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1 – 10 of 10This ethnographic revisit of a general hospital aims to critically explore and describe the mechanisms of corporate culture change and how institutional excellence is facilitated…
Abstract
Purpose
This ethnographic revisit of a general hospital aims to critically explore and describe the mechanisms of corporate culture change and how institutional excellence is facilitated and constrained by everyday management practices between 1996/1997 and 2014/2015.
Design/methodology/approach
A five-month field study of day-to-day life in the hospital's nursing division was conducted by means of an ethnographic revisit, using participant-observation, semi-structured interviews, free conversations and documentary material.
Findings
Using labour process analysis with ethnographic data from a general hospital, the corporate culture is represented as faceted, complex and sophisticated, lending little support to the managerial claims that if corporate objectives are realised, they are achieved through some combination of shared values, beliefs and managerial practices. The findings tend to support the critical view in labour process writing that modern managerial initiatives lead to tightened corporate control, advanced employee subjection and extensive effort intensification. The findings demonstrate the way in which the nursing employees enthusiastically embrace many aspects of the managerial message and yet, at the same time, still remain suspicious and distance themselves from it through misbehaviour and adaptation, and, in some cases, use the rhetoric against management for their own ends.
Practical implications
What are the implications for clinical and managerial practitioners? The recommendations are to (1) develop managerial practitioners who are capable of managing change combined with the professional autonomy of clinical practitioners, (2) take care to practise what you preach in clinical and managerial reality, as commitment, consent, compliance and difference of opinion are signs of a healthy corporate culture and (3) consider the implications between social structures and human actions with different work behaviours on different levels involved.
Originality/value
This ethnographic revisit considers data from a labour process analysis of corporate culture change in a general hospital and revisits the ways in which contradictory expectations and pressures are experienced by nursing employees and management practitioners spread 17 years apart.
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John C. Camillus, Jeffrey E. Baker, Anushka I. Daunt and Jungyoon Jang
This study aims to offer a strategic management response to societal disruptions of the magnitude triggered by the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions. These pose…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to offer a strategic management response to societal disruptions of the magnitude triggered by the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions. These pose challenges that are much greater and different in kind than the industry-wide disruptions that businesses have learned to manage. Pandemics, climate change, biotech and artificial intelligence guarantee that such societal disruptions will be an inescapable and recurring reality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper builds on the strategic management responses to wicked problems, which possess in microcosm the chaotic ambiguity that characterizes societal disruptions.
Findings
The authors propose a management process that affirms a sense of identity, identifies robust actions, adopts a real-options approach and uses a platform organization.
Research limitations/implications
The primary limitation is that the recommendations and findings are extrapolations of organizational practices in analogous situations. No examples of formal management processes specifically designed to address societal disruptions were identified.
Practical implications
The practical implications are significant. The specific recommendations in the paper directly address strategic management practice in organizations.
Social implications
The social implications are integral to the motivation of the paper as it describes the intrinsic characteristics of societal change and transformation, enabling organizations to interact with society on a dynamic basis.
Originality/value
While there has been growing interest and research into business and industry disruptions, the challenge of societal disruptions, which is the focus of this paper, has not been directly addressed.
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This article outlines the challenges faced by the next Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2022 – the need to address economic problems…
Abstract
Purpose
This article outlines the challenges faced by the next Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) in 2022 – the need to address economic problems resulting from Hong Kong’s slow growth; its inability to restructure its economy to broaden job opportunities and improve upward mobility for young people; and the government’s belated attempt to deploy innovation and technology.
Design/methodology/approach
This article is based on the author’s in-depth analysis of the current situation and insights on the challenges faced by the next Chief Executive.
Findings
Tensions are inherent in the concept of “One Country, Two Systems”. Back in November 2012, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Office Zhang Xiaoming already reminded Hong Kong of the need to manage well three sets of relationships: (1) maintaining the “One Country” principle while preserving the SARs’ “separate systems”; (2) upholding Central Authority while preserving the SARs’ “high degree of autonomy”; and (3) unleashing the economic potential of mainland China while raising the competitiveness of the SARs. These three sets of relationships represent three fundamental difficulties in implementing “One Country, Two Systems”. However, Hong Kong kept ignoring Beijing’s advice and failed to resolve the tension between the mainland and Hong Kong SAR, culminating in the riotous events of 2019, which morphed into a dangerous, anti-China insurgency.
