Alexander Challinor, Alys Cawson, Matthew Alan Crouch, Tony Davies, Natalie Hewitt, Gemma Harpin, Mahesh Odiyoor and Sujeet Jaydeokar
People with intellectual disability face extensive health inequality and premature mortality. Medical students have reported that they lack the skills, knowledge and confidence to…
Abstract
Purpose
People with intellectual disability face extensive health inequality and premature mortality. Medical students have reported that they lack the skills, knowledge and confidence to work with those with intellectual disability and autism. This emphasises the need for tomorrow’s doctors to be adequately trained. This study aims to investigate students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards people with intellectual disability and autism, examining whether these outcomes change following curricula re-design and with implementation of an e-learning module.
Design/methodology/approach
The university curricula in intellectual disability and autism were re-designed and an e-learning module developed using co-production. This was delivered to fourth-year medical students with a subgroup receiving the additional e-learning. A controlled trial evaluated students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes using pre- and post-questionnaires. Statistical tests of difference were used to the scores obtained.
Findings
This study showed an improvement in knowledge, skills and attitudes with intellectual disability and autism after curricula engagement, with an incremental benefit observed for students also completing the e-learning module. There was significant difference in pre-and-post placement scores assessing student attitudes towards intellectual disability and autism teaching.
Originality/value
This study highlights the importance of a multi-faceted, co-produced curricula re-design in intellectual disability and autism. The benefit of the e-learning module holds hope that the newly introduced mandatory Oliver McGowan training will be beneficial in the development of tomorrow’s doctors. Effective training in intellectual disability and autism is vital to improve the care and support delivered and reduce unnecessary deaths.
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Lin Xiu, Yufei Ren, Feng Lv, Thomas Lange and Xin Liang
This study aims to examine the impact of coworkers’ sexist views on individual citizenship behaviors and performance outcomes and explores how this relationship is affected by the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the impact of coworkers’ sexist views on individual citizenship behaviors and performance outcomes and explores how this relationship is affected by the presence of female managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on diversity management literature and gendered organizational theory, the study analyzes data from 2,166 employees and 141 store managers in an international fast-food chain as well as archival work-unit-level information on performance.
Findings
The results support the hypothesis that peers’ sexist views are negatively associated with employees’ citizenship behavior and performance outcomes. Work units with members holding such views are less likely to achieve performance goals, and individuals who work with peers who hold gender inequality views are less likely to engage in citizenship behaviors. This relationship is particularly pronounced in units managed by male managers.
Research limitations/implications
Our study recognizes the complex and multifaceted nature of gender dynamics in organizations and provides insights into the ways in which these dynamics impact organizational outcomes.
Practical implications
The study’s findings have significant implications for organizational policies and practices, specifically in terms of promoting gender equality and fostering more inclusive work environments through well-designed interventions.
Originality/value
This study is grounded in the gendered organizational theory, which highlights the interplay between gender, gender views and the relational dynamics of psychological, cultural and social dimensions operated within organizations. By examining how gender inequality views among coworkers affect perceived support, citizenship behaviors and performance outcomes, we contribute to the growing body of research in this area.
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Seyi S. Stephen, Ayodeji E. Oke, Clinton O. Aigbavboa, Opeoluwa I. Akinradewo, Pelumi E. Adetoro and Matthew Ikuabe
The chapter provided a comprehensive overview of lean construction as a transformative paradigm within the building industry. It delved into the core principles, tools, and…
Abstract
The chapter provided a comprehensive overview of lean construction as a transformative paradigm within the building industry. It delved into the core principles, tools, and techniques of lean construction, emphasising its advantages and the challenges associated with its implementation. Furthermore, it highlighted the pivotal role of lean construction principles in streamlining building excellence during the construction stage. The chapter also explored the concept of lean construction for stealth construction, presenting practical applications and a case study to illustrate its efficacy. Overall, it offered a synthesised understanding of lean construction’s significance, potential, and challenges, concluding with a general summary of its implications for the building industry.
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Jeong Hoon Choi, Sangdo Choi and Nallan C. Suresh
The objective of this study is to explore the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the relationship between…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study is to explore the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the relationship between inventory and firm performance and developing a taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the inventory–firm performance linkage, considering both total inventory and its discrete inventory components in pharmaceutical firms. In addition, this research develops a new taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix. A large panel dataset of firms in the US pharmaceutical industry was collected for the period 2000–2019.
Findings
The results reveal that strategic groups identified based on this taxonomy show different levels of profitability and inventory turns in the earns-turns matrix. Most pharmaceutical firms moved from the low-right to the top-left section in the earns-turns matrix, indicating that these firms have generally pursued profitability rather than effective inventory management.
Research limitations/implications
This study explores the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry using the earns-turns matrix. This two-dimensional analysis may not, however, capture the full complexity of inventory–firm performance dynamics.
Practical implications
The mapping of strategic groups on the earns-turns matrix provides a useful tool for visual representations of the dynamics of strategic groups in terms of financial performance and inventory management performance. Practitioners can use the earns-turns matrix to benchmark their firm's position against their competitors.
Originality/value
This study broadens the scope of operations management research by introducing the earns-turns matrix as an empirical validation tool for operational and strategic management theories. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of the earns-turns matrix in analyzing strategic groups of pharmaceutical firms.
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Patrick John Bruce, Victor Hrymak, Carol Bruce and Joseph Byrne
The purpose of this study is to provide evidence to support an emerging theory that interpersonal conflict is the primary cause of workplace stress among a self-selected sample of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to provide evidence to support an emerging theory that interpersonal conflict is the primary cause of workplace stress among a self-selected sample of Irish construction managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Eighteen construction managers working in Ireland were recruited for this study. Using semi-structured interviews and interpretative phenomenological analysis as the research methodology, the causes of their workplace stress were investigated.
Findings
Participants reported that the principal cause of their workplace stress was high levels of interpersonal conflict between colleagues. The effects of this interpersonal conflict included avoidance behaviour, ill health, absences from the workplace and loss of productivity issues. Deadlines, penalty clauses, lack of appreciation, cliques, costs, communication, temporary contracts and delays were also reported stressors.
Research limitations/implications
A limitation of the study is the small sample of 18 construction managers and the limited geographical area.
Social implications
The social implications of this study could be to clearly identify that interpersonal conflict may be under reported in the construction industry, and there is a possibility that it is being misclassified as other workplace behaviours such as bullying, harassment and workplace violence. If this is so, this could aid future researchers in addressing this challenging workplace behaviour.
Originality/value
The current consensus in the literature is that the three main causes of workplace stress are bullying, harassment and violence. However, the role and importance of interpersonal conflict as reported in this study, with the exception of North America and China, is not reflected in the wider health and safety research literature. In addition, interpersonal conflict and its reluctance to be reported is largely absent from construction safety research. The findings of this study may be explained if the workplace stress research community is currently misclassifying interpersonal conflict as a manifestation of bullying, harassment or violence. If this is the case, interpersonal conflict needs further research. This is to establish if this cause of construction-related workplace stress needs to be reconsidered as a standalone phenomenon in the wider family of challenging workplace behaviours.
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Linda Anne Barkas, Paul-Alan Armstrong and Garry Bishop
The purpose of this article is to report on a university’s internally funded research that was set up to examine the success of assessing learning within inclusion strategies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to report on a university’s internally funded research that was set up to examine the success of assessing learning within inclusion strategies across business studies courses. It also presents the responses that were needed and highlighted as a result of the disruption to students’ learning by the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Design/methodology/approach
Within the social mobility model of disability, people are disabled by the barriers they face, not their impairment. A multi-method, qualitative approach was undertaken, with our discussion framed from within a reflective critical, conceptualised and sociological perspective.
Findings
While the findings revealed how the researched university had made considerable progress in many aspects of its inclusion strategies, the research also revealed some further barriers to inclusion. Some of the barriers were shown to be “cracks in the digital curriculum” that affected not just disabled but all students, whereby students were unintentionally excluded. In this article, we report on how the university had responded to students’ requests, and through a series of small steps, we discuss the positive impact of these actions. Although the changes instigated did help to improve inclusion, the small steps taken also highlighted the need for much more work to be undertaken on the journey to a fully inclusive university. The recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced and/or accelerated the implementation of digital learning. This, in turn, instigated a rise in the awareness of mental illness and the effects of social isolation, which is now much higher than pre-COVID-19.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the study was that the sample was small; however, the in-depth qualitative approach showed how the issues that had been problematic had been resolved and illuminated the further areas for future research.
Practical implications
The research reported here presents the practical steps that were taken in response to the students’ inclusion requests. The students’ requests were addressed, where practical and/or possible, for students to have assessment choice, further support from the well-being team and a further strengthening of local partnerships with the National Health Service and local charities.
Social implications
The research supports inclusion initiatives in higher education and society.
Originality/value
This study strengthens and/or builds upon the existing literature on the impact of COVID-19 on the teaching and learning of all students, and specifically those with invisible disabilities, by presenting the small steps in changes to the curriculum that can improve inclusion practices.
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Ece Alan, David Arditi, Husnu Murat Gunaydin and Emre Caner Akcay
The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects”…
Abstract
Purpose
The personalities of the design team members constitute one of the factors that influence team effectiveness. In this study, 223 members of the “American Institute of Architects” who are employed by the largest architectural design firms in the United States of America were categorized according to their personality types by using “The Enneagram Personality Type Model.” Also, the respondents’ opinions about eight team effectiveness outcomes were recorded in order to explore the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The information was collected by a questionnaire where the first part included 144 pairs of statements that were used to identify respondents’ personality types. The second part sought designers’ opinions about the importance of eight team effectiveness outcomes rated on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. The results were assessed by performing the Kruskal–Wallis test first and Dunn’s post-hoc test with Bonferroni adjustment subsequently.
Findings
The findings highlight the significance of personality types in effective design teams. While Type 6 (loyalist and skeptic) and Type 3 (achiever and performer) architects prioritize team effectiveness the most, Type 7 architects (enthusiasts and epicureans) assign the lowest importance. However, the presence of Type 1 (reformist and perfectionist) and Type 8 (challenger and protector) architects within the same design team may involve challenges or conflicts.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this study is that it is the first study in the construction management literature that utilizes The Enneagram of Personality Test to understand the relationship between team members’ personality types and team effectiveness outcomes. This study is of direct relevance to practitioners and could be utilized in design team-building activities.