Journals
2011 EN
Ann Toler Hilliard · Barbara Talbert Jackson
Many school leaders today are experiencing many challenges to ensure that their schools are successful. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind Act, school leaders have been faced with making sure that all students, regardless of language and/or background, are successful on the state assessment test. If students do not make AYP Annual Yearly Progress based on set standards, the school leader is viewed as not being effective. The school leader/administrator is at the front-line for their school’s progress on a daily basis and just to name a few items, school safety, appropriate curriculum and accommodations for students, high quality instruction service to all students and utilizing technology to enhance instruction and management tasks (Lashway, 2003). This research paper will discuss aspects and trends in leadership in the following areas: leadership standards, leadership development, shared leadership, support for school leadership, change in mission, facility planning and designing, classroom configuration, use of school time, early programs, special programs, school transfer, use of technology and virtual schools.
Journals
2011 EN
Kritsana Sukboonyasatit · Chaiwit Thanapaisarn · Lampang Manmar
The research objective was to develop public universities’ key performance indicators. Qualitative research and interviews were employed with each public university’s senior executive and quality assessors. The sample group was selected by the office of the public sector development commission and Thailand’s public universities can be separated into three groups based on their quality assessment score: 1) the high scoring group, 2) the moderate scoring group, and 3) the low scoring group. The results showed that the high scoring group had set a clear strategic context such as vision, mission, core values and corporate goals. In the case of the moderate scoring group it was found that some sections of the strategic context, such as the vision and mission, had already been defined, but corporate goals were yet to be determined. The strategic context was not clear and remained inactive for the low scoring group. In additional, each public university should establish two different sets of key performance indicators; first, a common key performance indicator which is aligned with the public university mission to enhance macro education, and which can be separated by five assessment perspectives as follows: 1) to produce graduates, 2) to promote and expand the university’s research, 3) to provide academic services, 4) to preserve and promote the arts, culture and heritage, and 5) to manage the university. The second specific key performance indicator should be aligned with the university’s strategic context, especially its vision and goals.
Journals
2011 EN
William Fowler · O. Scott Stovall · John D. Neill
In this paper, we describe how our department recently incorporated a major service learning component into the curriculum. Specifically, we employed participation in the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program as an effective means of experiential and service learning for the past two years for Masters of Accountancy students. We designed a course devoted entirely to serving in a VITA program operated on a local Air Force base. Our experience confirms that service learning can be a powerful tool in teaching. It has enhanced our students’ academic and professional development. It has given significance to our mission and it has strengthened community relationships. However, recent developments have made it difficult for us to maintain this service learning project in its present form. It appears that we, like many other programs, must consider again how to implement service learning as part of our curriculum, but we will do so now with a greater appreciation and enthusiasm for its unique contributions to learning.
Journals
2011 EN
Michael C. Budden · Connie B. Budden
University administrators can take a cue from pilots. Pilots regularly face decision situations where much lies in the balance. So it is with university administrators. The department, college or university itself can be compared to an aircraft. In flight, there are times when the sun shines and winds are favorable: a comfortable flight results and the mission is accomplished. At other times, thunderstorms ravage the skies, fuel may run low, structures and people may fail, and problems arise. So it is with universities and colleges. Sometimes things are great and at other times problems arise that interfere with the institutions role and mission. It is in the parallels of flying and leading an educational institution that allows flying wisdom to be of use.
Journals
2011 EN
Bahaudin G. Mujtaba · S. Karadayi
Many foreign firms competing globally are trying to secure a piece of the tourism market share in the United States. However, people are finding that starting and expanding a new business in the tourism industry to American consumers in the United States can be challenging. This document explores the strategy and mission of Turkish entrepreneurs assessing the tourism industry from a global perspective and choosing the United States to start securing a piece of the market with Generation Y individuals due to the countrys economic factors, the spending power of the average person, the hunger for cultural awareness and diversity, and the political stability of the country. Overall, the marketing strategy of the organization is discussed for the following factors: the product/service, pricing, distribution, and promotion. For calculating the budget, two options which are the fixed costs and the variable costs options are discussed.The focus of this study was to set up a business in a country such as the United States because such a country would have various types of diverse markets. The average income of most consumers in the developing countries seems to be sufficient to purchase services for pleasure, cultural awareness and other desires they would like to pursue. As such, it makes good business sense to enter this competitive market by differentiating ones offering through price, product and service quality to guarantee initial success.
