In order to implement sustainability standards in practice, capabilities are needed at the organizational level as well as at the individual level. The presented sustainable purchasing and supply management (SPSM) competence model is based on the combination of a systematic literature review (SLR) and a Delphi study. The competence model outlines specific SPSM competences which are divided into functional-oriented, cognition-oriented, social-oriented and meta-oriented competence clusters. We also discuss their applicability during typical purchasing and supply management processes. Each of the 26 competences is presented with a short definition as well as exemplary behaviors. For research on SPSM from an organizational point of view, the analysis of the relevance of competences with regard to purchasing process stages offers a conceptual basis for bringing sustainability into overall PSM models, instead of positioning sustainability as an ‘add-on’ activity, which risks the potential of sustainability issues becoming marginalized. The resulting SPSM competence model can serve as a basis for improving teaching and training in both higher education and professional training contexts. In practice, it can also serve to aid the selection of new employees, evaluate employee performance, create development plans or build HR systems.

Mathematical anxiety is a phenomenon linked to poor attainment in mathematics and restricted development of mathematical skills among those who are afflicted by it. Unfortunately most undergraduate courses in business related areas require the further study of mathematics to enable effective business decision making and students who suffer from mathematical anxiety are placed at risk of underperformance or failure in such quantitative modules. This paper summarizes the results of a survey (n = 330) of students joining a university business school with a view to ascertaining the degree of mathematical anxiety exhibited by incoming students. Results of the survey show no significant differences in anxiety attributable to age or gender but significant differences attributable to level of study and subject area. Implications of the findings for a redesigned teaching approach are discussed drawing on suggestions from the literature surrounding mathematical anxiety.

Many students who have to study mathematics as an enabling subject within higher education experience mathematical anxiety to a greater or lesser extent. This affliction can impact student learning and achievement in mathematics and so a number of strategies have been suggested for alleviating mathematical anxiety or at least moderating its effects. This paper reports on a comparison of the mathematical anxiety experienced by two groups of students each studying a different subject discipline. The results indicate that the groups have quite different levels of anxiety and the differing contributing factors between the groups suggest that approaches to remediation need to be tailored to reflect these factors.

The development of soft and technical skills as part of tertiary education courses is key to enhancing the employability skills of graduating students. Within the accounting profession there is little agreement over which skills should be developed and a wide range have been suggested as relevant. A sample (n = 62) of higher education educators and industry practitioners were surveyed to elicit their assessments of the importance of a range of employability skills. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to group the skills into six factors that helped to provide a better understanding of the skills and how they could be grouped for teaching purposes.

This paper uses a series of models to illustrate one of the fundamental processes of model building – that of enrichment and elaboration. The paper describes how a problem context is given which allows a series of models to be developed from a simple initial model using a queuing theory framework. The process encourages students to think about the assumptions being made within their models and how these assumptions may be relaxed to produce an enriched model.

When new students arrive at university to commence their undergraduate training they bring with them a host of prior experiences, expectations and beliefs. For students whose course of study includes mathematics these experiences, expectations and beliefs can be very strongly held and somewhat negative towards mathematics. In such cases they can become a barrier to further learning in mathematics. This paper reports on a small pilot study exploring the mathematical experiences, expectations and beliefs of accounting students with a view to improving their engagement with mathematics. The results of a student survey allow the identification of students whose self-assessments and expectations are not congruent with their observed performance with a consequent risk of disengagement from mathematics.

This paper offers some reflections on the difficulties of teaching mathematical modeling to students taking higher education courses in which modeling plays a significant role. In the author’s experience, other aspects of the model development process often cause problems rather than the use of mathematics. Since these other aspects involve students in learning about and understanding complex problem situations the author conjectures that problems arise because insufficient time within mathematical modeling modules is spent reflecting on student work and enabling “learning to learn” about problem situations. Some suggestions for the content and delivery of mathematical modeling modules are given.

This paper reflects on the results of research undertaken at a large UK university relating to the teaching of quantitative subjects within a Business Faculty. It builds on a simple model of student engagement and, through the description of three case studies, describes research undertaken and developments implemented to strengthen aspects of the model, enhance student engagement and help meet the requirements of employers in terms of graduate skills. The paper also outlines some areas for future research.

With the emphasis that is currently placed on the development of graduate skills and easing the transition of students from academic study into the workplace, there has never been a greater need to explore undergraduate curricula in the numerate disciplines in terms of their fitness for purpose. This paper examines the case of management accounting and summarises published research that identifies a clear gap between academics’ and practitioners’ views on the importance of management accountant techniques and skills. Somewhat paradoxically, the views of neither academics nor practitioners are found to have changed significantly in recent years yet they seem to be considerably different. This paper proposes how this may influence curriculum design processes and suggests some areas for further research that might help bridge the gap and better align undergraduate curricula with the expectations of practitioners.

