Joy Akehurst, Paul Stronge, Karen Giles and Jonathon Ling
The aim of this action research was to explore, from a workforce and a patient/carer perspective, the skills and the capacity required to deliver integrated care and to inform…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this action research was to explore, from a workforce and a patient/carer perspective, the skills and the capacity required to deliver integrated care and to inform future workforce development and planning in a new integrated care system in England.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with primary, community, acute care, social care and voluntary care, frontline and managerial staff and with patients and carers receiving these services were undertaken. Data were explored using framework analysis.
Findings
Analysis revealed three overarching themes: achieving teamwork and integration, managing demands on capacity and capability and delivering holistic and user-centred care. An organisational development (OD) process was developed as part of the action research process to facilitate the large-scale workforce changes taking place.
Research limitations/implications
This study did not consider workforce development and planning challenges for nursing and care staff in residential, nursing care homes or domiciliary services. This part of the workforce is integral to the care pathways for many patients, and in line with the current emerging national focus on this sector, these groups require further examination. Further, data explore service users' and carers' perspectives on workforce skills. It proved challenging to recruit patient and carer respondents for the research due to the nature of their illnesses.
Practical implications
Many of the required skills already existed within the workforce. The OD process facilitated collaborative learning to enhance skills; however, workforce planning across a whole system has challenges in relation to data gathering and management. Ensuring a focus on workforce development and planning is an important part of integrated care development.
Social implications
This study has implications for social and voluntary sector organisations in respect of inter-agency working practices, as well as the identification of workforce development needs and potential for informing subsequent cross-sector workforce planning arrangements and communication.
Originality/value
This paper helps to identify the issues and benefits of implementing person-centred, integrated teamworking and the implications for workforce planning and OD approaches.
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Literacy instruction for children with a disability is not highlighted as a priority in South Africa. This can be attributed to numerous reasons, amongst others: the focus on care…
Abstract
Literacy instruction for children with a disability is not highlighted as a priority in South Africa. This can be attributed to numerous reasons, amongst others: the focus on care of children with disability to the detriment of learning; the high number of children with disabilities who are currently out of school; the gradual change and movement towards inclusion despite policies being in place, poorly qualified teachers with limited knowledge regarding best teaching practices and limited experience of teachers in teaching functional literacy. However, the National Department of Education is attempting to address these factors by, for example introducing a compulsory year of schooling before Grade 1 commences (Grade R), developing work books for all learners in the foundation phase and making them available across the country as well as introducing a new national curriculum – Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement CAPS – with a stronger emphasis on literacy.
In this chapter I will briefly provide a contextual background to the South African context; then provide a short discussion of the challenges faced in this context and finally focus on the best practices that have some evidence in this context.
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Mary Dana Laird, James J. Zboja, Paul Harvey, Lisa M. Victoravich and Anupama Narayan
Guided by Hobfoll’s (1989) conservation of resources theory, we examined how psychological entitlement moderates the negative relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and…
Abstract
Purpose
Guided by Hobfoll’s (1989) conservation of resources theory, we examined how psychological entitlement moderates the negative relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and job satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a sample of 119 accountants from the Midwestern United States, we tested our hypotheses with hierarchical regression analysis.
Findings
Results indicate a strong, negative relationship between WFC and job satisfaction for employees low in psychological entitlement, but an insignificant relationship for entitled employees.
Practical implications
The results suggest that some entitlement may be beneficial to employees when coping with WFC. However, organizations should limit WFC in order to foster their least entitled employees’ job satisfaction.
Originality/value
This is the first study that investigates how psychological entitlement affects employees' reactions to WFC. Not only does it contribute to the growing body of research that examines how this individual difference affects workplace functioning, but it suggests there may be some benefits to entitlement, which largely has been disparaged.
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Imtiaz Ahmed, Ineen Sultana, Sanjoy Kumar Paul and Abdullahil Azeem
Managers encounter many decisions that require the simultaneous use of different types of data in their decision‐making process. A critical decision area for managers is the…
Abstract
Purpose
Managers encounter many decisions that require the simultaneous use of different types of data in their decision‐making process. A critical decision area for managers is the performance evaluation of personnel, whether individually or as a member of a team. Performance evaluation is critically essential for the effective management of the human resource of an organization and evaluation of staff that help develop individuals, improve organizational performance, and feed into business planning.
Design/methodology/approach
Performance evaluations require and often involve disparate types of information that are vague, incomplete, objective, and subjective. This paper proposes a performance evaluation system of employees considering various performance evaluation criteria using fuzzy logic. The main task in the proposed approach involves determining the performance indices of employees considering their respective performance in various qualitative and quantitative evaluation criteria and then selecting the best employee who holds highest performance index comparing all the indices.
Findings
A model is developed for any kind of organization where performance evaluation is significantly important for staff motivation, attitude and behavior development, communicating and aligning individual and organizational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management and staff. Fuzzy control is used to determine the overall performance index by combining results of the performance in selected criteria and provided it in numerical values which will undoubtedly ensure convenience of the concerned human resource personnel during performance rating calculation.
Originality/value
This is the first time, a performance evaluation model is developed using fuzzy approach for any kind of organization where performance evaluation is significantly important for staff motivation, attitude and behavior development, communicating and aligning individual and organizational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management and staff.
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Helen Delaney and Catherine Casey
This article critically investigates a management-led experiment to institute a four-day work week with stated intentions of improving productivity and worker wellbeing. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This article critically investigates a management-led experiment to institute a four-day work week with stated intentions of improving productivity and worker wellbeing. The article analyses the framing and implementation of the reduced work hours (RWH) trial, the responses of employees and the outcomes and implications of the trial. It raises concerns regarding the managerial appropriation of employee aspirations for more autonomy over time and improved work life.
