Thim Prætorius, Peter Hasle and Anders Paarup Nielsen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and with which mechanisms health care professionals in practice design for collaboration to solve collective hospital tasks, which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how and with which mechanisms health care professionals in practice design for collaboration to solve collective hospital tasks, which cross occupational and departmental boundaries.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth multiple-case study of five departments across four hospitals facing fast to slow response task requirements was carried out using interviews and observations. The selected cases were revealing as the departments had designed and formalized their daily hospital operations differently to solve collaboration and performance issues.
Findings
Local collaboration across occupational and departmental boundaries requires bundles of behavioral formalization elements (e.g. standardized plans, resource allocation decisions, assigned formal roles, and handoff routines), and liaison devices (e.g. huddles, boards, and physical proximity), which are used in parallel or sequence. The authors label this “designed collaboration bundles.” These bundles supplement the central organizational structures, processes, and support systems less capable of ensuring fluent coordination at the front line.
Practical implications
Health care professionals and hospital managers can consider designing bundles of organizational design features to proactively develop and ensure collaboration capable of solving collective tasks and bridging departmental and occupational silos to improve health care delivery.
Originality/value
This research paper addresses the fundamental organizational challenge of how to achieve efficient collaboration by studying how formal structures and processes are used in combination on the hospital floor, thereby going beyond previous research that studies these mechanisms individually.
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Keywords
Zaza Nadja Lee Hansen, Samuel Brüning Larsen, Anders Paarup Nielsen, Anders Groth, Nicklas Gregers Gregersen and Amartya Ghosh
While forward logistics handles and manages the flow of goods downstream in the supply chain from suppliers to customers, reverse logistics (RL) manages the flow of returned goods…
Abstract
Purpose
While forward logistics handles and manages the flow of goods downstream in the supply chain from suppliers to customers, reverse logistics (RL) manages the flow of returned goods upstream. A firm can combine RL with forward logistics, keep the flows separated, or choose a position between the two extremes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the contextual factors that determine the most advantageous position, which the paper refers to as the most advantageous degree of combination.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first develops a scale ranging from 0 percent combination to 100 percent combination (i.e. full separation). Second, using the contingency theory the paper identifies the contextual factors described in RL-literature that determine the most advantageous degree of combination. The set of factors is subsequently tested using a case study, which applies a triangulation approach that combines a qualitative and a quantitative method.
Findings
The results show six distinct contextual factors that determine the most advantageous degree of combination. Examples of factors are technical product complexity, product portfolio variation, and the loss of product value over time.
Practical implications
For practitioners the scale of possible positions and set of contextual factors constitute a decision-making framework. Using the framework practitioners can determine the most advantageous position of the scale for their firm.
Originality/value
Much RL-research addresses intra-RL issues while the relationship between forward and RL is under-researched. This paper contributes to RL theory by identifying the contextual factors that determine the most advantageous relationship between forward and RL, and proposes a novel decision-making framework for practitioners.
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This paper sets out to integrate research on knowledge management with the dynamic capabilities approach. This paper will add to the understanding of dynamic capabilities by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to integrate research on knowledge management with the dynamic capabilities approach. This paper will add to the understanding of dynamic capabilities by demonstrating that dynamic capabilities can be seen as composed of concrete and well‐known knowledge management activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a literature review focusing on key knowledge management processes and activities as well as the concept of dynamic capabilities, the paper connects these two approaches. The analysis is centered on knowledge management activities which then are compiled into dynamic capabilities.
Findings
In the paper eight knowledge management activities are identified; knowledge creation, acquisition, capture, assembly, sharing, integration, leverage, and exploitation. These activities are assembled into the three dynamic capabilities of knowledge development, knowledge (re)combination, and knowledge use. The dynamic capabilities and the associated knowledge management activities create flows to and from the firm's stock of knowledge and they support the creation and use of organizational capabilities.
Practical implications
The findings in the paper demonstrate that the somewhat elusive concept of dynamic capabilities can be untangled through the use of knowledge management activities. Practicing managers struggling with the operationalization of dynamic capabilities should instead focus on the contributing knowledge management activities in order to operationalize and utilize the concept of dynamic capabilities.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates that the existing research on knowledge management can be a key contributor to increasing our understanding of dynamic capabilities. This finding is valuable for both researchers and practitioners.
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Lars Hvam, Anders Paarup Nielsen and Ole‐Christian Bjarnø
Based on a project performed at a medium‐sized producer of medical utensils, reviews some of the problems which the company experienced in connection with the system built up…
Abstract
Based on a project performed at a medium‐sized producer of medical utensils, reviews some of the problems which the company experienced in connection with the system built up during ISO 9001 certification, and the re‐engineering efforts which were performed in order to relieve these problems. Focuses in particular on a re‐structuring of the company’s system for production documentation and its relation to the traceability of their products. This system was radically altered during the project without the traceability requirements being violated or reduced. These changes resulted in a marked increase in productivity.