The aim of this study is to evaluate university internationalisation strategies to determine what form they should take if they are to successfully achieve their intended outcomes. The study makes several contributions, filling gaps in the literature on the internationalisation of Higher Education (HE) and university management. The study synthesises ideas and concepts derived from three separate literatures: HE management; internationalisation of HE and strategic management to create a list of pre-requisite organisational qualities needed for the successful internationalisation of HE institutions. Empirical evidence is then gathered from four case studies based on 25 interviews of academics, managers and student representatives, supplemented by relevant secondary data. The research evidence suggests that the list of suggested pre-requisite organisational qualities may well be a useful indicator of the strength of university internationalisation strategies. Based on the evidence of the sample universities, the study finds that the main reason for a lack of progress towards the internationalisation of HE in the UK is not the lack of senior level interest or enthusiasm for the concept of internationalisation but weaknesses in institutional management. It appears that many universities lack the managerial skills and knowledge needed to implement and operationalise their internationalisation strategies. Those organisations that are more successful are those with more visible and committed leadership of the internationalisation agenda, coupled with the skills and ability to implement strategy. The study also identifies that HE internationalisation is shaped, communicated and understood in very different ways by stakeholders in different universities and at times even by stakeholders within the same organisation. As a result it is difficult to judge the success of internationalisation strategies because there is little shared understanding of what the concept entails.

This article uses Rasch analysis to explore the efficacyof a questionnaire designed to assist university teaching staff in identifying thoseLevel 4 students most in need ofmathematics support. The students were all taking a mathematics module as part of their first year Computing curriculum, and the questionnaire explores the students' previousmathematical experience and asks them to evaluate their basic skills using Likert scale responses. Analysis of the 124 student responses identifies those questionnaire items that do not fit the Rasch model well and indicates some areas where further improvements to the questionnaire can be made.

This paper explores the connectivity of qualitative system dynamics with orthodox cost-benefit techniques to appraise an eService project. A critical review of identified cost-benefit approaches is undertaken. We discovered that cash flow can be connected with benefits (cash-in) and costs (cash-out). Furthermore, these techniques focus upon the monetary aspects of a proposed project. Additionally, they demonstrate the cost-benefit effects and fundamentally address 'the what' type question. We assert that project appraisals should also be linked to the project objectives ('the why') and project process ('the how'), for this highlights the underpinning causes of the cost-benefit effects. This assertion justifies the offered mixed methods. This novel approach is applied to a completed eServices project in order to appraise its cost-benefit-objectives. Key findings are highlighted and evaluated through the case study structure. Some limitations of this work are discussed. Finally, conclusions are offered and future research is outlined.

As reported in a previous paper, teaching mathematics to non-specialist undergraduate students in the UK has become particularly problematic in recent years. A larger scale survey of first year undergraduate students was subsequently undertaken to explore levels of mathematical anxiety among the student group. This paper illustrates and reports on the application of Rasch analysis to these survey results in order to explore the performance of the questionnaire as an instrument for measuring mathematical anxiety. The Rasch analysis enables the efficacy of questionnaire items to be explored together with the consistency of the responses recorded. Some specific weaknesses in the questionnaire items are revealed by the analysis.

This article describes the initial development of a qualitative system dynamics model as part of the periodic review of a mathematics course. In an effort to enhance the learning experience of undergraduate computing students (for whom the course is a compulsory part of their curriculum) a small sample of students were interviewed regarding their learning experiences. From the interview responses a qualitative model was developed which shows the key student interactions with the course and helps to explain some of the observed behavior of students. Archetypal systems structures found within the model help to suggest how the course's learning and teaching approach can be developed to enhance the student learning experience. Keywords: Mathematics learning and teachingsystem dynamicsqualitative modeling Notes 1 This research was sponsored by the London South Bank University Innovative Learning and Teaching Project Scheme. 2 See for example Weft QDA available at http://www.pressure.to/qda/ as an example of coding freeware.

This article reports on the results of an empirical study of student expectations and mathematical anxiety among first-year students who must study mathematics as a supporting discipline. The article describes the model of support we have developed mixing, as it does, the more traditional ideas of 'filling knowledge gaps' with an exploration of student expectations at the start of a mathematics unit. The research attempts to ascertain whether student self-judgements about their mathematical abilities are accurate and tentatively suggests how we might use this as an alternative to more anxiety-inducing diagnostic testing.

This paper offers an intellectual device as an approach to benchmarking software project management methodologies. We argue there is a need to benchmark methodologies connected with the Software Project Management discipline. Moreover, it is asserted that the Software Project Management discipline should be associated with Social Science. This engenders an examination of different theoretical assumptions that underwrite the Philosophy of Science. We outline key parts of the intellectual device, which was originally developed within the Systems Movement. Furthermore, its connectivity with scientific philosophy and aspects of the Organisational Learning concept are explored. The intellectual device is used to guide the critical appreciation process of an improvement methodology known as the Goal/Question/Metric (GQM) Paradigm. The appreciation aspect examines the original methodology and important developments which assists in uncovering key characteristics (e. g. concepts and principles). Furthermore, the research strategy and method linked with GQM are identified. The critical aspect investigates the benefits and costs of implementing this methodology. This novel approach provides a comprehensive understanding of the GQM Paradigm, and generates its epidemiological framework. Moreover, it can direct informed changes to this orthodox improvement methodology. Finally, we discuss future enhancements to the intellectual device and further work.

The emergence of ‘managerialism’ in the governance and direction of UK higher education (HE) institutions has been led by government demands for greater accountability in the quality and cost of un...

This paper highlights some of the deficiencies with Higher Education (HE) planning paradigms and then describes the Holon Framework as an HE planning approach that overcomes some of the deficiencies. The paper outlines some key features from the literature of organisational learning and explores how the Holon Framework facilitates both single and double-loop organisational learning. The paper then describes how the Holon Framework can be used as a strategic and operational planning tool with academic libraries and how the more conventional library operational research models can be included in a structured double loop learning process.