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Case study
Publication date: 18 August 2021

Harikrishnan Ramesh Varma, Ram Kumar Kakani and James Sebastian Poovathingal

Kotter’s framework of change management adapted to the situation of public policy implementation under the leadership of a civil service officer in the rural areas of a developing…

Abstract

Theoretical basis

Kotter’s framework of change management adapted to the situation of public policy implementation under the leadership of a civil service officer in the rural areas of a developing economy in South Asia.

Research methodology

This case has been written using the primary data collected from the protagonist through personal and computer-based interviews. Some of the documents associated with the event shared by the protagonist are also reproduced as case exhibits. Secondary data from government official websites were also used to enrich the case.

Case overview/synopsis

Mahbubnagar, an arid agricultural district in central India faced the threat of a water crisis owing to the unscientific water extraction by the resident farmers. The government appointed a task force to investigate the problem. The team executed the idea to harvest excess water from the fields through a cheap and efficient method. Though it showed spectacular results in the initial months, the farmers gave up the innovation soon. When the team met two years later, they were shocked by the unenthusiastic response of the farmers. This case pertains to the failure of policy innovations and change management in government.

Complexity academic level

This case is useful for undergraduate-level courses in public management, public policy and governance with modules in change management, innovation management, rural development and programme implementation. Training modules for novice public service professionals and programme management personnel in government organisations. Elective courses on public policy, government relations and public sector management for undergraduate students of business administration.

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

James Sebastian Poovathingal and Deepti V. Kumar

Performance management (PM) is an important tool to enhance productivity. However, its Achilles heel is its lack of future orientation. The main reason for this is that PM systems…

Abstract

Purpose

Performance management (PM) is an important tool to enhance productivity. However, its Achilles heel is its lack of future orientation. The main reason for this is that PM systems fail to empirically link competencies to results. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses literature review and deductive logic to evolve the concept of “Contribution of Competencies (CC)” and proof tests it quantitatively.

Findings

The impact of a level of competency on the results of a job can be determined by CC. The gap between expected and actual CC can predict future performance, determine the training needs with precision and measure individual efficacy and human capital adequacy of a department/an organization.

Research limitations/implications

This is single organization research for proof of concept. Multi-organizational research using empirical study linking CC with demonstrated performance can make the concept of CC more robust.

Practical implications

CC helps to: prioritize training for competencies that would impact performance with surgical precision, fix responsibility for failure to perform on individual/organizational factors, compare individual employees across functions, determine interdepartmental/inter-firm human capital efficacy, and evaluate human capital of a firm.

Originality/value

Empirical expression of the nature of relationship between competency levels and results through CC and its byproducts, individual efficacy ratio, and human capital adequacy ratio are original contributions.

Details

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, vol. 67 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1741-0401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2016

James Sebastian Fuller

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the Health and Social Care Act, 2012 on London’s rough sleepers as seen from the perspective of one former homeless service…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the Health and Social Care Act, 2012 on London’s rough sleepers as seen from the perspective of one former homeless service user (currently working as a support worker in a day centre providing outreach and “drop in” facilities for people who are street homeless and other vulnerable adults including female sex workers). The discussion centres on some of the unintended impacts of changes to healthcare commissioning; the new arrangements for patient, public representation; and the enhanced role of local councils.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is grounded in front line practitioner reflection/opinion and draws on practical experience and observation at Spires, as well as research and government papers published by other service providers. The aspirations of the Health and Social Care Act, 2012 are set out before its practical application are examined from the rough sleeper’s dimension.

Findings

Putting clinicians and GPs centre stage in the commissioning and purchasing of healthcare may have some benefits for individual patient choice, but it can also dilute patient public involvement in health and social care with negative effects for vulnerable and excluded groups, including rough sleepers. The terms of reference ascribed to Local Healthwatch Organisations, the official representatives of the people, are narrower than previously and limit their ability to influence official policy. The Act centralises control whilst devolving operational responsibility, especially for public health provision on which rough sleepers often rely. It is suggested that local voluntary organisations and specialist “inclusion” health groups are increasingly being expected to take over responsibility for delivering health and social care and that mainstream collaboration is much reduced rather than enhanced by this fragmentation.

Research limitations/implications

This review is based on the opinion of an “expert by experience” which may not be representative.

Originality/value

This is one of few papers which present a front line service user/practitioner perspective on the impact of clinical commissioning on services for marginalised groups.

