Executive MBA
Final Project Workshop
Michel Leseure
Outline
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Final Project Objectives & Process
Designing a good project
– What makes a good project? Review of past project’s topics
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– Exercise 1: Selecting a topic and identifying objectives
Assessment of final project
– Exercise 2: Self-Assessment
What is meant by research methodology
– Exercise 3: Selecting a Methodology
Writing a project proposal
“Prix de la Recherche en Economie et Gestion de l’Economiste”
Michel Leseure
Outline (2)
• Writing a literature review
• Draft Project Proposal Presentations
• Current Issues in Business Research
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Final Project Process
&
Regulations
Final Project Workshop
Michel Leseure
Final Project Objectives
• The objective of the project is to assess
the capacity of each participant to apply
the latest business and management
theories and practices gained through the
program to his/her own working
environment.
• It is a professional research exercise that
will enable the participant to focus on real
business and managerial issues
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Final Project Workshop
(April 1st, 2006)
Submission of proposal and Project Proposal
Approval Form (June 4th, 2006)
Coordinator evaluates proposals for approval and looks
for supervisors
(June 09th, 2006)
Coordinator does not approve the
Final
Project
Process
project proposal and requires
modifications
Coordinator approves the project
proposal and assigns a supervisor
Executive students implement
corrections and send revised
proposals
Coordinator reviews amended
proposals (along with supervisor,
if identified at that stage)
Proposal not approved
before cut-off date
Participant cannot
complete project in
2006
Proposal approved before cut-off date
of July 1st
Contact point is the supervisor
Submission of Final Report
(November 26th, 2006)
Oral Defense Michel
(December 09-10th, 2006)
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Regulations
– Individual piece of work
– Deadlines are official regulations
• Not respecting a deadline is a regulation violation
• Informing the coordinator that you are going to miss a deadline is
a good practice
• In doubt, keep us informed
– Do not let the contact with your supervisor or coordinator die
– Extensions:
• Possible, but not recommended.
• Note: Informal agreement from supervisor is not sufficient to
obtain an extension
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Evaluation
Process
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Milestones
01/06/2005
Theme
Topic
Draft
Proposal
26/11/06
Finding
a
supervisor
Work
Final
Submission
Proposal submissions are treated on a rolling basis
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Designing a Good Project
Final Project Workshop
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What makes a good draft
proposal?
• It is interesting – both for you, the
supervisor, and the business community
• Suitable: to an Ex-MBA/Business degree
• Topicality: Your proposal will tackle a
novel, interesting issue which is
recognised as an important issues in
today’s business research agenda
• Feasible: within the time frame and
available resources in an Ex-MBA project
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Industrial Relevance
• It is important that your project is relevant to your
sponsor…
• But marketing plans/business plans are not what
we are looking for
– After taking the classes, you should already know
how to prepare one
– Preparing one is something that your employer
could ask you to do
– The project is your opportunity to engage in
reflections about best practices and the importance
of an academic theory
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Theme and Topic
• Identify a theme/topic
– Theme:
• The general discipline or set of disciplines in which your
dissertation falls in.
• Example: Marketing, operations management, international
human resource management, etc.
– Topic:
• The type of question/issue that you are going to address,
generally speaking.
– Examples:
» CRM (Marketing)
» Scheduling (operations management)
» Expatriate compensation design (IHRM)
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Problems Choosing a Topic?
• Sources of ideas:
– An idea or a statement in a textbook/paper strikes you:
• As being important, misunderstood, or overlooked in real life.
• As being an over-generalisation, or an overly “romantic” idea.
– Replication research:
• Re-do an important survey done 5 or 10 years ago – are the findings still
true? Or target a specific industry.
• Test a conceptual model which was never tested in the research
literature.
– Call for papers
• The best source of information for topical subjects!
– Call for consultation
• Issued by government about policies, etc.
– Newspaper article/Company newsletter
• Tackle a controversial issue discussed in a newspaper article with a
rigorous research approach.
