RSS 1.0Business and management
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Block teaching as the basis for an innovative redesign of the PG suite of programmes in University of Bedfordshire Business SchoolThis paper aims to provide a first evaluation of the University of Bedfordshire Business School’s innovative attempt to develop a new suite of Masters Programmes that delivers in terms of academic rigor and employability requirements while providing a rich student learning experience. The new delivery is based on a block delivery model that rationalises the previous offerings by providing a smaller range of standardized large units which are more tightly integrated to each other and are part of courses with particular characteristics such as a four-tier induction system (with inductions being progressively more employabilityfocused as students’ progress from one unit to the next) and the final capstone unit where students have a choice between a traditional dissertation and an experiential final project. That common architecture is coupled with a flipped classroom delivery style, utilization of blended learning and rich peer-to-peer learning opportunities with multiple entry points providing additional students into the cohorts for each unit. Preliminary data is provided here as an early evaluation of the approach’s effectiveness and efficiency in terms of the delivery experience, the assessment strategies, the levels of student engagement and performance, as well as the experience of staff and students.
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A dual attention network based on efficientNet-B2 for short-term fish school feeding behavior analysis in aquacultureFish school feeding behavior analysis based on images can provide important information for aquaculture managers to make effective feeding decision. However, it is a challenging task due to intra-class variation, cross-occlusion, and unbalanced image categories in real high-density industrial farming. At present, most of the existing works on fish school feeding behavior are limited because they seem to ignored the spatial relationship between the region of interest in fish feeding images. To address this research gap, we propose a dual attention network with efficientnet-b2 for fine-grained short-term feeding behavior analysis of fish school. The algorithm includes EfficientNet-B2 network and two parallel attention modules, which focus on the feature extraction of the feeding region. In addition, several training strategies, such as mish activation function, ranger optimizer, label smoothing, and cosine annealing, are employed to improve the algorithm performance. Especially, label smoothing technique is used to address the problem of image class imbalance. To evaluate the effectiveness of our method, performance of proposed algorithm is analyzed on fish school feeding behavior dataset and it is also compared with benchmark Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) including AlexNet, VGG, Inception, ResNet, Densenet, SENet, and MobileNet. Comprehensive experimental results show that proposed algorithm achieves very good results in terms of the accuracy (the test accuracy is 89.56% on datasets), precision, parameters and floating point operations per second (FLOPS), compared with the benchmark classification algorithm. Therefore, we proposed method can be integrated into aquacultual vision system to guide farmers to plan their feeding strategy.
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Understanding airline organizational attractiveness using interpretive structural modellingThis study investigates whether and how key components of organizational attractiveness are interrelating to impose the maximum positive impact on the air transportation job market. An expert panel was shaped to gauge judgments regarding the driving power of each criterion over the other. The results of Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) revealed that organizational and job characteristics are the main criteria with the most driving power in the model fostering perceived fit. In addition, corporate branding and corporate social responsibility (CSR) demonstrated the highest dependence on the other criteria. The results were further validated through Impact Matrix Cross-reference Multiplication to a classification (MICMAC). The hierarchical pattern of study findings offers theoretical contributions to the study of organizational attractiveness. Practical implications of the results and study limitations are also provided.
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Fuzzy modelling of fuel consumptions and emissions for optimal navigation of a BOEING-747 aircraftAir traffic at many airports around the world is expected to grow, more often than not and at near capacity. Investing in new infrastructure is an option albeit relatively long-term but making a better use of existing facilities is an even better short and mid-term solution. Although Aircraft ground movement represents only a fraction of overall operations, optimal airport taxiing in terms of fuel burn and CO emission can contribute significantly to running costs and environment impact. Hence, with the view of optimising ground movement at busy airports, this research paper investigates a new framework for utilising model predictions to optimise the planning of taxiing operations of a BOEING-747 Aircraft. Research studies relating to how fuel consumption and emissions models (such as Carbon monoxide oxides of Nitrogen) are carried out. Specifically, the use of fuzzy-logic based models via quantitative data for the successful prediction of fuel consumption and CO emissions is explored in the paper. The fuzzy models are accurate, transparent but most importantly are capable of dealing with uncertainties, normally present in the system, intrinsically. These models and analyses will be integrated into a future study involving the development of optimal taxiing and navigation algorithms and to which the development of accurate models of aircraft fuel consumptions and emissions is crucial.
