A Transition Perspective for Business School Research and Education in China

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Hao Tan

Abstract In this perspective article, I draw on transition research that has been developed to account for the transitions in many socio-technical systems within human society, such as energy, water, and food. I argue that many ideas developed in transition research can be applied to the ecosystem of contemporary business schools in China for its transformation. Using the multi-level perspective (MLP) from transition research as an analytic framework, I examine the socio-technical system of business schools in China for understanding the main forces that may shape a potential transition of the sector. I also draw on transition management theory and insights from research on the politics of transitions for important conditions that are required to enable a transition in this specific context.

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 854-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Iñiguez De Onzoño ◽  
Salvador Carmona

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the lack of relevance of business school research and how the potential gap between research and practice may be related to the lack of interaction between faculty members and non-academic stakeholders (e.g. industry, professions, society). Design/methodology/approach – The review of the extant literature in this area is combined with the experiences and discussions with business school leaders from around the world. Findings – The problematization of the lack of relevance of business school research leads us to conclude that it is a case of reward folly; the authors hope for relevance to external stakeholders but the authors reward for relevance to academic stakeholders. Drawing on Stokes’ (1997) research taxonomy, the authors conclude that business-school research should combine internal and external validity, which would involve business school faculty performing rigorous and relevant research, and interacting with practitioners; that is, an “academic triathlon”. Social implications – Faculty members should conduct research and teaching activities as well as interact with industry, and act to disseminate their research findings among external stakeholders. Consequently this should have implications for both the academic structure at business schools and the resources available to faculty members. Proceeding in this way will result in the narrowing of the gap of understanding between faculty members and management, and ultimately, to bridge the gap between contemporary versions of the Agora and the Academe. Originality/value – The authors provide a taxonomy of stakeholders of business school research and outline changes in the structure of business schools, resources provided to faculty members and impact on accreditation agencies.


2018 ◽  
pp. 1310-1323
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Burgess

This chapter examines how the values of UK business school academics interact with the values of the students they teach. The chapter proposes that the dominance of research as the basis for academic progression, particularly in the top business schools, contributes to an environment where academics are challenged to conform to norms of ethical behaviour. These, and other environmental pressures such as the ratings and rankings merry-go-round, and major corporate failures such as Enron and Lehman Brothers, shape the academic value system and impact on the way that staff design and deliver their teaching. Conversely business school students also bring their values containing dysfunctional aspects, such as the increasing troubles associated with plagiarism. In particular the chapter draws on the case of the MBA, a business school's flagship programme to examine how the value systems of these two groups, academics and students, interact. The essence of this chapter is to investigate this interaction by integrating theory, secondary data and the author's reflections. The particular focus is on how staff research priorities shape and interact with the student experience in business schools.


Author(s):  
Thomas F. Burgess

This chapter examines how the values of UK business school academics interact with the values of the students they teach. The chapter proposes that the dominance of research as the basis for academic progression, particularly in the top business schools, contributes to an environment where academics are challenged to conform to norms of ethical behaviour. These, and other environmental pressures such as the ratings and rankings merry-go-round, and major corporate failures such as Enron and Lehman Brothers, shape the academic value system and impact on the way that staff design and deliver their teaching. Conversely business school students also bring their values containing dysfunctional aspects, such as the increasing troubles associated with plagiarism. In particular the chapter draws on the case of the MBA, a business school’s flagship programme to examine how the value systems of these two groups, academics and students, interact. The essence of this chapter is to investigate this interaction by integrating theory, secondary data and the author’s reflections. The particular focus is on how staff research priorities shape and interact with the student experience in business schools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 863-866
Author(s):  
Zhe Wu

Abstract The year 2019 marked the fortieth anniversary of the Chinese Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (CSBMB), whose mission is to promote biomolecular research and education in China. The last 40 years have witnessed tremendous growth and achievements in biomolecular research by Chinese scientists and Essays in Biochemistry is delighted to publish this themed issue that focuses on exciting areas within RNA biology, with each review contributed by key experts from China.