Remember: You should find the research topic
interesting and exciting.
Michel Leseure
Examples of Past Projects
Proposals
• Barid Al Maghrib’s Competitiveness in the
Parcels Industry
• Organizational and Managerial Changes
for Implementing a Total Quality
Management System – Case of Barid Al
Maghrib
• Evaluating the Cash Management System
at Barid Al Maghrib
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Examples of Past Projects
Proposals
• An Implementation System of Management by
Objectives – A Case Study of Barid Al Maghrib
• The Area Market Contractor- A Case of the CocaCola Company – Morocco
• Future Prospects of Branded Pharmaceutical
Products in a Generic Oriented Market
• An Analysis of JLEC’s New Perspective in
Meeting the Requirements of A Potential
Competitive Market
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Examples of Past Projects
Proposals
• Contribution to the Assessment of the Role of
Knowledge in Oil Prospection in Morocco
• Infrastructure Projects Financing Using
Securitization: The case of ADM (Autoroutes du
Maroc)
• An Implementation of A Costing System – A Case
Study of Barid Al Maghrib
• Strategic Leadership Application to Business
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Examples of Past Projects
Proposals
• Building Méditel Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) Strategy
• Atlas Blue – The Moroccan Low Fare
Airlines – Operating Costs
• Strategy to Develop Direct Sales and
Marketing Within Royal Air Maroc
• Dates in Morocco – Market study for The
Moroccan Dates Farm (MDF) Company
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Examples of Past Projects
Proposals
• Strategic Plan for Maghrebail for the
Period 2006/2010
• Strengthening Barid Al-Maghrib brand
Image and identity - Starting from inside
• Competitor Analysis: Preparing for the
next threat to postal money orders
• Subsidiarization: Reasons, Benefits and
Perspectives. The case of Royal air Maroc
Cargo.
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Evaluation of the Proposal
• What should be in the proposal:
– Key research
questions/objectives/hypothesis
– Why is it important?
– Overview of research method, including
data collection
– Expected contribution, identify target
audience
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Evaluation of the Proposal
Proposal Checklist:
There is a statement of the topic for the Business Project
There is a statement of the objectives and significance of the project
The audience for the project is described
There is a description of the business research methodology
A proposed schedule for completing the project is included
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Formulating Objectives
• It is important to differentiate the topic
from the objectives of the project
• The objectives is what you are setting to
achieve
• It is also the formulation of the basis on
which you want your work to be assessed
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Worst Case Scenarios
• Formulating objectives that you do not
address or attain
– Resist the temptation of “sounding good”
– If, in the course of your project, you feel
that you cannot attain the objectives,
change them!
• But make sure that the alternatives objectives are worthy!
• Formulating fuzzy objectives
– Evaluation is unconstrained, and likely to
be very critical
Michel Leseure
Example 1
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Theme: Operations Management
Topic: Supply chain management
Title: Designing a supply chain for the OCP
Objectives:
– Review best practices about supply chain design
– Discuss to what extent these best practices are
relevant/suitable to the Moroccan context
– Formulate a framework to filter the elements of
good practices that are relevant from those that are
not
– Make practical design recommendations for the
OCP
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Example 2
• Theme: Management
• Topic: Moral Contracts
• Title: Which moral contracts for Moroccan textile
factory workers
• Objectives:
– Review the practice of moral vs. legal contracts
– Discuss to what extent moral contracts are a
solution to tense industrial relations
– Discuss to what extent the Moroccan context is
compatible with moral contracts
– Formulate practical recommendations to improve
industrial relations through the use of moral
contracts
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Exercise 1
On an A4 piece of paper, prepare a
summary project proposal containing
only: (1) theme, (2) topic, (3) title, and
(4) objective
Nothing More !!!
