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Geographic mobility and employment: An investigation of tied migration issues among employed military spouses
No full textThe Army is a geographically mobile workforce, which leads to tied migration for the trailing spouse Tied migration 1) negatively impacts the trailing spouse’s career and earning potential 2) leads to a mismatch of jobs and skills, and work schedules 3) which leads to increased work‐family role conflictGEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY AND EMPLOYMENT: AN
INVESTIGATION OF TIED MIGRATION ISSUES AMONG
EMPLOYED
MILITARY SPOUSES
Marcia M. Bouchard
Doctor of Management
Dissertation chairs:
Degree Awarded: Dr. Claudine SchWeber
December 30, 2009 Dr. Ann Herd
1
Contact Information
Marcia Bouchard
1315 Staff Row
Atlanta, GA 30310
[email protected]
706.726.9095
2
Background and Context of the Management Problem
The Army is a geographically mobile workforce, which
leads to tied migration for the trailing spouse
Tied migration
1) negatively impacts the trailing spouse’s career and
earning potential
2) leads to a mismatch of jobs and skills, and work schedules
3) which leads to increased work‐family role conflict
Prior studies suggest a relationship between
1) spouses being employed and their satisfaction with
Army life
2) high job satisfaction and the trailing spouse’s
support of the military career—impacting the Army’s
return on investment in human capital
3
Significance of the Problem
Tied migration was recognized by the government.
As required by law, the Army instituted the Army Spouse
Employment Partnership (ASEP) program
1) public/private partnership with Fortune 500 companies
2) goal to increase employment and training opportunities
3) job portability
4
Research Questions
General research question:
Is an employer initiative designed to mitigate the problems
associated with tied migration accomplishing what it intended
from the trailing spouse’s perspective?
Specific Research Question:
To what extent is tied migration of employed military spouses
related to job‐skills match and work‐family role conflict?
5
6
Key Literature that Influenced this Research
Concept: Tied Migration
Long ,1974; Mincer ,1978; Spitze, 1984; GAO, 2002
themes: economic loss, opportunity loss, impact on
spouse employment
Theory of Investment in Human Capital
Concept: Job‐Skills Match
Schultz ,1961; Becker, 1962, 1973, 1993; Booth,
2000; Harrell, 2000; Castaneda & Harrell, 2008
themes: underemployment, mis‐match of job and skills,
suitable employment
7
Key Literature continued…
Concepts: Work‐Family Role Conflict and Job Satisfaction
Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985; Orthner, 1990;
Booth et al., 2007, Kalleberg, 2008
themes: job satisfaction, consequences to family, employer, society
Concept: Support of a Military Career
Manning & DeRouin, 1981; Orthner, 1990;
Castaneda & Harrell, 2008
themes: employment, job satisfaction, satisfaction with
military lifestyle
Examples of other themes that emerged…
Military control: Cooney, 2003, Jervis, 2008
Attitudes vs. Circumstances: Houppert, 2005
Missing studies on initiatives: e.g. Murray, 1987, GAO 2002
8
Conceptual Model of Influential Factors
H4 (‐)
Tied
Migration
Job‐Skills
Match
Work‐Family
Role Conflict
Job Satisfaction
ASEP
Satisfaction
Support of
Military Career
H1 (‐)
H2 (+)
H6 (‐)
H3(-)
H7 (‐)
H5 (+)
H8 (+)
H9 (+)
9
Mixed method (quantitative and qualitative)
emphasis placed on quantitative data
descriptive analysis
correlation analysis
ANOVA
qualitative ‐ content analysis (3 open‐ended questions)
Survey
develop and tested web based questionnaire
convenience sample of 502 employed military spouses
42 Likert scale items
20 demographic items
3 open‐ended questions
Methodology
10
Findings/Results
Results of this study suggest that tied migration frequency was not
related to job‐skills match, work‐family role conflict, job satisfaction,
or support of a military career. This may be because the majority of
respondents were employed by major retail operations located on
military bases, suggesting that for these jobs, tied migration did not
appear to be an issue.
Unanticipated findings: Difficulties in identifying military spouses
employed by ASEP corporate partners suggest that the systems for
record‐keeping were not adequate for program evaluation. In
addition, the majority of military spouses in the sample population
did not (a) recognize the ASEP program, or (b) use it.
11
Theory of Investment in Human Capital
Private Firms (corporations)
Employers need to recoup their recruiting and training costs
Keeping trained employees lowers the need for new hires
Goal: employers are happy with military spouses
Employees have job‐skills match, and job satisfaction
Job‐skills match relate to lower work‐family role conflict
Concept of Tied Migration
For national firms, hiring military spouses makes sense
Internal controls are needed to identify mobile employees
and follow/manage their tied migration
Management Theory Implications
12
Implications for Management Practice
Military
All stakeholders need to be identified
Metrics are needed for end user outcomes
Users must be identified, tracked and their numbers accurately
reported
Until employer initiatives that deal with the negative outcomes
of tied migration are measured from the end‐user’s perspective, it
will not be possible to determine if attitudes or circumstances are
being improved. If the goal is to improve attitudes , the question
then becomes: is it the attitudes of military spouses or Army
leadership?
13
Future Research Potential
In order to better understand the outcomes of tied migration,
a longitudinal study is needed
Future research on geographic mobility and employment
should include detailed measures on what constitutes effective
supervision and job training.
Research on work‐family role conflict needs to be enhanced
by studying the move timeframe and the impact of the
unsettled period on the trailing spouse’s employment
Studies that identify career expectations of military spouses
and how these expectations relate to job satisfaction
How new programs are developed from the concept stage, to
setting metrics, to implementation and finally end‐user
outcome
Behavioral finance: Applications to decision making
No full textDr. Howard discussed the nature and background of behavioral finance, biases, heuristics, framing effects, findings from neuroscience, and debiasing.Behavioral Finance: Applications to Decision Making
A Session in UMUC’s Research Seminar Series
June 10, 2010
Jim HowardEmerging Management Theory?
2Agenda
1.
Nature/Background of Behavioral Finance
2.
Biases and Heuristics Framework (with examples & quizzes)
3.
Management/Investment Implications
4.
Framing Effects and its Implications
5.
Findings from Neuroscience – the Physiological Basis of Behavior
6.
Debiasing and Summary
3The Rational? Financial Decision Maker
“You are-face it-a bunch of emotions, prejudices, and twitches, and this is all very well as long as you know it. Successful speculators do not necessarily have a complete portrait of themselves, warts and all, in their own mind, but they do have the ability to stop abruptly when their intuition and what is happening Out There are suddenly out of kilter.
If you don’t know who you are, this is an expensive place to find out.”
Adam Smith, The Money Game as quoted in “Psychological Study of Human Judgment”, Journal of Finance, Paul Slovic (Sep 1972).
4Interdisciplinary Nature
Brings together three disciplines:
Economics/Finance – The rational person, who makes decisions according to expected utility theory in a world of efficient (informationally perfect) markets
Cognitive Psychology - The science that deals with mental processes and behavior (how people really act/make decisions)
Brain/Neuroscience - The study of the human nervous system, the brain, and the biological basis of consciousness, perception, behavior, memory, and learning.
5Background
Notion of “Rational Person”of Traditional Finance, Expected Utility (EU) and Efficient Markets (EM) Hypothesis [Positive Theory]
Vs
Notion of “Person of Prospect”(Theory) of Behavioral Finance
(Kahneman and Tversky, and Slovik) [Normative Theory]
6“Rational Person” (Under Expected Utility Theory)
The Rational construct assumes that individuals, both investors and managers, are “capable of understanding vastly complex puzzles and conduct endless instantaneous optimizations.”(Simon and Michaski1983)
People have rational preferences across possible outcomes or states of nature
People maximize utility and firms maximize profits
People make independent decisions based on all relevant information
Implications:
1.
Preferences are complete: People can assess and rank all alternatives
2.
Preferences are transitive: If A is preferred to B and B is preferred to C, then A is preferred to C
7Conventional Utility Function - Example
8“Person of Prospect” (Under Prospect Theory/Paradigm)
The Behavioral construct does not impose such a “Superman”requirement on people; and considers humans just humans with alltheir shortcomings.
Reference-Dependent: That is, a decision maker’s initial state of wealth (reference) enters the decision or valuation process; a no-no under EU; [under EU, all that matters is the effect of the decision on an investor’s final state of wealth and that choice obeys the condition of transitivity].
