Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of talent in relation to international business to facilitate selection and development of talent in human resources (HR) and human resource development (HRD).Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method design was used: focus groups with business professionals to identify the characteristics of highly talented international business professionals (HTIBP), resulting in a concept profile; Delphi study for validation; systematic comparison of the opencoding results to existing literature to identify characteristics of talent.Findings – A specific and concise profile of HTIBP has been developed. This profile has five domains: achieving results; communicating; innovating; self-reflecting; seeing patterns and interrelationships in a global context. From literature cross-referencing, we have identified innovating, being creative andhaving a drive to achieve results are most distinguishing for HTIBP.Practical implications – The paper facilitates an ongoing discussion about what constitutes talent, and offers new perspectives for companies to consider when selecting and developing talent.Originality/value – The conceptual contribution of the paper offers a fresh and practical empirical perspective on what talent entails.
Poster presentation, Hanze Research Dag, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, januari 2013
Phd Thesis Higher professional education aims to prepare graduates for the complexity of professional practices. The development of conceptual understanding is important to deal adequately with this complexity, especially in an unstructured professional domain such as international business. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the concept conceptual understanding in this professional domain, how it can be measured, what it looks like, how it changes, and in what ways it differs between students. The dissertation comprises five empirical studies for which data collection took place at a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands.
Client: Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) / Partners for International Business (PIB)The Knowledge-To-Knowledge (K2K) project “Consortium development zero-emission tourism mobility" is part of the private-public Partners for International Business (PIB) programme ‘Erfolgsformeln Verbinden: Nachhaltige Mobilität und Energie in Österreich und in den Niederlanden’. The K2K project was executed by the Centre for Sustainability, Tourism and Transport (CSTT), the research institute of the Academy for Tourism of Breda University of Applied Sciences. Partners in this project were Camptoo, NKC, emodz, and TUI Netherlands. The goal of the K2K project was to develop a joint research and policy agenda for stimulating zero-emissions tourism mobility under Dutch-Austrian cooperation. The results, derived by an extensive literature study and a number of interviews and meetings with both tourism and transport experts, and tourism (business) professionals, are found in this report.
Het lectorenplatform CE ontstond in 2017 uit de behoefte een podium te hebben voor kennisuitwisseling en samenwerking in een tot dan toe versnipperd onderzoeksveld. Het platform is hierin geslaagd maar ziet nog volop mogelijkheden om haar rol te versterken. Enkele redenen zijn: Overheden ondersteunen een stevige agenda voor onderzoek. Er komen meer internationale, Rijksbrede en regionale programma’s voor de circulaire economie en er worden veranderingen in regelgeving bestudeerd (grondstoffenakkoord, energieneutraliteit, keurmerken voor duurzaamheid). Het thema circulaire economie met ‘wicked problems’ als klimaatverandering moet multidisciplinair benaderd worden omdat het zowel technische, maatschapp- elijke, juridische, psychologische, ecologische als economische elementen in zich heeft. Multidisciplinaire samenwerking is dus noodzakelijk en kan nog beter. Lectoren hebben invloed op de opleiding van nieuwe professionals en vorming van hun duurzame bewustzijn. Door praktijkgericht onderzoek in verbinding met onderwijs uit te voeren zorgen zij ervoor dat nieuwe generaties studenten worden opgeleid met denkwijzen en instrumenten voor een circulaire economie. De focus ligt in de vervolgfase op het hebben van impact via concrete projecten, in grotere programma’s en door verbindingen met nieuwe partijen. We investeren in het (door)ontwikkelen van methodieken, instrumenten en tools - zoals circulaire business modellen, meervoudige waardenmodellen, circulaire financieringswijzers en circulaire scorecards. Deze testen we in ‘living lab’-achtige settingen. Avans en Het Groene Brein zorgen wederom voor de aansturing. De samenwerking wordt uitgebreid door samen te werken met andere lectorenplatforms, waaronder Logistiek, Biobased Economy en Urban Energy en NADR (creatieve industrie). Samenwerking biedt mogelijkheden voor crossovers in onderzoek en versterkt de kennisbasis. Het platform staat zo voor stevige kennisdisseminatie naar onderwijs en praktijk. Ondermeer via de kenniskaart die in de opstartperiode is ontwikkeld, professionele, wetenschappelijke publicaties en bijeenkomsten. In openleeromgevingen worden leerpakketten aangeboden die inzetbaar zijn bij de ontwikkeling van onderwijsmodules, onderwijsmethodes en MOOC’s gericht op transitie naar een CE.
With the help of sensors that made data collection and processing possible, many products around us have become “smarter”. The situation that our car, refrigerator, or umbrella communicating with us and each other is no longer a future scenario; it is increasingly a shared reality. There are good examples of such connectedness such as lifestyle monitoring of elderly persons or waste management in a smart city. Yet, many other smart products are designed just for the sake of embedding a chip in something without thinking through what kind of value they add everyday life. In other words, the design of these systems have mainly been driven by technology until now and little studies have been carried out on how the design of such systems helps citizens to improve or maintain the quality of their individual and collective lives. The CREATE-IT research center creates new solutions and methodologies in “digital design” that contribute to the quality of life of citizens. Correspondingly, this proposal focuses on one type of digital design—smart products—and investigate the concept of empowerment in relation to the design of smart products. In particular, the proposal aims to develop a model with its supplementary tools and methods for designing such products better. By following a research-through-design methodology, the proposal intends to offer a critical understanding on designing smart products. Along with its theoretical contribution, the proposal will also aid the students of ICT and design, and professionals such as designers and engineers to create smart products that will empower people and the industry to develop products grounded in a clear user experience and business model.
