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1 – 10 of 46The purpose of this paper is to describe a case study undertaken at Al Buraimi Hospital in Oman, which used computer simulation and the Delphi approach to improve efficiency by…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a case study undertaken at Al Buraimi Hospital in Oman, which used computer simulation and the Delphi approach to improve efficiency by reducing prescription dispensing waiting times.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s framework was based on a discrete event simulation (DES) to identify the as-is pharmacy process and to create a to-be (future situation) to achieve an improvement in pharmacy workflow and service quality. Owing to healthcare environment complexity, and to gain a deeper understanding about Al Buraimi Hospital pharmacy problems, a Delphi technique was also used.
Findings
Based on Delphi, and according to the expert panel suggestions, two alternative scenarios were proposed to improve Al Buraimi Hospital pharmacy efficiency: fast-track and direct-dispensing, which should help to reduce the prescription dispensing waiting time process by 7.3 and 9.8 min, respectively.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation is the pharmacists’ shortage, which may affect the prescription dispensing process’s quality as insufficient manpower to check the prescriptions may increase the medication errors’ risk.
Originality/value
Based on this case study’s real-world data, findings can be used to improve public healthcare sector pharmacy efficiency. The DES can be used in healthcare services to describe and test actual and proposed situations.
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Imran Anwar, Naveed Yasin, Mohd Tariq Jamal, Muhammad Haroon Rashid and Imran Saleem
This study aims to investigate how work overload, resulting from full-time telecommuting, aggravates telecommuting accounting professionals’ burnout via the mediation of work…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how work overload, resulting from full-time telecommuting, aggravates telecommuting accounting professionals’ burnout via the mediation of work exhaustion. Further, the study also tests the conditional moderation effect of psychological capital on the association between work exhaustion and burnout, proposing that it becomes least severe for employees who perceive a high level of psychological capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was conducted using a sample of 322 employees from Big Four accounting firms, and the measurement model was established using confirmatory factor analysis. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and model-14 in the PROCESS Macro for SPSS.
Findings
The results confirmed that work overload directly and indirectly (via the mediation of work exhaustion) aggravates employees’ burnout. However, psychological capital negatively conditions the mediating effect of work exhaustion on burnout such that the aggravating effect of work overload on burnout, via the mediation of work exhaustion, gets least severe (insignificant) for those employees who perceive a high level of psychological capital.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on work overload-induced “work exhaustion burnout” association and offers suggestions for implications.
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Ishfaq Ahmed, Haroon Iqbal and Tabassum Riaz
Humans are largely influenced by the environment in which they work, and the positive environment offers positive outcomes. Building on these lines, this study aims to propose and…
Abstract
Purpose
Humans are largely influenced by the environment in which they work, and the positive environment offers positive outcomes. Building on these lines, this study aims to propose and empirically investigate the relationship of fun on employees’ knowledge sharing behavior. The study also proposes and empirically tests the mediation mechanism of psychological empowerment and boundary condition of person–environment fit.
Design/methodology/approach
Considering the nature of the study, the data is collected from employees working in information technology firms at two points of time. At first point of time 600 questionnaire were distributed while at the end of second point of time all in all 313 useful responses were available for data analysis purpose.
Findings
The statistical analysis reveals that fun improves the psychological state of individual and in turn they share more knowledge. The findings also highlight that person–environment fit strengthens the relationship.
Originality/value
Based on the findings the study highlights some important theoretical and practical implications. The future direction is also provided based on these lines.
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Talat Islam, Ishfaq Ahmed and Omar Hamdan Mohammad Alkharabsheh
Knowledge is an important resource that becomes obsolete if not shared in time. Therefore, this study aims to examine how employees’ perceived fun at work affects their…
Abstract
Purpose
Knowledge is an important resource that becomes obsolete if not shared in time. Therefore, this study aims to examine how employees’ perceived fun at work affects their psychological empowerment to evoke knowledge-sharing behavior. The study further explored the conditional role of inclusive leadership between the same.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the time lag approach, the data for the current study was collected from 355 employees working in IT firms. The study used convenience sampling, and structural equation modeling was used for hypotheses testing.