The main result of Prospect Theory is a Value Function, along with its unique Weight Functions which describes how people make decisions in reality and under conditions of risk and uncertainty.
9Value Function - Example
10Value Function – Example Risk Aversion versus Risk Seeking
Imagine that you face the following pair of concurrent decisions.
Decision (i): Choose between P1(1,000, or 740) and P4(.75*-0)
Most choose P1 over P2 (risk aversion) and P4 or P3 (risk seeking)
11Essential Elements of Prospect Theory/ Behavioral Finance
Biases-Excessive Optimism-Overconfidence-Confirmation-Illusion of Control-Hindsight-Conservatism
Heuristics-Representativeness-Availability-Anchoring-Affect
Framing Effects-Loss Aversion-Aversion to a Sure Loss
12Biases and Heuristics Framework- (As Counterpart to Traditional Finance’s Asset Pricing Framework)
Biasesare the predispositions to commit specific types of errors.
Think of heuristicsas information processing shortcuts(rules of thumb) that mainly result from one’s experiences in a field of work. Of course, such simplifying shortcuts are great-until we consider that heuristics, by nature, are imperfect; and consequently, will result in biases and errors.
Behavioralistsargue that both heuristics and biases are in fact systematicand can last for long periods of time and can affect the prices of investments for long periods of time.
13Biases
1.Excessive Optimism - Occurs when people overestimate how frequently they will experience favorable outcomes, and underestimate how frequently they will experience unfavorable outcomes.
Example 1: Once an investment is made, there is a tendency to imagine all the favorable scenarios where the investment will reap excellent returns and ignore, at least temporarily, the scenarios where there are losses. This develops into an over-optimistic expectation.
Example 2: In a study related by Kahneman, subjects displayed a systematic planning fallacy: they predicted that project tasks will be completed much sooner than they typically are. Project teams estimated an average completion time of two years for similar projects taking an average of seven years (Montier 2010).
14Biases…Cont
2. Overconfidence - Occurs when people make mistakes more frequently than they believe and view themselves as better than average.
Example 1: Men tend to be more overconfident than women. This manifests itself in many ways, including trading behavior. Barber and Odean (1999) analyzed the trading activities of people with discount brokerage accounts. They found that the more people traded, the worse they did, on average. And men traded more, and did worse than, women investors.
Example 2: The managers of cash-rich firms demonstrate excessive optimism and overconfidence in typically selecting negative net present value projects and mergers and acquisitions that destroy instead of creating value.
15A Short Quiz
90% Confidence Range
Low High
1.
Martin Luther King’s age at death
2.
Length of Nile River (miles)
3.
Number of countries in OPEC
4.
Number of books in Old Testament
5.
Diameter of the moon (miles)
6.
Weight of an empty Boeing 747 (lbs)
7.
Year of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth
8.
Gestation period of an Asian elephant (days)
9.
Air distance from London to Tokyo (miles)
10.
Deepest known point in the ocean (feet)
(Montier 2010)
16Quiz Answers
1.
Martin Luther King’s age at death 39 years
2.
Length of Nile River (miles) 4,187 miles
3.
Number of countries in Opec 13 countries
4.
Number of books in Old Testament 39 books
5.
Diameter of the moon (miles) 2,160 miles
6.
Weight of an empty Boeing 747 (lbs) 390,000 lbs
7.
Year of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth 1756
8.
Gestation period of an Asian elephant (days) 645 days
9.
Air distance from London to Tokyo (miles) 5,959 miles
10.
Deepest known point in the ocean 36,198 feet
If you are average, you are within the confidence limits 3-7 times
17Biases…Cont
3. Confirmation - Occurs when people attach too much importance to information that supports their views relative to information that runs counter to their views.
Example: In investing, the confirmation bias suggests that an investor would be more likely to look for information that supports his or her original idea about an investment rather than seek out information that contradicts it. As a result, this bias can often result in faulty decision making because one- sided information tends to skew an investor's frame of reference, leaving them with an incomplete picture of the situation.
18Biases…Cont
4. Illusion of Control - Occurs when people overestimate the extent to which they can control outcomes.
Example 1: When rolling dice in craps, it has been shown that people tend to throw harder for high numbers and softer for low numbers. Under some circumstances, experimental subjects have been induced to believe that they could affect the outcome of a purely random coin toss (Montier 2010).
Example 2: Investors tend to under-diversify when they have control of their own investment decisions; for example, investing too high a percentage in one’s own company’s stock (e.g., Enron).
19The illusion of Control – What to Watch For
The illusion of control is stronger when an activity (Peterson 2007) :
Appears at least partly random
Offers multiple choices
Involves competition against other people
Can be practiced over time
Requires effort, and
Feels familiar
A good description of investment choices
20Biases…Cont
5. Hindsight Bias - When subjects, after learning the eventual outcome, give a much higher estimate for the predictability of that outcome than subjects who predict the outcome without advance knowledge. Hindsight bias is sometimes called the I-knew-it-all-along effect (or, Monday morning quarterbacking).
Example: After the bursting of the tech bubble, there were many financial “experts” in the media claiming to know technology stocks were in a bubble and ready to crash. Likewise the subprime market meltdown of 2008 and the recent oil spill in the gulf.
21Biases…Cont
6. Conservatism - This bias shows an attachment to past analyses, practices, beliefs, and commitments even when they start to prove erroneous, counterproductive, even unsustainable.
Example 1: Once a position has been stated most people find it very hard to move away from that view even when they are presented with new data. When movement does occur it is only very slow which creates under-reaction to events (incrementalism).
Example 2: A number of “event” studies has shown that a common stock tends to underreact to important events (fundamental news) initially.
Example 3: Securities analysts are very slow in updating forecasts, in response to new information about stock fundamentals (forecasts tend to mirror what has already happened in moving from buy to hold or hold to sell recommendations)
22Heuristics
1.
Representativeness - When people try to determine the probability that a data set A was generated by a model B, or that an object A belongs to class B, they often use the representativeness heuristic. This means they evaluate the probability by the degree to which A reflects the essential characteristics of B.
Example: Linda, the bank teller example (Kahneman & Tversky 1974):
Linda is outspoken and very bright. Majored in philosophy and as a student very concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice. She also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations.
Question posed: is the probability that Linda is a bank teller greater or less than Linda being a bank teller and active in the feminist movement?
23Heuristics…Cont
2. Availability - When people rely on information that is readily available and intuitive relative to information that is less salient and more abstract.
Example 1: A Corporate CEO goes to a conference where the new buzz word is Corporate Performance Management and returns to their company directing major investments in software and consulting without systematically evaluating and planning.
Example 2: Investor watches a program about current and projected water shortages, then takes action to invest a major portion of funds in water companies when there is a strong likelihood that share prices already reflect very optimistic expectations.
24Availability Heuristic – Short Quiz
1. Which is riskier: nuclear reactors or sunlight?
2. Which animal is responsible for the greatest number of human deaths in the US – alligator, bear, deer, duck, shark, snake?
3. Match the causes of death (on the left) with the number of annual fatalities worldwide (on the right):
Wara. 310,000
Suicideb. 815,000
Homicidec. 520,000
(Zweig 2007)
25Heuristics…Cont
3. Anchoring – When people form an estimate by beginning with an initial number and adjusting to reflect new information or circumstances. However, they tend to make insufficient adjustments relative to that number, thereby leading to anchoring bias.
Example 1: In an experiment, Subjects are asked to estimate the percentage of African countries that are in the UN. Before giving the percentage, a wheel was spun with random numbers from 1-100. It was shown that the percentage selected was biased based upon the number that came up on the wheel. (Tversky and Kahneman 1974)
Example 2: Using this year’s budget as the baseline/start point of next year’s budget (giving some, but insufficient weight to changed conditions, situation).
26Heuristics…Cont
4. Affect – When people base their decisions primarily on intuition, instinct, and gut feeling.
Example 1: Affect/intuition plays a role in preference by many for the payback criterion, even with its disadvantage. Many “pet” projects approved based on intuition/affect (no cash flow forecasts & discounting), because they “feel right.” (Shefrin 2007)
Example 2: According to ordinary economic theory, return and risk should correlate positively - or to put it another way, people pay a premium price for safe investments, which lowers the return; stocks deliver higher returns than bonds, but have correspondingly greater risk. When judging familiar stocks, analysts' judgments of risks and returns were positively correlated, as conventionally predicted. But when judging unfamiliar stocks, analysts tended to judge the stocks as if they were generally good or generally bad - low risk and high returns, or high risk and low returns.
