Cerdic Hall, Anthony Brown, Suzanne Gleeson and Jack Zinn
Objective: to find out more about older men's experience of social activities including their preferences for creating and maintaining satisfying social connections and to…
Abstract
Objective: to find out more about older men's experience of social activities including their preferences for creating and maintaining satisfying social connections and to identify barriers and enablers to their participation in social activities.Method: men aged 65 and older living in Central Sydney Area Health Service (CSAHS) were recruited for five focus groups (n=29). The men were asked about their experience of social interaction, with the transcripts of the groups analysed thematically.Results: retirement, health changes, divorce, widowhood and changing personal relationships challenged social well‐being. Strategies employed to combat these challenges included: a positive attitude, physical and mental activity and involvement in meaningful activities. Participants outlined their preferences for socialising within activities and suggested these differed from women's.Conclusion: activities that men saw as meaningful helped them cope with challenging events. Older men have preferred ways of maintaining social well‐being and constructing social networks that may be influential in developing services.
Details
Keywords
Mahesh Babu Purushothaman, Jeff Seadon and Dave Moore
This study aims to highlight the system-wide potential relationships between forms of human bias, selected Lean tools and types of waste in a manufacturing process.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to highlight the system-wide potential relationships between forms of human bias, selected Lean tools and types of waste in a manufacturing process.
Design/methodology/approach
A longitudinal single-site ethnographic case study using digital processing to make a material receiving process Lean was adopted. An inherent knowledge process with internal stakeholders in a stimulated situation alongside process requirements was performed to achieve quality data collection. The results of the narrative analysis and process observation, combined with a literature review identified widely used Lean tools, wastes and biases that produced a model for the relationships.
Findings
The study established the relationships between bias, Lean tools and wastes which enabled 97.6% error reduction, improved on-time accounting and eliminated three working hours per day. These savings resulted in seven employees being redeployed to new areas with delivery time for products reduced by seven days.
Research limitations/implications
The single site case study with a supporting literature survey underpinning the model would benefit from testing the model in application to different industries and locations.
Practical implications
Application of the model can identify potential relationships between a group of human biases, 25 Lean tools and 10 types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes that support decision makers and line managers in productivity improvement. The model can be used to identify potential relationships between forms of human biases, Lean tools and types of wastes in Lean manufacturing processes and take suitable remedial actions. The influence of biases and the model could be used as a basis to counter implementation barriers and reduce system-wide wastes.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that connects the cognitive perspectives of Lean business processes with waste production and human biases. As part of the process, a relationship model is derived.
Details
Keywords
Dena Hale, Ramendra Thakur, John Riggs and Suzanne Altobello
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale to determine the consumer’s level of decision-making self-efficacy for a high-involved service purchase, specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a scale to determine the consumer’s level of decision-making self-efficacy for a high-involved service purchase, specifically the purchase of medical insurance. One question to ask is how service providers can help consumers purchase the services that best meet their needs? Before interventions can occur, it is necessary to benchmark consumers’ perceptions of their own decision-making control and abilities.
Design/methodology/approach
A scale that measures consumers’ service decision-making self-efficacy was developed using the principles established for scale development validation. A four-study approach was used to reach the research objective.
Findings
The research consisted of four studies designed to: generate items to measure consumer service decision-making self-efficacy (CSDMSE); purify the scale and assess its dimensionality (second-order structure); establish the reliability and validity of the scale; and establish norms to provide details on its usefulness for aiding consumers with service purchases. The scale was found to be a higher-order construct, comprising three lower-order constructs.
Originality/value
Research suggests that consumer self-efficacy may affect their decision-making. The greater the consumer’s self-efficacy for decision-making tasks, the more efficient the decision-making process strategies are expected to be. This is the purpose for which the CSDMSE scale measure was created: to understand how, where and when service professionals can assist consumers with making appropriate service-related decisions and purchases.