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1 – 10 of over 1000Kari Nyland, Charlotte Morland and John Burns
The purpose of this paper is to explore two hospital departments, one of which is laterally dependent on the other to function, but which are subject to distinct vertical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore two hospital departments, one of which is laterally dependent on the other to function, but which are subject to distinct vertical managerial controls. This complexity in vertical–lateral relations generates tension amongst the hospital’s senior managers and a perception of coordination difficulties. However, this paper shows how the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls, plus important employee “work”, moderates tension and facilitates day-to-day lateral coordination at the patient-facing level.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case-study, relying mostly on the findings of semi-structured interviews. Theoretically, the paper draws from previous insights on inter-organisational relations (but informing the focus on intra-organisational coordination) and an “institutional work” perspective.
Findings
Consistent with much extant literature, this paper reveals how non-managerial controls help to moderate tensions that could emerge from the coercive use of managerial controls. However, the authors also show a maintained influence and flexibility in the managerial controls at patient-facing levels, as new circumstances unfold.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this paper could generalise neither all laterally dependent spaces in hospitals nor patterns across different hospitals. The authors recommend future research into the dynamics and interaction of managerial and non-managerial controls in other complex settings, plus focus on the purposeful work of influential agents.
Originality/value
The paper has two primary contributions: extending our knowledge of the interplay between managerial and non-managerial controls inside complex organisations, where non-managerial controls reinforce rather than displace managerial controls, and highlighting that it is seldom just controls per se which “matter”, but also agents’ purposeful actions that facilitate coordination in complex organisations.
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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the enabling performance measurement systems (PMS) on non-managerial employees’ team learning behaviours (TLB) and team…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the enabling performance measurement systems (PMS) on non-managerial employees’ team learning behaviours (TLB) and team effectiveness (TE) when the PMS is used as an enabler.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted with non-managerial employees in Japan and a total sample of 474 responses were collected. Partial least squares structural equation modelling using Smart-PLS was used for the analysis.
Findings
The results demonstrated that the design feature of global transparency in enabling PMS contributes to the enhancement of TE, with partial mediation through TLB. Furthermore, it was also evident that fostering TLB involves increasing the flexibility in PMS, specifically offering multiple options for collecting and aggregating performance information in various formats.
Originality/value
By examining the effects of the four features of enabling controls on TE and TLB, this study shows which features in an enabling PMS are important in motivating non-managerial employees at the operational level. The study not only fills a gap on the impact of enabling controls on non-managerial employees that has been under-researched but also makes an academic contribution in that it has deepened our understanding of four features that have not yet been fully elucidated.
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Sophia Marongiu Ivarsson and Bo Ekehammar
Examines the hypotheses that high instrumentality, adaptive coping, and low work/family pressure are predictive components of women’s managerial advancement. A profile analysis…
Abstract
Examines the hypotheses that high instrumentality, adaptive coping, and low work/family pressure are predictive components of women’s managerial advancement. A profile analysis demonstrated that the managerial profile was characterized by high instrumentality and low relationality accompanied by high adaptive work coping. On the other hand, the non‐managerial profile was characterized by low instrumentality and high relationality accompanied by low adaptive work coping and high maladaptive work coping. A LISREL path analysis was tentatively used to test the causal influence of internal (instrumental and relational) traits, work/family pressure, and coping on women’s managerial advancement. The results showed that the strongest predictor of managerial emergence was the instrumental factor, while work/family pressure and coping style had no impact.
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Sandra L. Fielden and Cary L. Cooper
Aims to present a critical appraisal of the research relating to the sources of stress and stress reactions experienced by women managers. Considers the available data and level…
Abstract
Aims to present a critical appraisal of the research relating to the sources of stress and stress reactions experienced by women managers. Considers the available data and level of understanding, and the assumptions that traditional approaches have been based upon. Presents conflicting findings and considers the implications of such results. Offers an overview of the current knowledge pertaining to women and managerial stress, raising a number of questions for which there are currently no answers.
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Sophia Marongiu and Bo Ekehammar
The study examined the influence of individual (internal) and situational (external) factors on the career advancement of women and men (N = 88) in a Swedish nation‐wide…
Abstract
The study examined the influence of individual (internal) and situational (external) factors on the career advancement of women and men (N = 88) in a Swedish nation‐wide organization. Using, among other methods, LISREL path analyses, the results revealed that the internal factor of instrumental qualities was the major predictor of managerial advancement regardless of gender. Thus, the findings imply that the norms for managers are still quite traditional, leading both women and men to adopt an instrumental managerial style. Contrary to expectations, the impact of the external factor was not indicative of managerial aspirations or managerial group membership (attending a managerial program provided by the organization). However, women in both groups suffered more from work/family pressure than men in both groups. The results are discussed in terms of the contemporary view that there might be a shift in the definition of the managerial role in favor of women.
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Monica A. Zimmerman and Keith D. Brouthers
Although diversifying internationally appears to be beneficial, relatively few small and medium‐sized firms actually participate. Building on recent research exploring the…
Abstract
Purpose
Although diversifying internationally appears to be beneficial, relatively few small and medium‐sized firms actually participate. Building on recent research exploring the international diversification of small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) the purpose of this paper is to examine the relation among ownership and management team gender heterogeneity, entrepreneurial orientation, and firm international diversity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors' hypotheses were tested using data gathered from members of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a national (US) public policy organization that advocates for women in business.
