challenges and barriers to advancing transformational eGovernment around the world and explores the feasibility of improved project management. It uncovers impediments not previously documented, provides a holistic synergistic compendium of ten challenges that impede eGovernment success, and assesses the feasibility of using project management to address some of these impediments and advance eGovernment progress.

References Accenture (2005) Leadership in Customer Service: New Expectations, New Experiences. http://www.accenture.com/Countries/Canada/Services/By_Subject/Customer_Relationship_Management/R_and_I/LeadershipNewExperiences.htm.

Accenture (2006) Leadership in Customer Service: Building the Trust. http://www.accenture.com/Global/Services/By_Industry/Government_and_Public_Service/PS_Global/R_and_I/BuildingtheTrustES.htm.

Accenture (2007) Leadership in Customer Service: Delivering on the Promise. http://nstore.accenture.com/acn_com/PDF/2007LCSDelivPromiseFinal.pdf.

Aikins, S. (2012) Improving E-Government Project Management: Best Practices and Critical Success Factors. Managing E-Government Projects: Concepts, Issues, and Best Practices, Information Science Reference (IGI Global), Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA.

Anthopoulos, L., Siozos, P. and Tsoukalas, I. (2007) Applying participatory design and collaboration in digital public services for discovering and re-designing e-Government services. Science Direct, Government Information Quarterly 24, pp. 353-376.

Arif, M. (2008) Customer Orientation in eGovernment Project Management: A Case Study. The Electronic Journal of eGovernment, 6 (1): 1-10.

Bouaziz, F. (2008) Public Administration Presence on the Web: a Cultural Explanation. The Electronic Journal of e-Government, 6 (1): 11-22.

British Computer Society (2004) Parliamentary Report on IT Project Waste Management of IT Projects: Making IT Deliver for Department of Work and Pension Customers. http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/1762, August 26, 2004.

Dawes, S. (2009) Governance in the digital age: A research and action framework for an uncertain future. Government Information Quarterly 26: 257-264.


59

Ebrahim, Z. and Irani, Z. (2005) E-Government Adoption: Architecture and Barriers. Business Process Management Journal, 11 (5): 589-611.Elliman, T. and Irani, Z. (2007) Establishing a framework for eGovernment research: project VIEGO. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 1 (4): 364.Fraser, S. (2006) Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the House of Commons. Chapter 3, Large Information Technology Projects, http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/parl_oag_200611_03_e_14971.html, November 2006.Government of Canada Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (2006) Government On-Line Final Report. http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/department/gol-annual-report-en.asp, August 30, 2006.Heeks, R. (2003) Most eGovernment-for-development projects fail: how can risks be reduced? iGovernment Working Paper Series, Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester, UK, pp. 1-19.Heeks, R. (2008) eGovernment for Development – Success and Failure in eGovernment Projects. eGovernment for Development Information Exchange, coordinated by the University of Manchester’s Institute for Development Policy and Management, http://www.egov4dev.org/success/sfrates.shtml.Janowski, T., Estevez, E. and Ojo, A. (2007) A Project Framework for e-Government. United Nations International Institute for Software Technology, UNU-IIST Report No. 359, April 2007.Kamal, M., Weerakkody, V. and Irani, Z. (2011) Analyzing the role of stakeholders in the adoption of technology integration solutions in UK local government: An exploratory study. Government Information Quarterly 28: 200-210.Kerzner, H. (2001) Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. Seventh Edition, John Wiley and Sons Inc., USA.Misuraca, G. (2009) e-Government 2015: exploring m-government scenarios, between ICT-driven experiments and citizen-centric implications. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 21 (3): 407-424.Movahedi, B. and Lavassani, K. (2010) Organizational Development in Electronic Government Adoption: A Process Development Perspective. International Journal of Electronic Government Research 7 (1): 51-63.Nordfors, L., Ericson, B., Lindell, H. and Lapidus, J. (2009) eGovernment of Tomorrow – Future Scenarios for 2020. Gullers Group, Sweden.Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2001) The Hidden Threat to E-Government: Avoiding large government IT failures. Public Management website, Paris, France, http://www.oecd.org.puma, March 2001.Oxford Institute (2007) Breaking Barriers to eGovernment: Overcoming obstacles to improving European public services. eGovernment Unit, DG Information Society and Media, European Commission, December 23, 2007, http://www.egovbarriers.org/downloads/deliverables/solutions_report/Solutions_for_eGovernment.pdf.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 37-60 (2014)

60

Roy, J. (2006) E-Government in Canada: Transformation for the Digital Age. University of Ottawa Press.Schwester, R. (2009) Examining the Barriers to e-Government Adoption. Electronic Journal of e-Government, 7 (1): 113-122.Sharif, A. and Irani, Z. (2010) The logistics of information management within an eGovernment context. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Emerald Group Publisher, 23 (6): 694-723.United Nations (2008) UN E-Government Survey 2008 From E-Government to Connected Governance. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Administration and Development Management, United Nations, New York.United Nations (2010) E-Government Survey 2010 – Leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, http://www2.unpan.org/egovkb/global_reports/10report.htm.Weerakkody, V., Janssen, M., and Dwivedi, Y. (2011) Transformational change and business process reengineering (BPR): Lessons from the British and Dutch public sector. Government Information Quarterly, 28: 320-328.World Bank (2002) The E-Government Handbook for Developing Countries. Centre for Democracy and Technology, Washington, USA.Ziemann, J. and Loos, P. (2009) Transforming Cross-Organisational Processes between European Administrations: Towards a Comprehensive Business Interoperability Interface. Handbook of Research on ICT-Enabled Transformational Government: A Global Perspective, Information Science Reference, London, UK, 2009, pp. 93 -116.


63

Insights into Informal Benchmarking

Alan Samuel1, Nigel P. Grigg2, Robin Mann3

1 The Centre for Organisational Excellence Research, Massey University, New Zealand2 Massey University, New Zealand

3 The Centre for Organizational Excellence Research, New ZealandReceived May. 2014, Revised June. 2014, Accepted June.2014, Published Sept. 2014

Abstract: Results of two global surveys show that informal benchmarking ranking the top 20% of the most popular organization improvement tools. The results also indicate that informal benchmarking is not as effective as it is popular, therefore there is room to enhance its performance. The focus of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it illustrates the conception of a preliminary model of informal benchmarking by the review of benchmarking, informal learning, organization learning and knowledge management, augmented by ideas on quantum thinking, innovation and positive deviance. Discussions with benchmarking practitioners were also held to strengthen the model. Secondly, it outlines a mixed methods approach to obtain data (not yet completed) on informal benchmarking practices in organizations via quantitative surveys and qualitative semi-structured interviews. The data will then be used to refine the conceptual model, prepare an assessment framework, and design a road-map for implementing an effective organization-wide approach of informal benchmarking. This will set the stage for a quantum leap in the understanding and effectiveness of informal benchmarking as a business improvement tool. The research also provide a platform for an extension of its theory in organizational improvement.Keywords: Informal Benchmarking, Organization Learning, Knowledge Management, Organization Improvement, Change Management.

E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2, [email protected] 3

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

64

IntroductionA global survey on business improvement ranked Informal Benchmarking 4th out of 20 of the most common business improvement tools used (68%) in organizations. The survey results published (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008). pp. 8-10) by The Global Benchmarking Network (GBN) in 2010 received responses from 452 organizations in 44 countries. Informal Benchmarking (68%) came 4th for usage after Mission and Vision Statements (77%), Customer/client Surveys (77%) and SWOT analysis (72%). However, Informal Benchmarking ranked 14th out of the 20 tools for its effectiveness in organizations, which is significantly lower than its ranking for usage in organizations.Performance Benchmarking (49%) and Best Practice Benchmarking (39%), also referred to as “formal benchmarking” tools, ranked 5th and 6th respectively after informal benchmarking.In their 2nd (first in 2005) state of benchmarking report in 2009 (APQC, 2009), The American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) stated that nearly 70% of organizations perform some form of informal benchmarking. Informal benchmarking is referred to short-term projects while formal benchmarking is referred to as being longer drawn out and fuller projects (APQC, 2009, p. 2). The results involved more than 200 organizations. The term “Informal Benchmarking” was first described by Global Benchmarking Network chairman Dr. Robin Mann in 2007 in a benchmarking training manual (Mann, 2007), and has since been defined by Mann through the BPIR.com (benchmarking and best practice website), GBN website and its members, and through publications, for example (S., 2008; Adebanjo et al., 2010), and the GBN Report (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008).). The use of the term by APQC in their 2009 report, and by others e.g. The British Quality Foundation, is probably as a result of them becoming familiar with the term through one of the above mechanisms.Herein lies the paradox: the knowledge workers (Davenport, 2005) who responded to the survey were aware of the wide use of informal benchmarking. However, their understanding of informal benchmarking was limited to a description of informal benchmarking provided by the GBN survey. The respondents could not have adequately understood the characterization and nature of informal benchmarking due to the absence of empirical research in established literature on the subject matter. While Dr Robin Mann via GBN (Adebanjo et al., 2010, p. 1144) goes a little further to suggest how informal benchmarking applies to everyday living and learning from others, it too does not elucidate a substantive position of informal benchmarking in organizational excellence research. Its pervasiveness and growing popularity (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008). p. 8)(APQC, 2009, p. 1) suggests it has greater flexibility, accessibility, is less costly, and less time-consuming than the lengthy methodology associated with formal benchmarking (Anand and Rambabu, 2008), albeit with the ability to produce tangible results. However, the effectiveness of these informal and discreet activities have either not reached their potential, or are considered as mere preliminary formal benchmarking efforts (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008).), or both.The term “informal benchmarking” only yielded 298 results on Google Scholar on 23 Apr 2013. Most of the literaturerefer to “informal benchmarking” without explaining its concept, meaning, or characteristics with the exception of descriptions by GBN, APQC and the British Quality Foundation. Searches on similar terms “Casual Benchmarking” or “unstructured benchmarking” yielded negligible results. The two best attempts at describing the term or

A. Samuel, Ni. P. Grigg, R. Mann: Insights into Informal Benchmarking

65

tool are probably by The Global Benchmarking Network(GBN) (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008). p. 22) and American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) (APQC, 2009, p. 4), both globally established entities in the benchmarking field, and part of the larger organization/business improvement community. The GBN is a global network of leading benchmarking institutions from over 25 countries that are now using the term “informal benchmarking”.

GBN (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008). p. 22) states: “Informal Benchmarking can be defined as an unstructured approach to learn from the experience of other organizations; therefore not following a defined process”. This definition can be attributed to Dr Robin Mann, GBN Chairman.APQC (APQC, 2009, p. 4) states: “They (informal benchmarking) are accepted as ongoing improvement activities and are implemented as continuous processes.”

These are the only two definitions of informal benchmarking available in literature, apart from a fuller description by Dr Robin Mann (Adebajo et al., 2010, p. 1144). Therefore, two significant gaps needs to be filled. The first is in the provision of the nature and notion of informal benchmarking, which is one focus of this paper. The second (not in this paper) is how to close the gap between its very popular usages but only moderate effectiveness as an organization tool. The second focus of the paper is to describe a methodology of investigating informal benchmarking. A comprehensive understanding of informal benchmarking will be profoundly valuable to benchmarking communities of practice, academics in benchmarking studies, scholars and practitioners in organizational improvement research, business practitioners seeking an alternative and efficient solution to superior performance in a time-scarce executive world (Cross, 2007, p. 10).

Aim and Objectives To establish a substantive conceptual model of informal benchmarking, including its definition, purpose, characteristics and taxonomy, and provide recommendations on how to implement and sustain an organizational-wide informal benchmarking approach. Objectives for the overall study is as follows:

i. Develop a preliminary conceptual model of informal benchmarking including a working definition, purpose, characteristics ,taxonomy of its typologies, and a working list of informal benchmarking tools

ii. Produce a preliminary maturity grid for the list of informal benchmarking tools iii. Obtain best practices or proxies of best practices of informal benchmarkingiv. Develop a final conceptual model of informal benchmarkingv. Develop an assessment framework (building on the maturity grid) to assess

the level of informal benchmarking in an organizationvi. Provide recommendations on how to implement informal benchmarking (e.g.

the specific tools) and how they should be organized/integrated together to provide an effective platform for informal benchmarking throughout the whole organization

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

66

Objective i) and ii) are met in this paper while objective iii) is underway. The paper also describes the research design and methods used to achieve the whole aim of the study.

Summary of Literature ReviewThis trans-disciplinary research typified by the “constant flow back and forth between the fundamental and the applied, between the theoretical and the practical” (Gibbons, 1994, p. 19), will draw on the findings and debates from several areas of organizational science and learning. These include formal benchmarking, organization learning, informal learning, knowledge management and insights from wider behavioral and social change philosophies such as positive deviance (Pascale et al., 2010), emergent thinking (such as quantum thinking (Plotnitsky, 2010)) and innovation (focusing on absorptive capacity (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990)).The notion of this research revolves around informal spaces of interaction and interactivity between people and the object of their benchmarking efforts. Informal learning expert Jay Cross (Cross, 2007, p. 40) refers to such spaces in the workplace as a learn-scape ecology, uniquely different to each individual’s propensity to learn informally, and where there are no boundaries. Informal benchmarking leans towards innovation, intuition, flexibility, spontaneity and individuality rather than a defined, structured or highly methodological project-oriented approach. While learning could be functionally defined “as changes in behavior that result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism that result from experience.” (De Houwer et al., 2013),benchmarking emphasizes the betterment of a specific practice, function, process or performance by comparing with a better or best practice (Anand and Rambabu, 2008, p. 259)(Kumar et al., 2006). (Camp, 1989). Thus, a critical review of “benchmarking” will be essential towards this research into informal benchmarking from an epistemological viewpoint. The other term “informal” will require the assistance of other disciplines to clarify what constitutes the conduct of benchmarking in an informal manner. This would include informal learning and knowledge management. Additionally, the framework for which the research could reside is in the context of organizational learning. Summarily, the results of the GBN and APQC surveys indicate a pervasive and growing popularity of informal benchmarking, yet suggests a potential for greater effectiveness in its implementation (Mann and Kohl., 2010 (first published, 2008).)(APQC, 2009). Therefore, this review would entail an investigation into relevant aspects of:

i) Formal Benchmarking: genealogy, definitions, purposes, content, characteristics, taxonomy on typologies and methodologies (Camp, 1989; Zairi and Leonard, 1994; Stauffer, 2003; Anand and Rambabu, 2008; APQC, 2009), (Kyro¨, 2003, p. 214), (Kumar et al., 2006), (Spendolini, 1992),(Fong et al., 1998).

ii) Informal Learning: focusing on “informal” acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities, and characteristics associated with informal learning (Werquin, 2012), (De Houwer et al., 2013), (Skinner, 1984), (Knowles, 1978), (Schugurensky, 2000), (Cofer, 2000).

iii) Organizational Learning: focusing on organization-level learning paradigms (the learning organization) and a framework to situate the corporate learning


67

cycle (Edwards, 2005), (Burnes et al., 2003), (Senge, 2006), (Marquardt, 2011, pp. 22,23), (Stewart, 2001).

iv) Knowledge Management: focusing on the eliciting and capturing of tacit knowledge flows; the individual and the collective mind (Pagano and Paucar-Caceres, 2008), (Mentzas et al., 2001), (Plotnitsky, 2003), (Bashar et al., 2012), (Nomura, 2002)

The above, is by no means exhaustive. Insights from wider organizational and behavioural science areas have been included heuristically (Kleining and Witt, 2000)to augment a concept of informal benchmarking. These include the 3 following areas:

v) Emergent thinking (Quantum Thinking): the quantum way of thinking will be able to add value to the interpretation of the results of the interviews. It enlarges rather diverges, and assist to remove a dogmatic approach (Newtonian thinking) while embracing postmodern thinking on the subject matter (Fris and Lazaridou, 2006).

vi) Innovation (Absorptive Capacity): the assimilation of new knowledge is crucial to innovation. That ability to receive knowledge and to assimilate it is called absorptive capacity. This capability is a function of prior knowledge of an individual or an organization. (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990)

vii) Positive Deviance: positive deviance refers to social change based on the observation that in any setting, for example an organization, certain individuals possess uncommon behaviors, tactics or strategies that enable them to find better solutions to a problem than others, despite having no extra resources or advantages other than their approach (Pascale et al., 2010).

What appears to be a challenge would be the formalization of something which is meant to be kept informal. Notwithstanding, the process and thinking behind the institutionalization of informal learning can assist in the research of informal benchmarking. Thereafter, a collection of industry practices in informal benchmarking will ensue to refine the preliminary conceptual model produced from the literature review. Figure 1 below shows the heuristic conceptualization of informal benchmarking using the 4 key and 3 related concepts.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

68

Figure (1) Conceptualizing Informal Benchmarking

Preliminary Model of Informal BenchmarkingAn interpretative summary of the literature review provides a preliminary conceptual model of informal benchmarking. Denzin (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005, p. 210) suggests two potential dangers in this approach; firstly a far too simplistic model or world view is constructed based on only conventional heuristics (such as the one being provided based on literature review), and secondly, an interpretation based solely on a retrospective analysis of the interaction between epistemological ideas from the constructs would be myopic. Nonetheless, a stance to include a postmodern lens (quantum thinking, for example) to the findings will mitigate stereotypical convergent thinking on the subject. Besides, the preliminary model serves as a visual representation of what has transpired in the review and a modification after data and insights have been obtained from benchmarking practitioners. The preliminary model shown below includes the following:

i) Table 1. Definition of informal benchmarking – a short and a long definition. ii) Table 1. Purpose of informal benchmarking – both primary and secondary

purposes to reflect its wider impact on organizational improvement as a whole, transdisciplinary

iii) Table 2. Various characteristics of the transdisciplinary areas are shown with common features grouped together to suggest a notion of the characteristics befitting informal benchmarking

iv) Figure 2. A taxonomy of the typologies of informal benchmarkingv) Table 3and 4. Activities/tools to support informal benchmarking


69

WO

RK

ING

DEF

INIT

ION

Shor

t Ver

sion

: Le

arni

ng in

form

ally

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

ers

to im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in y

our o

wn

orga

niza

tion.

Long

Ver

sion

: A

fam

iliar a

nd fl

exib

le w

ay o

f lea

rnin

g fro

m b

ette

r or b

est p

ract

ices

of o

ther

s (in

side

and

out

side

you

r ow

n or

gani

zatio

n)

for t

he p

urpo

se o

f im

prov

ing

wor

k pr

actic

es in

you

r org

aniz

atio

n. It

is c

onte

nt fo

cuse

d w

ithou

t fol

low

ing

a st

ruct

ured

m

etho

dolo

gy. T

he le

arni

ng is

eith

er in

tent

iona

l or i

ncid

enta

l and

is s

omet

imes

spo

ntan

eous

, fas

t and

unc

onve

ntio

nal.

It is

in

tend

ed to

brin

g ab

out i

mpr

oved

pra

ctic

es u

pon

the

impl

emen

tatio

n of

its

lear

ning

. Inf

orm

al B

ench

mar

king

may

aid

or l

ead

to m

ore

effe

ctiv

e fo

rmal

ben

chm

arki

ng. (

Und

erlin

ed p

ortio

n is

om

itted

from

sur

vey)

PUR

POSE

S

Prim

ary

i. To

con

tinua

lly c

ompa

re a

nd s

eek

out b

ette

r or b

est p

ract

ices

insi

de a

nd o

utsi

de y

our o

rgan

izat

ion

ii.

To le

arn

from

oth

ers

iii.

To im

plem

ent o

r ada

pt th

e le

arnt

wor

k pr

actic

es

Seco

ndar

yi.

To b

e op

en a

nd o

n th

e lo

okou

t for

opp

ortu

nitie

s to

lear

n fro

m o

ther

s al

l the

tim

eii.

To

be

cont

ent-f

ocus

ed ra

ther

than

fixa

ted

on s

truct

ure,

met

hodo

logy

or c

urric

ulum

iii.

To c

reat

e a

cultu

re o

f lea

rnin

g fro

m o

ther

s’ w

ork

prac

tices

insi

de a

nd o

utsi

de y

our o

rgan

izat

ion

Tabl

e (1

) Wor

king

Defi

nitio

n an

d Pu

rpos

es

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

70

Ben

chm

arki

ngIn

form

al L

earn

ing

Org

aniz

atio

n Le

arni

ngK

now

ledg

e M

anag

emen

tR

elat

ed C

once

pts

Lear

ning

from

oth

ers

new

an

d be

tter p

ract

ices

with

a

focu

s on

impl

emen

ting

chan

ge

met

hodi

cally

and

sys

tem

atic

ally.

R

esul

t-orie

nted

Lear

ning

from

oth

ers

spon

tane

ousl

y an

d in

form

ally

in

the

mid

st o

f dai

ly w

ork,

not

w

orks

hops

. Im

plem

enta

tion

is

optio

nal

Build

ing

a cu

lture

of l

earn

ing

by p

rovi

ding

a c

ondu

cive

en

viro

nmen

t phy

sica

lly a

nd

psyc

holo

gica

lly. L

earn

ing

is

prom

oted

and

rew

arde

d at

all

leve

ls

Build

ing

a cu

lture

of k

now

ledg

e sh

arin

g by

enc

oura

ging

em

ploy

ees

to s

hare

info

/kn

owle

dge

on v

ario

us p

latfo

rms

Lear

ning

from

oth

ers

and

self,

te

ams

and

darin

g to

try

nove

l id

eas.

Som

etim

es re

sour

ces

are

scar

ce s

o im

prov

isat

ion

is

requ

ired

Cha

nge

man

agem

ent b

y

expl

orin

g ne

w a

nd b

ette

r pr

actic

es th

ereb

y in

voki

ng a

ne

ed to

cha

nge,

how

to c

hang

e an

d th

eref

ore

a hi

gher

like

lihoo

d of

impl

emen

ting

chan

ge

Cha

nge

is p

rese

nt b

ut n

ot

nece

ssar

ily m

easu

red

and

can

be d

ifficu

lt to

qua

ntify

and

m

easu

re.

Cha

nge

man

agem

ent b

y pr

ovid

ing

and

mea

surin

g th

e us

e of

lear

ning

pla

tform

s or

eve

nts

asso

ciat

ed w

ith

lear

ning

. Dan

ger o

f mea

surin

g ou

tput

s in

stea

d of

out

com

es

Cha

nge

man

agem

ent b

y pr

ovid

ing

and

mea

surin

g us

e of

kno

wle

dge

porta

ls, p

latfo

rms

or e

vent

s as

soci

ated

with

the

brok

erin

g of

kno

wle

dge.

