Enlarging sustainability learning through integrative thinking with a focus on cultivating virtues

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosheek Sewchurran ◽  
Lester Merlin Davids ◽  
Jennifer McDonogh ◽  
Camille Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Executive Development ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Sustainability Learning ◽  
African Context ◽  
Habituation Process ◽  
The University ◽  
Ways Of Being

Purpose In the African context of business practice, the authors face two interrelated challenges. First, executives need to deal strategically and sustainably with growing levels of inequality, under-employment and declining levels of wellness and safety. Second, executive development needs to develop virtues to help executives to address these problems. This paper aims to articulate an integrated, sustainable business education approach that aims to prepare executives to practice integrative thinking while simultaneously cultivating virtues that enhance their lives, thereby enabling them to make ongoing sustainable impacts to their worlds. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a mixed method analysis including both quantitative and qualitative data from student course feedback evaluations from Business Model Innovation (BMI) and Phronesis Development Practice courses run over four consecutive years between 2018 and 2021 at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business as part of the Executive Masters of Business Administration degree. Findings The program’s pedagogical approach integrates a philosophical habituation process with a core course on BMI practice. This philosophical integration is one in which there is a sustainable focus on cultivating specific “process” and “practice” virtues which foster awareness amongst executives of their everyday mundane skilful coping in the world. This leads to candidates becoming attuned to ways, in which they can strive for more authenticity and to step into newer ways of being, that allow them to reflect their values and evolve cultural practices. Originality/value As the first business school in Africa to base a BMI course on the affordances of the phenomenon of being-in-the-world and a philosophical habituation process, the authors hope to inspire more business schools to adopt holistic, sustainable approaches to executive development that goes beyond the competence paradigm.

The question of university graduates' employability: are the students aware of the employers' preferences

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pambas Tandika ◽  
Laurent Gabriel Ndijuye
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
University Education ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to university students' awareness of the employers preferred competencies and the educational level capable of readying them satisfactory for the demands of the world of work.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative approach exploratory research design, data were gathered in an informal and unstructured manner, researchers identified undergraduate students' awareness of employers' preferred competencies of the graduates.FindingsUndergraduate students overestimated academic credentials while ignoring soft skills as employers' preferences. Nevertheless, they were worried about their capability to compete adequately when seeking employment despite identifying university level of education as the most appropriate for developing and enhancing their employability.Research limitations/implicationsThe study involved mostly second-year students from one college of the seven colleges constituting the University of Dodoma.Practical implicationsThere is a need for university education to integrate and emphasize the non-cognitive skills for adequately and holistically preparing future employees with adequate knowledge and skills to thrive in the world of work demands.Social implicationsThere likelihood that a lack of confidence would impact their participation in academia and work/job. Hence, lower down their productivity and inadequately contribute to social and national economic growth.Originality/valueThe value of these findings is that they identify, inform and can be used to enhance university education programming for improved graduate's employability.

Perceptions of higher agricultural education toward sustainable agricultural development

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-202
Author(s):  
Ruth Ortega-Dela Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Agricultural Science ◽  
Curriculum Planning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the purposes and current outcomes of Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree program in Austria. It identifies the ability of higher agricultural education (HAE) curriculum to meet its purpose by way of validating its current outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study used survey research design to purposively sample faculty members and graduating students under the bachelor degree program of Agricultural Science at BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. In addition to a self-administered questionnaire, key informant interviews were also conducted to validate the data gathered. Findings The Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree program in Austria aims to develop the student scientific understanding of theoretical and practical aspects of agriculture. The program also gears toward developing their lifelong learning skills. Analysis of the difference reveals congruence in the perceptions of agricultural education professionals and students regarding the intended and expected learning outcomes of the HAE curriculum. The findings affirm how the purposes and outcomes of HAE curriculum have been met successfully and their implications to BS Agriculture curriculum in the University of the Philippines. The findings are grounded on the firm foundations of Austrian higher education system from their strategic curriculum planning, design, and implementation to evaluation where all stages are done in consultation with the various stakeholders. Truly a community of dedicated members of the academic and administrative staff is a powerful tool toward curricular advancement in HAE institutions. Practical implications The subject of this study, in particular BOKU University, provides a concrete example that not only the University of the Philippines Los Baños but all the other agricultural universities around the world could learn from. Social implications This study serves as a springboard for the development of new and innovative models of curriculum and instruction in the Philippines and other agricultural developing countries in the world. Originality/value This is an original study that provides discussion on the link between a developed country as a possible model and a developing country in terms of HAE. It helps the HAE institutions realize the ways on how their educational aspirations will turn into reality when it comes to fulfilling their role in supplying a well-trained and productive workforce for the agricultural economy toward sustainable agriculture development in one’s own country.