27Heuristics and Biases: Management/Investment Implications
Implications for Performance-Based Management Contracts. People/managers will prefer performance-based incentives schemes more often than standard theory predicts. This can be attributed to the overconfidence bias. Due to overconfidence, managers prefer riskier projects because they think they can beat the odds. Needless to say, this goes against the standard theory which predicts as output variance increases, principals should offer less output-sensitive contracts to agents; because under standard theory agents are assumed to dislike risk. According to Camererand Lovallo(1999) there is some evidence in support of this phenomenon.
28Heuristics and Biases: Management/Investment Implications
Implications for Stock SelectionsDue to Availability Bias. People easily recall the information that has recently arrived, especially in the media and corporate releases; and their memory is fresh with their broker’s/advisor’s recommendations. According to a study, stocks with very high level of press coverage underperformed in the subsequent two years.
Implications for Project Valuation and Project Planning-Due to excessive optimism and over confidence, projects estimates will be systematically upward biased, while estimated times to complete projects will tend to result in cost overruns and projects taking much longer than estimated. Managers and analysts will tend to resist updating their forecasts due to anchoring and aversion to a sure loss.
29Framing
Framing effects in decision situations arise when different imagery and descriptions of the same problem highlight different aspects of the outcomes. In other words, choices (decisions) more often than not depend on the manner in which alternatives are framed (described) and presented to us; a no-no proposition in expected utility theory.
Example 1: One group of people was told that ground beef was 75% lean. Another group was told the same batch was 25% fat. Everyone was asked to guess how good it would be. The group that heard about fat estimated the beef would be 31% lower in quality and taste 22% worse than the other group predicted. After both groups tasted burgers from the same batch of meat, the “fat” people liked the burgers less than the “lean” people did.
30Framing…Cont
Example 2: In a large number of experiments with doctors and patients, the choice of patients to undertake the procedure is significantly affected by whether the doctor explains the procedure in terms of chance of success or failure.
Example 3 (Mental Accounting): The mental account associated with the decision to accept a gamble includes money won or lost in that gamble and excludes other assets or the outcome of previous gambles. People adopt mental accounts because this mode of framing:
Simplifies evaluation and reduces cognitive strain
Reflects the intuition that consequences should be causally linked to acts
31Framing…Cont
Example 4 (Mental Accounting): Many people have a household budget for food, and a household budget for entertaining. At home, where the food budget is present, they will not eat lobster or shrimp because they are much more expensive than a fish casserole. But in a restaurant, they will order lobster and shrimp even though the cost is much higher than a simple fish dinner. If they instead ate lobster and shrimp at home, and the simple fish in a restaurant, they could save money. But because they are thinking separately about restaurant meals and food at home, they choose to limit their food at home (Ritter 2003).
32Framing…Cont
Example 5 (Aversion to a Sure Loss): Toyota’s hesitancy to take corrective action related to safety issues, even though they had solid evidence of deficiencies well before it hit the news. Similar situation with Merck’s delay in pulling Vioxx from the market.
Example 6 (Aversion to a Sure Loss): Aversion to a sure loss makes managers reluctant to terminate losing projects (or management initiatives), thereby committing the sunk cost fallacy.
33Framing--Implications
Implications for holding stocks/portfolios: Individual investors, and even professional investors, sell winners too early and hangon to losers too long-a phenomenon mainly attributed to “loss aversion”behavior as stated above. Losses cause more severe pains (almost twice as much) than the pleasure resulting from a gain of the same magnitude. This is also known as “Disposition Hypothesis”as coined by Shefrinand Statman(1985). This type of behavior is inconsistent with normative/traditional approaches to investment such as those based on tax losses.
34"3-Brains-in-One" Brain
Brain One: Center of the Brain "R complex“snakes, lizards
Brain Two: Wrapped aroundBrain One "limbic system" or"old mammalian brain“dogs, cats
Brain Three: Outside Surface(Wrapped around Brain Two), the cerebrum in primates, especiallyhuman primates (the rational man)
Source: http://www.psycheducation.org/emotion/triune brain.htm
35Reflective Versus Reflexive Brain
Source: http://www.solarnavigator.net/human_brain.htm
36Relevant Parts of the Brain
Reflective Part of the Brain or Neocortex System (Brain “Three,” lying on top of the limbic system, the emotional part of the brain)
(Pre)FrontalLobe–Concerned with personality, emotional coloring, foresight and complex decision making, the executive manager
Reflexive Part of the Brain or Limbic System (Brain “Two,” lying underneath the cerebrum)
Amygdala–The alarm system (conscious and unconscious) when confronting potential risk, generating hot, fast emotions like fear and anger that shoots up to the reflective brain
Nucleus Accumbens-Plays an important role in reward, pleasure, laughter, addiction, aggression, fear, and the placebo effect. Releases dopamine into the prefrontal lobes
Caudate –Highly involved in learning and memory, particularly regarding feedback processing, identifies patterns
Thalmus–Relay station to the cerebral cortex
37Brain Image - Example
Effect of Actual and Relative Outcomes on Neural Activation
The top panels depict the contrast of large gains (NAcc) versus large losses (Anterior Insula)) during the Outcome period following stock choice. The bottom panels depict the contrast of chosen versus unchosen outcomes during the Market period following stock choice.
38Debiasing
Debiasing is finding and eliminating mental biases, notably those affecting decision making and behavior. Specifically, we control our own cognitive or emotional biases that distort our own decision making process. List from Zweig (2007):
1. Take a Time Out – Don’t buy or sell a major investment on the spur of the moment. This will moderate the tendency to rely on heuristics or succumb to biases based on mood (chemical reactions in the reflexive part of the brain).
2. Step Outside Yourself – Imagine you are advising someone else, this sense of accountability helps avoid poor decisions based on analysis paralysis.
39Debiasing…Cont
3. Look Back – Recall Similar situations/economic environments and how you felt in their midst and compare these states to their resolution. A historical perspective helps moderate the emotional reactions driven by the reflexive brain.
4. Write Yourself a Policy – The best way to prevent yourself from being knocked off track by your emotions is to spell out your investing policies and procedures in advance. This policy states what you, as an individual or an organization, are seeking to accomplish with your money and how you will get there. Then you must live with tis contract with yourself.
40Debiasing…Cont
5. Get Reframed – Instead of thinking of investment in terms of chance of success, invert and consider the chance of failure/loss in value (i.e., 90% chance of success to 10% chance of failure). Can you afford that and are there ways to mitigate/soften failure? When contemplating an investment, reframe as a chance of % gain or loss in total wealth rather than the gain or loss in the investment itself.
6. Try to prove Yourself Wrong – You are at your greatest risk when you are sure you are right. In that state, you tend to overstay the poor decisions, which can result in huge losses and a crippling sense of regret. Give the devil’s advocate view a full hearing.
7. Get It Off Your Mind – When you feel overwhelmed by a risk - to break your anxiet
Electronic resources evaluation central: Homing in on a permanent site
No full text* Challenge:Managing multiple and diverse sources and tools of the electronic resources evaluation process.
* Solution: Create a central evaluation site using SpringShare Libguides.Electronic Resources
Evaluation Central:
Homing in on a Permanent Site
Lenore England, Digital Resources Librarian
Li Fu, Digital Services Librarian
[email protected]
ALCTS College & Research Libraries Group,
Annual Meeting
Saturday, June 26, 2010 –10:30 AM –12 NoonAbout UMUC Worldwide
Enrollments 86,000Military Enrollments 50,000 FTE -Students 22,000UMUC Quick Facts FY 2009Challenge
Managing…
•
Multiple and diverse resources
•
Tools
•
Library staff
…of the electronic resources evaluation process.Resources
E-BooksE-JournalsOthersDatabasesTools
MS OfficeWebBlogs, Wikis StatisticsLibrary Staff
SystemsProgrammerLiaisons DigitalEvaluation Process…
Review
Resources
Meetings /
Notes
Analysis –
throughout…Evaluation Process…
Trials
Pricing
Library
Liaisons…Evaluation Process
Feedback –
Staff and
Faculty
Decisions –
Tiers
Budget
ApprovalHow to Organize?