Dan

ger

of m

easu

ring

outp

uts

inst

ead

of

outc

omes

Cha

nge

may

be

limite

d to

a fe

w

brig

ht s

park

s bu

t if t

he id

eas

are

impl

emen

ted,

a q

uant

um le

ap in

pe

rform

ance

is p

ossi

ble

Com

parin

g w

ork

prac

tices

with

ot

hers

is th

e m

ain

thin

gC

ompa

ring

wor

k pr

actic

es w

ith

othe

rs is

opt

iona

l C

ompa

ring

wor

k pr

actic

es w

ith

othe

rs is

opt

iona

lC

ompa

ring

wor

k pr

actic

es is

op

tiona

l and

mut

ual

Com

parin

g w

ork

prac

tices

is

optio

nal a

nd m

utua

l

Seek

ing

new

or b

ette

r way

s of

im

prov

ing

curre

nt p

ract

ice

Seek

ing

new

kno

wle

dge,

ski

lls

or a

bilit

ies

Seek

ing

mor

e pr

oduc

tive

and

inno

vativ

e w

ays

of d

oing

bu

sine

ssM

ake

hidd

en k

now

ledg

e kn

own.

C

onne

ct w

ith v

alua

ble

info

rmat

ion

Acce

ssin

g ex

tern

al k

now

ledg

e an

d ad

aptin

g it

Org

aniz

atio

nally

-dire

cted

, de

liber

ate

Self-

dire

cted

, inc

iden

tal o

r de

liber

ate

Both

org

aniz

atio

nally

-dire

cted

an

d se

lf-di

rect

ed, i

ncid

enta

l or

delib

erat

e

Both

org

aniz

atio

nally

-dire

cted

an

d se

lf-di

rect

ed, i

ncid

enta

l or

delib

erat

e

Both

org

aniz

atio

nally

-dire

cted

an

d se

lf-di

rect

ed, i

ncid

enta

l or

delib

erat

e

Met

hodo

logi

cal,

stru

ctur

ed a

nd

cont

ent-f

ocus

edC

onte

nt-fo

cuse

d, u

ncon

cern

ed

with

met

hod

Non

-pre

scrip

tive,

fle

xibl

e an

d un

stru

ctur

edC

onte

nt-fo

cuse

d an

d m

etho

d-fo

cuse

dBo

th C

onte

nt-fo

cuse

d an

d fo

cuse

d on

met

hodi

cal

orga

niza

tion

of k

now

ledg

ePr

oces

s-ce

ntric

but

cou

ld b

e fu

zzy

and

very

flui

d

Wel

l-pla

nned

Spon

tane

ous

and

sere

ndip

itous

Wel

l-pla

nned

and

spo

ntan

eous

Wel

l-pla

nned

and

ser

endi

pito

usW

ell-p

lann

ed, s

pont

aneo

us

and

sere

ndip

itous

, fuz

zy,

unco

nven

tiona

l

Invo

lves

a n

etw

ork

of

rela

tions

hips

May

or m

ay n

ot in

volv

e a

netw

ork

of re

latio

nshi

psIn

volv

es a

net

wor

k of

re

latio

nshi

psIn

volv

es a

net

wor

k of

re

latio

nshi

psM

ay o

r may

not

invo

lve

a ne

twor

k of

rela

tions

hips

Con

tinuo

us im

prov

emen

t with

hi

gh p

oten

tial f

or a

par

adig

m

shift

. Lea

rnin

g fro

m to

tally

di

ffere

nt in

dust

ries/

appl

icat

ions

Con

tinuo

us im

prov

emen

t with

so

me

pote

ntia

l for

a p

arad

igm

sh

ift, d

epen

ding

on

whe

ther

it

is d

one

orga

niza

tion-

wid

e or

not

Con

tinuo

us im

prov

emen

t with

hi

gh p

oten

tial f

or p

arad

igm

sh

ift. E

mer

gent

pro

cess

, co-

evol

ve. s

ocia

l eco

syst

em w

here

w

hole

sys

tem

s in

tera

ct

Con

tinuo

us im

prov

emen

t with

lim

ited

pote

ntia

l for

par

adig

m s

hift

Con

tinuo

us im

prov

emen

t with

hi

gh p

oten

tial f

or p

arad

igm

shi

ft

Hig

h us

e of

org

aniz

atio

nal

reso

urce

s i.e

. tim

e, te

ams,

m

oney

Littl

e us

e of

org

aniz

atio

nal

reso

urce

s i.e

. ind

ivid

ual t

ime

Hig

h us

e of

org

aniz

atio

nal

reso

urce

s i.e

. tim

e, te

ams,

m

oney

Rea

sona

bly

high

use

of

orga

niza

tiona

l res

ourc

es i.

e. ti

me,

te

ams,

mon

ey

Som

e us

e of

org

aniz

atio

nal

reso

urce

s i.e

. ind

ivid

ual t

ime,

ex

perim

enta

tion

Tabl

e (2

) Pot

entia

l Cha

ract

eris

tics

from

Tra

nsdi

scip

linar

y A

reas


71

Figu

re (2

) Tax

onom

y of

Info

rmal

Ben

chm

arki

ng

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

72

Activities/Tools to Support Internal and External Informal BenchmarkingThe activities listed in the table below are worded as they would appear on the global survey being conducted at the moment. The aim of the survey is to solicit for information on activities related to informal benchmarking, to gauge the maturity of informal benchmarking, and to shortlist potential organizations for interviews. Respondents are asked to recall these activities from the most recent 4 weeks to enable a more objective and accurate recollection of its impact. It also places a demand on the respondent to have personally experienced the activity rather than a second-hand observation. The main question in the survey is highlighted below:

“Considering the past 4 weeks only, have you been involved in any of the following activities that have enabled you to learn and/or improve your organization’s work practices. If yes, a) indicate its effectiveness b) indicate if the activity was part of a formal structured benchmarking project following a prescribed benchmarking methodology”

Tables 3 and 4 below show the activities/tools that support informal benchmarking in the social and non-social dimensions respectively. The list of activities/tools shown here is modified version after a pilot survey was conducted at the Business Excellence Global Conference Oct 2013 in Singapore. It has taken into account feedback received from benchmarking practitioners in the GBN.


73

INTE

RN

AL

EXTE

RN

AL

Del

iber

ate

Lear

ning

of W

ork

Prac

tices

from

The

se A

ctiv

ities

1Pa

rtici

pate

d in

inte

rnal

con

fere

nces

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es

of o

ther

uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

tsPa

rtici

pate

d in

ext

erna

l con

fere

nces

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f ot

her o

rgan

izat

ions

2R

egul

ar fa

ce-to

-face

dis

cuss

ions

with

mem

bers

of a

bes

t pra

ctic

e gr

oup/

netw

ork

with

in y

our o

rgan

izat

ion

to le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es e

.g. c

omm

unity

of p

ract

ice,

inno

vatio

n te

am, c

ross

-fu

nctio

nal w

ork

grou

p, fo

cuse

d gr

oup

Reg

ular

face

-to-fa

ce d

iscu

ssio

ns w

ith m

embe

rs o

f a b

est p

ract

ice

grou

p/ne

twor

k or

ass

ocia

tion/

club

out

side

you

r org

aniz

atio

n to

lear

n fro

m th

eir

wor

k pr

actic

es

3R

egul

ar fa

ce-to

-face

dis

cuss

ions

with

col

leag

ues

of o

ther

uni

ts/

depa

rtmen

ts to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

R

egul

ar fa

ce-to

-face

dis

cuss

ions

with

ass

ocia

tes

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns to

le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

4Em

aile

d co

lleag

ues

from

oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

and

lear

nt fr

om

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

esEm

aile

d as

soci

ates

from

ano

ther

org

aniz

atio

n an

d le

arnt

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

5M

ade

a ph

one/

Skyp

e ca

ll to

col

leag

ues

from

oth

er u

nits

/de

partm

ents

and

lear

nt fr

om th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

Mad

e a

phon

e/Sk

ype

call

asso

ciat

es fr

om a

noth

er o

rgan

izat

ion

and

lear

nt

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

6Em

aile

d an

inte

rnal

cus

tom

er a

nd le

arnt

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

esEm

aile

d an

ext

erna

l cus

tom

er a

nd le

arnt

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

7M

et fa

ce-to

-face

with

an

inte

rnal

cus

tom

er a

nd le

arnt

from

thei

r w

ork

prac

tices

Met

face

-to-fa

ce w

ith a

n ex

tern

al c

usto

mer

and

lear

nt fr

om th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

8Em

aile

d an

inte

rnal

sup

plie

r and

lear

nt o

f the

ir w

ork

prac

tices

Emai

led

an e

xter

nal s

uppl

ier a

nd le

arnt

of t

heir

wor

k pr

actic

es

9M

et fa

ce-to

-face

with

an

inte

rnal

sup

plie

r and

lear

nt o

f the

ir w

ork

prac

tices

Met

face

-to-fa

ce w

ith a

n ex

tern

al s

uppl

ier a

nd le

arnt

of t

heir

wor

k pr

actic

es

10-

Emai

led

othe

r sta

keho

lder

s (p

artn

ers/

shar

ehol

ders

) and

lear

nt o

f the

ir w

ork

prac

tices

11-

Met

face

to fa

ce w

ith o

ther

sta

keho

lder

s (p

artn

ers/

shar

ehol

ders

) and

lear

nt

of th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

12At

tach

men

t to

othe

r uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

ts to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

At

tach

men

t to

othe

r org

aniz

atio

ns to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

13O

rgan

ized

site

vis

its to

oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

to le

arn

from

thei

r w

ork

prac

tices

Org

aniz

ed s

ite v

isits

to o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

14Ta

king

par

t in

inte

rnal

bes

t-pra

ctic

e sh

arin

g ev

ent/a

ctiv

ity a

nd

lear

ning

from

the

best

pra

ctic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

Ta

king

par

t in

exte

rnal

bes

t-pra

ctic

e sh

arin

g ev

ent/a

ctiv

ity a

nd le

arni

ng fr

om

the

best

pra

ctic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

i.e

. glo

bal,

natio

nal,

indu

stry

leve

l, pr

ivat

e an

d pu

blic

ser

vice

org

aniz

atio

ns

Tabl

e (3

) Act

iviti

es a

nd T

ools

(Soc

ial D

imen

sion

)

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

74

15Ac

cess

ed o

ur o

rgan

izat

ion’

s in

trane

t and

ask

ed o

ther

s in

side

my

orga

niza

tion

if th

ey h

ad in

form

atio

n co

ncer

ning

the

wor

k pr

actic

es

of o

ther

uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

ts

Acce

ssed

our

org

aniz

atio

n’s

intra

net a

nd a

sked

oth

er p

eopl

e in

side

my

orga

niza

tion

if th

ey h

ad in

form

atio

n co

ncer

ning

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er

orga

niza

tions

16Pa

rtici

pate

d in

inte

rnal

form

al o

rgan

izat

ion

even

ts o

r act

iviti

es

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

e.g

. pl

anni

ng re

treat

s, o

ffici

al la

unch

es o

r ina

ugur

al o

peni

ngs

Parti

cipa

ted

in e

xter

nal f

orm

al o

rgan

izat

ion

even

ts o

r act

iviti

es to

lear

n fro

m

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

e.g

. offi

cial

laun

ches

or i

naug

ural

op

enin

gs, c

erem

onie

s

17Ac

tivel

y pa

rtici

pate

d in

a d

iscu

ssio

n in

an

inte

rnal

ele

ctro

nic

foru

m

or s

ocia

l net

wor

k an

d le

arnt

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/de

partm

ents

Activ

ely

parti

cipa

ted

in a

dis

cuss

ion

in a

n ex

tern

al e

lect

roni

c fo

rum

or s

ocia

l ne

twor

k an

d le

arnt

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

18C

onsu

lted

with

a m

ento

r/exp

ert i

nsid

e yo

ur o

rgan

izat

ion

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

e.g

. men

tors

hip

prog

ram

, ass

igne

d pe

er-to

-pee

r men

torin

g

Con

sulte

d w

ith a

spe

cial

ist o

utsi

de y

our o

rgan

izat

ion

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

19At

tend

ed p

rese

ntat

ions

/sem

inar

by

othe

r uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

ts o

n a

regu

lar b

asis

to le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

Atte

nded

pre

sent

atio

ns/s

emin

ar b

y ot

her o

rgan

izat

ions

on

a re

gula

r bas

is

to le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es

20Pa

rtici

pate

d in

bus

ines

s ex

celle

nce

asse

ssm

ents

or a

udits

an

d in

cide

ntal

ly le

arnt

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/de

partm

ents

e.g

. ann

ual c

ross

-func

tiona

l aud

its o

f uni

ts/

depa

rtmen

ts

Parti

cipa

ted

in b

usin

ess

exce

llenc

e as

sess

men

ts o

r aud

its a

nd in

cide

ntal

ly

lear

nt fr

om th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns e

.g. e

xcel

lenc

e ce

rtific

atio

ns, I

SO s

tand

ards

, Mal

colm

Bal

drig

e qu

ality

aw

ards

or e

quiv

alen

t

Inci

dent

al L

earn

ing

of W

ork

Prac

tices

from

The

se A

ctiv

ities

1Ad

-hoc

face

-to-fa

ce c

onve

rsat

ion

with

col

leag

ues

from

oth

er

units

/dep

artm

ents

that

inci

dent

ally

hel

ped

you

to le

arn

from

thei

r w

ork

prac

tices

e.g

. cof

fee

corn

er, l

unch

es, t

ea-b

reak

s at

or p

ost

mee

tings

Ad-h

oc fa

ce-to

-face

con

vers

atio

n w

ith a

ssoc

iate

s fro

m o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

that

inci

dent

ally

hel

ped

you

to le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es e

.g. c

offe

e,

lunc

hes

2At

tend

ed in

form

al fu

nctio

ns o

r soc

ial a

ctiv

ities

of o

ther

uni

ts/

depa

rtmen

ts a

nd in

cide

ntal

ly le

arnt

of t

heir

wor

k pr

actic

es e

.g.

fest

ivity

, cel

ebra

tions

, gol

f gam

e, w

alk/

run

Atte

nded

ext

erna

l inf

orm

al fu

nctio

ns o

r soc

ial a

ctiv

ities

with

cus

tom

ers

and

inci

dent

ally

lear

nt o

f the

ir w

ork

prac

tices

e.g

. fes

tivity

, cel

ebra

tions

, gol

f ga

me

3-

Atte

nded

info

rmal

func

tions

or s

ocia

l act

iviti

es w

ith s

uppl

iers

and

in

cide

ntal

ly le

arnt

of t

heir

wor

k pr

actic

es

4-

Atte

nded

info

rmal

func

tions

or s

ocia

l act

iviti

es w

ith o

ther

sta

keho

lder

s (p

artn

ers/

shar

ehol

ders

) and

inci

dent

ally

lear

nt o

f the

ir w

ork

prac

tices

(Con

t.) T

able

(3) A

ctiv

ities

and

Too

ls (S

ocia

l Dim

ensi

on)


75

INTE

RN

AL

EXTE

RN

AL

Del

iber

ate

Lear

ning

of W

ork

Prac

tices

from

The

se A

ctiv

ities

1R

ead

regu

lar n

ewsl

ette

rs o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

to le

arn

from

th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

Rea

d re

gula

r new

slet

ters

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

2R

ead

inte

rnal

boo

ks/m

agaz

ines

/circ

ular

s re

gula

rly t

o de

liber

atel

y le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

e.g

. ann

ual

repo

rt

Rea

d ex

tern

al b

ooks

/mag

azin

e to

del

iber

atel

y le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

3-

Del

iber

atel

y re

sear

ched

a to

pic

on th

e in

tern

et to

lear

n fro

m th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

4Ac

cess

ed S

hare

Poin

t or s

imila

r col

labo

rativ

e/le

arni

ng a

pplic

atio

ns

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

Ac

cess

ed e

xtra

net o

r ext

erna

l web

site

s of

oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

to le

arn

from

th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

5Pa

rtici

pate

d in

a b

ench

mar

king

com

paris

on s

urve

y in

side

you

r or

gani

zatio

n to

del

iber

atel

y le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es e

.g.

sale

s pe

rform

ance

, stu

dyin

g go

od o

r sm

art p

ract

ices

Parti

cipa

ted

in a

ben

chm

arki

ng c

ompa

rison

sur

vey

to d

elib

erat

ely

lear

n fro

m th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns e

.g. c

ompe

titor

s’ pe

rform

ance

, stu

dyin

g go

od o

r sm

art p

ract

ices

6R

evie

wed

our

org

aniz

atio

n’s

data

base

/kno

wle

dge

bank

of b

est

prac

tices

of o

ther

uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

tsR

evie

wed

a d

atab

ase/

know

ledg

e ba

nk o

f bes

t pra

ctic

es o

f oth

er

orga

niza

tions

Inci

dent

al L

earn

ing

of W

ork

Prac

tices

from

The

se A

ctiv

ities

1R

ead

resp

onse

s in

an

exte

rnal

ele

ctro

nic

foru

m o

r soc

ial

netw

ork

and

inci

dent

ally

lear

nt fr

om th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

or

gani

zatio

ns

Rea

d re

spon

ses

in a

n ex

tern

al e

lect

roni

c fo

rum

or s

ocia

l net

wor

k an

d in

cide

ntal

ly le

arnt

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

2O

bser

ved

a cr

itica

l inc

iden

t of o

ther

uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

ts th

at e

nabl

ed

you

to le

arn

from

thei

r wor

k pr

actic

es i.

e. a

situ

atio

n or

con

ditio

n w

hich

mad

e yo

u qu

estio

n yo

ur o

wn

wor

k pr

actic

es

Obs

erve

d a

criti

cal i

ncid

ent o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

that

ena

bled

you

to

lear

n fro

m th

eir

wor

k pr

actic

es i.

e. a

situ

atio

n or

con

ditio

n w

hich

mad

e yo

u qu

estio

n yo

ur o

wn

wor

k pr

actic

es

3Fo

und

info

rmat

ion

on S

hare

Poin

t or o

ther

intra

net a

pplic

atio

ns

whi

ch in

cide

ntal

ly h

elpe

d yo

u to

lear

n fro

m th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of

othe

r uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

ts

Foun

d in

form

atio

n on

ext

rane

t or e

xter

nal w

ebsi

tes

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

whi

ch in

cide

ntal

ly h

elpe

d yo

u to

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

4R

ead

inte

rnal

boo

ks/m

agaz

ines

whi

ch in

cide

ntal

ly h

elpe

d yo

u to

le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er u

nits

/dep

artm

ents

Rea

d ex

tern

al b

ooks

/mag

azin

es w

hich

inci

dent

ally

hel

ped

you

to le

arn

from

th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

org

aniz

atio

ns

5R

ead

a ra

ndom

inte

rnal

new

slet

ter w

hich

inci

dent

ally

hel

ped

you

to

lear

n fro

m th

e w

ork

prac

tices

of o

ther

uni

ts/d

epar

tmen

tsR

ead

a ra

ndom

ext

erna

l new

slet

ter w

hich

inci

dent

ally

hel

ped

you

to le

arn

from

the

wor

k pr

actic

es o

f oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

Tabl

e (4

) Act

iviti

es a

nd T

ools

(Non

-soc

ial D

imen

sion

)

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

76

Research Design and MethodThis research is interpretative-qualitative and incorporates a mixed methods approach. Of the five qualitative traditions described by Creswell(Creswell, 2006)- biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study, no one of the investigative perspectives seem to befit this research as the boundaries between the five traditions appear to be convoluted rather than distinct. Different aspects of phenomenology and case study collectively seem to describe the approach being taken here. This research examines phenomenon to get an unadulterated picture of real happenings which is phenomenology. It seeks to observe multiple cases but much more than just a few i.e. 20 interviews, which suggests a multiple case-studies design.The mixed method approach comprises of both quantitative surveys(quantitative) and semi-structured interviews(qualitative) (Clark et al., 2008). The mixed methods also refer to a quantitative approach of interpreting qualitative data. Such a process can provide a more robust set of analyzed data when added to qualitative interpretations.This method combines the more in-depth, contextualized, insight of qualitative research with the relatively more efficient and convincing predictive power of quantitative research.Positioned to observe real experiences of informal benchmarking, the methodological framework is interpretivistic (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000), which is both appropriate for a historical and post-modern (Rosenau, 2001) analysis of multiple occurrences of informal benchmarking. Post modernism disputes some of the underlying assumptions of social sciences and epistemology. It accommodates emergent and new ways of thinking without subjecting findings to the dogma of conventionalism.

Validation by TriangulationThe research will incorporate the use of quantitative surveys, and semi-structured interviews to triangulate findings (Golafshani, 2003)(Faules, 1982). One of the best forms of validations is the use of different methods i.e. surveys and interviews in this case, to develop a better understanding of complex realities in the organization (Clark et al., 2008). The authors agree with Kanter (Kanter, 1993)(Mengshoel, 2012) that each interviewer also brings with him data that can be used to cross-check with that of another. This is important as other forms of validation as suggested by Yin (Yin, 2009) may be too time-consuming (in-depth case study ethnography or longitudinal study) and implausible (observation or artefact collection) for an investigation of best practices or proxies of informal benchmarking. Provision of available documentation as a further validation point is most welcome but not expected, bearing in mind that the object, ‘informal benchmarking”, is a relatively new area of research.

Research ProcessThe preliminary model is primarily created by ideas obtained from the various disciplinary areas. After incorporating the feedback received from the World Business Capability Congress (WBCC) Dec 2012held in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) conference Jun 2013 held in Australia, the Global Business Excellence Conference Oct 2013 held in Singapore, pilot survey inputs, and from benchmarking practitioners in GBN, the preliminary model is modified.The activities /tools developed in the model will be used for the survey and to select organizations for the solicitation of best practice interviews. The conceptual model will then be further refined as empirical data is progressively collected.


