The purpose of this paper is to use information culture assessment tools (from work by Curry and Moore) to examine the information culture within a regulated, government…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use information culture assessment tools (from work by Curry and Moore) to examine the information culture within a regulated, government environment. In particular, it aims to study the relationship between records management training provided to staff, staff self‐perceptions of records management competencies and compliance with a formal records management program.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey employs a questionnaire to gather the data from a provincial government ministry in Ontario, Canada. A questionnaire was used for data collection from a sample of 350 records management personnel from a population of 3,510 in five divisions of the ministry. A total of 207 participants responded and the copies of their questionnaire were found valid for analysis. The response rate realized was 66.7 percent.
Findings
The results from this study show that the there is a potential relationship between formal training delivered to staff, and the self‐perceived level of records management competency, namely that the more training staff receive, the more staff perceive the need for further training, and the greater level of compliance with the records management program. However, as the records management training strategy is informal in nature, it is difficult to determine a holistic influence of the training program on the organization's information culture.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on one ministry with an informal training records management strategy in place. The findings may not apply to organizations where there is a more formal training strategy. The findings should also be tested in private sector organizational settings.
Practical implications
Knowledge and understanding of the features of information culture will assist with identifying gaps in addressing the challenges of organizational record management training and its effect on compliance with organizational information and record management programs.
Originality/value
This research adds to the body of knowledge about information culture and user‐information behavior, particularly in regards to connections between training and compliance in government organizations. This paper provides evidence from an original study.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore: why the concept of teaching excellence has been uncritically accepted into the lexicon of university management; and how it has been used…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore: why the concept of teaching excellence has been uncritically accepted into the lexicon of university management; and how it has been used to co-opt university teaching staff into supporting the myth that teaching quality can be maintained as financial support for teaching has declined.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is conceptual and analytical rather than empirical and a critical management perspective is adopted.
Findings
Per capita funding of university teaching has declined steadily. The concept of teaching excellence has been used to distract attention away from discussions about funding and the conditions required to promote good teaching in universities. The construction of teaching excellence as an attribute of individual teachers has co-opted university teachers into supporting the illusion that teaching quality can be maintained, despite falling organisational support and decreased funding.
Research limitations/implications
Teaching in universities can only be improved through changes to the management approach and maintenance of per capita funding, and ultimately democratisation of universities. This will require changes to the regulatory framework, and national policy.
Practical implications
The author concludes that teaching excellence is unhelpful as a concept. Instead the focus of discussion needs to return to ensuring that the necessary conditions for responsive teaching are in place.
Social implications
Democratise the workplace and management methods; adopt matrix management structures; Rebalance to focus on social benefit and public good.
Originality/value
This paper uncovers tensions, contradictions and missing elements in current policy and concludes with suggestions for change.
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Pushkar Silwal, Natalia D'Souza, Trudi Jane Aspden and Shane Scahill
The study aims to estimate the prevalence of workplace bullying, personal and work-related impacts, reporting practices for bullying, and the reasons for not reporting bullying…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to estimate the prevalence of workplace bullying, personal and work-related impacts, reporting practices for bullying, and the reasons for not reporting bullying incidents in the New Zealand pharmacy sector.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted among registered pharmacists and pharmacist interns in New Zealand from June to August 2020. The questionnaire comprises both close-ended and semi-structured free-text questions. Goldberg’s 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assessed the respondents’ general psychological health status, and a 22-item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was used to estimate bullying prevalence together with the self-rated/self-labeled questions. The qualitative information obtained from the free-text responses was used to support and elaborate on the quantitative results.
Findings
The self-labeled prevalence of workplace bullying was 36.9%, with almost 10% reporting it occurring almost daily to several times per week. The 54.7% prevalence based on the NAQ-R assessment compares well with the prevalence of witnessing the incidents (58.5%). Psychological distress symptoms were experienced by 37.1% in pre-COVID and 45.3% during COVID-year 1. Supervisors or direct managers were the commonest perpetrators (32.7%). Only 28.8% of those who experienced bullying had reported the incidents formally.
Research limitations/implications
This study is cross-sectional, and the relationships indicated are bi-directional. The consistency of the results is reassuring, however inferring causality of effect is challenging. Future studies and analyses should focus on this. This study suggests that in the pharmacy environment bullying from the top is reasonably prevalent, is not commonly reported and requires the design and implementation of prevention and management strategies that take into account and mitigate these bullying factors. Professional pharmacy leadership organizations, National Health Authority and Pharmacy regulators could play a significant role in awareness and training to reduce bullying with the development and promotion of strategies to curb it and improve reporting.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to describe the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying, and the practices of reporting bullying incidents in the New Zealand pharmacy sector. Based on empirical evidence, pharmacists represent a small share of total healthcare workforce, yet the overall prevalence of bullying is consistent with professions with much larger numbers such as medicine and nursing.