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Assessment of final project
Final Project Workshop
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Evaluation
• By a committee (3 faculty members)
• Of both the written and the oral
components
• Remember that apart from your
supervisor, this will be the first exposure of
the rest of the committee with your work
– You have to be convincing
– You have to be professional
– You are the expert on the subject matter
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Tips
• Remember that business studies include
many sub-fields
– Huge difference between the research
standards of an economist, management
expert, and of a statistician…
• We try to match the committee members
to a topic, but…
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Tips
• Never present something you do not
understand or that you are not ready to
debate
• Interact with your supervisor – accept
critics from him/her
– A friendly critic is the chance to be well
prepared for your oral defence and avoid
getting “grilled”!
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Tips
• Listen to the questions and comments
• Take your time composing an answer
• Try to understand the perspective of the
question
– Is there a misunderstanding?
– Has the person asking the question missed
something?
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Tips
• Stand your ground but…
– Based on professional, technical answers
• Never
– Lose your temper
– Be too stubborn
• And remember that
– If you think a question is out of line/irrelevant/unfair
– Other committee members will see it
– They might even step in!
Michel Leseure
Exercise 2
Give your exercise 1 to your neighbour.
Prepare a 5 minutes assessment of
your neighbour’s proposal.
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Types of Project
Project Methodologies
Final Project Workshop
Michel Leseure
Types of Project
• There are many types of works that are
acceptable for your final project
• Remember that the quality of a project
will always be assessed with criteria
specific to the class of projects it
belongs to
• Make sure that you do not try to achieve
with a case study what should be done
with a survey, or vice versa!
Michel Leseure
Types of project
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Multiple case studies
Survey research
Quantitative modelling:
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Single case study
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Empirical vs. Axiomatic
– Empirical: A model is derived/tested from/with empirical data.
– Aximoatic: A model is designed/tested/improved through mathematical
analysis or simulation.
Descriptive vs. Normative
– Descriptive: Describes and seeks to explain a real-life phenomenon
– Normative: Seeks to formulate a policy
“Case Study”
Action research
– Can be a problem solving exercise for a company
Conceptual research:
– Literature review
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Critical
Comparative
Systematic Literature review
– Building a conceptual research model, solving a paradox
or debate in the literature
Michel Leseure
Anatomy of a Research Project
Contribution to
Knowledge
Analysis, synthesis,
Reflection
& Conclusions
Objectives
Questions/hypothesis
Literature Review
Research model
Research Framework
How can it be tackled?
Research
Method/Process
Are used
for
Application
Findings
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Research method
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What is not a research method:
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What is a research method:
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“I will use a case study approach. Case studies present advantages for
the in-depth analysis of a problem but limitations in terms of
generalisation.”
This is a research approach…or a discussion about a research approach.
I will use case studies to explore whether or not corporate citizenship has
a positive impact on effectiveness.
Corporate citizenship is defined as… effectiveness assessed as follows:…
The relationships between the two will be displayed in a matrix including
several comparative case studies.
A research method is a process through which you are going to move the
reader from questions, to data, to findings, and eventually to conclusion.
If your process is poor, your findings are unconvincing
If you process is unclear, your research cannot be audited/replicated
Michel Leseure
Lessons Learned
• Students tended to discuss research methods at
an abstract level
• They showed more concerns with justifying a
research approach (e.g. qualitative rather than
quantitative research) than with designing a
consistent and competent research process
• Your research method section should:
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Clear
Practical
A description of a process
A justification of the quality and relevance of the
process
Michel Leseure
Data
Collected
Example
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Objectives: To study if a
franchised retailer should
stay in a network or operate
independently to avoid cash
flows problems.
Constraints:
– Informal (non
documented) management
style
– Data reliability
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Business
Model
No
No
Owner’s
Intuitive
Evaluation
Yes
Notes &
Limits
Model
Robustness
Model Validated
Method:
– Simulation
– Comparison of franchised
and independent business
model
– Assess credibility and
robustness of model
Model
Credibility
Recommendations
Note: The dissertation outline should clearly
follow this process.
Owner’s
Management
Critical
Evaluation
Evaluation of
Proposed
Change
Recommendations
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Example of Survey Research
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Klassen, R. and B. Florez. 2001.
