...‘M&As: why don’t people ever learn from the mistakes of others? by William Richards Introduction Over the years, mergers and acquisitions research has identified the importance of leadership and workplace learning as critical determinants of M&A activities and outcomes. However, surprisingly little systematic attention has been paid to conceptualising or studying the impact and effect of either leadership styles or learning on the success of M&As – either in the academic or in the practitioner literature (Cartwright and Cooper, 2001) Although scholars and practitioners recognise that acquisitions frequently fail to live up to their potential (Larsson and Finkelstein, 1999), the impact of leadership on the outcomes of the acquisition process and the learning that takes place, has not been well developed or even widely recognised. A review of scholarly and practitioner focused writing on M&As suggest that while much has been written on the actual M&A process, others have only occasionally noted the critical importance of leadership and learning in the success or failure of M&As. Even in those cases where the leadership impact has been acknowledged, past work on M&As has neither examined nor proposed any details concerning what constitutes what learning that actually takes place during M&A or how it makes a difference. A review of academic and practitioner literature on M&A reveals that discussion of the primary determinants of M&A process and outcomes rarely ever...
Words: 3564 - Pages: 15
...Learning multiple languages helps an individual when living in a multi-cultural society. Communication is made easier if the language is a local language. Picking up a new skill is relatively easy for children as they have high grasping power. Hence, learning a foreign language offers an insight into how people from other cultures think and see the world. Firstly, in these highly competitive days, people are expected to move around places and it’s not likely that the local language is the same as the mother tongue of an individual. So it’s quite challenging to understand the local culture and customs for a new individual. This is where famous languages acquired during school days plays a big role. Secondly, it helps a child growth if he/she is introduced with the various culture of the world. Learning a language is the first step to know one’s culture. Thirdly, schools these days are focusing a lot on learning international languages in a lot of developed countries. This practice is quickly picking up in the developing countries too. This trend paves a path for the student to go out on foreign exchange programs to other countries. Gives them great opportunity to have an exposure to unique cultures whilst in student life. Sometimes, children might get carried away with foreign languages and start to look down on their own mother tongues. Hence some language veterans argue that foreign languages should be taught in school only at a age when they are mature enough to...
Words: 295 - Pages: 2
...Implementation of Quality Information Systems for E-Learning Applications Abstract: Quality information systems (QIS) are providing all the quality-relevant information during the whole life cycle of a product to all the people involved. With regard to e-learning applications this means that a QIS should provide quality-relevant information to the authors of e-learning materials as well as to the instructors and the learners using them. In this work it is described how such a QIS can be implemented in the context of e-learning applications. In this connection a prototypic system design and strategies for the integration of a QIS into the information system infrastructure of e-learning providers are presented. 1 Introduction Many concepts of quality management are not only applicable during the production and usage of material products, but also in the context of immaterial ones - like for example e-learning applications. Nevertheless quality management concepts are hardly used in this regard today. As a basis for quality management so-called quality information systems (QIS) can be used. They are providing all the quality-relevant information during the whole life cycle of a product to all the people involved. In the context of e-learning this means that a quality information system should provide all the quality-relevant information to the authors of e-learning materials, to the instructors and tutors, and also to the learners. In this work after a look on the State of...
Words: 2758 - Pages: 12
...Learning is the way we create new knowledge and improve ourselves. Brown and Duguid describe organizational learning is the bridge between working and innovating. Organizational Learning is a process to enable organizations to better use the knowledge of their members to make business decisions. In a conventional organization, decisions are often based on management perspective without taking into account the other members of the organization. A business using Organizational Learning recognizes the value added by including all of its members in the decision making process. A Learning Organization recognizes that a business consists of people and it takes a commitment from all in the organization to best obtain the organization’s goals. Through Organizational Learning an organization gains knowledge and develops skills to empower its members to work as a cohesive team. The following table saws some of the key differences between a Conventional Organization and a Learning Organization. Conventional Organization | Learning Organization | Locked into management’s views of methods and goals. | Flexible and open to new ideas. | Makes decisions based on what currently best fits the organizational structure. | 1. Willing to disregard the status quo in favor of innovation. 2. Management encourages all members to continuously rethink what they do, how they do it, and how they might do it better | Adapts and/or reacts to change. | Anticipates the future and strives to create services...
