Mathew Mackenzie, Iain Carpenter and Kathy Kotiadis
This paper demonstrates that three intermediate care services in Shepway, East Kent each cater for distinct patient groups, and that data from a single assessment process (SAP…
Abstract
This paper demonstrates that three intermediate care services in Shepway, East Kent each cater for distinct patient groups, and that data from a single assessment process (SAP) tool can be used to differentiate between them. By applying statistical techniques, inferences can be made about the likelihood of admission to a particular service, given specific health characteristics. In conclusion, we highlight the utility of standardised assessment as a means of providing data for audit and planning, and stress the importance of the SAP as a means of developing care services.
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K Kotiadis, G Carpenter and M Mackenzie
This paper demonstrates how a single assessment tool can be linked to intermediate care services eligibility criteria to examine referrals and admissions to these services, by…
Abstract
This paper demonstrates how a single assessment tool can be linked to intermediate care services eligibility criteria to examine referrals and admissions to these services, by reporting on a project in a locality in East Kent. The project involved implementing a standardised patient assessment tool for three months in all intermediate care services, to examine the suitability of patients entering each of these intermediate care services. This paper focuses on the results of the community assessment rehabilitation team (CART), a recuperative care centre and the day hospital. After analysing patient assessments, we found that some patients in all intermediate care services were placed there inappropriately, and this was most evident in the day hospital. The paper concludes with considerations and suggestions for improving the effectiveness of assessment tools in practice.
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Etiënne A. J. A. Rouwette and L. Alberto Franco
This chapter focuses on techniques and technologies to aid groups in making decisions, with an emphasis on computer-based support. Many office workers regularly meet colleagues…
Abstract
This chapter focuses on techniques and technologies to aid groups in making decisions, with an emphasis on computer-based support. Many office workers regularly meet colleagues and clients in virtual meetings using videoconferencing platforms, which enable participants to carry out tasks in a manner similar to a face-to-face meeting. The development of computer-based platforms to facilitate group tasks can be traced back to the 1960s, and while they support group communication, they do not directly support group decision making. In this chapter we distinguish four technologies developed to provide support to group decisions, clustered into two main traditions. Technologies in the task-oriented tradition are mainly concerned with enabling participants to complete tasks to solve the group's decision problem via computer-supported communications. Group Decision Support Systems and social software technologies comprise the task-oriented tradition. Alternately, in the model-driven tradition, participants use computers to build and use a model that acts as a referent to communicate, mostly verbally, about the group's decision problem. System modeling and decision-modeling technologies constitute the model-driven tradition. This chapter sketches the history and guiding ideas of both traditions, and describes their associated technologies. The chapter concludes with questioning if increased availability of online tools will lead to increased use of group decision support technologies, and the differential impact of communication support versus decision support.
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Andrea Herrera, Paula Velandia, Mario Sánchez and Jorge Villalobos
This paper aims to propose a conceptualization of the supply chain resilience domain using conceptual modelling techniques formalized through a metamodel and illustrated through…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a conceptualization of the supply chain resilience domain using conceptual modelling techniques formalized through a metamodel and illustrated through an example.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses conceptual modelling techniques to build and modularize the metamodel, the latter to manage complexity. The metamodel was built iteratively and subsequently instantiated with an example of a yogurt factory to analyse its usefulness and theoretical relevance, and thus its contributions to the domain.
Findings
Conceptual modelling techniques can represent a complex domain such as supply chain resilience simply, and the proposed metamodel makes it possible to create models that become valuable decision support tools.
Originality/value
Consolidation and structuring of concepts in the supply chain resilience domain through conceptual modelling techniques.
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Ashish Goel, L.S. Ganesh and Arshinder Kaur
Recent research on construction project management (CPM) envisions addressing wider social good while delivering value to the funding organizations. It is complemented by a…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent research on construction project management (CPM) envisions addressing wider social good while delivering value to the funding organizations. It is complemented by a growing body of knowledge on social sustainability in construction projects. These two literature streams are currently scattered and there is a lack of holistic guidance on integrating social sustainability with CPM. The current study addresses this knowledge gap through a critical review of these two bodies of literature and thereby proposing a conceptual framework for socially sustainable CPM.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual modelling approach, involving sequential steps of knowledge acquisition, and knowledge abstraction and representation, has been used. Knowledge acquisition was based on a systematic search and short-listing of research articles and knowledge abstraction was performed through thematic analysis of the 81 shortlisted articles. The categories abstracted through thematic analysis were integrated and presented as the framework.
Findings
A framework for socially sustainable CPM, consisting of four social sustainability characteristics and six areas of social sustainability integration in CPM (SSI-CPM), has been proposed. It presents possibilities of integrating social concerns in CPM processes at various levels – ranging from permanent firms that provide resources to the temporary (project) organization that delivers value.
Originality/value
This study seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice of realizing social good through construction projects. To this end, a conceptual framework has been proposed along with an agenda for future research encompassing social sustainability and CPM.
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David Wilkie, James Middleton, Alison Culverwell and Alisoun Milne
This article aims to describe the aims, role and impact of a specialist intermediate care service for people with dementia in Kent, entitled the Home Treatment Service (HTS). The…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to describe the aims, role and impact of a specialist intermediate care service for people with dementia in Kent, entitled the Home Treatment Service (HTS). The authors reflect on two workshops about the service, delivered as part of the “Dementia Care: A Positive Future” conference held in May 2010.
Design/methodology/approach
The 45 participants in the workshops included service providers, professionals and family carers. The aims and nature of the service were outlined by members of the clinical team as: adopting a multi‐professional approach, emphasising the value of a shared assessment process and having a commitment to flexible and intensive working within a person centred framework.