SpringShare Libguides!Live Evaluation Central Site
http://libguides.umuc.edu/aecontent.php?pid=100107&sid=751324Outcomes
7 Library
Liaisons
Accessed
35 each
Feedback
Review how
site worked
Facts and
ReviewFuture Development
Use
SharePoint
Integrate
into new
ERMS
Content
managementThank You!
Please ask us questions….
E-mail us at [email protected]
Women in educational leadership: An examination of what can be done to increase the number of women presidents at four-year institutions
No full textThe purpose of the research is to explore the benefits of having more women in the upper echelons of leadership, the challenges faced by women seeking leadership roles, and what can be done to help women seeking to progress in career advancement.Women in Educational Leadership: An Examination of What Can be DoneTo Increase the Number of Women Presidents at Four-Year Institutions
Michelene Desroches Dean
Doctor of Management Program, DMGT 892
Key Words: Women, Gender, Leadership, Higher Education, University President,Purpose and Scope of the Research
•
Explore the benefits of having more women in the upper echelons of leadership, the challenges faced by women seeking leadership roles, and what can be done to help women seeking to progress in career advancement.
•
Focus on increasing the number of women leading four-year institutions.
•
Limited to institutions of higher education. Research Questions
•
What are the benefits of having (more) women in leadership positions?
•
What challenges are faced by women seeking leadership positions?
•
What are some strategies that can contribute to the advancement of women seeking career advancement?Significance of this Research for Management
•
Increase the understanding of how various factors influence how women in leadership and management positions are perceived and affect their ability to move up the organizational ranks.
•
Add clarity and understanding of factors which can contribute to women’s career success and advancement.Main Literature Themes and Authors
•
Women in Educational Leadership
−
Krüger
−
Pirouznia
•
Benefits of Women as Leaders
−
Eagly and Carli
•
Barriers to Career Advancement
−
Koenig, Eagly, Mitchell and Ristikari
−
Lui and Wilson
−
Schein
•
Factors Affecting Career Advancement
−
Forret and Dougherty
−
Kirchmeyer
−
Ng, Eby, Sorensen and FeldmanKey Propositions Distilledfrom the Literature
•
Social capital has a direct and significant impact on career development and advancement. Thus, social capital should be considered in terms of how it may help women seeking elite leadership positions advance their careers
��
By occupying central positions in the organization (which has been shown to positively related to their potential for career development) people can increase their social capital.
•
Men tend to use their networking activities more effectively than women. Conceptual Framework
Factors Supporting Career Advancement•Networking•Mentoring•Human Capital•Social Capital Factors Hindering Career Advancement•Gender Discrimination•Work/Family Balance•Organizational culture•Societal Beliefs
Women seeking the position of university president
Pipeline
University President
(Senior Leadership)
Entry/Lower Level of LeadershipThesis statement
for the number of women in educational leadership to be representative of the constituents the university serves and become more in line with the numbers of women earning doctoral degrees (which is often a prerequisite for the position of university president), women should become more involved in mentorships, networking, and human capital and social capital building activities to achieve progressive career success. Research Approach & Formationof Argument
•
Content analysis based on a search of extant literature
•
Formulation of conceptual model
•
Assessment of content practitioners to refine argumentFindings
•
Sex role stereotypes and subjective bias on the part of managers may more readily influence promotion decisions in favor of men.
•
While the similarity between men and leaders has not decreased, it is predicted that over time leadership will become less masculine.
•
Women need to be more involved in activities such as building human and social capital, mentorships, and networking to achieve progressive career success.Implications for Management Practice
•
Potential to provide strategies and insight as to how to overcome some of the barriers facing women in leadership
•
Sheds light on the benefits of organizations providing career advancement activities
•
Add clarity and understanding of the interpersonal dynamics faced by women in leadership positionsFuture Research Agendas
•
As more women take on leadership positions, it seems logical to learn about the successes of other women in these roles and the factors that contributed to their development and success
•
Broadening this study to test if the suggested strategies to improve career advancement opportunities are valid for other fields such as business, and technology
•
Qualitative studies involving current women university presidents to compare and contrast their experiences, and identify what they believe are best practices for women seeking to become university presidents
Using Social Software in the MDE Program - February 2, 2010_combined - DE Oracle
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Using Social Software in the MDE Program - February 2, 2010
CSI Staff
Staff Writer
Center for Support of Instruction
Published: January-February 2010
Category: » De-oracle-live » Archived-webinars
As with the delivery of instruction, student support is also an area that requires a change in perspective
from that used in traditional higher-education settings. These become even more significant, when we
consider the fact that online students tend to demonstrate feelings of isolation and lack of a supporting
network when studying at a distance. It has always been evident that providing MDE students with
supporting services that go beyond the classroom is key to the success of the students and therefore of
the program. With the steady progress of the so-called "web 2.0" technologies empowering users to
become generators of content and manage information on the web, online educators and students have
slowly started to include such tools for instruction as well as for learner support functions. The goal was
to create an integrated MDE program-wide community and set of initiatives, which would enable
unstructured interaction, sharing of information, and creation of an ongoing and long-lasting common
knowledge base. The rise of social media technologies has provided the perfect platform to address
such challenge, creating enormous synergy among all MDE stakeholders.
Archived Recording:
Launcher Link:
http://67.202.210.31/launcher.cgi?room=deoracle_2010_0202_1003_53 (http://67.202.210.31
/launcher.cgi?room=deoracle_2010_0202_1003_53)
Wizard Link:
http://67.202.210.31/wizard/launcher.cgi?wc=wms (http://67.202.210.31/wizard/launcher.cgi?wc=wms)
Powerpoint Presentation:
Printable Version: PDF
Stella Porto's MDE Social Media Suite list
Using Social Software in the MDE Program - February 2, 2010 - DE Oracle
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About the Author(s)
Stella Porto has more than 9 years of experience in the leadership, management, administration, delivery and development of
distance education programs, with extensive experience in e-learning systems and methodologies. With a solid background in
the technical field, Porto has acquired her expertise in the e-learning arena through her on-going job experience as well as
theoretical foundation through formal study in distance education. She has a strong higher-education administration
background, having worked with traditional and non-traditional students. She also holds significant academic scholarship
credentials with research experience in both computer science and distance education fields. The synergy of these two areas
help profile Dr. Porto as an innovator, highly-driven and committed to quality and growth in her workplace.
Steve Knode has an extensive background in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, intelligent agents, virtual reality,
decision support systems, quantitative methods and decision making.
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Using Social Software in the MDE Program - February 2, 2010 - DE Oracle
Using social software in
the MDE
Dr. Stella Porto
Master of Distance Education
Graduate School of Management & Technology
University of Maryland University College
http://www.slideshare.net/sporto/using-social-software-in-the-mde
Agenda
• Focus of this presentation
• Introduction
Background & context
• The Social Software experience in the MDE
Our activities
Lessons learned
Synergy and future
• Final remarks
Focus of this presentation
The MDE focus on developing
managers and leaders in the areas
of e-learning & distance education
within different settings, including:
K-12, higher-education, corporate,
non-profits, government and
military.
This presentation discusses a set of MDE initiatives
developed beyond classroom instruction using social
software tools.
Introduction:
Context & Background – the MDE partnership
Context and landscape
Oldenburg
Introduction:
Context & background: the program
• Core competencies
Managing the DE system in a
variety of settings
Planning, budgeting,
development, delivery, and
support of distance education
and distance training programs
• Target Audience
Potential managers of the
distance education enterprise in:
Educational organizations
Corporate / Business
Government & Military
Non-profit and associations
• Entirely online for part-time
working adults
• International
• Collaborative
Faculty
Support
Faculty
Support
Instruction
Design &
Support
Instruction
Design &
Support
Leaders &
Managers
Leaders &
Managers
Higher
Education
Higher
Education
Media &
technology
Media &
technology
Corporate
Training &
Learning
Corporate
Training &
Learning
Distance
Education
Distance
Education
Introduction:
Institutional Student support
• Enrollment management / Registrar
Admissions
Financial aid
Registration
Advising
Graduation
• Portal with self-services
• Academic specialist within the
department
• Program director
• Library
• Office of disabilities
Social media: what it is
Social media: what it can do for us
BEYOND instruction
• Virtual communities: cultivate a blend of challenge and support
Sharing beyond virtual classroom
Social network
Peer support
Tools: any social network tool or online group tools
• Sandbox for experiments, especially useful for distance
educators
Learning with technology
Learning through technology
Acquiring skills
Developing technological competencies
Tools: ALL
Social media: what it can do for us
BEYOND instruction
• Individual and collaborative means for producing and sharing
content
Generation of user content
Building collective knowledge
Tools: blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc.
