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1 – 10 of over 5000Debra O’Neill, Jan De Vries and Catherine M. Comiskey
The Health Service Executive in Ireland seeks to further develop healthcare in the community. It has identified that this reform requires developing leadership amongst the staff…
Abstract
Purpose
The Health Service Executive in Ireland seeks to further develop healthcare in the community. It has identified that this reform requires developing leadership amongst the staff. This study aims to identify what kind of leadership staff in community healthcare observe in practice and their leadership preferences. The core objective has been to identify the readiness of the organisation to implement the adopted national policy of integrated community care reform in terms of leadership development.
Design/methodology/approach
An online cross-sectional survey was conducted using the Organisational Cultural Assessment Instrument, based on the Competing Values Framework. This tool identifies four overarching leadership types: Clan (Collaborative), Adhocracy (Creative), Market (Competitive) and Hierarchy (Controlling). Participants (n = 445) were a representative sample of regional community health care employees. They were asked to identify presently observed leadership and preferred leadership in practice. The statistical analysis emphasised a comparison of observed and preferred leadership types.
Findings
Participants reported the current prevailing leadership type as Market (M = 34.38, SD = 6.22) and Hierarchical (M = 34.38, SD = 22.62), whilst the preferred or future style was overwhelmingly Clan (M = 40.38, SD = 18.08). Differences were significant (all p’s < 0.001). The overall outcome indicates a predominance of controlling and competitive leadership and a lack of collaborative leadership to implement the planned reform.
Originality/value
During reform in healthcare, leadership in practice must be aligned to the reform strategy, demonstrating collaboration, flexibility and support for innovation. This unique study demonstrates the importance of examining leadership type and competencies to indicate readiness to deliver national community health care reform.
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Tiina A. Tuononen, Milka Kauhanen, Anna Liisa Suominen and Marja-Leena Hyvärinen
This study aims to explore what kind of perceptions dental students at graduation stage have on leadership and work communities, and themselves as leaders and work community…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore what kind of perceptions dental students at graduation stage have on leadership and work communities, and themselves as leaders and work community members after completing a leadership course tailored for them.
Design/methodology/approach
The research material comprised reflective essays written by fifth-year dental students who had participated in a leadership course. The essays were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Findings
Most students reported that they had not considered seeking a leadership position before the course, but their views of leadership had grown more positive as a result of completing the course. Students perceived interpersonal communication competence as the most important factor for leaders, the whole work community and for themselves. They assessed that their biggest strengths were found in this area. The biggest challenges in adapting to a work community concerned the students’ professional identities, which were still taking shape at the time of graduation.
Originality/value
The need for leaders in health-care professions is growing due to ongoing reforms, multidisciplinary teamwork, the development of new technologies and patient demands. Therefore, undergraduate leadership education is needed to ensure that students have knowledge of leadership. Graduating dental students’ perceptions concerning leadership and work communities have not been widely explored. Students’ perceptions of leadership were positive after the course and helped students to realize their own potential in this area.
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There are many ways for young people to get involved with their communities, but Community participation is one of the most important ways. As a way of expressing their…
Abstract
There are many ways for young people to get involved with their communities, but Community participation is one of the most important ways. As a way of expressing their commitment, young people form political and social action groups, devise educational initiatives tailored to their interests, and serve as community activists. This study was carried out in Myanmar prior to the military takeover in 2021. A military coup protest was organized by CEC (Chief Executive Committees). In addition, the majority of the committee members advocate for democratic values in this era. For the purpose of this study, researchers looked into which factors had the greatest impact on the participation of youth affairs committee members in their communities. Mon State was chosen as the study site because the median age of the population there is 26.7 years old. The 2014 Census revealed a range of median ages that is lower than this one. It shows that the median age of Mon state's youth affairs committee members is lower than the state's overall median age. In addition, the state of Mon was home to three major ethnicities: the Mon, the Kayan, and the Burmese. This situation demonstrates that young people have settled in Mon state with a wide range of viewpoints and ideas. The 131 members of Mon state's youth affairs committee were selected from each of the state's three levels of youth affairs committee. The data collected was analyzed using linear regression and descriptive methods. It was discovered that the community involvement of young leaders is positively influenced by social, political & legal factors.
