running head: a case study of implementing …€¦ · running head: a case study of implementing...

Running Head: A CASE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTING FRUGAL ICT INNOVATION IN CHINA 1

Anthony Woo•University of Hong Kong•hk.linkedin.com/in/anthonywoo

A Case Study of Implementing Frugal ICT Innovation in China and

Implications for Private-Sector Educational Leadership

Background

Context of Case Study

MCD (Make Career Different) Ltd. is an education company headquartered in Hangzhou,

China. The company provides career development programs to university students across

Greater China. Demand for MCD’s programs is strong, as universities in China often face

limitations in terms of funding and many seldom prioritize career development programs (as

research and teaching are often deemed more important). By helping to fill the gap in

vocational training, MCD is welcomed by most tertiary education institutions in China. In

2014, the company started providing offline seminars for universities, but found it inefficient

(in terms of both time dedicated and coverage) and prohibitive in terms of costs. In mid-

2015, MCD started venturing online with its seminars, and has since partnered with

prominent organizations such as Jiuding Investments in their Morningstar Development

Program in China in organizing seminars for students. (Note: The Morningstar

Development Program is a large-scale incubator program investing in “people”, i.e. students.)

This paper seeks to understand the process of ICT implementation, particularly in less-

developed contexts such as those of tier-2+ cities and rural regions in China. We hope to

shed light on the routines needed, barriers involved, implementation challenges and

https://hk.linkedin.com/in/anthonywoo

A CASE STUDY OF IMPLEMENTING FRUGAL ICT INNOVATION IN CHINA 2


implications for similar initiatives in the future.

Vision & Goal of MCD

To maximize its social impact, MCD has a goal of increasing student reach to 100,000

by the end of year 2015, targeting university students across Greater China. Competitors of

MCD tend to focus on the “upscale” market and work exclusively with the highest-ranked

universities in tier-1 cities. As part of its vision, MCD hopes to create as much social

impact as possible, and focuses efforts on the lower-end of the education market instead.

Nature of MCD’s ICT Application

MCD aims to use ICT applications (e.g. WeChat, HongDian and other proprietary APPs)

to broadcast (recorded) talks and essentially “flip” career development seminars, akin to how

MOOCs have “flipped” the traditional classroom. While this may seem trivial in light of the

ample technological devices and applications available, MCD has to adapt its ICT

implementation approach to local needs (i.e. remote regions in China), which is easier said

than done.

The Problem: ICT Implementation Barriers in China

To properly frame the problems at hand, we need to first investigate the first and second

order barriers of ICT implementation in China. Since our target audience is university

students, we focus on the students’ perspective in analyzing these barriers.

First Order Barriers: From the Student Perspective




We realize that (extrinsic) first order barriers may not be too much of an issue for tier-1

cities, but can be an acute problem in tier-2+ cities and rural regions in China. While

technological advances nowadays allow for high-definition videos to be streamed over the

Internet, the same level of technological infrastructure cannot be taken for granted in remote

regions in China. In some far-fetched parts of China, even the basic infrastructure is

inadequate, and first order barriers include: 1. Mobile signal strength may be extremely weak

or sporadic; 2. Wifi may not be available; 3. Cell phone’s operation systems may be outdated

Second Order Barriers: From the Student Perspective

According to China Internet Watch, there are over 70,000 education mobile APPs in the

Middle Kingdom, and consumers are often overwhelmed by the sheer number of options

available. Consequently, there is significant inertia in a student mindset to adopt a new ICT

application and install a new APP. At the same time, there are no tests nor grading schemes

for “career development”. Also, learning support from school leadership and teachers is

often limited as “career development” is not part of the formal curriculum at most schools in

China. Therefore, the lack of curricular emphasis, together with the psychological inertia

resulting from the over-abundance of ICT applications available, contribute to two significant

types of (intrinsic) second order barrier for students – an adoption-oriented one and an

awareness-oriented one (i.e. awareness of career development needs).

The Solution: ICT Implementation in a “Frugal” Way




First order barriers of ICT implementation at tier-2+ cities and rural regions are often

intrinsically tied to various socio-economic and geopolitical factors in China.

