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A continuous issue which plagues all service businesses is the process of handling complaints. Whilst the topic has been relatively well explored, extant literature has failed to fully explore how staff demographics influence the methods in which they manage complaints.

A qualitative approach was adopted with semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sample was selected, inviting managers from hotels in Dubai to share their views on factors affecting the complaint management process, including the impact of staff demographics.

Staff demographics were found to have an impact on staff's approach to handle complaints. However, participants generally felt that, with sufficient experience, the impact of many of these influences would be negated.

Literature on complaint management has considered numerous mitigating factors affecting the complaint management process. The impact of staff demographics on how they receive and respond to complaints has not been thoroughly explored.

Scholars have focused their attention on systemic reform as a way to support instructional coherence. These efforts are often layered on to existing social relationships between school staff that are rarely taken into account when enacting reform. Social network theory posits that the structure of social relationships may influence the direction, speed, and depth of organizational change and therefore may provide valuable insights in the social forces that may support or constrain reform efforts. This study aims to discuss this issue.

This mixed‐methods exploratory case study examined five schools within one under‐performing school district as it enacted a system‐wide reform. Quantitative survey data were collected to assess social networks and teacher work perception of five schools enacting the reform. Qualitative data were gathered through individual interviews from educators within representative grade levels as a way to better understand the diffusion and implementation of the reform.

Despite being enacted as a system‐wide reform effort, the results suggest significant variance within and between schools in terms of reform‐related social networks. These networks were significantly related to the uptake, depth, and spread of the change. Densely connected grade levels were also associated with more interactions focused on teaching and learning and an increased sense of grade level efficacy.

The findings underline the importance of attending to relational linkages as a complementary strategy to the technical emphasis of reform efforts, as social networks were found to significantly facilitate or constrain reform efforts. Implications and recommendations are offered for leadership, policy and practice that may support the design and implementation of reforms, which may ultimately increase student performance.

The study makes a unique contribution to the reform literature by drawing on social network theory as a way to understand efforts at reform. The work suggests that the informal social linkages on which reform is layered may support or constrain the depth of reform.

The purpose of this paper is to gauge the knowledge of the university leaders at the Durban University of Technology on transformation.

This study uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches guided by a structured survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews with the university leaders. The questionnaires generated the reliability coefficient α of 0.947, indicating a high degree of acceptance and consistency of the results.

The study findings reveal the highest percentage of 70 per cent regarding the belief that transformation refers to restructuring the institution more than commonly anticipated variables such as race (56 per cent) and redressing the past injustices (59 per cent).

The limitation of the study was the scarcity of published material on the sub-dimensions of the study of transformation (transformation as referring to attracting qualified employees). Another limitation which was observed included the paucity of data regarding discipline and knowledge of transformation variables.

This study suggests transformation in higher education institutions is defined through internal (operational and core) and external factors with a direct influence.

This paper could potentially enrich the meaning of transformation, derived from the context and experience of South Africa.

As part of the wave of new public management (NPM), the purpose of this paper is to unveil reactions to, and the management of organizational change within a context seldom examined – juvenile justice. This is achieved via a state-wide study on the introduction of a policy framework in eight centers to manage detainee behavior by ensuring risk-based decision-making among staff.

Secondary research material was analyzed on organizational characteristics, framework-implementation, and the associated outcomes. The material was synthesized to develop descriptions of each center.

Two key findings are apparent. First, there were limited research material to make robust connections between framework-implementation and related outcomes. Second, of the material available, there is clear evidence of center differences. The contexts in which the framework was implemented were varied – this may partly explain the different ways the centers responded to the framework, some of which appear counterintuitive.

The findings are limited by the use of secondary research material and the limited availability of comprehensive material.

This study suggests that managing change within the public sector requires an acute understanding of organizational context. This encompasses the situation both within and beyond the organization.

This study casts doubt on whether NPM, which espouses accountability, holds value for juvenile justice. This is largely because: the introduction of the framework was not complemented by the collection of complete data and information; and that which is available suggests considerable variation among the centers, which may circumvent the ability to establish causal relationships between policy and practice.

Consultation services are recommended to support mental health staff working with service users diagnosable with personality disorder. However, there is scarce literature examining the impact of delivering and receiving consultation services. This study aims to investigate the impact of a pilot co-produced consultation service aiding clinical teams in the engagement of service users diagnosable with personality disorder.

This is a qualitative evaluation using a focus group and five semi-structured interviews to explore the experience of delivering and receiving the consultation service. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Clinical and demographic characteristics were obtained on service users referred.

The consultation staff focus group produced two overarching themes: “Disrupting the system” and “Mirroring the service and the service users consulted”. The staff consultee semi-structured interviews produced two overarching themes: “Experience of working with personality disorder” and “Experience of the consultation service”. Staff described working with personality disorder as challenging. The consultation process was experienced as a helpful and reassuring space to gain a new perspective on the work. However, the service was felt to be limited; in that, it lacked follow-on treatment.

