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Supporting schools during the implementation of the health-promoting school approach

Introduction: The health-promoting school (HPS) approach was developed by the World Health Organization to create health promotion changes in the whole school system. Implementing the approach can be challenging for schools because schools are dynamic organizations with each a unique context. Many countries worldwide have a health promotion system in place in which healthy school (HS) advisors support schools in the process of implementing the HPS approach. Even though these HS advisors can take on various roles to provide support in an adaptive and context-oriented manner, these roles have not yet been described. The current study aims to identify and describe the key roles of the HS advisor when supporting schools during the dynamic process of implementing the HPS approach. Methods: The study was part of a project in which a capacity-building module was developed for and with HS advisors in the Netherlands. In the current study, a co-creation process enabled by participatory research was used in which researchers, HS advisors, national representatives, and coordinators of the Dutch HS program participated. Co-creation processes took place between October 2020 and November 2021 and consisted of four phases: (1) a narrative review of the literature, (2) interviews, (3) focus groups, and (4) a final check. Results: Five roles were identified. The role of “navigator” as a more central one and four other roles: “linking pin,” “expert in the field,” “critical friend,” and “ambassador of the HPS approach.” The (final) description of the five roles was recognizable for the HS advisors that participated in the study, and they indicated that it provided a comprehensive overview of the work of an HS advisor in the Netherlands. Discussion: The roles can provide guidance to all Dutch HS advisors and the regional public health organizations that employ them on what is needed to provide sufficient and context-oriented support to schools. These roles can inspire and guide people from other countries to adapt the roles to their own national context.

Business schools need a bigger role in driving societal change.

Responsible management education in the Netherlands: to what extent have Dutch business schools integrated CSR into their MBA programs?

The increasing importance of CSR within the business context has led business schools to consider their essential role in this development and to positively contribute to this through responsible management education. It is unclear, however, whether business schools are preparing their students sufficiently to know how to deal with CSR issues throughout their careers effectively and to avoid irresponsible behavior as future leaders. Since comprehensive empirical data has been lacking sofar, this chapter reports on a baseline study into responsible management education in the Netherlands. In addition to a case description about the attention for CSR by the Open University The Netherlands, it presents original data about the state of responsible management education in the Netherlands. A survey was administered to general MBA program managers in the Netherlands addressing issues such as the level and way of integration of CSR into MBA programs, teaching methods used, student interest in CSR education, and the main drivers and obstacles for integrating CSR into management education. Both public and private business schools as well as research-oriented universities and universities of professional education were included in this research. Our findings indicate, among other things, that the majority of MBA programs that are offered in the Netherlands have integrated CSR into the curriculum, although most MBA programs appear to educate their students about CSR through traditional teaching approaches and dominantly use so-called saddle bag approaches to CSR integration in MBA programs.

Business model for business rules

Business rule models are widely applied, standalone and embedded in smart objects. They have become segregated from information technology and they are now a valuable asset in their own right. As more business rule models are becoming assets, business models to monetize these assets are designed. The goal of this work is to present a step towards business model classification for organizations for which its value position is characterized by business rule models. Based on a survey we propose a business model categorization that is aligned to different types of assets and business model archetypes. The results show five main categories of business models: The value adding business rule model, the ‘create me a business rule model’ business model, the KAAS business model, the bait and hook business model and the market place business model.

Factors and Competences for Business Process Management Systems implementation

De markt voor Business Process Management (BPM) software groeit razend snel. Voor 2010 wordt er een marktomvang voorspeld van tussen de 1 tot 6 miljard dollar, dit betekend dat deze markt sinds 2005 meer dan verdubbeld is. BPM krijgt ook in toenemende mate publiciteit in de markt echter dan gaat het veelal om wat BPM nu precies wel en niet is en niet over hoe het toegepast kan worden. Hetzelfde geldt voor BPM software, beter bekend als Business Process Management Systemen (BPMS). Het onderzoek beschreven in dit proefschrift focust op BPMS, het ontstaan, waar het naartoe gaat en wat er allemaal komt kijken bij de invoering en het gebruik ervan. De hoofdonderzoeksvraag in dit proefschrift is: Welke factoren en competenties bepalen het succes van de implementatie van Business Process Management Systemen in een specifieke situatie? Centraal in dit proefschrift staan de volgende onderzoeksvragen: 1. Wat zijn de succes factoren bij de implementatie van Business Process Management Systemen? 2. Welke competenties hebben stakeholders in een Business Process Management Systeem implementatie project nodig? 3. Hoe ziet een Business Process Management Systeem implementatie methodiek eruit welke rekening houdt met de omgevingsfactoren van een organisatie?

Leading collaborative innovation in schools

Educational innovations often tend to fail, mainly because teachers and school principals do not feel involved or are not allowed to have a say. Angela de Jong's dissertation shows the importance of school principals and teachers leading 'collaborative innovation' together. Collaborative innovation requires a collaborative, distributed approach involving both horizontal and vertical working relationships in a school. Her research shows that teams with more distributed leadership have a more collaborative 'spirit' to improve education. Team members move beyond formal (leadership) roles, and work more collectively on school-wide educational improvement from intrinsic motivation. De Jong further shows that school principals seek a balance in steering and providing space. She distinguished three leadership patterns: Team Player, Key Player, Facilitator. Team players in particular are important for more collaborative innovation in a school. They balance between providing professional space to teachers (who look beyond their own classroom) and steering for strategy, frameworks, boundaries, and vision. This research took place in schools working with the program of Foundation leerKRACHT, a program implemented by more than a thousand schools (primary, secondary, and vocational education). The study recommends, towards school principals and teachers, and also towards trainers, policymakers, and school board members, to reflect more explicitly on their roles in collaborative innovation and talk about those roles.