77

This iterative approach of refinement, as argued by Lee (Lee, 1999), advocates the preeminence process dynamics over that of the outcome production. The association with benchmarking experts giving feedback now and then, adds a strong dimension of (Pettigrew, 2013) context since benchmarking may be regarded, epistemologically, as an essential disciplinary area in this study. Notwithstanding, the other disciplines, related concepts and conference inputs provides divergent thinking in the exploration of informal benchmarking. The figure below illustrates the process:

Figure (3 ) Basic Research Process

The expert views and comments from GBN and conferences aids the exploration of new ideas (Bansal and Corley, 2012), understands and extrapolate findings, in order toenhance the preliminary conceptual model. The session includes formal notes of meeting, informal field notes, and an audio-recording of the presentation and feedback received. Such sessions will be iterative as the research proceeds to garner insights and provide varied interpretations of the findings. This is in line with Kleining’s (Kleining and Witt, 2000) rules of qualitative heuristics to treat the research process as a dialogue, in other words, be open to change and non-presumptuous till all data is collected and analyzed.

Data Collection and AnalysisData collection would involve a quantitative survey (Faules, 1982)(Lelièvre and Vivier, 2001) to shortlist potential organizations for semi-structured interviews. The survey is a prelude to the interviews where detailed analysis of data will be performed. Its purpose is to compare the conceptual model derived from literature review and what really exists in organizations at the time of the survey. The survey also serves the purpose of shortlisting organizations for the interviews, and refining questions for the interviews. Organizations with the highest scores on the survey, those whose tools are of particular interest to the researcher, and organizations with strong business excellence acumen i.e. won awards, are 3 general criteria used to shortlist candidates for interviews.

Quantitative SurveyThe survey is centred on gathering information on activities/tools that support or characterize informal benchmarking. It is developed for executives. Specifically, there are 5 parts in the survey: the demographics, usage of activities/tools that support informal benchmarking, maturity of these activities/tools in the organization, how useful this research is perceived to be, and others surrounding performance levels and formal benchmarking. It also solicits for other tools not mentioned in the survey.A purposive sampling method is used to target respondents from the business community, particularly those who are engaged and interested in business excellence and improvement. This method explores the variation among the concepts of informal benchmarking “in

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

78

terms of their properties and dimensions” (Strauss and Corbin, 1998, p. 201) by describing informal benchmarking without labelling it. What this means is that the survey itself does not mention the term “informal benchmarking” anywhere but gives a description of it. The survey is entitled “Informally Learning from Others to Improve Work Practices”. Link to survey - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/InformalLearnPractice2014For a first model, organizations need not be representative of any industry or size. The model may be tested for specific segments of the industry at a later date, or by further research. A quantitative survey sample of 80-100 organizations will initially be targeted to assess the use and effectiveness of informal benchmarking in these organizations. The assessment will include a maturity grid of informal benchmarking tools shown in table 5 below. Analysis of the survey would include some questions as follows:

i. Is there a correlation between the scores of the baskets of questions in the usage of activities/tools, the maturity of the activities/tools, and in relation to formal benchmarking and performance?

ii. Are there other informal benchmarking tools used in organizations?iii. Are there peculiar patterns, irregularities or anomalies? Why so?

More will be added to give a robust summary of findings upon receipt from respondents.

Semi-structured InterviewsNext, interviews are used to study practices of informal benchmarking (IB), and to elucidate different perspectives on these organizational practices. (Creswell, 2006, p. 74). An average of 20 interviews is targeted, each for one hour, including one management and one ground level executive from each organization. The sheer number of “cases” lends itself to the possibility of generalization associated with a grounded theory approach of saturation (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Although saturation will certainly not occur, some themes could be expected to emerge more strongly than others. This will assist in the interpretation of the final model based on real-life experiences.Table 6 shows the interview questions consisting of 5 areas of investigation to all interviewees solely conducted by the same person(s) so as to maintain a consistent interviewing style (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009)(Irvine et al., 2013, p. 93). Upon the summation and analysis of the surveys and targeted interviewees, the question areas will be refined to give both an order of questioning and specificity so as to maintain context and consistency of questioning for the purposes of generalization. Secondary questions and probes will be scripted to aid the inquiry and to maintain non-bias questioning. A standard fact sheet will be given to all interviewees. There are no hard and fast rules to impromptu questions during the session to obtain richer and more detailed answers (Riley, 2010). The interviewee might subsequently be called upon in person or via telephone to clarify aspects of the session. The interview will be audio-recorded and notes will be taken. Transcription may not be necessary and tis will become clearer as the research proceeds. The interview may be conducted face-to-face, via a video call (visual and audio) or a telephone call (audio only), in preferred order. The traditional telephone call is discouraged in established literature (Creswell, 2006)(Gillham, 2005)(Novick, 2008). Such concerns


79

surrounding the lack of a visual and social encounter in a traditional call may, however, be over-rated because there are means to overcome shortcomings of establishing rapport and obtaining quality responses, especially from elite respondents (in this case at least one respondent from the organization will be at management level)(Sweet, 2002)(Stephens, 2007). The use of a reflective journal will allow the autonomy to capture feelings, biases, assumptions, expectations, and reactions from each encounter with a research participant(s). It has the potential to add rigor to qualitative inquiry (Morrow and Smith, 2000).Data Analysis will follow a model of data immersion, coding, creating categorization and identifying themes to link data to quality evidence (Green et al., 2007, p. 546). This model is most suited to interview analysis but its principle can also be applied to the feedback sessions by experts and during conferences. The data to be analyzed must take into account the social interactions and systems factors associated with the larger context of organization development or business improvement this research sits within (Layder, 1998). A conversation-type analysis focused on language (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009) can also be useful to add rigour to the “how things are being said” aspect of the analysis.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

80

Tabl

e (5

) Mat

urity

Grid

of I

nfor

mal

Ben

chm

arki

ng

Cha

ract

eris

tic0

poin

ts5

poin

ts10

poi

nts

15 p

oint

s20

poi

nts

1

Purp

ose

of IB

The

reas

on o

r rat

iona

le

for I

BW

hat i

s th

e im

porta

nce

of in

form

ally

lear

ning

w

ork

prac

tices

from

ot

her o

rgan

izat

ions

to

impr

ove

wor

k pr

actic

es

in y

our o

rgan

izat

ion?

Not

impo

rtant

-in

form

ally

le

arni

ng

from

oth

ers

to im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es is

no

t im

porta

nt

nor r

elev

ant

as a

tool

Slig

htly

impo

rtant

-in

form

ally

lear

ning

fro

m o

ther

s to

im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

is

impo

rtant

inso

far a

s to

kno

w w

hat a

re

the

benc

hmar

ks o

ut

ther

e in

the

indu

stry

bu

t not

doi

ng

anyt

hing

abo

ut it

Mod

erat

ely

impo

rtant

-In

form

ally

lear

ning

from

ot

hers

to im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

is im

porta

nt

only

whe

n pr

oble

ms

or c

halle

nges

aris

e in

or

der t

o im

prov

e on

e’s

prac

tices

. The

re is

inte

rnal

or

ext

erna

l pre

ssur

e to

do

troub

lesh

oot a

nd im

prov

e

Impo

rtant

-Inf

orm

ally

lear

ning

fro

m o

ther

s to

impr

ove

our

wor

k pr

actic

es a

ctiv

ely

in k

ey

func

tiona

l are

as. I

mpo

rtanc

e is

giv

en to

rem

ain

com

petit

ive

by a

dapt

ing

new

pra

ctic

es to

im

prov

e ou

r pra

ctic

es in

key

ar

eas

of th

e or

gani

zatio

n

Very

impo

rtant

- In

form

ally

lear

ning

fro

m o

ther

s to

impr

ove

our w

ork

prac

tices

is v

ery

impo

rtant

and

ta

kes

plac

e at

eve

ry le

vel o

f the

or

gani

zatio

n. T

he m

anag

emen

t us

es s

uch

lear

ning

to g

ain

a co

mpe

titiv

e ed

ge a

nd a

chie

ve b

est

in c

lass

per

form

ance

2

Cul

ture

of L

earn

ing

Lear

ning

from

and

sh

arin

g w

ith o

ther

s W

hat i

s th

e cu

lture

of

info

rmal

ly le

arni

ng fr

om

othe

r org

aniz

atio

ns to

im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in

you

r org

aniz

atio

n?

Littl

e or

No

Cul

ture

- in

form

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om

othe

rs to

im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

is

har

dly

seen

no

r pra

ctic

ed

Awar

enes

s C

ultu

re

- ran

dom

info

rmal

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s bu

t the

info

rmat

ion

is n

ot u

sed

to

impr

ove

wor

k pr

actic

es b

eyon

d th

e in

divi

dual

leve

l of

lear

ning

Rea

ctiv

e C

ultu

re -

rand

om

and

ad-h

oc in

form

al

lear

ning

from

oth

ers

to

impr

ove

our w

ork

prac

tices

bu

t lim

ited

to a

reas

de

emed

crit

ical

onl

y

Activ

e C

ultu

re -

delib

erat

e in

form

al le

arni

ng fr

om

othe

rs to

impr

ove

our w

ork

prac

tices

. Sta

ff ac

tivel

y ta

ke

up le

arni

ng o

ppor

tuni

ties

such

as

con

fere

nces

, sem

inar

s an

d le

arni

ng v

isits

, etc

. The

new

pr

actic

es le

arnt

are

read

ily

shar

ed fo

r ada

ptat

ion

and

adop

tion

in th

ese

key

area

s of

th

e or

gani

zatio

n.

Perv

asiv

e C

ultu

re -

An in

tegr

ated

sy

stem

is in

pla

ce fo

r inf

orm

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

impr

ove

our

wor

k pr

actic

es a

nd th

e sh

arin

g of

th

ese

prac

tices

for o

rgan

izat

iona

l w

ide

impl

emen

tatio

n. T

here

is v

ery

stro

ng b

uy-in

by

staf

f. In

cent

ives

/ aw

ards

for s

harin

g, a

dopt

ing

and

adap

ting

thes

e pr

actic

es a

t al

l lev

els

of th

e or

gani

zatio

n. It

in

clud

es th

e re

view

and

refin

emen

t of

app

roac

hes

take

n to

info

rmal

ly

lear

ning

from

oth

ers,

mea

surin

g its

re

sults

and

sha

ring

them

.

3

Use

of I

B to

ols

The

frequ

ency

and

the

exte

nt to

whi

ch th

ese

activ

ities

/tool

s ar

e us

ed

to s

uppo

rt IB

Wha

t is

the

usag

e le

vel o

f the

se a

ctiv

ities

/to

ols

for i

nfor

mal

ly

lear

ning

from

oth

er

orga

niza

tions

to im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in y

our

orga

niza

tion?

No

usag

e –

ther

e is

no

use

of s

uch

activ

ities

/tool

s to

impr

ove

our

wor

k pr

actic

es

Low

usa

ge –

thes

e ac

tiviti

es/to

ols

are

used

spa

ringl

y to

im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es

Mod

erat

e us

age

– so

me

of th

ese

activ

ities

/tool

s ar

e us

ed fr

eque

ntly

and

/or

exte

nsiv

ely

to im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

Hig

h us

age

– a

good

num

ber

of th

ese

activ

ities

/tool

s ar

e us

ed fr

eque

ntly

and

/or

exte

nsiv

ely

as a

kno

wn

way

of

lear

ning

and

impr

ovin

g w

ork

prac

tices

. The

resu

lts fr

om th

e us

e of

thes

e ac

tiviti

es/to

ols

are

stor

ed o

n a

data

base

for

shar

ing.

Very

Hig

h us

age

- A s

yste

mic

ap

proa

ch is

ado

pted

for t

he u

se

of th

ese

activ

ities

/tool

s on

a

cons

iste

nt b

asis

. The

tool

s us

age

are

track

ed, r

evie

wed

and

refin

ed

as a

key

bus

ines

s im

prov

emen

t to

ol.


81

4

Man

agem

ent S

uppo

rt

of IB

The

exte

nt IB

is u

sed

as

a m

anag

emen

t stra

tegy

an

d le

vel o

f sup

port

give

nW

hat i

s th

e le

vel

of s

uppo

rt fro

m

man

agem

ent f

or

info

rmal

ly le

arni

ng

from

oth

ers

to im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in y

our

orga

niza

tion?

Not

Sup

porte

d - i

nfor

mal

ly

lear

ning

fro

m o

ther

s to

impr

ove

our w

ork

prac

tices

is

not s

uppo

rted

at a

ll

Littl

e Su

ppor

t –

little

sup

port

from

m

anag

emen

t. St

aff

are

left

on th

eir

own

to in

form

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

impr

ove

wor

k pr

actic

es

Supp

orte

d - l

imite

d pr

ovis

ion

of re

sour

ces

such

as

conf

eren

ces,

se

min

ars

or le

arni

ng v

isits

, et

c. fr

om m

anag

emen

t to

supp

ort i

nfor

mal

lear

ning

fro

m o

ther

s to

impr

ove

wor

k pr

actic

es. O

nly

a ve

ry li

mite

d nu

mbe

r of

best

pra

ctic

es le

arnt

are

ad

apte

d to

the

who

le

orga

niza

tion

Stro

ngly

Sup

porte

d - a

ctiv

e pa

rtici

patio

n an

d be

lief b

y m

anag

emen

t tha

t inf

orm

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es is

co

st-e

ffect

ive.

The

re is

am

ple

reso

urce

s an

d pr

iorit

izat

ion

for

impl

emen

ting

best

or b

ette

r pr

actic

es

Very

Stro

ngly

Sup

porte

d - f

ull

supp

ort a

nd p

artic

ipat

ion

of m

anag

emen

t. In

form

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

impr

ove

our w

ork

prac

tices

is p

art o

f th

e m

anag

emen

t stra

tegy

to

impr

ove

perfo

rman

ce a

nd g

ain

a co

mpe

titiv

e ed

ge

5

Mea

sure

men

t of I

BTh

e im

pact

of I

B on

or

gani

zatio

nal c

hang

eW

hat i

s th

e im

pact

of

info

rmal

ly le

arni

ng

from

oth

ers

to im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in y

our

orga

niza

tion?

No

impa

ct -

no b

enefi

ts

of in

form

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om

othe

rs to

im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

w

hats

oeve

r

Littl

e im

pact

- be

nefit

s of

info

rmal

ly

lear

ning

from

oth

ers

to im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es is

not

kn

own

or m

easu

red

but t

here

is s

ome

evid

ence

that

le

arni

ng h

as ta

ken

plac

e

Som

e im

pact

- in

form

ally

le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es

is k

now

n to

ben

efit a

nd

is s

hare

d qu

alita

tivel

y i.e

. sto

ries

or n

arra

tives

bu

t not

arti

cula

ted

in

quan

tifiab

le te

rms

Con

side

rabl

e im

pact

- Th

e im

pact

of i

nfor

mal

ly le

arni

ng

from

oth

ers

to im

prov

e ou

r w

ork

prac

tices

is a

sses

sed

at ti

mel

y in

terv

als.

Effo

rts to

qu

antif

y its

ben

efits

are

mad

e to

ens

ure

its c

ontin

ued

supp

ort

and

prom

otio

n

Gre

at im

pact

- Va

lue

and

cost

of

info

rmal

ly le

arni

ng fr

om o

ther

s to

im

prov

e ou

r wor

k pr

actic

es c

an

be c

lear

ly d

emon

stra

ted

in b

oth

qual

itativ

e an

d qu

antit

ativ

e te

rms.

In

cent

ives

/rew

ards

are

giv

en fo

r its

co

ntin

ued

use

6

Part

ners

hip

for I

BIm

porta

nce

of

partn

ersh

ips

with

oth

er

orga

niza

tions

Wha

t is

the

impo

rtanc

e of

par

tner

ship

s w

ith

othe

r org

aniz

atio

ns to

im

prov

e w

ork

prac

tices

in

you

r org

aniz

atio

n?

Not

impo

rtant

–

no

partn

ersh

ips

in p

lace

or

inte

rest

in

havi

ng o

ne

Slig

htly

impo

rtant

–

only

lear

n w

ork

prac

tices

from

oth

er

orga

niza

tions

who

ar

e w

illing

to s

hare

. Th

ese

are

done

in

an a

d-ho

c m

anne

r w

ith li

ttle

or n

o re

latio

nshi

p

Mod

erat

ely

impo

rtant

– th

e se

lect

ion

of p

artn

ers

is

usua

lly w

ithin

the

sam

e in

dust

ry.

Impo

rtant

– P

artn

ers

are

sele

cted

bas

ed o

n pe

rson

al o

r gr

oup

rese

arch

with

evi

denc

e of

bet

ter w

ork

prac

tices

to

be le

arnt

. The

sel

ectio

n go

es

beyo

nd y

our i

ndus

try a

nd

ther

e is

a m

utua

l ben

efici

al

rela

tions

hip.

Very

impo

rtant

– R

elat

ions

hip

build

ing

with

oth

er o

rgan

izat

ions

is

mai

ntai

ned

in o

rder

to c

ontin

uous

ly

lear

n fro

m th

eir w

ork

prac

tices

. Th

ere

is a

con

stan

t loo

kout

for

pote

ntia

l par

tner

s. F

acilit

ated

se

ssio

ns o

f 2 o

r mor

e or

gani

zatio

ns

are

orga

nize

d on

a re

gula

r bas

is

for t

he p

urpo

se o

f lea

rnin

g an

d in

nova

ting

wor

k pr

actic

es

(Con

t.) T

able

(5) M

atur

ity G

rid o

f Inf

orm

al B

ench

mar

king

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

82

Que

stio

nTh

eme

Focu

s

1.

How

do

you

lear

n fro

m o

ther

or

gani

zatio

ns?

An o

peni

ng q

uest

ion

to s

olic

it al

l typ

es o

f to

ols

to le

arn

or b

ench

mar

k fro

m o

utsi

de th

e or

gani

zatio

n, w

heth

er th

e ef

forts

are

to im

prov

e pe

rform

ance

or p

ract

ice

Obj

ectiv

e 4

Und

erst

and

tool

-type

s, ty

polo

gies

and

taxo

nom

y to

refin

e m

odel

2.W

hat i

s th

e pu

rpos

e of

the

____

____

___

(nam

e of

in

form

al b

ench

mar

king

tool

)?

Info

rms

the

defin

ition

, pur

pose

s, u

niqu

enes

s,

and

how

the

tool

fits

in w

ith p

ropo

sed

taxo

nom

y of

info

rmal

ben

chm

arki

ng to

ols

Obj

ectiv

e 4,

5U

nder

stan

d pu

rpos

es a

nd d

efini

tion

of to

ol-ty

pes

to re

fine

mod

el

3.

How

doe

s it

supp

ort I

nfor

mal

Be

nchm

arki

ng?

Info

rms

the

char

acte

ristic

s an

d “fo

rces

” th

e in

terv

iew

ee to

rela

te th

e to

ol to

in

form

al b

ench

mar

king

. Thi

s to

o as

sist

s in

cat

egor

izat

ion/

clas

sific

atio

n sc

hem

es in

ta

xono

my

Obj

ectiv

es 4

, 5In

voke

s a

desc

riptio

n of

the

char

acte

ristic

s of

the

tool

; Aid

s de

velo

pmen

t of a

sses

smen

t fra

mew

ork

4.

How

can

it b

e m

easu

red

for

effe

ctiv

enes

s?In

form

s ho

w th

e to

ol c

hara

cter

istic

s ha

ve le

d to

im

prov

emen

ts in

org

aniz

atio

n de

velo

pmen

t, th

e R

OI,

and

refe

renc

es to

out

com

e in

dica

tors

Obj

ectiv

e 6

Aids

dev

elop

men

t of a

n or

gani

zatio

n-w

ide

appr

oach

in a

de

finiti

ve w

ay b

y th

e us

e of

qua

ntita

tive

mea

sure

s e.

g. S

aves

tim

e, m

oney

, or r

esou

rces

5.

How

do

you

get p

eopl

e to

sha

re p

ract

ices

and

ex

perie

nces

inte

rnal

ly in

side

th

e or

gani

zatio

n?

How

are

net

wor

king

, sha

ring

and

colla

bora

tion

enco

urag

ed in

the

orga

niza

tion

to im

prov

e pe

rform

ance

or p

ract

ices

of a

ny k

ind?

Is th

e de

sign

of t

he w

ork

envi

ronm

ent c

onsi

dere

d?

Obj

ectiv

e 5,

6D

escr

iptio

n of

the

prop

ensi

ty o

f the

org

aniz

atio

n to

lear

n;

cultu

re a

nd e

nviro

nmen

tal f

acto

rs to

aid

the

deve

lopm

ent o

f an

orga

niza

tion-

wid

e ap

proa

ch

Tabl

e (6

) Int

ervi

ew Q

uest

ions

Map

ped

to O

bjec

tives

of R

esea

rch


83

ConclusionThis research is important as it leans into the knowledge worker’s inclination to learn better practices informally and spontaneously without a mechanistic project-oriented approach. It also suggests activities associated with informal benchmarking can be very cost-effective. Efforts to produce the final conceptual model would depend heavily on the data collected on best practices of informal benchmarking in selected organizations via a mixed methods approach including quantitative surveys and semi-structured interviews. The research expects iterations in the process to obtain quality and relevant data. The research also does not preclude the need to investigate beyond the trans-disciplinary areas in the literature review, after taking into consideration the views of benchmarking experts (GBN), and inputs from conferences. Thereafter, a framework (improved maturity grid) for assessing the maturity of informal benchmarking, and how to implement informal benchmarking at an organization-wide level, will be developed. This research is useful for business practitioners seeking a cost-effective solution to superior performance in a time-scarce executive world. It paves the way for further research and the evolution of informal benchmarking as a discipline by itself.