“Forecasting practices of Canadian firms:
survey results and comparisons”,
International Journal of Production
Economics, Vol. 70, pp. 163-174.
Research Goal: (1) survey forecasting
practices and (2) comparison with academic
view (theory/practice gap)?
Literature review: previous forecasting
surveys
Research method:
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Sample selection from Kompass
according to pre-specified criteria
Call each firm to identify name of
forecasting individual and secure
participation
Mailing
Two follow-up mailings
Target: 800 respondents – Obtained: 118
completed surveys
Basic Descriptive statistics in paper
“A significant conclusion for academics is that
practitioners are not using many of the things that
academics teach. There is a need to identify the
reasons why some of the things that we cherish are
not being used as frequently. They include, among
others, the use of sophisticated quantitative
methods, the combination of forecasts, and the
estimation of confidence intervals.”
Michel Leseure
Example – Case Study Research
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Da Silveira, G. and N. Slack.
2001. “Exploring the trade-off
concept”, International Journal of
Production and Operation
Management, Vol. 21, pp. 949964.
Research Goal: Discuss whether
or not trade-off exist in operations
strategy
Literature review: trade-off debate
Research method:
– Multiple case studies
Case studies are used to
formulate a model and 14
propositions
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Action Research: An Example
Coughlan, P. and E. Brady. 1995. Journal of Managerial Psychology,
10, 6, pp. 41-47.
Objectives:
–Establish benchmarks of current practices in the management of
the product development process in five manufacturing firms drawn
from differing industries in Ireland.
–Increase awareness of areas of choice in the management of
product development among manufacturing firms in Ireland with a
view to improving their management of this development process.
Timetable: February 1994 to July 1994 for the execution of the action
research programme
Project structure in three phases – actions from industrial and
academics participants (proposition formulation and change) in the last
two phases.
Michel Leseure
Example: Axiomatic-Normative
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Bayus, B. 1997. “Speed to market and
New Product Performance Trade-off”,
Journal of Product Innovation
Management, 14, pp. 485-497.
Research goal
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Literature review:
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To formulate policies regarding
trading-off speed to market and
product performance in a variety of
scenarios
Supports the importance of the
trade-off
Modelling variables
Model Building
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Mathematical – based on standard
practice
Simulation of data to observe model
behaviour
Analysis through regression
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Example: Axiomatic-Normative
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Example: Empirical-Descriptive
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Krause, D. 1999. “The antecedents of
buying firms’ efforts to improve
suppliers”, Journal of Operations
Management, 17, 205-224.
Objectives: Discover the conditions
which drive firm to invest in supplier
development.
Approach:
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Extensive literature review is used to
build a conceptual model
And formulate hypotheses
Questionnaire designed after model
Survey
Analysis of Results (structural
equation modelling)
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Exercise 3
Select the key objectives from exercise
1. Select a suitable methodology.
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Other Issues
Final Project Workshop
Michel Leseure
Writing a Proposal
• Remember how the proposal is going to
be evaluated
• There is no length guideline
– The purpose of a proposal is to convince
– And to attract a supervisor
– It can be short (3-4 pages) or already a
good “chunk” of the final report (10-20
pages)
– Try to work with a supervisor early on
Michel Leseure
The Role of the Supervisor
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To read and provide feedback on any draft or document that you write.
To provide guidance in terms of directions, readings, approaches,
interpretation, etc.
Different types of supervision:
– Close: the supervisor has a significant input in the final form of
your dissertation – selection of research questions,
demonstration of using statistical or analytical software,
numerous meetings, editing of several dissertation drafts.
– Remote: the supervisor may read on a draft if and when you
submit it – few meetings – points to general direction and
provides general guidance.
Normally, the project is your project – how you want to work with a
supervisor is your decision.