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2021

Michael Clark, Michelle Cornes, Martin Whiteford, Robert Aldridge, Elizabeth Biswell, Richard Byng, Graham Foster, James Sebastian Fuller, Andrew Hayward, Nigel Hewett, Alan Kilminster, Jill Manthorpe, Joanne Neale and Michela Tinelli

People experiencing homelessness often have complex needs requiring a range of support. These may include health problems (physical illness, mental health and/or substance misuse…

Abstract

Purpose

People experiencing homelessness often have complex needs requiring a range of support. These may include health problems (physical illness, mental health and/or substance misuse) as well as social, financial and housing needs. Addressing these issues requires a high degree of coordination amongst services. It is, thus, an example of a wicked policy issue. The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenge of integrating care in this context using evidence from an evaluation of English hospital discharge services for people experiencing homelessness.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper undertakes secondary analysis of qualitative data from a mixed methods evaluation of hospital discharge schemes and uses an established framework for understanding integrated care, the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care (RMIC), to help examine the complexities of integration in this area.

Findings

Supporting people experiencing homelessness to have a good discharge from hospital was confirmed as a wicked policy issue. The RMIC provided a strong framework for exploring the concept of integration, demonstrating how intertwined the elements of the framework are and, hence, that solutions need to be holistically organised across the RMIC. Limitations to integration were also highlighted, such as shortages of suitable accommodation and the impacts of policies in aligned areas of the welfare state.

Research limitations/implications

The data for this secondary analysis were not specifically focussed on integration which meant the themes in the RMIC could not be explored directly nor in as much depth. However, important issues raised in the data directly related to integration of support, and the RMIC emerged as a helpful organising framework for understanding integration in this wicked policy context.

Practical implications

Integration is happening in services directly concerned with the discharge from hospital of people experiencing homelessness. Key challenges to this integration are reported in terms of the RMIC, which would be a helpful framework for planning better integrated care for this area of practice.

Social implications

Addressing homelessness not only requires careful planning of integration of services at specific pathway points, such as hospital discharge, but also integration across wider systems. A complex set of challenges are discussed to help with planning the better integration desired, and the RMIC was seen as a helpful framework for thinking about key issues and their interactions.

Originality/value

This paper examines an application of integrated care knowledge to a key complex, or wicked policy issue.

Details

Journal of Integrated Care, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1476-9018

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2014

Jesús M. Valdaliso, Edurne Magro, Mikel Navarro, Mari Jose Aranguren and James R. Wilson

– The purpose of this paper is to apply the path dependence theoretical framework to STI policies that support research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3).

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to apply the path dependence theoretical framework to STI policies that support research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3).

Design/methodology/approach

Review of the recent literature on the phases, sources of reinforcement and change mechanisms (layering, conversion, recombination, etc.) present in path-dependent processes, as well as the role played by mental frameworks, political agents and power relations; and its illustration and testing over 30 years of STI policy development in the Basque Country.

Findings

How to operationalise the analysis of continuity and change of STI policies supporting RIS3 policies characterised by path dependence processes. Likewise, learnings from the analysis of Basque case regarding the types of challenges that European regions will face as they design their RIS3, according to their degree of maturity in STI policies.

Originality/value

It is the first time that the recently developed tools for analysis of path-dependent processes are applied to the development of STI policies supporting RIS3 policies.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. 17 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 August 2014

Abel Duarte Alonso and Michelle O’Shea

In the highly competitive professional sports industry, managers of a newly established competition face many challenges, including “converting” or gaining the allegiance of new…

Abstract

In the highly competitive professional sports industry, managers of a newly established competition face many challenges, including “converting” or gaining the allegiance of new groups of consumers (fans, spectators) to their colors. One critical aspect in the converting process relates to the “ideal” game-day experience as perceived by would-be consumers. Gaining knowledge about this area could be critical to professional sport marketers in enhancing the perceived quality of sport events. This study examines the ideal football experience among 1,412 fans of an Australian A-League football (soccer) club. The importance of a lively atmosphere, that of high turnouts of spectators and the opportunity to watch quality and attacking football are highlighted in most comments, even relegating the game’s final score (winning) to a more marginal level of importance. Some of the implications of the findings for professional football marketers and avenues for future research are presented and discussed.

Details

Advances in Hospitality and Leisure
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-746-7

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 2006

Colleen A. Capper, George Theoharis and James Sebastian

The purpose of this article is to propose one possible framework for conceptualizing the preparation of leaders for social justice. To this end, three central questions guided…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to propose one possible framework for conceptualizing the preparation of leaders for social justice. To this end, three central questions guided this conceptualization: “What are the common themes in the literature and research on preparing leaders for social justice?”; “How can this framework serve as a guide for developing a course, set of courses, or an entire program toward preparing leaders to lead socially just schools?”; and “How can this literature and conceptualization inform future scholarship in administrator preparation?”.

Design/methodology/approach

This work included a review of 72 pieces of literature. To address the research questions, the growing body of leadership for social justice literature was reviewed. Each of these articles was analyzed and explicit recommendations for preparing school leaders noted. These recommendations were then catagorized into the proposed framework.