ReferencesAdebanjo, D., Abbas, A. and Mann, R. (2010) An Investigation of the Adoption and Imple-mentation of Benchmarking. International Journal of Operations and Production Manage-ment, 30: 1140-1169. Available: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01443571011087369.Anand, G. and Rambabu, K. (2008) Benchmarking the Benchmarking Models. Benchmark-ing: An International Journal, 15: 257-291. APQC (2009) State of Benchmarking Report APQC.APQC (2008) Everything You Need to Know About Benchmarking, APQC International Quality Managers Conference, Tehran, Iran. 23-25 August.Bansal, P. and Corley, K. (2012) Publishing in AMJ-Part 7: What’s Different about Qualita-tive Research? Academy of Management Journal, 55: 509-513. Available: DOI 10.5465/amj.2012.4003.Bashar, S., Ammar, M. and Rakan, D. (2012) Comparative Study: The Nonaka Model of Knowledge Management. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 45.Burnes, B., Cooper, C. and West, P. (2003) Organisational Learning: the New Management Paradigm? Management Decision, 41: 452-464.Camp, R. C. (1989) Benchmarking : the search for industry best practices that lead to su-perior performance. Milwaukee, Wis. : Quality Press.Clark, V., Creswell, J., Green, D. and Shope, R. (2008) Mixing Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches: An Introduction to Emergent Mixed Methods Research. In: Hesse-Biber, S. N. and Leavy, P. (eds.) Handbook of Emergent Methods. New York, NY US: Guilford Press. Cofer, D. A. 2000. Informal Workplace Learning. ERIC Publications, 71, 4.Cohen, W. and Levinthal, D. (1990) Absorptive Capacity: A New Perspective on Learning and Innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 128-152 Available: DOI 10.2307/2393553.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

84

Creswell, J. (2006) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Ap-proaches SAGE Publications (CA) 2nd Edn. Cross, J. (2007) Informal Learning : Rediscovering the Natural Pathways that Inspire In-novation and Performance. San Francisco : Pfeiffer.Davenport, T. (2005) Thinking for a living : how to get better performance and results from knowledge workers Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press. De Houwer, J., Barnes-Holmes, D. and Moors, A. (2013) What is learning? On the nature and merits of a functional definition of learning. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. Avail-able: DOI 10.3758/s13423-013-0386-3.Denzin, N. and Lincoln, Y. (2000) The handbook of qualitative research Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Sage Publications 2nd ed. Denzin, N. and Lincoln, Y. (2005) The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications 3rd ed. Edwards, M. (2005) The integral holon - A holonomic approach to organisational change and transformation. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 18: 269-288. Faules, D. (1982) The Use of Multi-Methods in the Organizational Setting. Western Journal of Speech Communication: WJSC, 46, 150. Fong, S. , Cheng, E. and Ho, D. (1998) Benchmarking: A general reading for man-agement practitioners. Management Decision, 36: 407-418. Available: DOI 10.1108 /00251749810223646.Fris, J. and Lazaridou, A. (2006) An Additional Way of Thinking about Organizational Life and Leadership: The Quantum Perspective. Canadian Journal of Educational Administra-tion and Policy, 48: 1-29. Gibbons, M. (1994) The New Production of Knowledge [electronic resource] : the Dynam-ics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies. London : SAGE. Gillham, B. (2005) Research Interviewing : The Range of Techniques Open University Press. Golafshani, N. (2003) Understanding reliability and validity in qualitative research.The Qualitative Report Volume 8 Number 4: 597-607Green, J., Karen, W., Emma, H., Small, R., Welch, N., Lisa, G. and Daly, J. (2007) Gen-erating Best Evidence from Qualitative Research: the role of data analysis. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 31: 545-550. Available: DOI 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2007.00141.x.Irvine, A., Drew, P. and Sainsbury, R. (2013) Am I not answering your questions prop-erly? Clarification, Adequacy and Responsiveness in Semi-Structured Telephone and Face-to-Face Interviews. Qualitative Research, 13: 87-106. Available: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468794112439086.Kanter, R. (1993) Men and women of the corporation. New York : Basic Books.


85

Kleining, G. and Witt, H. (2000) The qualitative heuristic approach : a methodology for dis-covery in psychology and the social sciences: rediscovering the method of introspection as an example. Deutschland, Germany.Knowles, M. (1978) Andragogy: Adult Learning Theory in Perspective. Community College Review, 5: 9-20. Available: DOI 10.1177/009155217800500302.Kumar, A., Antony, J. and Dhakar, T. (2006) Integrating quality function deployment and benchmarking to achieve greater profitability. Benchmarking, 13: 290-310. Kvale, S. and Brinkmann, S. (2009) InterViews : learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. Los Angeles : Sage Publications 2nd ed.Kyro¨, P. (2003) Revising the Concept and Forms of Benchmarking. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 10: 210-225. Available: DOI 10.1108/14635770310477753.Layder, D. (1998) Sociological Practice : Linking Theory and Social Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications. Lee, T. (1999) Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage Publications. Lelièvre, É. and Vivier, G. (2001) Data collection at the intersection of quantitative and qualitative research: Evaluation of the Event histories and contact circle survey. Population, 56: 1043-1074. Mann, R. (2007) TRADE Training Manual, 2 Day workshop for the Civil Service College, Singapore.Mann, R. S. and Kohl., H. (2010) GBN Survey Results: Business Improvement and Bench-marking, Global Benchmarking Network. GBN. www.globalbenchmarking.org.Marquardt, M. (2011) Building the Learning Organization : Achieving Strategic Advantage Through a Commitment to Learning. Nicholas Brealey Pub. Mengshoel, A. (2012) Mixed Methods Research – So far Easier Said than Done? Manual Therapy, 17: 373-375. Available: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.math.2012.02.006.Mentzas, G., Apostolou, D., Young, R. and Abecker, A. (2001) Knowledge Networking:a holistic solution for leveraging corporate knowledge. Journal of Knowledge Management, 5: 94-107. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13673270110384446.Morrow, S. and Smith, M. (2000) Qualitative research methods. Handbook of counseling psychology. New York, Wiley.Nomura, T. (2002) Design of ‘Ba’ for successful Knowledge Management : how enterprises should design the places of interaction to gain competitive advantage. Journal of Net-work and Computer Applications, 25: 263-278. Available: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jnca.2002.0139.Novick, G. (2008) Is there a bias against telephone interviews in qualitative research? Re-search in Nursing and Health, 31: 391-398.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 63-87 (2014)

86

Pagano, R. and Paucar-Caceres, A. (2008) Elicitation methods of organisational knowl-edge: From the individual to the collective through an integrative approach. Systemic Prac-tice and Action Research, 21: 323-337. Available: DOI 10.1007/s11213-008-9099-3.Pascale, R. T., Sternin, J. and Sternin, M. (2010) The power of positive deviance : how unlikely innovators solve the world’s toughest problems. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business Press.Pettigrew, A. (2013) The Conduct of Qualitative Research in Organizational Settings. Cor-porate Governance: An International Review, 21: 123-126. Available: DOI 10.1111/j.1467-8683.2012.00925.x.Plotnitsky, A. (2003) Mysteries Without Mysticism and Correlations Without Correlata: On Quantum Knowledge and Knowledge in General. Foundations of Physics, 33: 1649-1689. Available: DOI 10.1023/a:1026065218214.Plotnitsky, A. (2010) Epistemology and probability : Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and the nature of quantum-theoretical thinking., New York [u.a.] : Springer. Riley, N. (2010) Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, 2nd Edition. Qualitative Research, 10: 390-392. Rosenau, P. (2001) Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences : Insights, Inroads, and Intru-sions Princeton University Press.Schugurensky, D. (2000) The Forms of Informal Learning: Towards a Conceptualization of the Field. Centre for the Study of Education and Work, OISE/UT.Senge, P. (2006) The fifth discipline : the art and practice of the learning organization. Lon-don : Random House Business 2nd ed.Skinner, B. (1984) The evolution of behavior. Journal of the experimental analysis of be-havior, 41: 217-221. Spendolini, M. (1992) The Benchmarking Book. New York, Amacom.Stauffer, D. (2003) Is Your Benchmarking Doing the Right Work? Harvard Management Update, January-February, pp.8-10.Stephens, N. (2007) Collecting data from elites and ultra elites: Telephone and face-to-face interviews with macroeconomists. Qualitative Research, 7: 203-216. Stewart, D. (2001) Reinterpreting the Learning Organisation. Learning Organization, 8: 141-52. Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of qualitative research : techniques and proce-dures for developing grounded theory, Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications 2nd ed.Sweet, L. (2002) Telephone interviewing: is it compatible with interpretive phenomenologi-cal research? Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 12: 58-63. Available: DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5172/conu.12.1.58.


87

Werquin, P. (2012) The Missing Link to Connect Education and Employment: Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning Outcomes. Journal of Education and Work, 25: 259-278.Yin, R. (2009) Case study research : design and methods. Los Angeles, Calif, Sage Pub-lications 4th ed. Zairi, M. and Leonard, P. (1994) Practical benchmarking: the complete guide. London, Chapman and Hall.


89

A Comparative Study of Higher Education Institutions in North Rhine-Westphalia

(Germany) and Their Marketing Approaches to Student Recruitment from China

Said Al-Hasan1, Brychan Thomas2, Nina Maria Mülders3

and Denis Melle4

1,2,3University of South Wales Business School4 France Business School, Brest

Received June 2014, Revised June 2014, Accepted July 2014, Published September 2014

Abstract: This paper explores the approaches of selected German universities towards degree course marketing to attract students from abroad, especially China. It contributes to academic research into a rising discipline, international degree course marketing, as well as to provide insights into current practices leading to reflections on the discipline’s opportunities and limitations. The paper is structured according to a theoretical literature review and empirical research findings. Initially the concept of culture and cultural theories is reviewed leading to the development of a set of criteria to assess the level of cultural adaptation of marketing material. These assessment criteria are applied to a range of marketing instruments implemented by selected German universities. Members of staff in relevant positions at these universities have been interviewed to reveal their views as practitioners. The outcomes of the research involving document analysis and interviews are complemented with, and compared to, answers provided by Chinese students in Germany to an online survey focusing on their preferences regarding the content of cultural-sensitive marketing material. The results show that in order to be worthwhile, internationalization efforts should include not only the recruitment of foreign students but also their integration into the academic community and their retention as loyal alumni.Keywords: Higher Education, Marketing Approaches, Student Recruitment.

E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2, [email protected] 3, denis.melle@france_bs.com 4

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

90

IntroductionThe reform under the Bologna Process in Europe has significantly reshaped the higher education sector. The developments provide European universities with opportunities as well as threats. Due to the harmonisation of degrees, for instance, European universities are becoming more attractive to students from other countries facilitating international student recruitment but, at the same time, stimulating competition.This paper explores approaches to degree course marketing to recruit students from China by German universities. Previous studies reveal that Germany is the most popular non-English speaking country among Chinese students who make up the largest group of students from the same ethnic background in Germany. However, despite the reciprocal attraction, the cultural differences between Germany and China cannot be denied which – in marketing contexts - entails the question of whether components of the marketing mix require adaptation or not.The empirical research will first explore the level of adaptation of marketing instruments used by selected German universities for student recruitment from China. In a second step the research aims at revealing whether cultural theories such as Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) five cultural dimensions are relevant in the adaptation process. Finally, a survey among Chinese students studying in Germany provides views and preferences of the ‘end-user’ or ‘recipient’ in terms of cultural-sensitive marketing.The research findings allow insights into current approaches to higher education marketing and student recruitment from China implemented by selected German universities. It is revealed that although cultural adaptation is considered important and is implemented to sometimes impressive levels it is not based on a systematic, theory-led process. Cultural theories are deemed too abstract and hence impractical as universities seem to lack both time and resources to transfer the theoretical concepts into practice. The student perspective reveals surprising insights and leads to the conclusion that universities need to rethink their recruitment approaches.The results show that in order to be worthwhile, internationalization efforts should include not only the recruitment of foreign students but also their integration into the academic community and their retention as loyal alumni. Therefore, universities should consider international student recruitment as the first phase of a tripartite holistic approach of: recruitment, integration and retention. This will enable universities to benefit from the cultural diversity foreign students bring into the lecture halls and, later on, from growing international networks of loyal alumni and their positive word-of-mouth. In an increasingly international and competitive higher education sector these networks of alumni, who act as multiplicators and ambassadors, will significantly help universities to drive forward knowledge exchange, advance research and foster partnerships worldwide.The objective of this paper is to explore the approaches of selected German universities towards international degree course marketing to attract students from abroad, especially from China. Preceding this objective is the observation of a phenomenon: The Chinese recruitment market is said to differ considerably in culture from the German market, yet the biggest group of international students in Germany originates from China. From a marketing perspective it seems appropriate to investigate whether these cultural differences are

S. Al-Hasan, B. Thomas, N. M. Mülders: A comparative study of higher education ...

91

addressed in marketing material used for student recruitment from China and whether cultural theories – as often discussed in marketing literature - are deemed relevant by practitioners for the adaptation process.The purpose of this paper is therefore to contribute to the academic research into a rising discipline, international degree course marketing, as well as to provide insights into current practices leading to reflections on the discipline’s opportunities and limitations.In order to achieve the objective outlined above the following research questions have been developed:• Do higher education institutions in Germany adapt their marketing instruments used for

student recruitment from abroad, especially from China, in order to overcome cultural differences?

• What criteria play a prominent role in the adaptation process and are cultural theories of any relevance?

The paper is structured on a theoretical (literature review) and empirical (research findings) basis. First, the concept of culture and cultural theories will be reviewed leading to the development of a set of criteria to assess the level of cultural adaptation of marketing material. In the empirical part these assessment criteria will be applied to a range of marketing instruments implemented by selected German universities. In addition, members of staff in relevant positions at these universities have been interviewed to reveal their views as practitioners on both research questions. The outcomes of the document analysis and the interviews are complemented with and compared to answers provided by Chinese students in Germany to an online survey focusing on their preferences regarding the content of cultural-sensitive marketing material.

Literature ReviewOver the past two decades higher education institutions have fundamentally extended and intensified their international activities according to Altbach and Knight (2007, p. 290), who ascribe this development to the advancement of globalization, defined as “the economic, political, and societal forces pushing 21st century higher education toward greater international involvement”.In Europe joint cross-border internationalization efforts have just culminated in the implementation of the Bologna Process. The reform has significantly re-shaped the higher education landscape on the continent, providing universities with great opportunities as well as posing significant challenges. According to the European Commission (2011) “the Bologna Process aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which students can choose from a wide and transparent range of high quality courses and benefit from smooth recognition procedures. The Bologna Declaration of June 1999 has put in motion a series of reforms needed to make European Higher Education more compatible and comparable, more competitive and more attractive for Europeans and for students and scholars from other continents”.Looking at Germany, for example, one of the founding members of the European Union (EU) and the largest EU country by population, universities have recently completed the transition to bachelor and master degree programs under the Bologna Process. The harmonization of degrees facilitates student mobility but will also intensify international

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

92

competition among higher education institutions. In addition, German universities have to cope with domestic challenges such as less public funding, rising costs and smaller cohorts due to demographic change. The German higher education sector is hence said to become a buyers’ market. As a response, higher education institutions have started to employ marketing strategies to meet these challenges and withstand the competition (Bode et al., 2008, p. 27).According to Bode et al. (2008, pp. 31-32) there are three levels of marketing in higher education: university, faculty and degree course. It could be argued that the aim of becoming more attractive to students from other European countries as well as from other continents, as per the declaration of 1999, would lead to an increased focus on marketing activities, especially at the third level, i.e. promoting degree courses to recruit international students. It could be further argued that the greater the cultural distance between the potential student and the recruiting university, the greater the necessity to adapt marketing activities in order to accommodate these differences.In Germany, almost 9 % of all students were foreign in 2009 (GATE-Germany, 2010, p. 13) making it the most popular non-English speaking study location. The Chinese make up the largest group of students from the same ethnic background in Germany with a total share of almost 13 % (Ceyhan, 2011, p. 26).Bodycott (2009, pp. 351) argues that “Mainland China poses significant cultural differences from other international student recruitment markets” leading him (2009, p. 369) to the conclusion that “to market effectively in Confucian societies requires an intimate understanding and respect for the cultural values that underlie such societies”. It can be concluded that the awareness of cultural differences is vital for international higher education marketing professionals, especially when aiming to recruit students from China.In terms of standardisation versus adaptation in the current context, the degree courses provided in Germany will be the same for both international and national students. In most German states universities do not charge tuition fees. It follows that product (degree course), price (tuition fees) and place (country where the course is provided) cannot be adapted to local taste; they are standardized. Although it can be assumed that degree courses have been adapted to some extent to appeal to an international audience; a least adaptation would have been the design of English-taught modules. It follows that the promotion of international degree courses seems to provide most opportunities for cultural adaptation. The cultural theories introduced earlier provide frameworks to analyze and compare national cultures and will hence help to reveal areas where cultural adaptation is appropriate.When comparing the two approaches by Hofstede (1984, 1986, 2001) and Schwartz (1999) some similarities are revealed: Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) power distance seems to relate to Schwartz’ (1999) hierarchy dimension; masculinity (versus femininity) might comply with mastery and harmony, while individualism (versus collectivism) and uncertainty avoidance seem to be covered by conservatism, egalitarianism as well as intellectual and affective autonomy.Nevertheless, Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) model appears to be the most accepted one within the marketing discipline (Usunier and Lee, 2009, p. 9). It seems further preferable as it is said to be scientifically sound and empirically tested on a substantial scale, which is


93

less true for Schwartz’ approach. The fact that Hofstede (1984, 1986, 2001) has repeatedly exemplified his cultural dimensions in real-life situations including an educational context is especially helpful for the purpose of this study. Moreover, Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) cultural dimensions seem less complex and hence easier to re-apply. The five cultural dimensions will therefore be used as the basis for the research. The significance of cultural adaptation in an international marketing context and the usefulness of cultural theories in the analysis of national cultures have been exemplified. In summary, looking at cultural differences between China and Germany and their implications within higher education, Chinese students seem to consider the relationship to professors as highly hierarchical which is different in Germany. Solidarity and group cohesion are of great importance to Chinese students and they thrive to balance self-assertion and ambition with social competences. German students, on the other hand, seem more focused on their individual situation and progress. Chinese students favour a structured learning environment and focus on long-term results. While a structured curriculum is equally important for German students, they tend to be more short-term focussed and regard free time as valuable.

Research MethodIn line with the research questions on whether and how German universities adapt their marketing instruments to attract students from China; and whether cultural theories are relevant in the adaptation process a comparative multiple case study design has been chosen. It allows the in-depth investigation of the subject matter using the example of a few selected higher education institutions.A mixed methods research, carried out in two phases, is considered the most appropriate method to achieve the research objective. In the first phase, a better understanding of the subject matter is sought through a qualitative analysis of relevant marketing material and through qualitative interviews with experts working in the field. The second phase involved the collection of quantifiable feedback from Chinese students in Germany by means of a web-based survey. Chinese students can be considered the end-user or rather recipient of higher education marketing and recruitment activities and their feedback is hence considered vital to complement the overall picture. Bearing the above statements in mind the sample of higher education institutions for the qualitative part of the research has been purposefully selected on the basis of the following criteria:• All institutions are based in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and are

subject to the University Autonomy Law enacted in 2007;• All institutions are based in the urban centre of the Rhineland, a densely populated

business and science location at the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia;• All institutions represent a different form of higher education and fall into one of the

following categories: universities and equivalent institutions (incl. technical universities, specific subject universities), universities of applied science (incl. business schools);

• The actors’ willingness and ability to participate.Document analysis is used to investigate existing material ranging from texts, films, works of art, to name just a few, with the aim of interpreting the underlying human thinking, feeling and acting behind their creation (Mayring, 2002, pp. 46-50).Based on Mayring’s (2010, p. 99) general model process, the analysis for the research followed these steps:

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

94

• Definition of theoretically-derived main and sub-categories;• Identification of relevant text passages;• Extraction and paraphrasing of the identified text passages;• Summary per category.To accommodate the comparative case study research design, as a last step, findings were congregated in a general overview to facilitate comparison. Again a judgment sampling method was chosen in order to obtain feedback from only those Chinese students actually studying at the higher education institutions represented in the qualitative research sample. It is further assumed that exchange students are not recruited by universities abroad but are sent to their own institution’s partner universities as part of the degree course. Hence, only full-degree Chinese students studying in North Rhine-Westphalia were considered for the quantitative research.Nevertheless, a web-based survey was used for the quantitative research as Chinese students were expected to be new media-savvy and more responsive to online surveys than traditional ones. Furthermore, the ease of administration and speed of distribution was considered a major advantage. Descriptive statistical methods were deemed most appropriate for the planned research as they allow revealing average perceptions and common preferences with regard to the employment and adaptation of marketing material. In the current case, a combination of three research methods was used, a document analysis, in-depth interviews and a survey in order to obtain data from different sources on the same subject matter.Following the mixed methods approach described above the details of the results of the study are reported according to the two phases of qualitative interviews and quantitative research undertaken involving key cluster information stages, and these are reported in the analysis and findings below.

Analysis and FindingsGeneral outcomes of the qualitative interviews will be presented first as they allow a better understanding of the overriding marketing orientations and attitudes towards international student recruitment. The degree of cultural adaptation of marketing instruments according to Hofstede (1984, 1986, 2001) will be assessed next. At this stage, the results of the document analysis, the interviews and the student survey will be amalgamated. Finally, light is shed on the adaptation criteria currently applied in practice and the practitioners’ view on the relevance of cultural theories.

