Abstract
Details
Keywords
Andrew Robson and Fiona Robson
– The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of the key antecedents of leave intention demonstrated by nurses employed in UK National Health Service (NHS).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an evaluation of the key antecedents of leave intention demonstrated by nurses employed in UK National Health Service (NHS).
Design/methodology/approach
Survey assessment of a sample of 433 nurses employed within the NHS was undertaken, potential relationships relating to both affective commitment and leave intention and work-place experiences assessed through leader-member exchange (LMX) and perceived organisational support (POS) have been evaluated quantitatively, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equations modelling (SEM).
Findings
The study indicates that both LMX and POS act as direct antecedents to nurses’ leave intention. Additionally, both LMX and POS in combination, significantly effect employees’ affective commitment, the latter further impacting on employee leave intention. This would suggest that both LMX and POS have a significant role to play in employee leave intention that is partially mediated by affective commitment, further analysis confirming this to be the case.
Research limitations/implications
The sample of nurses is large in absolute terms, permitting the CFA/SEM analysis undertaken, although the data represented only two NHS trusts, hence generalisation across the NHS should be done so cautiously. Various other drivers of leave intention, personal and organisational, have not been assessed here.
Practical implications
The implications of these results are that to safeguard nurse retention, appropriate line manager engagement is crucial, but this requires organisational support that is recognised by the employees, especially to enhance their levels of affective commitment.
Originality/value
This is given by providing NHS-based assessment of the role of both POS and LMX in the realisation of both affective commitment and desire to remain with their current organisations amongst members of the UK nursing profession.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to analyse individual experiences of learning evaluation in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and identify areas for improvement as part of an HEFCE LGM…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to analyse individual experiences of learning evaluation in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and identify areas for improvement as part of an HEFCE LGM funded project.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight focus groups were included in two universities with staff in similar roles. After transcription, the data were analysed using template analysis to identify and compare key themes from across both universities.
Findings
The context of UK higher education is clearly important due to the diverse job roles and on-going sectoral changes. Three key themes emerged; first was a lack of clarity from the learners on learning evaluation. The second key theme centres on the format, method and timing of capturing evaluation data and the perception that a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate. The third finding suggests that line managers do not currently fulfil their critical roles in the process.
Research limitations/implications
Small number of research participants and a focus on two universities. In addition, participants were relying on their memories of past evaluation experiences.
Practical implications
Ensuring learners understand reasons for evaluating their learning is important. HEIs should utilise a more diverse range of tools at the design stage to collect evaluation data. All stakeholder roles need to be clarified, and line managers require additional support.
Originality/value
First, we address a gap in the existing sector-specific literature identified by Burgoyne et al. (2009) who contend that there is a lack of research in this area. Second, we contribute to the development of research in the journal by analysing evaluation from the perspective of the participants, and third, we offer recommendations for practice.
Details
Keywords
Fiona Anderson-Gough, Christopher Grey and Keith Robson
Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggests that a key aspect of professionalism is networking. Networking within these…
Abstract
Drawing upon an eight-year-long study of two of the global accounting firms, this chapter suggests that a key aspect of professionalism is networking. Networking within these firms is crucial to achieving and demonstrating professional competence and to career advancement. It involves sophisticated forms of social practice and permeates a range of organizational processes. It is argued that networking also implies and potentially creates and regulates a particular kind of identity, namely that of the networked self or, more specifically, the networked professional.
This paper seeks to explore the attitudes of lesbian mothers towards same‐sex marriage, focusing in particular on how they perceive the relationship between marriage and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore the attitudes of lesbian mothers towards same‐sex marriage, focusing in particular on how they perceive the relationship between marriage and children's best interests.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on 36 semi‐structured interviews with lesbian mothers living in British Columbia and Alberta, comparing their views on marriage and children's best interests with those articulated by lesbian and gay litigants during the Canadian same‐sex marriage campaign.
Findings
It was found that few of the mothers made any positive link between having married parents and children's best interests. Only a quarter of the couples had married or intended to marry.
