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21 – 30 of 86Ian Roper, David Etherington and Suzan Lewis
The purpose of this paper is to consider the resilience of a national-level initiative (Improving Working Lives (IWL)) in the face of local-level initiative (Turnaround) in an NHS…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the resilience of a national-level initiative (Improving Working Lives (IWL)) in the face of local-level initiative (Turnaround) in an NHS hospital and compare to Bach and Kessler’s (2012) model of public service employment relations.
Design/methodology/approach
Case study research consisting of 23 in-depth semi-structured interviews from a range of participants.
Findings
The principles behind IWL were almost entirely sacrificed in order to meet the financial objectives of Turnaround. This indicates the primacy of localised upstream performance management initiatives over the national-level downstream employee relations initiatives that form the basis of the NHS’ claim to model employer aspiration.
Research limitations/implications
The case study was conducted between 2007 and 2009. While the case study falls under previous government regime, the dualised system of national-level agreements combined with localised performance management – and the continued existence of both Turnaround and IWL – makes the results relevant at the time of writing.
Originality/value
Some studies (e.g. Skinner et al., 2004) indicated a perception that IWL was not trusted by NHS staff. The present study offers reasons as to why this may be the case.
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This chapter discusses individual differences in information experiences, with particular focus on emotional aspects. It reports findings from two studies that explored K12 and…
Abstract
This chapter discusses individual differences in information experiences, with particular focus on emotional aspects. It reports findings from two studies that explored K12 and mature students’ experiences of uncertainty in the information search process. These experiences were related to the respondents’ personality traits and approaches to studying. The studies found that intrinsic motivation and openness to experience increased the likelihood of a pleasant information experience in a study context, while extrinsic motivation and insecurity often resulted in a negative one. Conscientious and systematic searchers tended to be foremost goal-oriented, whereby the affective tone of a search depended on the amount of progress towards the goal. Patterns of explorative or systematic searching were found both during a specific inquiry process and as broader conceptions of regularly occurring information experiences.
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Lydia Makrides, Stephanie Heath, Jane Farquharson and Paula L. Veinot
Workplace health promotion initiatives are an effective way to reach adults, and provide safe and healthy working environments that support individual health. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
Workplace health promotion initiatives are an effective way to reach adults, and provide safe and healthy working environments that support individual health. The purpose of this project was to: learn how organizations/businesses define workplace health; assess employer support and commitment for workplace health initiatives; assess facilitators and barriers to workplace wellness/health; and understand workplace needs around evaluation and outcome measures.
Design/methodology/approach
A community partnership, Wellness Initiatives Network (WIN), was established to provide a forum for organizations in Atlantic Canada to share knowledge and experience on workplace health. Focus groups were conducted with businesses/organizations in the four Atlantic Provinces. Tape‐recorded transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings
Ingredients for successful workplace health initiatives include onsite programs, the provision of incentives and recognition for employees, and the need to build awareness, understanding and commitment among managers who can help to create a supportive culture, which supports employee health. Measuring outcomes related to workplace health is critical.
Practical implications
Workplace health promotion should encompass a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the important roles of personal, social and environmental factors.
Originality/value
There is both interest and readiness to implement workplace health in Atlantic Canada. Workplace health is a responsibility of all – individual employees, employers and workplaces, and government. All stakeholders must be involved to help employees, workplaces and the health system cope with an aging population and concomitant increasing stresses at work and home. Engaging leaders is a critical step in building an integrated, comprehensive and sustainable approach to workplace health.
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Rachel Ashworth, Tom Entwistle, Julian Gould‐Williams and Michael Marinetto
This monograph contains abstracts from the 2005 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference Cardiff Business School,Cardiff University, 6‐7th September 2005
Abstract
This monograph contains abstracts from the 2005 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, 6‐7th September 2005
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Biagio F. Giannetti, Luis Velazquez, Krystal M. Perkins, Marisela Trillas-Ortiz, Carlos Anaya-Eredias, Feni Agostinho, Cecilia M.V.B. Almeida, Marcos Jose Alves Pinto and Nora Munguia
Students play an unequivocal role in sustainable universities as they are theorized to embody the mission of a sustainable university through a sustainable lifestyle and spread…
Abstract
Purpose
Students play an unequivocal role in sustainable universities as they are theorized to embody the mission of a sustainable university through a sustainable lifestyle and spread sustainability practices during their professional careers. Despite this, it is not well known how or why students come to embody a sustainable lifestyle. This study aims to better understand the relationship between happiness, academic achievement and sustainability behaviors among the student population in a Mexican higher education institution.
