Elaine Palmer and David Parker
Observes that performance measurement models are largely based on deterministic assumptions about the world. Suggests that it is time to re‐align performance measurement with…
Abstract
Observes that performance measurement models are largely based on deterministic assumptions about the world. Suggests that it is time to re‐align performance measurement with post‐deterministic discoveries made in the physical sciences, especially quantum physics. In the physical sciences, scientists have (reluctantly) come to accept that the world has a fundamental uncertainty at its core. Asks the question of what lessons can be drawn for performance measurement from this knowledge of the physical world. Addresses this question first by describing the development and epistemological consequences of three post‐deterministic (physical world) discoveries of: uncertainty, bounded instability, and self‐organisation. Then traces the equivalent path to uncertainty in management. Concludes that it is time for the oldest management theories, which still underpin current performance systems, to be realigned with knowledge on uncertainty. Ends with a look at two current performance systems, activity‐based management, and the Balanced Scorecard. In line with knowledge about fundamental uncertainty, these (and other) performance systems should focus on identification of the “aggregate system” critical few.
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Christine Renner and Elaine Palmer
Service firms manage variability using both demand‐side tactics (levelling customer demand), and supply‐side tactics (increasing available capacity). One popular way of increasing…
Abstract
Service firms manage variability using both demand‐side tactics (levelling customer demand), and supply‐side tactics (increasing available capacity). One popular way of increasing available capacity is the outsourcing of non‐core services. This article uses a case study to examine the impact of an outsourced non‐core service on a hospital’s overall service system. Findings show that the outsourced service provides access to more sophisticated technology, increases in‐house capacity and saves capital expenditure. However, the outsourcing also increases the scheduling problems that the hospital faces. These problems are largely due to communication delays from the involvement of more than one organisation. These delays decrease the response time available to match changes in demand for the outsourced service. Given the obvious benefits of such outsourcing, the article concludes that management should pay close attention to the communication pathways between organisations, in order to minimise the end effects identified in this study.
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David Dinesh and Elaine Palmer
Drucker introduced management by objectives (MBO) in the late 1950s. Kaplan and Norton introduced the Balanced Scorecard in the early 1990s. MBO and the Balanced Scorecard are…
Abstract
Drucker introduced management by objectives (MBO) in the late 1950s. Kaplan and Norton introduced the Balanced Scorecard in the early 1990s. MBO and the Balanced Scorecard are management systems that align tangible objectives with an organisation’s vision. This article compares and contrasts the two management systems. The examination concludes that the philosophical intents and practical application of MBO and the Balanced Scorecard stem from similar precepts. The examination of patterns of MBO implementation also illuminates possible problems in the application of the Balanced Scorecard. Implementation of MBO suffers from two main problems. Partial implementation: taking a portion of a prescription does not provide the cure. Second, a patent disregard for MBO’s core philosophy that calls for goal congruence through collaboration. Our forecast is that partial implementation will remain as a problem for the Balanced Scorecard. An increasing rate of change in business encourages this (because development of organisation‐wide scorecards takes too long). However, we think that current management will use more collaboration than was the case with MBO, because of the influence of total quality management (TQM which encourages collaboration).
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Elaine G. Toms and Heather L. O'Brien
The purpose of this paper is to understand the needs of humanists with respect to information and communication technology (ICT) in order to prescribe the design of an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the needs of humanists with respect to information and communication technology (ICT) in order to prescribe the design of an e‐humanist's workbench.
Design/methodology/approach
A web‐based survey comprising over 60 questions gathered the following data from 169 humanists: profile of the humanist, use of ICT in teaching, e‐texts, text analysis tools, access to and use of primary and secondary sources, and use of collaboration and communication tools.
Findings
Humanists conduct varied forms of research and use multiple techniques. They rely on the availability of inexpensive, quality‐controlled e‐texts for their research. The existence of primary sources in digital form influences the type of research conducted. They are unaware of existing tools for conducting text analyses, but expressed a need for better tools. Search engines have replaced the library catalogue as the key access tool for sources. Research continues to be solitary with little collaboration among scholars.