• Information diffusion and immediate feedback
Immediate communication with stakeholders
Collective feedback and appreciation
Tools: blogs, social networking, wikis, …
• Expanding knowledge in field of interest
Sharing new information and utilizing new media
Program-wide projects
Tools: audio, video, and image tools, blogs, social networking, …
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite
BLOGS
VIDEOS
SOCIAL NETWORKING
WIKIS
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Hub
The MDE Hub
•The one-stop-shop for ALL
MDE related information
•Extremely flexible platform
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Blog
The MDE Blog
•Initially was the one-stop-shop
for all MDE information
•Now, works exclusively as a
blog
•One-way communication - no
interaction
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Lounge
The MDE-lounge
•Real interaction
•Privacy, listserv mode,
discussion board, simple and not-invasive
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Faculty Forum
The Faculty-forum
•Management effectiveness
•Privacy, listserv mode,
discussion board, simple and
not-invasive
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE wiki
The MDE wiki on new technologies
•Knowledge-base
•Information sharing
•Meta-learning
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE capstone wiki
The MDE capstone
wiki
•Support for final
capstone: e-portfolio &
research project
•Information sharing
•Direct relationship with
instruction
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The capstone tutorial
The MDE tutorial
•Support for e-portfolio
•Precursor of the MDE
capstone wiki
•Direct relationship with
instruction
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: MDE Orientation
The MDE orientation
•Workshop with direct
instructor-led support
•Information sharing
•Direct support to instruction
The MDE Student Support Social Media Suite:
The MDE internship program
The MDE internship
program
•Getting your feet wet as
a distance educator
•Supporting the program
•Engaging in action
research
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Buddy Program
The MDE buddy-system
•Peer-support
•Student initiative
•Action research project
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: social network services
Presence in social
networks
•Connections with
graduates and
prospective students
•Marketing
The MDE Student Support
Social Media Suite: The MDE Itinerant Video
The MDE Itinerant
video project
•Graduate initiative
•Celebration of the 10th
anniversary
•Community
involvement
Tools and more tools: Allison’s toolbox
Who is Allison?
Allison is an MDE 2008 graduate and an collaborator in the MDE network…
Learning lessons…
There is a need for an active leadership role in all initiatives
Continuously invite community
Reach out to new students
Most participants are lurkers and that’s fine!
Integrating tools creates synergy
Students want to get involved, but they need a HAND
A few active members generate
significant impact
Being personal is key
Ongoing projects and activities
Focus on respond to the needs of
stakeholders
Synergy and future
Projects led and
suggested by
graduates
Relationship
with other
UMUC units
Partnerships in
publishing and
academic work
Virtual
conference for 10th
anniversary
celebration
Podcast series
Webinars
Special interest
groups
Final remarks
Thinking beyond the
classroom
Enthusiasm is contagious
Experiment, experiment
and experiment…
Count on your graduates
and students
Networking is essential to
everyone for different
reasons
Thank you!
Questions?
Contact: [email protected]
Introduction
Context and Background: U of Maryland U College
Introduction:
Background
• Necessary shift from a campus based perspective
Needs go beyond those addressed in individual courses
• Focus on the needs of this specific target audience
Part-time
Full-time employment
Family duties
Long time away from school
Diverse academic and professional background
The
MDE
Media
Suite
(Feb.
2010)
S.C.S.
Porto
THE
MDE
SOCIAL
MEDIA
SUITE
TOOL
URL
PURPOSE
The
MDE
HUB
http://mdeprogram.weebly.com
One-‐stop-‐shop
with
everything
MDE
community
needs
The
MDE
Blog
http://mdeblog.blogspot.com
The
name
says
it
all…
The
MDE
Lounge
http://groups.google.com/MDE-‐Lounge
Lounge
for
students
and
alumni.
Closed
group
The
MDE
Faculty
Forum
http://groups.google.com/MDE-‐faculty
Discussion
forum
for
faculty.
Closed
group.
The
MDE
Capstone
Wiki
http://mdecapstone.pbworks.com
A
knowledge
base
with
everything
needed
about
the
MDE
e-‐portfolio
and
the
Research
project,
main
deliverables
of
the
capstone
course
OMDE
670
The
MDE
Wiki
on
New
Technologies
http://mdewiki.wetpaint.com
A
knowledge
base
for
helping
MDErs
with
new
technologies
The
MDE
Buddy
Program
http://mdebuddyprogram.weebly.com/index.html
The
Buddy
Program
pairs
new
students
with
senior
students
or
graduates
to
help
them
in
their
first
semesters
in
the
program.
This
is
a
one-‐on-‐one
support
system.
Initiative
completely
managed
by
an
MDE
student,
who
has
picked
mentoring
as
the
topic
of
her
research
project.
The
MDE
Internship
Program
http://sites.google.com/site/mdeinternships/available-‐
positions
This
program
has
created
several
internship
positions
within
the
MDE,
within
other
units
of
UMUC
and
outside
organizations,
for
students
to
get
experience
in
DE
and
possibly
develop
research
projects
with
a
practical
focus
as
well.
The
MDE
Social
Bookmarking
http://groups.diigo.com/group/MDE_research
This
initiative
just
started.
It
will
have
a
collection
of
annotated
projects
and
publications
of
MDE
The
MDE
Media
Suite
(Feb.
2010)
S.C.S.
Porto
project
community
members
The
MDE
Itinerant
Video
Project
http://www.vimeo.com/mdevideoproject
&
http://mdevideo.tumblr.com/
The
goal
is
to
build
a
video
gallery,
celebrating
10
years
of
the
MDE
The
MDE
Blog
Writers
http://groups.google.com/group/mdeblog-‐writers
Group
of
students
and
alumni
who
produce
blog
posts
for
the
MDE
Blog
Allison’s
toolbox:
http://mdetools.wikispaces.com/
A
toolbox
for
web
2.0
technologies
created
by
an
MDE
graduate
(Allison
Kipta
Organizational resilience for companies in bankruptcy
No full textThe thesis of this paper is that a bankruptcy is a crisis to an organization that generates severe stress and anxiety which requires the application of organizational resilience principles in order to enable its human capital to cope and perform effectively.Organizational Resilience for
Companies in Bankruptcy
July 11, 2010
Robert Lee Wilson
DMGT 892 Residency
University of Maryland University College
Contact [email protected]
Keywords: Bankruptcy, Organizational Adaptation,
Organizational ResiliencePurpose and Scope of the Research
Purpose
•Understand the management principles that can be employed in companies in bankruptcy to preserve key human capital functioning
Scope
•Delimitation: Decision to limit examination of organizations in turbulent environments to those public companies operating in bankruptcy
•Limitation: Use of a single case study together with existing empirical data in the literature to validate proposed model of organizational resilience in bankruptcyResearch Questions
•Does resilience matter in an organizational context?
•Can companies in bankruptcy strengthen their employees’ resilient characteristics to enable them to function effectively despite experiencing severe stress?
•What is a model of the key principles for managing the human capital of companies in severe financial and operation stress conditions such as bankruptcy?
•How does a human capital strategy of organizational resilience fit into a model of turnaround of organizations in bankruptcy?Significance of this Research for Management
•Number and size of companies seeking bankruptcy protection has increased over the past decade and represents significant assets and revenues in the U.S. economy.
•Addresses gap in the literature regarding management of human capital during a bankruptcy.
