David A. Buchanan and David Boddy
There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of new information technologies on organisations and their members. But there have been comparatively few empirical studies in…
Abstract
There has been a lot of speculation about the impact of new information technologies on organisations and their members. But there have been comparatively few empirical studies in this area. Research carried out in the University of Glasgow Department of Management Studies over the past two years has sought to remedy this position.
James McCalman and David A. Buchanan
How the boundaries of what management once considered acceptablework redesign have been expanded by new competitive pressures isdemonstrated. Research evidence based on the…
Abstract
How the boundaries of what management once considered acceptable work redesign have been expanded by new competitive pressures is demonstrated. Research evidence based on the experience of American multinational corporations shows how the approaches now being developed give employees considerably greater discretion and opportunities for skills development and improved performance than conventional “job enrichment” techniques. The sample of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) at its Ayr site in Scotland is used and the effects of high performance work systems examined.
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In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of…
Abstract
In the last four years, since Volume I of this Bibliography first appeared, there has been an explosion of literature in all the main functional areas of business. This wealth of material poses problems for the researcher in management studies — and, of course, for the librarian: uncovering what has been written in any one area is not an easy task. This volume aims to help the librarian and the researcher overcome some of the immediate problems of identification of material. It is an annotated bibliography of management, drawing on the wide variety of literature produced by MCB University Press. Over the last four years, MCB University Press has produced an extensive range of books and serial publications covering most of the established and many of the developing areas of management. This volume, in conjunction with Volume I, provides a guide to all the material published so far.
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David A. Buchanan and John Storey
This paper aims to explore the theoretical and practical management implications of a case involving the falsification of hospital patient waiting lists for elective orthopaedic…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the theoretical and practical management implications of a case involving the falsification of hospital patient waiting lists for elective orthopaedic surgery.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is based on qualitative schedule‐structured interviews with 20 senior hospital staff (managerial and clinical), including the head of the investigation team, downloads from the hospital website, and internal hospital documentation. Those data were used to construct an event narrative exploring the underlying causes and implications of the incident.
Findings
The blame for misconduct pointed at three surgeons, a senior manager, a general manager, an assistant general manager, one administrative staff member, and several organizational factors. In addition to censuring some of those involved, an investigation recommended changes to training and working practices, policies and procedures, governance arrangements, and organization culture, and led to an external evaluation of the hospital board. However, one year later, another similar incident occurred.
Research limitations/implications
This is a single case, and events are viewed through a management lens, the individuals concerned being protected by research ethics considerations.
Practical implications
By detailing the sequence of events, surrounding conditions, and the reactions of multiple players, this analysis reveals typified responses to incidents of this kind, and the limitations inherent in post‐event investigations. If the benefits derived from national targets are to be realized in a manner which commands support from staff at all levels, then greater attention should be paid by managers and regulators to issues of transparency, responsiveness, and honesty. As core dimensions of good governance, managers must be accountable for helping to meet targets, and also for tracking how targets are met, ensuring that resources are made available, and that problematic issues raised are promptly and effectively addressed.
Originality/value
Studies of organizational misbehaviour are rare in healthcare where the focus often lies with patient deaths and injuries arising from system failures and gross individual misconduct. The analysis in this case explores the organizational conditions that contribute to such incidents.
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David A. Buchanan, Emma Parry, Charlotte Gascoigne and Cíara Moore
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the incidence of “extreme jobs” among middle managers in acute hospitals, and to identify individual and organizational implications.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the incidence of “extreme jobs” among middle managers in acute hospitals, and to identify individual and organizational implications.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on interviews and focus groups with managers at six hospitals, a “proof of concept” pilot with an operations management team, and a survey administered at five hospitals.
Findings
Six of the original dimensions of extreme jobs, identified in commercial settings, apply to hospital management: long hours, unpredictable work patterns, tight deadlines with fast pace, broad responsibility, “24/7 availability”, mentoring and coaching. Six healthcare-specific dimensions were identified: making life or death decisions, conflicting priorities, being required to do more with fewer resources, responding to regulatory bodies, the need to involve many people before introducing improvements, fighting a negative climate. Around 75 per cent of hospital middle managers have extreme jobs.