Words: 1453 - Pages: 6
...Learning Styles: Fact or Fiction, A Literature Review of Learning Styles Guy F. Workman This paper was completed and submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master Teacher Program, a 2-year faculty professional development program conducted by the Center for Teaching Excellence, United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, 2012. Author Information During my fourth deployment, my Brigade Commander notified me that I had been selected to teach at West Point. This new assignment struck me as odd for two reasons: first, I had not applied for the position, and second, during college, I was not what you’d call a “stand-out” student. To say that I was surprised to find myself preparing to teach college students was an understatement. I was secretly daunted by the idea but upon arrival to West Point, I learned of the Master Teacher Program. The thought “Oh thank God” entered my head, as it seemed the answer to the question “How am I going to learn to teach these kids?” had just fallen into my lap. While participating in the Master Teacher Program, I was introduced to methodologies of questioning, levels of questioning, class dynamics, class discipline, academic integrity, and a myriad of other pedagogy topics. Early in the program, I was introduced to the theory of Learning Styles. Surely everyone has heard such things as “He’s a visual learner,” or “I think people learn better by doing,” and so on. Initially, I gave the concept little consideration (as the importance...
Words: 3717 - Pages: 15
...NRS-429V November 1, 2015 Visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic learning are styles used to gain some form of knowledge of any given subject. Not all individuals will be able to learn using the same learning style as others. Some are visual learners, auditory learners (listening), or kinesthetic learners (doing) (Edelman, C., Kudzma, E., Mandle, C. 2014). Learners may require use of more than one learning style at a time to fully gain knowledge of new material. For the purpose of this paper, the writer will discuss different forms of learning styles, individual strategies versus learning strategies, and how they impact teaching and learning. Author’s Learning Style After completing a questionnaire (VARK), to determine learning style, the writer scored highest in the kinesthetic learning category than in the other four categories. With this style, the learner gains knowledge through personal experiences rather than experiences others may claim to have had (Whitman College, n.d.). Kinesthetic learning includes movement in some form, whether it is through learning, studying or applying the new knowledge learned. All five senses are used when this learning style is in place by the learner in some degree (Whitman College, n.d.). The learner may find it easier to apply their new knowledge base because they are able to perform it in real times events. Learning Strategies Each learning style is broken down further into strategies to explain how education occurs...
Words: 895 - Pages: 4
...To what extent do you agree that learning is a social process? Everything we learn takes place in a social context. Social learning can be applied to many scenarios ranging from a group of children collaboratively trying to solve the question of how to make a kite, to a university professor writing a research paper with a colleague, both illustrate the case of a social side to learning. On the other hand some people believe that learning is an individual process, such as reading, researching and searching online, and the social element only occurs when you engage with your network. This essay will discuss both arguments, but focus strongly on the contention that daily observations and experiences, as well as many academic theories suggest that learning takes place beyond the confines of the individual mind, and is therefore a very social process. Learning and social process are defined in various ways. The Collins Dictionary (2012) defines learning as knowledge gained by study; instruction or scholarship, the act of gaining knowledge. It also provides a more specific definition with relation to psychology being any relevant permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a direct result of experience. Further to this both the Oxford and Collins Dictionaries (2012) offer the definition of social process as societal change. Some thinkers associate this with socialisation, socialisation is social learning. During different stages of our lives, we belong to different...
