The purpose of this article is to outline the way in which internal mediation has been rolled out to support the successful merger of three NHS (National Health Service) Trusts in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to outline the way in which internal mediation has been rolled out to support the successful merger of three NHS (National Health Service) Trusts in London.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the success of internal mediation as a method of managing and minimizing conflict in the workplace at other NHS Trusts, Barts Health NHS Trust recognized the potential of internal mediation to monitor, manage and minimize conflict and associated disruption in the workplace. Recognizing the benefits of attracting a multidisciplinary team of mediators and securing the backing of line managers to support the approach has put in place a bid for the funding of training for 140 mediators across the new Trust's five sites.
Findings
The introduction of internal mediation has contributed to a significant decrease in legal expenditure and the number of formal disciplinary cases, which has consequently reduced the time line managers and other employees have had to spend on this type of activity. The strategy has also had an influence – although yet to be calculated – on the environment and culture of the organization. The introduction of tools to respond quickly to conflict situations enables staff to address issues promptly, before they escalate, thereby keeping patient care at the top of everyone's agenda.
Originality/value
The case study presents a clear best practice approach for large organizations or those going through a merger or acquisition that may be considering how to positively manage conflict and dispute resolution in the workplace. It presents cost saving results associated with the introduction of internal mediation and indicates associated organizational benefits, such as the engagement of line managers with the solution.
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Jessie Koen, Annelies Van Vianen, Ute-Christine Klehe and Jelena Zikic
The purpose of this paper is to explore how disadvantaged young adults construct a positive work-related identity in their transition from unemployment to employment, and what…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how disadvantaged young adults construct a positive work-related identity in their transition from unemployment to employment, and what enables or constrains a successful transition.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 29 apprentices of a reemployment program (Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen). The qualitative data were complemented by data on participants’ reemployment status one year after the program ended.
Findings
Identity construction was not preceded by clear motives or “possible selves.” Rather, serendipitous events led to participation in the reemployment program, after which provisional selves seemed to emerge through different pathways. The data also suggested that disadvantaged young adults had to discard their old selves to consolidate their new identity.
Research limitations/implications
A successful transition from unemployment to employment may require that old selves must be discarded before new selves can fully emerge. Given that our qualitative design limits the generalizability of the findings, the authors propose a process model that deserves further empirical examination.
Practical implications
A clear employment goal is not always required for the success of a reemployment intervention: interventions should rather focus on accommodating the emergence and consolidation of provisional selves. Yet, such programs can be simultaneously effective and unhelpful: especially group identification should be monitored.
Originality/value
Most research assumes that people are driven by specific goals when making a transition. The current study shows otherwise: the factors that enable or constrain a successful transition are not to be found in people’s goals, but rather in the process of identity construction itself.
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Having discussed the growth and current status of company occupational pensions and the claimed role of pension provision in fostering employee loyalty to an organisation, this…
Abstract
Having discussed the growth and current status of company occupational pensions and the claimed role of pension provision in fostering employee loyalty to an organisation, this paper reports the findings of a research study that investigated employees’ perceptions of these types of pension scheme, a perspective that has hitherto been somewhat neglected. The findings show that, although employees had joined a company scheme largely automatically as a concomitant of employment, their current assessments of, and concerns about, different aspects of occupational pension schemes are framed in more nuanced, instrumental and individualistic terms: the attractive features of these schemes are not so much those that provide security for the employee as “breadwinner” and their dependants as those that offer a cost‐effective way for the individual to build up a fund for their own, possibly early, retirement. Company pension schemes are seen more as contingent private transactions than as part of long‐term stable commitments by and to an employer. On the basis of this evidence, it is argued that, if the employer is perceived as merely one possible pension provider among many, any link between pension provision and employee loyalty or commitment, a link that was always tenuous, is extremely fragile.
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Richard A.E. North, Jim P. Duguid and Michael A. Sheard
Describes a study to measure the quality of service provided by food‐poisoning surveillance agencies in England and Wales in terms of the requirements of a representative consumer…
Abstract
Describes a study to measure the quality of service provided by food‐poisoning surveillance agencies in England and Wales in terms of the requirements of a representative consumer ‐ the egg producing industry ‐ adopting “egg associated” outbreak investigation reports as the reference output. Defines and makes use of four primary performance indicators: accessibility of information; completeness of evidence supplied in food‐poisoning outbreak investigation reports as to the sources of infection in “egg‐associated” outbreaks; timeliness of information published; and utility of information and advice aimed at preventing or controlling food poisoning. Finds that quality expectations in each parameter measured are not met. Examines reasons why surveillance agencies have not delivered the quality demanded. Makes use of detailed case studies to illustrate inadequacies of current practice. Attributes failure to deliver “accessibility” to a lack of recognition on the status or nature of “consumers”, combined with a self‐maintenance motivation of the part of the surveillance agencies. Finds that failures to deliver “completeness” and “utility” may result from the same defects which give rise to the lack of “accessibility” in that, failing to recognize the consumers of a public service for what they are, the agencies feel no need to provide them with the data they require. The research indicates that self‐maintenance by scientific epidemiologists may introduce biases which when combined with a politically inspired need to transfer responsibility for food‐poisoning outbreaks, skew the conduct of investigations and their conclusions. Contends that this is compounded by serious and multiple inadequacies in the conduct of investigations, arising at least in part from the lack of training and relative inexperience of investigators, the whole conditioned by interdisciplinary rivalry between the professional groups staffing the different agencies. Finds that in addition failures to exploit or develop epidemiological technologies has affected the ability of investigators to resolve the uncertainties identified. Makes recommendations directed at improving the performance of the surveillance agencies which, if adopted will substantially enhance food poisoning control efforts.
