Aki Jääskeläinen, Virpi Sillanpää, Nina Helander, Riikka-Leena Leskelä, Ira Haavisto, Valtteri Laasonen and Paulus Torkki
This study aims to report the design and testing of a maturity model for information and knowledge management in the public sector, intended for use in frequent monitoring, trend…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to report the design and testing of a maturity model for information and knowledge management in the public sector, intended for use in frequent monitoring, trend analysis and in-depth analysis of the contemporary information and knowledge management practices of an organization.
Design/methodology/approach
A design science approach was used to develop the proposed model. Creation of the model was based on an extensive literature review. Testing of the model was implemented as a survey receiving 37 responses from nine organizations organizing and purchasing public services.
Findings
The study presents four alternative profiles for an organization’s status, novice, experimenter, facilitator and advanced exploiter, and investigates the differences between these profiles on the basis of the empirical data gathered. The model was found to be both a valid and practical way to determine the state of an organization’s information and knowledge management and identify development needs.
Research limitations/implications
Testing was conducted in the Finnish public sector and further studies applying the model could be implemented in other countries. The model presented was designed specifically for the public sector and more research is needed to test its applicability in the private sector.
Originality/value
Maturity models are useful when evaluating information and knowledge management status in an organization, and beneficial for improving organizational performance. The proposed maturity model combines the fields of knowledge management and information management and contributes to the literature with an overarching maturity model that includes a dimension of satisfaction with the organizational maturity level. While many earlier models originate from the consultancy business, the model presented here was also designed for research purposes and tested in practice.
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Graham Heaslip, Gyöngyi Kovács and Ira Haavisto
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial and material flows in cash-based responses (CBRs) and their implications for humanitarian operations. This research proposes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the financial and material flows in cash-based responses (CBRs) and their implications for humanitarian operations. This research proposes to view cash as a commodity used by humanitarian actors in emergency operations and therefore aims to explore how CBRs impact on humanitarian logistics and ultimately, affect beneficiaries.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodological approach of grounded theory was chosen for this inquiry because it allowed the researchers to generate a general explanation for the process of CBRs in emergency situations based on the views of participants interviewed. Interviews were conducted with senior managers, supply chain managements and logistics officers from international humanitarian organisations (HOs), United Nations agencies and commercial organisations involved in humanitarian operations. Examples of topics covered during the field work included, procedures and policy; knowledge and information management; systems and technology; actors and agents.
Findings
The impact of CBRs on humanitarian operations can though not be understated. They alter supply chain design, the very role of beneficiaries as well as HOs, and change the strategy of aid delivery from push to pull. Perhaps, the most important factor is the elimination of many logistical activities that needed to be performed by HOs. Delivering cash diminishes the needs for lengthy procurement and assessment processes, pre-positioning, transportation and distribution. This bears the potential of significant reductions in costs for delivering humanitarian aid at the same time as it is an important move from aid to trade.
Practical implications
The challenge for humanitarian agencies in the coming years is to overcome their fears surrounding CBRs, and to implement cash programmes where they are judged to be the most appropriate response. This will require not only a change in donor policies, but also a fundamental change in the skill set of humanitarian logisticians, who are used to identifying needs and providing commodities and thus to maintaining control over the provision of assistance.
Originality/value
The contribution of this research is twofold: this is the first examination of cash-based interventions in humanitarian operations through the prism of supply chain management. Second, the research is field based and grounded in empirical observations thus adding to the literature and offering insights to practice.
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Ira Haavisto and Gyöngyi Kovács
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for analysing how humanitarian organisations (HOs) address different expectations regarding sustainability.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for analysing how humanitarian organisations (HOs) address different expectations regarding sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative and qualitative content analysis is used to assess the annual reports (ARs) of HOs for their discussions on sustainability overall, and in relation to contextual expectations, subsystems and supply chains, organisational structure and strategy.
Findings
HOs address sustainability primarily from the perspective of contextual expectations from society and beneficiaries. Some fits between supply chain design and societal expectations are attended to, but fits between programmes and contextual expectations are not discussed explicitly.
Research limitations/implications
ARs express what organisations want to portray of their activities rather than being direct reflections of what occurs in the field, hence the use of ARs for the study delimits its findings. However, HOs rarely publish sustainability reports.
Practical implications
Even though there is a general pursuit of the elusive aim of aid effectiveness, organisational structures need to be further aligned with societal aims as to support these.
Social implications
Beneficiaries are still seen as external to the humanitarian supply chain and humanitarian programmes, though their role may change with the introduction of more cash components in aid, voucher systems, and ultimately, their empowerment through these.
Originality/value
The suggested conceptual framework combines elements of contingency theory with a prior four perspectives model on sustainability expectations. The framework helps to highlight fits between the humanitarian context, operations and programmes as well as misalignments between these.
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Ira Haavisto and Jarrod Goentzel
The purpose of the paper is to deepen the understanding of supply chain performance objectives in the humanitarian context by striving to understand the underlying goals and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to deepen the understanding of supply chain performance objectives in the humanitarian context by striving to understand the underlying goals and conceptual variables behind the measurement of performance, such as efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is an in-depth case study with one humanitarian organization. The data are gathered with mixed methods over a two-year period. Interviews were conducted in August 2010 and April 2012, and a survey conducted in October 2012.
Findings
Misalignments are detected among different groups in humanitarian operations and between their goals and processes. These misalignments could possibly be corrected through long-term thinking in short-term operations by considering sustainability aspects throughout humanitarian assistance, for example. In addition, efficiency was a commonly identified objective in the case organization, although the definition varied widely and extended beyond the traditional definition of productivity to include planning, accountability and quality.
Practical implications
Better communication and definition of terms is necessary to align goals and the power hierarchy in humanitarian supply chains, where operations seem to be structured more according to donor requirements then beneficiary needs.
Originality/value
This is an in-depth case study, applying goal-setting theory to study supply chain performance. The study further responds to the public “aid efficiency” discussion by striving to recognize how efficiency is understood and how it can be measured in a humanitarian supply chain.
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Anna-Mara Schön, Shahad Al-Saadi, Jakob Grubmueller and Dorit Schumann-Bölsche
The purpose of this paper is to present the initial results of the Camp Performance Indicator (CPI) system to illustrate the importance of self-reliance of refugee camp dwellers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the initial results of the Camp Performance Indicator (CPI) system to illustrate the importance of self-reliance of refugee camp dwellers with regard to infrastructure and service investments.
Design/methodology/approach
Data, derived from a field trip to Zaatari in autumn 2016 and thorough literature research, were taken to develop a new CPI system. The findings from the literature research were merged with available camp data to validate each other.
Findings
Self-reliance is a fundamental human right and anchored in the UN sustainable development goals. Yet, presented findings reveal that even in one of the most modern refugee camps in the world – Zaatari – the level of self-reliance is rather low. However, organisations and humanitarian logisticians can influence self-reliance by identifying clearly where challenges are.
Research limitations/implications
Data from a diverse range of reports were extracted. As most of these reports lack reliable and comparative quantitative data, the limitation of the study must be taken into account. So far data were only validated on one case study. To develop the tool further, more data need to be taken into account.
Originality/value
To this point, there is no performance measurement tool available focusing on self-reliance of encamped refugees. In addition, no academic research has measured the interrelation between the level of investments in infrastructure and services and the improvement of the lives of camp residents, especially regarding the level of self-reliance.