Resisting Whilst Complying? A Case Study of a Power Struggle in a Business School

PurposeWe explore and explain how academic organizations attempt to establish legitimacy in a transition to a postconflict context, and we examine the ethical challenges that emerge from insightful approaches to formal education in such contexts.Design/methodology/approachWe use legitimacy theory to present a case study of a business school in Medellin, Colombia (herein referred to by the pseudonym BS-MED) in the empirical setting of the end of the most prolonged armed conflict in the world.FindingsWe identify the mechanisms implemented by BS-MED to comply with the Colombian government's peace process and rhetoric of business profitability and the faculty members' initiatives in response to social and academic tensions.Originality/valueThis study identifies the sources of the tensions and discrepancies between the regulatory and pragmatic versus moral and cultural-cognitive criteria of legitimacy in transitions to a postconflict context. This examination advances our understanding of the challenges that organizations face regarding changes to legitimacy over time. The extreme setting of our case positions academics as key players who lead the search for legitimacy. This study challenges the understandings of legitimacy in the literature on organizations, which rarely consider broader sociopolitical transitions to a peace context.

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Using an e-book platform as a learning resource and information management tool: the case study of the “K” e-book platform at an English business school

On the Horizon ◽

10.1108/oth-06-2018-0021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 12-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David William Stoten

Keyword(s):

Information Management ◽

Business School ◽

Management Tool ◽

Learning Resource

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Churning the Best Performer from the Last Performer! A Case Study on Innovations in B-Schools

South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases ◽

10.1177/2277977919860285 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 303-311

Author(s):

Filomina P. George

Keyword(s):

Business Education ◽

Business School ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Transformation Process ◽

Learning Program ◽

New Methods ◽

Innovative Method ◽

Postgraduate Programme ◽

Lasting Impression

Delivering quality business education in a complex and dynamic world is a major challenge for any Business School (B-School). It calls for constantly innovating new methods to entice, engage and enrich the learning experience of the students who go through a B-School programme. By meaningfully integrating such methods into the curriculum along with fulfilling the academic requirements leaves a longstanding impression on the learner. The Integrated Managerial Learning Program, branded as IMLP, is one such innovative method, which has stood the test of time easing out the transformation process during the two years tenure of the postgraduate programme in management. The following case describes the testimony of how IMLP has survived the dynamics of the changing world, transforming the last performer into the best performer, thus leaving a lasting impression on the students through a co-curricular activity, which is cherished by them at their workplaces and in almost every alumni meet.

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Towards sustainable capitalism in the development of higher education business school curricula and management

International Journal of Educational Management ◽

10.1108/ijem-12-2012-0132 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 28 (5) ◽

pp. 523-545 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Peter Beusch

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Business School ◽

Business Schools ◽

Broad Class ◽

Single Case ◽

Content Type ◽

External Forces ◽

Education Business ◽

School Curricula

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to account for, and conceptualize, the internal and external forces that influence higher education business schools as they strive to integrate sustainability issues into their curricula in the effort to achieve a more sustainable (yet capitalist) world. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used for the research, which is grounded in the relevant literature, to investigate sustainable development issues in the context of a Swedish business school (university level). The empirical data consists of a review of internal documents plus e-mail surveys and interviews and discussion seminars with university teachers/researchers and key administrators. Findings – Two tentative models are presented that map the various internal and external forces behind business schools’ curriculum change. One important finding describes how supply and demand influences business schools and recruiters of business students. Research limitations/implications – Because this research is based on a single case study, the analysis and the mapping in the paper are somewhat limited in their general applicability. However, the research context of the business school permits drawing conclusions that may apply to a broad class of colleges or departments in higher education. In addition, because the research is supported by significant ideas from the literature, general inferences may be drawn about business school curricula. Originality/value – The two tentative models provide a holistic framework that adds to the understanding of the composition and interrelationship of influential forces on business schools when major changes in curricula and their management are contemplated.

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Future-proofing placements

Higher Education Skills and Work-based Learning ◽

10.1108/heswbl-07-2018-0076 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 434-444

Author(s):

Julie Fowlie ◽

Clare Forder

Keyword(s):

Business School ◽

Detailed Examination ◽

Local Context ◽

Small Scale ◽

Local Economies ◽

Content Type ◽

Student Demand ◽

First Time ◽

Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a case study centred on steps taken at a Business School in a UK university, to improve local work placement provision, respond to student demand and engage more productively with local businesses. It is situated against renewed focus on universities’ engagement with local economies and the graduate labour market context as demonstrated by the government’s Industrial Strategy (BEIS, 2017) and the OfS (2018) business plan. It aims to emphasise how moving the focus back from graduates to placement students could offer a useful collaborative opportunity for local businesses to articulate what they want from future employees. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a mixed methods approach, drawing upon a case study on a new intervention piloted in the Business School as well as qualitative research gathered from questionnaires and interviews with students. Responses to questionnaires and interviews were analysed thematically in the Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) tradition. Findings The paper highlights the lack of literature on local placements and also demonstrates findings which echo existing research on typical barriers and drivers to placements in general. It offers original outcomes such as how for some students local placements offer a convenience value but for others they are part of committing to living and working locally after graduation. Research limitations/implications The small-scale nature of the study means that only indicative findings are presented. Further research is necessary for a more detailed examination of its implications. Practical implications Recommendations are made for a systematic approach to developing, or establishing for the first time, university–employer relationships in order to future-proof local placement opportunities. Originality/value The paper fills a gap in the literature on local placements and also provides a fresh approach to how universities and employers might work together to identify local skills gaps and increase the provision of local placements. It also offers ways in students’ often negatively framed reasons for not undertaking a placement can be mitigated through engaging with the local context.

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Behavioural economics and social economics: opportunities for an expanded curriculum

International Journal of Social Economics ◽

10.1108/ijse-05-2018-0250 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (8) ◽

pp. 992-1003

Author(s):

Paul Manning

Keyword(s):

Business School ◽

White Collar Crime ◽

White Collar ◽

School Curriculum ◽

Behavioural Economics ◽

Content Type ◽

Teaching Case ◽

School Pedagogy ◽

Economic Understanding

Purpose The global financial crisis (GFC) undermined the legitimacy of orthodox economic assumptions, which nevertheless continue to frame business school pedagogy. In consequence, there is an opportunity for socio-economic insights to be more fully incorporated into the business school curriculum. This paper reports and reflects on a socio-economic case study that was delivered to MBA students. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the developing literature on behavioural economics (BE) has the potential to enhance students’ social economic understanding of key areas of the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents an inter-disciplinary socio-economic teaching case that was informed by insights from BE. The teaching case concerned a socio-economic understanding of corruption and white-collar crime. It was also inter-disciplinary to include inputs from business history and criminology. The aim of the teaching case was to develop an appreciation among students that corruption and white-collar crime can be analysed within a social economics lens. Findings The teaching case example discussed in this paper offered an alternative socio-economic understanding to core areas of the MBA curriculum, enabling students to apply a behavioural economic approach to corruption and more generally to white-collar crime. The findings derived from this case study are that behavioural economics has the potential to enhance the teaching of socio-economics. Practical implications The GFC presents an opportunity to re-shape the business school curriculum to acknowledge the centrality of socio-economics and consequently to offer an alternative to the dominant ontological assumptions – taken from the economic understanding of rationality – that have previously under-pinned business school pedagogy. Originality/value The originality of this paper is to apply BE to a socio-economic teaching case studies in core subject areas of the MBA curriculum.

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