Innovative development of the national university system in Russia: trends and key elements

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuriy I. Razorenov ◽  
Konstantin V. Vodenko
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Innovation System ◽  
National Innovation System ◽  
The State ◽  
World Intellectual Property Organization ◽  
Innovative Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
The University ◽  
University Industry

PurposeThe goal of the research is to analyze the university development trends in the national innovation system. The paper presents a review of the formation of innovative development strategies and the place of a university in them. The structure is based on the analysis of foreign trends of the transformation of universities and the examination of the efficiency of the interaction between the university, industry and the state. Russian experience in the transformation of universities is presented.Design/methodology/approachResearch methodologies include methods of statistical and comparative analysis and synthesis. The information analysis base of the research is composed of the reports of the World Intellectual Property Organization at year-end 2019, as well as global comparative assessments of the status and development of innovation activities by the Global Innovation Index and Global Competitiveness Index, which are calculated according to the methodology of the World Economic Forum and others.FindingsIn the course of research, the authors put forward a new model of universities within the framework of the national innovation system, which is based on the “triple helix model of innovation” implemented by universities, industry and the state. The logic and structure of the research are set forth in the following way. First, a review of the global practice of the formation and implementation of state innovation policy is given, with the university being a key link, the foreign experience in the transformation of universities is analyzed and the efficiency of the interaction between the university, industry and the state is examined. Furthermore, consideration is given to the Russian experience in the transformation of universities. In conclusion, the main findings of the research are presented.Practical implicationsResults testify that goals and objectives that can be solved by achieving indicators in the world rankings are important for improving competitiveness of education, but they are only efficient if they conform to management decisions that are taken for achieving them and coincide with strategic goals and directions that should be implemented within the framework of the national innovation and academic system.Originality/valueResearch hypothesis is as follows: modern age is characterized by the rapid development of digital technologies and globalization processes, which transform technologies and cultural patterns into techniques and methods of working with information. Despite the fact that a university is the center for the development of society and culture, which serves as an axiological core, it is subject to the transformation, which is mainly manifested in instrumental changes and the expansion of the social procurement range. The modern educational system is yet to find a contemporary conceptual framework of a university that would satisfy the up-to-date requirements of the global information society in an age of digital revolution and dominate in the educational services market.

Property as Ontology: On Aboriginal and English Understandings of Ownership

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley Bryan
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Philosophical Foundations ◽  
Philosophical Significance ◽  
Critical Knowledge ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Property Regimes ◽  
Ways Of Being

A critical knowledge of the evolution of the idea of property would embody, in some respects, the most remarkable portion of mental history of mankind.– L.H. MorganNow you try and say what is involved in seeing something as something. It is not easy.– Ludwig WittgensteinIn this paper I argue that a comparison of English and Aboriginal conceptions of property yields insight into the ontologically specific grounds that inform institutionalized socio-cultural practices like property. Where the foundations of English conceptions of property are highly rationalistic, Aboriginal conceptions eschew categorization and are indicative of a highly nuanced and different way of understanding the worldliness of a human being. As such, a comparison of such conceptions becomes not simply a comparison of ways of owning and possessing, but a cross-cultural comparison of ways of relating to the world at large for what are ostensibly economic purposes.To argue this is to assume that there is much more going on within culture that is determinative of ways of being than to simply assume that all cultures share universal cultural traits. In this paper I therefore discuss some of the philosophical foundations that underlie Western conceptions of the human’s relation to the world as embodied in principles of property law, as well as looking at the philosophical significance of that view. I also look at the way various Aboriginal peoples in Canada understand their own relationship to the world-at-large as it is expressed in what they understand as the property regimes of their society.

