Jessica McEwen, Mark Shoesmith and Richard Allen
The purpose of this paper is to describe how Barnardo's, a large children's charity, has developed a system for measuring and reporting on service user outcomes as part of its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe how Barnardo's, a large children's charity, has developed a system for measuring and reporting on service user outcomes as part of its performance management approach. The challenges that confront third sector organisations when adopting this approach are summarised, as are the benefits that can accrue.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper's approach is to describe the development of an outcome monitoring tool (OMT) and to explore some of the benefits of and challenges to embedding this tool across Barnardo's services.
Findings
Third sector organisations operate in competitive, resource‐constrained environments, where funding arrangements are often short‐term and piecemeal. The ability to evidence the effectiveness of services through demonstrating positive outcomes for service users is becoming an increasingly important factor in the process of securing and sustaining funding. An outcome‐focused approach contributes to the development of excellent services by helping to ensure that services are making a difference to the people that use them. Barnardo's OMT offers a model for evidencing the impact of services on the people who use them, thus contributing to the organisation's competitive edge.
Originality/value
This paper is informed by current thinking on outcomes and evidence‐based practice and offers a practical example of how to implement an outcome‐focused approach in a third sector organisation.
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Martha Rodríguez-Villalobos, Jessica Fernandez-Garza and Yolanda Heredia-Escorza
The objective of this study was to compare three distinct methods of test monitoring in the context of distance education—non-proctored remote or online tests, traditional…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to compare three distinct methods of test monitoring in the context of distance education—non-proctored remote or online tests, traditional face-to-face proctored tests and remotely proctored tests using software—to analyze if the method in which tests are monitored influences the obtained grades.
Design/methodology/approach
The experiment was carried out at the postgraduate level in the Master's Degree in Administration program in the modality of distance education, with a total of 296 students during three terms wherein the monitoring method of the final exam varied, keeping the other variables constant. This study used a quantitative method in which the distribution of grades was analyzed; and the grades from each method were tested. Finally, using a multiple linear regression model with dichotomous variables, the impact on students' academic performance with each method was quantified.
Findings
The results indicated that the remotely proctored online test grades were seven points lower with respect to the traditional method. This result does not mean that the lower scores in the remote proctored condition were due to better adherence to academic honesty, maybe this could be due to test anxiety, technology interference or a number of other factors that would confound the validity of the final test score.
Practical implications
The results indicated that the non-proctored online test favored the grade in four points with respect to the traditional method.
Social implications
The authors conclude to support recommending non-proctored online test, this can be a closer substitute to the traditional method than remote application with software monitoring.
Originality/value
Not exist another paper to compare three distinct methods of test monitoring in the context of distance education.
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Alison Pullen, Carl Rhodes, Celina McEwen and Helena Liu
The purpose of this paper is to explore leadership for diversity informed by intersectionality and radical politics. Surfacing the political character of intersectionality, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore leadership for diversity informed by intersectionality and radical politics. Surfacing the political character of intersectionality, the authors suggest that a leadership for diversity imbued with a commitment to political action is essential for the progress towards equality.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing lessons from the grassroots, political organizing of the black and Indigenous activist groups Combahee River Collective and Idle No More, the authors explore how these groups relied on feminist alliances to address social justice issues. Learning from their focus on intersectionality, the authors consider the role of politically engaged leadership in advancing diversity and equality in organizations.
Findings
The paper finds that leadership for diversity can be developed by shifting towards a more radical and transversal politics that challenges social and political structures that enable intersectionality or interlocking oppressions. This challenge relies on critical alliances negotiated across multiple intellectual, social and political positions and enacted through flexible solidarity to foster a collective ethical responsibility and social change. These forms of alliance-based praxis are important for advancing leadership for diversity.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to studies of leadership and critical diversity studies by articulating an alliance-based praxis for leadership underpinned by intersectionality, radical democracy and transversal politics.
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Jessica Borg, Christina M. Scott-Young and Naomi Borg
As the youngest generation – Generation Z (Gen Z) – enters the workplace, there is a growing interest in this cohort's career needs and expectations. This paper explores the…
Abstract
Purpose
As the youngest generation – Generation Z (Gen Z) – enters the workplace, there is a growing interest in this cohort's career needs and expectations. This paper explores the under-researched topic of Gen Z project management (Gen Z PM) professionals. In addition to shedding light on the factors that positively affect Gen Z PM professionals' early career-development phase, this research aims to identify specific organization-led practices that can foster sustainable early PM careers and so achieve greater workforce sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the lens of the resource-based view (RBV), Gen Z PM professionals are considered critical resources that can help ensure workforce sustainability in project-based organizations (PBOs). Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 Gen Z PM professionals in Australia to explore the professionals' early career experiences and the organizational-support initiatives that facilitate positive experiences. The results were analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings
The results revealed that most Gen Z PMs experienced many challenges and a lack of support during their early career phase: Gen Z value (1) mentoring, (2) time for training and development, (3) showing support and guidance, (4) understand skill-gaps and (5) reasonable workloads. Through catering to these needs, PBOs can ensure better career sustainability for their young Gen Z talent and, therefore, greater workforce sustainability for the project profession.
Originality/value
According to the career sustainability lens, PBOs play a significant role in ensuring that their valuable young PM talent are supported and retained in the profession. This research sheds light on what Gen Z PM professionals value in their early careers, which guided recommendations to better support this new generation of project professionals.
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Recent growth of concern relating to ‘elder abuse’ concurrent with recognition of the importance of user involvement has suggested a link between these two developments. Here…
Abstract
Recent growth of concern relating to ‘elder abuse’ concurrent with recognition of the importance of user involvement has suggested a link between these two developments. Here, however, Phil Slater argues that generalised principles cannot generate blueprints for implementation. A concrete illustration of the general arguments is offered.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe the emergence of school-based, secular, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for educators and students that aim to cultivate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the emergence of school-based, secular, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for educators and students that aim to cultivate mindfulness and its putative benefits for teaching, learning, and well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper has four sections: (a) a description of indicators of increased interest in mindfulness generally and in education; (b) substantive and functional definitions of mindfulness; (c) rationales for the potential value of mindfulness for teaching, learning, and well-being; and (d) a review of extant research on MBIs for teachers and students in schools.
Findings
On the basis of this review, it is concluded that school-based MBIs represent a promising emerging approach to enhancing teaching, learning, and well-being in schools; but that more research, with more rigorous study designs and measures, need to be done to establish the scientific validity of the effects of school-based MBIs for teachers and students alike.
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Since its inception in the 1970s, procedural justice has taken center stage in research on the outcomes of alternative dispute resolution. Such perceptions of procedural fairness…
Abstract
Since its inception in the 1970s, procedural justice has taken center stage in research on the outcomes of alternative dispute resolution. Such perceptions of procedural fairness, while important, are fairly transient whereas relationships between disputants endure. In the following chapter I argue that more research should explore the relational outcomes of dispute resolution, highlighting relevant insight from social exchange and organizational behavior on affect, attribution, and conflict. In discussing how each can add to the study of alternative dispute resolution, a paradox emerges – arbitration may be better for ongoing relationships than mediation, although the latter is considered more procedurally just.