This study adds to the body of literature on consultation for service users diagnosable with personality disorder and demonstrates its function in service provision. It sheds light on staff experience of delivering and receiving a consultation service, including the use of a co-production model.

The purpose of this paper is to understand staff experiences of cognitive analytic team formulation, within an inpatient unit for women with a diagnosis of personality disorder.

In total, 16 staff completed an online questionnaire, rating their views on how helpful formulation sessions had been in regards to ten domains. Following this, six staff participated in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of the process and impact of cognitive analytic team formulation. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.

Responses from questionnaires indicated the general process of team formulation was helpful across each domain. Interviews highlighted benefits such as an increased capacity to think and work relationally. This was impacted upon by staff’s confidence in using the model and the practicalities of attending sessions.

Team formulation has been described as the facilitation of a group of professionals to create a shared understanding of service-users’ difficulties. Team formulation continues to demonstrate benefits for staff working within complex mental health. The challenges of this are considered, however overall, a cognitive analytic framework seems to offer staff the opportunity to integrate learning from a service-user’s history, and current relational difficulties, in a way that develops reflective capacity and informs intervention.

Limited research has explored the theoretical models underpinning team formulation, and the impact for staff learning and practice. The current study develops previous work by specifically focussing on the contribution of cognitive analytic theory to team formulation.

This study explored the relationship of measures of career priority and family priority with a number of other variables including personal demographics, work situation characteristics, work motivations, work outcomes and indicators of extra-work outcomes such as affluence and psychological well-being. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Data were collected from 290 nursing staff, the vast majority female, working in Ontario, Canada, using anonymously completed questionnaires.

Career priority and family priority were significantly and positively correlated in this sample. Nursing staff also rated family priority significantly higher than career priority. Personal demographics were associated with levels of both career priority and family priority such that married nursing staff, nursing staff with children, and nursing staff working part time reported lower levels of career priority, while married nurses and nursing staff having children rated family priority higher. Nursing staff having higher levels of work motivation also rated career priority higher. Career priority was significantly correlated with several work outcomes. Nursing staff indicating a higher career priority were more satisfied and engaged in their jobs. Somewhat surprisingly, family priority was generally unrelated to these work and well-being outcomes.

Recent writing on women in organizations has raised the question of can women “have it all”, a successful and demanding career and a satisfying home and family life. The findings contribute to this debate.

Suggestions for both women and organizations to facilitate career and family facilitation are offered.

Increasing interest has been shown in women in the workplace, and whether they should “lean in” to advance their careers. The authors suggest that this strategy may be at odds with what women, and men, increasingly want.

The paper highlights differences in the antecedents and consequences of career priority and family priority in a predominately female sample bringing work and family issues into the forefront once again.

This study examines the implementation of the recovery model or ‘philosophy’ in a secure NHS forensic service. Twenty‐six (86.7%) staff and seventeen (70.8%) mentally disordered offenders (MDOs) were interviewed in Spring 2009 from the rehabilitation and pre‐discharges units in a medium secure forensic service in Kent, UK. Their views on recovery were measured using the Developing Recovery Enhancing Environments Measure (DREEM: Ridgeway & Press, 2001). Staff consistently rated all 24 elements of recovery as more important than the MDOs. Staff also rated the elements of recovery as better implemented, except Intimacy and Sexuality. There was a significant effect of MDOs' forensic history (restriction status and index offence type) on ratings of how well elements of recovery were implemented. Staff and MDOs rated all elements of recovery as at least moderately important (above median value). The implications of the recovery philosophy in forensic mental health services are discussed.

Academic and research libraries have made many efforts to diversify their workforces; however, today the profession remains largely homogenous. We recognize that diversification cannot be achieved without creating inclusive and more equitable workspaces and workplaces. This requires rethinking our assumptions and behaviors as individuals and as a profession, questioning entrenched structures that maintain the status quo, and developing practices that keep these critical questions in the forefront as we do the difficult work of redefining our infrastructure in order to create equitable and socially just workplaces. To inspire a different type of dialogue, we offer actionable information and tools – strategies, ideas, and concepts from outside our profession. In this chapter, the authors present strategies used by corporations, industries, organizations, or fields outside of academia that have contributed to substantially diversifying their workforces and discuss how they could be integrated into our own workplaces. While these efforts are imperfect, incomplete, or have mixed results, we focus on strategies that demonstrate outside-the-box thinking for our profession, practices that will require academic and research libraries to rethink their operations, the behaviors and structures that support them, and thus the way library management and leadership are practiced. We are hoping that providing strategies outside our profession, as well as guidance on applying these strategies, will create reflection, dialogue, and innovative ideas for our own institutions.