•Development of a model of organizational resilience for companies in bankruptcy to effectively manage human capital assets to obtain effective performance.Main Literature Themes and Authors
•Organizational Behavior and Adaptation
–Chakravarthy, 1982; Hrebiniak & Joyce, 1985; Dynes & Aguirre, 1979; Ford & Baucus, 1987; Lengnick-Hall & Beck, 2005
•Sources and Impacts of Stress
–Selye, 1950; Beehr & Newman, 1978; Staw, Sandelands, & Dutton, 1981; Jimmieson, 2000; Nadler & Tushman, 1989; Hermann, 1963; Doe, 1994
•Coping and Individual Resilience Theory
–Mowday & Sutton, 1993; Werner, 1996; Garmezy, Masten, & Tellegen, 1984; Carver, 1998
•Crisis Theory in Organizations
–Herman, 1963; Weick, 1993; Comfort, 1994, Hind et al., 1996
•Organizational Resilience
–Gunderson, 2000; Gunderson & Holling, 2002; Myer & Moore, 2006; Horne, 1997; Horner & Orr, 1981; Mallak, 1998
•Turbulent Environments of Organizations in Bankrupcty
–Robbins & Pearce, 1992; Dawley, Hoffman & Lamont, 2002; Sudarsanam & Lai, 2001; Payne & Hogg, 1994; Grant et al., 2004; Maurdant et al., 2004; Froenheim, 2008; Groenandaal & Harvey, 2003; Kiger, 2008; Ooghe & Prijcher, 2008; Pearson & Clair, 1998; Whetton, 1980
•Human Capital and Competitive Advantage
–Porter, 1996; Wernerfelt, 1984; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997; Kogut, 1985; Elias & Scarbrough, 2004; Schulz, 1961; Yaping & Jingfang, 2007; Hatch & Dyer, 2004; Dunning & Lundan, 2008Key Propositions
The literature review yielded 11 propositions of which 4 are signficant to this research:
•[P1]: Integral to the normative theory of organizational adaptation is the assumption that the change in the environment is always moving it to a new equilibrium state to which the organization can adapt or achieve adaptive fit. In a turbulent environment, such as would be caused by an organizational crisis, no new equilibrium point would exist, and therefore, the underlying assumption of adaptive fit is not met.
•[P7]: Organizational resilience is an effective adaptive process for organizations responding to change in turbulent environments.
•[P9]: The environmental conditions during the bankruptcy period of a public company are analogous to the environmental conditions experienced by companies operating in crisis or adverse environmental conditions.
•[P11]: In companies operating in bankruptcy, where human capital represents a significant element in the competitive advantage of the organization (tacit knowledge, culture, specific skills, etc.) companies should adopt specific human capital strategies to preserve their competitive advantage in these respects.Conceptual Framework
Stressors from Bankruptcy Thriving Resilient Collapse/ Impairment Alarm Reaction/ Threat Response Rigidity Response Acclimation Application of Organizational Resilience Principles Normal Performance Organizational Activity Individual Employee Activity Employee Groups Organizational Resilience Principles Applied 1. Perceive experience constructively 2. Perform positive adaptive behaviors 3. Ensure adequate external resources 4. Expand decision-making boundaries 5. Practice bricolage 6. Develop tolerance for uncertainty 7. Build virtual role systems YES Organizational Learning (resilience) NO Organization Succumbs/Fails Performance Company Stressors Financial difficulties Personnel turnover Uncoordinated change efforts External impacts Failure to marshal external support Individual Stressors Persistent change Job insecurity Loss of common purpose Loss of values Lack of time Changing responsibilities Thesis Statement
The thesis of this paper is that a bankruptcy is a crisis to an organization that generates severe stress and anxiety which requires the application of organizational resilience principles in order to enable its human capital to cope and perform effectively.Research Approach & Formation of Argument
Create Conceptual Model Collect Data for IES Case Study Qualitative Analysis of Case Study Compare Findings to Model Research Literature Revise Conceptual Model Identify Additional Case Studies Collect Data through Content Analysis Qualitative Analysis of Case Studies Compare Findings to Revised Model Develop Conclusions Develop Management Implications Develop Future Research Agenda Findings
•Strategies for management restructuring or operational and organizational restructuring by companies in bankruptcy are lacking or lag the legal and financial strategies.
•Five of Mallak’s seven principles of organizational resilience were supported by the IES case study. One principle, expand decision-making, appeared to facilitate or enable several other principles.
•The IES case study identified the importance of increasing honest and open communications as an additional principle. Communications was suggested as an organizational resilience attribute by Horne & Orr.
•Published case studies on bankruptcy present limited discussions of human resource strategies but the principles of de-centralized operational decision-making and expanded communications appear to be key elements of successful reorganizations.Implications for Management Practice
•The model of turnaround in bankruptcy suggests that the unique aspects of operating in the bankruptcy environment must be adequately addressed by management.
•Where human capital is an important element of the organization’s competitive advantage, a strategy to employ organizational resilient principles can improve the ability of the organization to perform effectively within the bankruptcy environment.
•The research supports the importance of increasing honest and open communication channels together with expanding operational decision-making as key principles for facilitating organizational resilience in companies operating in bankruptcy. De-centralizing operational decision-making appears to enable other resilience behaviors such as bricolage, positivism, and virtual role systems. Future Research Agendas
•The model of turnaround for companies in bankruptcy is unique in the literature and merits further research and refinement. Legal and financial strategies appear to dominate in the bankruptcy environment while refocusing, retrenchment, and operational strategies appear to lag.
•Additional empirical research is recommended regarding the implementation and effectiveness of organizational resilience principles, particularly the roles that increasing communication channels and expanding operational decision making in supporting and enabling resilient behaviors in the organization.
•Extending the scope from companies in bankruptcy to organizations in turnaround would increase the generalizability of the study
Exploratory study of organizational culture and its relationship to organizational effectiveness in distance education institutions
No full textThe purpose of the research is to define the elements of organizational culture that seems to correlate best with the effectiveness of distance education institutions and to explore factors that are instrumental in providing awareness to campus leaders about the specific management initiatives and practices on which they may want to focusAN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Deloris Willis, D. M. Candidate
University of Maryland University College
Contact: [email protected]
Keywords: Organizational Culture, Organizational Effectiveness, Distance Education Institutions, Competing Values Framework, Culture Congruence •
To define the elements of organizational culture that seems to correlate best with the effectiveness of distance education institutions
•
To explore factors that are instrumental in providing awareness to campus leaders about the specific management initiatives and practices on which they may want to focus
Purpose and Scope of the ResearchThe following research question will guide this study:
Research Questions
What are the cultural elements associated with the four culture types of clan, adhocracy, hierarchy, and market that seem best in relating to effectiveness in distance education institutions? •The literature supports the notion that culture has a strong influence on institutional effectiveness
•Understanding organizational culture can aid academic leaders in selecting strategies that will be congruent with the distinguishing elements of their culture
•Organizational culture research may offer an approach to understanding behavioral and conflict issues that organizations often face
Significance of this Research for ManagementMain Literature Themes and Authors
•
Competing Values Framework Model
Cameron & Quinn
Quinn & Rohrbaugh
Smart & St. John
•
Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness
Etzioni
Smart, Kuh & Tierney
Cameron & Ettington
Goodman, Zammuto & Gifford
•
Organizational Culture Theory
Schein
Cameron
Hostede; WeickOrganizations
•
Assimilating cultural elements specific to the organization may contribute to a culture consistent with the strategic direction of the organization
•
Building a strong culture has the capability of sustaining the organization’s strategic orientation and focus
Managers
•
Understanding the elements of the culture that exist in the organization may aid in how these phenomena impact and influence organizational effectiveness
Employees
•
Well-developed cultural elements is expected to produce a professional working environment with higher levels of morale and productivity
KeyPropositions Distilledfrom the LiteratureFour Culture Types ClanAdhocracyHierarchyMarket
Artifacts
Espoused Beliefs and Values
Underlying
Assumptions
Conceptual Framework ModelThesis statement
This researcher applied the theory that "culture" emerges from collective behaviors in the environment and has a direct relationship to organizational effectiveness. Cameron and Quinn assert that culture may be a forecaster of “effectiveness” in organizations (2006). The proposed hypothesis is that the defining elements of the culture in distance education institutions will be more effective if they exhibit various cultural elements among the four culture types. •
The research methodology employed in this study involves a content analysis approach based on an extensive review of extant literature
•
Development of the conceptual model and feedback from external expert practitioners
•
The literature review involved a critical analysis of published academic and organizational research to define cultural elements that is assumed to be relevant to academic leaders in the effectiveness of distance education institutions
Research Approach & Formationof Argument •
Understanding culture is an essential construct in efforts to improve academic leadership and organizational effectiveness
•
Organizational effectiveness of higher education institutions is dependent upon the relationship among the external environments as well as the cultural elements embedded in the organization
•
The relationship of organizational culture and organizational effectiveness in higher education institutions were applicable to this study in an effort to ascertain which cultural elements among the four culture types seem best in relating to effectiveness in distance education institutions
Findings Implications for Management Practice
•
Understand the Culture of the Organization
Potential to provide strategies and insights to investigate how elements of the culture may impact organizational effectiveness
By responding to ways to assess organizational culture, administrators will be in a better position to “modify” elements in the institution that are at variance with the culture
•
Recognize the Relationship of Organizational Culture to Organization Effectiveness
Organizational culture is a primary element of decision-making in higher education and is thought to greatly influence academic operations
Leaders should understand the cultural elements that exist in their own organization and how these phenomena may impact and influence the effectiveness of their organization •
Study intervening variables, such as organizational and individual demographics, to examine other determinants on organizational culture as it relates to effectiveness in distance education institutions
•
Conduct a longitudinal study in relationship to the life cycle of organizational culture
•
Investigate cultural perceptions presented in the conceptual model at the individual and organizational level for future study
Future Research AgendasReferences
Berrio, A. A. (2003). An organizational culture assessment using the competing values framework: A profile of ohio state university extension. Journal of Extension, 41(2).