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Sara Willermark and Anna Sigridur Islind
This study aims to explore virtual leadership work within educational settings in the light of social disruption. In 2020, a global pandemic changed the way we work. For school…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore virtual leadership work within educational settings in the light of social disruption. In 2020, a global pandemic changed the way we work. For school leaders, that involved running a virtual school overnight. Although there is a stream of research that explores leadership in solely virtual communities, there is a gap in the literature regarding practices that transition from analog to virtual practices and the changes in leadership in those types of work practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The data gathering method constitutes a questionnaire to explore school leaders’ experiences of virtual work and virtual leadership in light of social disruption. One hundred and five Swedish school leaders answered the questionnaire covering both fixed and open questions.
Findings
The results show that school leaders’ general experiences of transition to virtual school have worked relatively well. We show how the work changes and shift the focus in the virtual workplace.
Originality/value
The author’s contributions include theorizing about leadership affordances in virtual schools and providing implications for practice. The authors summarize our main contribution in five affordances that characterize virtual leadership, including a focus on core activities, trust-based government, 1:1 communication with staff, structure and clarity and active outreach activities. The results could be interesting for understanding the radical digitalization of leadership in the digital workplace.
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Shahid Islam, Neil Small, Maria Bryant, Tiffany Yang, Anna Cronin de Chavez, Fiona Saville and Josie Dickerson
Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of…
Abstract
Purpose
Participation in community programmes by the Roma community is low, whilst this community presents with high risk of poor health and low levels of wellbeing. To improve rates of participation in programmes, compatibility must be achieved between implementation efforts and levels of readiness in the community. The Community Readiness Model (CRM) is a widely used toolkit which provides an indication of how prepared and willing a community is to take action on specific issues. The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a CRM assessment for the Eastern European Roma community in Bradford, UK, on issues related to nutrition and obesity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors interviewed key respondents identified as knowledgeable about the Roma community using the CRM. This approach applies a mixed methodology incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling researchers to place the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis to generate the contextual information.
Findings
An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, which indicates a low level of community readiness. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in currently available nutrition and obesity programmes.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, this is the first study to apply the CRM in the Roma community for any issue. The authors present the findings for each of the six dimensions that make up the CRM together with salient qualitative findings.
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Mai-Stiina Lampinen, Anne Irmeli Konu, Tarja Kettunen and Elina Annikki Suutala
The purpose of this study is to identify factors that foster or prevent sense of belonging among frontline and middle managers in social and health-care services in Finland.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify factors that foster or prevent sense of belonging among frontline and middle managers in social and health-care services in Finland.
Design/methodology/approach
The data have been collected among social and health-care managers (n = 135; 64 per cent nursing managers) through two open-ended questions in a questionnaire concerning sense of community. The results of the open-ended questions have been analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Findings
Among managers, six categories of factors that foster sense of belonging (open interaction, effective conversation culture, support and encouragement, common values, a shared vision of the work and its objectives and structure of leadership) and five categories of factors that prevent sense of belonging (negative work atmosphere, lack of common time, structural solutions in the organization, problems that occur in the organizational level and problems related to leadership and management) have been identified.
Practical implications
The resulting information can be used to develop sense of belonging among managers at all levels of organization (horizontal and vertical).
Originality/value
Paying attention to the quantity and quality of interaction and to structural solutions in the organization can affect the sense of belonging among frontline managers and middle managers.
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This article examines the experiences of women leaders and their challenges in Brunei Darussalam. Globally, women are underrepresented in leadership positions. Though the Brunei…
Abstract
This article examines the experiences of women leaders and their challenges in Brunei Darussalam. Globally, women are underrepresented in leadership positions. Though the Brunei government does not discriminate against any gender in delivering free education, medical facilities and healthcare, women in leadership positions are as well underrepresented. I try to understand the factors that challenge as well as motivate women to become leaders in Brunei. For this research, I conducted qualitative interviews with some respondents selected purposively. The study results show that women leaders in Brunei face challenges in obtaining financial support and accessing resources. Despite the challenges, there are some women who have been assuming and excelling in their leadership roles. The study identified that personal strengths have also been critical in contributing to their successful leadership.
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The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some pressing but under-researched aspects of public leadership. Ten propositions about public leadership are set out and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of some pressing but under-researched aspects of public leadership. Ten propositions about public leadership are set out and these are intended to be thought-provoking and even controversial in order to stimulate researchers to design research which addresses key theoretical and practical questions about leadership in the public sphere. They will also help practitioners navigate an increasingly complex leadership context.