Words: 2077 - Pages: 9
...General Teaching Skills / Prof. Masud EDF 4430/Spring 2013 MDCC Cooperative Learning: A Successful Approach Learning constantly takes place in the real world all around us. Social interaction is the key element that plays an enormous role in our daily knowledge acquisition. Not surprisingly, intrapersonal relations the one factor being currently used to promote learning in school classrooms. Not just any kind of social interaction, but a ‘cooperative’ one. Interestingly, John Dewey described education “as a vehicle for teaching citizens to live cooperatively in a social democracy” (Cooper, Robinson, McKinney). And to live in just that kind of society requires cooperative learning at a younger age. In just the right circumstances, cooperative learning inside our classrooms today contributes to an even better education for our children tomorrow. In Cooperative Learning, students learn from each other in small groups through a variety of techniques towards a common goal (Dahley, 1994). Given the appropriate maturity level, students can thrive in this learning environment because they take advantages from each other’s strengths and knowledge to gain insight. In fact, Cooperative Learning is proven to produce increased academic results when compared to traditional, more individualized teaching styles (Dahley, 1994). According to Slavin, there was a 63% rise in achievement from the cooperative learning groups studied (Dahley, 1994). This evidence lends to the fact that low...
Words: 877 - Pages: 4
...Learning is a process by which someone receives, retain and reproduce information when necessary. It is important to tailor the study habits discretely for effective learning.(UBC-the learning process) VARK assessment gives the learner an insight into their learning style which gives them an opportunity to adapt different strategies to enhance their learning.The learning modalities included in this analysis are visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic. A combination of more than one style is referred as multimodal. The learning style preference identified for the author using VARK was multimodal with two strong preferences on aural and kinesthetic with a score of 11 each. The read/write mode was also included with a score of 7.The advantage of Multimodal learners are that they uses information from different sources which enable them to understand a concept deeply. The more different ways someone learn, the more they understand and remember a concept. The learner on this mode can match or combine the learning with other people they are working with even if the group members have other learning styles. This will smoothen the learning process and enhance communication among the group members. They can also use single preference mode according to the learning situation. This versatility helps them to see things from different perspectives. On the other hand the multimodal learners have the disadvantage of being slow in taking decision as they are careful in gathering information...
Words: 986 - Pages: 4
...------------------------------------------------- Moderator: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the night forum of today. First of all, I would like to thank to all ------------------------------------------------- of the audience in front of me. Thank you very much for attending the forum ------------------------------------------------- for today. Our issue for tonight is “Online Learning”.First of all ------------------------------------------------- , I would like to introduce our panels for tonight. Right on my left is Miss Natalie, a student from Aimst University, next to her is our specially invited parent, Mr Seng Keat Siang . For your information, he is the winner of the best father for the year 2009. A big claps for him and congratulation for the award. How are you doing, Mr Seah? ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- KS : I’m good, and glad to be here this evening.. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Moderator : Beside her is Professor Shirley Wong from the Department of Modern Language University of Malaya. How are you today professor? ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Shirley : I’m doing Great. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Moderator : At the end of the corner is the very...
Words: 2068 - Pages: 9
...In this essay, I will explain the theory and processes of learning from Honey and Mumford and Kolb and also the key influences of the personal learning processes of individuals. Learning is a process by which we gain knowledge and skills. The process of learning starts in early experiences as a small child and then continues through formal education and academic study or training. Learning is not only limited to formal education but also continues informally throughout your life. Most health and social care workers are expected to support the learning of other staff as a routine aspect of their work. Two of the most known theories linked to learning are Kolb’s experimental learning cycle (1984) and Honey and Mumford’s. David Kolb first published his learning styles models in 1984 from which he developed his learning style inventory. His experimental learning cycle helps us to understand how adults learn. According to Kolb, the way in which people learn are called their cognitive abilities. This means the ways in which an individual thinks by using their own knowledge and experiences. He suggested that during adolescence and early adulthood, we develop our own preferences in the way in which we process information and use it to make sense of our experiences. Kolb’s experiential learning cycle is represented by a four stage learning cycle: 1. Concrete experience – this is the ‘doing’ stage where you carry out or participate in an action 2. Reflective observation – reviewing...