Unfortunately, a lot of these exogenous factors (e.g. school leadership’s fundraising ability,

resource allocation from the government) are outside MCD’s control. As such, the company

focuses on addressing the second order barriers first, and aims to “scale up” implementation

plans when the technological infrastructure (first order barriers) allows for it. The company

has been innovating constantly in ICT developments, albeit in a frugal way. Being frugal is

key, as the company believes “good-enough, affordable products that meet the needs of

resource-constrained consumers” are what serves its target audience best (Zeschky,

Widenmayer, & Gassmann, 2011).

MCD is tackling this problem with innovations in ICT. The company is deploying ICT

as a tool to reach a wider audience and create awareness of career planning and development,

and in essence, “flipping” short courses on vocational training on a national scale. This

entails leveraging appropriate communication platforms, driving adoption for ICT

applications, establishing effective organizational routines, and seeking help from local

communities in order to ensure that the implementation of “frugal” ICT initiatives is smooth

and effective.

Driving Adoption

Tencent’s WeChat platform enjoys a very high penetration rate in China, with over 650




million active users according to the statistics portal Statista. However, WeChat does not

allow for the proper recording and playback of a seminar. In contrast, while HongDian’s

adoption is still at a nascent stage, but it does have the features and functionalities that MCD

is seeking: simple, “frugal”, and effective for hosting an online seminar. By embedding

HongDian into a WeChat message (refer to the screenshot below for an illustration), the

company is able to combine the best of both worlds.

In essence, MCD tries to drive the adoption of a 3rd party conferencing APP using an

existing ICT platform, i.e. using WeChat to “tip” HongDian (Gladwell, 2000). By

leveraging WeChat’s platform to make HongDian more prevalent amongst the “pragmatic

technology users” and bring adoption “over the chasm” to the “conservative technology

users” category, MCD manages to circumvent the first order barriers and reach a massive

audience across the nation with a frugal ICT innovation (Rogers, 1995). (See diagram

below for an illustration)




Mobile Learning

Prior research has indicated that some of the affordances of mobilized lessons are

“sharing [of] artifacts” and “[improvisation] within the context of learning” (Looi et al.,

2009; Looi et al., 2011; Norris & Soloway, 2008). Also, “learning outside the classroom” is

an emerging theme enabled by mobilized learning (Liu, Scordino, Geurtz, Navarrete, Ko &

Lim, 2014). By applying the frugal innovation concept on ICT implementation, MCD is

essentially providing mobilized lessons to less-developed regions in China. It is hoped that

“differentiated learning” the “sharing [of] artifacts” will allow students to learn from one

another. Moreover, career-related topics and issues are constantly changing. Therefore,

having the ability to “improvise within the context of learning” becomes crucial. MCD’s




ICT implementation would also help expand learning outside the classroom without

interfering with courses in the existing curriculum.

ICT Implementation: Routines

Routines: Nature & Context

MCD has established organizational routines to help serve as “couple mechanisms” with

the company’s leadership initiatives (Spillane, Parise & Sherer, 2010). The company

recruits campus representatives to be online moderators to ensure that the WeChat groups

remain vibrant communities for learning. According to literature, there are typically three

types of online moderators, namely organizational, social and intellectual (Paulsen, 1995).

For MCD’s online seminars, on the one hand, intellectual moderator is usually the speaker

(e.g. a finance professional or a career counselor). On the other hand, the roles of the

organizational and social moderators are often blended into one, and handled by the campus

representatives. Campus representatives serve as the key contact person liaising between

the universities and the company. They are familiar with the local customs and school

social norms (e.g. sub-cultural issues, cultural slangs, class jokes), and thus are in the best

position to be the organizational and social moderators.

The company has devised a comprehensive set of routines for campus representatives.

The routines involved are diverse, covering aspects such as utilizing a template for initial

greetings and guest introduction, adhering to a certain format for Q&A, following specific




procedures for handling questions from the audience, adopting certain protocol for following

up with the audience at the end of each online seminar etc. These organizational routines

are of paramount importance for maintaining these online mini-communities for the many

seminars that MCD hosts.