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This article aims to discuss some of the most common ways in which business decisions are affected by cognitive biases. It focuses on the individual level of decision making and…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to discuss some of the most common ways in which business decisions are affected by cognitive biases. It focuses on the individual level of decision making and discusses how biases are deeply entrenched in the way that many decisions are made. It also discusses how flaws in decision making can escalate when executives are under pressure, over‐confident or part of a group.
Design/methodology/approach
This article draws on a range of research in cognitive and organizational psychology to show the potential effect of cognitive biases on corporate decision making.
Findings
The article argues that it is necessary to develop a better understanding of the effect of cognitive biases on executive decision making. Whilst research suggests that many aspects of decision‐making processes operate outside one's conscious awareness, it is suggested that these flaws may be easier to monitor and control when one is aware of their potential impact on corporate decisions.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates how a lack of awareness of the widespread operation of cognitive biases reduces the possibilities for good corporate governance.
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Brian Grinder, Vincent J. Pascal and Robert G. Schwartz
The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the early American clock industry as an entrepreneurial endeavor and to focus on the innovative marketing and financing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the development of the early American clock industry as an entrepreneurial endeavor and to focus on the innovative marketing and financing practices that helped transform the industry during the first half of the nineteenth century.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses the historical method to identify the critical factors that allowed the clock industry to expand. Primary sources were consulted whenever they were available, and a survey of the existing clock literature was conducted.
Findings
The nineteenth century New England clock industry provides a rich field of exploration into the entrepreneurial practices of the early American Republic and provides us with many insights that are applicable to the modern entrepreneur. The clock makers and peddlers who moved clock making from a backwater cottage industry to a modern international industry are examples of entrepreneurship at its best. From a marketing perspective, the clockmakers made use of the existing peddler system in order to create a market for their products. From a financial perspective, the clockmakers innovated when a ready source of capital was unavailable and made extensive use of credit.
Practical implications
This paper points out the importance of viewing entrepreneurship from a historical perspective. Furthermore, it finds that successful clock entrepreneurs understand the usefulness of connections, recognize traps to be avoided (such as the “Cottage Industry Syndrome”), and resolve to be persistent and optimistic in the face of adversity.
Originality/value
This is the first study of the early American clock industry to consider the entrepreneurial aspects that contributed to its successful transformation into an international industry.
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Kirsten Cook, Tao Ma and Yijia (Eddie) Zhao
This study examines how creditor interventions after debt covenant violations affect corporate tax avoidance. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that creditor…
Abstract
This study examines how creditor interventions after debt covenant violations affect corporate tax avoidance. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that creditor interventions increase borrowers' tax avoidance. This effect is concentrated among firms with weaker shareholder governance before creditor interventions and among those with less bargaining power during subsequent debt renegotiations. Our results indicate that creditors play an active role in shaping corporate tax policy outside of bankruptcy.
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Malin Backman, Hannah Pitt, Terry Marsden, Abid Mehmood and Erik Mathijs
This paper aims to critically reflect the current specialist discourse on experiential approaches to higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Limitations to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to critically reflect the current specialist discourse on experiential approaches to higher education for sustainable development (HESD). Limitations to the current discourse are identified, and as a result, an alternative approach to the study of experiential education (EE) within HESD is suggested.
Design/methodology/approach
Three research questions are addressed by analysing the literature on EE and experiential learning (EL) within HESD in specialist academic journals.
Findings
There is a consensus among authors regarding the appropriateness of experiential approaches to HESD. However, limitations to the current discourse suggest the need for an alternative approach to studying EE within HESD. Therefore, this paper proposes the application of the learning landscape metaphor to take a more student-centred and holistic perspective.
Originality/value
The learning landscape metaphor has previously not been applied to EE within HESD. This alternative conceptualisation foregrounds student perspectives to experiential initiatives within HESD. The holistic approach aims to understand the myriad influences on students learning, while allowing examination of how experiential approaches relate to other educational approaches within HESD.
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This chapter examines disability rights movement's rejection of a right to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Supporters of PAS frame the right to enlist a physician's help in…
Abstract
This chapter examines disability rights movement's rejection of a right to physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Supporters of PAS frame the right to enlist a physician's help in determining the nature and timing of one's death as a fundamental liberty interest and as a right to privacy. The disability opposition counters this with disparate impact and slippery slope arguments and stories of disability pride as a rhetorical rejection of a right it deems dangerous and discriminatory. In examining this clash of rights talk, this chapter analyzes the legal and political consequences of anti-rights rhetoric by a movement that is grounded in notions of autonomy and self-determination.