Findings
Focusing on the HTS's work with care homes, presenters offered case illustrations to highlight its collaborative approach to working with service users, staff, managers and families to improve the quality of life for users presenting with “challenging behaviour” and preventing placement breakdown. Discussion with participants explored the obstacles and opportunities in working productively with care homes. The HTS's potential to reduce reliance on anti‐psychotic medication was specifically highlighted. In addition to improving user and carer quality of life, outcomes of HTS intervention include a reduction in and quicker discharge from, mental health hospitals and maintaining the person in their existing setting.
Originality/value
The importance of including all parties – the older person with dementia, relatives, care staff and professionals – in co‐creating “solutions” was identified as one the HTS's keys to success.
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Piyush Gupta, Piyush Pranjal, Sasadhar Bera, Soumya Sarkar and Amit Sachan
Considerable amount of purchases in business-to-business (B2B) markets make through the tendering process. As technology keeps driving B2B procurement, both the…
Abstract
Purpose
Considerable amount of purchases in business-to-business (B2B) markets make through the tendering process. As technology keeps driving B2B procurement, both the supplier/contractor and buyer firms have settled down in their respective roles in the electronic-tendering environment. Researchers have ignored the supplier-side e-tender-driven marketing process that might lead to substantively successful financial performance. The purpose of this study is to improve the performance of an e-tender-driven marketing process of an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) incorporating the stakeholder's inputs.
Design/methodology/approach
Discrete event simulation modelling (DESM) has been used as a methodology to model, analyse and improve the process with the involvement of stakeholders at every stage of the study. Different scenarios are analysed to identify the near-optimal scenario based on agreed-upon key performance indicators.
Findings
Scenario that incorporated man-power sharing and eliminating avoidable activities gives the near-optimal solution for implementation.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlights that better insights can be gained by adopting the process-oriented view of the marketing–operations interface. Embracing a stakeholder-based consultative approach gives research a more practical outlook and reduces the gap between theory and practice. Suggestions for further research are provided.
Practical implications
B2B organizations, where lines between marketing and operations are blurred, can improve their marketing processes by implementing operations research tools.
Originality/value
This study provides an attempt to improve the performance of a supplier-side e-tender-driven marketing process of an OEM using the DESM methodology incorporating stakeholder's inputs.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution that problem structuring methods – a branch of the decision support discipline of operational research – have made in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution that problem structuring methods – a branch of the decision support discipline of operational research – have made in helping managers deal with situations of high complexity. The paper reviews the limitations of traditional operational research and argues that problem structuring methods have expanded the entire discipline and significantly contributed to its holistic nature and problem-solving orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a critical discussion of the limitations of the traditional operational research approach and examines how the development and successful application of problem structuring methods have opened up a new paradigm of analysis in management science.
Findings
In theoretical terms, problem structuring methods have moved the discipline of operational research away from its positivistic epistemology and towards interpretivism and the acceptance of a subjective social reality. In practical terms, they offer managers a broad range of appropriate analytical tools which provide transparency and offer the opportunity to those affected by the problem situation to be actively involved in the entire modelling process within a facilitated environment.
Originality/value
The paper offers a critical discussion of the contribution that problem structuring methods have made while also identifying the challenges they face as they try to achieve higher levels of recognition and acceptance in management science.
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This paper aims to examine the current level of application of problem structuring methods, a distinct domain within the wider analytical decision-support discipline of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the current level of application of problem structuring methods, a distinct domain within the wider analytical decision-support discipline of operational research (OR), in dealing with complex problem situations in organisations and societies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper has reviewed the relevant literature on problem structuring methods by analysing articles on practical applications that have been published in discipline-based journals over the past 15 years. The aim was to identify the extent to which OR practitioners use particular problem structuring methods and tools and the way that this is done in OR interventions.
Findings
The results show that the main problem structuring methods and tools have maintained their popularity and are frequently used as analytical approaches within a facilitated modelling environment. At the same time, new methods have been proposed, and these are typically integrated within multi-methodological frameworks that often include the use of more traditional OR techniques. On the other hand, even though problem structuring methods are now quite well-established in Europe and in other parts of the world, they do not seem to enjoy the same level of acceptance or recognition in the USA.
Originality/value
The paper provides an up-to-date account of the application of problem structuring methods as a means of handling increased problem complexity and highlights the contribution that this important field of work can make in dealing with the complex problems and challenges the world faces in the current turbulent environment.
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Ervia Tissyaraksita Devi, Dermawan Wibisono, Nur Budi Mulyono and Rachma Fitriati
This study aims to fill the gap in collaboration culture improvement by designing an information-sharing system as an enabler to support the forming dimensions of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to fill the gap in collaboration culture improvement by designing an information-sharing system as an enabler to support the forming dimensions of the collaboration process in previous studies. The authors propose the appropriate system to eliminate the collaboration culture gaps between the related functional units based on in-process interaction learning in a business process outsourcing company.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed action research (AR) based on soft systems methodology (SSM) with a system thinking approach, in which the authors and process actors design the agreed information-sharing system by involving the process actors in identifying the initial problem situation as well as validating the conceptual model through discussions and designing the expected system.
Findings
This study discovers that SSM-based AR is a suited method for designing a system that supports the formation of collaboration culture among actors in the digital service creation process by learning user perceptions and expectations in order to obtain their commitment to empower the proposed system.
Originality/value
In addition to providing a system to minimize the lack of collaboration culture, this study contributes to the academic literature by offering a new way of planning and designing in a system development methodology using soft systems approaches to understand user perceptions, expressing user interaction in a conceptual model and validating it and defining agreed activities to obtain the best design according to user expectations.