The Corporation of the City of London are about to appoint a Public Analyst, and by advertisement have invited applications for the post. It is obviously desirable that the person…
Abstract
The Corporation of the City of London are about to appoint a Public Analyst, and by advertisement have invited applications for the post. It is obviously desirable that the person appointed to this office should not only possess the usual professional qualifications, but that he should be a scientific man of high standing and of good repute, whose name would afford a guarantee of thoroughness and reliability in regard to the work entrusted to him, and whose opinion would carry weight and command respect. Far from being of a nature to attract a man of this stamp, the terms and conditions attaching to the office as set forth in the advertisement above referred to are such that no self‐respecting member of the analytical profession, and most certainly no leading member of it, could possibly accept them. It is simply pitiable that the Corporation of the City of London should offer terms, and make conditions in connection with them, which no scientific analyst could agree to without disgracing himself and degrading his profession. The offer of such terms, in fact, amounts to a gross insult to the whole body of members of that profession, and is excusable only—if excusable at all—on the score of utter ignorance as to the character of the work required to be done, and as to the nature of the qualifications and attainments of the scientific experts who are called upon to do it. In the analytical profession, as in every other profession, there are men who, under the pressure of necessity, are compelled to accept almost any remuneration that they can get, and several of these poorer, and therefore weaker, brethren will, of course, become candidates for the City appointment.
David Bamford and Michael Griffin
This paper aims to report on research into human resource management within an operations management environment; specifically, operational team‐work amongst health care workers…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on research into human resource management within an operations management environment; specifically, operational team‐work amongst health care workers in a hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
Eight operational teams within a UK National Health Service hospital took part and the research used a combination of survey and group discussions.
Findings
The results show the construct of the team had little operational definition. Key factors identified as contributing to effective team‐working include: leadership; frequency of team meetings; a climate of trust and openness. There was limited evidence of truly multi‐disciplinary teams and of organisational support for team‐working.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology applied was appropriate, generating data to facilitate discussion and draw specific conclusions therefrom. A perceived limitation is the single case approach; however, Remenyi et al. argue this can be enough to add to the body of knowledge. In terms of implications this paper demonstrates that team‐working is no panacea; as part of a bundle of good operations management practices it is associated with efficiency, effectiveness, and in this case improved patient care.
Practical implications
The paper suggests a new input, process, output model of effective team‐working and identifies issues to be faced in adopting a strategy of developing an operational team‐based organisation.
Originality/value
The value of this paper is the conclusion that the importance of operational team‐working is as a paradigm for assessing how effectively individuals and groups work together, rather than as a specific organisational form with an optimal size.
Details
Keywords
THE first surprise when travelling by air from Fiji to Western Samoa is that one leaves Fiji on Saturday and arrives in Western Samoa on Friday. This is because of crossing the…
Abstract
THE first surprise when travelling by air from Fiji to Western Samoa is that one leaves Fiji on Saturday and arrives in Western Samoa on Friday. This is because of crossing the International Date Line en route and a story is told in Fiji of a man who owned a shop through which the date line ran. Sunday trading is frowned on in Fiji but our friend got round this by opening only half of his shop on Sunday—the half on the Saturday or Monday side of the date line. It is therefore not surprising that the Fiji Times describes itself as “the first newspaper in the world every day”.
WE wish for our readers a Good New Year. Whether it would be appropriate to wish readers a Happy New Year at this stage will depend upon many factors. Even before these words…
Abstract
WE wish for our readers a Good New Year. Whether it would be appropriate to wish readers a Happy New Year at this stage will depend upon many factors. Even before these words appear in type we may be involved in the more intense struggle for the very existence of our country which everyone seems to think must come sooner or later. The ultimate outcome of that we do not doubt, but while it continues we shall need all the strength, spiritual, mental and physical, that we possess. Nevertheless, it will be a good new year if we remain sensitive to all the needs and opportunities that surround us.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between a liminal rural Australian city (Lithgow) and the development of higher education options across the city's…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the interaction between a liminal rural Australian city (Lithgow) and the development of higher education options across the city's history. The paper proposes a nuanced interaction between national, social, religious, political, regional and local forces to explain why an industrial city such as Lithgow, with obvious educational strengths, would be overlooked while others (such as Wollongong and Bathurst) were not.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of a longitudinal study of educational institutions, placed in their historical contexts, in order to demonstrate the fluctuation of educational vision with the rise and fall of socio-economic contributors to the town's fortunes.
Findings
The paper finds that the city's formation and dependence on war-related industries created boom-bust cycles which negatively impacted on its entrepreneurial, managerial and working class elites, and so on its ability to bring cultural and political influence to bear in the formation of local higher education options, across a period in which higher education becomes an increasingly federal responsibility.
Practical implications
The paper suggests policy ramifications for the support of higher education options in the city.
Social implications
The paper supports the interpretation that it is not merely that education itself promotes social mobility, but that what type of education is important, along with an eye to how education contributes to the overall well-being and cross-class profile of the city of Lithgow.
Originality/value
This paper fills a gap in historical knowledge about Lithgow's educational institutions, the study of which heretofore has tended to be located with either labor historical or heritage approaches. This paper takes a socio-cultural and longitudinal/holistic approach which brings together a variety of approaches previously not treated.