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2006). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Fjortoft, N., & Smart, J. C. (1994). Enhancing organizational effectiveness: The importance of culture type and mission agreement.Higher Education, 27(4), 429-47.
Schein, E. (2004). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Smart, J. C. (2002). Enhancing the educational effectiveness of two-year colleges: New perspectives and evidence of the role of institutional characteristics.Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA, April 1-5, 2002
Point to share: Streamlining access services workflow through online collaboration, communication and storage with microsoft sharepoint
No full textThis article explains how the Document Management Team (circulation and interlibrary loan) at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) implemented Microsoft?s SharePoint product to create a central hub for online collaboration, communication, and storage. Enhancing the Team?s efficiency, organization and cooperation was the primary goal. Although the group is already highly effective, it is always interested in making further improvements. Document Management consists of three technicians and two professionals, and this small staff is currently responsible for providing services to 86,000 students plus faculty and staff at a largely distance education institution. The Team?s previously adopted tools to improve internal operations had been adequate, but not optimal. Also, a long-standing and over-arching concern about the potential loss of some or all of the Document Management knowledgebase existed. These reasons prompted the Team to carefully examine SharePoint as a prospective tool. It was hoped that this early scrutiny would prove beneficial in the long run by avoiding a repeat of earlier technology implementations? shortcomings. The group quickly realized the software would not be a cure-all but felt the prospects were good that it would be useful and dependable. SharePoint was fully implemented with great success due to the Team?s careful consideration of collaboration, communication, and storage needs.A Point to Share: Streamlining Access Services Workflow through Online Collaboration, Communication and Storage with Microsoft SharePoint
Abstract:
This article explains how the Document Management Team (circulation and interlibrary loan) at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) implemented Microsoft’s SharePoint product to create a central hub for online collaboration, communication, and storage. Enhancing the Team’s efficiency, organization and cooperation was the primary goal. Although the group is already highly effective, it is always interested in making further improvements. Document Management consists of three technicians and two professionals, and this small staff is currently responsible for providing services to 86,000 students plus faculty and staff at a largely distance education institution. The Team’s previously adopted tools to improve internal operations had been adequate, but not optimal. Also, a long-standing and over-arching concern about the potential loss of some or all of the Document Management knowledgebase existed. These reasons prompted the Team to carefully examine SharePoint as a prospective tool. It was hoped that this early scrutiny would prove beneficial in the long run by avoiding a repeat of earlier technology implementations’ shortcomings. The group quickly realized the software would not be a cure-all but felt the prospects were good that it would be useful and dependable. SharePoint was fully implemented with great success due to the Team’s careful consideration of collaboration, communication, and storage needs.
Keywords:
access services, collaboration, communication, academic library, SharePoint, software, storage.
Introduction
Internal communication, workflows, and teamwork can often be greatly improved through the intelligent application of appropriate technologies. However, libraries sometimes ignore or misapply information technology, which often negatively affects staff and patrons. As a predominantly distance education campus serving a global population, University of Maryland University College (UMUC) relies heavily on information technology to meet student, faculty and staff needs. From its modest beginnings in 1947, UMUC has grown to over 86,000 students in more than twenty countries (Office of Institutional Planning, Research and Accountability 2009). Information and Library Services (ILS) at UMUC has depended on savvy staff and technological solutions out of necessity in order to provide library services to UMUC’s students, faculty, and staff worldwide.
History/Background
ILS’ Document Management (DM) Team, which provides circulation and interlibrary loan services, recognized workflow issues beginning in 2005. Over the previous few years, ILS had grown from a handful of staff to more than two dozen librarians and technicians. This rapid growth created lapses in knowledge, documentation, and information sharing behavior as individual responsibilities changed and new services were developed. Originally, the DM Team used five print binders to house training manuals and troubleshooting guides. These were fed by centrally-stored digital documents held on a shared network drive. During the growth period, updates to these binders became ad hoc. No one binder contained the most current or most accurate information. In fact, there was a good chance that one could uncover multiple solutions to one problem. Further complicating this, the shared drive, which was created to hold the most authoritative versions of all documentation, suffered from the staff increases as well. Nearly all information was scattered in personal folders, current documents could not be differentiated from the outdated, and nearly all documentation was poorly labeled. This made it virtually impossible to locate the precise document needed. Furthermore, the network drive supported all of ILS, not just the DM Team, making it more difficult to quickly locate needed documentation and compromising team productivity. Document Management did make a concerted effort to customize a portion of the network drive. New folders specifically for Circulation and ILL were created, and a great deal of relevant documentation was moved into them. Although it became a convenient location to place documents to which the Team needed access, there were no set standards to follow. Staff members were unaware of changes to documents, thereby rendering the information inconsistent and unreliable. At this point, the team decided that an entirely new solution was required.
The DM Team’s first attempt to grow beyond the network-drive-and-binders arrangement involved a Web-based manual. It was believed all staff would be able to access information using a single, easy-to-update online source. However, the site remained unconnected to the Internet due to unresolved security issues, such as password protection and privacy concerns. After one year, the Web concept was determined not to be a complete solution. The Team then developed a wiki as a kind of “band-aid” with the understanding that this was not a robust solution; the wiki was on a test server that was neither supported nor maintained by the University’s IT department. Also, as is true of wikis, it could not support critical spreadsheet and word processing documents.
After taking stock of the previous knowledge management systems, the DM Team realized that three overarching issues permeated their past: disparate communication, collaboration, and storage. This is not to say that the Team was entirely lacking in collaboration or effective communication. Neither does it imply that knowledge storage was completely haphazard. The Team then realized that the key to moving forward successfully was to discover and implement a system that would provide one centralized location, which would eliminate redundancy, knowledge gaps, and encourage information sharing amongst DM staff.
Looking for a Streamlined Solution
As a first step, the Team decided to strategically review DM’s knowledge management needs in light of their roles and duties. Within ILS, the DM Team is one of the front-line service points for patrons. Thus, staff must be accurately informed on any policy and procedure changes in DM and ILS. They also need to be able to quickly access information in order to provide timely and accurate responses to patron inquiries. Service delays and misinformation in this area could potentially cause unacceptable patron inconveniences due to UMUC’s virtual environment.
A primary streamlining tool that emerged as a result of this review was the implementation of a universal organization standard based on Anne Thompson’s Standard Naming Conventions for Electronic Records (2005). This was then used to store documents, which would in turn make locating and saving documents a more efficient and reliable process. After fully assessing the problem, the Team recognized that beyond possessing a common standard, they needed a regularly maintained and centralized knowledgebase.
In 2008, the Team evaluated several products with the intent to provide a more robust solution. One tool DM evaluated was Microsoft SharePoint 2007 (http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/product/Pages/default.aspx), because it was already installed at the University and centrally managed by the University’s IT department. SharePoint is a centralized platform for storage and communication, which combines several Web 2.0 technologies with traditional digital document storage to facilitate a consolidated workflow. The Team was initially impressed with the potential of SharePoint because it integrates many technologies that the Team already used in one central location. The Team had a wiki, a calendaring system, and a document storage system, but these were stand-alone systems. SharePoint puts all of these and more in one integrated application. After evaluating all the pros and cons of SharePoint, the DM Team determined that by implementing SharePoint, they could significantly improve their workflows.
Implementing a New Solution
In the initial implementation phase, the Team began moving documentation from several decentralized channels into SharePoint. During this pilot phase, it became apparent that SharePoint could easily duplicate the problems encountered in previous systems if standards were not developed. Thus, the Team created a best practices document to provide guidelines on naming conventions, document retention, and appropriate applications of the SharePoint tools. This approach ensured that the migrated information was organized logically to enhance the usability of SharePoint’s features, such as the wiki and document library.