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Real-time four-dimensional trajectory generation based on gain-scheduling control and a high-fidelity aircraft modelAircraft ground movement plays a key role in improving airport efficiency, as it acts as a link to all other ground operations. Finding novel approaches to coordinate the movements of a fleet of aircraft at an airport in order to improve system resilience to disruptions with increasing autonomy is at the center of many key studies for airport airside operations. Moreover, autonomous taxiing is envisioned as a key component in future digitalized airports. However, state-of-the-art routing and scheduling algorithms for airport ground movements do not consider high-fidelity aircraft models at both the proactive and reactive planning phases. The majority of such algorithms do not actively seek to optimize fuel efficiency and reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. This paper proposes a new approach for generating efficient four-dimensional trajectories (4DTs) on the basis of a high-fidelity aircraft model and gain-scheduling control strategy. Working in conjunction with a routing and scheduling algorithm that determines the taxi route, waypoints, and time deadlines, the proposed approach generates fuel-efficient 4DTs in real time, while respecting operational constraints. The proposed approach can be used in two contexts: ① as a reactive decision support tool to generate new trajectories that can resolve unprecedented events; and ② as an autopilot system for both partial and fully autonomous taxiing. The proposed methodology is realistic and simple to implement. Moreover, simulation studies show that the proposed approach is capable of providing an up to 11% reduction in the fuel consumed during the taxiing of a large Boeing 747-100 jumbo jet.
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Information sharing and business analytics in global supply chainsThe importance of collaboration in business and transparent information exchange among supply chain partners, have been topics of discussion for several years. Global businesses such as Walmart and P&G have focused on collaborative relationships with downstream partners (buyers) and upstream partners (suppliers) to meet customers’ demands. While supply chain collaborations support transparent information exchange, business analytics is proving to be the source of generating business intelligence to all supply chain partners for production planning, logistics, and distribution in this digital era. This chapter highlights the fact that businesses with transparent inventory and demand information could realize cost reductions and improve service levels using sensible business analytics. However, creating a platform to share the information and developing trustworthy partnerships are paramount. Our study discusses a few examples from current businesses to bring out the importance of collaboration by (1) sharing information with all supply chains partners and (2) moving from traditional ordering to an automated system with the support of business analytics and supply chain collaboration.
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Understanding managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using artificial intelligence for organizational decision-makingWhile using artificial intelligence (AI) could improve organizational decision-making, it also creates challenges associated with the “dark side” of AI. However, there is a lack of research on managers’ attitudes and intentions to use AI for decision making. To address this gap, we develop an integrated AI acceptance-avoidance model (IAAAM) to consider both the positive and negative factors that collectively influence managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using AI. The research model is tested through a large-scale questionnaire survey of 269 UK business managers. Our findings suggest that IAAAM provides a more comprehensive model for explaining and predicting managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards using AI. Our research contributes conceptually and empirically to the emerging literature on using AI for organizational decision-making. Further, regarding the practical implications of using AI for organizational decision-making, we highlight the importance of developing favorable facilitating conditions, having an effective mechanism to alleviate managers’ personal concerns, and having a balanced consideration of both the benefits and the dark side associated with using AI.
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Retail analytics: store segmentation using rule-based purchasing behaviors analysisRetailers are facing challenges in making sense of the significant amount of data for better understanding of their customers. While retail analytics plays an increasingly important role in successful retailing management, comprehensive store segmentation based on a Data Mining-based Retail Analytics is still an under-researched area. This study seeks to address this gap by developing a novel approach to segment the stores of retail chains based on “purchasing behavior of customers” and applying it in a case study. The applicability and benefits of using Data Mining techniques to examine purchasing behavior and identify store segments are demonstrated in a case study of a global retail chain in Istanbul, Turkey. Over 600K transaction data of a global grocery retailer are analyzed and 175 stores in İstanbul are successfully segmented into five segments. The results suggest that the proposed new retail analytics approach enables the retail chain to identify clusters of stores in different regions using all transaction data and advances our understanding of store segmentation at the store level. The proposed approach will provide the retail chain the opportunity to manage store clusters by making data-driven decisions in marketing, customer relationship management, supply chain management, inventory management and demand forecasting.
