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This article reports the results of a randomized field experiment that tested the effects of a new business intervention among managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in England.

Individual managers (learners) were randomly assigned in clusters (companies) to either an intervention group (265 learners; 40 SMEs) receiving a novel virtual, blended training program designed to stimulate a change in management behavior or a no-intervention group (118 learners; 22 SMEs).

The results show that the primary objective of changing management behavior to use more of an Operational Coaching™ style of management has been achieved (to a statistically significant level), and this is against the backdrop of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Positive trends in SME productivity metrics were also observed in the intervention group companies.

These important results could be indicative of the economic and productivity impact that a change in management behavior could have, and they warrant serious further investigation.

The purpose of this paper is to assess causal relations between the implementation of the 5S approach and the reduction of patients’ waiting time at out patient departments (OPDs) of hospitals in Tanzania.

Patients’ waiting time was measured under the cluster randomized control trial (c-RCT). In all, 16 hospitals were chosen and divided into treatment and control groups using block randomization. Before the intervention, a baseline study was conducted at OPDs in all 16 hospitals. After one year of the intervention, the end-line study was carried out in both the groups. A comparison of the average waiting time reduction and Difference-in-Difference (DID) analysis was carried out to see the effect of the 5S approach on the reduction of patients’ waiting time.

Statistical significance in reduction of patients’ waiting time was seen in the medical records sections (p=0.002) and consultation rooms (p=0.020) in the intervention group. The same trend was also seen using DID analysis (−15.66 min in medical record, −41.90 min in consultation rooms).

This study has the following limitations in terms of the data. The data were collected for only three days at the time of baseline survey, and again for three days at the time of the end-line survey from 16 hospitals. Moreover, piloted areas for the implementation of the 5S approach vary from hospital to hospital. There might be a bias in the measurement of a patient’s waiting time. Caveats are therefore needed in extrapolating the study results to other settings. Despite these caveats, the findings will provide important insights for implementing quality improvement programs in Tanzania and in other African countries for improvement of time factors.

This study used c-RCT, and has proven the effectiveness of the 5S approach in improving the working environment and reducing patients’ waiting time at OPDs in several hospitals at district level in Tanzania.

To date, little research has been undertaken to test the effectiveness of team coaching, with past work focusing on models, frameworks and competencies. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of team coaching within real world organizational teams and its impact on individual perceptions of team cohesion and psychological safety.

A randomized control trial (RCT) using the comparable interventions: (1) team coaching (intervention) and (2) team facilitation (control) was employed with multiple teams and multiple facilitators, measuring the impact on team cohesion and psychological safety.

The data indicate participants engaging in the team coaching intervention made greater gains in terms of their individual perceptions of psychological safety and team cohesion than individuals who received the team facilitation intervention (T1–T2).

Facilitators should apply a team coaching approach when seeking to address issues of cohesion and psychological safety within workplace teams.

This study provides the first evidence, using an RCT method, of the effectiveness of team coaching as a workplace intervention for enhancing individual perceptions of psychological safety and team cohesion.

The World Health Organization Suicide trends in at-risk territories study is a multi-site regional research program operating first in French Polynesia and countries of the Western Pacific, then extended to the world. The aims of the study were to establish a monitoring system for suicidal behaviors and to conduct a randomised control trial intervention for non-fatal suicidal behaviors. The latter part is the purpose of the present article. Over the period 2008-2010, 515 patients were admitted at the Emergency Department of the Centre Hospitalier de Polynésie Française for suicidal behavior. Those then hospitalized in the Psychiatry Emergency Unit were asked to be involved in the study and randomly allocated to either Treatment As Usual (TAU) or TAU plus Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC), which provides a psycho-education session and a follow-up of 9 phone contacts over an 18-months period. One hundred persons were assigned to TAU, while 100 participants were allocated to the BIC group. At the end of the follow-up there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of number of presentations to the hospital for repeated suicidal behaviors. Although the study could not demonstrate the superiority of a treatment over the other, nevertheless – given its importance – the investigation captured public attention and was able to contribute to the awareness of the need of suicide prevention in French Polynesia. The BIC model of intervention seemed to particularly suit the geographical and health care context of the country.

This paper evaluates the implementation of a school-based physical activity intervention and discusses how the intervention outcomes can be influenced by the implementation.

In four of the nine lower secondary schools in which the intervention was conducted, the authors examined implementation fidelity, adaptation, quality, responsiveness and dose received. The authors conducted focus group interviews with teachers (n = 8) and students (n = 46) and made observations. Dose delivered was examined quantitatively, with weekly registrations.

Results showed that two out of four schools made few and positive adaptations, implemented the intervention with high fidelity and quality and responded positively. Four main factors were found to influence implementation: frame factors, intervention characteristics, participant characteristics and provider characteristics.

A cross-sectional design was used and may not represent implementation throughout the whole school year.

In terms of large-scale implementation, the intervention may be generalizable. However, intervention criteria such as adequate facilities and a flexible timetable may be unattainable for some schools. The intervention can be adapted without compromising its purpose, but adaptations should be a result of cooperation between students and teachers.

Process evaluations on this topic are rare. This study adds to a limited knowledge base concerning what factors may influence implementation of school-based physical activity interventions for adolescents.

This paper offers a theoretical explanation to a positive story of a micro enterprise found in Uganda, an African developing country that has successfully managed workplace relationships, its survival and good performance. Specifically, the paper examines multiple theories to explain the practice in this enterprise.

The study uses storytelling, a form of narrative inquiry embedded in qualitative methodology. Based on in-depth interviews with the owner-manager and employees, a story was developed detailing their practical experience while focusing on the context, actions, results and lessons.

Findings reveal that micro enterprises that allow free generation of ideas across all levels with optimistic people who reciprocate and work together create a friendly work atmosphere with support for one another, with the ability to amicably resolve conflicts and build trust. More so, theories including social exchange theory, relational cohesion theory, complex adaptive systems theory and cultural historical activity theory help explain the manifestations of relational people management in micro enterprises.

This paper is unique in its use of a positive story showing a practical experience of how workplace relationships are managed in a micro enterprise found in Uganda. In addition, a multi-theoretical perspective is used to explain the manifestations in the story which may be novel in the study context. Thus, a conceptual model is proposed depicting generalized reciprocity, positive emotions, generative leadership and relational agency as antecedents of relational people management with relational agency again mediating the other relationships.