Routines: Q&A Example

MCD seminars are structured so that everyone starts listening to a recording at the same

time. However, there are often lags in online broadcasting due to uneven and sporadic

signal strength, and in other cases students may have slight delays in listening to a seminar

due to other unexpected technological issues. Therefore, very often there various undesired

“asynchronous” factors during these seminars. As part of a routine, the moderator will

coordinate for a break of 15 minutes after each speech. After the break time, the moderator

will announce the start of the Q&A session, which has to be done live. The 15-minute break

is essential so that students in the online seminar have sufficient time to finish listening to the

recorded broadcast and get synchronized with everyone else for the live Q&A. In another

related routine, the moderator allocates 15 minutes for everyone to ask questions, after which

the audience will be asked to go on mute when the speaker starts answering questions. This

is crucial because in an online environment with only text and voice, it can be very confusing

and chaotic when the moderator, audience and speaker all make comments simultaneously.

Routines: Transitions Example




Without face-to-face interactions, MCD has implemented specific routines to ensure that

transitions are seamless during online seminars. For instance, team members have

developed a habit to communicate via separate WeChat channels simultaneously in order to

“double-confirm” the status of a seminar. Towards the end of a talk, the speaker will

conclude his/her speech in one chat room, and subsequently send a message to the moderator

in another chat room (i.e. a control room) to confirm the end of a session. In a real-life

setting, this may seem superfluous and redundant. But in an online context without onsite

ICT support, this almost becomes necessary so as to ensure a smooth and seamless transition

from one part of the seminar to another.

Routines: Rollout & Implementation

We have learned that it is better to “phase-in” certain routines and implement them in a

stepwise manner. By differentiating between major and minor routines, the entire rollout

process of routines can be based on a “divide-and-conquer” approach and a “building-block”

mindset. It resembles the ascension process in the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, except that

in this case students have to show mastery of one set of routines before they are given another

set of more advanced routines. In other words, “each successive exercise should build on

the scale and experience of the previous one”, according to the concept of “Building Block

Approach” published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is particularly

important given the long-distance online nature of these seminars without onsite ICT support.




(Refer to the following diagram for an illustration of this approach)

Major vs. Minor Routines

A Building Block Approach

Development Roadmap

MCD’s leadership is planning to engage with various communities of practices (CoPs)

in order to further develop its ICT initiatives. On the one hand, working with local

communities (e.g. student organizations) to address second order barriers – creating

awareness and driving adoption of ICT applications – is relatively straightforward. On the

other hand, getting approval from school leadership for financial resources to be allocated

and ICT infrastructure to be upgraded will take time, whereas garnering support for a large

scale public-private partnership will take years if not decades. According to Woo (2015),

“CoP confined to an organisation… could benefit greatly from partnership and meeting with

other schools, professional organisations and businesses”. MCD plans to engage various

stakeholders in the following order: 1. Local communities; 2. Schools & School Districts; 3.




Government. (Please refer to the diagram below for details)

MCD’s “Futures Wheel” on the following page shows how the company intends to

collaborate with various stakeholders. It is worth noting that the communication platforms

(e.g. WeChat), 3rd party APPs (e.g. HongDian) and the company’s own proprietary software

will form the basis for the “boundary objects” that MCD’s leadership will leverage to

“traverse multiple communities” (Stein & Coburn, 2008). When engaging with campus

representatives, the company will adopted a “distributed leadership” approach, and strives to

“[empower] staff and students, as well as encouraged commitment, participation, and shared

accountability for student learning” (Spillane & Healey, 2010).

Futures Wheel of “MCD Online Seminars”




From the Perspective of Various Stakeholders

Adapted from Jerome C. Glenn (1994): The Futures Wheel

Challenges

Challenge: Leadership’s Blind-Spots

We have learned that insights from the frontline are paramount for key decisions made at

the leadership level. At the beginning, ICT was deployed without a holistic understanding

of the circumstances of the target audience at tier-2+ cities and rural regions in China. For

example, the company initially tried using video conferencing, believing that it will provide




students with the best online experience. However, the initiative failed because Internet

connectivity in some remote parts of China can barely handle real-time streaming of video,

especially high-definition ones. When MCD attempted to implement video-conferencing

across the nation, small issues ballooned into larger ones rapidly, and the entire initial phase

of ICT implementation failed. (This is a lot worse than what we experienced in class with

Google Hangouts with guest speaker Mr. Sean McHugh.) At MCD we have learned that it

is important to run field tests and trial runs with campus representatives well in advance of

each seminar. Another insight the company gained is that ICT Directors should make ICT

applications as “fail-safe” as possible, especially when the audience may not have a technical

(ICT) background. Recently MCD has also devised multiple back-up plans in case of any

disruption in ICT implementation.

