Elaine Seeman

Customer Relationship Management in Higher Education: Using Information Systems to Improve the Student-School Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore customer relationship management (CRM) in a higher education setting.Design/methodology/approach – The development and implementation of a CRM project in a state community college was examined as were the benefits realized by implementing CRM. As colleges increasingly embrace distance learning and e‐business, CRM will become stronger and more pervasive. Viewing students as customers provides a competitive advantage for higher education and enhances a colleges ability to attract, retain and serve its customers. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with individuals involved with the planning, development and implementation of a statewide CIS system. Student support personnel were additionally interviewed.Findings – The benefits of implementing CRM in a college setting include a student‐centric focus, improved customer data and process management, increased student loyalty, retention and satisfaction with the colleges programs and services.Research lim...

Analyzing the structure of expert knowledge

Knowledge is either explicit or tacit. The elicitation, codification, storage, and distribution of tacit knowledge are extremely challenging tasks that require innovative methods and techniques. This paper reports the results of a study in which the tacit knowledge of domain experts was elicited, represented, and analyzed for validity. The subjects were a group of instructors and students at a USPS training school whose memory structures were analyzed for evidence of two common characteristics of expertise: holistic perception and use of abstract concepts. No evidence of either characteristic was found in the more experienced instructor group but, when the subjects were regrouped based on observed performance, the cognitive models of the high performers contained structural evidence of both characteristics. This finding led to the conclusion that experience alone is not an indicator of expertise. Other factors, such as the cognitive ability to correctly structure those experiences, must also be present.

The impact of government intervention on technology adoption and diffusion: the example of wireless location technology

Wireless Cellular Technology (WCT) has advanced rapidly in both the USA and the European Union; however, the two are pursuing different public policy and business market approaches in developing, adopting and deploying the technology. Efforts to promote the commercialisation of the technology to further wireless enhanced emergency call services policy also differ. We explore existing mandates and the current state of cellular technology. Factors influencing WCTs development are modelled, illustrating how government intervention has affected the technology.

AN INTEGRATIVE HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR FACILITATING STRATEGIC PLANNING IN HOSPITALS

This article presents a framework for developing strategic information systems (SISs) for hospitals. It proposes a SIS formulation process which incorporates complexity theory, strategic/organizational analysis theory, and conventional MIS development concepts. Within the formulation process, four dimensions of SIS are proposed as well as an implementation plan. A major contribution of this article is the development of a hospital SIS framework which permits an organization to fluidly respond to external, interorganizational, and intraorganizational influences. In addition, this article offers a checklist which managers can utilize in developing an SIS in health care.

Five Principles for MOOC Design: With a Case Study.

New web technologies have enabled online education to take on a massive scale, prompting many universities to create massively open online courses (MOOCs) that take advantage of these technologies in a seemingly effortless manner. Designing a MOOC, however, is anything but trivial. It involves developing content, learning activities, and assessments to accommodate both the massiveness and openness of the course. To design an effective MOOC, instructors need to integrate both pedagogical and information systems theory. In this paper, we present a case study of a MOOC grant and a series of decisions made in its development. These decisions, when paired with the theoretical framework, suggest five principles – meaningful, engaging, measurable, accessible, and scalable – may be applicable to future MOOC development projects.

Discriminant analyses of field sales force adoption of wireless technologies

Although mobile computing offers the field salesperson distinct dvantages, adoption lags. This study examined differences in sales organisations. We found distinctive differences between non-adopters, adopters and innovators. Adopters tend to be more customer-driven relying on smaller well supported sales forces. Field sales forces yet to adopt are less likely to value customer-driven strategies. IT vendors can target new markets by identifying these strategic differences. Management of firms that have not yet adopted and are not sufficiently customer-driven may be exposing themselves to competitive vulnerabilities.

Next generation 911: when technology drives public policy

As telecommunications technology has advanced, citizens assume that their communication devices are capable of soliciting emergency assistance. According to Marc Andreessen, developments in information technology are finding their way first to consumers and only later making their way into other arenas (The Economist, 2011). Text, video and calls from voice over IP (VOIP) phones are increasingly popular; however, the ability to procure 911 help via these modes has not been widely implemented. As the technology of 911 becomes more complicated and more expensive, federal and state agencies have struggled to find ways to enable public safety capability to meet consumer assumptions. These agencies have begun to recognise and act upon the need for centralised planning.