Design/methodology/approach
This invited essay uses ten propositions about public leadership, selected from three sources: the leadership literature, the author’s own research and from collaborative research discussions with academics, policy makers and practitioners.
Findings
The first proposition argues for distinguishing public leadership from public service leadership given that the former is about leadership of the public sphere. Other propositions concern context; purpose; conflict and contest at the heart of public leadership; leadership with political astuteness; dual leadership; leadership projections; fostering resilience; leadership, authority and legitimacy; and the challenge to researchers to use research designs which reflect the complexity and dynamism of public leadership.
Practical implications
While this essay is primarily addressed to researchers, there are many ideas and concepts which practising leaders will find insightful and useful in their work.
Originality/value
This essay draws on deep experience in undertaking high-quality academic research about public leadership which draws from and feeds into policy and practice. It utilises organisational psychology, public management and political science to create synergies in order to enhance the understanding of public leadership.
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Julie Bull, Karen Beazley, Jennifer Shea, Colleen MacQuarrie, Amy Hudson, Kelly Shaw, Fern Brunger, Chandra Kavanagh and Brenda Gagne
For many Indigenous nations globally, ethics is a conversation. The purpose of this paper is to share and mobilize knowledge to build relationships and capacities regarding the…
Abstract
Purpose
For many Indigenous nations globally, ethics is a conversation. The purpose of this paper is to share and mobilize knowledge to build relationships and capacities regarding the ethics review and approval of research with Indigenous peoples throughout Atlantic Canada. The authors share key principles that emerged for shifting practices that recognize Indigenous rights holders through ethical research review practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The NunatuKavut Inuit hosted and led a two-day gathering on March 2019 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, to promote a regional dialogue on Indigenous Research Governance. It brought together Indigenous Nations within the Atlantic Region and invited guests from institutional ethics review boards and researchers in the region to address the principles-to-policy-to-practice gap as it relates to the research ethics review process. Called “Naalak”, an Inuktitut word that means “to listen and to pay close attention”, the gathering created a dynamic moment of respect and understanding of how to work better together and support one another in research with Indigenous peoples on Indigenous lands.
Findings
Through this process of dialogue and reflection, emergent principles and practices for “good” research ethics were collectively identified. Open dialogue between institutional ethics boards and Indigenous research review committees acknowledged past and current research practices from Indigenous peoples’ perspectives; supported and encouraged community-led research; articulated and exemplified Indigenous ownership and control of data; promoted and practiced ethical and responsible research with Indigenous peoples; and supported and emphasized rights based approaches within the current research regulatory system. Key principles emerged for shifting paradigms to honour Indigenous rights holders through ethical research practice, including: recognizing Indigenous peoples as rights holders with sovereignty over research; accepting collective responsibility for research in a “good” way; enlarging the sphere of ethical consideration to include the land; acknowledging that “The stories are ours” through Indigenous-led (or co-led) research; articulating relationships between Indigenous and Research Ethics Board (REB) approvals; addressing justice and proportionate review of Indigenous research; and, means of identifying the Indigenous governing authority for approving research.
Research limitations/implications
Future steps (including further research) include pursuing collective responsibilities towards empowering Indigenous communities to build their own consensus around research with/in their people and their lands. This entails pursuing further understanding of how to move forward in recognition and respect for Indigenous peoples as rights holders, and disrupting mainstream dialogue around Indigenous peoples as “stakeholders” in research.
Practical implications
The first step in moving forward in a way that embraces Indigenous principles is to deeply embed the respect of Indigenous peoples as rights holders across and within REBs. This shift in perspective changes our collective responsibilities in equitable ways, reflecting and respecting differing impetus and resources between the two parties: “equity” does imply “equality”. Several examples of practical changes to REB procedures and considerations are detailed.
Social implications
What the authors have discovered is that it is not just about academic or institutional REB decolonization: there are broad systematic issues at play. However, pursuing the collective responsibilities outlined in our paper should work towards empowering communities to build their own consensus around research with/in their people and their lands. Indigenous peoples are rights holders, and have governance over research, including the autonomy to make decisions about themselves, their future, and their past.
Originality/value
The value is in its guidance around how authentic partnerships can develop that promote equity with regard to community and researcher and community/researcher voice and power throughout the research lifecycle, including through research ethics reviews that respect Indigenous rights, world views and ways of knowing. It helps to show how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions can collectively honour Indigenous rights holders through ethical research practice.
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