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Article
Publication date: 31 July 2007

Nicolette van Gestel and Jean‐Michel Herbillon

To explore and explain differences in reform of activation policies, comparing the shifts in governance in France and The Netherlands from the 1990s onwards.

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Abstract

Purpose

To explore and explain differences in reform of activation policies, comparing the shifts in governance in France and The Netherlands from the 1990s onwards.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on in‐depth case studies of the reform process in activation policies, using documentary sources and interviews with several stake‐holders. The theoretical scope is the debate on institutional change, path‐dependency and convergence.

Findings

Although both countries demonstrate converging tendencies in the transformation of their activation policies, there are remarkable differences in the new modes of governance. Moving away from a traditionally hierarchical organisation, France is gradually developing a network model with more emphasis on decentralisation. Alternatively, The Netherlands privatised their public employment services and explore principal – agent realtions in activation. The institutional context of both nation, in particular the concept of path‐dependency, seems crucial in the explanation of these differences. However, some new elements are path‐breaking in a national context but do not illustrate converging trends.

Research limitations/implications

This comparative study is aimed at the fields of employment services, social benefits and social assistance in two countries. For a more complete approach of the changes is activation policies, further research is needed to include other fields of social policy and other nations whithin Europe.

Originality/value

The paper develops both empirical and theoretical conclusions on the path‐dependent and convergin elements in transforming labour market coordination throughout Europe.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 27 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

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Article
Publication date: 31 July 2009

Nicolette van Gestel and Daniel Nyberg

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a national policy on sickness absence management is translated by HR managers into local human resource management (HRM) practices by…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a national policy on sickness absence management is translated by HR managers into local human resource management (HRM) practices by developing and applying an analytical framework with three dimensions: individual preferences, strategic reframing, and local grounding.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on policy documents and interviews with HR managers in Dutch law firms. The theoretical scope is the debate on HRM and institutional contexts.

Findings

The paper uncovers a variety of individual preferences among HR managers' interpretations of the national policy. However, in strategically reframing the policy, the organizations act upon it from a mainly “managerialist” perspective: they focus on reducing absence through increased control of employees, rather than reforming organizational practices that may adversely affect the health of workers. The local groundings reinforce unequal power relations between different categories of employees: HR managers/line managers; professionals/administrative personnel; men/women. The paper contributes to the understanding of how changes in institutional contexts are translated into organizations and the role of HR managers within this process.

Research limitations/implications

The paper explores the translation process in a particular setting. It would be fruitful to broaden the scope to other institutional contexts and organizations and to include a diverse range of actors to develop additional knowledge of the interaction in the translation process.

Originality/value

The paper develops both empirical and theoretical conclusions on the translation, that is, the sense making of HRM in an uncertain environment of changing national institutions.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 31 July 2007

Rik van Berkel and Vando Borghi

This editorial aims to introduce the first of a set of two special issues on New modes of governance in activation policies.

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Abstract

Purpose

This editorial aims to introduce the first of a set of two special issues on New modes of governance in activation policies.

Design/methodology/approach

The article explores the concept of governance, distinguishing a broad and more narrow use of the concept. Then, it argues that issues of governance should be an integral part of studies of welfare state transformations. Not in the last instance, because governance reforms do have an impact on the content of social policies and social services such as activation. The article continues by discussing three models of the provision of social services.

Findings

The article states that the development of the modes of governance in activation in various countries reveals that a mix of service provision models is being used.

Originality/value

The article introduces the articles of the special issue.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 27 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 July 2023

Sanja Vrbek and Tina Jukić

This paper aims to develop a model that supports public organisations in making informed strategic decisions as to which public services are most suitable to be improved through…

1106

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to develop a model that supports public organisations in making informed strategic decisions as to which public services are most suitable to be improved through co-creation. Thus, it first identifies the features that make public services (un)suitable for co-creation and then applies this knowledge to develop a multi-criteria decision support model for the assessment of their co-creation readiness.

Design/methodology/approach

The decision support model is the result of design science research. While its structure is determined by a qualitative multi-criteria decision analysis, its substance builds on a content analysis of Web of Science papers and over a dozen empirical case studies.

Findings

The model is comprised of 13 criteria clustered into two groups: service readiness criteria from the perspective of service users and service readiness criteria from the perspective of a public organisation.

Research limitations/implications

The model attributes rely on a limited number of empirical cases and references from the literature review. The model was tested by only one public organisation on four of its services.

Originality/value

The paper shifts the research focus from organisational properties and capacity, as the key co-creation drivers and barriers, to features of public services as additional factors that affect the prospect of co-creation. Thus, it makes a pioneering step towards the conceptualisation of the idea of “service readiness for co-creation” and the development of a practical instrument that supports co-creation in the public sector.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Max Visser

This paper aims to discuss the “truism” that learning organizations cannot be large organizations and, conversely, that large organizations cannot be learning organizations. This…

700

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the “truism” that learning organizations cannot be large organizations and, conversely, that large organizations cannot be learning organizations. This paper analyzes learning in the German and US armies in the Second World War, based on a four-dimensional model of the learning organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper entails a secondary analysis of historical and military sources and data.

Findings

It is found that the German and US armies differed in learning capacity, which can be plausibly, but not exclusively, related to differences in the battlefield performance between those armies in the Second World War.

Research limitations/implications

The research scope of the paper is limited to the analysis of two particular armies in the Second World War. Implications of theory reside in the importance of organizational learning capacity and its dimensions for learning in current organizations.

Practical implications

The paper has clear practical implications for large organizations wishing to become effective and responsible learning organizations.

Originality/value

This is among the first organizational papers to analyze army learning in the Second World War and to derive lessons from that analysis for current large organizations.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 November 2024

Eldene Braaf and Nicolette Roman

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and wellness practitioners (WPs) are the first line of support for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation. However, many…

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Abstract

Purpose

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and wellness practitioners (WPs) are the first line of support for employees returning from substance use rehabilitation. However, many workplaces need more guidance and support provisions to address these needs effectively. The purpose of this paper is to present a 10-week aftercare intervention programme that EAPs and WPs can use to support employees returning to work after a period of substance use rehabilitation.

Design/methodology/approach

The qualitative methodological approach involved two distinct stages of data collection and consensus search activities. Stage 1 involved three data collection activities with three stakeholder groups, and Stage 2 consisted of two consensus-seeking engagements with the intended audience of the intervention programme.

Findings

Participants in the consensus-seeking activities endorsed the inclusion of content in the proposed intervention programme and structural and organisational arrangements. Specific recommendations were made, namely, increased reliance on faith-based and spiritual support, the need to include community support structures and ensuring that workplace interventions include counselling, skills training and motivational speakers.

Practical implications

Those working in the EAP environment are offered a systematic and holistic plan for managing and supporting employees recovering from substance abuse disorders (SUDs) to maintain their recovery and return to productive work.

Originality/value

Implementing the intervention programmes can reduce the ad hoc nature of current approaches to workplace aftercare. The WPs are placed in a central role while stressing the valuable input of other key role players within the workplace or part of the family and community networks of the employee.

Details

International Journal of Workplace Health Management, vol. 17 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8351

Keywords

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