The three concepts that denote the focus of POS were deliberately selected and are important in elucidating the uniqueness of POS as a field of study. The “O” (organizational) and…
Abstract
The three concepts that denote the focus of POS were deliberately selected and are important in elucidating the uniqueness of POS as a field of study. The “O” (organizational) and the “S” (scholarship) are relatively noncontroversial concepts. The “P” (positive), however, is more contentious and requires more explanation.
Ada Kwan, Rachel Sklar, Drew B. Cameron, Robert C. Schell, Stefano M. Bertozzi, Sandra I. McCoy, Brie Williams and David A. Sears
This study aims to characterize the June 2020 COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin California State Prison and to describe what made San Quentin so vulnerable to uncontrolled…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to characterize the June 2020 COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin California State Prison and to describe what made San Quentin so vulnerable to uncontrolled transmission.
Design/methodology/approach
Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the profound health harms of carceral settings, such that nearly half of state prisons reported COVID-19 infection rates that were four or more times (and up to 15 times) the rate found in the state’s general population. Thus, addressing the public health crises and inequities of carceral settings during a respiratory pandemic requires analyzing the myriad factors shaping them. In this study, we reported observations and findings from environmental risk assessments during visits to San Quentin California State Prison. We complemented our assessments with analyses of administrative data.
Findings
For future respiratory pathogens that cannot be prevented with effective vaccines, this study argues that outbreaks will no doubt occur again without robust implementation of additional levels of preparedness – improved ventilation, air filtration, decarceration with emergency evacuation planning – alongside addressing the vulnerabilities of carceral settings themselves.
Originality/value
This study addresses two critical aspects that are insufficiently covered in the literature: how to prepare processes to safely implement emergency epidemic measures when needed, such as potential evacuation, and how to address unique challenges throughout an evolving pandemic for each carceral setting.
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Peter H. Langford, Cameron B. Dougall and Louise P. Parkes
The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for a “leadership big five”, a model of leadership behaviour integrating existing theories of leadership and conceptually aligned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence for a “leadership big five”, a model of leadership behaviour integrating existing theories of leadership and conceptually aligned with the most established model of personality, the big five. Such a model provides researchers and practitioners with a common language to describe leadership behaviour in a field with a plethora of leadership models. The model also describes a wider range of leadership behaviour than other models of leadership, and presents dimensions that correlate with important organisational outcomes as demonstrated in this study.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 1,186 employees completed the Voice Leadership 360, a survey designed to measure the leadership big five, collectively rating 193 managers from a range of different sectors and industries, using a 360-degree survey methodology.
Findings
Confirmatory factor analyses and internal reliability analyses provide evidence for 22 lower-order factors of leadership behaviour that aggregate into five higher-order factors of leadership aligned with the big five personality descriptors. Further evidence for the validity of the model is indicated by significant correlations between 360-degree survey ratings and raters’ judgements of leaders’ personality, and significant correlations between 360-degree survey ratings and both work unit engagement levels and manager reports of work unit performance.
Research limitations/implications
The cross-sectional design is the main limitation of the present study, limiting conclusions that changes in leadership behaviours will lead to changes in organisational outcomes. The primary research implications of this study include the support for an integrating model of leadership behaviour that aligns with a large body of psychological research, as well as the development of a survey that can be used for future exploration of the model.
Practical implications
Practitioners may use the results of the study to rethink how they develop competency frameworks and measure leadership behaviour in organisation development contexts. This broad model of leadership and the familiarity of its dimensions could increase the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions, and the presented survey provides a reliable and valid tool for 360-degree assessments.
Originality/value
The study provides evidence that leadership can be described in a structurally similar way to human personality. It presents a leadership model that consists of a broader range of leadership behaviours related to organisational outcomes compared with previous models of leadership.
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With the beginning of the twentieth century, preventive medicine is entering upon a new era. We are now confronted by a set of problems which are different in many respects from…
Abstract
With the beginning of the twentieth century, preventive medicine is entering upon a new era. We are now confronted by a set of problems which are different in many respects from the problems so successfully attacked by the great masters of preventive medicine of the last century, and which call for the application of different preventive measures. The objects which Edwin Chadwick, John Simon, and our other great forerunners of the last century, sought to attain, and which to a large extent they did attain, may, I think, not unfairly be described by the phrase “ civic cleanliness.” They sought to provide pure water supplies ; to remove refuse and filth from the vicinity of human beings by establishing improved systems of drainage and sewerage, and better methods of dust collection ; to provide open spaces and wider streets; to pave streets, yards, etc.; to raise the sanitary standard of building construction; to provide proper burial grounds ; to regulate offensive trades ; and to abate the smoke nuisance and the pollution of rivers. Of course we all know that they did very much more than this. Their work was too great and its effect too far‐reaching to be described by any single phrase. Still, I think it not unfair to say that, broadly speaking, we may regard the attainment of civic cleanliness as the great object of cur public health administration in the nineteenth century. It cannot be said that this object has been wholly attained. In a country whose capital is still supplied with something like filtered sewage as drinking water, it is obvious that there is much yet to be done to secure civic cleanliness. But the point is that any further progress in this direction must, or should, take place on the lines already laid down by our predecessors. Their methods of civic sanitation have stood the test of experience, and all that is wanted is a further development on existing lines. It is otherwise with the new problems that now press for solution. These are problems of a different nature, and demand new methods of treatment, although the principles underlying the methods will be found, probably, to be the same. Preventive medicine in the nineteenth century was chiefly occupied with problems of civic cleanliness ; in the twentieth century we are confronted with the problems of personal hygiene, and the three problems of this kind which appear to me to call most urgently for solution at the present time are: (1) The problem of infantile mortality; (2) The problem of school hygiene; (3) The problem of the milk supply.
