Elina Weiste, Melisa Stevanovic, Inka Koskela, Maria Paavolainen, Eveliina Korkiakangas, Tiina Koivisto, Vilja Levonius and Jaana Laitinen
An “open communication culture” in the workplace is considered a key contributor to high-quality interaction and providing means to address problems at work. We study how the…
Abstract
Purpose
An “open communication culture” in the workplace is considered a key contributor to high-quality interaction and providing means to address problems at work. We study how the ideals of “open communication” operate in healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
We use discourse analysis to investigate the audio-recorded data from 14 workshop team discussions in older people services.
Findings
We found four imperatives concerning the interactional conduct of their colleagues in problematic situations that nursing professionals prefer: (1) Engage in direct communication and avoid making assumptions, (2) Address problems immediately, (3) Deal directly with the person involved in the matter and (4) Summon the courage to speak up. Through these imperatives, the nursing professionals invoke and draw upon the “open communication” discourse. Although these ideals were acknowledged as difficult to realize in practice and as leading to experiences of frustration, the need to comply with them was constructed as beyond doubt.
Practical implications
Workplace communication should be enhanced at a communal level, allowing those with less power to express their perspectives on shaping shared ideals of workplace interaction.
Originality/value
The expectation that an individual will simply “speak up” when they experience mistreatment by a colleague might be too much if the individual is already in a precarious position.
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This paper analyzes how public servants who work with young people discursively cope with competing demands on their agency, defined as their orientation toward and capabilities…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyzes how public servants who work with young people discursively cope with competing demands on their agency, defined as their orientation toward and capabilities to influence their clients. Previous studies revealed how public servants treat their clients when facing competing demands but paid less attention to how public servants define their agency.
Design/methodology/approach
Micro-level discourse analysis is applied to analyze how public servants represent their agency in client relationships, drawing on interviews with nine individuals in a Finnish city who work with young people lacking jobs or school placements.
Findings
Instead of describing their agency coherently, the interviewees applied several discourses to represent their agency differently in relation to different demands. This ability to navigate contradictory discourses is discussed as reflexive discursive coping strategy, which enables public servants to maintain a positive image of their agency despite tensions at work.
Research limitations/implications
Although the method does not allow direct generalizations, it reveals discursive strategies likely to be found in many contemporary public organizations.
Practical implications
The study indicates a need to better acknowledge and nurture the multifaceted nature of agency to improve service quality.
Originality/value
The findings deepen the view on tensions in public servants' work and show that diverse discourses not only create anxiety but also help individuals dealing with contradictory work.
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Tiina Pesonen, Juhani Sulander, Hanna Tiirinki, Pekka Räsänen, Merja Sahlström, Ilmo Keskimäki and Timo Sinervo
Integrated care is the leading approach to developing health and social care services in Finland. After the national health and social care reform, the importance of assessing…
Abstract
Purpose
Integrated care is the leading approach to developing health and social care services in Finland. After the national health and social care reform, the importance of assessing integration has been emphasized. The aim of this study was to pilot the SCIROCCO tool, which assesses integration maturity, in Finland. The SCIROCCO tool was translated and adapted to the Finnish health and social care context. The feasibility and utility of this tool for assessing the maturity for integration across health and social care in Finland were evaluated using empirical pilot data collected among employees of selected well-being service counties. The study also provided baseline information on the maturity of integration after the national health and social care reform.
Design/methodology/approach
Employees (n = 111) of different personnel groups in health and social care services in four well-being service counties assessed the maturity of integration using a web-based survey. A pilot study design was used.
Findings
The SCIROCCO tool was found to be useful for assessing the maturity of integration in health and social care within the well-being service counties. However, the tool requires further development to be fully adapted to the Finnish health and social care system and to assess integration across sectors. The results emphasize the need to understand the perspectives of different personnel groups on integration and to consider them in the development work.
Originality/value
This was the first study conducted in Finland that provided valuable insights into the assessment of integration across the health and social care sectors. This study establishes the foundation for future research and development in the field of integration assessment.
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Samuli Tikkanen, Pekka Räsänen, Timo Sinervo, Ilmo Keskimäki, Merja Sahlström, Tiina Pesonen and Hanna Tiirinki
Health care integration is crucial in improving service equality and patient outcomes. However, measuring integration between the health and social care sectors remains…
Abstract
Purpose
Health care integration is crucial in improving service equality and patient outcomes. However, measuring integration between the health and social care sectors remains challenging. This article aims to review existing systematic models to identify alternative health and social care integration measurement tools. The review focuses on models that involve systematic planning and long-term cooperation across different organizational sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study examines various dimensions and elements of integration, including process, outcome and structural measures. It compares different tools used to measure social and health care integration, such as the Rainbow model, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) Scorecard, PRISMA, SCIROCCO, integRATE, health-data simulation (HSIM) and the model developed by Åhgren and Axelsson. The analysis includes both empirical studies and theoretical frameworks.
Findings
The findings highlight the importance of standardized measurement methods to assess the impact of integration initiatives on patient outcomes, healthcare costs and the quality of care.
Originality/value
The review contributes to the ongoing discourse on social and health care integration, particularly in the Nordic context. The results can inform social and healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers in evaluating and improving integration initiatives.
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Maarit Kinnunen, Antti Honkanen and Mervi Luonila
The purpose of the study is to compare features of career development and fandom in frequent festival attendance in the context of Finnish music festivals.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to compare features of career development and fandom in frequent festival attendance in the context of Finnish music festivals.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a mixed methods research approach and employs two theoretical frameworks: theories of career development and fandom.
Findings
In frequent festival attendance, both festival career development and festival fandom are most clearly present in motivation development and social dimensions.
Practical implications
Strategically, frequent festivalgoers should be considered as crucial stakeholders, who might mobilize the co-creation of a sense of community or festival brand.
Originality/value
Music-related fandom has been previously investigated in relation to artists and specific musical genres, but not so much in relation to music festivals in general. Career studies, on the other hand, concentrate heavily on sports events. There is a scarcity of research scrutinizing both career development and fandom in the festival context within the same study, and festival attendance as part of music tourism is an under-researched area.