Jon‐Arild Johannessen and Arnulf Hauan
Develops elements in what is called heterarchical logic in a study of the ecology of change in a Norwegian shipyard. The heterarchical logic is not in accordance with traditional…
Abstract
Develops elements in what is called heterarchical logic in a study of the ecology of change in a Norwegian shipyard. The heterarchical logic is not in accordance with traditional understanding of rationality in organizations. Considers on what type of management this type of logic is based. Both “heterarchical logic” and the new type of management, joint management, partly answer Jackson’s criticism of the use of cybernetical models in organizations. This also is a contribution to organizational cybernetics with regard to Flood and Carson’s demand that the question of how autonomous work groups should be organized should be incorporated in organizational cybernetics.
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GM has throughout its history consistently sought better ways to implement the philosophy that people are the Corporation's most important asset — and not merely expense items to…
Abstract
GM has throughout its history consistently sought better ways to implement the philosophy that people are the Corporation's most important asset — and not merely expense items to be recorded in the accounting ledger. In the early days, GM placed most of its development efforts on employee selection, training, and job placement. The prevailing view of the 1920s and 1930s was to match people to jobs. While this approach produced success, it was too narrow in scope to check the growth of many new employee relations problems. Increased trade unionism was seen as a means for people to protect their rights and improve their status in the organisation.
Editorial This special issue of Industrial Management & Data Systems is a huge departure from our usual journal/ monograph style. This is an additional issue to the year's volume…
Abstract
Editorial This special issue of Industrial Management & Data Systems is a huge departure from our usual journal/ monograph style. This is an additional issue to the year's volume — a bonus in fact.
Carol G. Carrere and Trevor J. Little
Like most industries that adopt a reactive manufacturing strategy, the clothing industry changes only when external forces dictate that the current approach or strategy will no…
Abstract
Like most industries that adopt a reactive manufacturing strategy, the clothing industry changes only when external forces dictate that the current approach or strategy will no longer satisfy the prevailing business environment. This paper presents a case study of the modular manufacturing system and discusses the underlying premises that support the success of modular manufacturing both in the formative stages and during sustained operation. A review of the known origins of modular manufacturing illustrates how this production system can be used to advantage for clothing manufacture. Modular is the apparel industry's attempt to optimise the social and technical components of a Sociotechnical System (STS). No single solution fits all products/tasks in fully optimising STS, given different technologies, environment and people, etc. Consistent with the requirements for STS, the authors have formed five conclusive statements regarding the characteristics of modular manufacturing for apparel.
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Deirdre McCaughey, Jami DelliFraine and Cathleen O. Erwin
Hospitals in North America consistently have employee injury rates ranking among the highest of all industries. Organizations that mandate workplace safety training and emphasize…
Abstract
Purpose
Hospitals in North America consistently have employee injury rates ranking among the highest of all industries. Organizations that mandate workplace safety training and emphasize safety compliance tend to have lower injury rates and better employee safety perceptions. However, it is unclear if the work environment in different national health care systems (United States vs. Canada) is associated with different employee safety perceptions or injury rates. This study examines occupational safety and workplace satisfaction in two different countries with employees working for the same organization.
Methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from environmental services employees (n = 148) at three matched hospitals (two in Canada and one in the United States). The relationships that were examined included: (1) safety leadership and safety training with individual/unit safety perceptions; (2) supervisor and coworker support with individual job satisfaction and turnover intention; and (3) unit turnover, labor usage, and injury rates.
Findings
Hierarchical regression analysis and ANOVA found safety leadership and safety training to be positively related to individual safety perceptions, and unit safety grade and effects were similar across all hospitals. Supervisor and coworker support were found to be related to individual and organizational outcomes and significant differences were found across the hospitals. Significant differences were found in injury rates, days missed, and turnover across the hospitals.
Originality/value
This study offers support for occupational safety training as a viable mechanism to reduce employee injury rates and that a codified training program translates across national borders. Significant differences were found between the hospitals with respect to employee and organizational outcomes (e.g., turnover). These findings suggest that work environment differences are reflective of the immediate work group and environment, and may reflect national health care system differences.