Qualitative interviews: general findingsWhile all sample universities consider internationalization worthwhile in general, the attitude towards international student recruitment and marketing practices in particular varies. At the Cologne Business School (CBS), for instance, national as well as international student recruitment, especially from China, is a priority:“The marketing department is responsible for attracting more students to the CBS. One of our focuses is to go on fairs. We visit about 30 fairs per year. And we do a lot of online marketing, which includes social media marketing. [...] So these are the activities to attract more students but we have a focus on the German market. [...] There is only one [author’s note: foreign] region we target which is Asia, or China”. (QuIn_CBS1; L3-13; L36-37)


95

However, founded in 1993, the CBS is still a relatively ‘young’ higher education institution which poses a challenge especially on the Chinese recruitment market:“The colleagues [author’s note: from the international office] have said that it is very difficult to attract Chinese students because they are looking for higher education institutions with a long history or tradition. [...] Over the years the representatives of the CBS international office have learned that parents and children do not trust any higher education institution that is represented at an educational fair for the first time. Only after seeing a university returning to the fair for a few years, they start to build up trust and can be convinced that this is a good university.” (QuIn_CBS1; L55-64)In contrast, the two largest and oldest universities within the sample, the technical university, RWTH Aachen, and the multi-faculty University of Cologne, who both consider China a target region, introduced a recruitment process described as ‘qualitative selection’ in order to cope with the large number of applications from Chinese students: “For example, we have a cooperation with the Akademische Pruefstelle in Beijing and there people who want to come to Aachen must go through a very intense interview. There we make a selection and we will find out: do they already have the language quality, are they prepared for staying here, do they have the academic quality and through this rigorous selection we show that we have a high standard that we maintain ” (QuIn_RWTH)“One could perhaps even say that at the beginning of our dealings with China we were overwhelmed by a surge of applications. [...] We have therefore relocated the selection process from Cologne to Beijing with the aim of reducing the number of applications overall and increasing the number of high quality applications. In this sense, it is not an approach of mass-marketing, if you like, but the attempt to implement a qualitative selection in China.” (QuIn_UOC)At the German Sport University yet another standpoint towards international student recruitment is taken:“My personal internationalization attitude is I believe in internationalization but internationalization for me means there is not one country you target. We have over 60 nations here at the Sport University and I intend to keep it that way, so I am not really interested in having two or three nations broadly represented here at the Sport University, I would rather have a lot of nations, a lot of cultural diversity here at the Sport University.” (QuIn_GSU)Places at the subject-specific German Sport University are in high demand, which has also led to a very selective application process for national as well as international students and a rather cautious approach to student recruitment:“Again, from my perspective, the Sport University is very special. We do not have any problems in terms of applications. For the last academic year we had over 5,000 applicants for 500 spots and they ran through the aptitude test, a physical test; 55 per cent fail the aptitude test so we still have the luxury of choosing from the best, physically best, if you like, and also from the mentally best because we obviously also consider the high school exam grade. [...] That is why recruitment is not a top priority for the Sport University.” (QuIn_GSU)It can be concluded that due to their different profiles and orientations, the sample

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

96

universities take different approaches to international student recruitment. The relatively young Cologne Business School is still in the midst of building a strong brand in the Chinese recruitment market, while the long-established and internationally well-known RWTH Aachen and University of Cologne have introduced procedures to select only the best Chinese applicants. The German Sport University benefits from its unique subject focus of its degree courses and concentrates on qualitative selection with no particular regional focus.Cultural adaptation of marketing instrumentsAhead of the detailed analysis of cultural adaptation by means of the five culture-specific clusters of information, a brief summary of the qualitative and quantitative research outcomes will be provided. Both summaries will be supported by illustrations for ease of clarity.Qualitative research: Brief summary of findingsAs part of the qualitative research brochures and websites of the sample institutions have been reviewed and the findings were complemented by practitioners’ statements made in the interviews. The overall outcomes indicate which clusters of information the universities have addressed either in their material or in personal encounters with the target audience. The illustration is rather simplified and also includes the personal impression gained by the researcher throughout the research.As follows from the illustration the Cologne Business School is very strong on emphasising ‘hard’ factors, such as reputation, quality of study programs as well as employability and networks, whereas the RWTH Aachen and the University of Cologne also address the ‘softer’ areas, such as messages by the university leadership, peer group networks and endorsements. The German Sport University demonstrates a lower degree of adaptation which is in line with the lower priority given to international student recruitment overall but the area of communicating its high quality study programs can be considered a clear priority.Quantitative research: Brief summary of findingsChinese students studying in Aachen or Cologne were polled on aspects they considered important when choosing a German university to study at. To this end, the sub-categories of the five culture-specific clusters of information were listed randomly and students were asked to rate them as ‘very important’, ‘important’ or ‘less important’ for their decision-making process. Respondents clearly prioritized the harder factors such as quality, reputation, career prospects and rankings over softer factors such as messages from the university leadership, Chinese communities and support programs.Key Cluster of information 1: Educational System and Academic LeadershipEducational SystemWhile the Cologne Business School does not address cultural differences between the Chinese and the German educational system in its overall degree course brochure or on its main websites, the RWTH Aachen subtly touches upon the issue in its degree course brochure by outlining the abilities a successful student must demonstrate and the institution’s educational objectives. At the University of Cologne cultural differences in this context are rather addressed in personal encounters:“You cannot clarify it in advance in written words, as Chinese students will not be able to bring this in connection with a concrete teaching-learning situation. We would probably


97

have the same difficulties would we be in a similar situation. Therefore, I think the only possible way is a gentle introduction”. (QuIn_UOC; L359-362)In face-to-face conversations Chinese students are advised on the abilities they need to demonstrate in order to succeed in their studies:“And this is one of the first issues addressed in every counseling interview. ‘Only if you have accepted that the academic or educational system is different, does it make sense to start studying here. And if you are certain, that you are able and willing to work with the appropriate degree of individual organization and self motivation. Otherwise this university is not the right place for you.’ These are typical first sentences to start a counseling interview with.” (QuIn_UOC; L320-326)The German Sport University offers courses to international students on the German culture to help them acclimatize. However, already these courses are highly subject-specific and concentrate on sport-related cultural issues.“They range from the natural sciences over to humanities and social sciences. What we try to do is we try to tailor them to the needs of the exchange students. And that is why we have one for instance, my own seminar ‘German sport culture’, which is theoretical and practical because the international students need some kind of let’s say sociological lecture activity on German sport and German sport culture so we deal with the German sports structures, things like that.” (QuIn_GSU; L27-33)The Chinese students surveyed awarded a medium average rating of 2.29 to this subcategory. Bachelor students attach less priority (2.18) to this sort of information than Master students (2.36). This could be due to the fact that Master students, if they completed their undergraduate degree outside of Germany, will be used to a different educational system and hence require information to assess the extent of acclimatization they will have to endure.The findings also reveal that female students consider ‘information on the educational system’ only slightly more important (2.33) than their male fellow students (2.25). The population standard deviation for this category is at a comparatively moderate level of 0.67. The Cologne Business School lists the members of its university leadership online, but refrains from further profiling individuals on its websites or in its degree course brochure. The RWTH Aachen, on the other hand, prominently places a comprehensive message by its leader, the rector, on the first page of its degree course brochure. The rector is pictured next to a personal statement in the form of a letter addressed to the student. There is an underlying strategic focus which has been described in the interview as follows:“Well, first of all, we think that this is really very important, because the rector actually says in person ‘welcome’ to all the students, there are some welcome events and we think this is important. We have a so to say holistic approach to this, we want to start recruiting people, giving them information, bringing them into the system, making them feel that they are part of the university. We do not think that it is worthwhile having people here who just stay a while and then they go away. We really want to have people here who become part of the whole community, who really contribute to this community, because only then we create this lively academic and intellectually stimulating environment that we want to have.” (QuIn_RWTH; L301-316)

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

98

Furthermore, the RWTH Aachen introduces one of its high profile professors at the end of its brochure providing a few details on his achievements and a personal picture. Likewise, the University of Cologne and the German Sport University have included introductory statements by their respective leaders in their brochures. To the Chinese students in the sample messages by the university leadership are of surprisingly low importance. This aspect received an average low rating of 1.76. However, the second highest standard deviation (0.70) was identified for this sub-category indicating a dispersed response pattern which is confirmed when dividing the responses according to level of study and gender. It is revealed that Bachelor students attach slightly more importance to this sub-category (1.82) than Master students (1.71). The preference given by female students is slightly more distinct, they award an average rating of 1.88 to this type of information while their male colleagues rate it at 1.63.A possible explanation might be that this rather soft aspect of being addressed and made welcome by the most senior members of the institution is more important to younger students who might be more susceptible to parental efforts and hierarchies than older ones. As the survey also reveals, female students attach more priority to their parents’ advice than male students. It is likely, that they will also appreciate the guidance and advice provided by senior members of the university more than their male counterparts.Key cluster of information 2: Peer Group Networks and EndorsementsPeer Group NetworksThe Cologne Business School does not feature links to Chinese communities on its websites or in its brochure. However, it fosters integration and student networks through its ‘study buddy’ program. Where possible, students of the same ethnical background are asked to become tutors for their younger fellow students.“We have student buddies and usually Chinese students or we also receive students from Taiwan they have a student buddy who is from our East Asia Management Program and who also speaks Chinese or who is at least interested in China, so usually, and this works quite well.” (QuIn_CBS2; L142-145)Likewise, the RWTH Aachen offers a ‘beBuddy’ program on its website with the objective of facilitating integration and initiating peer networks. However, neither on its website nor in its brochure does the RWTH Aachen refer to existing links with Chinese communities. The University of Cologne, on the other hand, works closely with the University’s Chinese student group and the Chinese student association in Cologne both of which are introduced on the University’s websites in either German or Chinese.“There is no student group more active or better connected than the University’s Chinese student group and incidentally one of the chairpersons is working in my office. And this group, for instance, has just recently produced an image film. […] This film deals with exactly these issues of networking and integration. We support this student group and it is something their chairperson likes to reiterate in conversations with people from other higher education institutions that ‘the way we are supported by the University of Cologne, no other student group in North Rhine-Westphalia is being supported’.” (QuIn_UOC, L466-574)The German Sport University does not actively link or feature any international or Chinese peer group networks in its brochure or on its websites. Very surprisingly, as originating from a collectivist society, the Chinese students surveyed overall ranked the existence of local


99

Chinese communities as the least important factor when choosing a university abroad. The average rating is 1.68. The responses are yet again rather heterogeneous with a comparatively moderate standard deviation of 0.67.There seems to be no significant difference between the responses provided by Bachelor and Master students, but when reviewing responses by gender, it is noticeable that female students awarded the category a considerably higher average rating of 1.78, than their male colleagues (1.56). A possible explanation might be the often assumed higher family orientation in girls who might more proactively seek social contacts to find family-like contacts or make friends quicker while abroad. Also Cologne-based students are more interested in local Chinese-communities than their Aachen-based counterparts. Cologne with its often cited openness and multi-culturally community might hence attract the more sociable students.The Cologne Business School has used cultural specific imagery, as a kind of visual endorsement, in its Chinese degree course brochure. Furthermore, student testimonials have been incorporated as well. On its website, the Cologne Business School refers to its alumni network and uses endorsements and experience reports by former students. Student ambassadors are not assigned for educational fairs, but a Chinese native representative:“At the fairs that we used to do so far, we always tried to have a Chinese person with us to talk to them in Chinese, because usually the parents only speak Chinese. [...] It was someone who had studied and worked at our business school at a certain stage and then he moved back to China and then he, yes, he sometimes does a little bit of recruiting for us but not on a very regular basis.” (QuIn_CBS2; L84-86)The RWTH Aachen uses testimonials by international students in its degree course brochure and has also produced an image film, accessible online, making extensive use of endorsements by international students, including a Chinese student. The RWTH Aachen also employs student ambassadors at educational fairs and uses its alumni to initiate word-of-mouth:“We have alumni work in China, we try to bring our alumni to recommend studying here in Aachen and we found this very effective.” (QuIn_RWTH)The University of Cologne does not employ student ambassadors at educational fairs as the University’s Chinese liaison office manager, a native Chinese, partly fulfils this role. The University, however, strongly supports the Chinese student group in its viral marketing activities:“I have just reiterated the significance of the Chinese student groups in terms of integration, and especially the Chinese are exemplary. [...] I think there is no more effective way of spreading the word.” (QuIn_UOC)It was mentioned in the interview that a lack of resources is currently preventing the University of Cologne from further extending its efforts to establish a stronger alumni network.The German Sport University does not seem to use international student endorsements in its brochure and is not represented at educational fairs in China in line with its approach taken towards international student recruitment.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

100

The Chinese students surveyed gave this category a medium average rating of 2.24. The standard deviation rate of 0.60 indicates a moderate dispersion. Peer endorsements could again be considered a rather soft factor. Hence the individual ratings will involve a high degree of personal preference. One possible reason for the distribution of the responses could be the students’ different perceptions of endorsements as either reliable statements or yet another marketing tactic.

The demographic-specific responses reveal that endorsements are rather important for Master students than for their junior colleagues. It could be argued that Master students already familiar with academic organisations look for particular insights which they expect to find out from their peers. The replies provided by female and male students did not show a significant difference.

Key cluster of information 3: Reputation, Performance and IntegrationReputationThe Cologne Business School prominently places information on its positions in the well known German Centre for Higher Education (CHE) ranking, a non-profit reform think tank for higher education, on its websites and highlights its high profile, international orientation and quality education under its ‘ten good reasons’ section which is repeated in the degree course brochure.

The RWTH Aachen has even dedicated an entire webpage to the topic of reputation and also clearly lists why the RWTH Aachen is a good choice in a summary of bullet points at the end of its degree course brochure. Furthermore, the RWTH Aachen refers to its favourable position in the German WiWo Ranking, a university ranking scheme administered by a well-established German business newspaper. Reputation is considered one of the most crucial profile areas: “One thing, I think, that is very important is that you point to the reputation of the institution, making clear that it is worthwhile coming here and that the certificate that you earn in the end is really helping you later on in the job market, either academic or industrial job market. This is, I think, very important information, this is mostly requested and required.” (QuIn_RWTH)

There are indications that parents are especially interested in facts about academic reputation or rankings and proactively seek this information at educational fairs:

“Parents we have at the general fairs, then we have a lot of parents who come to us and ask ‘what is Aachen, can you name the place in an international ranking, what do you offer for my children’. Sometimes parents with their children but sometimes the parents have the more active part. They are actually pushing their children towards the stall, telling them in Chinese what questions to ask.” (QuIn_RWTH)

The University of Cologne is equally aware of the influence rankings can have on potential Chinese students and their parents and they also offer a possible explanation:

“Yes, especially in China, rankings play a significant role. Of course, this is also due to a lack of other criteria. Rankings help to overcome uncertainties.” (QuIn_UOC)

Nevertheless, rankings seem missing so far in the marketing material but communications on reputation at the University of Cologne can be expected to be reinforced following the success in the Excellence Initiative.


101

The German Sport University is the sole sport university in Germany and enjoys a high visibility and reputation nationally as well as internationally. It might be due to its unique profile that the institution takes a slightly different approach in the current context:“We do not really have to rely on rankings, because being so.. , it is such a unique construction that…, … the further you move away from the Sport University the better the people know about the Sport University or the better the image is as well at times. So we are not really relying on rankings or recommendations.” (QuIn_GSU)Reputation is the second most important factor for the Chinese students responding to the survey. This category was awarded an average high rating of 2.71 with a very low standard deviation of 0.46. The response pattern reflects the students’ high culturally determined masculinity and long-term orientation. They absolutely prioritise a good quality education to obtain an excellent degree and have the best career prospects. Of course, ‘filial piety’, the concept explained earlier, will play a significant role as well: Chinese students are expected to care for their parents when they are elderly; a first-class degree from a renowned university will help.Performance and IntegrationThe Cologne Business School offers a tailored, in-house preparatory program called ‘Prep 4 CBS’ specifically to Chinese students which it promotes online and in its degree course brochure:“So what we offer mainly for the Chinese students so far is, we have a so called ‘prep 4 CBS’ program which is a program that prepares the Chinese students for studies in Germany and mainly studies at universities of applied sciences in English for the economics and business studies, because Chinese students usually are not admitted into the German universities right away.” (QuIn_CBS2)The RWTH Aachen refers to its language support programs in its degree course brochure and offers other extra-curricular support:“We offer intercultural communications workshops still on a voluntary basis, maybe we should force them, so that they get credits for it.” (QuIn_RWTH)At the same time, however, the RWTH Aachen expects their students to be well-prepared and to demonstrate strong academic capabilities already at the point of application:“And actually in the admission process we are looking at a certain fit, in so far that we say, we know that Chinese students come from a very different educational background and cultural background and we look at the students and try to find those who show that they have understood that they are going abroad, they are having a really different experience.” (QuIn_RWTH)Following repeated enquiries from parents, the University of Cologne, who likewise practices a qualitative selection process, has introduced a model project which offers international students an assisted starting phase:“The chances of Chinese students to successfully complete their studies, is also of great importance. Several HIS57 surveys revealed dramatic results in this context triggering questions from parents, such as ‘what are you doing to improve my child’s chances to study successfully at your university’. […] and our answer there is ‘Studienstart international’,

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

102

which is a structured introduction into the degree program, a model project, for foreign students at the University of Cologne.” (QuIn_UOC)

As most of its degree courses are offered in German the German Sport University offers courses to improve students’ language skills:

“Now what we have done and that is a very important project, which we also do at the International Office we have implemented a language course, an intensive German language course.” (QuIn_GSU)

Chinese students questioned awarded the third lowest rating (2.06) to ‘support on campus’. At the same time, the response pattern resulted in the highest standard deviation calculated in this analysis of 0.76. The ambiguity might be due to differences in the individual student’s language skills – language courses were given as an example of support programs in the questionnaire. It is also possible that this particular sub-category was kept too general as support is a far-reaching term and might have been interpreted differently by the individual respondent. When comparing answers of the different demographic groups it transpires that ‘support on campus’ is slightly more important to Master students and also to male students which could again be due to the fact that Master students, who have completed their Bachelor degree outside of Germany, might need to acquire particular language skills quickly. It is also

often assumed that male students are less language savvy and might hence require more support than their female counterparts.

Key cluster of information 4: Study Program and LocationStudy ProgramOn its website and in its degree course brochure the Cologne Business School provides detailed information on the content and structure of its degree courses. The institution also refers to its courses’ accreditations by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation to underline its programs’ high quality and recognition. In this context the CBS uses its tuition fees as another indicator for the high quality education it provides:

“It is of course not the first selling point, but of course we publish them [author’s note: tuition fees]. [...] It is something my colleagues told me that potential students and especially their parents come to the educational fairs and ask around how much each university charges for a program and then they tend to decide in favour of the most expensive one as they perceive this one to be the best quality offer. So for, especially for the Chinese market it makes sense to use our tuition fees as an indicator for a high quality program”. (QuIn_CBS1)

The RWTH Aachen also covers its degree courses in great detail in its brochure as well as on its websites. Where the need arises, the lack of tuition fees is explained to international students to reassure them of the educational programs’ quality:

“We try to explain what is actually the case, of course, people come to us and ask: ‘if you don’t charge anything it is not worth anything’ and we say ‘no, we have certain regulations how you can enter the system, and once you enter the system, once you are found eligible, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia sponsors your stay, it is not that the stay is really not


103

worth anything. So we have high quality courses but it is all sponsored for those people who we found eligible but we then reserve ourselves the possibility to make a choice.” (QuIn_RWTH)

The University of Cologne provides a basic overview of its English-language programs online and lays out its offerings in its degree course brochure, increasingly referring to its websites for more information:

“We have our own brochures and increasingly aim to design and use them as some sort of web navigators. So we provide people with the URLs, as this way we do not need to update our printed material, but instead have postcards or small brochures containing links to the relevant web pages. There is no more targeted approach.” (QuIn_UOC)

The importance of quality programs is well known at the University of Cologne. Here the practitioner refers to the students’ preference of ‘hard’ factors over ‘soft’ factors.

“I think, Chinese students focus exclusively on the subject related context. The really high potential students, which are the ones we want to attract, do not care about any particular support or comfort programs. And they would cope two years without any social integration. They just focus on completing their degree program and then they return back home” (QuIn_UOC)

The German Sport University currently provides detailed information on its study programs mainly online, while it has been stressed during the interview that a complete study program brochure in English will be made available soon. Meanwhile general information on institutes, courses and degrees are also offered in the university’s general brochure. Due to the absence of tuition fees international students often requires extra information:

“It is very difficult to convince them that we are an academic institution of high quality not asking for tuition fees. The way I go about it is I try to explain the whole education system in Germany which is totally different to overseas and I always invite them to come and see for themselves because once they come here, once the students and lecturers come here they are convinced of the quality and the facility management of the Sport University.” (QuIn_GSU)

The quality of degree courses is the most important of all sub-categories polled in the survey. Chinese students awarded the highest average rating of 2.79 to this category with the lowest standard deviation recorded in this survey of 0.40. Probably even more so than the university’s overall reputation, for Chinese students the quality of the degree program is decisive for the best possible career prospects.