Findings
The results showed that perceptions of fun have a favorable impact on employees' knowledge sharing behavior and psychological empowerment mediate this relationship. Furthermore, there was no empirical evidence of the conditional role of inclusive leadership between fun and psychological empowerment. However, the results of the alternative model indicated that inclusive leadership moderates the relationship between psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing.
Research limitations/implications
The findings reveal that management should nurture fun at work as it can lead to psychological empowerment and knowledge sharing. The study also reveals that the role of leadership is important for empowerment and knowledge sharing relationships.
Originality/value
Based on the conservation of resources and self-determination perspectives, this study proposes and empirically investigates the mechanism of psychological empowerment and inclusive leadership which has largely been an unattended area of research in knowledge sharing literature.
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A research line has emerged that is concerned with investigating human factors in information systems and cyber-security in organizations using various behavioural and…
Abstract
Purpose
A research line has emerged that is concerned with investigating human factors in information systems and cyber-security in organizations using various behavioural and socio-cognitive theories. This study aims to explore human and contextual factors influencing cyber security behaviour in organizations while drawing implications for cyber-security in higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review has been implemented. The reviewed studies have revealed various human and contextual factors that influence cyber-security behaviour in organizations, notably higher education institutions.
Research limitations/implications
This review study offers practical implications for constructing and keeping a robust cyber-security organizational culture in higher education institutions for the sustainable development goals of cyber-security training and education.
Originality/value
The value of the current review arises in that it presents a comprehensive account of human factors affecting cyber-security in organizations, a topic that is rarely investigated in previous related literature. Furthermore, the current review sheds light on cyber-security in higher education from the weakest link perspective. Simultaneously, the study contributes to relevant literature by gaining insight into human factors and socio-technological controls related to cyber-security in higher education institutions.
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Mohammed Obeidat and Mohammed Al‐Momani
The purpose of this study is to examine investors’ awareness in Amman Stock Exchange of the effects of earnings manipulation incentives on the earnings manipulation practices of…
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine investors’ awareness in Amman Stock Exchange of the effects of earnings manipulation incentives on the earnings manipulation practices of managements through the usage of the available level of flexibility in the accounting standards, and to examine whether those investors are able to detect these practices. A self‐administered questionnaire of three sections was developed and used to achieve the purposes of this study. A sample of 144 respondents from four industries was selected using a stratified sampling method. The study found that investors in Amman Stock Exchange have enough awareness to the effects of earnings manipulation incentives on the practices of managements toward the manipulation of earnings. Moreover, this study concluded that investors in Amman Stock Exchange have the ability to detect those practices.
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Despite the ever-increasing importance of cultivating information, communication and technology literacy skills among college students, they have yet to be related to…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the ever-increasing importance of cultivating information, communication and technology literacy skills among college students, they have yet to be related to comprehensive measuring instruments. A glance at the empirical literature reveals that most pertinent scales have been confined to measuring Internet literacy skills, whereas educators in the 21st century advocate an inclusive conceptualization of ICT literacy. Such a comprehensive conceptualization embodies technical, critical, cognitive and emotional competencies. Additionally, more empirical evidence is needed to indicate gaps in testing measurement invariance of ICT literacy scales across genders or cultures. To that end, the current study aims to adapt and cross-validate an ICT literacy self-efficacy scale across gender by testing the measurement invariance using a multiple-sampling confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA). Furthermore, the current study aims to verify the ICT literacy self-efficacy scale's psychometric properties to establish its construct validity and understand the scale's underlying factorial structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The current study has administered the scale to a cross-sectional sample of 3560 undergraduate students enrolled in six universities in the Sultanate of Oman.
