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This paper explores the reasons for the sometimes seemingly irrational and dysfunctional organisational behaviour within the NHS. It seeks to provide possible answers to the persistent historical problem of intimidating and negative behaviour between staff, and the sometimes inadequate organisational responses. The aim is to develop a model to explain and increase understanding of such behaviour in the NHS.

This paper is conceptual in nature based upon a systematic literature review. The concepts of organisational silence, normalised organisational corruption, and protection of image, provide some possible answers for these dysfunctional responses, as does the theory of selective moral disengagement.

The NHS exhibits too high a level of collective ego defences and protection of its image and self-esteem, which distorts its ability to address problems and to learn. Organisations and the individuals within them can hide and retreat from reality and exhibit denial; there is a resistance to voice and to “knowing”. The persistence and tolerance of negative behaviour is a corruption and is not healthy or desirable. Organisations need to embrace the identity of a listening and learning organisation; a “wise” organisation. The “Elephant in the room” of persistent negative behaviour has to be acknowledged; the silence must be broken. There is a need for cultures of “respect”, exhibiting “intelligent kindness”.

A model has been developed to increase understanding of dysfunctional organisational behaviour in the NHS primarily for leaders/managers of health services, health service regulators and health researchers/academics. Research, with ethical approval, is currently being undertaken to test and develop the conceptual model to further reflect the complexities of the NHS culture.

The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the need to treat negative workplace behaviours which are not perceived as bullying as seriously as those which are. The paper also aims to examine whether or not the National Health Service (NHS) appears to experience a higher level of negative behaviour than private sector organisations and whether lower frequency behaviour has similar levels of effect as higher frequency behaviour.

A mixed‐method approach is used whereby a mainly quantitative questionnaire is complemented by the inclusion of qualitative questions and the collection of qualitative data collected within the two NHS Trusts concerned.

The evidence collected draws attention to the considerable impact that workplace incivility, which may or may not be classed as bullying, has on the well‐being of employees and the effectiveness of organisations. Where aggression is present, the levels of effect are shown to be higher and the behaviour is always classed as bullying. The evidence also shows that the NHS does appear to experience a higher level of negative behaviour than private sector organisations, and that lower frequency behaviour does indeed appear to have similar levels of effect as higher frequency behaviour.

This article shows that the focus placed by many researchers and organisations on countering/eliminating behaviour purely perceived as bullying is unlikely to be effective unless they also adopt a similar approach to the full range of negative behaviours that employees experience/witness in organisations.

This case examines the public controversy that erupted over the increasingly high price of EpiPens. Mylan Inc. (Mylan), a generic drug maker, bought the EpiPen product line from Merck in 2007. Since that time, the company both invested in marketing to raise awareness for the drug and dramatically increased the price, lifting it from $100 to $600 per two pack in the U.S. In 2016, simmering consumer anger about the high prices of pharmaceutical drugs finally reached a boiling point and a media firestorm ensued. The case challenges students to think about the role of fairness in pricing. How can Mylan justify the dramatic price increases? How can it justify the variation in prices across countries, as an EpiPen is priced at an equivalent of $85 in France? The case challenges students to think about how they would handle a public controversy. The EpiPen case is well suited for students in MBA, MBA for Executives, and executive education programs. For MBA students, it can be placed in first-year marketing, pricing, or marketing communications courses. For executives, it can serve as a vehicle to discuss both ethical issues of pricing and how to handle a public controversy.

Ridley Scott’s 1982 cinematic production of Blade Runner, based loosely on a 1968 story by Philip Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), is read within a general context of critical theory, the purpose being twofold: first, to highlight the film’s fit with, and within, several issues that have been important to critical theory and, second, to explore some questions, criticisms, and extensions of those issues – the dialectic of identity/difference most crucially – by speculations within and on the film’s text. The exploration is similar in approach to studies of specific films within the context of issues of social, cultural, and political theory conducted by the late Stanley Cavell. Interrogations of dimensions of scenarios and sequences of plotline, conceptual pursuit of some implications, and assessments of the realism at work in cinematic format are combined with mainly descriptive evaluations of character portrayals and dynamics as these relate to specified thematics of the identity/difference dialectic. The film puts in relief evolving meanings of prosthetics – which is to say changes in the practical as well as conceptual-semantic boundaries of “human being”: what counts as “same” versus “other”? “domestic” versus “foreign”? “integrity” versus “dissolution”? “safety” versus “danger”? And how do those polarities, understood within a unity-of-opposites dialectic, change, as human beings are confronted more and more stressfully by their own reproductions of “environment” – that is, the perspectival device of “what is ‘text’ and what is context’?” – and variations of that device by direct and indirect effects of human actions, as those actions have unfolded within recursive sequences of prior versions of perspectival device, a device repeatedly engaged, albeit primarily and mainly implicitly, as a “prosthetic that could not be a prosthetic.”

This chapter introduces women's football in a global, professional era. Key in this is an acknowledgement of the male-dominated roots of the sport in many contexts, which has historically served to restrict women's participation. However, we identify the significant growth of women's involvement in football, which has resulted in professional opportunities for women playing and working in the sport. Football organisations are increasingly taking the development of the women's game more seriously and football can be considered a legitimate career opportunity for women. The chapter then identifies the scope of the book, which includes contributions on the lived experience of professionalisation, the processes of professionalisation and the role of commercialisation and media.

