The purpose of this paper is to test an intervention technique developed earlier. The technique builds on an action research approach with a threefold aim: to produce change in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test an intervention technique developed earlier. The technique builds on an action research approach with a threefold aim: to produce change in a practical context, in our case to enhance the problem‐solving capacity in an operational team in an authentic construction project, and at the same time; test the technique and finally, extract additional knowledge about the problem area.
Design/methodology/approach
The technique is based on “the Skilled Facilitator” approach and the “krAft” concept, extended with knowledge about unconscious behaviour and focusing on counteracting counterproductive behaviour. The intervention was performed by the first author and studied through joint reflection, in part with the second author and in part with the participants, on documentation from meetings (notes and audio recordings), individual interviews, questionnaires, and observations.
Findings
The intervention technique developed was found to be effective in the aspect of creating efficient learning processes in the operational team. Results show that change occurred compared to the participants' experience from earlier construction projects, and indicates that the intervention was, at least partly, reason for the change. Even though the changes were apprehended both positive and negative, the positive changes were in the majority.
Originality/value
The paper creates new knowledge about how communication problems and other practical problems in the construction industry can be overcome with the help of an interventionist. The concept of the interventionist as a “liberator,” is introduced.
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Kajsa Haag and Lars-Göran Sund
Our purpose is to explore the case of divorce in family business from a legal perspective and highlight the problems of applying family law in the family business context.
Abstract
Purpose
Our purpose is to explore the case of divorce in family business from a legal perspective and highlight the problems of applying family law in the family business context.
Design/methodology/approach
We rely on legal analysis and interviews with estate distribution executors to discuss problems with the legal rules and how they are practiced.
Findings
Our findings show that the law is ill fitted to the situation where there is a family business included in the division of marital property. In divorce, family law dictates the division of marital property and the family business is reduced to an asset to be divided like any other. Critical issues are identified and elaborated.
Research limitations/implications
Divorce and other disruptions to the family system should be considered in family business consultancy among other threats to the business. The legal perspective on divorce in the family business offered here primarily concerns ownership issues. The impact of divorce on management is equally in need of exploration, which is our suggestion for further studies.
Practical implications
Our paper illuminates in which ways the business is hampered from divorcing owners and discuss critical issues with applying family law in a family business context.
Originality/value
New light is shed on the practical problems of interpreting family law in a family business context advancing our understanding of family aspects in family business management.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction and overview of the various papers in this special issue.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction and overview of the various papers in this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
A short discussion of the main quests of interventionist research and how these are related to the papers in this special issue, is undertaken.
Findings
The essence of interventionist research is its methodological location, researching where practice and theory meet.
Research limitations/implications
Interventionist research places strong demands on the individual researcher's interpretative, social, and abstracting skills in order to carry observations to ontological and epistemological levels.
Practical implications
Interventionist research is rich in research designs and specific intervention types. Selecting the “right” one is strongly related to the connection the researcher makes with the social context she/he will operate in. Changes over time in both design and intervention can be expected, given the dynamic, longitudinal and interactive nature of interventionist research.
Originality/value
This special issue provides examples of a varied set of interventionist research situations, including the selection of typical intervention methods and how knowledge contributions were extracted.
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The evolvement of batch manufacturing systems from groups of linked, tape operated NC machine tools to computer controlled integrated systems is described. In the span of a few…
Abstract
The evolvement of batch manufacturing systems from groups of linked, tape operated NC machine tools to computer controlled integrated systems is described. In the span of a few years, computerized integrated systems have appeared in most major industrial countries and are being built at increasing rate. One of the major problems is the efficient automation of workpiece handling. Here solutions include conveyor systems similar to those existing in transfer lines, industrial robots, circulating tow cars and shuttle transporters. Although a “robot” appears to be the best in principle, existing industrial robots are still limited in their capabilities. However, new developments in robots, some already evident, indicate possibilities at least for parts which are below approximately 100kgf weight. Heavier parts must be fixtured and palletized, and several such systems are described.
Camilla Lawaetz Wimmelmann, Kathrine Vitus and Signe Smith Jervelund
The purpose of this paper is to examine any unanticipated effects of an educational intervention among newly arrived adult immigrants attending a language school in Denmark.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine any unanticipated effects of an educational intervention among newly arrived adult immigrants attending a language school in Denmark.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative case study was conducted including interviews with nine informants, observations of two complete intervention courses and an analysis of the official intervention documents.