Design/methodology/approach
We conducted a qualitative case study of a medium-sized company operating in the financial services sector in New Zealand. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 employees.
Findings
Our study finds that the promise of a four-day week attracted employee favour and individualised benefits. However, entrenched managerialist practices of performance measurement, monitoring and productivity pressures were intensified. Pro-social and collective interests evident in labour-led campaigns were absent. We urge greater critical scrutiny into seemingly advantageous “business case” initiatives for reduced work hours.
Originality/value
Little is known about what happens to concern for social and employee interests entailed in reduced working hours initiatives when a management-led initiative is implemented. Indeed, the majority of research focuses on the macro-level rather than interrogating the “black box” of firms. Our inquiry contributes to these debates by asking, how does a management-led RWH initiative affect employees?
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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Eileen Piggot‐Irvine and Howard Youngs
The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide‐ranging “Professional Development Plan” providing a four‐stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the…
Abstract
Purpose
The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide‐ranging “Professional Development Plan” providing a four‐stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the first stage has been the conduction of the National Aspiring Principals Pilot (NAPP) programme in five regional locations. The purpose of this paper is to outline the evaluation of the programme.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach for evaluation was employed where qualitative and quantitative data were collected almost simultaneously, and compared and contrasted.
Findings
Key findings indicated overall sound programme delivery, curriculum coherence, high relevancy to stakeholders and good rates of principal appointments. Greater emphasis is placed on distinctive findings that have not been reported elsewhere. These included: primary‐sector participants rating course facilitation, online learning, and “relevancy of the course for principal development” more positively than their secondary counterparts; aspirants who had partial or full completion of a relevant post‐graduate leadership qualification rating eight aspects of NAPP lower than those without such qualifications; and aspirants who were approached and encouraged to apply for NAPP by their principal and subsequently supported by them, finding the programme more relevant and applicable.
Research limitations/implications
The multiple positive outcomes reported reveal short‐term programme adequacy and effectiveness against a range of indicators. Long‐term impact (including capacity to change leadership practice, student learning and school improvement) evaluation is required to determine sustained effectiveness.
Originality/value
The paper provides distinctive findings that have not been reported previously for principal development and more general findings that should inform such development programmes.
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Kajal Srivastava, Masood H. Siddiqui, Rahul Pratap Singh Kaurav, Sumit Narula and Ruturaj Baber
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, education has shifted to online teaching and learning. Interactivity is a crucial tool used to make online education effective. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, education has shifted to online teaching and learning. Interactivity is a crucial tool used to make online education effective. This study empirically examines the role of interactivity in higher education and its influence on students' behavioral outcomes, specifically focusing on soft skills and personality upgradation.
Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental research design was carried out for post-graduate students undergoing a business communication course from four major institutions. For analysis, t-test, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) have been employed. Experimental research has established the causal relationship between interactivity, personality and soft skill upgradation (SSU).
Findings
It was found that the theoretical structural model has a rational model-fit validity. Resultantly, practitioners may use prior knowledge of virtual community (VC) members to enhance web interactivity, thereby increasing social identity and social bonds in a group for more meaningful and effective delivery of online courses.
Research limitations/implications
The major limitations lie in its context-dependent nature, predominantly influenced by the pandemic-induced mandatory online learning. The study's cross-sectional design also inhibits its ability to assess goal-directed behaviors over time, necessitating further longitudinal research.
Originality/value
The study is one of the pioneering pieces of research that examines the role of pre-defined grouping and enhanced web interactivity in VCs in the context of online learning, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Integrating theories of web interactivity, social bond theory (SBT) and social identity theory (SIT) provides a novel understanding of cognitive and social influences that drive meaningful online discussions and their impacts on knowledge enhancement and personality development. Its findings have implications for the design of effective online learning environments and e-learning pedagogy, contributing to the growing domain of information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled education.
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Hugh V. McLachlan and J.K. Swales
There is commonly said to be a sexual bias within the legal system. As Anderson (1976, p.350) points out: “The notion of a justice system whose agents typically exhibit a…
Abstract
There is commonly said to be a sexual bias within the legal system. As Anderson (1976, p.350) points out: “The notion of a justice system whose agents typically exhibit a “chivalrous” attitude towards female criminals (ie. because of their sex women are afforded more lenient treatment than men) has been set forth by several writers.” One such writer is Pollak (1950, p.151), who claims that: “Men hate to accuse women and thus indirectly to send them to their punishment, police officers dislike to arrest them, district attorneys to persecute them, judges and juries to find them guilty and so on.” Another is Cavan (1962, p.32), who writes: “…even in crime a certain degree of chivalry prevails. Some people dislike to report a woman criminal to the police and police are more likely to release women or turn a young woman over to her parents or release to a social agency than would be true for boys or men.” Others believe that there is an opposite sexual bias in the legal system. For instance, Sachs considers the various test cases in Britain on the question of whether, in law, women were to be regarded as “persons” and concludes that:
Lawrence Ingvarson and John Hattie
“Certification”, in the context of this book, is an endorsement by a professional body that a member of that profession has attained a specified set of advanced performance…
Abstract
“Certification”, in the context of this book, is an endorsement by a professional body that a member of that profession has attained a specified set of advanced performance standards. Application for NBPTS advanced certification is usually voluntary and available to all members of the profession (who have had to have at least three years experience in the profession). It is based on assessment of performance; it is not an academic qualification, or a record of professional development courses attended. It is portable – it belongs to the person (it is not a job or position or classification specific to a school or employer). A professional certification system is not in itself a performance pay scheme, but it does aim to provide a service to the profession, to the public and to employing authorities seeking a credible basis on which to provide incentives for professional development and recognition to teachers who reach high standards. Most important, it acknowledges that the individual who gains this certification is demonstrably teaching at the highest levels in our profession.