– Note: different supervisors draw the line differently as to where
supervision stops
The supervisor is one of the person assessing you
Michel Leseure
Finding a Supervisor
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First scenario:
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You have already identified a supervisor
Ask directly if he or she would like to supervise you
Let me know who has agreed to supervise you
Notes:
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Be ready to take no for an answer…
One person cannot supervise more than 2/3 projects
Second scenario:
– You submit a draft proposal to the coordinator
– The coordinator will find a supervisor for you
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Problems with identifying a topic:
– Contact the coordinator
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Confidentiality
• Managed on a ad-hoc basis
• Make sure that too much confidentiality
issues are not going to starve your project
from content
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Prix de la Recherche
• Yearly price managed by L’Economiste
• As a Master’s “thesis”, your final project
report can be entered
• Reports in English will be considered by
the jury
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Writing a Literature Review
Final Project Workshop
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Literature Reviews
• “A literature review is a summary of a
subject field that support the identification
of specific research questions” (Wooley
and Slack, 2004)
• “enabling researchers to both map and
assess the existing intellectual territory,
and to specify a research question to
develop the existing body of knowledge
further” (Tranfield et al., 2003)
Michel Leseure
Conceptions of Literature Reviews
(Bruce, 1994)
Report
(Direct interaction)
Research Facilitator
(Direct interaction
Multidirectional)
Vehicle for Learning
(Direct interaction
Multidirectional)
Survey
(Unidirectional)
Search
(Indirect interaction)
List
(Indirect interaction)
Michel Leseure
Complex features of literature
reviews
• Dialogue and Organisational Context
– Increasing trend toward research teams
– Review panel of systematic literature
reviews / evidence based research
– Complex organisational relationships
• Supervisor/research student
– Inert dialogue
• Literature reviews as expert witnesses (Metcalfe, 2003)
• Transitional Nature
– Literature review as an ongoing process
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Structuring Literature Reviews
• Rowley and Slack (2004):
– Conceptual maps and mind maps
• Tranfield et al. (2003) – in the context of
systematic literature reviews:
– Realist synthesis,
– Meta-synthesis
• Problems:
– Unknown, untried methods
– Weak methodologies
– Difficult to justify contribution to knowledge on
epistemological grounds
Michel Leseure
Typical Quality Dimensions for
Assessing Literature Reviews (Bruce,
2001)
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Topicality,
Comprehensiveness (exhaustiveness),
Breadth,
Relevance,
Currency,
Add structure !
Exclusion,
Authority,
Availability.
Michel Leseure
Recommended Assessment
Framework
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Competence
Congruence
Consistence
Stability
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Achieving Consistency
• Poole and Van de Ven (1989)
• Using paradoxes to produce theories
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Opposition
Spatial separation
Temporal separation
Synthesis
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Draft Proposal Presentation
From this morning exercise, develop a
more complete draft proposal –
describe which literature you will look
at – and make a summary 5/10 mn
presentation
Michel Leseure
Current Issues in
Business Research
Final Project Workshop
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers
• Offshoring of service and knowledge work
• Topics:
– 1.Strategic and Organizational Issues
• What types of services and knowledge functions can be
outsourced?
• Should we outsource or create corporate-owned offshore
operations?
• What are the best locations for offshore operations? How
will this change over time?
• How can we achieve performance breakthroughs through
transformational outsourcing?
Michel Leseure
Call for papers
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2.Global Service and Knowledge Supply Chain Issues
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Can we really "follow the sun?" How do we best manage handoffs?
How does culture influence the management of geographically distributed
operations?
How can we manage operations to minimize total cost of ownership from a
supply chain perspective?
When using offshore service providers, will we encounter tradeoffs
between operational efficiency and customer intimacy?
If so, can such tradeoffs be eliminated or minimized?
3.Tactical Issues
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What are the best practices for coordinating the work of global virtual
teams that include offshore service providers?
How can we maintain and improve the quality of offshore operations,
especially when the service or knowledge work is outsourced to a thirdparty provider?
Can we optimize global supply networks that include heavy service and
knowledge component? If so, how can we make optimization approaches
accessible to practicing managers?
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers
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Research on Management of Technology and Innovation in a Global
Context
Topics:
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How do national/cultural differences affect the use of technology to solve
problems?