Findings
This case study exemplifies how the basic normative assumptions behind an immigrant-oriented intervention and the intrinsic power relations therein may be challenged and negotiated by the participants. In particular, the assumed (power) relations inherent in immigrant-oriented educational health interventions, in which immigrants are in a novice position, are challenged, as the immigrants are experienced adults (and parents) in regard to healthcare. The paper proposes that such unexpected conditions for the implementation – different from the assumed conditions – not only challenge the implementation of the intervention but also potentially produce unanticipated yet valuable effects.
Research limitations/implications
Newly arrived immigrants represent a hugely diverse and heterogeneous group of people with differing values and belief systems regarding health and healthcare. A more detailed study is necessary to fully understand their health seeking behaviours in the Danish context.
Originality/value
Offering newly arrived immigrants a course on health and the healthcare system as part of the mandatory language courses is a new and underexplored means of providing and improving newly arrived immigrants knowledge and use of the Danish healthcare system.
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DURING the past 40‐odd years or so, a number of experimental aeroplane types have been invented, visualized, designed, constructed and even flown which, in a quite unorthodox…
Abstract
DURING the past 40‐odd years or so, a number of experimental aeroplane types have been invented, visualized, designed, constructed and even flown which, in a quite unorthodox manner, had neither behind the wing nor in front of it any sort of stabilizing and/or controlling surfaces.
OPINION seems to be divided as to whether work study should be recognised and represented at the highest level of management or whether is should be just another department…
Abstract
OPINION seems to be divided as to whether work study should be recognised and represented at the highest level of management or whether is should be just another department similar in status to the wages office. Of course, there is no question in so far as the practitioners are concerned—they think they should be accorded high professional status—full stop.
The chapter presents a historical and economic analysis of Nordic wage formation, with a special focus on how collective agreements really work. A stereotypical interpretation of…
Abstract
The chapter presents a historical and economic analysis of Nordic wage formation, with a special focus on how collective agreements really work. A stereotypical interpretation of the evolution of Nordic wage bargaining systems is that a centralised setting of wages has gradually been substituted with more decentralised pay bargaining. This overlooks the fact that central organisations could never really control wage levels, even in the golden age of centralised bargaining. Instead, central pay bargains defined minimum wage changes that ensured that local conflicts would be ruled out. Moreover, the central stipulations could often be overruled or adjusted at the local level. Following insights of Teulings and Hartog, we argue that the main function of Nordic collective agreements has always been to rule out local conflicts that would otherwise be initiated to seek local rents. Thus, collective agreements combine macroeconomic flexibility with adequate investment incentives at the local level. In this crucial sense, Nordic collective agreements are a completely stable institution. The most important transformation that has taken place is that formal peak bargaining on mean pay increases has been substituted with pattern bargaining where the manufacturing industry acts as a wage leader. Economic theory suggests that this almost amounts to centralised pay setting.
This paper aims to explore how healthcare organizations in Denmark transform modern ideas of patient‐centred preventive care into organizational practice. Specific attention is…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how healthcare organizations in Denmark transform modern ideas of patient‐centred preventive care into organizational practice. Specific attention is given to the influence of existing organizational practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative multiple case study design is used to explore “motivational interviewing”, a health behaviour concept that was introduced in preventive consultations in ten Danish clinics. From an institutional perspective, the concept may be understood as an “organizational recipe” that translates into organizational activities. Data are generated by observations, interviews and document reviews. Theory and data provide the framework for an analytical phase model.
Findings
The paper reveals how abstract ideas on preventive care translate into specific activities in organizations following pre‐existing, general rules of medical practice. Disparities between clinics are related to distinctive local practices, such as clinics' conditions and preventive treatment practices that form local sets of editing rules. Differences in clinic performances result in variations in achieving the ideal of patient‐centred, preventive care prescribed by motivational interviewing.
Research limitations/implications
It is acknowledged in medical practice that there are different conceptions of the ideal of preventive care. The paper points to the value of promoting transparency in clinical practice and of paying attention to the mismatch between external expectations and organizational capabilities.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the understanding of organizational dynamics at the micro‐level.