Search results
1 – 10 of 18Terry Finlow‐Bates, Bert Visser and Christine Finlow‐Bates
Successful total quality management (TQM) is dependent on first class problem solving. Numerous techniques have been created to help the TQM practitioner along the problem solving…
Abstract
Successful total quality management (TQM) is dependent on first class problem solving. Numerous techniques have been created to help the TQM practitioner along the problem solving journey. However, it can be very difficult to decide which of these techniques should or could be used at any point in the journey and in particular to see how the different approaches are related to each other. As a result, most people use only a small number of these techniques and tend to cling to their own limited toolbox. Three of the strongest groups of tools are “the seven simple tools of TQM”, “the four thinking models of Kepner‐Tregoe” and “root cause analysis”. This article argues that all three are complementary to each other and provides a flow chart to help navigate between them. This is particularly relevant for programmes aimed at implementing total productive manufacturing/maintenance (TPM).
Details
Keywords
Natalie Govaerts, Eva Kyndt, Filip Dochy and Herman Baert
The aim of this study is to investigate some factors that have an influence on employee retention. Based on the literature and previous research, both employee and organisational…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate some factors that have an influence on employee retention. Based on the literature and previous research, both employee and organisational factors are taken into account.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that was distributed on a voluntary basis in professional organisations and among employees, both electronically and in hard‐copy, during 2008‐2009. The study sample consisted of 972 employees, mainly clerks, from diverse profit and social‐profit organisations.
Findings
The results show that when organisations want to retain their employees it is important to pay attention to the learning of employees. Letting people do more and learn more of what they are good at will encourage them to stay with the organisation. Results concerning the selected employee variables show that only age has a significant relationship with retention. Regarding the intention to stay, there exists a positive relationship between age and retention.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of this study is that both employee as organizational factors are measured through the perceptions of employees. The response set of subjects when responding to self‐report measures could therefore be the result of a temporary mood, or could be the result of what may be considered as socially appropriate by the participants. Another limitation is that the questionnaire was voluntarily completed by the respondents; the researcher had therefore no information about the non‐respondents.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on the factors influencing employee retention.
Details
Keywords
Peter Kerkhof, Annemieke B. Winder and Bert Klandermans
In Western Europe, works councils are a common form of indirect employee participation in management decision making. Trust is often assumed to play an important role in the…
Abstract
In Western Europe, works councils are a common form of indirect employee participation in management decision making. Trust is often assumed to play an important role in the nature and outcomes of labour negotiations and in management‐works council consultations. So far, however, the antecedents of trust in management within works councils have not been studied. Using longitudinal data collected among the members of 75 Dutch works councils, the current study tests predictions regarding the relative influence of instrumental vs relational antecedents on the level of trust in management among works council members. An important role of instrumental predictors (e.g. perceived influence of the works council on management decision making) supports a view of trust as a calculative phenomenon. On the other hand, strong effects of relational predictors would lend support to trust as a relational phenomenon. The data show that trust in management among works council members is related to relational rather than instrumental antecedents.
Details
Keywords
Bert Meijboom, Saskia Schmidt‐Bakx and Gert Westert
The purpose of the present paper is to discuss organisational problems that occur in situations that are complex because the treatment of patients requires input from multiple…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present paper is to discuss organisational problems that occur in situations that are complex because the treatment of patients requires input from multiple health care providers, and to argue conceptually how to resolve these problems by using SCM practices.
Design/methodology/approach
First SCM, being related to settings where several companies contribute to the production of one particular product, will be discussed in general. Since patient care is about service provision, the next to be examined will be service supply chains. Subsequently, major challenges in patient‐oriented care provision follow in settings where several health care providers are involved, based on which opportunities for applying SCM in patient care will be presented.
Findings
Based on literature addressing country comparisons of patient experiences, four major problem categories are distinguished: communication, patient safety, waiting times, and integration. Although problems also occur within organisational boundaries, the steps from one provider to the next generally represent the weakest spots in a system of health care providers. By applying insights from SCM, these problems can be tackled.
Practical implications
Problems with communication and integration might well benefit from the nomination of care coordinators. Information gathering and processing, i.e. both the availability of medical records of individual patients and information on provider performance, has to be improved. Breaking down functional barriers between care “silos”, within health care providers as well as inter‐organisationally, is a necessary condition for enhanced patient‐centred integration. Policy should also stimulate the provision of more coordinated services, for example, through integral cost prices for separate diseases (“case‐mixed accounting”).
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the emerging literature on using industrial processes or applying business concepts in health care. More specifically, insights from SCM are presented that contribute to patient‐oriented integration in situations where patients' needs cannot be fulfilled by one single (type of) institute. A supply chain perspective on patient care, combined with cross‐functional and cross‐organisational teams, continuous integration practices, lead time control, and appropriate information technology, shows to be promising.
Details
Keywords
Menger′s Grundsätze is explored; the Aristotelianbackground of the discourse is probed, as is the problematic image ofMenger sketched in the secondary literature as soon as it is…
Abstract
Menger′s Grundsätze is explored; the Aristotelian background of the discourse is probed, as is the problematic image of Menger sketched in the secondary literature as soon as it is confronted with this Aristotelanism and with the subjective value theory and the motif of time, error and uncertainty. The conflicting elements of this picture are pieced together.