scholarly journals Transition of graduates from backpack‐to‐briefcase: a case study

2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter McIlveen ◽  
Dominic Pensiero
Keyword(s):  
Career Development ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Career Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Environment ◽  
New Graduates ◽  
Career Service ◽  
The World ◽  
The University

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to overview the Backpack‐to‐Briefcase project which established a set of prototype career development learning strategies for Australian university career services, with the aim of contributing to their services for supporting students and graduates to make a smoother transition into graduate employment and the world‐of‐work.Design/methodology/approachA case study analysis of the development and implementation of three career development learning interventions is described. These interventions include: employability skills workshops for students; career mentoring for students; and services to small and medium sized employers to support their recruitment and induction of new graduates into their worksites.FindingsThe prototype interventions developed in the project extended the work of the university's Career Service. The interventions were judged as having the capacity to be readily implemented by university career services. A key outcome was the success of the graduate‐induction initiative which engaged small and medium sized employers traditionally unfamiliar with or unable to enter the graduate recruitment market.Originality/valueThis case study highlights the value of university career services' contributions to undergraduate preparation for the world‐of‐work, particularly in regional areas. Furthermore, the case study highlights the importance of inter‐departmental cooperation within the university environment, and the value of university‐industry collaboration toward the goal of improving graduates' transitions into the workforce, particularly in rural and regional areas.

A business incubating unit to sustain technology transfer: Vyas’s Dilemma

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Baljeet Singh ◽  
Kushankur Dey
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Indian Council ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Innovation Project ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The University

Learning outcomes: The paper aims to understand the process of transfer of agricultural technology, which comprises incubation of the technology business, valuation, evaluation, licensing and commercialization, to examine various dimensions of the process of technology transfer and the effectiveness of transfer object use criteria, to explore ways of sustaining incubation and commercialization through an autonomous unit responsible for technology transfer, to peruse the role of agribusiness incubators in creating an effective agri-entrepreneurship eco-system and to study the factors that promote or inhibit the sustainability of business incubators in an academic or research institution setting. Case overview/synopsis: An innovative technology for production of liquid bio-fertilizers was developed and nurtured to market levels by Anand Agricultural University (AAU), a State Agricultural University in Gujarat. The technology for production of liquid bio-fertilizers, developed during 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 was licensed to some of the state public and private sector undertakings under the World Bank-financed National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) implemented through Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). For commercializing the technologies from the University, a Business Planning and Development (BPD) Unit was set up at AAU along the lines of a technology transfer office, under the aegis of NAIP during later part of 2009. The NAIP funding from World Bank for BPD Units ceased in June 2014 with closure of the project. With funding no more available, Rajababu V. Vyas, a research scientist at the Microbiology and Bio-fertilizer Department of the University and Head of the BPD Unit, had serious concerns about the BPD unit’s sustainability, as well as sustaining the process of technology transfer from the University. Complexity academic level: Anand Agricultural University (AAU), a state-run university in Gujarat, developed and incubated a technology to produce liquid biofertilizer, licensed the technology and marketed its product through a few state-run and private fertilizer firms. The technology was developed between 2009/2010 and 2013/2014 as part of the National Agricultural Innovation Project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research with funds from the World Bank. A unit to incubate agri-businesses, referred to as Business Planning and Development Unit (BPDU), was set up in late 2009 to expedite the process of technology transfer from AAU to agribusiness firms. Rajababu V. Vyas, a research scientist at the Microbiology and Bio-fertilizer Department of the university, was concerned about the unit’s sustainability, because funding from the World Bank had ceased from June 2014, and wondered how to sustain the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the field in the light of the data available to him. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes. Subject code Entrepreneurship

The greatest show on earth: organising and the performance of society

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Blantern
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Individual Identity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical View ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The World ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to draw attention to the significance of “acculturation” in organisations and organising and how learning occurs as micro-practices (organisational poetics). Design/methodology/approach The recognition of the ontological significance of organisational acculturation invites a more critical view of the effects of organisational practices on individual identity, social norms and the accountability of organisations to society. Findings Organising and organisations are cast as nurseries of cultural practices that are so normalised we regard them as “unremarkable”, as “just the way things are” – yet “schooling” of identity and social norms. Practical implications If we want a better world, we should, as citizens, expect more from our organisations and their learning. Social implications The significance here is, from a post-structural, relational stance, that organising and organisations are significant agents in the performance of what it is to be human and our social conditions. As well as goods and services organisations produce “humans”. Originality/value As distinct from the canon of organisational learning literature which is primarily concerned with learning for the effectiveness and resilience of organisations for their own benefit, this paper asserts that what we learn and normalise in organisations structures society – the world we live.

