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The purpose of this paper is to examine what factors affect student achievement in reading and mathematics. The research questions addressed the perceptions of school principals and background characteristics related to student achievement in Korea and the USA with respect to differences among students in low, middle and high quantiles.

Data were taken from the Program for International Student Assessment 2012. Scores in the reading and mathematics were analyzed in conjunction with a principal survey. The Quantile Regression method was used for data analysis with three quantile points. T-statistics were used to test for significance. The predictor set consisted of seven school-leadership variables, and four to six additional covariates.

The most important finding for the USA was a relationship between organizational hindrance (HND) and low student achievement for the middle and upper quantiles in mathematics and for all quantiles in reading. The (HND) variable included poor teacher-student relations, low expectation of students, overly strict enforcement of rules, lack of attention to student needs, resistance to change, lateness to class, and lack of preparation. The most important finding for Korea was that there were significant associations across all groups between teacher attitude (TCHATT) and student reading achievement and with the low group in mathematics.

This study adds to knowledge about school capacity and suggests that the leadership role of the principal is to overcome negative environmental factors and create a positive organization.

The non-Gaussian approach of regression analysis allowed us to identify significant differences that we otherwise might not have found.

Reviews the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Is Steve Jobs the right man to lead Apple? For most media and technology observers, this is an absurd question: how can you doubt the man who almost single‐handedly regenerated Apple from near obscurity in the early 1990s to the multi‐billion dollar force it is today. However on more than one occasion Wall Street has wondered if his West Coast style leadership is the right one, and the way he has chosen to handle his “illness” in 2009 has left many scratching their heads.

Provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to advance new insights into how internal and external social capital (SC) facets influence exploratory and exploitative innovation directly, and indirectly through absorptive capability (AC), by drawing on the relational and knowledge-based views.

The paper empirically tests the developed model using 135 survey responses from managers in construction contractor firms. Data were factor analysed, and path estimates determined using partial least squares structural equation modelling to test the hypotheses.

The results reveal that each social capital (SC) facet has direct benefits for both exploratory and exploitative innovation. The findings also show a mix of full and partial mediation paths between the facets of SC and innovation types through AC.

Extant research linking SC facets with innovation categories is fragmented. Added to this fragmentation is the dearth of studies linking both intra-firm and inter-firm SC with exploratory and exploitative innovation in firms. This paper makes a novel contribution by testing a model of the direct and indirect links (through AC) between internal and external SC and both exploratory and exploitative innovation in the context of construction contractor firms. The findings show how both facets of SC are necessary for exploratory and exploitative innovation. It reveals the types of relationships and capabilities necessary for specific innovation objectives.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the impact of distributed leadership (DL) on exploitative and exploratory innovations through the mediating effects of organizational trust (OT) and tacit and explicit knowledge sharing (KS).

Focusing on a quantitative approach, an empirical study was performed within a sample of information and communication technology Tunisian firms. The data collected was analyzed through the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method.

Findings revealed that DL is a driver of tacit and explicit KS, and exploitative and exploratory innovations. It also highlighted that tacit KS is associated with these two types of innovation. In this line, results showed that tacit KS plays a mediating effect between DL and exploitative and exploratory innovations. Moreover, our research highlighted that DL has a positive impact on OT that in turn boosts tacit and explicit KS.

This paper investigates the links between DL and exploitative and exploratory innovations within knowledge intensive firms (KIFs) that have never been studied in the literature within the context of business firms. This paper pioneers the examination of the mediating roles of explicit and tacit KS and OT in these links as well. This paper highlights the importance of DL for KIFs and sheds the light on how this collectivist approach of leadership creates an atmosphere of trust and fosters tacit and explicit KS to boost exploitative and exploratory innovations.

Municipal wireless networks (MWN) strive to provide broader access to the internet with some form of governmental support, usually from a city. They have generated considerable interest this decade with hundreds being launched, and recently have garnered notoriety with the withdrawal of providers like EarthLink, MetroFi, and Kite from the MWN market leaving a number of large cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Portland, OR, scrambling with half completed systems, and many other cities scuttling ambitious plans to “carpet” their jurisdictions. This paper discusses the rationale for providing a public service in general; the specific arguments used for and against municipalities developing MWNs; and the various most common business models. We then briefly review the Philadelphia case and contrast it with the case of Riverside, CA, which employs a different business model. We conclude by reviewing the generalizations that can be made about the policies surrounding MWNs at this point in their evolution.

A quick search of the headlines of major newspapers reveals a treasure trove of technology procurement gone wrong. While the private sector seems to adopt and implement new technology seamlessly and quickly to deliver for customers, the government struggles to accomplish technology purchases and integrations with the same ease. As governments in the United States are looking to retain their current workforce and attract the next generation of workers, the technological capabilities and ethos of governments will be paramount. With nearly every industry being transformed by technology and Generation T being the first generation to have an ingrained “technology first” mindset, the ability of governments to attract these workers depends, in large part, on the ability to transform their government technology culture, policies, and practices.

In this chapter, the authors examine the administrative branch and observe two key components at the root of most technology failures: poor organizational structure in the bureaucracy and the lack of an empowered Chief Information/Technology Officer. Building upon case studies from Massachusetts and California, this chapter looks at the factors related to failure or success to understand the technology procurement culture. The chapter concludes by presenting four key “best practice” principles of public policy and administration that can be implemented by almost any governmental entity to improve their acquisition and implementation of technology.