The following illustrates one way to organize the presentation of a principle.
Background and motivation for a principle:
Academics generally publish the results of their research in peer-reviewed journals. These journals vary greatly in terms of perceived quality. At research-intensive universities like Case, it is important for faculty members to demonstrate that they are capable of gaining acceptance of their work in the most prestigious journals in their field, often referred to as A-journals. It generally takes many months and can take years for an article to be reviewed and published in these journals.
One of our strategic goals is to create information that will have a transformative effect on the world. Often this type of research is of little interest to the A-journals. Either it is considered outside the domain of the disciplines or it is threatening to those who review, edit and manage those venues.
Proposed principle:
Because we wish to have a transformative impact on management and society, we will encourage faculty and students to develop and use new technology-based channels as outlets for their research.
Opposite:
Because an academic institution’s prestige is directly related to its success in publishing in a select set of high-quality journals, we will encourage our faculty and students to focus their energies on publishing their work in those venues.
Rationale for the principle:
New internet-based outlets will be more diverse, allow for more rapid dissemination of research findings, and be more likely to create dialogue. Because of the increasing reliance of both researchers and practitioners on online materials, our research will be accessible to people at the moment they are seeking new information. Since these channels do not have long editorial traditions (and in many cases will be under our direct control), they will be more likely to see value in the transformative ideas represented in our research.
Some implications:
We will need to reconsider how we evaluate success (currently we rely largely upon the editorial review process).
We will need to provide assistance to researchers in organizing their work in new ways, so that it will be found and used in this new context.
We will need to find ways to publicize these efforts.
We will need to participate in efforts to develop standards for these initiatives.
Example decisions:
A junior faculty member finds an important new relationship between the approach that used to develop software and its acceptance by managers. She estimates that to publish it through traditional channels will take at least two years. She believes that it is possible that a community of scholars would be immediately interested in the topic and that it could have an immediate impact on practice if we created a discussion list around it, but worries that might not be counted much toward promotion and tenure decisions.
The application of this principle would lead to encouraging the faculty member to distribute his work electronically.
A group of students are studying an interesting new approach to managing supply chains. They determine that there is not site that adequately describes the approach and summarizes the research that has been done on the topic. They approach the technology group to determine if they can create a place on the school’s web site for that purpose.
The technology support staff recognizes that it is consistent with this principle to provide that resource to the students and to assist them in establishing the site and other materials they require.