Research limitations/implications
The results are based on a self‐selected sample of humanists who responded to a web‐based survey. Future research needs to examine the work of the scholar at a more detailed level, preferably through observation and/or interviewing.
Practical implications
The findings support a five‐part framework that could serve as the basis for the design of an e‐humanist's workbench.
Originality/value
The paper examines the needs of the humanist, founded on an integration of information science research and humanities computing for a more comprehensive understanding of the humanist at work.
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Dictionaries of quotations are one of the more personal categories of reference books as evidenced by the diverse responses of their reviewers. The latest edition of The Oxford…
Abstract
Dictionaries of quotations are one of the more personal categories of reference books as evidenced by the diverse responses of their reviewers. The latest edition of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations was considered “a splendid achievement” by one and “a disaster” by another, while a third introduced his critique with the caution, “It can be said about any such book that its contents will be in‐adequate and its editors presumptuous …”
Clive Bingley, John Buchanan and Elaine Kempson
IT IS PERHAPS with wry understatement that the recent public declaration by the Library Association Council on the subject of library expenditure includes the remark that ‘The…
Abstract
IT IS PERHAPS with wry understatement that the recent public declaration by the Library Association Council on the subject of library expenditure includes the remark that ‘The Library Association does not claim that libraries should be exempt from the economies which must now be borne by all’, for it has been manifestly apparent, since some dim realisation of national economic crisis first began to seep into the quasi‐cerebral thought processes of those who conduct government and local government, that the first neck upon which the sharpness of the axe would be tested has been library services everywhere.
Accountancy glossary Differences in technical jargon almost invariably occur on the two sides of the Atlantic—and accountancy is no exception to the rule.
Lauryn Young, Maura Mulloy, Sloan Huckabee, Ryan Landoll, Elaine Miller, Marissa Miller and Mark D. Weist
Recently, a national priority has been set to improve mental health services for children and families. It has been identified in epidemiological literature that in the United…
Abstract
Recently, a national priority has been set to improve mental health services for children and families. It has been identified in epidemiological literature that in the United States, an approximate 15% of youth meet diagnostic criteria for emotional or behavioral problems. Furthermore, less than one in every five children that present with such needs receive mental health services. Individual, family, and system barriers such as transportation, competing demands, and long waiting lists have negatively impacted access to mental health services. Therefore, the school system has become the “de facto” mental health system for children and adolescents, in part because of the significant time students spend at school. However, meeting the needs of students with behavioral or emotional problems within the school system poses its own challenges. Schools have reported being limited in their ability to deliver basic mental wellness to students due to the lack of available resources. Specifically, there is a shortage of school-employed mental health personnel and the ratio of student to mental health professional is two to three times larger than recommended. Expanded school mental health programs are partnered systems that utilize existing services and collaborate with community mental health (CMH) professionals at each level of the three-tiered system. This partnership enables CMH staff gain access to youth with emotional and behavioral problems, resulting in increased prevention and intervention services for students. Additionally, a coordinated effort such as student-transition services has an integral role of facilitating the process from the school system to postsecondary employment, training, and or additional education.
To explore the experience of a key member of the UK equalities policy‐making elite, interrogating her shift from activist to top‐ranking equalities professional. To focus…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore the experience of a key member of the UK equalities policy‐making elite, interrogating her shift from activist to top‐ranking equalities professional. To focus attention on the under‐explored area of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender equalities work.
Design/methodology/approach
The interview is prefaced with a critical commentary on current UK equalities policy, contextualising the interview discussion, which links personal and collective histories and provides a comparison of equalities work over time.
Findings
Angela Mason, while top‐ranking civil servant, continues to claim the label activist. Like a variety of other equalities workers she uses multiple tactics to appeal to different constituents at different times and in different contexts.
Originality/value
This is an interview with one of the key protagonists in the development of UK equalities policies over the last 30 years. It is unique in its focus on the current overhaul of UK equalities policy from an “insider” and in its timing at the interim point of this reorganisation (October 2006).