Search results

The internal customer concept is used with different definitions and purposes in research and in practice – an ambiguity with implications for both scholars and practitioners. The purpose of this study is, therefore, to explore the representation of the internal customer concept in quality management literature and reflect on how the user may affect collaboration in health-care processes, in particular between a service function and health-care staff.

A review of the internal customer concept in the literature, followed by a conceptual discussion based on previous studies and theories of organizational discourse.

Three predominant types of relationships related to the internal customer concept were found. The study shows that the ambiguity in the use of the concept may have consequences for the interpretation and application of research results. Potential undesirable consequences with regard to collaboration in processes are discussed.

This study contributes to a new understanding of the internal customer concept in research and practice. As collaboration within and between organizations is increasingly required in many parts of health care, careful considerations become necessary regarding concepts used for relationships to avoid sub-optimization and “us-versus-them” thinking and to strengthen trust-based relationships.

The use of the customer concept and ways of interacting with customers in support functions are relatively new areas of interest for public organizations. The purpose of this study is to describe the development toward a stronger customer orientation in a support function in a Swedish county council from a management team perspective.

A revision of plans and annual reports and individual interviews with the members of a management team was done. The interviews were examined using qualitative content analysis.

The results are presented in one overarching theme, the double-edged customer concept, and three themes, meeting the customer’s needs, being the customer’s specialist and developing in collaboration with the customer. The development of a customer orientation is illustrated as a spiral involving the concepts of understanding, wanting and acting.

The paper contributes to a new understanding of how customer orientation develops in the context of public organizations’ support functions.

Qualification is the competence that is required for tasks related to wage work. Competence is all the forms of knowledge possessed by the staff as well as their personal abilities. When qualification is related to competence, possible competence deficiencies become apparent. This can be done in our model for controlling the improvement of competence. The first step in the process of describing competence deficiency is to operationalize the concept of qualification. This is achieved by means of social tests, which can be considered as relevant data. Empirical data are used to develop social tests relating to qualification for two staff categories, Front staff and Departmental managers. Finally, we take a further step and suggest how the empirical content of the concept can be used in a model for controlling the improvement of competence.

Sickness absence is a major public health and economic problem. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of a legislative intervention that concerns reduction of compensation levels in sickness absence in the Slovak Republic. In addition, the study encompasses appraisal of effects reflected by related indicators.

The paper describes an evaluation study, based on national statistics from relevant sources. Numeric data were used for characterizing the dynamics of sickness absence in Slovakia in the years 1997-2013. Statistical programmes join-point and R-environment were used for analytical purposes in terms of Wilcoxon test and linear regression.

The results suggest that following the implementation of the Act No. 462/2003 Coll. the number of new cases as well as the proportion of sickness absence among insured persons decreased by 50 per cent (from 2003 – 60/100 to 2004 – 30,8/100). Average duration of inability to work increased to 6.5 days and there were more women compared to men on sick leave. The most frequent causes of sickness absence were respiratory diseases, muscular-skeletal diseases and injuries outside the workplace.

The trend of sickness absence can be influenced by many others factors, but the research is mainly focussed on legislative impact.

The research indicates an effect of legislative intervention at national level.

In this chapter, we explore the impact of socioemotional and financial wealth on the resource management of family firms. We use MoDo, a Swedish pulp and paper firm, covering three generations of owner-managers from 1873 to 1991, to grasp the shifting emphases on socioemotional and financial wealth in the management of the company. Identifying four strategic issues of decisive importance for the development of MoDo, we analyze the organizational values that guided the management of these issues. We propose that financial and socioemotional wealth stand for two different rationalities that infuse organizational values. The MoDo case illustrates how these rationalities go hand in hand for extended periods of time, safeguarding both financial success and socioemotional endowments. However, in a situation where the rationalities are no longer in line with the development of the industry context, the conflict arising between the two rationalities may have fatal consequences for the firm in question.

Strategies of embedding into the local environment are considered critical for multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of this paper is to analyze such strategies in Romania.

The theoretical framework draws on social network theory to investigate the extent, structure, and features of embedding in the context of four case studies.

The results suggest a shift in how MNCs respond to a changing competitive landscape in Romania. The findings indicate that, contrasting proficient strategies of establishing numerous connections at entry, the most valuable approaches are currently aimed at building a diverse but non‐redundant network of relationships that gives the company access to information and flexibility to react quickly to changes. Direct relationships with the government are found to be potentially detrimental, even if they may have been important at market entry.

The limitations of the research relate to the subjective nature of the testimony‐based material.

The findings suggest that the local subsidiary management should stay connected with organizations that allow access to information about their industries, applicable legislation and future competitive pressures, while corporate headquarters need to give local management enough decision‐making freedom for the subsidiary to evolve with the environment.

The paper enhances knowledge of a strategic approach used extensively in transition and emerging markets, and adds to the understanding of MNCs' strategies in Romania.