Shoaib Alam, Muhammad Osama, Faheem Iqbal and Irfan Sawar
Pharmacy services start right from prescribing medicines and continue as the medication’s effect is monitored. Hospital and community pharmacy staff promote rational prescribing…
Abstract
Purpose
Pharmacy services start right from prescribing medicines and continue as the medication’s effect is monitored. Hospital and community pharmacy staff promote rational prescribing and medicine use. Consequentially, pharmacy is a complex and busy field. Often there are peak workload hours when patients must wait, which is associated with patient dissatisfaction that may negatively affect patient experience and the organisation’s reputation. The purpose of this paper is to enlist techniques, methods and technological advancements that have been successfully employed to reduce patient waiting time.
Design/methodology/approach
A database search was conducted in 2017 to locate articles addressing methods and technologies that reduce pharmacy waiting time. The literature revealed various techniques and technologies like queuing theory, tele-pharmacy, evidence-based pharmacy design, automated pharmacy systems (robotics), system modelling and simulation and the Six Sigma method for identifying potential problems associated with increased wait time.
Findings
The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation’s reputation.
Practical implications
The authors conclude that various techniques and methods, including automated queuing technology, tele-pharmacy, automated pharmacy devices/machines for quick and accurate filling and dispensing, computer simulation modelling, evidence-based pharmacy infrastructure for smooth workflow and Six Sigma methodology can maintain customer satisfaction, reduce waiting time, attract new customers, decrease workload and improve the organisation’s reputation.
Originality/value
The authors carried out a literature search and identified the techniques that have been successfully implemented to reduce pharmacy patient waiting time and methods that can identify potential process behind medication dispensation delays.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Ahmad Raza Bilal, Saba Sabir and Muhammad Ali Kaleem
The dynamic global environment has increased the requirement of multidisciplinary entrepreneurial engineers. While studying entrepreneurial aspects of engineers, researchers have…
Abstract
Purpose
The dynamic global environment has increased the requirement of multidisciplinary entrepreneurial engineers. While studying entrepreneurial aspects of engineers, researchers have not considered inherent variability due to engineering majors. This study investigates the impact of entrepreneurial motivation (EM) on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs), to analyse the inherent entrepreneurial potential of engineering majors. The impact of entrepreneurial education has also been studied to proffer recommendations for policymakers.
Design/methodology/approach
The design of this study is a survey conducted with 342 undergraduate students from three major engineering institutions in Pakistan using a close-structured questionnaire. Moderation analysis examines the entrepreneurial potential of different engineering majors. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been conducted to compare the EIs of different engineering majors and regarding the impact of entrepreneurial education on EIs.
Findings
The engineering major's role in the transformation of EM to EIs is multifaceted. EIs of students of a few engineering majors were found high. Entrepreneurship education improves the overall EIs of engineering students.
Practical implications
Outcomes of the study are useful for academia and policymakers to engage students of particular engineering majors, identified as entrepreneurial, in advanced entrepreneurial education and expose them to potential start-ups to have better value addition in specific sectors.
Originality/value
This is the first study in which engineering majors have been examined to bring insights about inherent entrepreneurial potential. This inherent entrepreneurial potential needs further exploration by academic researchers. The study has provided the base for future studies to institutionalize entrepreneurial education for different engineering majors.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Muhammad Rafiq, Sobia Nasir and Chaudhary Abdul Rehman
Employees’ personalities towards occupational outcomes have significantly gained academic attention. Personality traits (PTs) of employees as the determinant of corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
Employees’ personalities towards occupational outcomes have significantly gained academic attention. Personality traits (PTs) of employees as the determinant of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) outcomes research domain is emerging. This paper aims to assess extraversion PT activation for CE outcome under the problem-solving conflict handling style (CHS) situational cue.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was conducted in automotive manufacturing firms in Pakistan for cross-sectional data collection. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the hypothesised theoretical model from 376 employees.
Findings
Results revealed a positive and significant impact of extraversion on CE. Also, employees with high extraversion traits were found to prefer the problem-solving style in managing workplace conflicts. The extraversion trait was also found to be activated under the situational cue of the problem-solving style.
Practical implications
The present study draws implications on person-job fit conceptions at the workplace while hiring, promoting and appointing employees. Personality assessment at the workplace is still in infancy in developing countries. The benefits of employees’ personalities can positively impact organisational performance measures like CE.
