Internationalization of firms has been an on-going process for many years, however, over the recent years, there has been radical changes in the business world, which has created a more competitive business environment for firms. This change in the business environment has not been an easy process nor is it anticipated to get any easier. International firms entering new markets are faced with different challenges, which could be embedded in the behaviour specific to the people living in these countries. Cultural distance is defined as complex and intangible and measured only at a single point in time. Cultural distance easy creates an “illusion” of symmetry where measures at the time of market entry might have changed by the time the performance is measured. Measuring only the cultural distance is not enough to fully understand the international behaviour and how business practices have adapted to the foreign market, to do so one need to understand the institutional distance in order to understand the behavioural patterns existing within the foreign market and adapt its business practices accordingly. There is no support for the perception of cultural and institutional distance between two institutional contexts to be symmetric; it is an illusion of symmetry. Therefore the purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how asymmetry in firms’ perception on cultural and institutional distance affect the extent of firms’ adaptation. This is by increase understanding on how firms from different institutional contexts perceive the distance between them and to what extent they adapt their business practices to the foreign market. In order to answer this purpose a qualitative research has been conducted where managers in three firms from Sweden and three firms from China has been interviewed on their perception of distance on the opposite market. The theoretical framework has included a presentation of the cultural distance, the institutional distance and adaptation of business practices.  This has been followed by a theoretical synthesis, which has been conducted based on the theoretical concepts. Furthermore, the empirical chapter presents the findings of each case company. In the analysis chapter, the theoretical framework has been analyzed together with the empirical data. Based on the analysis the authors have been able to conclude that asymmetry in firms’ perception on distance affects the extent of firm’s adaptation of business practices to the institutional context. It can be concluded that Swedish firms adapt business practices to less extent than Chinese firms and the reason behind it is the asymmetry in firms’ perception of distance. Swedish firms investing in the Chinese market is not faced with the same distance as a Chinese firm investing in the Swedish market, and thus they do not adapt to the same degree.

The purpose of this study was to define the private sector's receive-site coordinator's role and current practice associated with the day-to-day management of a distance receive site by describing what private sector receive-site coordinators do in practice. Descriptive data were collected in six areas: demographics, private sector receive-site coordinators' reporting relationships, distance education equipment and usage, tuition support for students at receive-site locations, private sector receive-site coordinators' knowledge of distance education, and the private sector receive-site coordinators' current practice.Many organizations in business and industry in the private sector invest in distance education systems and programs as a means of providing educational opportunities for their employees. These organizations assign the duties of managing their receive-site location to an employee in their organization. The polices and procedures of organizations receiving distance education programs, the job level of the person assigned the receive-site coordinator responsibilities, the knowledge level of the receive-site coordinator, and the practices of the receive-site coordinator are variables that influence employee participation in distance education programs. Additionally, those variables impact distance education university administrators in administering and marketing the university's distance education programs to organizations. Yet, there is very little literature that speaks to the distance education receive-site coordinators' role or the knowledge and skills required to manage a distance education receive-site location.By conducting this research, the private sector receive-site coordinators' practice was described. It was concluded that private sector receive-site coordinators are a non-homogenous group of mostly training and development professionals with undergraduate degrees and have the responsibility of managing the day-to-day activities of receive-sites by incorporating the duties of a private sector receive-site coordinator with their otherday-to-day work activities. The private sector receive-site coordinators' job responsibilities span a variety of tasks that include marketing programs, helping students overcome problems, assisting with course logistics, and installing, operating, and in some cases, maintaining distance education equipment. It was also concluded that university administrators viewed the role of the private sector receive-site coordinator as a key element of the distance education system. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (MEd (Distance Ed))--University of South Australia, 1996

Thesis (MEd Distance Education) -- University of South Australia, 1993

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Feb. 19, 2008). PDF text: x, 210 p. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3271914. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 70-77).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-77). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2009. Graduate Programme in Higher Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-151). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR51685

M.A. / The new democratic South Africa has opened up a number of unique opportunities and challenges for distance education at tertiary level. Tertiary institutions, however, also face several serious problems that must be addressed in order to rectify the educational imbalances in the country. Due to the policy of equal opportunities for all regardless of race, creed, colour and culture, tertiary education institutions are experiencing an unprecedented influx in student numbers. Residential universities and technikons can accommodate this influx only up to a certain point due to limited physical facilities such as residences and lecture rooms. For this and other reasons, distance education is rapidly becoming the primary means of education, not only in South Africa but also in many countries around the world. It offers an immediate and practical solution to the problem of high student numbers. Some of the advantages of distance education are: • greater numbers of students can be reached throughout the country • students in rural areas have the same opportunities for education as their urban counterparts • imbalances can be addressed more effectively on a wider scale, including the rural areas • courses are generally more affordable • because of their technical nature, courses are often more directly related to the requirements of industry than traditional courses • accommodation for students and physical lecturing facilities are not an issue. The disadvantages, however, are: 1 Chapter 1: Instructional Courseware Design: Introduction lack of direct contact with lecturers lack of student support systems, such as contact with other students and the availability o lecturers to help solve learning and other problems the fact that the primary means of communication and instruction is the written word with limited opportunities for direct verbal contact limited or inadequate administrative support To overcome these problems, the "distance" in distance education mu

The purpose of the present study was to provide an understanding of the educator-learner relationship in distance education and then to identify and discuss parts of that relationship associated with dropout. Its underlying assumption was that education, at a distance or face-to-face, involves an educator-learner relationship. There were three justifications for this investigation: to illuminate the educator-learner relationship, to contribute to research on dropout in distance education, and to foster integration between practice and scholarship in the field. The scope of the first research question, what characterizes educator-learner relationships in distance education? necessitated drawing on a broad data base and suggested an interpretive study. The research method chosen was an integrative review of scholarly literature in the field of distance education. In answer to the first research question, the educator-learner relationship in distance education was conceptualized as a wheel with an axle of dialogue, spokes of support, and a rim of independence. The development of this model was the most important result of the present study. Concern among practitioners over high attrition rates led to the second part of the purpose and the second research question, what characteristics of the educator-learner relationship in distance education are associated with dropout? In answer to this question, findings from the dropout literature were filtered through the model of the educator-learner relationship in distance education. Tinto’s research into dropout from higher education informed the analysis. Results indicated that perceived deficiencies in dialogue along the spokes of support in the quadrants of learning and instruction have been associated with dropout. This study recognized that the relationship between educator and learner affects student perceptions of intellectual and social integration and so may influence dropout. Recommendations for research and practice were generated from the model of the educator-learner relationship in distance education. Presence at a distance can be enhanced by a dialogue-centred practice. Suggestions included the tracking of students, professional development for practitioners, and evaluations of distance education practice based on the model of the educator-learner relationship in distance education. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate