Relinde De Koeijer, Jaap Paauwe, Robbert Huijsman and Mathilde Strating
This study aims to examine the effect of human resource management (HRM) in mitigating negative effects of Lean management and Six Sigma (LM&SS) on employee well-being in health…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the effect of human resource management (HRM) in mitigating negative effects of Lean management and Six Sigma (LM&SS) on employee well-being in health care. The authors subdivide well-being into three components: happiness, trust and health.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional, multisite survey study in internal service units of hospitals. Data analyzed using multivariate regression come from a sample of 1,886 survey respondents (42 units, N = 218 supervisors, N = 1,668 employees) in eight Dutch academic hospitals that have implemented LM&SS.
Findings
The present study findings show no or weak effects of LM&SS on the happiness and health component of employee well-being. In addition, the authors found a significant but weak direct positive effect (ß = 0.07) of the LM&SS bundle on the trusting relationships component of well-being. Therefore, moderating effects of HRM practices on the relationship between LM&SS and employee well-being seem less relevant because an existing relationship between LM&SS and employee well-being is a prerequisite for moderation (Hayes, 2009). There were unexpected side effects. Inspired by research that discusses direct effects of HRM on employee well-being, the authors tested this relationship and found that HRM has a direct positive effect on trust and happiness of employees in health care. For the health component of well-being, the present results show a weak negative effect of HRM.
Practical implications
This study results in a cautiously optimistic view about LM&SS in health care, provided that it is applied in a targeted manner (to improve the performance of their processes) and that HRM is strategically aligned with the goals of LM&SS to improve employees’ happiness and trusting relationships.
Originality/value
Unique features of the study are the focus on the consequences for employees’ well-being related to LM&SS in health care, the role of HRM in regard to this relationship and the participation of all eight Dutch academic hospitals in this research.
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Fanny Vainionpää, Ville Aalto and Marianne Kinnula
There are increasing expectations for educators to include sustainability as part of higher education Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curricula, but we still lack…
Abstract
Purpose
There are increasing expectations for educators to include sustainability as part of higher education Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curricula, but we still lack concrete ways how to integrate it into teaching. To be able to create meaningful learning experiences we need to understand how our students approach sustainability and what they base their thinking on.
Design/methodology/approach
We asked our students to consider technology development linked with the European Green Deal targets in their essays and utilized nexus analysis to focus on discourses in place, interaction order and the historical body revealed in the essays.
Findings
Learning about sustainability could be approached in the ICT courses in a structured way as a question of four intersecting elements: individuals, societal systems, current and emerging technologies, and relevancy of the topic, all of these linked with the agency of ICT professionals.
Originality/value
This study contributes toward sustainable ICT research and design of effective ICT education (1) by providing an understanding of how future ICT professionals approach sustainability and digital technology development, (2) by proposing a way to raise students’ consciousness of their own role as future professionals in developing more sustainable digital solutions and (3) generally helping students to see the big picture of sustainability through setting the scene with the wider targets.
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Three different pedagogical approaches grounded in three different definitional foundations of entrepreneurship have been compared in relation to their effects on students. They…
Abstract
Purpose
Three different pedagogical approaches grounded in three different definitional foundations of entrepreneurship have been compared in relation to their effects on students. They are: (1) “Idea and Artefact-Creation Pedagogy” (IACP), grounded in opportunity identification and creation, (2) “Value-Creation Pedagogy” (VaCP), grounded in value creation and (3) “Venture-Creation Pedagogy” (VeCP), grounded in organisation creation.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected at 35 different sites where education was deemed to be entrepreneurial and experiential. A quantitative, smartphone app-based data collection method was used alongside a qualitative interview approach. 10,953 short-survey responses were received from 1,048 participants. Responses were used to inform respondent selection and discussion topics, in 291 student and teacher interviews. Comparative analysis was then conducted.
Findings
The three approaches resulted in very different outcomes, both in magnitude and in kind. VaCP had strong effects on entrepreneurial competencies, on student motivation and on knowledge and skills acquisition. VeCP had weaker effects on knowledge and skills acquisition. IACP had weak effects on all outcomes probed for. Differences were attributed to variation in prevalence of certain emotional learning events and to variation in purpose as perceived by students.
Research limitations/implications
VaCP could serve as an escape from the potential dilemma faced by many teachers in entrepreneurial education, of being caught between two limiting courses of action; a marginal VeCP approach and a fuzzy IACP one. This could prompt policymakers to reconsider established policies. However, further research in other contexts is needed, to corroborate the extent of differences between these three approaches.
Originality/value
Most impact studies in experiential entrepreneurial education focus only on organisation-creation-based education. This study contributes by investigating entrepreneurial education that is also grounded in two other definitional foundations. Allowance has been made for novel comparative conclusions.