Challenge: Inadequacy & Scarcity of Offline ICT Infrastructure & Support

As mentioned before, first order barrier problems are profound in remote regions in

China. There are huge regional variations in terms of basic infrastructure. Moreover, the

fact that MCD’s seminars are hosted outside of the classroom means immediate help (e.g. an

on-campus ICT Director) is not available. This adds an extra layer of complexity to the

implementation of ICT. MCD’s leadership is currently collaborating with schools and local

campus representatives to overcome this challenge.

Challenge: Abundance of Online Resources




As mentioned earlier, there are currently over 70,000 education mobile APPs in China.

Therefore, in the online world, we face a problem opposite in nature to the previous challenge

– a problem of too many online platforms with unknown quality and reliability. As guest

speakers Mr. Declan Burke and Mr. Brett Morris in our class mentioned, using multiple

platforms would be confusing for both teachers and students, wasting energy, time, and

money. As such, MCD’s leadership seeks to work directly with universities key decision

makers in the adoption of ICT, to the extent that the company would offer to help schools

directly with certain elements of course design and ICT implementation. It is hoped that,

through closer collaboration with tertiary education institutions, platform choice and usage

can be standardized.

What’s Next?

Knowledge Management: A “Career Navigation Map”

MCD can learn a lot from the success of Khan Academy (Thompson, 2011). There is

immense potential to “modulize” career development and build a “navigation map”, similar

to the commonly known knowledge map (Watthananon & Mingkhwan, 2011). This “Career

Navigation Map” can then be refined for e-learning (Lee & Segev, 2012). This will help

make vocational training more systematic and prominent in China, with the hopes of

ultimately formalizing career development in the official curricula at higher education in

China.




Career Navigation Map

Adapted from Kaist Business School in Korea (http://www.business.kaist.edu/life/0602)

The above diagram shows the opportunities that MCD can pursue within each vertical of

the career development field. The activities outlined in yellow can be augmented by ICT

implementation, and thus can be top priorities for MCD in the future for deploying ICT. It

is worth noting that certain initiatives, such as job fairs, can actually be hosted online. For

example, the American Chemical Society organizes regular virtual career fairs with text or

video chat interviews. However, existing technology in China may not be mature enough to

handle the demand and relevant specifications.

Outlook & Insights


http://www.business.kaist.edu/life/0602



Despite myriad challenges, the outlook is promising. Since mid-2015, MCD has

successfully hosted over 50 online “frugal” seminars, reaching over 15,000 students with

overwhelmingly positive feedback. The company is currently expanding its network of

universities and collaborating with public and private organizations to enhance its reach.

Almost all of the universities that MCD currently has relationships with have explicitly

mentioned that they look forward to more collaboration opportunities in the future.

China’s unique mode of economic development calls for a special approach in ICT

implementation strategy – in this case, innovating on ICT applications and addressing second

order barriers first. With mobile Internet users reaching 901 million as of September 2015

according to the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China mobile

Internet penetration amongst the highest in the world. There is no doubt that the Middle

Kingdom is leapfrogging its way to the second largest economic powerhouse behind the

United States. It is only that sometimes this leapfrogging comes in a “frugal” way, and

requires a uniquely localized mindset and approach.

Conclusion

This MCD case study shows that frugal innovation can be an effective way of

implementing ICT in China, especially in regions where the technological infrastructure is

sub-par. The case study also illustrates the importance of leadership’s ability to drive

adoption on appropriate communication platforms, establish effective organizational routines,




and garner local support to be successful in ICT initiatives.




References

ACS Virtual Career Fair for Job Seekers. (2015). American Chemical Society. Retrieved

November 24, 2015, from http://www.careerfair.acs.org/job-seekers/virtual

China Education Mobile Apps Exceeded 70,000 in Nov 2014. (2014). China Internet Watch.

