Harold Daniel

The Student Is Not the Customer- An Alternative Perspective

ABSTRACT This paper investigates some of the reasons that institutions of higher education should NOT regard the student as the customer. It is proposed that differences between profit-seeking enterprises and colleges and universities preclude the customer-focus from being an entirely useful one. In fact, the student-as-a-customer paradigm may cause institutions to concentrate on short-term, narrow student satisfaction, rather than meeting the long-term needs of an entire range of stakeholders. An alternative paradigm, the student as collaborative partner, is proposed and its potential benefits are examined.

Project selection A process analysis

Abstract Technology-oriented companies involved in rapidly changing markets are interested in the value of collaborative efforts aimed at the realization of shared benefits, while spreading the costs and risks across multiple partners. The experiences and insights of participants in such ventures can contribute to the understanding of how to build more productive alliances. This study examines the project evaluation processes employed by the most successful industry–university research centers sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The delivery of highly satisfying research programs, as indicated by the industrial representatives, is defined as being successful. This paper focuses on the process management issues involved in the formulation and evaluation of research proposals, structural advantages and liabilities associated with the process, as well as the conditions/contexts that favor their application. These processes are strategically significant because they define the organizations research agenda, focus resource allocations by linking capabilities and commitments, and frame the performance assessment process.

Millennial Leadership: The Oppositional Relationship between Leadership Type and the Quality of Database System's Development in Virtual Environments

The development of information systems is a difficult process that often ends in failing to meet the projects initial goals. Typical outcomes for information systems development projects include delivering promised products & services on time and within budget. These pressures are now compounded by the use of virtual teams that present a new set of challenges related to the cohesion, organization, and functioning of the team process. Specifically, virtual teams must contend with problems in team formation, the organizational environment in which the team operates, and the technology used for collaboration and communication. As more organizations use virtual teams, these problems present real and pressing obstacles to the successful completion of database systems development. The goal of the study was to determine whether leadership type, transformational, transactional, or management-by-exception was significantly related to leadership effectiveness in a virtual team tasked with developing a database management system. This study targeted millennial students at the Maine Business School who were assigned to virtual teams tasked with developing a database management system. Specifically, this study sought to answer three hypotheses: 1 what is the effect of leadership type, as self-reported through the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire on the quality of completed team projects?; 2 What is the impact of type of leadership on virtual team effectiveness as measured by the Virtual Teams Survey?; and, 3 Are there interactions between leadership style and virtual team effectiveness on the quality and uniqueness of the completed team project? Findings suggest leadership style and virtual team effectiveness did predict project quality, Transformational and Management-by-exception leadership styles had a negative relationship with virtual team effectiveness. Findings further suggest that Transactional leadership style influenced project quality directly, while transformational and management-by-exception styles influenced project quality indirectly through their direct influence on virtual team effectiveness. These findings suggest that traditionally effective leadership types do not work well for Millennial Generation teams in virtual environments

Millennial Teamwork and Technical Proficiency's Impact on Virtual Team Effectiveness: Implications for Business Educators and Leaders

The successful completion of information systems projects is already a difficult process that many times ends with projects failing to meet the information systems requirements. These requirements typically center on completing projects that perform the way initially envisioned, and delivering completed projects on time and within budget. Pressures around communication and leadership style are now compounded by the use of virtual teams. The goal of this study was to determine whether or not technical proficiency in the project-based skills, facility with database management systems development, and greater technical proficiency in coping within the virtual environment contributed to the development of greater virtual team effectiveness. This study targeted millennial students at the Maine Business School who were assigned to virtual teams tasked with developing a database management system within a virtual environment. Findings suggest that increased proficiencies in project skills will contribute to greater team effectiveness and more importantly, increased proficiencies within the virtual environment will contribute to greater virtual team effectiveness. These findings have implications for business educators and by natural extension, business practitioners as they suggest that training students and workers how to communicate, collaborate, exchange ideas, and share information better within virtual environments will improve virtual team effectiveness which should translate into greater virtual teams project outcomes.

Millennial's Virtual Teamwork and Technical Proficiencies Impact on Project Quality: Is Commitment Required in Virtual Team Projects?

Thedevelopmentofinformationsystemscontinuestobeadifficultprocessthatfrequentlyendsin failingtomeettheprojectsgoals.Theprocessesinvolvedindevelopinginformationsystemsarenow compoundedbytheuseofvirtualteams.Thegoalofthisstudywastodeterminewhethertechnical proficiencies,project skills inusingdatabasedevelopmentsoftwareand technical skills inusing thevirtualenvironment,contributedtohigherqualityprojects.Thestudyattemptedtoaddresstwo hypotheses:1)thatincreasedproficiencyinprojectsskills(DatabaseSoftwareskills)willcontributeto greaterprojectqualityand2)thatincreasedproficiencywithinthevirtualenvironmentwillcontribute togreaterprojectquality.Findingssuggestthattechnicalproficienciesinprojectsskillsdocontribute togreaterprojectqualityhoweverthetechnicalproficiencyintheuseofvirtualenvironmentsdoes not.Therelationshipbetweenproficiencyinprojectskillsandthequalityofprojectoutcomesisweak; suggestingthatothervariablesnotinvestigatedinthisstudymayexertamorepowerfulinfluence onprojectoutcomes. KeywoRdS Commitment, Database Management Systems, Millennials, Project Quality, Technical Proficiency, Virtual Environments, Virtual Teams