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The influence of informal social media practices on knowledge sharing and work processes within organizationsContemporary information technologies such as social media have invigorated the way knowledge is shared within organizations to the extent that we have to rethink and reassess our understanding of the role and influence of technology in organizational processes and knowledge sharing. This paper uses the strategy as practice lens guided by the interpretivist philosophy to understand the influence of informal social media practices on knowledge sharing and work processes within an organization. The paper uses empirical evidence from the case study of a telecom organization in Tanzania to gain theoretical insight into informal social media practices and knowledge sharing. This research contributes to the Information Systems (IS) literature by asserting that organizational processes are achieved by mundane knowledge sharing mediated by informal social media use within the organization. Also, the study contributes to IS literature by highlighting how emerging informal practices are essential to daily processes within organizations.
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Influence of social media practices on the fusion of strategies within organisationsContemporary information technologies such as social media have brought into question the usefulness of the alignment perspective in understanding the role and influence of technology in organisational strategy. This has prompted some scholars to argue for a fusion view of Information Systems (IS) which sees IS as integral to business strategy. Despite the suggestion of the fusion view, there is little empirical evidence of how the fusion of strategy is realised. For instance, literature suggests that executives are struggling with how to implement social media strategy within an organisation. This paper uses the strategy as practice lens guided by the interpretivist philosophy to explore the influence of social media practices on the fusion of strategies within an organisation. The paper uses empirical evidence from the case study of a telecom organisation in Tanzania to gain theoretical insight into the role of social media in organisational strategy. This research contributes to the management literature by arguing that the fusion of strategy is achieved by the intertwinement of historical background, context, technological advances and social intent. Also, it contributes to IS literature by showing how social media extends the IS scope within an organisation while minimizing the need for organisational IT infrastructure. In practice, this research highlights the significance of informal social media practices such as WhatsApp communication in organisational processes such as knowledge sharing and customer service.
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Soft skills acquisition for the knowledge economy: a research strategy for policy development in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in intermediate and emergent economiesThis paper reports on a programme of study around ‘Soft skills acquisition for the knowledge economy’ and addresses a research strategy for policy development in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in intermediate and emergent economies’. Evidence from Pakistan as an emergent, intermediate economy is reviewed, with respect to preparing the younger generation (and especially graduates) for long term engagement with a knowledge-based economy. Technical and occupational skills continue to provide the base for economic capacity, but the knowledge economy requires new levels of personal and social abilities drawing on all aspects of human communication and interaction, in addition to having the facility to use digital technologies to explore, exploit and use sources of data, information, intelligence and knowledge. These elements are core constituents of ‘soft skills’. The review identifies the need for a research strategy for policy development in TVET in Pakistan. We have identified key parameters and components which need to be incorporated and monitored to assist policy development. In parallel, we are considering the nature of curricula for soft skills development and how these can be developed in practice in a variety of settings. As businesses have entered the knowledge economy they have accepted the need for cultural changes in business and organizations. In the same vein, the pathway to soft skills acquisition for the knowledge economy requires a similar level of cultural change. The results of work on Pakistan produces outcomes which are informative for and transferable to other countries.
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Knowledge sharing for enhanced performance in the HEIs using a conceptual frameworkKnowledge sharing is an essential management practice that provides a sustainable competitive advantage in a vibrant and dynamic economy (Kaur, 2019). To achieve an enhanced performance in the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), it is essential to make sure that the teaching and learning system is determined by knowledge sharing approach (Nair and Munusami, 2019). The Higher Education Institutions are required to consider how they could better share knowledge from experts who have it to learners who need to get the best of such expertise (Darling-Hammond et al., 2019). This study examines the knowledge sharing behaviour among academics and leaners in the HEIs by providing a better understanding for their enhanced performance. This is aimed to comprehend the individual acts of knowledge creation and the collective efforts of knowledge sharing adapted in the HEIs towards continuous improvement. A literature review is carried out to propose a conceptual framework of knowledge sharing for enhanced performance in the HEIs.