Retrieved November 22, 2015, from http://tinyurl.com/hk7jstd

China Email Users Overview 2015. China Internet Watch. Retrieved November 30, 2015,

from http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/15894/9-mobile-mailboxes-bathroom/

Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved November 22, 2015, from

https://emilms.fema.gov/IS120A/m1summary.htm

Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Boston:

Little, Brown.

Hew, K. & Cheung, W. (2003). Asynchronous online discussion activities to support

university students’ self-directed learning: Opportunities and challenges identified.

International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments IJSMILE,

63-63.

Jonassen, D. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. M. Reigeluth

(Ed.), Instructional Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional

Theory, volume 2 (pp. 215—239). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Jonassen, D. (2000). Towards design theory of problem solving. ETR&D, 48(4), pp.63-85.


http://www.careerfair.acs.org/job-seekers/virtual

http://tinyurl.com/hk7jstd

http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/15894/9-mobile-mailboxes-bathroom/

https://emilms.fema.gov/IS120A/m1summary.htm



Liu, M., Scordino, R., Geurtz, R., Navarrete, C., Ko, Y., & Lim, M. (2014). A Look at

Research on Mobile Learning in K–12 Education From 2007 to the Present. Journal of

Research on Technology in Education, 325-372.

Kozma, R. (2015). Comparative Analysis of Policies for ICT in Education. International

Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, 1083-1096.

Lee, J. H. & Segev A. (2012). Knowledge maps for e-learning. Computers & Education, 59,

353-364

Looi, C.K., Wong, L.H., So, H.J., Seow, P., Toh, Y., Chen, W., Soloway, E. (2009). Anatomy

of a mobilized lesson: Learning my way. Computers & Education, 53(4), 1120-1132.

doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2009.05.021

Looi, C.K., Zhang, B., Chen, W., Seow, P., Chia, G., Norris, C., & Soloway, E. (2011). 1:1

Mobile inquiry learning experience for primary science students: A study of learning

effectiveness. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(3), 269-287.

doi:10.1111/j.1365- 2729.2010.00390.x

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China. (2014). Retrieved November 25,

2015, from

http://english.gov.cn/state_council/2014/08/23/content_281474983035940.htm

Number of monthly active WeChat users from 2nd quarter 2010 to 3rd quarter 2015 (in

millions). Statista. Retrieved November 30, 2015, from


http://english.gov.cn/state_council/2014/08/23/content_281474983035940.htm



http://www.statista.com/statistics/255778/number-of-active-wechat-messenger-accounts/

Paulsen, M.F. (1995). Moderating educational computer conferences. In Z. L. Berge and M.

P. Collins (Eds), Computer mediated communication and the online classroom: Vol.3.

Distance Learning (pp. 81-89). Cresskill, NJ Hampton Press, Inc.

Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to

create radically successful businesses. New York: Crown Business.

Rogers, E. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations. Technology and Culture, 109-109.

Spillane, J., & Healey, K. (2010). Conceptualizing School Leadership and Management from

a Distributed Perspective: An Exploration of Some Study Operations and Measures.

ELEM SCHOOL J The Elementary School Journal, 253-281.

Spillane, J., Parise, L., & Sherer, J. (2010). Organizational Routines as Coupling

Mechanisms: Policy, School Administration, and the Technical Core. American

Educational Research Journal, 586-619.

Stein, M., & Coburn, C. (2008). Architectures for Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Two

Urban School Districts. American Journal of Education AM J EDUC, 583-626.

Thompson, C. (2011). How Khan Academy is Changing the Rules of Education. Wired

Digital

Watthananon, J., & Mingkhwan, A. (2011). Optimizing Knowledge Management using

Knowledge Map. Procedia Engineering, 1169-1177.


http://www.statista.com/statistics/255778/number-of-active-wechat-messenger-accounts/



Woo, D. J. (2015). Central practitioners’ developing legitimate peripheral participation in a

community of practice for changing schools. Australasian Journal of Educational

Technology, 31.

Zeschky, M., Widenmayer, B., & Gassmann, O. (2011). Frugal Innovation In Emerging

Markets. Research-Technology Management, 38-45.


running head: a case study of implementing …€¦ · running head: a case study of implementing...

Documents