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Trudy Norman and Bernadette Pauly
Without the voices of those impacted by homelessness, there is a risk that important understandings essential to the development of effective solutions to homelessness will remain…
Abstract
Purpose
Without the voices of those impacted by homelessness, there is a risk that important understandings essential to the development of effective solutions to homelessness will remain obscured. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the evidence base and insights into recommendations for development and implementation of policies and practices to promote meaningful involvement of people experiencing homelessness as part of a community response to homelessness in a mid‐size Canadian city.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping literature review was conducted, focusing on homelessness and social exclusion/inclusion.
Findings
Based on this review, the authors provide insights into the processes of social exclusion and inclusion as a beginning place for developing strategies for meaningful engagement in community responses to homelessness. Roots of social exclusion, towards social inclusion and creating social inclusion were three themes which emerged as central to developing inclusionary policy. First, the roots of social exclusion associated with homelessness are located in unequal power relations, highlighting contextual factors that produce exclusion with implications for health and well‐being. Second, towards social inclusion, reflects theoretical perspectives and principles that have been used to inform inclusionary practices. Third, creating inclusion highlights some strategies that can support inclusion for people experiencing homelessness and foster development of inclusionary policy.
Originality/value
There is little evidence of effective practices that promote social inclusion or attention to specific strategies that engage diverse homeless populations that account for gender, ethnicity and other important differences. A key next step is the development of guidelines for social inclusion at the organizational and municipal levels of decision making with those impacted by homelessness.
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Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our…
Abstract
Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.
Jennifer D. Oyler and Mildred Golden Pryor
The emergence of diversity in organizations is typically traced to the 1960s when legislation was enacted in the USA to prohibit discrimination against ethnicity, gender, national…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of diversity in organizations is typically traced to the 1960s when legislation was enacted in the USA to prohibit discrimination against ethnicity, gender, national origin, race, and religion. However, Peter Drucker found that workplace diversity had its origin in the aftermath of World War I. In response, this paper aims to address the historical evolution of workplace diversity through the lens of Drucker.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper traces the historical evolution of Drucker's perspective on workplace diversity and the circumstances that catapulted him to advocate for understanding and valuing diversity in organizations. Further, it uses passages from Peter Drucker's published accounts to illustrate his understanding of demographic trends and how these trends impacted the competitiveness of the organization and management of workplace diversity.
Findings
Drucker's early life experiences influenced him to become a tenacious advocate for workplace diversity. As a reflection of these experiences, Drucker's understanding of human resource management led him to implore his readers to use human resource practices to leverage the power of evolving demographic trends. Drucker later refined his prescriptions on workplace diversity by incorporating several assumptions from the strategic human resource management literature into his research.
Research limitations/implications
Future workplace diversity research would benefit from evaluating Drucker's propositions on leveraging the power of demographic trends through human resource management practices.
Originality/value
This historical analysis of Drucker's vast body of research provides substantial insight into his practical arguments for understanding and valuing diversity in organizations. To the best of one's knowledge, organizational researchers and management historians have not extensively evaluated Drucker's contributions to the workplace diversity literature.
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Trudy Bates, Cati S. Thomas and Andrew R. Timming
This paper explores employment discrimination against gender diverse job applicants and employees in Western Australia (WA).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores employment discrimination against gender diverse job applicants and employees in Western Australia (WA).
Design/methodology/approach
Using grounded theory, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with respondents (n = 20) who identified as trans women, trans men, nonbinary or agender. Thematic analysis focused on the multiple dimensions of disadvantage experienced by respondents, including subtle, not so subtle and overt types of employment discrimination.
Findings
The authors’ results point to several reasons why gender diverse individuals (GDIs) may fear the labor market, including difficulties in concealing their stigma and acquiescence to discrimination. On the other hand, our results also point to sources of organizational support, including encouragement from direct line managers and colleagues who are also Allies.
Practical implications
The results of the research have important implications for sociological frameworks surrounding dramaturgy, stigma, aesthetic labor, organizational silence and social identity. Practical implications for employers, employees, human resource (HR) professionals and trade unions are also articulated.
Originality/value
Whereas previous studies have prioritized the discriminatory experiences of GDIs in the US and European labor markets, this study reports on gender diverse voices in WA. Furthermore, recent work on this topic has been experimental and largely quantitative, whereas the present study offers a compelling set of profound narratives, thereby addressing calls for qualitative research that foregrounds the complexities and nuances of lived experience for GDIs and renders their voices heard.