Findings

Three domains: critical consciousness; knowledge; and practical skills focused on social justice are positioned on the horizontal dimension of the framework. To achieve these ends, requires curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment oriented toward social justice – the vertical dimension of the framework.

Originality/value

It is suggested using this framework to guide the review and development of administration preparation programs whose aim is to prepare socially just leaders. Additionally, this article calls for increased attention to assessing preparation programs and how they prepare leaders for social justice.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 44 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 July 2020

Kerry Daniels, Ian Frederick Wilkinson, Louise Young and Steven (Qiang) Lu

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of brand love by studying its intensity and the nature of extreme forms of it, rather than its presence or absence. The…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of brand love by studying its intensity and the nature of extreme forms of it, rather than its presence or absence. The love of a sports team is a type of brand love and is a valuable context to study of brand love intensity because the intensity of love can become more extreme than for products; it has two distinctive features that are theoretically, management and policy relevant; and it is an under-researched context in marketing that is socially and economically significant.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors empirically develop and test a multidimensional hierarchical higher-order measure of the intensity of team love and a model of its drivers and outcomes using a sample of supporter club members of a professional sports team who vary in their intensity of love for the team.

Findings

The results support our measurement model and its distinctive features, especially the importance of the perceived two-way bond fans have with their team. While overall intensity of team love is not related to social influence or on-field performance, as hypothesized, they are related to sub-dimensions of team love, reflecting its multidimensionality. As hypothesized, the intensity of team love and social influence are related to the intention to renew club membership even with increased costs and poor performance and social influence is directly related to word of mouth and game attendance.

Research limitations/implications

The research is limited to the club members of one sports team in a particular sport in one country and one cultural context. Future research opportunities include: extending it to other sports and brand contexts, refining the methodology and addressing other issues highlighted by the research.

Practical implications

The results indicate the limits of management control of team love intensity because it develops over time independently through social processes. However, firms can help facilitate these processes. The social dimensions indicate the need to develop socially, as well as individually-focussed relationship management strategies. Most devoted fans are valuable customers, but some hardcore elements can be dysfunctional and sabotage the brand.

Social implications

Sport is personally, social and economically significant in most cultures and love of a sports team love can be an important glue that binds people and communities. However, the existence of extreme hardcore fans and heated rivalries can also be divisive and pose challenges for social policy. Hence, the need to better understand the factors driving more extreme forms of team love to better inform the development of social policy.

Originality/value

The authors focus on the intensity of brand love rather than its presence and absence as in prior research. The authors develop and test a new hierarchical measure of sports team love intensity and a model of its drivers and outcomes. The sports context is under-researched in marketing but reveals the important role played by dimensions that are obscured in studies of product brand love – its social nature and the perceived reciprocal relation with devoted fans. The results contribute to developing extended theories of brand love, open up new research opportunities and have management and policy implications.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 54 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2007

A. Ross Thomas

242

Abstract

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 45 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Article
Publication date: 24 January 2022

Molly F. Gordon and Holly Hart

The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples of what leadership behaviors and strategies look like in high-poverty urban schools in Chicago that are successful at…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide concrete examples of what leadership behaviors and strategies look like in high-poverty urban schools in Chicago that are successful at improving student outcomes. The authors compared the strategies used by principals who were rated by their teachers on annual surveys as being strong instructional leaders but had varying success in improving student outcomes for comparison.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is part of a larger mixed-methods study exploring the link between leadership and student learning. For the qualitative portion of the study, the authors utilized a contrasting case study design (Merriam, 1998) to distinguish leadership practices in schools with improvements in student achievement from practices in schools with stagnating or declining student achievement. The authors conducted case studies in a total of 12 schools–6 schools with improving student achievement and 6 schools with stagnating or declining student achievement. For brevity, the authors chose 4 schools to highlight in this manuscript that best illustrate the findings found across the full sample of 12 schools. The authors coded each interview using both inductive and deductive coding techniques.

Findings

The study findings indicate that there are subtle but important differences between the strategies principals in improving and contrast schools use to lead school improvement efforts. Principals in improving schools were able to create learning environments where staff were open to new ideas and work together towards goals. Principals in improving schools were also more likely to create structures that facilitated organizational learning than principals in contrast schools.

Originality/value

This study is unique because the authors provide concrete examples of what principals do in their schools to help create strong learning climates that foster organizational learning and improvement. The authors also identify differences in leader practices and structures in schools that are having a harder time making improvements for comparison. The study findings can be used by principals and other educators to better understand which of their various efforts may result in stronger school cultures conducive to organizational learning as outlined in Louis' and colleagues' work.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 60 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

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