Originality/value
The next Chief Executive needs to mediate between the constitutional requirements of the Central Authority while preserving Hong Kong SAR’s “high degree of autonomy”, its unique character and lifestyle. He or she also needs to deal with continuity and change. Hong Kong cannot stand still, and should not allow itself to be lulled by the “50 years no change” mantra into overlooking the need to move with the times. Much reform needs to be implemented by the next Chief Executive to give people hope, faith in “One Country, Two Systems” and true love of the country.
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Arrangements for regional economic integration, under the WTO system, have unexpectedly dominated globalization. In fact, countries that have realized economic arrangements, such…
Abstract
Arrangements for regional economic integration, under the WTO system, have unexpectedly dominated globalization. In fact, countries that have realized economic arrangements, such as the EU 's monetary union, are further expanding their efforts to achieve political integration. Regional economic integration is now considered an exigency of national affairs. North East Asian countries are also affected by this global predicament, but the issue involves greater structural complexities in this region. The emergence of China has forced Japan and Korea to contemplate difficult structural adjustments. For example, while the Korean government recognizes the importance of stronger intra-regional economic cooperation, by pursuing these arrangements it simultaneously faces the dilemma of maintaining traditional partnerships, such as those with the USA and Japan. If Korea actively supports regional economic arrangements, this action would be perceived as a bias toward China, consequently damaging ties with the US. Thus, rather than depending on public initiatives to establish economic ties in North East Asia, China, Japan and Korea should rely on market friendly projects initiated by the private sector that endorse gradual integration through non-political activities and exchanges among the citizens of the respective countries. This paper first proposes the founding of a North East Asian United University Community composed of students, professors and campuses of the three countries in the initial stages. Secondly, it proposes the development of unique Asian commodities, a concept similar to that of 'Airbus. ' Finally, it proposes utilization of retired Japanese, Korean and Chinese engineers and technicians to speed up the overall level of technology, which is critical to overcoming backwardness in this region.
Yasin Sahhar, Raymond Loohuis and Jörg Henseler
The purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in a business-to-business (B2B) setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This study comprises an ethnography that investigates in real time, from a dyadic perspective, and the CSE management practices at two service providers operating in knowledge-intensive service industries over a period of eight months. Analytically, the study concentrates on critical events that occurred in phases of the customer journey that in some way alter CSE, thus making it necessary for service providers to act to keep their customers satisfied.
Findings
The study uncovers four types of service provider practices that vary based on the mode of organization (ad hoc or regular) and the mode of engagement (reactive or proactive) and based on whether they restore or bolster CSE, including the recurrence of these practices in the customer journey. These practices are conveniently presented in a circumplex typology of CSE management across five phases in the customer journey.
Research limitations/implications
This paper advances the research in CSE management throughout the customer journey in the B2B context by showing that CSE management is dynamic, recurrent and multifaceted in the sense that it requires different modes of organization and engagement, notably during interaction with customers, in different phases of the customer journey.
Practical implications
The circumplex typology acts as a tool for service providers, helping them to redesign their CSE management practices in ongoing service and dialogical processes to keep their customers more engaged and satisfied.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to infuse a dyadic stance into the ongoing discussion of CSE management practices in B2B, in which studies to date have deployed only provider or customer perspectives. In proposing a microlevel view, the study identifies service providers' CSE management practices in multiple customer journey phases, especially when the situation becomes critical.
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This paper aims to provide a gendered analysis of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) benchmarked upon the global commitments to women’s health and well-being…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a gendered analysis of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) benchmarked upon the global commitments to women’s health and well-being in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It reviews evidence of the global consequences of neglecting women’s tobacco use and health, as well as analyzes persistent issues related to sex and gender that compromise the efficacy of tobacco control and science. Actionable recommendations are made to the Conference of the Parties to the FCTC and other key stakeholders.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws upon empirical studies, literature reviews and global health data at the varying intersections of gender, sex, tobacco and global health.