Details
Keywords
Priya Sharma, Jose Sandoval-Llanos, Daniel Foster and Melanie Miller Foster
This study aims to examine the role of key network actors in relation to the discourse structure of a microblogging hashtag stream within a global agricultural educators’…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of key network actors in relation to the discourse structure of a microblogging hashtag stream within a global agricultural educators’ conference over two years. Prior work in online networks suggests that participation is dominated by highly active members, and in this study, the authors focus on examining what types of discourse are shared and reshared by key actors.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a combination of social network analyses and qualitative discourse coding to examine approximately 1,390 posts associated with the conference hashtag over two consecutive years.
Findings
The study analyses uncovered a set of common key participants over both years and common types of discourse used by those key participants. Key participants took on roles of resharing messages and contributed to discourse by retweeting posts that highlighted participants’ thoughts and feelings related to the conference and the discipline.
Research limitations/implications
This research has implications for encouraging diverse participants and diverse discourses related to key community goals. Design suggestions include identifying and inviting key actors as collaborators to reshare discourse that clearly aligns with community goals and using smaller hashtag spaces to encourage broader participation.
Originality/value
Prior work on microblogging has highlighted either the types of discourse and information sharing or the structures of the network interactions within conference hashtag streams. This study builds on this prior work and combines discourse and structure to understand the ways in which key network figures reshare discourse within the community, a facet that has been underreported in the literature.
Details
Keywords
Gülin Öylü, Chiara Natalie Focacci, Luis Serratos-Sotelo, Andreas Motel-Klingebiel and Susanne Kelfve
In this paper, the authors attempt to understand how labour market attachment during the ages of 30–59 influences individuals' transition out of the labour market.
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors attempt to understand how labour market attachment during the ages of 30–59 influences individuals' transition out of the labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
Using high-quality Swedish register data, the authors follow individuals born in 1950 and observe their labour market attachment during mid-life and their exit from the labour market.
Findings
The authors find evidence that labour market attachment in different stages of the career is differently related to exit from the labour market. At the age of 30, as well as between the ages 50–59, low attachment is related with earlier exit from the labour market. On the contrary, low labour market attachment during the ages 40–49 is related with later exit from the labour market. However, regardless of age, lower labour market attachment increases the risk of work-related benefit receipt in the exit year. The authors also find evidence that gender, migration status and childhood socioeconomic disadvantages may represent obstacles to longer working lives, while high education is a consistent factor in avoiding early exit from the labour market.
Originality/value
This study provides insights on the link between labour market attachment in different stages of the career and the exit from the labour market as well as work-related benefits dependency in the year of exit.
Details
Keywords
Lois Crabtree, Anthea Tinker and Karen Glaser
The purpose of this paper is to explore older men’s perceptions of the health and wellbeing benefits of participating in men’s sheds.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore older men’s perceptions of the health and wellbeing benefits of participating in men’s sheds.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative semi-structured interviews with eight men aged 65 and over from men’s sheds in London. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by hand, and analysis was conducted through coding of the transcripts.
Findings
The results of this study suggested that men’s sheds improved older men’s perceived level of social interaction, men’s outlook, led to self-reported improvements in depression, and all perceived themselves to be fitter since joining. Despite the research being conducted in an urban area, it highlighted the lack of prior community engagement.
Research limitations/implications
The sample size used in the research was small and may not be representative of other men’s sheds in different areas, therefore further research with a larger sample should be conducted.
Practical implications
A health policy dedicated to males which includes the promotion and funding of men’s sheds, such as in Ireland, should be considered by the government. In addition, clinical commissioning groups should recognise men’s sheds as a non-clinical alternative for their patients through social prescribing in general practice. Finally, in order to achieve the World Health Organisation initiative of creating “age friendly cities” community groups such as men’s sheds need to be promoted and further utilised.
Originality/value
There has been little research in the UK.
Details
Keywords
As an emerging socio-technical paradigm, high-speed railways profoundly change individuals' lifestyle and allow for the shift toward a green transportation. Digital technologies…
Abstract
Purpose
As an emerging socio-technical paradigm, high-speed railways profoundly change individuals' lifestyle and allow for the shift toward a green transportation. Digital technologies open an opportunity window for the development of enterprises. This study aims to clarify the impact of firm digitalization on the innovation efficiency of the Chinese high-speed rail industry. In addition, human capital is the important non-physical capital of enterprises. The authors also elucidate the moderating role of human capital on the above relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the data of Chinese high-speed railway listed companies from 2015 to 2021, this study explores the impact of digital transformation on the innovation efficiency, and further clarifies the boundary role of human capital with two-way fixed effect regression models.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that digital transformation has a positive impact on the innovation efficiency of the Chinese high-speed railway enterprises. Furthermore, human capital significantly enhances the above relationship. In addition, digital transformation fosters the innovation efficiency of small- and medium-sized enterprises and private-owned enterprises, but the correlation coefficients between digital transformation and the innovation efficiency of large enterprises and state-owned enterprises are not significant.
Originality/value
This is one of the earliest studies to explore how digital technologies shape R&D activities. From the perspective of relative efficiency, this study evaluates the effectiveness of digital transformation and provides empirical evidence for the formulation and implementation of corporate digital strategies. Moreover, this study links human capital with digital transformation and identifies condition factors that affect the effectiveness of digital transformation, thereby supplementing existing knowledge.
Details