Originality/value
The present study has proposed the theoretical model based on Trait Activation Theory (TAT) and contributed theoretically through empirically testing the theoretical model by investigating the employees’ CHS role in activating their PTs towards the CE outcomes. Theoretically, using TAT conceptualisations in entrepreneurship and CE is novel as previous knowledge on PTs activation towards CE outcomes is non-existent. CHS as situational cues will attract social science researchers towards studying its role in various predictor outcome links across multiple work settings.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Muhammad Rafiq, Adnan Mohammed Alafif, Sobia Nasir and Jawad Bashir
Using trait activation theory (TAT), this paper aims to empirically assess that work drive (WD) personality characteristics of employees will express better towards…
Abstract
Purpose
Using trait activation theory (TAT), this paper aims to empirically assess that work drive (WD) personality characteristics of employees will express better towards intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) outcomes in higher levels of job autonomy (JA) at the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
Using cross-sectional design, a total of 258 engineering employees from the automotive industry of Pakistan were surveyed. The partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) statistical method was used to evaluate the hypothesised theoretical model.
Findings
Statistical results revealed a significant and positive relationship between WD and IB. WD personality was also found to be activated with its interplay with JA for personality expression towards IB.
Practical implications
The present study offers a deeper insight into the interplay of organisational and individual factors as determinants of IB of employees. The study's findings suggested the importance of the rightful application of organisational situational cues in person–situation interaction for positive workplace behaviours by employees. Personality assessment of employees and their interplay with situational cues, as per conceptualisation of TAT, can assist the corporations towards enhanced levels of employees' behavioural tendencies towards intrapreneurship.
Originality/value
The application of TAT from the present study's perspective is novel theoretically as the literature on the activation of personality traits towards IB outcomes is non-existent. Also, the assessment of situational cues in JA will open avenues for organisational behaviour researchers to seek more organisational situational moderators for their assessment of various personality–outcome relationships in diverse contexts to activate personality traits.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Muhammad Rafiq, Adnan Alafif and Sobia Nasir
The determination of human behaviours due to individual characteristics (personality traits) or situational factors has long remained inconclusive. Although the literature stream…
Abstract
Purpose
The determination of human behaviours due to individual characteristics (personality traits) or situational factors has long remained inconclusive. Although the literature stream on personality as the determinants of behaviour is voluminous, the interest of researchers is also growing towards organisational situational cues as the determinant of behaviours. According to situation strength theory (SST), behaviours are determined by situations in strong situations and by personality in weak situations. This study aims to propose a theoretical model of intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) emanation from empowering leadership (EL) by extending the epistemology of SST under the influence of organisational strong situations of job autonomy (JA) and perceived organisational support (POS).
Design/methodology/approach
Using SST, the present study argues that strong situations play a key role in determining human behaviours, and the same can be viewed deductively to assess IB.
Findings
The study attempts to propose whether EL is capable of predicting IB under the strong situation effect of JA and POS while dampening the impact of human personality characteristics.
Originality/value
The current study offers a significant departure from current human resource practices in person-situation dialectics, moving away from personality assessments and toward the creation of cues from strong situations for fostering human behaviour. As a result, personality researchers are being encouraged to conduct a reality check on the extensive personality research conducted in occupational settings. Considering organisational situational cues can impact human resource scope in areas such as talent management, selection, promotion and employment.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Muhammad Rafiq, Sumaira Rehman and Sobia Nasir
In this study, the situation strength theory (SST) has been applied to assess the predictability of empowering leadership (EL) in explaining intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) under…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the situation strength theory (SST) has been applied to assess the predictability of empowering leadership (EL) in explaining intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) under the strong situation effect of job autonomy (JA).
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed theoretical framework was assessed using cross-sectional survey data from 237 engineers employed in Pakistan's automotive firms. Covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) was used to analyse the survey data.
Findings
The study's results revealed a positive relationship of EL with JA and IB. Drawing from the conceptualisation of SST, JA serves as an organisational strong situation by offering sufficient cues and significantly intensifies the relationship between EL and IB.
Practical implications
The study contributes by establishing the requirement of strong organisational situations for nurturing IB in organisations. The study's outcomes are useful for academia, practitioners and industry to identify strong situations for employees' organisational behavioural outcomes like IB to dampen the personality impacts of employees on organisational processes. Hence, the study offered a major shift or an alternative in existing human resource practices, from personality assessments to creating cues from strong situations for fostering human behaviours. This will impact organisational human resource management scope during talent management, selection, promotion and employment.
Originality/value
The present study is novel from the IB investigation due to situational response in organisations, as assessed by employees. The study contributes towards SST by extending its epistemology to explain IB as an outcome of EL. The present study offers important empirical evidence for the role of the strong organisational situation of JA.