The 2019 FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) Women's World Cup in France saw unprecedented levels of success for women's football. FIFA estimates that, for the first time, total global viewership of the tournament reached 1bn. During the tournament, the eventual champions – the United States – saw their midfield veteran, Megan Rapinoe, win the golden boot (top goal scorer) and the golden ball award (most valuable player). In addition to her exploits on the pitch, Rapinoe, one of numerous ‘out’ lesbian athletes competing at the Women's World Cup, also received an unprecedented amount of media coverage. In this chapter, we analyse British print media coverage of Rapinoe during the one-month period of the Women's World Cup (7th June–7th July) and the week after the tournament concluded. Our findings indicate that although Rapinoe is a polarising character, media coverage of her throughout the tournament was generally positive. We show this through Rapinoe as a ‘personality’, Rapinoe as ‘outspoken’ and Rapinoe as a role model.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020 prompted widespread global lockdowns as the world looked to contain and reduce the impact of the virus, including a pause on most sporting competitions (Parnell et al., 2020). COVID-19 has greatly affected the world, exposing stark inequalities, especially across gendered lines, in areas of society such as the labour market, domestic responsibility and economic hardship (Alon et al., 2020). Sport is a crucial, interwoven aspect of society and like wider societal trends, elite women's sport has been adversely affected by the pandemic, facing an existential threat (Bowes et al., 2020; Clarkson et al., 2020; Rowe, 2020). The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of how the pandemic is negatively impacting a wide variety of elite women's sports. Specifically, we cover sports where women have traditionally existed on the margins of the sport and could be considered as male-dominated labour industries. Centring primarily on the United Kingdom, we present a brief chronology of the impact of the crisis on elite women's sport, across football, rugby, cricket and golf – in many ways different from the men's versions – spanning the eight months since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 until the time of writing in November 2020. Throughout, the chapter utilises qualitative data from elite sportswomen encouraged to share their experiences during the pandemic (see Bowes et al., 2020). Subsequently, this chapter concludes with a summary of the challenges for women operating in (semi-)professional sports environments.

The transtheoretical model (TTM) has been applied to varying areas of physical health, e.g. diabetes. However, research into its applicability to psychotherapy is mixed. The TTM is applied through the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA). Investigating the utility of the URICA is needed to improve patient care and outcomes. This study aims to assess whether the URICA scores relate to patient outcomes; patient attendance; practitioner ratings of patient readiness, appropriateness, insight, motivation and potential for improvement; and to explore practitioner’s perspectives on the URICA.

Correlational methods were used to assess the relationship between the URICA and therapeutic outcome, attendance and practitioner-rated areas. Content analysis was used to analyse practitioner qualitative data.

The URICA did not correlate with either therapeutic outcome or attendance. A significant negative correlation was found between the URICA and practitioner-rated appropriateness of the referral. This means practitioners perceived individuals with lower URICA scores to be a more appropriate referral, despite the score indicating a reduced readiness to change. Qualitative categories included positive views, negative views, ambivalence and changes to measure and process. To conclude, the URICA does not explain a patient’s outcome or attendance. The URICA may not be appropriate to use in its current format in mental health services; therefore, assessing the TTM verbally may be more helpful.

This study provides research into suitability of using the URICA to assess the TTM and its applicability to attendance and outcome in psychological therapies.

Narratives underscoring the necessity of innovation for success are pervasive. Yet, many new products fail or fail to produce their intended impacts. Conventional views typically promote the functional view of innovation, which focuses on identifying and meeting customer needs. The authors argue, however, that culture is an overlooked explanation of innovation success.

This study uses a conceptual approach, grounded in cultural sociology, to illustrate the ways in which innovation success is influenced by cultural beliefs. Accordingly, this study develops a cultural view of innovation and compare it with the functional view.

This study shows that novel products are successful to the extent their meanings and value resonate with relevant stakeholders. Not only does culture matter, but customers’ needs are often shaped by cultural values in the first place.

More systematic qualitative and quantitative research is needed to better understand the best processes for incorporating cultural beliefs into product features.

In addition to customer needs, innovators should include cultural beliefs as design requirements to ensure the product resonates with the values and everyday practices of users. One way to do this is by implementing the productive method, which provides the resources for the relevant potential users to design the product themselves.

It is not always enough to learn and solicit feedback from potential users. To fully understand the obstacles that may inhibit innovation, this study advocates for providing potential users, local engineers and other relevant stakeholders the autonomy to design, manufacture, market and distribute the product.

Most institutions around the world provide opportunities for students to study outside of their own country for short- or long-term educational experiences. There is a gender imbalance for those seeking these experiences, with more women than men applying to study outside of the United States and only slightly more men than women are looking to study abroad in the United States. A qualitative study was conducted in the United States with American men who had studied abroad and male international students studying in the United States. Understanding what motivates men to take advantage of these learning opportunities will lead to greater promotional efforts to attract more men to these experiences.