Due to some staff turnover, the move to SharePoint began slowly. Once the migration was underway, it became evident that SharePoint offered many streamlining features that were previously not available to the DM Team. Remote accessibility through a VPN (virtual private network) allows staff to log in from home if needed. It has a built-in wiki and document library that can be used as a knowledgebase. Beyond the knowledgebase capabilities, SharePoint also allows for collaboration and communication to all come together in one place. SharePoint’s customizable homepage allows for several notifications and features to be displayed at once as soon as the user logs in (see Figure 1). Automatic email alerts notify staff when changes are made to any SharePoint site section, including documents, the wiki, etc. Staff can choose to receive alerts immediately so they are instantly aware of issues and can deal with them right away. The email alerts make a huge impact on keeping staff current and help build a more collaborative team.
Figure 1: The Document Mangement SharePoint homepage displays a Twitter feed, schedules, etc.
When a document was edited on the shared drive, it was often saved as a different version under a new name. It quickly became difficult to tell which document was the official and current version. The SharePoint version history control in the wiki and document library allows staff to update documents and wiki pages without fear of losing previous versions. Only one version of each document (the most current) is visible, while all previous versions are hidden, but still available. This function simplifies organization, saves staff time, and eliminates confusion by making it easy to identify the correct version. Team members have also been able to save time editing documents by mapping SharePoint as a network drive on their computers. Documents and wiki pages can be saved and edited directly through their PC’s “My Network Places” rather than staff always accessing the SharePoint site (see Figure 2). Figure 2: Once the SharePoint site is mapped, users can access and save items throught their PCs.
Collaboration
Many of SharePoint’s features had the potential to facilitate collaboration from within a centralized hub. The Team held several meetings to discuss how to thoughtfully approach the wiki in SharePoint, which resulted in a project timeline, wiki table of contents, style guide, and reference manual for developing wiki pages. The Team began framing the wiki’s structure by using the relevant content from the previous wiki. Initially, two separate wikis existed in SharePoint: one for circulation processes and another for interlibrary loan (ILL) duties. While the Team worked on developing the structure, it became apparent that two wikis were inefficient and unnecessary, and the Team restructured the content under the categorical umbrella of “Document Management.” Under this approach, categories like “Contacts,” “Passwords,” and “Shipping” contained all information for both circulation and ILL. Once the structure was complete, the three library technicians could begin to share the wiki migration project with the library’s six part-time student workers.
To prepare and train these new contributors, the Team created a Word document that outlined how the wiki pages were to be structured, whether a student or full-time employee could complete the task, and which sections were completed. Once the expectations were clear, the Team introduced the student workers to a special wiki page that explained how to properly create and design individual wiki pages. Additionally, there was a style guide to refer to which allowed the wiki to look cohesive and uniform amidst the several contributing hands that were involved in its creation.
As the Team was navigating the previous Web-based wiki, they realized that pages were text-heavy and impeded staff from easily referencing a particular process or policy. One of the ways the Team solved this problem was to rely on visual examples via screenshots. However, in order to successfully integrate this visual element into the wiki, more careful planning was required. The Team, therefore, created a “Wiki Screenshots” photo library in SharePoint, which functions much like the document library feature but caters more toward supporting certain photo-hosting functions. With 156 screenshots in use in 159 wiki pages, it was essential that the Team established standards. For screenshot files, the Team continued to use Thompson’s conventions. DM decided to structure the photo library directory to mirror the wiki layout (see Figure 5). Figure 5: The “Wiki Screenshots” photo library mirrors the categories of the wiki
Since the screenshot process is a relatively tedious one, the Team instructed all wiki page developers to write the text first, with placeholders indicating where a screenshot needed to be placed in the future. After the text was complete, the page creator was responsible for taking and inserting the corresponding screenshots. To facilitate uniformity, a separate instructional page was created that could be referenced to learn how to create screenshots using three different tools. Due to the diverse resources within the library, several screenshot methods had to be explored and documented. By using standards to supplement SharePoint’s features, staff could easily contribute to the wiki implementation project.
Extending beyond creating standards and documentation, the Team also took advantage of several SharePoint features to integrate fearless collaboration with seamless communication. The Team was able to put their trust in several contributors, since SharePoint allowed them to revert to previous versions of wiki pages in the event a page creator made an error. Any changes a page creator makes are clearly color-coded, so if a Team member needs to make corrections, there is no need to meticulously read through the previous version (see Figure 6). Also, whenever a staff member makes a change to a wiki page, individuals receive an email alert. This feature solves a major issue the Team had with the previous wiki; those referring to the wiki were mistrustful of the content, since they could not necessarily rely on the information’s validity.
Figure 6: An example of the version history feature in a wiki context
Lastly, the Team felt more secure having the wiki on the SharePoint server, which is housed in and supported by the University’s IT department and is backed up daily. The previous wiki was housed on a spare computer in an office instead of on an official server with nightly backups. Also, this computer was not housed within the library nor in IT; therefore DM had little control over it, and it was neither supported nor maintained by IT. The computer was dated and had been known to occasionally crash, making the DM Team nervous about losing data that would be difficult to replicate without any backups.
Communication
One of the quick resolutions to the communication issue was the implementation of various calendars. The SharePoint calendar system is immediately usable due to its intuitiveness, yet serves a powerful function. The Document Management Team set up their calendars to schedule and streamline workflow for the technicians and student workers. The Team created three primary calendars: “Tech Duty Schedule,” “Student Worker Schedule,” and “Staff Leave Schedule.” The three technicians ensure rotation of their responsibilities by creating a monthly schedule of their daily tasks and adding it on the Tech Duty schedule in SharePoint (see Figure 7).
Figure 7: Document Management’s “Tech Duty Schedule.”
The Document Management Team’s Library Associate is responsible for creating the Student Worker Schedule that displays the student workers’ hourly activities. The Library Associate uses this schedule as a quick reference tool when preparing information for student payroll. The entire library staff uses the schedule to identify individual students who can help with certain tasks on a particular day. The student workers refer to their calendar to coordinate their work activities.
Individual Team members are responsible for recording their absence from work on the Staff Leave Schedule. The information recorded on this schedule ranges from a few hours of absence to leave days. The Team members record the reasons for absence, for example, arriving late or leaving early. The leave calendar also keeps record of staff working outside their normally-scheduled hours.
Both library management and Team members find the leave calendar to be a handy reference point when completing timesheets. The fact that every Team member is aware of what the others are doing makes it simple and effective to coordinate work activities. Management also refers to the schedules when following up on tasks and/or when identifying team members who could help with other tasks. Other library departments, like the Reference Team, also rely on the Tech Duty Schedule when routing telephone and email inquiries that need Document Management technicians’ attention. Apart from coordination, the calendar is an important communication tool for team members. Email alerts received when changes are made help staff prepare their work accordingly.
The Document Management Team set up a Discussion Board on their SharePoint site to facilitate and effectively manage communication. Here, team members discuss work-related topics by posting queries, comments and questions and also responding to postings. The Team uses the Discussion Board to build consensus on issues that require group decision-making. Team members can respond to discussions while working on other tasks at their desks, eliminating the need for time-consuming meetings. The Team is now able to permanently store discussions that are quickly referenced and easy to access. The Team also created an Announcements section on SharePoint to post information that is essential for professional development. Team members share information on conference proceedings, any interesting articles that are relevant to library work, as well as information about external library partners.
Storage
In preparation for the transition into SharePoint, the Document Management Team carefully approached the issue of document storage. As was mentioned above, the Team had already reorganized the existing files by using Thompson’s naming conventions. However, DM also carefully assessed the utility of their existing documents: which files were still relevant, and which documents could serve a more effective purpose by being reformatted as a wiki page. A total of 1,167 reports, forms, records, and other documents remained after this weeding process was complete. Fortunately, the actual act of uploading the documents to SharePoint was the simplest part of the process. It only took two part-time student workers two days to complete the project.
The Document Management Team now creates, stores, and shares files using the SharePoint document library. The Team uses this site to store various file types, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (http://office.microsoft.com/) and Adobe Acrobat (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/). Every team member can open and edit these files. SharePoint’s version history allows team members to track the original document before changes were made (see Figure 8). This is a major advantage over the shared network drive because that did not provide a platform to track changes made to a saved document. The Team finds files quickly and easily when using SharePoint’s search feature. Figure 8: The version history view for SharePoint’s document librari