Saturday, June 13, 2015

Management Theory at Work in Radio

I have copied the text below from a post by Will Pollard for LinkedIn. It seems clear enough. I still think there should be more about virtual worlds, especially as a studio for linking video. But if people in Exeter want to try out casual video in a social situation it may be worth a try. The tickets are with Will - @will789gb - and there are 20 available now. 20 more held back till July in case some visiting speakers turn up. It looks like the theory in practice will break down as theory on YouTube clips, practice as radio sound with short bits of video later.
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On August 12th at the BikeShed Theatre in Exeter there will be a one day version of the Management Theory at Work conference with a focus on the current situation in radio. #mtw3 has continued online the issues from the first two conferences in Lancaster over a decade ago. Issues around the learning company and leadership are relevant for radio organisations considering a move online towardsd social media and video. Most of the content will be based on existing YouTube clips with an aim to create better linking clips for a future playlist. The event is free because recording will be a priority. The event is part of Dark Times, a fortnight or perfomances from Phonic FM at a time when the theatre would otherwise be closed. 

There will be discussion in the bar between 12 and 6, followed by presentations in the theatre and a performance by the Stand Up Philosopher. This will reflect the debate around values and the relevance of universities and business schools.The first part of the day will assume some sort of validity for practice with examples of social media around sound and video. If this is in the wrong order anyone can rearrange it online or skip to another conclusion.

Cases will, include Phonic FM and Access All Aerials. There will definitely be people doing shows with possible contributions by people working on policy. The theory will consider how learning happens at a policy level and how far networks spread innovation over more than one site.

There will be the best possible information on what is possible through Apple and YouTube on funding and distributing content as sound and/or video. Things are changing wo this may involve some speculation. There will be implications for radio and conferences.

Searching online with "mtw3" will find more information and background.
There are twenty places available now. More will be available in July depending on how things works out. 


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Outline of the main sections for discussion. there are already clips on YouTube. Timings and deatail depends on who is there on the day. 

1. The talk by John Burgoyne is a sort of keynote. It is on YouTube as a complete hour or in several topics. 

2. Design Science could be a theory to link learning and management. Diana Laurillard
has written on teaching as a design science. There has also been discussion in the
British Journal of Management. 


Antony Upward spoke at Hamburg University in December 2014. A section on Design Science has been edited for YouTube. 

If time allows there could be discussion on quality assurance and online learning. This would follow quite quickly if there was more shared understanding of what Design Science is about in different situations.

3. At the time of the second Management Theory at Work conference Bronwen Rees
was based at Crucible Research, offering a form of alchemy. She is now at Incubatio,
there are links to articles on the website, including one about ethical enquiry. I don't
think she could be at the event but we could trace papers over recent years, several
open online.

Bronwen Rees has interviewed Rich Fernandez from Google for Interconnections.
There is a PDF available online. Several YouTube clips with Rich Fernandez also
it may be possible to arrange a video link with Bronwen Rees


4. Radio as case study is a link with Phonic FM and others, some are online only
already. There has been an announcement about Apple Radio though few details about how it will work out in the UK. there is speculation about subscriptions for YouTube and others. Will the "ad - free" option include non-music content?

5. The first Management Theory at Work closed with a look at relevance for universities, suggesting that critique was a more suitable role. In July there will be a meeting about
the website www.criticalmanagement.org intended for feedback and possible
changes. This could be seen as a quality process if quality ideas were within a critique scope. Possibly some form of design science would be considered.

6. The video clip on publishing has had by far the most views on YouTube. Any
conference concludes with looking at what to do with the papers/ text as well as now the sound and video. Print publishing is not changing as fast as music and radio but similar issues crop up.


The discussion during the afternoon can be edited down to presentations between 6 and 8 in the theatre beforee the Stand Up Philosopher.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

#mtw3 and radio /video in Exeter August 12th

The March online version worked well enough so this sort of approach may continue. But Phonic FM has the offer of space at the Bike Shed Theatre during August so Will Pollard has suggested the 12th for a day of looking at radio in the context of #mtw3. One aim will be to come up with better sound and video links. Content from other places and times will be included in the mix.

There is a Google Doc that includes a sort of structure. this may change depending on who turns up and wants to talk bout each topic.

1. John Burgoyne talk as a sort of keynote. Already on YouTube as a complete hour or in several topics. Assume most people have already seen this but there is still much to discuss.

2. Design Science could be a theory to link learning and management. Diana Laurillard has written on teaching as a design science. There has also been discussion in the British Journal of Management. Also I find there is less established curation than with topics such as systems or quality. So casual video and a chat show approach are more easily accepted.

3. At the time of the second Management Theory at Work conference Bronwen Rees was based at Crucible Research, offering a form of alchemy. She is now at Incubatio, there are links to articles on the website, including one about ethical enquiry. I don't think she could be at the event but we could trace papers over recent years, several open online.

