Given a number of recent and ongoing changes to the role and responsibilities of executive and non‐executive board members of UK social housing organisations, the paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Given a number of recent and ongoing changes to the role and responsibilities of executive and non‐executive board members of UK social housing organisations, the paper aims to offer a literature review which explores the development provision for board members within such organisations. The paper's key question is: “How are executive and non‐executive board members being prepared for these changes?”
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was undertaken, based on the main business and management databases. This was followed by a thematic analysis to uncover what we know about executive and non‐executive board member training and development within the public and voluntary sectors, in particular within UK social housing organisations.
Findings
Despite the increasingly important role of boards in the not‐for‐profit sector, only a limited number of publications focusing on human resource development (HRD) issues were found. The literature did provide some insight into the HRD experiences of executive and non‐executive board members. The majority of papers centred on leadership and governance matters, mainly board effectiveness, performance and “board capital”, rather than human capital. In so far as board member development is discussed, it is mainly in relation to their recruitment to the board and the sort of skills required, with little attention given to matters such as succession planning and member development.
Research limitations/implications
Given the limited extent of research to date into executive and non‐executive board development in social housing organisations, it follows that there is limited knowledge of what is – or is not – happening in practice. This highlights the need for more empirical research, on the basis of which it should be possible to offer suggestions for changes to/improvements in board member development activities.
Originality/value
The paper reviews the current state of knowledge relating to executive and non‐executive board member development in not‐for‐profit and social housing organisations.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the privatisation and restructuring of social housing provision upon union leadership in the sector. The paper explores how…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the privatisation and restructuring of social housing provision upon union leadership in the sector. The paper explores how local union leaders have adapted to radical reforms in the nature and organization of social housing provision in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws upon empirical material collected by the authors from social housing associations, informed by the union leadership literature and Habermas’ concepts of “communicative action” and “colonization”, drawing in particular upon the recent work of Edwards.
Findings
There are indications of moves to a more formalised relationship between management and local union leaders/staff representatives, with management keen to promote more “openness, partnership and collaboration” in working with the union leaders and staff reps. There was some evidence of senior managers involving local union leaders at earlier stages of policy and procedural initiatives, and of senior managers being more explicitly incorporated in the management‐union leader nexus.
Research limitations/implications
Given the limited amount of research to date on union leadership in social housing organizations, and the exploratory nature and limited scope of this study (which, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to look at these matters), it follows that we still have limited knowledge of practice. Amongst other considerations, it is necessary to broaden the scope of future studies to take in a larger number of UK social housing providers, and to gather data from union/staff association members as well as managers and local union leaders.
Originality/value
The paper examines a matter which has been neglected by researchers to date, that is the changing nature and role of union leadership in social housing organizations, and it does this through an examination of the changing intra‐ organizational contexts within which this is taking place.
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Carolyn Ward, John Blenkinsopp and Catherine McCauley‐Smith
The purpose of this paper is to develop a research agenda to underpin leadership development activity in the social housing sector, in the light of an identified need for…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a research agenda to underpin leadership development activity in the social housing sector, in the light of an identified need for effective leadership in this sector owing to the continual reform and changes it faces.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review is conducted by searching a number of business and management, along with social sciences, databases and texts with the primary focus being leadership and management in social housing. Secondary focus is based around public sector organisations and agencies such as the police and education owing to lack of research in social housing.
Findings
There is a pressing need for leadership development in social housing, yet there is a limited evidence base from which to develop effective development interventions. The most relevant models of leadership appear to be those which focus on inter‐organisational and cross‐sector collaboration, but further research is required to develop a clearer picture of the nature of the leadership challenge within this sector.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is only seen as a first stage as it attempts to draw from what has been already published. The paper develops the own research agenda for a second phase of empirical research in order to continue the debate further.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the discussion and debate around leadership in general but more crucially brings to the surface a number of questions not posed previously that involve the starting‐point for detailed empirical research. Relevant case examples exist within the National Health Service and education, but social housing has remained immune from this up until now.
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Paul Wankah, Mylaine Breton, Carolyn Steele Gray and James Shaw
The purpose of this paper was to develop deeper insights into the practices enacted by entrepreneurial healthcare managers to enhance the implementation of a partnership logic in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to develop deeper insights into the practices enacted by entrepreneurial healthcare managers to enhance the implementation of a partnership logic in integrated care models for older adults.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study design in two urban centres in two jurisdictions in Canada, Ontario and Quebec. Data collection included 65 semi-structured interviews with policymakers, managers and providers and analysis of key policy documents. The institutional entrepreneur theory provided the theoretical lens and informed a reflexive iterative data analysis.
Findings
While each case faced unique challenges, there were similarities and differences in how managers enhanced a partnership’s institutional logic. In both cases, entrepreneurial healthcare managers created new roles, negotiated mutually beneficial agreements and co-located staff to foster inter-organisational partnerships between public, private and community organisations in the continuum of care for older adults. In addition, managers in Ontario secured additional funding, while managers in Quebec organised biannual meetings and joint training to enhance inter-organisational partnerships.
Originality/value
This study has two main implications. First, efforts to enhance inter-organisational partnerships should strategically include institutional entrepreneurs. Second, successful institutional changes may be supported by investing in integrated implementation strategies that target roles of staff, co-location and inter-organisational agreements.
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The intent of this essay is to offer a range of resources on the psychology of disability to the serious researcher in the field. The researcher may be an upper‐college level or…
Abstract
The intent of this essay is to offer a range of resources on the psychology of disability to the serious researcher in the field. The researcher may be an upper‐college level or graduate student. This individual may be researching for academic purposes, or for personal reasons associated with the disability of himself or herself, or a loved one. Although the individual with a disability can be psychologically or physically disabled, or both, this essay will focus more heavily on the physically disabled.
The January 1987 issue of Access, a quarterly update from R.R. Bowker Company, contains a brief article entitled “Ulrich's: A Prime Source in Any Format.” This short piece tells…
Abstract
The January 1987 issue of Access, a quarterly update from R.R. Bowker Company, contains a brief article entitled “Ulrich's: A Prime Source in Any Format.” This short piece tells us that 1987 marked the silver anniversary of the founding of Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory and that we have good reason to celebrate. The reason is that Ulrich's, and its sister publications, Irregular Serials and Annuals and Bowker's Serials Database Update, are now available on CD‐ROM and known as Ulrich's Plus. The article states that “this electronic disc format offers high speed access, multiple search points and ease of use.” The article also informs us that data for Ulrich's are continuously revised and updated by no less than thirteen editors who have multilingual skills and whose combined efforts provide indepth profiles of seventy thousand serials and thirty‐five thousand irregulars published worldwide, that there are updates for more than sixty‐five thousand entries, and that there is a “descriptive analysis of the content and point of view of each publication.” And, finally, that all periodicals are subject indexed.