Anat Drach‐Zahavy, Efrat Shadmi, Anat Freund and Margalit Goldfracht
The purpose of this article is to identify and test the effectiveness of work strategies employed by regional implementation teams to attain high quality care for diabetes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to identify and test the effectiveness of work strategies employed by regional implementation teams to attain high quality care for diabetes patients.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted in a major health maintenance organization (HMO) that provides care for 70 per cent of Israel's diabetes patients. A sequential mixed model design, combining qualitative and quantitative methods was employed. In‐depth interviews were conducted with members of six regional implementation teams, each responsible for the care of 25,000‐34,000 diabetic patients. Content analysis of the interviews revealed that teams employed four key strategies: task‐interdependence, goal‐interdependence, reliance on top‐down standardised processes and team‐learning. These strategies were used to predict the mean percentage performance of eight evidence‐based indicators of diabetes care: percentage of patients with HbA1c < 7 per cent, blood pressure ≤ 130/80 and cholesterol≤100; and performance of: HbA1c tests, LDL cholesterol tests, blood pressure measurements, urine protein tests, and ophthalmic examinations.
Findings
Teams were found to vary in their use of the four strategies. Mixed linear models analysis indicated that type of indicator (simple process, compound process, and outcome) and goal interdependence were significantly linked to team effectiveness. For simple‐process indicators, reliance on top‐down standardised processes led to team effectiveness, but for outcome measures this strategy was ineffective, and even counter‐effective. For outcome measures, team‐learning was more beneficial.
Practical implications
The findings have implications for the management of chronic diseases.
Originality/value
The advantage of allowing team members flexibility in the choice of the best work strategy to attain high quality diabetes care is attested.
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Anat Drach‐Zahavy and Anit Somech
With a twofold aim, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the service climate, including its antecedents, consequences, and a moderator. First, it examines whether task‐ and…
Abstract
Purpose
With a twofold aim, the purpose of this paper is to focus on the service climate, including its antecedents, consequences, and a moderator. First, it examines whether task‐ and goal‐interdependent configuration facilitates the level of service climate; second, it tests the strength of the moderating role of service climate between service climate levels and service behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Among 54 nursing units at six hospitals, the data were collected using multiple methods (surveys, observations, administrative data).
Findings
Mixed‐linear model analyses indicated that the joint effects of task and goal interdependence related significantly to service climate level. Service climate strength moderated the relationship of service climate level to quality service behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The research approach may diminish the generalizability of the research results. Further work should test the propositions in other research contexts.
Practical implications
Quality service behaviors and the service climate could be promoted through well‐designed task‐ and goal‐interdependence structures within units. Assimilating a service climate in units is not enough. To promote high quality service behaviors, managers must direct their efforts toward finding agreement among team members with regard with the importance of service in their unit.
Originality/value
The paper's findings offer empirical support to the persistent social interaction explanation of climate formation and point to the important role of interdependence for creating and maintaining service climate levels and promoting service behaviors in units.
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Anat Drach‐Zahavy and Anit Somech
Explores the origins of school‐staff team effectiveness by focusing on team characteristics, especially on team heterogeneity and team support. Based on educational and…
Abstract
Explores the origins of school‐staff team effectiveness by focusing on team characteristics, especially on team heterogeneity and team support. Based on educational and organizational theory, we derived propositions about how heterogeneity may affect team support and team effectiveness. More specifically, we hypothesized that task‐related attributes of heterogeneity (functional, educational, and team tenure) would relate positively to team support and team effectiveness, whereas relations‐related attributes would relate negatively to team support and team effectiveness. With a sample of 48 teams, identified as intact work teams, we found results partially confirming our propositions. Specifically, high heterogeneous teams in gender and functions were more supportive and effective than low heterogeneous teams in those attributes. By contrast, high heterogeneous teams in tenure were less supportive and effective than low heterogeneous teams in that attribute. The results are discussed in light of the specific context of schools, and several theoretical and managerial implications are drawn.
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Yahya Altınkurt holds Ph.D. from Anadolu University, Turkey. He is assistant professor at Dumlupınar University Faculty of Education in Kütahya. Dr. Altınkurt's research focuses…
Abstract
Yahya Altınkurt holds Ph.D. from Anadolu University, Turkey. He is assistant professor at Dumlupınar University Faculty of Education in Kütahya. Dr. Altınkurt's research focuses on strategic planning, organizational justice, organizational citizenship, and leadership in schools. His most recent books include Assessment of Researches of School Administration (2008, Anadolu University Publishing coauthored with E. Ağaoğlu, M. Ceylan, E. Kesim, and T. Madden). Dr. Altınkurt's research has appeared in various journals including Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, Education and Science, Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, International Journal of Human Sciences, Academic Sight.
Mireia Las Heras, Spela Trefalt and Pablo Ignacio Escribano
The purpose of this study was to examine how national context moderates the impact of family supportive supervisory behavior (FSSB) on employee’s job performance and turnover…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine how national context moderates the impact of family supportive supervisory behavior (FSSB) on employee’s job performance and turnover intentions. The authors consider direct and indirect (through work–family positive spillover) effects of FSSB. Our model is based on conservation of resources (COR) theory and boundary theory. The authors conceptualize national context as contributing resources to or threatening with loss of resources for individuals. To test the model, the authors use data from three Latin American countries – Brazil, Chile and Ecuador.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional study based on a survey of almost 988 individuals. The authors first test the direct and indirect effects (via bi-directional positive spillover) of FSBB on performance and turnover intentions without considering the moderating effects of national context (mediation analysis). Then, the authors test the effect of national context in our baseline model by conducting a moderation analysis of direct and indirect effects. The authors use seemingly unrelated regressions and account for control variables and country-level effects.
Findings
The results confirm that national context affects the relationships between FSSB and outcomes. As unemployment rises, the effect of FSSB on turnover intentions is stronger and the effect of FSSB on performance, via bi-directional work–family positive spillover, is stronger. When social expenditures increase, the relationship between FSSB and performance via work–family positive spillover becomes weaker. In addition, the authors find some unexpected results.
Originality/value
The authors advance the understanding of how national context affects the impact of FSSB on outcomes, specifically in Latin America. The authors conceptualize national context as providing or threatening individuals’ resources, using publicly available data on unemployment and social expenditures.
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Pascale Benoliel and Anat Barth
As a result of continuous reforms, increased emphasis has been placed on participative leadership as a means to improving school and teacher outcomes. However, along with the…
Abstract
Purpose
As a result of continuous reforms, increased emphasis has been placed on participative leadership as a means to improving school and teacher outcomes. However, along with the benefits of participative leadership comes the potential for strain and burnout, which stem from work intensification. Applying the implicit leadership theory and the conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to propose that differences in school’s cultural attributes will influence the emergence of participative leaders and their influence on teachers’ outcomes of job satisfaction and burnout.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected by survey from a sample of 367 teachers in Israel.
Findings
First, the results of general linear model (GLM) analysis indicated significant differences in the teachers’ perceptions of participative leadership between schools characterized by different cultural attributes. Second, the results of GLM indicated significant differences in the effects of participative leadership on teacher burnout across schools characterized by different cultural attributes.
Originality/value
This study has implications for policies involving the design and implementation of leadership tools for school management. Although research has emphasized the relationship between stressful job conditions associated with shared decision making and teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction, the volume of comparative work in the educational field shedding light on the impact of school’s cultural attributes on this question is limited. This study may assist principals in making their schools both more effective and more responsive to teacher expectations.