Roger Ottewill, Peter L. Jennings and Peter Magirr
Over the last two decades there has been a substantial increase in the number and range of service sector SMEs. The management competence of the owner‐manager and/or senior staff…
Abstract
Over the last two decades there has been a substantial increase in the number and range of service sector SMEs. The management competence of the owner‐manager and/or senior staff is crucial to their success. Developing appropriate competencies presents a particular challenge for professional service SMEs, since the key players are more likely to be motivated by the perceived attractions of professional practice than the commercial and managerial aspects of the enterprise. Drawing upon the experiences of community pharmacists in the UK as an empirical frame of reference, consideration is given to the key management competencies, both operational and strategic, which are required to operate a professional service enterprise successfully. Issues concerning the provision of management training for community pharmacists are also highlighted.
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Sally Jacobs, Darren Ashcroft and Karen Hassell
The aim of this paper is to report on the findings of a systematic literature review‐seeking to elicit existing evidence of the nature of organisational culture in community…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to report on the findings of a systematic literature review‐seeking to elicit existing evidence of the nature of organisational culture in community pharmacy organisations.
Design/methodology/approach
This review takes a novel approach to systematically identifying and synthesising the peer‐reviewed research literature pertaining to organisational culture in this setting, its antecedents and outcomes.
Findings
The review provides an overview of the scope of and research methods used in the identified literature, together with a narrative synthesis of its findings, framed within five dimensions of organisational culture: the professional‐business role dichotomy; workload, management style, social support and autonomy; professional culture; attitudes to change and innovation; and entrepreneurial orientation.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for more detailed and holistic exploration of organisational culture in community pharmacy, using a greater diversity of research methods and a greater focus on patient‐related outcomes.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that, whilst little research has explicitly investigated organisational culture in this context, there exists a range of evidence describing aspects of that culture, some of the environmental and organisational factors helping to shape it, and its impact on the pharmacy workforce, services delivered and business outcomes. It highlights the importance of the business‐professional role dichotomy in community pharmacy; the influence of individual pharmacists' characteristics and organisational setting; and the impact on pharmacists' wellbeing and job satisfaction and the services delivered. It provides less evidence of the impact of organisational culture on the quality and safety of service provision.