Findings
The results have revealed that the ICT literacy self-efficacy exhibits satisfactory indices of construct validity. On the other hand, the results of MCFA demonstrate that the differences in the goodness of fit indices between the nested models and the baseline model were below the cut-off criterion of 0.01, indicating invariance. Therefore, the scale has proved to be amenable for comparing genders on their ICT literacy self-efficacy using an one-way multivariate analysis of variance.
Originality/value
The study has several implications for research and pedagogical practices. The study provides empirical evidence for establishing ICT literacy self-efficacy as a distinct high-domain construct of task-specific self-efficacy beliefs.
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Hajira Liaqat, Ishfaq Ahmed and Sheikh Usman Yousaf
This study aims to develop a Workplace Islamic Da’wah (WID) scale, which measures the extent to which an organization incorporates the sharing of religious teachings at work…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a Workplace Islamic Da’wah (WID) scale, which measures the extent to which an organization incorporates the sharing of religious teachings at work through words and artifacts. WID is theoretically grounded in religious communication theory and is intended for use in organizational settings.
Design/methodology/approach
A sequential mixed methods approach was used to develop a scale of WID. Qualitative data were organized into constructs and items using transcendental phenomenology. These items were then refined into a multidimensional construct through expert validity, face validity, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis.
Findings
The research findings confirm the validity and reliability of WID as a multidimensional construct, comprising compulsive da’wah, objectics da’wah and impulsive da’wah.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides implications for survey researchers interested in developing a scale using mixed methods and for practitioners who can use these findings to streamline their efforts in planning and implementing an Islamic da’wah-based model.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind, presenting the operationalization of WID that can be used for future empirical research endeavors in this and related fields.
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Uma Shankar Yadav, Kiran Sood, Ravindra Tripathi, Ashish Kumar and Saad Ahamad Khan
Introduction: A company or organisation must resolve various problems in the business environment for better operation in any corporate environment. Such issues are traditionally…
Abstract
Introduction: A company or organisation must resolve various problems in the business environment for better operation in any corporate environment. Such issues are traditionally handled in multiple ways. A small sector unit with many employees encounters this corporate issue, for example, the handicraft sector. The impact of handicraft issues and their intensity, speed, and regularity is growing in our system.
Purpose: This chapter studies how small businesses might succeed in the handcraft industry in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. There is a lack of proper knowledge of how the VUCA affects business proficiency in the Indian handicraft sector. A novel business strategy for the handicraft sector, like other business proficiency called best practices in handicraft business in a VUCA environment, will be presented along with a discussion about VUCA environments. This considers both the individual influences of each particular word and the overall impact of VUCA.
Methodology: The study included a thorough literature analysis for three learning areas: performance improvement, including VUCA, and the leadership incorporation of risk and quality. Awareness in the trade will be examined in further sections, as the mastery of VUCA is achieved with various traditional and digital management ideas.
Findings: The research defined a new unorganised firm concept to maintain and succeed in a high VUCA environment in the handicraft sector, identifying 18 important success characteristics through a comprehensive literature review. The authors proposed a conceptual framework for fusing quality management to attain proficiency in the handicraft sector VUCA environment.
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Hajira Liaqat, Ishfaq Ahmed and Sheikh Usman Yousaf
This study aims to explore the phenomenon of Islamic religious communication and how Islamic banks in Pakistan use religion-based communication, along with its expected outcomes.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the phenomenon of Islamic religious communication and how Islamic banks in Pakistan use religion-based communication, along with its expected outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
Transcendental phenomenology approach is opted using a multi-stage data collection strategy consisting of observations, documentary reviews and semi-structural interviews to get deep into the phenomenon in a particular context.
Findings
Findings highlight Islamic religious communication as workplace Islamic da’wah that is majorly categorized into compulsive da’wah, objectics da’wah and impulsive da’wah, serving its role in bringing spirituality to work through work-faith integration.
Research limitations/implications
The finding of the study can be used in planning, formulating and implementing Islamic da’wah-based model to induce spirituality at work.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its type exploring Islamic da’wah in an organizational context as a mean to bring spirituality at work.
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