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1 – 4 of 4Rami Alasadi and Hicham Al Sabbagh
– The paper aims to spotlight the level of patient satisfaction with quality of care in a private hospitals setting.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to spotlight the level of patient satisfaction with quality of care in a private hospitals setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was carried out at three private hospitals in Syria. The study used written survey (interview-type questionnaire) assessing patient's perception of the quality of the services offered by the hospitals. The total of 108 patients participated in the study making the response rate 60.3 percent.
Findings
On the basis of this study, several interesting findings were found. There was a general patient satisfaction with most of the facilities and services provided by the hospitals. Although the focus of the study was not on the medical services, patients were satisfied with the medical treatment. The hotel aspects of the services were found to be evidently poor as indicated by patients.
Research limitations/implications
The perception of management about the services provided was not studied in detail to find out if there was a perceptual gap between the two parties. The findings of this study can only be generalized to other private hospitals in Syria not public hospitals.
Originality/value
This paper satisfies the needs of the managers of private hospitals in Damascus/Syria who lack knowledge about what affects the overall patient satisfaction especially with regard to the hotel aspects of services offered by private hospitals as patients generally want more than just a cure of ill health.
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Rami Alasadi and Ahmed Abdelrahim
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that evaluates the performance and assesses the success of small business enterprises in the service sector in Syria.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that evaluates the performance and assesses the success of small business enterprises in the service sector in Syria.
Design/methodology/approach
A logistic regression model based on a comprehensive questionnaire with a response rate of 58 percent that examines the contribution of several factors to the success of small business enterprises; a sample of 340 firms; implied by three performance measures: owner/manger satisfaction with performance, profitability, and sales turnover. These factors are: planning, firm size, source of capital, owner/manager age, and training for company management and staff.
Findings
Provides information about each factor, indicating their significance and contribution to the success of small business enterprises. Recognizes that trained self‐financed young owners/managers are better able to run their business successfully. However, lack of training and insufficient planning were found to be common among the surveyed sample.
Research limitations/implications
A higher response rate could have added better significance to the examined factors. The investigation is limited to the small business service sector in established in Syria. Self‐administered interviews could have given a better insight on the significance of the findings.
Practical implications
This paper could prove helpful to young entrepreneurs willing to start their businesses in growing economies such as the Syrian economy.
Originality/value
This paper satisfies the need for young entrepreneurs who lack the proper knowledge, based on scientific research, for small business development. Also introduces a fair representation of the small business economy in a developing country, most likely similar in behavior to other countries in the region.
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Yun Ling Li, Karoline Evans and Meg A. Bond
The current case study investigated how intentional, systematic planning can help organizations harness the energy of these willing allies who may be motivated to support change…
Abstract
Purpose
The current case study investigated how intentional, systematic planning can help organizations harness the energy of these willing allies who may be motivated to support change. The focus of the study is the development of a peer-to-peer approach, involving “Equity Leaders (ELs),” that was part of a larger, multi-level organization change initiative that addressed personal, interpersonal and structural considerations at a mid-sized public university in northeastern USA.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used multiple methods to collect data for the current study, including observations and interviews. Over the course of four years, the authors attended more than 50 EL meetings. In these meetings, the authors took notes regarding ELs' discussions on workshop development and planning, debates on workshop substances and ELs' personal reflections on these workshops. Following the fourth year of the program, the first two authors invited all current ELs to participate in semi-structured, open-ended interviews about their experience.
Findings
The case study shows that through careful planning, peer change can play multiple roles in pushing organizational changes. By embracing their formal responsibilities and yielding their informal power, change agents are able to cause radiating impact across as organizations. Organizations can also capitalize on the fact that employees are more likely to be engaged in the change effort when it is promoted by peers. Finally, the support and resources from the organizational leaders is important because these inputs not only legitimize change agents' roles but they also signify the importance of the actions.
Research limitations/implications
This study has limitations. First, the authors recognize that this was a qualitative study grounded in a single context. Although the study explored a novel context for understanding change agents—a deliberately planned initiative targeting social norms through addressing subtle biases like microaggressions—the authors recognize that additional examination would be necessary to understand how implementation may work in different contexts or organization types. Second, the authors also acknowledge that the authors’ positionality, as females studying a change initiative targeting gendered and intersectional microaggressions, may have shaped the role as researchers.
Originality/value
The findings underscore the notion that allies can serve as organized peer change agents to affect organizational culture. In alignment with the principles in the social ecological framework, the approach involved selecting change agents who are internal to the organization, have informal influence or power and can broaden the impact to other parts of the organization. Moreover, the results underscore the need for organizations to provide essential support and resources that can assist change agents to bridge organizational goals and individual actions.
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