Timo Savolainen, Kaisa Airo and Tuuli Jylhä
The overall quality of education may be compromised due to the limited availability of safety and security (S&S) courses in professional teacher education. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
The overall quality of education may be compromised due to the limited availability of safety and security (S&S) courses in professional teacher education. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main safety-related training needs of a higher education institution, which may provide insights for improving the quality of education from a safety perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study included 17 interviews with students and staff experienced in S&S due to their professions. The study also used Laurea University of Applied Sciences’ (Laurea) S&S reports, which have a variety of S&S events from 28 October 2020 to 20 December 2021. Both data sets were analyzed using qualitative theory-driven content analysis.
Findings
Safety risks at schools are mainly constructed through the negative psychosocial atmosphere and lack of safety knowledge and/or skills. There is a need for safety training covering key topics such as crime prevention, violence, fire safety and understanding inclusion and diversity.
Practical implications
The study proposes a new risk-based training and development management model for school management and the planning of training activities.
Social implications
The analysis offers valuable perceptions of the S&S challenges of educational institutions, which can be used as a starting point to enhance overall educational quality and safety.
Originality/value
This paper provides a novel way of improving the safety of education by approaching training needs from a risk assessment perspective.
Details
Keywords
The article examines how social scientific information is discursively utilized as an argumentative and rhetorical resource at debates held during plenary sessions at the Finnish…
Abstract
The article examines how social scientific information is discursively utilized as an argumentative and rhetorical resource at debates held during plenary sessions at the Finnish parliament. The authors analyze the speeches given by members of parliament by using the methodological perspective of constructionist discourse analysis. It is found out that the objectivity and authority of social scientific information in parliamentary discussion can be undermined by using at least four types of arguments stressing (1) contradictions, (2) politicization of information, (3) uncertainty of information and (4) the inability of scientific knowledge to solve value conflicts. The speakers utilize social scientific information instrumentally to solve a certain social problem defined in advance, to provide statistical evidence, to show a causal relationship, or to justify an individual argument. However, social scientific information can also be used conceptually to bring larger perspectives to conversation or to reveal unnoticed aspects of the problem under discussion. Social scientific information often penetrates the symbolic definition struggles under way, and in this respect it alters social reality. In conclusions, the serious difficulties built into the professional position of librarians as providers of neutral facts are considered.
Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko is a docent and acting professor in the Department of Regional Studies, University of Tampere, Finland. He has conducted and directed several research…
Abstract
Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko is a docent and acting professor in the Department of Regional Studies, University of Tampere, Finland. He has conducted and directed several research projects, including The Future of Electronic Services in Local Government and the Local Governance in the Information Society financed by the Academy of Finland. He has worked as an expert in several national and international e-government projects. His academic contributions include in a nutshell nearly 30 monographs, about 40 articles, and some 20 conference papers. He has memberships in several scientific organizations and editorial boards.
Harri Haapasalo, Kari Ingalsuo and Timo Lenkkeri
The purpose of this paper is to find a means of connecting strategic management and operative performance measurement.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to find a means of connecting strategic management and operative performance measurement.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper focuses on the balanced scorecard (BSC), its levels of use and utilization, the influence of specific features, the most used metrics and features of successful implementation of the BSC in the energy sector. The paper is based on empirical interviews with 16 locally operating energy companies and business units of larger corporations. BSC is a wide spread strategic management system which originated in the early 1990s. The aim of the BSC is to facilitate in depth discussion about a company's vision, strategy and critical success factors and translate them into specific measures and objectives in action.
Findings
The study shows that maintaining a vision and a strategy has not been very prevalent in Finnish electricity companies. However, the deregulation of the energy markets in Finland, from the mid‐1990s, has increased the competition and made maintaining a strategy all the more important. Adjustment to this deregulation and the large number of different businesses are special features of the electricity sector. It can be concluded that benchmarking on other industries, where BSC has been in use, leads to better results faster in the energy sector. However, it has to be noted that strategy and management have to be seen as a unique set of activities. In the construction phase of the BSC, the process of searching for the metrics is more important than finding them.
Originality/value
The paper offers insights into linking strategy into operational management.
Details
Keywords
Radha Yadav, Narendra Singh Chaudhary, Dharmendra Kumar and Damini Saini
This study aims to perform a systematic literature review to organize the abundance of information on employee relations (ER) and sustainable organizations. Moreover, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to perform a systematic literature review to organize the abundance of information on employee relations (ER) and sustainable organizations. Moreover, this study identifies the research gaps by investigating the review of ER’ mediating and moderating variables and the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the systematic literature review methodology involving 257 studies in the final stage. The Scopus and Google Scholar databases with search criteria “employee relations” and “employee relations and sustainable organization” were used to achieve the research objective. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, researchers come to the distribution of the articles based on the subthemes, geographical region, types of methods, top authors with affiliation and complete research articles based on the citation. In the final stage, this study concluded with the conceptual model comprising mediators and moderators of ER as well as the mediating and moderating variables of the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations.
Findings
The reviewed literature shows that employee relation is an optimal strategy for retaining employees via proper disclosure of human resources (HRs) and ER Index. This study included the top six publishers, namely, Emerald, Elsevier, Sage, Springer, Taylor and Francis and Wiley Online Library, to do an exhaustive review on a specific topic. The findings indicate that after COVID-19, the ER index, HR disclosures and the sustainability of ER are among the new and required paradigm shifts needed to manage a crisis impact and perform productively. The mediator and moderator variables that can improve employee–employer relationships are organizational trusts, organizational justice, perceived job satisfaction, organizational structure and firm ownership. On the other hand, variables that mediate and moderate the relationship between ER and sustainable organizations are organizational climate, organization trust, organization culture, perceived organization support, psychological empowerment, firm ownership, leadership behavior and attitude, respectively. The findings concluded that harmonious and cordial ER are pertinent in building sustainable organizations and accomplishing organizational goals.
Practical implications
The mediating and moderating variables that have been identified can be helpful for enthusiastic researchers in contributing to empirical research. Practitioners and managers can use the findings in making an effective organizational model that develops good employee–employer relationships and helps create a culture of trust and harmony. This study focuses on exploring the variables of ER, which strengthens employee–employer relationships and supports organizations to stay agile and attain sustainability to endure in the future.
Originality/value
This study insights on the specific mediating and moderating variables of ER and sustainable organizations. Till date, studies exploring constructs of ER and sustainable organizations are still in deficit. Better employee relation reflects and leads to a more resilient organization. Future researchers should explore the connection between pandemics and ER which is done insufficiently in the present time.