4. Radio as case study is a link with Phonic FM and others, some are online only already. There is speculation that over the summer there will be announcements about forms of online radio, including possibly YouTube and Apple. How can an FM studio adapt? How to fit in with social media? There will be more about this on the Hello Spiders blog. It is the topic on which most news is expected.

5. The first Management Theory at Work closed with a look at relevance for universities, suggesting that critique was a more suitable role. In July there will be a meeting about the website - www.criticalmanagement.org - intended for feedback and possible changes. This could be seen as a quality process if quality ideas were withing a critique scope. Possibly some form of design science would be considered.

6. The video clip on publishing has had by far the most views on YouTube. Any conference concludes with looking at what to do with the papers/ text as well as now the sound and video. Print publishing is not changing as fast as music and radio but similar issues crop up.

What I notice is that there is less and less space for virtual worlds such as Twinity and Second Life. During March I thought there would be a spend on a virtual studio so we could do continuity sitting beside several screens. This has just become bits of text on Twitter and other places. If there is a shift towards subscriptions for content I hope the virtual world ideas come back. Nothing against a day of face2face of course.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

March update, YouTube channel still ok, maybe subs later

The March phase around YouTube clips is now coming to an end. It has worked well though still on a small scale. There is not enough momentum to launch a YouTube channel as the examples we have looked at are from the music scene on a different level of volume.

However something is changing. The announcement of Tidal yesterday shows that there is a basis for subscription channels with reasonable quality streaming of sound and video. There is an option even in the UK for a Google music subscription that removes the ads from music video on YouTube. There must eventually be a service for documentary and lecture style content. #mtw3 could contribute to this or develop in various ways. For a while it will continue as part of Rougemont Global Broadcasting, also known as Will Pollard channel on YouTube. The playlists are able to include content from other sources.

In August there will be a day meeting in Exeter with a focus on Phonic FM as a case study in managed change. Issues around web streaming and FM will be part of the discussion.

I can accept that virtual worlds have not been part of the #mtw3 month this time. Avatars could provide a continuity announcement service for a channel but even a virtual studio requires a budget. Camera operators have to make time available and there is still a need for editing. I still spend most of my time in Twinity but I realise that social media now offer an alternative reality that is convincing enough for many occasions. Facebook are investing in goggles but this is just the next extension for imagination. I certainly don't feel out of place on LinkedIn where public identity is often constructed.

I guess #mtw3 will continue though at a slower pace. This blog will not be updated very often. Since Google stopped blogsearch there has been less traffic for most blogs. They seem to prefer short posts on social media. I will be contributing to the group on LinkedIn - search for "Towards #mtw3"

Comment also please on the YouTube clips, look for "mtw3 Burgoyne" and then the filter for this year. Or add a comment or another video. It is getting easier to record on a phone. Conferences may just emerge as a mesh, not need much finance for a channel.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Online version of #mtw3 conference considers a YouTube channel

There will be a sequence of online activity during March. Previously the social media versions of Management Theory at Work have assumed that a face to face version would follow. After a few attempts at this it now seems more likely that #mtw3 continues mostly online with links to content that comes from other situations. There is continuing interest in the video clips on YouTube from the talks by John Burgoyne and the playlist with a selection from various sources.

Recently Will Pollard wrote on Pulse / LinkedIn about a possible YouTube channel. As far as I know it is still unclear what is possible through YouTube. But it seems to be getting closer to a situation where some sort of subscription can be on offer. There may be other platforms as well but YouTube is a good place to start. The final week in March will look at the prospect in some detail.

The topics for March will follow roughly the sequence and timescale of the top topic on the LinkedIn page-

2nd March    Intro - End of Leadership and State of Salvation
9th                 More on Scientific Leadership
16th              More on Ethical Leadership
23rd              More on Virtual Leadership   ,   to include how to launch a YouTube Channel

So far the production values in the video have been very low level. There will need to be an investment to reach a standard where subscriptions are reasonable. Some sort of crowd funding could help to get over this cash problem. Any examples of success in crowd funding would be welcome.

Possibly some of the rewards for supporters could include journal articles that are usually hard to find or limited to academics with university passwords. The aim of #mtw3 is to make connections. Would publishers relax some copyright protection as part of such an appeal? There may be some promotion aspect to it. Meanwhile I hope to find links to versions that are available in public. I think there is enough to make a start.

On the Pulse article above there is a graphic showing a visit to Second Life. I know that Will believes that avatars could be a low budget approach to a studio with links. I am not so sure it would be much cheaper than a Hangout or even a small studio. I know that when a conference at the Work Foundation was considered it was also suggested that a virtual set be created on Twinity or similar. Is there still a budget for this? How much would a scan cost. To be continued in March but just to point out that avatars will require some sort of resource.