International rankings were given a rather medium average rating of 2.32. The standard deviation is also moderate at a level of 0.58. When analyzing the demographic-specific responses it is revealed that Master students attach a higher priority to international rankings than Bachelor students. Again, as postgraduate students are already familiar with academic organizations they might look for specific assessment criteria rather reflected in rankings than elsewhere. Also female students seem to be more focused on international rankings than their male colleagues. Given female students’ higher tendency to adhere to parental advice, they might have also assumed their parents’ appreciation of international rankings.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

104

The Cologne Business School promotes its location and campus both online and in its brochure. It has also translated a profiling video into Chinese which highlights aspects of its Cologne-based campus.The RWTH Aachen has likewise produced several English-language videos about its campus facilities and urban location in Aachen and provides detailed information online.The University of Cologne uses some campus images in its Chinese degree course brochure and provides a video which is produced by the University’s Chinese student group and which is made up of student testimonials on its websites. The video caters for the specific needs of international, and especially Chinese, students:“One key message that just came to my mind when you asked about messages for parents, for example, is safety. […] So images that you can go to bars, things like this we include in the videos of course. That for example is a key message, and we have asked students to specifically discuss and address this and other key messages identified in the video.” (QuIn_UOC)The German Sport University also tailors its information on location and campus facilities to an international audience:“Yes, an example differentiation: accommodation. All international students, all the exchange students that come here are guaranteed a place in the dormitories if they want it which 100 per cent always take advantage of because it is far more inexpensive than if you look for an apartment or dorm somewhere else. That is specific information for the internationals.” (QuIn_GSU)Yet again, the importance of the study location was ranked relatively low by Chinese students at an average of 2.06. The standard deviation, however, is quite high at 0.70. Again, ‘study location’ can be regarded as a rather soft assessment factor and ratings will include a high degree of personal preference. When reviewing the responses according to study level and gender it becomes evident that Bachelor students attach a higher priority to the study location. It could be assumed that Master students as they will be more focused on entering their professional life soon are less interested in environmental ‘comfort’ factors. Female students, it is revealed, consider the study location more important than their male colleagues, which again might be due to them being rather socially oriented wanting to connect with local Chinese communities, for instance. Differences in the responses by Aachen-based and Cologne-based students are minor but nevertheless insightful. The study location is slightly more important to Cologne-based students, which is not surprising as Cologne is considered a very attractive location in itself especially for students due to various attractions and a broad range of leisure facilities.Key cluster of information 5: Employability and NetworksEmployability and NetworksAs a business school the CBS obviously places great emphasis on employability and maintains a close dialogue with businesses to make its degree courses most relevant:“We talked to companies and asked them what they are looking for in graduates. So we tried to develop study programs that met these requirements including practical experience, language skills, international study experience etc. As a consequence we included a


105

compulsory internship in our programs. So we convince our students with the argument that we teach them the skills employers are looking for.” (QuIn_CBS1)The CBS has further placed references to its academic and corporate networks prominently on its website. It not only lists its over 60 partner universities but also presents its business partners who support events for and from students. In its brochures the CBS emphasizes its academic partnerships.Likewise, the RWTH Aachen refers to its academic, research and business networks on its website and its brochure where it also refers to famous and successful alumni. The University of Cologne predominantly emphasizes its academic and research networks but seems to refrain from profiling corporate relationships. The university also seems to communicate restrictively on employment, as pointed out in the interview, the focus rather is on:“Offering high quality degree programs and making them internationally visible” (QuIn_UOC)The German Sport University features its international network of partner universities online and emphasizing future areas of employment for its graduates when listing its degree programs. In its brochure, again the list of international academic partner institutions is featured.For Chinese students ‘career prospects’ and ‘academic and corporate networks’ are the third and fourth most important aspects when choosing a university abroad. These categories were awarded an average high rating of 2.65 and 2.35 respectively. The standard deviation is comparatively moderate at a rate of 0.54 and 0.64. It seems obvious that Master students would attach a higher priority to the issue of ‘career prospects’ than their junior fellow students as they are very likely at a more job-oriented phase in their life. Responses by female and male students are relatively homogenous while Aachen-based students attach a higher priority to career prospects than their Cologne colleagues, which could be ascribed to their focus on highly technical and business-oriented courses. Likewise, Master students pay more attention to academic and corporate networks of the universities than Bachelor students which again might be due to them starting to search for a job soon where these networks could prove helpful.Qualitative interviews: Adaptation criteria and the relevance of cultural theoriesThe first part of the analysis – based on Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) cultural dimensions - revealed that marketing instruments to attract international students from China have been adapted albeit to varying degrees. The second part is to find out what adaptation criteria are applied in practice and whether cultural theories such as Hofstede’s (1984, 1986, 2001) are of any relevance in the adaptation process.The Cologne Business School suggests that the main criteria for cultural adaptation of marketing material will be experience or, in lieu of it, cultural theories:“Two things are most important: On the one hand it is most important that you have some experience of the market. After having taken part in about five educational fairs you know quite well of what they want to hear and how to develop the brochures, for example. If you do not have any experience then the cultural theories would be very helpful to make a start.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

106

Because you definitely cannot adapt German brochures one to one to the Chinese market because of the differences and you have to know them. So such theories, like Hofstede’s, will help you.” (QuIn_CBS1)However, making cultural theories applicable in a marketing context is thought to require extra resources:“Well, I would definitely go further into the cultural, how can you approach, or how can you adapt your marketing to the cultural needs of the students or of the Chinese, so this is something that we would do. We always plan to go deeper into this and also provide brochures that really hit this point but this is something we need time for and resources, which is always very difficult [...].” (QuIn_CBS2)“I think it makes sense, of course the theories will not give you the whole answer, they will not tell you straight away how to produce an ideal brochure. I think these theories rather show you the way of discovering the cultural differences and there are some differences between the cultures. I think you would probably develop a better brochure if you know the cultural differences, than if you did not know them.” (QuIn_CBS1)Experience plays a major role in the adaptation process at the RWTH Aachen. Here the technical university clearly benefits from a diverse pool of human resources with rich cultural expertise and experiences:“Actually, we rely on experience and on the point of view of the Chinese people who work here. [...] Basically, we stick together our heads and we talk about these things that we want to publish and then we put together these experiences we have. [...] So, we take all these information and try to create something what we believe works in China and then of course there is the evaluation if we find that a brochure is rather causing consternation instead of giving information we withdraw it and work on it until it works.” (QuIn_RWTH)Cultural theories are considered important at the RWTH Aachen without wanting to enter into a scientific debate. Instead the technical university has found other effective solutions to take practical advantage of cultural theories:“I find this very interesting but actually I think that these theories come into what we do quite indirectly. It is not useful for us to reflect on these theories directly and go into scientific discussions of the merits and deficits of the theories like Hofstede’s (`1984, 1986, 2001) but they come into some of our instruments indirectly because people who think about these things have already integrated them to a certain degree, for example, I think that very much back at the head, people at the DAAD know these theories see the things they are observe through this lens that these theories create and bring this into their information that they prepare for us. And we, so to say, get the ready product.” (QuIn_RWTH)From the previous statements it can be concluded that cultural theories are considered relevant but impractical because of their complexity; unless people are well versed in cultural analysis or cultural sciences as the University of Cologne points out:“I think that they [author’s note: cultural dimensions] are only relevant if you have someone with an expertise in this area and who determines that cultural dimensions can be employed as an instrument of quality control for student support, for marketing… as a shared task. (QuIn_UOC)


107

Cultural theories do not play a role in the adaptation process at the German Sport University, yet the importance of cultural adaptation is stressed:“But in general in the work we do of course we have to differentiate between the different cultures. We obviously treat them all the same but we are totally aware of the cultural differences and we try to accommodate those cultural differences.” (QuIn_GSU)In summary, cultural theories are considered relevant by the majority of the sample universities but at the same time concerns are expressed about their applicability in practical marketing contexts. Where no prior knowledge exists, limited resources seem to prevent institutions from transferring theories into practical contexts. Hence, the universities actively pursuing international student recruitment tend to rely on their own or their colleagues’ experiences or expertise or otherwise draw upon external advisors’ capabilities.

Discussion of the Research FindingsAs part of the qualitative research brochures and websites of the sample institutions have been reviewed and the findings were complemented by practitioners’ statements made in the interviews. The overall outcomes indicate which clusters of information the universities have addressed either in their material or in personal encounters with the target audience. The illustration is rather simplified and also includes the personal impression gained by the researchers throughout the research. The Cologne Business School is very strong on emphasizing ‘hard’ factors, such as reputation, quality of study programs as well as employability and networks, whereas the RWTH Aachen and the University of Cologne also address the ‘softer’ areas, such as messages by the university leadership, peer group networks and endorsements. The German Sport University demonstrates a lower degree of adaptation which is in line with the lower priority given to international student recruitment overall but the area of communicating its high quality study programs can be considered a clear priority.Chinese students studying in Aachen or Cologne were polled on aspects they considered important when choosing a German university to study at. To this end, the sub-categories of the five culture-specific clusters of information were listed randomly and students were asked to rate them as ‘very important’, ‘important’ or ‘less important’ for their decision-making process.The sub-categories in the order of their average rating (highest to lowest from left to right) were given. The average rating was indicated for each sub-category. The population standard deviation was also provided. The frequency of occurrence where the standard deviation is at a moderate or high level could be ascribed to the fact that the rating options only included nuances of the same adjective: ‘important’. It did not abet polarized replies which options such as: ‘important’, ‘not important’, ‘detrimental’, would have done.Respondents clearly prioritized the harder factors such as quality, reputation, career prospects and rankings over softer factors such as messages from the university leadership, Chinese communities and support programs.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 89 -109 (2014)

108

ConclusionsThe results of the research also allow a more general conclusion with reference to overall strategic recruitment approaches. It reveals that, ideally, international student recruitment should be considered as one part of a three-part approach: recruitment, integration and retention. Internationalization provides universities with the opportunity to build strong international networks of alumni which help to increase the institution’s international visibility and enhance its reputation (QuIn_UOC; L420-425). If a university fails to establish these sustainable contacts the purpose of internationalization can be considered at least partly unfulfilled.The RWTH Aachen has embraced such a tripartite, holistic approach of student recruitment and retention by aiming to create “a lively academic and intellectually stimulating environment” (QuIn_RWTH; L313-136) which everyone, including current and former students, are encouraged to form part of. This approach seems even more sensible when taking into account the RWTH Aachen’s outlook on future developments within international higher education (QuIn_RWTH; L347-360). With the prospect of growing international cooperative, academic networks it becomes even more important to encourage students building a strong attachment to their university as they are likely to study at more than just one. They could hence turn into strong networkers and multiplicators for each of their alma maters if integration and retention are strategically pursued. In this context, higher education institutions could benefit from implementing strategies to recruit students and then move them up the ‘ladder of loyalty’.What follows is that soft factors serve not only the purpose of making Chinese students feel comfortable in the new environment but also of encouraging integration and the formation of academic attachment. With the growing importance of networks in everyday life, private or professional, students will benefit from these emerging academic networks as well their universities. Hence, the mutual benefits need to be emphasized and made transparent in marketing communications which will lead to the soft factors rising in their significance again for Chinese students.

References Altbach, P. G. and Knight, J. (2007) The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities, Journal of Studies in International Education, 11(3/4): 290-305.Bode, J., Jäger, G. W., Koch, U. and Ahrberg, F. S. (2008) Instruments to Recruit International Students: A Practical Guide to Successful University Marketing. Series Higher Education Marketing 1. Bielefeld: W. Bertelsmann.Bodycott, P. (2009) Choosing a Higher Education Study Abroad Destination: What mainland Chinese parents and students rate as important, Journal of Research in International Education, 8 (3): 349-373.Ceyhan, B. (2011) Great motivation: Chinese students at German universities, in gate-Germany (ed.) Country Profiles: Analysis - Experiences - Trends: Edition China, 26-27. [Online]. Available at: http://www.gategermany. de/angebote/expertenwissen/laenderprofile.html (Accessed: 30 August 2012).


109

European Commission - Education & Training (2011) The Bologna Process – Towards the European Higher Education Area. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc1290_en.htm (Accessed: 30 August 2012).GATE-Germany Consortium International Hoschulmarketing (2010) International Higher Education Marketing at German universities. Results of a nationwide survey. Bielefeld, W. Bertelsmann.Hofstede, G. (1984) Culture’s Consequences, International Differences in Work-Related Values. Abridged edition. Beverly Hills, Sage Publications.Hofstede, G. (1986) Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 10: 301-320.Hofstede, G. (2001) Culture’s Consequences: Comparing values, Behaviours, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications.Mayring, P. (2002) Introduction to Qualitative Research. 5th edn. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz.Mayring, P. (2010) Qualitative Content Analysis: Principles and Techniques. 11th edn. Weinheim und Basel: Beltz.Schwartz, S. H. and Sagiv, L. (1995) Identifying Culture-Specifics in the Content and Structure of Values, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26(1): 92-116.Schwartz, S. H. (1999) A Theory of Cultural Values and Some Implications for Work, Applied Psychology: An International Review, 48 (1): 23-47.Usunier, J.-C. and Lee, J.-A. (2009) Marketing Across Cultures. 5th edn. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education.


111

How SMEs Can Manage Their Networks– Lessons Learnt from Communication in

Animal Swarms

Katri Valkokari1, Pasi Valkokari2

1,2 VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandReceived May. 2014, Revised July. 2014, Accepted July. 2014, Published Sept. 2014

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to extend our understanding of business network management, especially from the viewpoint of SMEs operating in a B2B context. The paper focuses on exploring swarm intelligence to create new thinking on the management of business networks. Thus, the interaction between business organisations is at the heart of the network approach that we adopt throughout this research. Our research suggests that different managerial tools – such as network mapping, business models, partner evaluation and LCC tools – can be utilised as communication means also by SMEs. In accordance with the lessons learnt from the collective efforts in animal swarms, this study suggests that SMEs can also manage their business networks through communication.Keywords: SME, Business Network, Network Management, Swarm Intelligence.

E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

112

IntroductionIn an open, networked innovation, there is often discussion on what different industrial sectors can learn from each other regarding innovation and networking practices. The current debate on business ecosystems (Koening, 2012; Wallin, 2012; Ritala et al., 2013) inspires the question of opportunities to learn from the ‘swarm intelligence’-based activities of animals. In their article on the swarm intelligence of social insects, Bonabeau and Meyer (2001) highlight how “the ultimate self-organising enterprise could adapt quickly – and instinctively – to fast-changing markets”. Scientists have thus been studying ants, wasps and bees because of the amazing efficiency of their collective efforts. Nonetheless, the approach has mainly been applied to optimisation and robotics (for a summary, see, for instance, Blum and Merkle, 2008), and the question about the mechanism enabling self-organisation of these collective efforts remains unsolved. The importance of inter-organisational relationships and networks to business is widely acknowledged. A great deal of research has therefore been conducted on business networks and their management (Ford et al., 2003; Möller et al., 2005; Halinen and Törnroos, 2005; Ritter et al., 2004; Ojasalo, 2004). Although co-creation between network members is often highlighted, only some authors have explored the networking and co-creation processes in practice (Halinen et al., 2012; Valkokari et al., 2013). Furthermore, there is a lack of studies pertaining to viewpoints of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (Varamäki and Vesalainen, 2003; Valkokari, 2009; Parry et al., 2012). Similarly, research into network commitment is still in its early stages, and further study of factors influencing commitment is needed (Pesämaa and Hair, 2008; Roxenhall, 2011; Roxenhall and Andresen, 2012; Andresen et al., 2012). The fundamental managerial issue in forming and renewing business networks is how to operate as a network, i.e. how SMEs can ensure that all network actors do their best for the network and not only for themselves. Thus, a network of firms should work as an operational system in which each member of the ‘community’ negotiates its task (role and responsibilities) and manages internal process in a way that is beneficial to all the network members. Due, in the main, to its network position, the SME cannot manage the network like the alpha male or the queen bee, which controls the swarm and expects other network members to follow their given roles. There is still an opportunity for the SME to manage the network as a swarm of equals and to communicate its visions of the common best in order to commit to the other network members. It cannot keep the lead by controlling the actions of others; on the contrary, it must count on communicating the common good gained through networking. Thus, communication is thought to moderate or control the behaviour of partners (Mohr et al., 1996).The aim of the paper is to raise an interesting opportunity to renew ‘network thinking’ through the lessons learnt from animal swarms. The paper focuses on exploring swarm intelligence to create new thinking about the management of business networks. In particular, it considers how SMEs can communicate shared intent within the business network and ensure the commitment of other network members, i.e. ensure the swarm’s collective efforts. To work towards the goal, the rest of the paper is structured as follows. First, we position our research within the network management literature and introduce an emerging viewpoint of swarms and their self-organisation mechanism. Next, we describe our research methodology. We conducted a longitudinal case study in two SME business

K. Valkokari, P. Valkokari: How SMEs Can Manage Their Networks ...

113

networks. The analysis and interpretation of the results are then identified. Finally, we discuss implications for research and practice and provide directions for further research.

Literature ReviewOur literature review focused on studies of business network management. Based on this research stream, the network is the principal unit of analysis in inter-firm business operations and related interaction. The purpose of discussing the existing literature is to explore the viewpoints of SMEs, i.e. how SMEs are able to be in an active role and influence to the network’s objectives and operations. The preliminary research framework summarises the previous literature and presents the business network management tasks based on the lessons learnt from communication in animal swarms.

Business Network ManagementPrior studies of business networks, such as Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) research, recognise the importance of inter-firm relationships and networks (Håkansson and Snehota, 1989; Håkansson and Ford, 2002; Ford et al., 2003). Through a network approach, the IMP researchers aim to provide understanding and descriptions of industrial markets as complex networks of inter-organisational relationships. Thus, they typically consider business networks as complex webs of interdependent relationships within which companies and individual managers need to operate. According to the IMP view, business networks consist of manifold actors, complex interactions, difficult-to-understand exchange structures, and processes, all of which seem to have a life and will of their own (Henneberg et al., 2010).The strategic perspective, which has tended to dominate the inter-organisational relationship literature, presumes that communication and influence are utilised in “all relationship management tasks” (Ford, 2002). Already in 2003, Ford and his colleagues proposed a “managing in networks” model built on three interrelated elements: network pictures, networking and network outcomes (Ford et al., 2003). Thus, most research on business network management adopts a firm-centric approach, neglecting cross-relational tasks, as pointed out by Ritter et al. (2004). Table 1 summarises the cross-relational, network-level management tasks identified in the previous literature.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

114

Table (1) Summary of the Cross-Relational Business Network Management Tasks Presented in Previous Literature

Authors Focus Managerial tasks

Möller and Svahn (2003) Managing strategic nets 1) visioning and 2) orchestration of

networks

Ritter et al. (2004)

Cross-relational tasks in network management

1) planning, 2) organising, 3) staffing, and 4) controlling

Ojasalo (2004) Key network management

1) identifying a network, 2) strategies for managing actors of the key network, and 3) developing and applying operational-level methods for managing actors within the key network

Brito and Roseira (2005)

Supply network management

1) integration of resources and value activities and 2) coordination and influencing network actors

Although useful, the above literature is deficient in that it has focused mainly on the viewpoints of a large company operating as a network’s focal company. In such a position, it is able to manage, guide and control the network actors based on its own objectives. In these situations, SME companies typically strive to participate in networks in order to be viable. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore how SMEs are able to be in an active role and influence the network’s objectives and operations.

On the other hand, there is an active discussion on the social dimensions of network management. Many studies demonstrate that commitment to the network is crucial to ensure long-term cooperation (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Sharma et al., 2006; Andresen et al., 2012), while communication is thought to be used to moderate or control the behaviour of partners (Mohr et al., 1996). A parallel can even be drawn between the concepts of communication, interaction, social exchange, sense-making and other on-going coordination processes within a network (Olkkonen et al., 2000). This paper is therefore built on the assumption that means based on interaction and joint sense-making are more appropriate activities for SME network ‘management’ than the approaches summarised in Table 1. From the viewpoint of SMEs, communication on shared goals and enhanced network operations are therefore fundamental managerial tasks in business networks in order to influence the strategic choices of network members and ensure their commitment to the network and its ‘common good’.

In the context of business networks, each actor has its own perception of the network and its position within it. In a way, network pictures are the actor’s ‘network theory’ (Mattsson, 2002), i.e. its individual beliefs (theories in use) of what the relevant business network looks like and how it ‘works’. Consequently, through collective sense-making, the network members create a conceptual and empirical clarification of how network pictures are combined to


115

produce managerial actions (Henneberg et al., 2010). These actions then emerge as the network members’ behaviour. Furthermore, the network structures are constructed by the involved actors, as they form the views of how the network activities should be delimited and how they relate to each other (Håkansson and Johansson, 1993). Due to their network position, the network members have different opportunities to influence other members, their relationships and the whole network. In order to guide the other network members, the SME’s must beforehand make sense of their intents of networking.

As described above, inter-organisational relationships in business networks could evolve through repetitive sequences of cooperation, conflict and compromise actions, generating new positioning of network actors and their roles. It has also been noted that cooperation fails in many networks due to weak commitment (Pesämaa and Hair, 2008; Roxenhall, 2011; Roxenhall and Andresen, 2012). Andresen et al. (2012) even suggest that the presence of network commitment indicates whether network cooperation exists. In business network studies, the concepts of commitment and trust are closely linked, i.e. the committed actors consider a relationship (or a network) to be worth working on to sustain the relationship, and they thereby trust that the other network members have same kind of perceptions. Nonetheless, joint sense-making or commitment and trust building are long-lasting processes, whereas in a current fast-changing business environment, networking practices that quickly satisfy emergent market needs and demands (Rigby et al., 2000) are also needed. In summary, the above literature yields some insights into several key issues of strategic perspectives of the business network management (Ford et al., 2003; Möller et al., 2005; Halinen and Törnroos, 2005; Brito and Roseira, 2005; Ritter et al., 2004; Ojasalo, 2004). Thus, it does not discuss deeply the mechanism and means for communication and building commitment. SME viewpoints in intentional business networks, in particular, are relatively sparse (Varamäki and Vesalainen, 2003; Valkokari, 2009; Parry et al., 2012). There is therefore a specific need for more studies focusing on networks as processes (Ellis and Hopkinson, 2010; Halinen et al., 2012) for further advancement of the existing literature on business network management from the viewpoint of SMEs. To sum up, our study aims to focus on two main managerial challenges of the SME network management process. SMEs should, first, guide the other network members to make sense of the intents of networking and, second, ensure their commitment in order to facilitate self-organisation of the network’s joint activities and thereby be able to “adapt quickly – and instinctively – to fast-changing markets”, as highlighted by Bonabeau and Meyer (2001).Lessons from Swarm Intelligence and Communication

Swarm intelligence in animals and humans can be defined as “two or more individuals independently collect information that is processed through social interaction and provides a solution to a cognitive problem that is not available to single individuals.” (Krause, Ruxton and Krause, 2010)

Social insects organise themselves to perform activities like food foraging and nest building. Scientists have been studying ants, wasps and bees intensively because of the amazing efficiency of their collective efforts. So far, swarm intelligence has mainly been applied to optimisation and robotics (summary – see, for instance, Blum and Merkle, 2008). However, we are especially interested in exploring the communication practices of social insects, e.g.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

116

individuals searching, making choices and recruiting others. An ant that finds food returns to the nest and physically stimulates, either by contact or chemical secretion (pheromones), another ant to follow it to the food source (tandem recruiting), recruits a group, or lays a chemical trail (by leaving pheromones) that attracts other ants (mass-recruitment). Thus, the intensity of recruitment is related to the richness of the food sources, and there are some scattered searchers in most species. (Kirman, 1993)

Kirman’s stochastic ‘ant model’ has been used to characterise the expectation formation of financial investors who are prone to herding. Alfarano (2008), for instance, revisited the model and tested it in hierarchical core-periphery network settings. Alfarano also tested the impacts of different network structures on system-wide volatility. Nonetheless, it can be stated that, in practice, ants do not function within a well-structured network. The activities of social insects are often based on a self-organising process. The process is intrinsically dynamic and, through self-organising, these quite simple recruitment models lead to the evolution of quite complex dynamics as a result of rather elemental individual behaviour.

Thus, the ants’ recruitment model has been utilised as a base for algorithm building and simulation, while the present paper focuses on the mechanism of the self-organising process based on social interaction. Self-organisation explains how a swarm can move from a disordered to an ordered state, exploiting only local interactions between its members, without any reference to the system as a whole. Their cooperative actions are based on interaction with the environment and an indirect communication mechanism, i.e. stigmergy introduced by Grasse (1959). There are two basic mechanisms of interaction self-organisation: positive and negative feedback (Serugendo et al., 2004). The behaviour of the system, i.e. the swarm, is described as the result of interactions between individual behaviours.

The lesson learnt from the self-organisation of animal swarms is the importance of communication, i.e. social interaction and feedback loops. This allows the swarm to quickly adapt to changes in its environment. The SME cannot manage the network like the alpha male or the queen bee, which controls the swarm and expects other network members to follow for given roles. There is therefore an opportunity for the SME to manage the network as a swarm of equals and communicate its visions on the common best in order to commit to the other network members. The SME cannot keep the lead by controlling the actions of others; on the contrary, it must count on communicating the common good gained through networking and thereby adopt the recruitment practices of social insects. Hence, recurrent communication through several different means is the key to a successful self-organising process in such swarms.