Journals
2011 EN
Guergana Karadjova-Stoev · Bahaudin G. Mujtaba
The strategic role of human resource (HR) management should be seen as an integral element of a companys overall success in accomplishing its mission and business strategy. The paper will demonstrate how the decisions of a companys HR department are essential for a companys long-term success. In other words, strategic planning will not be presented solely as a companys objective, but a human resource imperative as demonstrated through the Euro Disney case. In the case of Euro Disney, strategic HR management was simply missing, which caused the companys initial strategy not to be successful in Europe. While analyzing the case and what the situation could have been with the exercise of HRs strategic role, emphasis is placed on the importance of cultural awareness. For the purpose of further clarifying the importance of cultural awareness, a comparison is drawn between the United States and France as some of the most important lessons both for Disney and other multinational enterprises are outlined.
Journals
2011 EN
Muroki F. Mwaura · Andrew B. Nyaboga
In response to the increased globalization of both commercial and financial markets and increased frequency of corporate scandals, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has spearheaded an international initiative to standardize corporate financial reporting. This effort involves setting the standards, creating a process of adopting the standards that is tailored to the needs of each nation, overcoming the challenges of implementation that many countries face and ensuring continued observance of the standards once they are adopted. This paper focuses on the implementation of IFAC standards in the African Continent. An examination of IFAC’s mission, its membership requirements and ongoing compliance program, and its assistance to developing nations will illustrate the current status of African nations in the standardization process. The countries representing the African continent possess many promising opportunities for growth and prosperity in the global economy and also present many distinct obstacles in their effort to embrace and implement the IFAC initiative. The approach used in this paper is to examine broadly the challenges faced by the different regions within Africa. This approach takes into account political, economic, cultural and religious differences found in distinct regions within the continent.
Journals
2011 EN
Taghi Jabbarifar
This article attempts to look at the range of contributions of total quality management. The higher education system is one of the key elements in the realization of sustained total quality management and socio-cultural development policies. University research centers and higher education institutes are in charge of training expert personnel and scholars while providing qualified services. Therefore, through its output, the higher education system paves the way for development. India needs to examine its concern with making its institutions qualitative and competitive by world standards. Thus, both the students and industry have become quality conscious. Quality improvement involves statistical tools, consumer research, goal-setting, teamwork, problem-solving, human recourse development, and strategic planning. A vision statement communicates key values for today as well as for the future. Implementation of a quality management system should be done, preferably with the help of a consultant to ensure success. In other words, higher education should prove its efficiency by responding to the needs of the country's development and by offering relevant outcomes.
Journals
2011 EN
Juris Firsts
This paper examines the process specifics that affects study environment at Medical College during a period of rapid changes. It describes the requirements of the environment and return on preparing professionals for regulated professions. These factors determine a dynamic activity optimization of a first level professional higher education institution by providing innovative solutions for the achievement of its mission, vision and goals. The results achieved allow planning viable development, new core programs that mark early clinical experience, the monitoring of individual skills (for all process participants), the elasticity of studies with high average level of graduates reaching the adequacy of the proposed goal, professions standard and societys good understanding of resource allocation topics.Special attention was paid to the development of gradual comprehension process where one moves from simple to more complex process understanding by developing critical thinking skills, scientific research and other skills. For every years study process assessment, there are indicators identified, the analysis of which show the results, the process correspondence with the industry politics, and expected development. The circulation of this process is discussed via student individual and practical work percentage increase at the study program. The cooperation degree among process participants and the tendencies, coefficient and obstructive factors in different aspects were also analyzed.This work has been supported by the European Social Fund within the project Support for Doctoral Studies at University of Latvia.
Journals
2011 EN
William A. Drago
This article provides: (1) support for the configurational approach in the study of organizations by empirically deriving ideal organizational factors, and (2) insights into the interrelationship between organization structure and strategic planning use. Three structural factors are identified resembling Mintzbergs (1993, 1979) machine, diversified and adhocratic ideal forms. Through a regression analysis these factors were found to be significantly and positively related to the use of strategic planning. The model formed explained approximately 48% of variance in the use of stragtegic planning in participating firms. Results also indicate tha thte emphasis on individual planning tools (mission/vision/ long and short-term objectives, action plans and policies) varies with the intensity of particular factors.