Are there cultural differences in preferred innovation processes? If there
are differences, what is the impact?
How do macro-economic differences affect country-specific innovation
policies and practices and/or use of technology?
Are there specific organizational features that facilitate or inhibit the
cross-national transfer of knowledge and technology?
How do cultural and language differences affect the functioning of crossnational innovation teams? Are there best practices for cross-national
innovation teams?
Is there a useful contingency model for the development of common
technology versus country or region-specific technology (either products
or processes)?
What is the role of organizational learning in the management and
diffusion of technology in a global context?
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers - JIBS
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THREE LENSES ON THE MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE: POLITICS,
CORRUPTION AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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Research Questions:
How do MNE political strategies vary across nations?
How do MNE political strategies influence firm performance and public policy?
How are MNE political strategies integrated with market strategies?
How does government or private sector corruption affect firm strategy and performance?
What is the relationship between private sector corruption and government corruption?
What determines the experience of corruption for firms and how can it be managed?
What is the best way to benchmark CSR activities of firms across countries?
Is there a tradeoff between CSR and firm performance and how does this vary across countries?
What is the relationship between corporate leadership and CSR?
What is the relationship between government regulation and CSR in various countries?
What is the relationship between government corruption and MNE political strategies?
What is the relationship between MNE political strategies and their propensity to engage in CSR?
How do institutions affect the corruption, CSR and political activities of multinationals?
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers - JMS
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Managerial Dimensions of Organizational Health
* Work-life balance: What are the effects of the present work environment pressures on worklife
balance for managers and their families? What are healthy strategies for managers and their
families to manage the stress?
* Burn-out: What are the early warning signs and symptoms of burn-out for managers? What
are the costs for the organization associated with burn-out? What are healthy strategies for
preventing and managing managerial burn-out?
* Depression: Why is depression a well-kept secret among executives? What is the predictors
and prevalence of depression among managers and organizational leaders? What are the health
and performance risks of depression in managerial populations?
* Employee Assistance Programs: How can employee assistance programs be best designed
for managers and leaders? How do EAPs benefit the organization when used well by managers and
leaders at work?
* Top Management Teams: What are the implications of health issues for top management
teams? Do top management teams need a chief psychological officer who monitors the health of
the team?
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers
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Researching Global Media Conglomerates
Call for Papers: The media industries are dominated by a number of
large conglomerates whose interests and activities cut across many
individual market segments such as publishing, audiovisual (TV and
radio), film, sound recordings, and the Internet. Aside from these activities,
what do we really know about these global media conglomerates? This
issue of the International Journal on Media Management seeks original
research that provides a basis for understanding the activities of global
media companies. All research methodologies and perspectives are
welcome, but papers that offer a theoretical foundation as well as an
analytical focus are preferred.
Topics:
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Concentration and consolidation of media markets and industries
Assessing the power of media conglomerates at a global level
Strategies of global media companies
Managerial issues facing global media companies
The role of public policy in assessing global media conglomerates
Specific industry or company case studies involving global media companies
Michel Leseure
Call for Papers – Journal of
Electronic Commerce
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Adoption and Impact of Business-to-Employee (B2E) Portals
All topics related to the adoption, use and impact of B2E portals in organizations will
be considered. B2E portals generally include Human Resources (HR) Services and
Employee Self Services (ESS). However, in this issue, B2E portals refer to any
corporate portals that involve management of employee relationship services. Topics
of interest include, but not restricted to:
a) Organizational decisions to adopt B2E portals
b) Implementation of B2E portals in organizations
c) Case studies addressing success or failure of B2E portals in organizations
d) Studies on the impact and challenges associated with B2E portals
e) Satisfaction with B2E portals
f) B2E portals architecture
g) Web-based tools for building B2E portals
h) Effectiveness of B2E portals
i) B2E portals and employee ethical issues
j) B2E portals and cultural issues
Michel Leseure
Questions
Michel Leseure