Research limitations/implications
Whether the views expressed in this research will be embraced by the next generation of lesbian mothers is difficult to predict. Prospective lesbian mothers will be able to marry before having children, will likely experience greater societal pressure to marry, and may have weaker ties to feminist politics. The issue should be revisited to see whether the views expressed in the research resonate with the next generation of mothers.
Practical implications
Law reform directed at same‐sex families should not presume that lesbians perceive there to be any positive relationship between marriage and children's best interests.
Originality/value
The paper provides empirical data on how lesbian mothers understand the relationship, if any, between having married parents and children's best interests. It challenges the universality of the very traditional views expressed in the same‐sex marriage litigation, and argues that amongst the wider lesbian mothering community attitudes towards the relationship between marriage and parenting are considerably more diverse.
Details
Keywords
Ingo Forstenlechner and Fiona Lettice
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the findings of research into the different means of motivating knowledge workers to participate in and contribute to knowledge…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the findings of research into the different means of motivating knowledge workers to participate in and contribute to knowledge exchange and creation.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted among more than a quarter of the 2,500+ strong lawyer multinational law firm with 25+ offices in 15+ countries and analysed to provide insight into the differences on motivation and value perception across the cultural dividing lines. The results were analysed at regional level as well as organisational/generation level and analysed by statistical means and descriptive statistics. The key outcomes were analysed against literature to provide an in‐depth understanding on how to foster knowledge sharing.
Findings
Respondents showed distinct reactions towards the means to motivate them to share knowledge. Career prospects, authority, provision of charge codes, recognition among peers or one‐time incentives have a very diverse impact around the world.
Research limitations/implications
This survey itself was limited to one law firm. Thus, even though this firm is among the largest three firms in the world and considered a leader in knowledge management, this research is therefore not representative of the entire professional service sector or the law firm sector.
Practical implications
The results have been used within the case study organisation to improve the efficiency in motivating lawyers to share knowledge and lessons can be drawn for comparable organisations operating on a global scale.
Originality/value
Prior to this paper there has been little research into the motivation of global knowledge workers within the professional service environment.
Details
Keywords
This chapter explores the multifaceted dynamics of urban regeneration and gentrification within the London Borough of Southwark, examining their impact on social inclusion and…
Abstract
This chapter explores the multifaceted dynamics of urban regeneration and gentrification within the London Borough of Southwark, examining their impact on social inclusion and exclusion. Through in-depth analysis of three regeneration schemes – the Bellenden Road scheme in Peckham, the Bermondsey Spa Regeneration Scheme and the Heygate Estate Scheme in Elephant and Castle – the research elucidates the intricate interplay between revitalisation efforts, socio-economic shifts and community dynamics. The concept of ‘social tectonics’ emerges as a lens through which to understand the fragmentation of neighbourhoods resulting from gentrification. The study illustrates how the influx of affluent newcomers often leads to the creation of parallel worlds within communities, exacerbating tensions between long-standing residents and newcomers. Furthermore, it highlights the process of displacement as a central feature of gentrification, with the demolition of social housing and the lack of affordable replacements driving the displacement of low-income residents. Moreover, the study underscores the loss of neighbourhood identity and diversity as a consequence of gentrification, as once-vibrant and diverse areas are transformed into homogenised enclaves catering to the tastes of the affluent. A critical discourse analysis is equally required to scrutinise the link between language and context, namely the language used in governmental reports, and the historical context of these neighbourhoods. The schemes implemented in the early 2000s reshaped the identity of these three neighbourhoods and represent the ways in which Southwark Council used political strategies over the last 2 decades to create a polarised and fragmented society.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of the article is to show, through acase study, that the reasons motivating membersand non‐members of a quality circle to improvequality are not limited to those…
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to show, through a case study, that the reasons motivating members and non‐members of a quality circle to improve quality are not limited to those formulated in the literature. We thereby concur with Fiona Wilson who, in an article published in a recent issue of Employee Relations, showed that the psychological reward is not enough. In the workshops under study, members and non‐members obtained better working conditions – for example lay‐offs have stopped, transfer of employees from one workshop to another or from one job station to another is a thing of the past – by improving quality through the direct impact that their action was having on the organisation′s position in the market and, consequently, on the increase of production volumes.