Command college – foresight as a foundation to police executive development

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
Bob Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Executive Development ◽  
Leadership Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Police Executives ◽  
The Future ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Law Enforcement Executive ◽  
The University

Purpose The education of police executives has been a priority of criminal justice agencies for more than 40 years to address the need to professionalize law enforcement in America. Since the 1980s, programs for this purpose have existed, one of which is the California POST Command College. Command College is an academically oriented executive development program intended to “invest in the future” as its students – mid-career police managers – acquire the tools and skills necessary to be promoted to executive positions. This paper aims to answer the question, “Does the Command College achieve its intended goals?” Design/methodology/approach A survey instrument was used to obtain perspectives of recent graduates and of those who had graduated from the program more than four years before the survey. An assessment of the frequency of promotions to command and executive roles was completed, and an external academic assessment of the program’s curriculum was completed by a university. Findings Support for the program by graduates increased over time, graduates were promoted at a rate of three times higher than baseline averages for police managers and the program’s curriculum was vetted as being equivalent to graduate-level courses at the university level. Research limitations/implications As its value is validated through this assessment, others can learn how they might better prepare their police executives for the future. No similar law enforcement program has been similarly assessed, so others may also learn ways to ensure they are achieving their intended outcomes from this example. Given the differences in other law enforcement leadership programs in terms of student selection and specific goals, direct comparisons would be limited, both by the program differences and the research design used by others as they work to validate their success in meeting their goals. Originality/value Although law enforcement executive education has existed since 1935, and leadership training programs for the police since 1982, no research has been conducted to validate the outcomes and impact of such programs on the graduates of such programs and their agencies.

Responsible management education for a sustainable world

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dyllick
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Management Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Responsible Management ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Diverse Area

Purpose – The reforms in business schools based on the Ford and Carnegie Foundation reports (Pierson, 1959; Gordon and Howell, 1959) have been very successful in embedding management in a research-based body of knowledge, thereby elevating the academic status of business administration. These reforms, however, did nothing toward making management more socially trustworthy or management education more responsible. In the light of the pressing economic, social and environmental crises the world is facing, the feeling is spreading that not only business and economics but business schools also need to change fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to these crises and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of the fundamental challenges facing the role of business schools and their contributions in the areas of education, research, managing faculty, and role of the business school. It presents suggestions what responsible management education for a sustainable world could and should look like. Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds on the existing literature on the needed changes in business schools and has been written as part of a large international project, the 50+20 initiative (www.50plus20.org), which was developed by a broad coalition of organizations with the World Business School Council for Sustainable Business (WBSCSB), the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) at its core and 16 business schools and organizations from all around the world as supporters (Muff et al., 2013). Findings – Business schools need to transform themselves fundamentally, if they want to be a provider of solutions to the crises of responsibility and sustainability and thereby keep and regain their legitimacy. Originality/value – The paper pulls together insights from a diverse area of literature and develops practical conclusions.

scholarly journals Mounting an “Islamic Studies” Program

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-153
Author(s):  
Muhammed Haron
Keyword(s):  
Free State ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
African Context ◽  
The University

The study of Islam at many universities around the world has beenon the increase for the past three decades for various regions. InSouth Africa, where it was initiated by Semiticists in Semitic Studiesdepartments and Missiologists in Missiology courses, its studygradually developed into full courses. Since the popularity of “Islamicstudies” has been of interest to secular academics as well, thecountry’s University of the Free State (UFS) proposed the offeringof a Baccalaureus Divinitatis Degree in Islamic studies. But beforedoing so, the university decided to host a colloquium to which theorganizing committee invited various stakeholders. This essay contextualizesthis colloquium by locating the teaching and study ofIslam in a broad South(ern) African context and offers a critical reporton the ensuing two-day colloquium.

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