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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and address significant quality gaps present in business school dissertations in India. Dissertations, an integral and a special component of the overall business school learning process, acquaint students with the practical business world. Design/methodology/approach: The authors benchmarked the dissertation processes of business schools in India against those of reputed business schools in Germany, France, Sweden and Australia. Using a survey questionnaire, the authors checked whether business schools in India followed international processes and, if not, what could be done to adopt such processes. A sample of 367 business schools was studied to obtain reasonable evidence. Findings: There were major quality issues in the dissertation process across business schools in India. Serious groundwork preparation issues were identified, such as an absence of research proposals. Most business schools also reported that there were no rubrics for dissertation evaluation, resulting in high subjectivity in the evaluation process. Supervisor interactions and control over the progress of the dissertation were also found to be very weak. As a result, the authors conclude that dissertations from business schools in India have major gaps in quality. Originality/value: This is a novel study that examines the quality assurance of business school dissertations. It highlights major quality concerns surrounding the business school dissertation process and suggests measures to address quality issues. The study's implications apply to business schools in all developing countries and not just India.

ObjectiveInvestigate the impact of increased access to new and refilled prescriptions by means of an automated pickup kiosk (Asteres ScriptCenter) on prescription abandonment rates, patient experience, and pharmacist consultations.DesignNonrandomized, observational study using retrospective, deidentified data from the filling pharmacy, the kiosk, and a pharmacist-completed counseling documentation log over a 35-month study period.Setting and participantsHospital employees opting to use a kiosk located in the lobby with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access for pickups and a telephone pharmacist consultation service compared with employees using the regular counter at the filling pharmacy.Outcome measuresReturn to stock (RTS) rate to assess prescription abandonment, time to prescription pickup, consultation duration, kiosk user assessment, and pharmacist assessment of counseling ability.ResultsApproximately 9% of employees (440) enrolled to use the kiosk, with 5062 kiosk pickups recorded for new prescriptions (29%), refill prescriptions (33%), and over-the-counters (38%). The mean kiosk RTS (4.3% ± 3.2) was lower than that at the regular counter (5.6% ± 0.8), P = 0.04, whereas the mean time to pickup was approximately 1 day greater at the kiosk than the regular counter (2.8 ± 0.4 vs. 1.8 ± 0.2, P < 0.001). The average kiosk consultation was approximately 1 minute shorter (2.0 ± 1.4) than that of the regular counter (3.4 ± 1.9, P < 0.001), and fewer patients using the kiosk (15.7%) had additional questions at the end of a consultation session than patients at the regular counter (38.8%, P < 0.001). Most of the kiosk users agreed that their prescription questions were answered and that kiosk convenience was an important reason for using the filling pharmacy. Almost all (>90%) pharmacists indicated that they were able to effectively counsel patients at the kiosk and the regular counter.ConclusionThe kiosk, used by self-selected health care workers located in a hospital workplace setting with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access, was a convenient, contactless pickup extension of the filling pharmacy with a lower prescription abandonment rate and similar pickup and consultation characteristics as at the regular pharmacy counter.

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