Findings
Results indicate that top management team gender composition and entrepreneurial orientation are significantly related to international diversification but that ownership gender composition is not. The authors found that team entrepreneurial orientation may be useful when teams are more homogeneous on relations‐oriented characteristics such as gender.
Originality/value
The paper's findings suggest that women‐only management teams high in entrepreneurial orientation are more likely to pursue international diversification, dispelling the idea that international diversification is more difficult for women.
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Elsa Solstad and Inger Johanne Petterson
Mergers are important and challenging elements in hospital reforms. The authors study the social aspects of management and the roles of middle managers in the aftermath of a…
Abstract
Purpose
Mergers are important and challenging elements in hospital reforms. The authors study the social aspects of management and the roles of middle managers in the aftermath of a hospital merger. Especially, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how professional staff and middle managers perceive their relationships with top managers several years after the merger.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among the professional staff in two merging hospitals’ units six years after a merger. Based on the main findings from this survey, a follow-up interview study was done with a group of middle managers.
Findings
The management practices were diagnostic with few interactive or communicative activities. The respondents expressed that mistrust developed between the staff and the top management, and a lack of involvement and interaction lead to decoupled and parallel organizations. Social controls, based on shared norms, had not been developed to create mutual commitment and engagement.
Practical implications
Policy makers should be aware of the need in profound change processes not only to change the tangible elements, but to take care of changing the less tangible elements such as norms and values. Professionals in hospitals are in powerful positions, and changes in such organizations are dependent on trust-building, bottom-up initiatives and evolutionary pathways.
Originality/value
The paper addresses the need to understand the dynamics of the social aspect in managing hospitals as knowledge-intensive organizations when comprehensive restructuring processes are taking place over several years.
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Richard J. Holden and John Hamblett
Initiatives in employee development (non‐work related learning) represent a significant growth phenomenon. Identifies an orthodox account of ED which has developed alongside this…
Abstract
Initiatives in employee development (non‐work related learning) represent a significant growth phenomenon. Identifies an orthodox account of ED which has developed alongside this growth; one that revolves around shared interests and a routeway to organisation learning. The assumed mutuality which underpins orthodox accounts of the benefits that flow from ED is characterised by a return to learning which leads to greater flexibility, increased commitment and ultimately enhanced performance. Addresses some questions which appear to have been ignored in the desire to promote ED. Highlights key issues, such as, when given the choice, most employees choose not to participate, and questions whether ED can really represent a learning process which is both distinct from and superior to that which takes place day in, day out, within the workplace.
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This paper aims to provide evidence of pro-worker orientation and acceptance of socialist idealism in scientific management, with particular focus on Walter Polakov.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide evidence of pro-worker orientation and acceptance of socialist idealism in scientific management, with particular focus on Walter Polakov.
Design/methodology/approach
A range of original texts have been examined to identify the ideas expressed or accepted by the early scientific managers. These include Bulletin of the Taylor Society and the early publications of the socialist engineer and scientific manager Walter Polakov.
Findings
This paper shows how an avowed socialist is outspoken but unremarkable for the members of the Taylor Society in the 1910s and 1920s, contrary to the views expressed in textbooks and other histories which assert a deep antiworker bias in scientific management.
Research limitations/implications
This is limited to a historical analysis of the role and extent of involvement of the Marxist engineer Walter Polakov in the US scientific management movement in the 1910s and 1920s.
Originality/value
This paper offers insights into the workings of the Taylor Society using a biographical approach. In so doing, it demonstrates, in a new way, the verity of claims that the original proponents of scientific management were not authoritarian or anti-worker in their views or ideals, but, rather, open to progressive and socialist ideals.
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The Spanish airport system contains several regional airports within an amenity distance and alternative travel modes. Profitable airports cross-subsidise small airports, which…
Abstract
Purpose
The Spanish airport system contains several regional airports within an amenity distance and alternative travel modes. Profitable airports cross-subsidise small airports, which are not required for regional development or connectivity. Airports are government-owned and centralised-managed by Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (AENA, for its Spanish acronym). This study aims to analyse the probability of an under-used public infrastructure and the AENA’s managerial ability as per the financial sustainability of the network in the long term.
Design/methodology/approach
The national regulatory framework determines the airports’ environment. Six airports revealed unobserved heterogeneity, avoiding model misspecification. The framework is defined through proxies of the singularities of the Spanish framework: public investments and geographical specifications. The stochastic frontier analysis model follows two time-varying specifications, accounting for airports’ environmental factors, to ensure the robustness of the results to differ from the inefficiency caused by AENA and external factors.
Findings
Airports’ infrastructure capacity and traffic are not correlated; regional airports become a financial burden for the system unless they specialise or differentiate. Proxies defining the airports’ context are relevant. Because airports do not compete for airlines and passengers, there are too many regional airports with little traffic, resulting in disused public infrastructure that falls far short of improving connectivity and regional development.
Originality/value
This study contributes to paying attention to the characteristics of the regulatory framework, such as management strongly centralised in AENA, airport charges decided by the owner, lack of competition and lack of an independent regulatory entity. Another original contribution considers reliable capital measures (airports’ infrastructure).
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