Design/methodology/approach
In a questionnaire study, engineering and psychology university students at a large public university in northwestern Mexico answered questions regarding their environmental sustainability behaviors, happiness and academic performance. A stratified random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample population that best represents the entire population. After chi-square tests, it was confirmed that the three variables were independent of one another. Therefore, a series of correspondence analyses were conducted to examine clusters or patterns that could indicate relationships among the three variables.
Findings
The main finding from this work was that the happiest and most academically astute participants were only slightly environmentally sustainable or not sustainable at all. The lack of environmental sustainability in students from one of the most top-rank sustainable universities in Mexico does not align with previous sustainability reports. External factors to the university, such as cultural values and extreme weather conditions, may have influenced students’ sustainability behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
As with any other questionnaire study, the provided data is subject to interpretation, judgment and bias. In addition, the environmental and happiness index used in this study are not free of criticizing, and some author had disputed its efficacy. Finally, this study’s findings did not determine any causality or directionality between any of the latent variables. However, causality and directionally between environmental sustainability-happiness and happiness-academic performance have to be found in both directions.
Practical implications
Despite the unsustainability of students in this study, this study has several contributions. First, it provides an evaluation of a sustainable university from the perspectives and behaviors of students. The views of students as they relate to the complexities and visions of a sustainable university have remained relatively underexamined. Second, these analyses point to specific sustainability-oriented challenges and inadvertent barriers (e.g. extreme weather patterns) toward the embodiment of a sustainable lifestyle. These challenges and barriers suggest that sustainable universities need to address the dynamic changes inherent in sustainable development. Finally, this study indicates that the link between happiness, academic performance and sustainability may be more complicated and driven by cultural and structural barriers. The issue of barriers, as they relate to sustainability behaviors, is highly relevant and presents important opportunities and questions for future research.
Originality/value
This study provides an evaluation of a sustainable university from the perspectives and behaviors of students. Students’ views as they relate to the complexities and visions of a sustainable university have remained relatively underexamined. Second, these analyses point to specific sustainability-oriented challenges and barriers as they relate to the embodiment of a sustainable lifestyle. These challenges and barriers suggest that sustainable universities need to address the dynamic changes inherent in sustainable development. Finally, this study indicates that the link between happiness, academic performance and sustainability may be more complicated and driven by cultural and structural barriers.
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Laura Cousens, Kathy Babiak and Trevor Slack
This paper explores the adoption of a relationship marketing paradigm by the National Basketball Association. A contextualist framework was used to explore the context, content…
Abstract
This paper explores the adoption of a relationship marketing paradigm by the National Basketball Association. A contextualist framework was used to explore the context, content and processes of this change that evolved over a 17-year time period. Personal interviews were conducted with leaders of this league and over 80 documents were reviewed and content analyzed. The results of this study provide insights into relationship marketing and organizational change for sport managers.
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Luciana Paula Reis, June Marques Fernandes, Sergio Evangelista Silva and Carlos Augusto de Carvalho Andreosi
This article aims to introduce a guide to improving hospital bed setup by combining lean technical practices (LTPs), such as kaizen and value stream mapping (VSM) and lean social…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to introduce a guide to improving hospital bed setup by combining lean technical practices (LTPs), such as kaizen and value stream mapping (VSM) and lean social practices (LSPs), such as employee empowerment.
Design/methodology/approach
Action research approach was employed to analyze the process of reconfiguration of bed setup management in a Brazilian public hospital.
Findings
The study introduces three contributions: (1) presents the use of VSM focused specifically on bed setup, while the current literature presents studies mainly focused on patient flow management, (2) combines the use of LSPs and LTPs in the context of bed management, expanding current studies that are focused either on mathematical models or on social and human aspects of work, (3) introduces a practical guide based on six steps that combine LSPs and LSPs to improve bed setup management.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on the analysis of patient beds. Surgical beds, delivery, emergency care and intensive care unit (ICU) were not considered in this study. In addition, the process indicators analyzed after the implementation of the improvements did not contemplate the moment of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this research focused on the implementation of the improvement in the context of only one Brazilian public hospital.
Practical implications
The combined use of LSPs and LTPs can generate considerable gains in bed setup efficiency and consequently increase the capacity of a hospital to admit new patients, without the ampliation of the physical space and workforce.
Social implications
The improvement of bed setup has an important social character, whereas it can generate important social benefits such as the improvement of the admission service to patients, reducing the waiting time, reducing hospitalization costs and improving the hospital capacity without additional physical resources. All these results are crucial for populations, their countries and regions.
Originality/value
While the current literature on bed management is more focused on formal models or pure human and social perspectives, this article brings these two perspectives together in a single, holistic framework. As a result, this article points out that the complex bed management problem can be efficiently solved by combining LSPs and LTPs to present theoretical and practical contributions to the important social problem of hospital bed management.
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