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Muhammad Zubair Alam, Muhammad Rafiq, Sobia Nasir and Chaudhary Abdul Rehman
The present study enriches the person-situation debate by developing and testing a theoretical model on the nexus between empowering leadership (EL) and intrapreneurial behaviour…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study enriches the person-situation debate by developing and testing a theoretical model on the nexus between empowering leadership (EL) and intrapreneurial behaviour (IB) in the presence of a strong organisational situation of perceived organisational support (POS).
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional survey data collected from 237 engineers working for Pakistani automakers were used to evaluate the suggested theoretical framework. The survey results were analysed using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method.
Findings
The results from the analysed data revealed a significant and positive relationship between EL and IB. POS significantly moderate the relationship between EL and IB as per the conceptualisation of situation strength theory (SST) and is established as a strong organisational situation that generates situational cues for IB outcomes from employees.
Originality/value
The present study provides new insights into determining employees' workplace behaviour as viewed from the organisational situations. Hence, top management in organisations can create a conducive environment by improving employees' POS for valued work behaviours like IB.
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The application of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams is limited in practice, partially due to the lack of accurate shear strength prediction models. This study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The application of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) beams is limited in practice, partially due to the lack of accurate shear strength prediction models. This study aims to develop a reliable shear strength prediction model for SFRC beams.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, an artificial neural network was employed to predict the shear strength of SFRC beams, utilizing a comprehensive database of 562 experimental studies. Multiple neural networks were established with varying hyperparameters, and their performance was evaluated using statistical parameters.
Findings
The neural network with 11 neurons showed superior results than other networks. The performance evaluation, efficiency and accuracy of the selected neural network were examined using margin of deviation, k-fold cross-validation, Shapley analysis, sensitivity analysis and parametric analysis. The proposed artificial neural network model accurately predicts the shear strength and outperforms other existing equations.
Originality/value
This research contributes to overcoming the limitations of existing prediction models for shear strength of SFRC beams without stirrups by developing a highly accurate model based on ANN. Utilizing a comprehensive database and rigorous evaluation techniques enhances the reliability and applicability of the proposed model in practical engineering applications.
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Shahzad Uddin, Md Shoaib Ahmed and Khandakar Shahadat
This study aims to contribute to the debate on the efficacy of softer regulations to prevent violations of workers’ rights in the global clothing supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to contribute to the debate on the efficacy of softer regulations to prevent violations of workers’ rights in the global clothing supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on value trap and adverse incorporations as a theoretical lens to understand the reasons behind the continued violations of workers’ rights. The empirical findings are based on an analysis of 24 semi-structured interviews with workers and owners. Extensive documentary evidence to track the plight of workers in Bangladeshi clothing factories during the pandemic.
Findings
The study demonstrates how imbalances in supply chain relationships allow retailers to take advantage of the pandemic. The authors find that some retailers worsened the working conditions by cancelling orders, demanding discounts on old orders and forcing suppliers to agree to a lower price for new orders. Large brands and retailers’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic remind us that softer regulations, such as third-party audits, are likely to be ineffective given the power imbalance at the heart of the supply chain.
Practical implications
The study presents a case for regulatory frameworks and intense stakeholder activism to encourage large retailers and brands to behave responsibly. This is especially important when a supply chain is value-trapped and workers are adversely incorporated and unprotected.
Originality/value
Drawing on studies on adverse incorporations, value-trapped supply chains and the plight of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study offers a broader understanding of the continued violation of workers’ rights and the efficacy of softer regulations.
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Geotechnologies have a long tradition in several areas of society and research. The recent development of the ‘Internet of Everything’ (IoE) and Geographic Information Systems…
Abstract
Geotechnologies have a long tradition in several areas of society and research. The recent development of the ‘Internet of Everything’ (IoE) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies opened several doors to the contribution of tourism. Emergent technologies contributions to tourism and planning such as web mapping, augmented reality (AR), crowdsourcing and crowdsensing are relatively recent, and there is a lack of research around their potential for Creative Tourism enhancement. For example, combining web mapping with AR or storytelling can be an excellent contribution to operators, planners and tourists. For research purposes, new opportunities are open, particularly by integrating community-shared data. It is well known for the popularity of social networks, the exponential growth of photo sharing, but few studies have been implemented to understand their contribution to research. This chapter focuses on emerging geotechnologies concerning cultural mapping, Creative Tourism and sustainability. Since it is a new growing niche, more research is needed to develop and understand the potential of new approaches. Besides traditional techniques such as quantitative (e.g. surveys) and qualitative ones (e.g. interviews, focus groups and world café), it revises the role of geotechnologies on Creative Tourism development and growing activities. Results from case studies from Europe are analysed.