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Sundeep Sahay and Esther N. Landen
The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how digital interventions are mediating the identity work of community health workers (CHWs) in the context of two African countries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes the everyday work of CHWs in two low- and middle-income country (LMIC) contexts (Uganda and Malawi) and seeks to understand changes in collective identity and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in mediating this “identity work”. As CHWs conduct their everyday tasks of care giving, data reporting and maintaining social interactions, they play two primary roles. One is the care giving role oriented towards the community, and two, is reporting and administrative work by virtue of them being affiliated with the Ministry of Health, either in formal or voluntary capacity. The ambivalence which they experience as they move back and forth between these two worlds of work is significantly now mediated through ICTs. The paper analyzes these dynamics and identifies three key sets of ambivalence in identity work: (1) role embracing-institutional distancing; (2) conformist-resistant and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. The paper makes unique contributions to information systems (IS) and ICT for development (ICT4D) studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system. This contrasts with dominant research in the field which focuses on professional groups, largely based in Western business organizations.
Findings
The paper identifies identity related tensions that emerge with the mediation of digital technologies in the work world of CHWs. These include tensions of conformist-resistant; and (3) dramaturgical-transformative. These findings are relevant and unique to the field of IS and ICT4D studies in that it focuses on a nonprofessional group, which plays a fundamental role in providing care to underserved populations and also conducts data work which provides the foundation of the national health information system.
Research limitations/implications
While acknowledging identity construction and negotiation is a function of both work and social lives, in this paper we could only focus on the work lives.
Practical implications
As digital interventions in the health sector of low and middle income countries is becoming increasingly widespread, often the focus is more on the supply side (the supply of the technology) rather than on the demand side (users experiences and aspirations). Identity becomes a lens to understand these demand side dynamics, which helps provides practical guidance on implementation approaches to ensure that the technology adds value to user work processes and there is a seamless and not a disruptive transition.
Social implications
CHWs are the most neglected cadre in the health system of low and middle income countries, even though they provide the cutting edge in care provision work to the most marginalized populations, living in rural and underserved areas. By focusing on how technologies can be more effectively implemented to support these care processes, the paper provides important social implications both for practice and research.
Originality/value
Analysis of identity construction and negotiation of informal groups in the unorganized sector of low and middle income countries has not received adequate attention in IS research. The paper seeks to fill this important gap.
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In many Third World countries tourism is an economic activity the importance of which can hardly be ignored 1). Thus it is obvious that the governments of those countries, besides…
Abstract
In many Third World countries tourism is an economic activity the importance of which can hardly be ignored 1). Thus it is obvious that the governments of those countries, besides paying attention to the usual sectors such as agriculture, industry, mining, transport and communication, public health and hygiene and education, should also engage in sectoral programs with regard to tourism. Since “a sector comprises, for the most part, the producing or operating units in the economy that share a common function or output” 2), tourism lays claim to a sectoral approach. In tourism there clearly exists a common function of activities, comprising both Services and production of goods ‐Pertot speaks of a mixed commodity‐service exchange 3) — for the sake of the tourist. The separate activities together constitute the compound tourist product.
Robert J. Blomme, Jenny Sok, Arjan van Rheede and Debbie M. Tromp
The relationship between work and family has long been the subject of lively debate in the political, public, and academic arena. Employers in the hospitality industry should…
Abstract
The relationship between work and family has long been the subject of lively debate in the political, public, and academic arena. Employers in the hospitality industry should carefully consider the work–family balance of their employees because maintaining a good balance will result in lower costs, lower sick rates, and lower staff turnover. The term “balance” refers to the way in which work interferes with life at home and how home life interferes with work. It includes both the positive and negative effects that work has on the family domain and vice versa. As research on the psychological contract approach to the employment relationship is scarce with regard to work–family interference, it became the subject of this study. The results demonstrate that psychological contract measures, in particular time commitment, can explain work–family conflict, while job content can explain work–family enrichment. In addition, the study revealed that with the appearance of gender as a moderator, different additional factors may play a role in work–family enrichment and work–family conflict. Furthermore, it revealed that family structure is not a predictor for work–family interference. This paper discusses managerial implications and offers recommendations for further research.