Findings
The global tobacco control framework and its implementation by state governments have been largely gender blind to date with dire health and economic consequences, including inequitable positive outcomes for men compared to women, and an increase in women’s smoking with associated morbidity and mortality. Gender equitable progress in combatting the tobacco epidemic will not be possible without resolving the gender bias, stigmatization, sexism and lack of intersectionality that plague tobacco control policy, research and interventions for cessation and harm reduction.
Originality/value
This paper provides an updated global overview of current trends in women’s tobacco use and comprehensively details the persistent structural barriers in tobacco control and science that limit their capacity to effectively analyze and address tobacco use and its impact on women.
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Atheer Abdullah Mohammed, Abdul Hafeez Baig and Raj Gururajan
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model and investigate the relationship between talent management (TM) processes and knowledge creation (KC) in Australian…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model and investigate the relationship between talent management (TM) processes and knowledge creation (KC) in Australian public and private universities. This is because of the pragmatic advantages for organisations that focus on talents and knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted the mixed-methods design. The sample comprised 23 individuals for the qualitative study and 286 individuals for the quantitative survey questionnaire, all conducted in nine public and private universities in Australia.
Findings
The qualitative outcomes were utilised to develop the quantitative survey statement. These outcomes are based on a three-stage method of thematic analysis. The core conclusion of the quantitative study is that there is a significantly positive influence on TM processes (TMPs) on KC.
Research limitations/implications
The principle limitation of this study was the scope. It only targeted one country (Australia), one state (Queensland) and a part of the higher education sector (the university).
Practical implications
This research designed a quantitative instrument of TMPs and KC for the Australian educational institutions. The instrument is severely designed and comprehensively conceptualised utilising social, excellent, performance, strategic, behavioural and developmental concepts within TMPs with innovative, informational and technological concepts underlining KC within the Australian public and private universities in Queensland.
Originality/value
The study adds value to both TM and knowledge management literature through designing a conceptual model that links both of these variables in one tool regarding the university sector.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify the five mistakes made by political leaders in Asian countries in combating corruption. These mistakes constitute the cycle of failure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the five mistakes made by political leaders in Asian countries in combating corruption. These mistakes constitute the cycle of failure which must be broken for Asian countries to succeed in fighting corruption.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on the comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of the anti-corruption measures adopted by various Asian countries.
Findings
The cycle of failure in combating corruption in Asian countries arises from their governments’ reliance on corrupt political leaders and the police, and multiple anti-corruption agencies as attack dogs or paper tigers.
Originality/value
This paper would be of interest to those policymakers, anti-corruption practitioners, and scholars, who are concerned with enhancing the effectiveness of anti-corruption strategies in their countries by breaking the cycle of failure.
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This paper aims to study the extent of use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern organization; to comprehend the changing nature of future jobs in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the extent of use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the modern organization; to comprehend the changing nature of future jobs in the context of application of AI; and to study the impact of AI on the economy of the country with special reference to the job market. Given the critical scenario of labor intensive Indian economy, the paper intends to show how AI shall affect rather coexist with human intelligence or labor.
Design/methodology/approach
The research on implementation of AI in different industries and its effect on job market are at a nascent stage. There is a dearth of literature. Hence, this study followed a qualitative approach to have a better understanding of the research questions as Bhattacherjee (2012) confirms that employing an interpretive paradigm (qualitative analysis as the analysis of data, e.g. data from interview transcripts) is the more productive way to study social order and that it is achieved through “subjective interpretation of participants involved, such as by interviewing different participants and reconciling differences among their responses using their own subjective perspectives”. Sample selection: The selection technique utilized is purposive sampling. The respondents in this research are the general managers and HRs from different companies. A total of 14 senior professionals from various sectors were approached for the interview out of which seven people gave their consent to take interview. Seven senior HR professionals, mainly general managers and HRs from various sectors viz. oil and gas sector, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, media, power and energy and retail were interviewed to understand how they are using AI in their respective fields. Inclusion Criteria: (1) Generally, the people covered under the research are from the decision-making level of their companies so they are in a position to give strategic perspective as well as day to day implication of implementation of AI. (2) Respondents have adequate knowledge of the respective industry to which they belong. (3) Respondents have reasonable industry of dealing with Human Resource Management and national economy as a whole assessment tool and its administration procedures. A narrative approach was adopted to have a better understanding of the research questions and comprehend their views regarding implementation of AI in their respective companies. A semi structured open ended interview was administered to steer the discussion around the research questions. The respondents were interviewed over the phone and each respondent shared their stories. Analysis of data: The narrations were then transcribed by online transcriber website otter.ai.com. The common keywords as prescribed by the website are as: AI, strategy, learning and implementation. The extracts of the discussions are noted in the next segment of the paper. As and when required this research also used secondary data from the journals, literature available in the websites to understand the implementation of AI globally.