Research FrameworkBased on the above literature review, this paper is built on the assumption that means based on interaction and joint sense-making are appropriate activities for SME network ‘management’. The fundamental managerial issue in forming and renewing business networks is how to operate as a network, i.e. how SMEs can are able to ensure that all network actors do their best for the network and not only for themselves.? Thus, a network of firms should work as an operational system. Based on the literature review and lessons learnt from animal swarms, the SME network management process can be divided into two main phases: i) visioning and network mapping to find the right actors and define their


117

roles and ii) communication and commitment to coordinate for a shared purpose and the engagement of network members. The research framework (Figure 1) presents the key managerial questions within the two phases and links the approach to the dynamic process of self-organising within the ant swarms.

Figure (1) Preliminary Research Framework

Shared purposes are formed through communication (interaction, collective sense-making, negotiating) in a business network. In the visioning and network mapping phase, the practical managerial questions are ‘What is our present position?’, ‘Where do we want to go in the future?’ and ‘Who will help us to go there?’. Accordingly, in the communication and commitment phase, i.e. the engagement, the network managers are asking: ‘What do we have to do to get there?’, ‘Why would the others collaborate with us?’ and, finally, ‘How do we evaluate the fitness of our network?’. Following such an approach to exploring the networking process, this study proposes that, for instance, network pictures and business models be utilised as practical managerial tools to communicate different perceptions of the common best and commit the other network members to the shared purpose.

Research MethodologyThe research methodology employed in this paper is a qualitative case study. The case study was chosen as a method because it is suitable for situations that include complex and multiple variables and processes (Yin, 2003). A longitudinal case study examined two SMEs and their networks operating in different business areas. With this kind of qualitative method it was important to capture the thinking and practices of the entrepreneurs and managers, and the case companies (Sparrow, 1999). The case study also enabled an investigation into real-life events by exploring a full variety of evidence: documents, artefacts, interviews and observations.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

118

The paper attempts to address the research question: “How can SMEs manage the business network?’, i.e. ensure that all network actors do their best for the network and not only for themselves. Through the lessons learnt from animal swarms, we aimed to investigate how SMEs are able to communicate on the common good, form a shared purpose and ensure the commitment of others in order to ensure operation as a network. The unit of analysis for the research was interaction within the business network and between its members. Within the business-to-business (B2B) sector, two SMEs were chosen for the case studies as both operated in the context of the manufacturing industry. Both case companies were looking for new innovative ways to collaborate with other companies, and their organisational structures were flexible, i.e. they were willing to pilot new operational models in their networked business operations. The names of the participating firms have been disguised to maintain anonymity, as requested by the managers.Case company 1 engages in industrial product development and manufacturing and provides product and technology development services and related business consulting. The company can also produce a variety of resources for its industrial sector, such as engineering, business, process and organisational development skills. Case company 1 focuses on medical, health and well-being as well as security-related products and equipment development. The main line of business of case company 2 is electrical and electronic product development, sales and marketing. Its customers operate mainly in the energy, ICT, transport equipment and process industries, and the company provides it with value-added, energy-efficient power supply products and services. Currently, both companies have fewer than ten persons.As is typical in case studies (Meredith, 1998), the case data were collected from multiple sources: thematic discussions, workshops and interviews with company representatives, i.e. managers of the network companies. The multiple data collection sources supported data triangulation to ascertain traceability of the research (Gibbert et al., 2008). Concurrently, a set of network members was engaged in a shared learning process with the researchers. This involved actively participating in a network member’s change situation whilst conducting research. It thereby enabled the truth value of research, e.g. building a match between the informants’ constructed ‘realities’ and the researchers’ perceptions of business network management (Da Mota Pedrosa et al., 2012). Following the principles of action research, the researchers and the actors in the case network wanted to solve an immediate problem of business network management together, and this reflective process of progressive problem-solving was led by individuals working with others in teams. Table 2 summarises the data sources, i.e. the interviews and the workshops between the case companies, its network members and the researchers. The key people involved from case company 1 were the CEO, and the sales, R&D and project managers, and from case company 2, the CEO, the sales manager and the system design manager. In case network 1, representatives of four key network partners were also interviewed, and in case network 2, from the customer’s side, five people from different positions were involved in the discussion at the development phase of the LCC tool.


119

Table (2) Summary of the Data Sources

Visioning and network mapping Communication and commitment

Case 1

Six workshops with case company representatives and four interviews with key partners

Six workshops with case company representatives

February 2012-January 2013 February 2013-August 2013

Case 2

Six workshops with company representatives

Two internal demonstration workshops and one customer workshop Four workshops with the case company and its customers

May 2011-April 2012 May 2013-June 2013

Case StudiesApplying the Framework and Managerial Tools to Case Network 1The goal of case company 1 is to offer seamless R&D services to different end customers from an idea to a product. Since the company is relatively small, practically all the product development projects are conducted within its business network. Its end customers’ R&D projects therefore require integration of knowledge within the network. Three key partners typically take part in the configuration of a customer-specific solution, and a broader supplier network is involved in prototyping and production. Nonetheless, all network members are considered equal parties (Figure 2). The commitment of all the network actors is important in order to configure a solution that comprehensively fulfils the end customer’s requirements. This is an especially challenging task as the case company delivers product development projects to different end customers in several industrial sectors. The solution is therefore always unique.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

120

Figure (2) Network Position of Case Company 1

Case company 1 started its network management tasks by defining the key players within its business network. This is in accordance with the research framework’s visioning and network mapping phase, in which the key questions are related to exploring, analysing and defining the network’s joint targets and meaning to its members. In this phase, discussions with the key partners were carried out in order to consider their expectations of the network’s targets and operation model. Furthermore, the description of the network members’ roles, e.g. partners, key suppliers and subcontractors, was formulated. Based on the role descriptions, the method was created to evaluate existing network members’ competences and willingness to commit. There were four key areas in the evaluation: business idea, strategic development, processes and economic performance. A networked operation model was described in order to clarify the work distribution in the network and ensure efficient cooperation in different R&D services in the communication and commitment phase of network management. Case company 1 realised the challenges of configuring a shared understanding of the end customer’s needs and requirements among the network members. Thus, the need for methods to describe, together, the concept of the network’ solution to both the end customer and other network actors was recognised. new tools for describing the functionalities of the product concept and analysing its dependability were implemented for this purpose.


121

Figure (3) Framework and Managerial Tools Applied in Case 1

Figure 3 represents the network management means utilised by case company 1 in order to find answers to the practical managerial questions identified in the research framework (Figure 1). In the first phase, the role descriptions and evaluation method were used as a means to communicate the network’s shared targets, while the networked operation model and description of the functionalities of the solution to be developed were used in the communication of how the network was going to reach these targets. In practice, the phases overlapped and, for instance, the networked operation model was configured before the evaluation method was created.

Applying Framework and Managerial Tools in Case Network 2Case company 2 is the solution provider producing B2B solutions for its customers, which typically have a project-led business model. In the upstream direction, large component and equipment suppliers as well as other network partners participate in assembly, manufacturing or R&D. Downstream, there are B2B customers (project companies) and end-users from several industrial sectors (Figure 4). The objective of case company 2 was to create sustainable solutions and guide the network members towards more sustainable decisions concerning their operations. The communication of these objectives and guiding the network towards sustainability are challenging since case company 2 is very small compared with the other network members, and the purchasing prices of sustainable solutions are typically higher than optional solutions. Thereby, the case study describes how the selected tools could support the communication within this process.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

122

Figure (4) Network Position of Case Company 2

At the visioning and network mapping phase, the search for new possibilities and the design of the sustainable solution started with the identification of the current business model and network members. This structured information about sustainable business models and their elements enabled the case company to identify its previous business model and new business opportunities and to set internal targets. Furthermore, the network mapping and the analyses of the interests of the network actors enabled the case company to identify the business potential of the sustainable solution.

At the communication and commitment phase, the main challenge of the case company’s new sustainable solutions was how to communicate the new value proposition within the vertical business network. As the network position of the case company (see Figure 4) was not determinative, the benefits of the sustainable solution over its life cycle should be clearly argued to the case company’s customers and even to their customer’s customer. For value proposition communication, it was decided that the Life Cycle Costing (LCC) tool should be configured in order to improve the case company’s capabilities to support its customers’ decision-making by evaluating different investment options. Case company 2 realised that in order to highlight sustainability thinking, it should involve new actors in the discussion. Instead of purchasing operations, the case company aims to have active discussions with the maintenance personnel of both its customers and end customers. Thereby, the case company should involve new actors in its business network, e.g. the challenge to effectively communicate for network recruitment was emerging.


123

Figure (5) Framework and Managerial Tools Applied in Case 2

Figure 5 represents the network management means utilised by case company 2 to find answers to the practical managerial questions identified in the research framework (Figure 1). In the first phase, the business model elements and network mapping were used as a means to explore and identify the network’s potential shared targets, while the LCC tool was exploited to formulate the benefits together within the network, and it was thereby an important means to communicate the mutual benefits. In case company 2 the main focus was on how a small actor can influence the decisions of independent network actors.

Findings from the Case StudiesThrough the description of the case networks, this article has explored and illustrated business network management challenges from the viewpoint of SMEs. Practically, all development work must start with the analyses of the current situation; in the case of networked business operations that means identification of the network, its members and their roles. In both cases, the case companies aimed to create mutually beneficial business networks. An understanding of the interests of other network members was thereby a starting point for network re-structuring. The case results indicate that network mapping, i.e. understanding network positions, interdependences and interactions, forms a baseline for the selection of communication directions and tools supporting development within a business network. Since the case companies were SMEs, they were not in a position in which they could directly control the actions of other network members. Thus, from the viewpoint of case companies, network management was actualised as communication of opportunities and benefits gained through network operations. The two networks differed in several ways. Case 1 focused on the design of a network of cooperation and the creation of a joint operating model: how to cooperate as a network. In case 2, the business network was more traditional and the main focus was on the case

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

124

company’s internal development: how to operate in a network. The business network was wider in case 2 and thereby the relationships were also more loosely coupled than in case 1. Furthermore, the main networking directions were partially different in case 1, the networking activities focused mainly on the upstream dimension and in case 2 on cooperation with the end customers, i.e. the downstream dimension. Nonetheless, in both cases, the other relations within the network were also considered through the network mapping (see Figures 2 and 3). The above-mentioned differences in network targets and structures influenced the communication directions and tools utilised in network management. In case 1, the knowledge and competences of several network members were needed in order to offer R&D services to end customers. Due to the uniqueness of each solution, it was essential to create a common way of defining the requirements of the solutions to be developed. In case 2, the big challenge was to raise the discussion on the benefits of more sustainable operations at network level. The LCC tool helped the case company to demonstrate the total costs of ownerships to its customers as well as other network members. Thus, a profound understanding of networking targets is needed in order to choose the proper means for the different phases identified in the research framework (Figure 1).

Discussion and ConclusionsThe purpose of this paper was to explore how SMEs are able to be in an active role and influence network objectives and operations. With regard to their operation as a network, there were several similarities between the case networks in terms of what was done and what was successful. Our fundamental assumption in this paper was that the means based on interaction and joint sense-making are more appropriate activities for SME network ‘management’ than the managerial approaches summarised in Table 1. To some extent, the study reached similar results. Based on the lessons learnt from the self-organisation of animal swarms, our study highlights the importance of communication between the network members. This is in accordance with studies highlighting the social aspects such as trust and commitment to the network (Pesämaa and Hair, 2008; Roxenhall, 2011; Roxenhall and Andresen, 2012; Andresen et al., 2012). On the other hand, our study complements these studies, highlighting social aspects, with new managerial means that enable the swarm, i.e. the business network, to adapt more quickly to changes in its environment.As a key point, our research provides valuable insights into the SME network management process. It suggests that different managerial tools, such as network mapping, business models, partner evaluation and the LCC tool, can be utilised as communication means by SME companies. Similarly to approaches highlighting the network as a process (Ellis and Hopkinson, 2010; Halinen et al., 2012), the research framework linked these tools to the dynamic process of self-organising within the ant swarm. Furthermore, our results demonstrate, in line with Mattsson (2002), that “network pictures” are an important baseline and theories in use, for networking practices. The data discussed in this paper advance the current understanding of the way these “network pictures” and other tools could be utilised for communication and collective sense-making.These findings are particularly relevant to our research question and suggest that through such communication means, SMEs are also able to manage the business network. Hence, the study shows how recurrent communication through several different means is the


125

key to a successful self-organising process in such swarms. Nonetheless, research into network commitment and the networking process is still in its early stages, and we hope that this study will encourage further empirical research on applying new thinking to business networks and their management.

Implications for Managers and ResearchersThe findings of this research highlight the emerging practices of business network management from the viewpoint of SMEs and point to how lessons from animal swarms appear worthy also of further studies. SMEs are not in positions in which they could agree in advance on what to do, as suggested by contract-based governance and network management approaches. For practitioners, the research framework of our study indicates the key managerial questions within networking. SMEs must find new ways, especially to communicate what would be important and mutually beneficial, and therefore try, through social interaction, to influence the joint conclusion and the mind-set of the involved actors. On the other hand, small players are often flexible and agile in their decision-making and may – if necessary – adapt to the changes and re-organise the swarm quickly.

Limitations and Needs for Future ResearchAs with any exploratory empirical study, this one also has some limitations. The framework was only tested for two case networks in the Finnish context, and the understanding of its generalisation is thereby limited. Although the case data were collected from several sources, it can be stated that the picture we present is subjective. It would be difficult to generalise the findings of this research. Furthermore, although both case studies lasted over one calendar year, the research did not cover the follow-up of the long-term business impacts. The last element of the research framework, evaluation of the fitness of the swarm, was therefore not included in this research. Nonetheless, the findings of this research highlight the emerging networking practices from the viewpoint of SMEs and point to several research issues that appear worthy of further studies.

AcknowledgementsThe authors would like to thank all the participating experts at the case companies for sharing their practices with the study. The work was supported by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) as part of the Parvi3 (SWARM) project.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

126

References Alfarano, S., Milakovi’c, M., and Raddant, M. (2008) Network Hierarchy in Kirman’s Ant Model: Fund Investments Can Create Risks, Department of Economics, University of Kiel. [Accessed: http://www.bwl.uni-kiel.de/vwlinstitute/gwif/files/papers/ncore.pdf]

Andrésen, E., Lundberg, H., and Roxenhall, T. (2012) Designing for Commitment in Regional Strategic Networks,” Management Research Review, 35 (6): 531-552.

Blum, C. and Merkle, D. (2008) (eds.), Swarm Intelligence – Introduction and Applications, Springer.

Brito, C. and Roseira, C. (2005) A Model for Understanding Supply Chain Networks, Journal on Chain and Network Science, 5 (2): 55-63.

Bonabeau, E., and Meyer, C. (2001) Swarm Intelligence: A Whole New Way to Think about Business, Harvard Business Review (May), pp. 107-114.

Da Mota Pedrosa, A., Näslund, D., and Jasmand, C. (2012) Logistics Case Study Based Research: Towards Higher Quality, International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 42 (3): 275-295.

Ellis, N., and Hopkinson, G. (2010) The Construction of Managerial Knowledge in Business Networks: Managers’ Theories about Communication, Industrial Marketing Management, 39 (3): 413-424.

Ford, D. Gadde, L.-E. Hakansson, H., and Snehota, I. (2003) Managing Business Relationships, Wiley & Sons, Chichester. (2nd ed.).

Ford, D. (2002) The Business Marketing Course, John Wiley, Chichester.

Gibbert, M., Ruigrok, W., and Wicki, B. (2008) What Passes as a Rigorous Case Study? Strategic Management Journal, 29 (13): 1465-1474.

Halinen, A., and Törnroos, J.-Å. (2005) Using Case Methods in the Study of Contemporary Business Networks. Journal of Business Research, 58: 1285-1297.

Halinen, A., Medlin, C. , and Törnroos, J.-Å. (2012) Time and Process in Business Network Research,” Industrial Marketing Management, 41 (2): 215-22.

Henneberg, S. C., Naudé, P., and Mouzas, S. (2010) Sense-Making and Management in Business Networks — Some Observations, Considerations, and a Research Agenda, Industrial Marketing Management, 39 (3): 355-360.

Håkansson, H., and Ford, D. (2002) How Should Companies Interact in Business Networks, Journal of Business Research, 55: 133-139.

Håkansson, H., and Johanson, J. (1993) Network as a Governance Structure. In Grabher, G., The Embedded Firm. The Socio-Economics of Industrial Networks. London, Routledge.

Håkansson, H., and Snehota, I. (1989) No Business Is an Island: The Network Concept of Business Strategy. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 5 (3): 187-200.

Kirman, A. (1993) Ants, Rationality, and Recruitment, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 108 (1): 137-156.


127

Koening, G. (2012) Business Ecosystems Revisited, Management (France), 15 (2): 208-224.Krause, J. Ruxton, G., and Krause, S. (2010) Swarm Intelligence in Animals and Humans, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25 (1): 28-34.Mattsson, L. (2002) Dynamics of Markets: How ‘Actor-Network Theory’ and ‘Markets-as-Networks’ Can Learn from Each Other, in Nordic Workshop on Inter-organizational Studies, Kolding, August.Meredith, J. (1998) Building Operation Management Theory through Case and Field Research, Journal of Operations Management, 16 (4): 5441-454.Mohr, J. J., Fisher, R. J., and Nevin, J. (1996) Collaborative Communication in Interfirm Relationships, Journal of Marketing, 60 (3): 103-115.Morgan, R. M., and Hunt, S. (1994) The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing, Journal of Marketing, 58 (3): 20-38.Möller, K., Rajala, A. and Svahn, S. (2005) Strategic Business Nets – Their Type and Management, Journal of Business Research, 58 (9): 1274-1284.Möller, K., and Svahn, S. (2003) Managing Strategic Nets. A Capability Perspective, Marketing Theory, 3 (2): 201-226.Olkkonen, R., Tikkanen, H., and Alajoutsijärvi, K. (2000) The Role of Communication in Business Relationships and Networks, Management Decision, 38 (6): 403-409.Ojasalo, J. (2004) Key Network Management, Industrial Marketing Management, 33 (3): 195-205.Parry, S. Kupiec-Teahan, B., and, Rowley, J. (2012) Exploring Marketing and Relationships in Software SMEs: A Mixed Methods Approach, Management Research Review, 35 (1): 52-68.Pesämaa, O., and Hair, J. (2008) Cooperative Strategies for Improving the Tourism Industry in Remote Geographic Regions: An Addition to Trust and Commitment Theory with One Key Mediating Construct, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 8 (1): 48-61.Rigby, C., Day, M., Forrester, P., and Burnett, J. (2000) Agile Supply: Rethinking Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, International Journal of Agile Management Systems, 2 (3): 178-186.Ritala, P., Agouridas, V., Assimakopuoluos, D., and Gies, O. (2013) Value Creation and Capture Mechanisms in Innovation Ecosystems: A Comparative Case Study, International Journal of Technology Management, 63 (3/4): 244-267.Ritter, T., Wilkinson, I. and Johnston, W. (2004) Managing in Complex Business Networks, Industrial Marketing Management, 33 (3): 175-183.Roxenhall, T. (2011) Network Structure and Network Commitment in Innovation Networks, World Journal of Management, 3 (1): 60-74.Roxenhall, T., and Andrésen, E. (2012) Affective, Calculative and Normative Commitment: An Assessment of Relationship, World Review of Business Research, 2 (5): 86-96.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 111-128 (2014)

128

Sharma, N., Young, L., and Wilkinson, I. (2006) The Commitment Mix: Dimensions of Commitment in International Trading Relationships in India, Journal of International Marketing, 14 (3): 64-91.Serugendo, G. Di Marzo, Foukia, N., Hassas, S., Karageorgos, A., Kouadri Most’efaoui, S., Rana, O. F., Ulieru, M., Valckenaers, P. and Van Aart, C. (2004) Self-Organisation: Paradigms and Applications. In Segurendo, (eds.). Engineering Self-Organising Systems: Nature-Inspired Approaches to Software. Springer.Sparrow, P. (1999) Strategy and Cognition: Understanding the Role of Management Knowledge Structures, Organizational Memory and Information Overload, Creativity and Innovation Management, 8 (2): 140-148.Valkokari, K., Valkokari, P., Rantala, T., Palomäki, K., Kunttu, S., and Reunanen, M. (2013) How to Co-create Sustainable Solutions within Manufacturing Networks. In Proceedings of The XXIV ISPIM Conference – Innovating in Global Markets: Challenges for Sustainable Growth, 16-19 June 2013, Helsinki, Finland. Valkokari, K. (2009) Yhteisten Tavoitteiden ja Jaetun Näkemyksen Muodostuminen Kolmessa Erityyppisessä Verkostossa, VTT Publications 715. Doctoral Dissertation. (In Finnish), Helsinki, Finland.Varamäki, E., and Vesalainen, J. (2003) Modelling Different Types of Multilateral Co-operation between SMEs, Entrepreneurship & Regional Development: An International Journal, 15 (1): 27-48. Wallin, J. (2012) Enhancing Competences in Business Ecosystems, Research in Competence-Based Management, 6: 83-116.Yin, R. (2003) Case Study Research, Third Edition Sage Publications.


131

Bahrain Governance Framework: Towards Efficient Use of ITHarikrishnan Sugumaran 1, Zakareya Ahmed Al-Khaja2

1 IT Governance Architect, eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain2 Vice CEO, eGovernment Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain

Received May. 2014,Revised June. 2014, Accepted July. 2014, Published Sep. 2014

Abstract: The objective is to improve the alignment between information technology (IT) and business by enhancing the ability of the organization to better control IT-related changes in a manner that supports the overall business strategy. Building on the believe that there exists a positive correlation between the desired level of e-government capability and maturity and the required level of architectural maturity, the eGovernment Authority (eGA) embarked Bahrain enterprise architecture (EA) governance framework associate with national enterprise architecture program. To do this, the organization is required to map its current and future EA states of the organization in relation to the business and IT perspectives and consequently prepare a transition plan that closes the gap between the two states - in other words, a blueprint for the organization’s IT.

Bahrain enterprise architecture governance is the set of mechanisms through which architecture is enacted in the enterprise. Governance is essentially about ensuring that business is conducted properly. It is less about control and strict adherence to rules, and more about guidance and effective and equitable usage of resources to ensure sustainability of an organization’s strategic objectives. The governance structure is a federated architecture governance model and it provides advantages in cost, schedule, autonomy, scalability and robustness. The enterprise architecture governance structure maintains a good balance between enterprise-wide standards, reference architecture and frameworks, and localized business-area driven innovation. Bahrain national enterprise architecture team has primary responsibility for reference architecture, standards and frameworks that are common across the Kingdom of Bahrain, which minimizes the duplication efforts and investment.

