Search results
1 – 10 of 13
At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington on February 29th, ALDERMAN A. G. McARTHUR, Chairman of the Public Health Committee of the Council, brought up a…
Abstract
At a meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington on February 29th, ALDERMAN A. G. McARTHUR, Chairman of the Public Health Committee of the Council, brought up a Report as follows— “We have received replies from nineteen City and Borough Councils to the circular letter addressed to them by this Council protesting against the suggestion made by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries that, before proceedings under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts are instituted on analytical evidence in respect of milk there should be a preliminary investigation by an officer of the Local Authority, or that the milk producer should be given an opportunity of offering an explanation.
Janet M. Scott and Peri Hawkins
This paper aims to explore the unintentional formation of internal functional barriers, (organisational silos) during moves towards departmental efficiency, within an acute trust…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the unintentional formation of internal functional barriers, (organisational silos) during moves towards departmental efficiency, within an acute trust, and the subsequent effects on the discharge process in elderly patients.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents some of the findings from a qualitative study examining the role of the nurse in the discharge process. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a purposively selected cohesive sample of 28 registered nurses, from the medical and elderly care wards in an NHS Acute Trust. The interviews were taped, transcribed and their content analysed.
Findings
The problems associated with patient discharge were frequently operational. Each part of the process was hindered, often inadvertently, by attempts on the part of individuals, departments and services to make themselves efficient, without regard for the resulting organisational consequences. This left the ward nurses attempting to overcome the obstacles in an attempt to effectively discharge patients, within a required period of time.
Research limitations/implications
It is recognised that, the perceptions of those not participating in the study may have been different to those who did participate. As a small study in one trust the results may not be generalisable.
Practical implications
It is imperative that evaluation of operational changes is undertaken, with particular regard to the consequences of change, for other services, patients and clients.
Originality/value
This type of study can provide a method of diagnosing organisational problems, especially in areas that are reliant on inter‐professional and departmental collaboration
Details
Keywords
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
Details
Keywords
Mary FitzPatrick, Janet Davey and Lijuan Dai
Despite the competitive internationalization of higher education, international students' responses to dissatisfaction (consumer complaining behavior or CCB) are not well…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite the competitive internationalization of higher education, international students' responses to dissatisfaction (consumer complaining behavior or CCB) are not well understood in New Zealand. While studies show that many factors, including culture, influence CCB, the None‐Action mode in particular has been largely overlooked by researchers. The purpose of this paper is to examine Chinese student's CCB.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed a qualitative exploratory focus group design examining Chinese students' CCB. Data were analyzed in two stages. First, data were coded into various CCB modes. Next, data relating to the specific mode of None‐Action were thematically analyzed. Five key themes for None‐Action were revealed: Futility, Inadequate Information, Fear of Consequences, Complexity, and Internalization.
Findings
This exploratory research found a high level of None‐Action responses. It was apparent that culture was highly influential in participants' CCB responses and that these None‐Action responses had an affective dimension.
Research limitations/implications
Understanding None‐Action responses to dissatisfaction among international students in higher education is critical if universities are to avoid adverse funding consequences. There are cultural and personal implications for students and strategic implications for higher education institutions in understanding Chinese students' Non‐Action. The exploratory nature of the research means that it is designed to stimulate thought and debate on how to expand the body of knowledge on this mode of CCB.
Originality/value
The research highlights the importance to higher education institutions of understanding the cultural and service‐specific explanations for Non‐Action as a response to student‐consumer dissatisfaction.
Details
Keywords
Russell Mannion, Huw Davies, Martin Powell, John Blenkinsopp, Ross Millar, Jean McHale and Nick Snowden
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether official inquiries are an effective method for holding the medical profession to account for failings in the quality and safety of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether official inquiries are an effective method for holding the medical profession to account for failings in the quality and safety of care.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a review of the theoretical literature on professions and documentary analysis of key public inquiry documents and reports in the UK National Health Service (NHS) the authors examine how the misconduct of doctors can be understood using the metaphor of professional wrongdoing as a product of bad apples, bad barrels or bad cellars.