Findings
A country where the government itself admits 90% of its workforce belongs to informal sector and conspicuously exits a multi-faceted stark digital divide (Huberman, 2001; DiMaggio et al., 2001; Guillen, 2006; Servon, 2002) wherein gap of digital divide is significant between the rural and urban India (Dasgupta et al., 2002; Nath, 2001; Singh, 2007; Mahajan, 2003; Dutta, 2003) talking of educating, applying and implementing AI seems to be “ a distant dream” but an “ambiguous ambition ”
Research limitations/implications
Prior to implementation of AI that India has to ensure, the basic hygiene factors of informal sector labor force like social security, 2008, low wages and lack of legal protection, unpaid overtime and occupational health problems, poor bargaining power, working without leave under coercion, child care issues and health ailments(for which mere legislation or statutarization is just a formality executed than taking real action) to take the majority of Indian workforce to attain the motivational factor to acquire the knowledge and skill of AI and to implement it.
Practical implications
The AI and its adoption are still at their embryonic stage in Indian companies. With the adoption of such sophisticated technology, in one side, the organizations are dreaming of efficiency, higher productivity and better organizational performance whereas on the other side requirement of changing skill sets and decreasing manpower, creating fear among the mass, which results in hard resistance against the implementation process of AI. On the other hand, lack of expertise and high cost of adoption is also hindering AI to implement in the organizations. The adoption and implementation stage of AI vary from organization to organizations, as well as functions to functions. While the marketing departments of several organizations are using advanced level of AI, there, the HR departments are using AI at the very initial stage. But it is evident from the above discussions that adoption of AI in business functions is inevitable and only it is a matter of time. With the COVID-19 pandemic this has become the utmost necessity for many organizations, particularly who works across the globe. HR partners of the businesses are also adopting AI at a fast pace to do away with the mundane works and deliver efficient services to the stakeholders. It is understood from the discourse that the prerequisite for a successful implementation of AI across the industries throughout the country, needs a concerted effort from industries, academia and government.
Social implications
The answer lies in Keynesian economics. The central tenet of which is government intervention rather investment to stabilize and progress the economy by way of spreading Internet connectivity, basic literacy and computer literacy, then only truly AI can be effective in a greater scale.
Originality/value
A study on application of artificial intelligence in the pandemic era from a wider perspective, this work is an empirical investigation into the benefits and limitations of artificial intelligence for human potential and labour -intensive pandemic ridden Indian economy.
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Xisto L. Travassos, Sérgio L. Avila and Nathan Ida
Ground Penetrating Radar is a multidisciplinary Nondestructive Evaluation technique that requires knowledge of electromagnetic wave propagation, material properties and antenna…
Abstract
Ground Penetrating Radar is a multidisciplinary Nondestructive Evaluation technique that requires knowledge of electromagnetic wave propagation, material properties and antenna theory. Under some circumstances this tool may require auxiliary algorithms to improve the interpretation of the collected data. Detection, location and definition of target’s geometrical and physical properties with a low false alarm rate are the objectives of these signal post-processing methods. Basic approaches are focused in the first two objectives while more robust and complex techniques deal with all objectives at once. This work reviews the use of Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Learning for data interpretation of Ground Penetrating Radar surveys. We show that these computational techniques have progressed GPR forward from locating and testing to imaging and diagnosis approaches.
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