Words: 992 - Pages: 4
...Learning Preference Assessment Claudia Sanchez Grand Canyon University NRS-429V-0103 July 13, 2014 Learning Preference Assessment There are four different learning styles: visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Different people learn different ways; some are visual, some are aural, some are reader/writer, and some are kinesthetic learners. There are also people who have different degrees of combinations of the different learning styles. These learning styles preferences influence how people use different types of information to learn: some will learn better by observing, others by listening, others by reading or writing, and others by hands on practice, or any combination of these four. This paper analyzes the writer’s perceived preferred learning style by completing a questionnaire and compares it to the actual learning style or styles that the writer utilizes. Results of questionnaire After completing it, the questionnaire suggested that this writer’s learning preference is a combination of reading/writing and kinesthetic, with a score of 7 and 6 points respectively, while visual and aural obtained 2 and 1 points respectively (vark-learn.com). Reading/writing and kinesthetic study strategies The study strategies suggested by the website for the writer’s two strongest learning styles identified are: for reading/writing: taking and reading notes, changing information from diagrams and graphs to words, practicing with multiple choice questions, organizing information...
Words: 736 - Pages: 3
...Running head: VARK LEARNING STYLE VARK Learning Style Family health Promotion August 27, 2011 VARK Analysis Learning styles are different approaches or habits of learning. Learning styles define as the “composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and physiological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment”( Keefe 1979). Stewart and Felicetti (1992) define learning styles as those “educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn.” Thus, learning styles are not really concerned about what we learn; it’s all about how we learn. Long time ago, education consisted of memorizing lessons, which means reading and writing, followed by more reading and writing. Learners had very few choices to meet their personal educational needs. There are various types of learning style now, but Fleming’s VARK model is the most frequently used learning style among the students. VARK stands for visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic learning. Summary of My Learning Style Identifying my way of learning may assist me to understand that others may approach the same circumstances in a different way from my own. Upon completion of VARK questionnaire, I realized that I have a multimodal (ARK) learning style in combination with a few of all styles. Multimodal learners need to use all of their learning styles and not just one with highest...
Words: 1148 - Pages: 5
...GROUP LEARNING JEANNE M. WILSON The College of William & Mary PAUL S. GOODMAN Carnegie Mellon University MATTHEW A. CRONIN George Mason University We clarify the construct of group learning, encouraging new directions for research. Definitions of group learning vary considerably across studies, making it difficult to systematically accumulate evidence. To reconcile disparate approaches, we first present a set of features for distinguishing group learning from other concepts. We then develop a framework for understanding group learning that focuses on learning’s basic processes at the group level of analysis: sharing, storage, and retrieval. By doing so, we define the construct space, identify gaps in current treatments of group learning, and illuminate new possibilities for measurement. • In an eight-person product development team, one member from Engineering learns a new method for three-dimensional graphing and starts using it in her rough product designs. As a result, the team’s development costs decrease. • Based on its experience with the Love Me cybervirus, a national internet security team agrees that, in the future, the team should wait to send out alerts until it has a tested fix to recommend. Seven weeks later, when the Me Too bug strikes, the team delays sending out an alert for an extra four hours while it develops a patch. This response is roundly criticized in the internet security community. Does either of these examples represent group learning? The answer...
Words: 13119 - Pages: 53
...associated with mastery learning. Programs based on mastery learning principles operate today in nations throughout the world and at every level of education. When compared to traditionally taught classes, students in mastery learning classes consistently have been shown to learn better, reach higher levels of achievement, and develop greater confidence in their ability to learn and in themselves as learners (Guskey, 1997, 2001). THE DEVELOPMENT OF MASTERY LEARNING Although the basic tenets of mastery learning can be traced to such early educators as Comenius, Pestalozzi, and Herbart (Bloom, 1974), most modern applications stem from the writings of Benjamin S. Bloom of the University of Chicago. In the mid-1960s Bloom began a series of investigations on the variation that existed in student learning outcomes. He recognized that while Figure 1ILLUSTRATION BY GGS INFORMATION SERVICES. CENGAGE LEARNING, GALE. students vary widely in their learning rates, virtually all learn well when provided with the necessary time and appropriate learning conditions. If teachers could provide the time and more appropriate conditions, Bloom reasoned that nearly all students could reach a high level of learning. To determine how this might be practically achieved, Bloom first considered how teaching and learning take place in typical group-based classrooms. He observed that most teachers begin by dividing the concepts and skills that they want students to learn into smaller learning units. Following...
Words: 3803 - Pages: 16