Lizabeth A. Barclay, Karen S. Markel and Jennifer E. Yugo
This research aims to apply virtue theory to the under‐employment problem of persons with disabilities (PWD). Historically, PWD have been under‐employed within society and…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to apply virtue theory to the under‐employment problem of persons with disabilities (PWD). Historically, PWD have been under‐employed within society and discriminated against in the workplace. The authors review virtue theory research and illustrate how it can be used to better support the meaningful employment of PWD.
Design/methodology/approach
This research reviews the current literature in the areas of virtue theory and the employment challenges of PWD to create a new framework that can assist in the integration of PWD into the workplace.
Findings
Literature on the employment of PWD indicates that significant differences exist in the employment experiences between PWD and persons without disabilities (PWOD). Problems such as stigmatization impede the integration of PWD into the work environment. The review of the virtue theory literature supports the development of a new framework that provides additional ways to address this ongoing problem.
Practical implications
This paper suggests human resource management practices that virtuous organizations could use to address the problem of the under‐employment and stigmatization of PWD.
Originality/value
No research currently applies virtue theory to the under‐employment problem of persons with disabilities.
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Iain Cameron, Billy Hare and Roy Duff
– Present findings from a UK study, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), on the relationship between safety advisor roles and safety performance.
Abstract
Purpose
Present findings from a UK study, funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), on the relationship between safety advisor roles and safety performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Roles and organisational factors for contractors’ safety advisors (independent variables) were derived from existing literature. The dependent variable was “safety performance”, measured by accident incidence rate (AIR). Data were provided by 101 contractors and variance of means analysis was conducted.
Findings
Contractors using only external safety consultants had an average AIR approximately three times those with internal safety staff. However, simply increasing internal safety personnel did not lead to increased safety performance. Contractors, where at least one safety advisor had authority to give orders had a lower mean AIR than those who did not. Other significant variables were: delivering safety training to employees; vetting sub-contractors; and the inclusion of an environmental management role.
Practical implications
Employing at least one full-time internal safety person is better than relying solely on a safety consultant. If these safety advisers report to senior management then they have a greater chance of influencing others to act safely or commit resources to manage safety. Delivery of training, vetting sub-contractors and including environmental duties should feature in safety advisor roles.
Originality/value
The assumption that merely increasing safety personnel improves safety has been challenged. It is apparent from these findings that what the safety personnel actually do is more important than how many are employed. This is a major finding in relation to theory and practice which challenges previous research.
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A. Meldrum, B. Hare and Iain Cameron
Worker engagement in health and safety (H & S) is a means to reduce risks in construction projects. A measure for worker engagement in H & S is a first step in ensuring…
Abstract
Purpose
Worker engagement in health and safety (H & S) is a means to reduce risks in construction projects. A measure for worker engagement in H & S is a first step in ensuring improvement and maintenance of worker engagement in the construction industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of worker engagement in construction by testing a management instrument (WISH) developed to measure it during a construction project.
Design/methodology/approach
A stratified sample of workers in a construction project organisation was studied to test the effectiveness of a site‐wide engagement programme (IIF) run by the main contractor. The measurement was repeated 13 months after the first phase to check engagement at that stage of the project and to reduce bias in scoring.
Findings
Four key factors emerged as the independent variables on which worker engagement depends. These are: knowledge and capability to engage, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours and actual involvement in H & S risk management. The IIF gave a check on the validity (face, construct and content) of the instrument as a measure of worker engagement. Reliability of the measure was tested by peer scoring at the second measurement phase. The Spearman‐Brown R showed a high degree of inter‐rater reliability in scores, supporting the reliability of the WISH measure.
Originality/value
The study provides a valid and reliable measure of worker engagement in H & S management for construction. The use of this instrument within the construction industry should help managements to improve the effectiveness of their worker engagement programmes.