Enterprise architecture governance ensures the principles of enterprise architecture are well applied to both systemarchitecture and design of the underlying informationsystems. It also ensures organizations meet businessand IT objectives and standards. Architecture governance enables effective alignment of businessand information technology, manages risk byreducing probability of failures in transformation projects and incorporates elements of cost effectiveness and value.

Keywords: Bahrain Governance Framework; Bahrain IT efficiency; Bahrain towards Efficient Use of IT; Bahrain Enterprise Architecture; Bahrain National Enterprise Architecture Framework.

E-mail: [email protected] 1, [email protected] 2

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

132

Introduction The enterprise architecture group is responsible for overall architecture planning and oversight, including reviewing technology plans, establishing standards and guidelines, providing directional input into the enterprise-wide technology plan, and reviewing technology acquisitions. Through the enterprise architecture process, business leadership will guide the future direction of information technology. The success of this highly collaborative process will depend on the strength of its governance structure and the commitment of the participants to its goals and guiding principles.

The purpose of an enterprise architecture organization is to develop and enable adoption of design, review, execution and governance capabilities around EA. The capabilities for successful execution of an EA initiative comprises of number of key elements, including:

Bahrain National Enterprise Architecture Framework: A set of standards, procedures and operating protocols that guide and direct the decisions around the adoption, reuse, reporting, and retirement of information technology. These include guiding principles, methods, procedures, metrics, best practices and reference models.

Enterprise Architecture Governance: A cross-organizational, multi-disciplinary EA review committee with the backing of IT executive management to oversee the implementation of the technology governance strategy and framework definition.

Enterprise architecture governance is one of critical constituent of Bahrain National Enterprise Architecture Framework.

Bahrain Enterprise ArchitectureBahrain Enterprise Architecture is an aggregation of models and meta-models, governance and compliance mechanism and technology standards and guidelines put together to guide effective development and implementation of Enterprise Architecture by different government bodies across Kingdom of Bahrain.

The eGovernment Authority initiated a National enterprise architecture strategy program in the early January’ 2009 to ensure the alignment of business and IT towards the Vision 2030 of Kingdom of Bahrain. It was designed to transform the provision of government services to every member of Bahraini citizens, expatriates, businesses, public sector employees and visitors. A key aspect of the program was to work as partners with identified thirty (30) government organizations in kingdom of Bahrain, to study their current state of the business - IT alignment and redundancy in architecture implemented across the ministries through a customized The Open Group Architecture Framework (The open Group a, 2009) (ToGAF) concept (Aurenmalik, 2010.).To do this, as exhibitedin Figure 1, the government organizationsare required to map its current and future EA states of the organizationin relation to the business and IT perspectives and consequently prepare a transitionplan that closes the gap between the two states - in other words, a blueprint for the organization’s IT.

H. Sugumaran, Z. A. Al-Khaja: Bahrain Governance Framework ...

133

Figure (1) Bahrain Enterprise Architecture

EA could serve different objectives; to lower the cost of IT, fix its effectiveness, fix its strategic value, use IT to generate new strategic value or in many cases to transform the business with IT. For instance EA could help with coping legacy complexity and cost, reintegrating the supply chain, integrating public services, enhancing channel capabilities or even delivering a better customer services.EA helps to Align business and IT objectives and resources, Speed up decision-making - Principles, models, standards, and processes, Reduce integration problems - Compliance with architecture, Reduce costs - Retiring duplicative or outdated assets.Improve communication, prioritization, and governance of initiatives.Speed time-to-market - Have the technology ready before it is needed.Provide a foundation for skills development; Follow an established roadmap for infrastructure development.Improve the effectiveness and efficiency in using Information technology.Institute and communicate vision, charter and strategic directions for EA based on vision 2030, Improve IT project management process. Ensure alignment of IT projects to main strategic objectives of vision 2030, eGovernment strategy and individual Government entity business objectives.

Enterprise Architecture DomainEnterprise Architecture defines the business, the information necessary to operate that business, the technology necessary to support the business operations, and the transitional process necessary for implementing new technologies in response to the changingneeds of the business. As illustrated in Figure 2, EA is simply defining the four layers of Business, Information, Application and Infrastructures.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

134

These layers are usually called domains and can be described as follows:Business Domain: represents the functions and processes that support the business, the organizations that perform the business process and the locations where the business is performed, and the factors that could cause the business to changeInformation domain: identifies the major types of information needed to support the business functions. It identifies and defines the information model, data sets, metadata repositories, and their relationship to the business functions and to application systems.Application domain: Identifies and describes application and modules, as well as their relationship to business processes and other applications systems and modules. The application architecture identifies the major applications needed to support the crosscutting business processes of the enterprise.Infrastructure domain: identifies the major technologies, or platforms, necessary to support the enterprise’s applications and data systems, and associates those platforms with various applications in the architecture.In every EA project, the above a current domains (As-is architecture) are first defined to measure their EA maturity of the organization. Then and based on a comprehensive study of the organizations,the target architecture (To-Be) would be developed. The journey of moving the organization’s current to target architecture with sets of action plans is called the transitional plan.In order to complete the circle such transition plan would be possible without a management and governance process. These processes provide policy guidance, advice and assistance in the definition, design and implementation of the enterprise architecture disciple and practice throughout the entity, an understanding of the process for making co-operative and collaborative IT investment decisions and designate who within entity is responsible for making these decisions.

Figure (2) Enterprise Architecture Domains


135

Finally and order to complete the circle such transitional plan would be possible without a management and a governance process. These processes provide policy guidance, advice and assistance in the definition, design and implementation of the enterprise architecture discipline and practice through the company, an understanding of the process for making co-operative and collaborative IT investment decisions and designate who within Flabella is responsible for making these decisions.

EA Governance ObjectivesEA Governance enables to focus on achieving desirable levels of IT quality and performance, while making sure that appropriate infrastructure support is in place to deliver the right business solutions. Primary objectives (Hazra, T. 2014) of EA governance include the following:EffectiveValue Creation and Delivery: Managing, controlling, and monitoring activities that impact or involve the EA team and organization—and subsequently building trust among the business and IT organizations (which ultimately improves the effectiveness of governance in creating and delivering business value).Facilitation: Establishing and promoting standards, best practices, and guidelines for technology adoption and support across organizations in order to advance business and IT strategies; and preparing the process for change management to adopt new technologies.Risk Management:Identifying and managing risks associated with the set strategies and objectives, as well as continuously monitoring the risk levels across projects to ensure visibility into critical situations and enable practitioners to make informed decisions.Compliance: Linking individual projects and initiatives to national, enterprise strategies and objectives, as well as measuring, monitoring, and managing the progress of IT projects in delivering the business goals while following EA guidelines and principles.Enforcement: Defining and enforcing ways to use architecture patterns and information during the entire lifecycle of national application development, integration, and deployment.

Bahrain Governance FrameworkBahrain Governance framework is the set of mechanism through which architecture is enacted in the Kingdom of Bahrain (Aziz et al. 2005). It consist of more than process only-It is an integrated set of dimensions providing the mechanism for defining, implementing, managing and measuring the effectiveness of the Bahrain Enterprise Architecture disciplines. Bahrain Governance taps into Bahrain’s technology and business process to provide the direction and control. Ensure that the expected value of its investment in IT is realized. It is also responsible for taking up external influences-global business drivers, industry trends, and the Bahrain National strategy, but also technology trends and opportunities - and identifies how the Bahrain enterprise architecture needs to adopt in order to accommodate them. To close the gaps between current state and future needs, alignment projects /initiative s are scoped and handed over to the respective program management office for implementation.We believe as depicted blow Figure 3, Bahrain governance framework which consists of seven dimensions of enterprise architecture governance to be critical constituents of

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

136

a successful enterprise architecture effort, this paper mainly explains the dimensions of leadership, organization and investment. Due to most of government organization are in early stage to adopt and comply with the enterprise architecture governance matured process, hence eGovernment authority recently initiated an enterprise architecture maturity program, after successful completion of this program the other dimensions will be explained in detail.

Figure (3) Bahrain Governance Framework

LeadershipThe leadership dimension is defined by the vision, the mandate and the sponsorship of the Bahrain national enterprise architecture program and it has been endorsed by Supreme Committee of Information Communication Technology (SCICT) of Kingdom of Bahrain.

Figure (4) Governance Committee Leadership Structure(ICT Governance Committee of Bahrain)


137

This governance committee formerly being called as Information Communication Technology (ICT) Governance committee and it is established in year 2011,as illustrated in the Figure 4, to oversee and act as an advisory board in respect to Information Communication Technology related activities.It consist of the key members from different government entities like eGovernment Authority (eGA), Central Informatics Organization (CIO), Ministry of Education (MOE), Deputy Prime Minister Office (DPMO), Economic Development Board (EDB), Ministry Of Industry and Commerce (MOIC), Ministry of Finance (MOF) those member are under secretariat and above cater level in the government of Bahrain and also an academic advisor from University of Bahrain (UOB). In respect to the governance drive in the Kingdom each members of committee has individual role to play according their Line of Business (LOB). The key responsibilities of the governance committee are as follows:

• Establish and communicate vision, charter and strategic directions for Enterprise Architecture based on Vision 2030

• Direct, oversee and support the vision, direction, and adoption/implementation of Enterprise Architecture based on Vision 2030

• Evangelizes Enterprise Architecture and obtains buy-in from Senior Business Leadership

• Decide and guide on adoption of technology advances • Review , Approve annual prioritized planned initiatives, projects

OrganizationThe organization of enterprise architecture defines roles and responsibilities of individual and internal organizations involved in executing the architecture definition, implementation and governance processes. Enterprise Architecture responsibilities cover a broad range of business, technical and managerial activities like

• Understanding business strategies • Envisioning, leading and guiding the development of the enterprise architecture• Technology incubation, product evaluation and recommendation• Management of Exceptions

This requires a sizeable number of skills, represented by individuals and organizational units. An established practice is to structure the architecture teaminto

• a core national enterprise architecture team as exhibited in Figure 5, responsible for architecture creation and governance

• an extended Enterprise Architecture team from the line of business, bringing in specific needs and evangelizing the architecture in the development groups.

• Vendor partners.

When structuring the enterprise architecture group, experience suggests considering the following practices like:

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

138

Figure (5) Bahrain Enterprise Architecture Structure

• Enterprise architecture team members require suitable business and behavioral skills in addition to technical competencies.

• Regular involvement of extended architecture teams out of LOBs brings in bottom-up feedback on architecture standards, guidelines and process and prevent “unrealistic” syndrome.

• Vendor partners can be used for executing select architecture process. These include architecture content definition, architecture reviews and architecture documentation. Architecture maturity assessments can drive improvement of governance.

One of the prime responsibilities of practice is toanalyze the current state of government and provide direction for the future state i.e. technical blue print. In the year 2009 -2010 EA program had come up with detailed blue print and report. The below Figure 6, exhibits holistic view of deliverables; To give an input, there are 65 initiatives are been identified to achieve the target model defined by architecture governance in that 30 initiatives are enhancement oriented; 20 initiatives are continual development , 15 initiatives are new to streamline the target model.

Figure (6) Enterprise Architecture Key Outcomes

Other than that there are key national level initiatives which keenly emphasis the shared service mechanism which are basically National Gateway Infrastructure (NGI), National


139

Data Set (NDS), Mobile Portal, National Payment Aggregator (NPA), National Authentication framework (single sign-on or e-Key), Unification of Human Resource Management System (HRMS) and Central Financial System (CFS) formerly known as Financial Management Information System (FMIS), National Enterprise Architecture Maturity Program, National Technical and Standards Guidelines, National Financial framework.National Data Center, National Document Management System and Bahrain License Integrated System (BLIS).

InvestmentThe investment dimension defines investment and funding model that drive the adoption and proliferation of architecture principle (The Open Group b, 2009)and design practices. Since the functioning governance committee has not own any fund directly from the government. The Governance committee ensures that each government entities allocated fund is being utilized to optimize investment on appropriate IT initiatives. Hence governance councilproposed during early year 2010 a mechanism as portrayed below Figure 7. This process underwent multiple approval cycle to supreme leadership in the government and currently visualized as detailed in the below section scenario of value realization:-IT Investment Framework.

Figure (7) IT Fund Approval and Allocation Mechanism

However the governance committee needs separate investment for its activities, but in real scenario is it is very tedious to get those fund , however eGovernment authority manage to act and evolving till which includes:

• Definition and evolution of the enterprise architecture disciplines• Compliance: Conducting reviews, standards exceptions tracking and management• National wide strategic IT initiative, Shared Service Initiatives • Incubation projects: Tracking and piloting the use of new technologies, architecture

concepts• Subsidizing the development of reusable components (both business and technical)

Scenario of Value RealizationIt’s a journey to realize value through Bahrain Governance associated with national enterprise architecture, this paper primarily emphasis the area towards efficient use information technology.To highlight few key facts and scenario of value realization before the non-governance functioning and after having governance in place the government has realized the value through emphasizing and utilizing the federal information technology management (Kundra, 2014), reference models, guidelines and frameworks like The Open Group Architecture Framework, an industry standards architecture framework, Control

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

140

Objectives for Information and related Technology (IT Governance Institute, 2005) (COBIT)

(IT Governance Institute. 2012) was adopted to develop the Bahrain enterprise architecture governance framework. It was designed to be an extensible and scalable framework, one that would be able to adapt to the changing environments and needs of the Kingdom.

Architecture FrameworkThere was no appropriate framework in place which defines guidelines, standards, reference models, and governance (The National Computing Centre,2014.) which streamlines eGovernment strategy and vision 2030, the value realized by forming and executing an initiative called Bahrain Enterprise architecture. The below Figure 8 exhibits before year 2009 fact and findings and currently the government has a functioning Bahrain enterprise architecture group.

The Architecture Framework is an aggregation of models and meta-models, governance and compliance mechanisms and technology standards and guidelines put together to guide effective development and implementation of enterprise architecture by different government bodies across Kingdom of Bahrain.

Figure (8) Architecture Framework Value Realization

Blue Print of ITYear 2009 before Kingdom does not of a consistent framework in place which reflects business IT alignment and isolated IT blueprints by ministries none reflection of vision 2030. Due to this there is sub optimal utilization of national infrastructure as such as National Gateway Infrastructure (NGI), National Portal, National contact center and National payment gateway.

The value has been realized by forming and executing an initiative called National Bahrain Enterprise architecture based on service delivery framework. The below Figure9, exhibits before year 2009 fact and findings and currently the government has a national level Service delivery based IT Blue Print.


141

Figure (9) Blue Print of IT

Standards and Best PracticeThere were few impact scenarios before year 2009 like unmanaged IT landscape leading to escalated support costs, prolonged procurement cycles leading to increased effort, cost, and schedule non utilization of best practices results in lowered Return on Investments (RoI). The National Enterprise Architecture framework initiative program has conducted around a survey on twenty six ministries…

ßStudy of systems portfolio across various ministries indicates that there are no common standards defined / followed in the areas of implementation technologies, development frameworks and tools, server products, data management tools, reporting tool, server hardware, etc.

ßBest practices are not documented and not shared across enterprise.

Figure (10) Standards and Best Practise

The Figure 10depicts, before year 2009 fact and findings and the value realized, now the government has a national technical standards and guidelines across ten (10) different domains across sixty five (65) technology areas.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

142

IntegrationDuring year 2009 and before , In government the Information sharing across ministries became difficult, it led delayed and poor quality of services delivered to the citizen. Ad-hoc integration led to increased investment in deployment and maintenance costs. Lack of agility in service delivery increases service rollout time.As stated in the Figure 11, governments were not having centralized integration architecture in place; most of them were point to point integration to achieve individual ministries business needs not visualized integrated solution.

Figure (11) Integration Architecture

After formalizing the governance council and the framework made ensuring the integrated service delivery architecture which includes key national initiatives like national enterprise bus formerly called National Gateway Infrastructure, National Payment aggregator/gateway, one time authentication or single sing on for government services to business and citizen through multiple channel as like a one stop shop concept.IT Investment FrameworkNational enterprise architecture group, has identified there were non-availability of centralized IT investment framework in place, to highlight few implication issues are

ßUnable to cognize government wide IT spending or spending patterns across entities

ßIT expenditure details were not available for all the entities according to the information hierarchical.

ßDetails provided on IT expenditure were incomplete across project budget, project expenses and recurrent expenses.

ßUnable to baseline investments due to lack of IT investment visibility.Bahrain Governance council has proposed and formalized an appropriate IT Investment approval process and framework to mitigate those issues, as stated in the Figure 12.


143

Figure (12) National IT Investment Framework

Snapshot of IT Investment National enterprise architecture group realized that there were

• lack of centralized and collated IT investment plan to analyze• Ad-hoc prioritization mechanism at national level IT initiatives • None available of national level IT investment snapshot /dashboard and • Ad-hoc IT plans approval mechanism.

To overcome and mitigate the issues we exercised an initiative to collect and analysis the IT Plan across government entities in the year (2011-2014). It enables as mentioned below areas in the government

• To ensure alignment of IT investment with eGovernment vision, strategy and objectives

• To avail a holistic national level view of IT investments and associated business benefits

• To identify redundancy / duplication in IT investment across entities• To Identify IT investment optimization / rationalization opportunity

o Common IT solution catering similar need across entitieso Increased use of IT investment towards functional capability developmento Enable easier integration and interoperability across government ICT

environment• Identify new National initiatives based on common requirements across entities• Provide high level guidance on IT budgetary requirement.

Based on the National IT plan year 2012-2014 exercise by enterprise architecture governance council collected and analyzed around one hundred and ninety eight (198) initiatives and projects across thirty two (32) government entities in Bahrain, it prioritized high, medium, low projects in the government and highlighted to supreme committee that there is apotential tens of millions USD (United States Dollar)cost avoidance on IT

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

144

investment and also it has provided significant opportunities for National Shared Service concept which can improve overall IT performance. To emphasis and highlight few areas:

ÿMultiple entities have requested similar initiatives which can be better implemented through national level shared service.

ÿMultiple entities proposed huge investment for setting up entity level Infrastructure• Opportunity for Infrastructure As a Service (IaaS) at national level

ÿNational Level Policies and Programs for Infrastructure Optimization:• Opportunity for centralized licensing policy across all entities• Master service agreement (MSA) with infrastructure and product vendors for

better cost advantage

Competency / Skill Development Developing government capabilities is critical for efficient planning and management of IT portfolio across entities while cross-government communication is the key to enable a positive change culture towards efficient IT environment across government. As exhibited in the Figure 13, governance council managed to develop capabilities in few key area like enterprise architecture skill through The Open Group Architecture Framework (ToGAF), Strategic Planning Skills, IT Strategy (InfoTech Research Group, 2014) Development, Benefit Quantification, Cost and Return on Investment (ROI) computation.

Figure (13) Competency Framework

Lesson LearnedDuring theenterprise architecture governance journey there was lot of opportunity to learn and correct many areas in the government. To highlight few key challenges over here are

• Government entities leadership, senior management felt that they would lose credibility on their own line of business; hence it was very challenging period to negotiate and get acceptance of enterprise architecture governance process and mechanism.


145

• Huge effort and time took place to avail government entities leadership direction and guidance to accomplish strategy and IT alignment through the enterprise architecture governance framework.

• Mid-level management involvement and collaboration across government entities were key challenge.

• Continuous awareness and regular coordination are the key area where continual improvement needed to promote and align with enterprise architecture and governance framework

• To trade the model of optimal, efficient utilization of information technology in shared service concept were tiresome across government entities

• Competency to execute the centralized and shared service program across government entities are really challenging factor in the ministries.

ConclusionBahrain governance framework is a critical enabler of enterprise architecture. Better business and information technology alignment, efficient utilization of resources, Effectiveness cannot be achieved without having a proper level of maturity in all identified dimensions. It is indispensable to understand the integral dependencies-dimension embedding Enterprise Architecture into the ministry’s leadership buy in executives supports, organization, investment have to be addressed before moving far on operational dimensions-the policies and principles, process, metrics and tools.Without tight integration into business units and without businessarchitecture being addressed explicitly together with business units, enterprise architecture governance will not work. Government entities top management attentionto strategy (business strategy, information technology strategy), and business architecture may be a good starting point toestablishbusiness and enterprise architecture efforts. But in the long run, formal processes, structures, and metrics are required tomanage enterprise architecture consistently even without permanent top managementattention.To conclude, Bahrain enterprise architecture and governance is long term, continuous effort and is an “living” entity with many parts, it is a model of organization’s enterprise and its future direction,enterprise architecture value to business operation should be more than simply information technology investment decision management, it is a main tool to reduce the response time for impact assessment, tradeoff analysis, reduce time-to-market, strategic plan redirection and tactical reaction, enterprise architecture and governance is not the end but a continuous journey.

J. Ins. Econ Vol. 1, No. 1, 131-146 (2014)

146

References Aurenmalik (2010) Thoughts of an Architect Thoughts of an Architect, Core concepts of TOGAF. Architect’s journal, Random, last accessed date 5th July2014.Aziz, S., Obitz, T., Modi, R. and Sarkar, S. (2005) Enterprise Architecture: A Governance Framework – Part I: Embedding Architecture into the Organization. Technical report, Infosys Technologies Ltd., 2005.Last accessed date 5th July 2014.Hazra, T. (2014) Leveraging Metrics for Enterprise. Architecture and Governance, 6 (4): 13. Kundra,V. (2014) Implementing the President’s Management Agenda for Reform Federal IT, Last accessed date 5th July 2014. file:///C:/Users/Buhiji/Desktop/25-point-implementation-plan-to-reform-federal-it.pdfInfoTech Research Group. (2014) Strategy & Leadership, Strategy & Governance, Strategy and Alignment, IT Strategy. Last accessed date 5th July2014. http://www.infotech.com/research/ss/it-strategy. IT Governance Institute (2005) CobiT 4.0: Control Objectives, Management Guidelines, Maturity Models. IT Governance Institute. (2012) CobiT 5.0: Control Objectives, A Business Framework for the Governance and Management of Enterprise IT. The National Computing Centre.(2014) IT Governance Developing a successful governance strategy. A Best Practice Guide for decision makers in IT, Chapter 11, Page 60 – 61, Manchester, 2005. Last accessed date 5th July 2014.The Open Group b, (2009) ToGAF8.1.1, Architecture principles.

editor-in-chief editorial board - bpir.com › pdf › jie.pdfprize winning muhammad yunus...

Documents