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Identifying the configurational conditions for marketing analytics use in UK SMEWhile marketing analytics can be used to improve organizational decision-making and performance significantly, little research exists to examine how the configurations of multiple conditions affect marketing analytics use. This study draws on configuration theory to investigate marketing analytics use in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This research employs fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis using data collected from a survey of 187 managers in UK SMEs. The key findings show that (1) configurations of multiple conditions provide alternative pathways to marketing analytics use; and (2) the configurations for small firms are different from those for medium-sized firms. The research results are based on several key configurational factors and a single key-informant method to collect subjective data from UK SME managers. The study helps SMEs to understand that marketing analytics use is influenced by the interaction of multiple conditions, that there are alternative pathways to marketing analytics use, and that SMEs should choose the configuration that fits best with their organizational contexts.
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Examining perceived entrepreneurial stress: a causal interpretation through cross-lagged panel studyThe entrepreneurial stress construct’s nomological validity is not well established as past studies have not delineated between entrepreneurial and employee stress. This study investigated several entrepreneurship-specific stressors positing their causal effect on perceived entrepreneurial stress (PES). It examined four directional hypotheses testing the causal, reverse, reciprocal relationships and moderation effects between stressors and PES. Further, it looked at the moderating impact of psychological capital. More than 300 entrepreneurs in emerging markets, namely India, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates, participated in this longitudinal study (Time 1 n = 325, Time 2 n = 310). The study adopted a cross-lagged competing model research design and analyzed the data using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that entrepreneurship-specific personal, social, and occupational stressors cause PES. Further, the results also support the reverse causal effect of PES on stressors and a reciprocal relationship. The study advances resource-based theory to an entrepreneurial background, highlighting the role of intangible resource gaps in perceived entrepreneurial stress. The study concludes that entrepreneurship-specific intangible resources are useful to entrepreneurs at personal, social, and occupational levels. An actual or perceived loss of these resources may lead to perceived entrepreneurial stress. Furthermore, PES can interfere with the entrepreneurial capacity for innovation over time. Psychological capital can be an effective coping response as a moderator of perceived entrepreneurial stress’ adverse effects. This is one of the first studies that examines PES in an emerging market context, specific to entrepreneurial employment.
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A historical institutionalist perspective on the persistence of state controls during financial sector reforms: the insightful case of MyanmarPurpose: Many transition economies are former socialist planned economies and have undergone market reforms of their financial sector to signal their transition towards democracy. However, governments in these countries have been reluctant to relinquish the pre-existing controls on economy and have adopted nuanced and sophisticated approaches to retain control. In such context, scholars may find it challenging to investigate the role played by the state in the success or failure of attempted market reforms. This work investigates the different forms of state-induced accounting controls that may preserve the status quo within the economy during transition, using Myanmar as an example. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a longitudinal qualitative research method aiming to reveal the very processes and mechanisms used by the banks and their evolution over time. This method is in accordance with the historical institutionalist perspective that we have applied within this research. Findings: The authors found that the Myanmar government embarked on the privatisation of their financial sector from 1990 to 2016 as a major public sector reform initiative. Under the guise of market reforms, it used both state-led and market-led controls to emulate and retain the socialist banking model where banks are used to fund the immediate government's budget deficits. This created a series of intended and unintended consequences, resulting in the ultimate failure of the government's market reforms. Research limitations/implications: Previously, research on public sector management accounting in emerging economies was not relying consistently on using theory. The relative limited theorisation led to gaps when attempting to understand and explain the opaque forms of state control mechanisms in transition economies. By applying historical institutionalist perspective, and a more theory-driven, reflective approach to the interpretation of the data collected, we have provided a deeper insight and understanding on how different forms of state controls can emerge, adapt and persist in transition economies such as Myanmar. Practical implications: The authors demonstrated that though the state may have implemented market reforms to signal regimes change, this does not necessarily mean that the government has relinquished their control on the economy. The state could take a more sophisticated, covert approach towards state controls leading to both intended and unintended consequences. Thus, even if the state's preferences change, the decisions cannot be easily reversed, as path-dependent state controls may have become pervasive affecting any further institutional and policy developments. Thus, the authors suggest that governments in both transition and developed economies should be cautious when enacting regulations on corporate control. Originality/value: In this paper, the authors have applied a historical institutional perspective in our analysis instead of the more widely used sociological, institutionalist approach. This allowed authors to harness rich longitudinal data indicating that market reforms and their success or failure should be examined as an ongoing process rather than a completed action. This is especially important in transition economies where the state may be unwilling to renounce the existing controls on the industry and may resort to more opaque forms of state control, eventually obstructing the intended reforms.