Organization ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 135050842110209
Author(s):  
Martin Parker

In this review I consider the 20 years that have passed since the publication of my book Against Management. I begin by locating it in the context of the expanding business schools of the UK in the 1990s, and the growth of CMS in north western Europe. After positioning the book within its time, and noting that the book is now simultaneously highly cited and irrelevant, I then explore the arguments I made in the final chapter. If the book is of interest for the next two decades, it because it gestures towards the importance of alternative forms of organization, which I continue to maintain are not reducible to ‘management’. Given the intensifying crises of climate, ecology, inequality and democracy, developing alternatives must be understood as the historical task of CMS within the business school and I propose a ten-point manifesto in support of that commitment.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 497-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Shaw ◽  
Catherine Cassell

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a piece of empirical work that examines gender differences in how academics make sense of performance within university business schools in the UK.Design/methodology/approachThe research reported draws on data collected using a life history and repertory grid methodology with male and female interviewees from two university business schools.FindingsThe findings are discussed in relation to how academics understand what is valued about their role and what they believe the organisation rewards and values when it comes to promotion. Gender differences are shown to exist in the ways women and men define the academic role and in what they think is important both to themselves and the institution.Originality/valueThe paper presents original data on gender differences within a business school context.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Vukasovic ◽  
Bjørn Stensaker

Several university alliances have been established in Europe in an attempt to influence the development of policies in research and education. As such, these alliances can be seen as being new players in the increasingly complex multi-actor, multi-level governance in this policy domain. The paper compares two key university alliances in Europe; in particular, how membership differences are related to their positions in the policy arena, their policy agendas and their policy formation and lobbying practices. The study contributes to understanding of, first, the role of university alliances in European level policy processes concerning higher education and research; and, second, the implications their involvement might have for future shaping of European initiatives in the knowledge domain.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Bridgman

This article considers the possibilities of, and threats to, the performance of a critical public role by business school faculty, based on an empirical study of UK research-led business schools. Its reference point is a recent debate about the 'relevance' of management education to management practice-a debate which has become polarized around nodal points of 'critical' and 'engaged' with the implication that engagement with external constituencies requires the suspension of critique and conversely, that critique of received wisdom is of little relevance to stakeholders. The notion of a critical engagement with the public asserts that business schools can serve a valuable democratic function as scrutinizers of organizational activity. This role is largely marginalized in prevailing conceptions of an increasingly commercialized business school, but the empirical study suggests there is some cause for optimism. The demonstration of 'relevance' does not have to involve the pursuit of a narrow commercialization agenda where the business school propagates a strictly managerialist view of the world. Copyright © 2007 Sage Publications.


Author(s):  
Todd Bridgman ◽  
Stephen Cummings ◽  
C McLaughlin

© Academy of Management Learning & Education. Although supportive of calls for business schools to learn the lessons of history to address contemporary challenges about their legitimacy and impact, we argue that our ability to learn is limited by the histories we have created. Through contrasting the contested development of the case method of teaching at Harvard Business School and the conventional history of its rise, we argue that this history, which promotes a smooth linear evolution, works against reconceptualizing the role of the business school. To illustrate this, we develop a "counterhistory" of the case method-one that reveals a contested and circuitous path of development-and discuss how recognizing this would encourage us to think differently. This counterhistory provides ameans of stimulating debate and innovative thinking about how business schools can address their legitimacy challenges, and, in doing so, have a more positive impact on society.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-79
Author(s):  
Patrick Pelletier

This study examines the process by which a change in institutional logic of a organizational field is initiated. More specifically, we are concerned with how the IBM Thinkpad University concept affects various business schools in the province of Quebec. The theoretical framework departs from new-institutional theories. We propose a multi-level analysis: institutional, organizational and operational. The finding examines the process by which organizations retain, adopt and discard practices and illustrates the influence of institutional prestige, organizational mission, autonomy and pedagogical expertise. We show that the source of the institutional logic of appropriation is a quest for reputation.


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