Findings
The wrongdoing literature tends to present an uncritical assumption of increasing sophistication in analysis, as the focus moves from bad apples (individuals) to bad barrels (organisations) and more latterly to bad cellars (the wider system). This evolution in thinking about wrongdoing is also visible in public inquiries, as analysis and recommendations increasingly tend to emphasise cultural and systematic issues. Yet, while organisational and systemic factors are undoubtedly important, there is a need to keep in sight the role of individuals, for two key reasons. First, there is growing evidence that a small number of doctors may be disproportionately responsible for large numbers of complaints and concerns. Second, there is a risk that the role of individual professionals in drawing attention to wrongdoing is being neglected.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first theoretical and empirical study specifically exploring the role of NHS inquiries in holding the medical profession to account for failings in professional practice.
Details
Keywords
Victoria Walton, Anne Hogden, Janet C. Long, Julie Johnson and David Greenfield
This paper aims to explore if health professionals share understanding of teamwork that supports collaborative ward rounds.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore if health professionals share understanding of teamwork that supports collaborative ward rounds.
Design/methodology/approach
A purpose-designed survey was conducted in two acute medical and two rehabilitation wards from a metropolitan teaching hospital. Medical officers, nurses and allied health professionals participated. To understand characteristics that support collaborative ward rounds, questions developed from literature and industry experience asked: what are the enablers and challenges to teamwork; and what are clinicians’ experiences of positive teamwork? Descriptive and thematic analyses were applied to the dimensions of effective teamwork as a framework for deductive coding.
Findings
Seventy-seven clinicians participated (93% response rate). Findings aligned with dimensions of teamwork framework. There was no meaningful difference between clinicians or specialty. Enablers to teamwork were: effective communication, shared understanding of patient goals, and colleague’s roles. Challenges were ineffective communication, individual personalities, lack of understanding about roles and responsibilities, and organisational structure. Additional challenges included: time; uncoordinated treatment planning; and leadership. Positive teamwork was influenced by leadership and team dynamics.
Practical implications
Ward rounds benefit from a foundation of collaborative teamwork. Different dimensions of teamwork present during ward rounds support clinicians’ shared understanding of roles, expectations and communication.
Originality/value
Rounds such as structured rounding, aim to improve teamwork. Inverting this concept to first develop effective collaboration will support team adaptability and resilience. This enables teams to transition between the multiple rounding processes undertaken in a single ward. The emphasis becomes high-quality teamwork rather than a single rounding process.
Details
Keywords
Jane Thompson, Janet McGivern, Dina Lewis and Gabi Diercks‐O’Brien
Drawing on the authors’ experiences at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside (ULH), this autobiographical narrative explores the development of distance learning…
Abstract
Drawing on the authors’ experiences at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside (ULH), this autobiographical narrative explores the development of distance learning strategies for management and business studies students. The authors discuss their own particular experiences and their role in pursuing innovations. Having considered the pedagogical issues involved in working with students at a distance, the paper goes on to discuss innovations to facilitate learning at ULH. This includes the design of text‐based materials for distance learning, increasing access via work‐based learning, and the university’s involvement in both the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme, (TLTP) and the Extended Learning Environment Network (ELEN) projects. Early evaluations of these projects identify a tension between the apparently boundless technological possibilities and students’ need for the “human” dimension in learning. Developing high quality H(E)‐education may depend in some part upon managing that tension.
Details
Keywords
At issue in the debate over home employment is whether paid work performed in the home exploits workers or enables them to decide when and where to do their work. Converting the…
Abstract
At issue in the debate over home employment is whether paid work performed in the home exploits workers or enables them to decide when and where to do their work. Converting the terms of the debate into a set of variables, I compare blue‐collar workers in manufacturing industries by work location. Although observed differences are open to varying interpretations, I conclude that as a group the home workers in this sample may be choosing to work at home. However, my analyses also demonstrate the diversity of home working arrangements, and that worker's ‘choices’ are socially shaped such that home employment has different meanings and consequences for different groups of workers. I further argue that the exploitative potential in home work cannot be dismissed because the findings are controversial, and the sample most likely underrepresents home workers, especially those most vulnerable to exploitation. Evidently, more research is necessary on the diversity of home working arrangements and their implications.
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.