Yongmei Bentley

Research-Informed Curriculum Design for a Master’s-Level Program in Project Management

This article reports on the application of Research-Informed Curriculum Design (RICD) for the development and implementation of an MSc Program in Project Management. The research focused on contemporary issues in project management and provided an analysis of project management approaches, tools, and techniques currently used in organizations. Research methods included a literature review, questionnaire survey, focus group studies, and in-depth interviews with project managers. The research findings led to better understanding of current practice from project managers’ perspectives and informed the curriculum design of the program. Feedback was obtained from external examiners, project managers, alumni, and current students. Evaluation indicates that the RICD approach has produced a successful program and ensured it is relevant to industry and vocationally attractive to students.

Evaluation of Information Strategy Implementation: A Critical Approach

Information strategy is often relegated to an information technology element of corporate strategy, or worse, ignored in favour of IT operational planning. This research, conducted over a five-year period, stresses the correct framing of an information strategy and its implementation. The authors propose a framework that assists in the evaluation of such strategies, primarily those at higher education institutions, but also in a wider range of organisations seeking to improve the understanding and implementation of their information strategy.

Green supply chain management – food for thought?

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices on the performance of UK food retail small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A quantitative approach using a non-probability sampling of 84 participants was employed. Based on the literature review, five hypotheses were developed and tested using the partial least square-structural equation modeling (SEM-Smart PLS 2.03) approach. The reviewed literature revealed that key internal drivers (ID) and external pressures (EP) stimulate organizations to initiate GSCM practices in UK food retail SMEs. Though empirical findings strongly supported the statement that ID influence GSCM practices, they did not show a significant relationship between EP and GSCM practices. Literature also suggests that practicing GSCM can help improve the efficiency, brand image (BI) and profitability, and thus improve the overall firm performance which is also empirically proved. This study helps enrich existing theories on SCM and organizational performance. As to practical impact, this study should facilitate SMEs in GSCM practices and thus help green the economy. While the findings of this study have limited generalisability as the data were collected from UK SMEs only and the sample size was comparatively small, this research establishes a foundation for further study in this domain.

Managers’ perspectives of logistics and supply chain changes during the recent economic downturn

This research has examined the decisions taken by logistics and supply chain managers across three countries during the economic recession of 2008–2010. A quasi-longitudinal approach was adopted, with four questionnaire survey rounds being carried out across the period, with a total of over 300 responses being received. The findings from the first two survey rounds indicated that only a limited number of companies had made significant changes to their logistics strategies, but this number increased as the recession continued. While the most common company response was to downsize the organisation, there were also other strategic changes such as those in the use of third-party logistics, in warehousing choices, and in a move to more local suppliers. In the broader context, the results contribute to the understanding of how companies evolve their logistics strategies when dealing with significant changes in their external environment.

Modeling India’s Coal Production with a Negatively Skewed Curve-Fitting Model

India’s coal demand is forecast to increase at a rapid pace in the future due to the country’s economic and population growth. Analyzing the scope for future production of India’s domestic coal resources, therefore, plays a vital role in the country’s development of sound energy policies. This paper presents a quantitative scenario analysis of India’s potential future coal production by using a negatively skewed curve-fitting model and a range of estimates of the country’s ultimately recoverable resources (URR) of coal. The results show that the resource base is sufficient for India’s coal production to keep increasing over the next few decades, to reach between 2400 and 3200 Mt/y at 2050, depending on the assumed value of URR. A further analysis shows that the high end of this range, which corresponds to our ‘GSI’ scenario, can be considered as the probable upper-bound to India’s domestic coal production. Comparison of production based on the ‘GSI’ scenario with India’s predicted demand shows that the domestic production of coal will be insufficient to meet the country’s rising coal demand, with the gap between demand and production increasing from its current value of about 268 Mt/y to reach 300 Mt/y in 2035, and 700 Mt/y by 2050. This increasing gap will be challenging for the energy security of India.

Water use for shale gas extraction in the Sichuan Basin, China

This study investigates the use of water for extracting shale gas in the Sichuan Basin of China. Both net water use and water intensity (i.e., water use per unit of gas produced) of shale wells are estimated by applying a process-based life cycle inventory (LCI) model. The results show that the net water use and water intensity are around 24500 m3/well and 1.9 m3 water/104 m3 gas respectively, and that the fracturing and completion stage of shale gas extraction accounts for the largest share in net water use. A comparison shows that Chinas water use for shale gas extraction is generally higher than that of other countries. By considering the predicted annual drilling activities in the Sichuan Basin, we find that the annual water demand for shale gas development is likely to be negligible compared to total regional water supply. However, considering the water demand for shale gas extraction and the water demand from other sectors may make water availability a significant concern for Chinas shale gas development in the future.

Block Teaching as the Basis for an Innovative Redesign of the PG Suite of Programmes in University of Bedfordshire Business School

This paper aims to provide a first evaluation of the University of Bedfordshire Business School’s innovative attempt to develop a new suite of Masters Programmes that delivers in terms of academic rigor and employability requirements while providing a rich student learning experience. The new delivery is based on a block delivery model that rationalises the previous offerings by providing a smaller range of standardized large units which are more tightly integrated to each other and are part of courses with particular characteristics such as a four-tier induction system (with inductions being progressively more employabilityfocused as students’ progress from one unit to the next) and the final capstone unit where students have a choice between a traditional dissertation and an experiential final project. That common architecture is coupled with a flipped classroom delivery style, utilization of blended learning and rich peer-to-peer learning opportunities with multiple entry points providing additional students into the cohorts for each unit. Preliminary data is provided here as an early evaluation of the approach’s effectiveness and efficiency in terms of the delivery experience, the assessment strategies, the levels of student engagement and performance, as well as the experience of staff and students.

Supply Chain Strategies in Difficult Times

This chapter examines the strategic decisions taken by supply chain managers during the current (post-2008) economic recession. The objective was to identify and understand the changes that companies had made, or planned to make, in their company supply chain strategy in response to this changing economic environment. A longitudinal approach was adopted, and a series of questionnaire survey rounds were carried out. Over 300 responses from three countries were received. The findings from the first two survey rounds indicated that only a limited number of companies had made significant changes to their supply chain strategies, but this number increased as the recession continued. While a common company response was to downsize the organisation, there were also other strategic changes such as changes in the use of third party logistics, in warehousing choices and in a move to more local suppliers. In the broader context, the results can contribute to the understanding of how companies evolve their supply chain strategies when dealing with a significant change in the external environment.

Enhancing Chinese agribusiness supply chains with Internet technologies: a transnational knowledge transfer approach

This paper reports research findings from a project funded by the European Commission. The research used case studies and surveys to identify gaps between Europe and China in the level of Internet adoption in fresh-produce supply chains. The project reveals barriers to Internet adoption in China in this industry, and employs a transnational knowledge transfer approach to reduce these barriers. In a wider context, the paper analyses the features involved in this knowledge transfer from a knowledge management perspective. Specifically, it outlines the main activities, key actors and the transfer stages involved. The insights gained help further our understanding of knowledge transfer in transnational contexts. The implications of these findings for academia, managers and policy makers are summarized.