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A semiotics-oriented approach to aid the design of ubiquitously monitored healthcare systemsUbiquitous computing technology, sensor networks, and ambient intelligence have initiated the birth of pervasive health. While successful in many environments, in healthcare, monitoring technologies have been known to cause undesirable effects, such as increases in stress in patients being observed. To date, the use of this monitoring technology and its effect on human behaviour have not been thoroughly investigated, meaning future system designs may result in (preventable) undesirable effects. Pervasive healthcare’s envisioned deep intertwining with the patient’s day-to-day care, makes patient’s socio-cultural values a fundamental consideration. In this paper, we present a semiotics-oriented approach for analysing factors, identified in the literature and believed to influence patient’s behaviour, from both physical and social perspectives to aid the design of socially aware and patient-centric ubiquitous monitoring environments that are successfully adopted and used whilst aiding the incorporation of social aspects of pervasive technologies in the design.
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Business incubator managers’ perceptions of their role and performance success: role demands, constraints, and choicesUsing Stewart's (1976a, 1976b) role framework as an analytical lens, this paper examines how business incubator managers perceive their role and performance, and the choices they make in dealing with constraints and competing demands. Given that the literature in this domain has not considered how these types of managers experience agency and structure in their role, this study is important in theory and practice terms. Drawing on 40 qualitative interviews in different UK regions, the findings demonstrate the ways in which business incubator managers see their role as pivotal in supporting the incubatee entrepreneurs and how they endeavour to address competing role demands against constraints. Notably, while funding is commonly viewed as an enabler, the findings suggest that the funding structure could act as a constraint on the incubator managers, due to the weight of perceived bureaucracy preventing the latter from operating effectively within the full remit of their role.
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The production of garments and textiles in Bangladesh: trade unions, international managers and the health and safety of workersThis paper offers a view of working practices within the garment and textile (G&T) industry in Bangladesh. The G&T industry accounts for over 84 per cent of Bangladesh exports and is therefore viewed as key to the country’s economic development. This importance is seen in the creation of Export Processing Zones (EPZs), which were created by that state to encourage foreign investment by offering a congenial climate free from cumbersome procedures. Trade unions are outlawed in these areas. Health and safety are poor within the G&T industry. However, the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013, which caused 1,132 deaths and over 2,500 injuries, placed the issue of workplace safety on the international agenda. Arguably, this prompted a change of attitude within Bangladesh and the G&T industry towards health and safety. The presence of international managers appears to have played a significant role in improving health and safety in the working environment, however these international managers do face a range of cultural barriers, which include both language and a different perception of the value of health and safety in the workplace. This paper has adopted a mixed method of both qualitative and quantitative data, collected through interviews and questionnaire surveys within the G&T industry in Bangladesh.
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A combined tactical and operational deterministic food grain transportation model: particle swarm based optimization approachThis paper proposes a combined tactical and operational two stage food grain transportation model with linear formulation in the first stage and a mixed-integer non-linear problem (MINLP) in the second stage taking the case of India. Transportation cost is minimized in both stages to fulfil a deterministic demand. First and the second stages correspond to the movement of food grains in between state and central level warehouses respectively. A novel k-parameter based method of constraint handling has been proposed. Further, the two stage MINLP formulation newly incorporates vehicle capacity constraints and proposes a generic metric for measuring vehicle utilization. First stage is solved by CPLEX and for the second stage, two population based random search techniques: Particle swarm optimization-composite particle (PSOCP) and PSO, have been employed. Experimentations on 10 different problem sets reveal that PSOCP performs marginally better than PSO with lesser standard deviation of global fitness and better solution quality with slightly higher CPU time. Later, sensitivity analysis is conducted on all ten problem sets and a decision support framework is proposed to assist potential stakeholders.