Research limitations/implications
This extreme healthcare management job model was derived inductively from a qualitative study involving a small number of respondents. While the evidence suggests that extreme jobs are common, further research is required to assess the antecedents, incidence, and implications of these working practices.
Practical implications
A varied, intense, fast-paced role with responsibility and long hours can be rewarding, for some. However, multi-tasking across complex roles can lead to fatigue, burnout, and mistakes, patient care may be compromised, and family life may be adversely affected.
Originality/value
As far as the authors can ascertain, there are no other studies exploring acute sector management roles through an extreme jobs lens.
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Ajit Shah, Natalie Banner, Karen Newbigging, Chris Heginbotham and Bill Fulford
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was fully implemented in October 2007 in England and Wales. This article reports on two similar, but separate, pilot questionnaire studies that…
Abstract
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was fully implemented in October 2007 in England and Wales. This article reports on two similar, but separate, pilot questionnaire studies that examined the experience of consultants in old age psychiatry and consultants in other psychiatric specialities in the early implementation of the MCA pertaining to issues relevant to black and minority ethnic (BME) groups. Fifty‐two (27%) of the 196 consultants in old age psychiatry and 113 (12%) of the 955 consultants in other psychiatric specialities returned useable questionnaires. Eighty per cent or more of the consultants in old age psychiatry and consultants in other psychiatric specialities gave consideration to religion and culture and ethnicity in the assessment of decision‐making capacity (DMC). Almost 50% of the consultants in old age psychiatry reported that half or more of the patients lacking fluency in English or where English was not their first language received an assessment of DMC with the aid of an interpreter and 40% of the consultants in other psychiatric specialities reported that no such patients received an assessment of DMC with the aid of an interpreter.The low rate of using interpreters is of concern. The nature of the consideration and implementation of factors relevant to culture, ethnicity and religion in the application of the MCA and the precise reasons for the low rate of using interpreters in patients lacking fluency in English or English not being their first language require clarification in further studies.
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Yenny Salim and Brian H. Kleiner
Uses a case study to look at motivation, group interaction, communication, leadership and decision‐making. Concludes that the company is still faced with a number of problems in…
Abstract
Uses a case study to look at motivation, group interaction, communication, leadership and decision‐making. Concludes that the company is still faced with a number of problems in the process of a billingual dictionary compilation such as a loss of motivation due to the attitude of the chief editor and the boredom caused by the nature of work. Cites decision making as an issue in the absence of the editor and the need to bring in skill from other disciplines to assist in the process.
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M.S. Turner, A.R. Douglas, J.P. O’Sullivan and M. Nicol
This article aims to apply the process of clinical governance to the management of patients with a major mental illness, living in the community, with a history of self harm…
Abstract
This article aims to apply the process of clinical governance to the management of patients with a major mental illness, living in the community, with a history of self harm and/or harm to others; and to design an early warning system to drive rapid intervention if patients miss a clinic appointment. This follows the recommendations of good clinical practice for this vulnerable group.
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Andrew Farrant and Maria Pia Paganelli
Can we model politics as exclusively based on self-interest, leaving virtue aside? How much romance is there in the study of politics? We show that James Buchanan, a founder of…
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Can we model politics as exclusively based on self-interest, leaving virtue aside? How much romance is there in the study of politics? We show that James Buchanan, a founder of public choice and constitutional political economy, reintroduces a modicum of romance into politics, despite claiming that his work is the study of “politics without romance”: Buchanan’s model needs an ethical attitude to defend rules against rent-seeking.
We claim that Adam Smith, more than David Hume, should be considered one of the primary intellectual influences on Buchanan’s public choice and constitutional political economy. It is commonly believed that Hume assumes in politics every man ought to be considered a knave, making him an influence on Buchanan’s idea of politics without romance. Yet, it is Smith who, like Buchanan, describes rent-seeking and suggests that public virtues may be the remedy through which good rules maintaining liberty and prosperity can be generated and enforced. Smith, like Buchanan, rejects sole reliance on economic incentives: the study of politics needs some romance.