Envisioning Compassionate Campuses: Critically Probing Organisational Values and Mission Statements

Author(s):  
Louise J. Lawrence
Author(s):  
Harald Klingemann ◽  
Justyna Klingemann

Abstract. Introduction: While alcohol treatment predominantly focuses on abstinence, drug treatment objectives include a variety of outcomes related to consumption and quality of life. Consequently harm reduction programs tackling psychoactive substances are well documented and accepted by practitioners, whereas harm reduction programs tackling alcohol are under-researched and met with resistance. Method: The paper is mainly based on key-person interviews with eight program providers conducted in Switzerland in 2009 and up-dated in 2015, and the analysis of reports and mission statements to establish an inventory and description of drinking under control programs (DUCPs). A recent twin program in Amsterdam and Essen was included to exemplify conditions impeding their implementation. Firstly, a typology based on the type of alcohol management, the provided support and admission criteria is developed, complemented by a detailed description of their functioning in practice. Secondly, the case studies are analyzed in terms of factors promoting and impeding the implementation of DUCPs and efforts of legitimize them and assess their success. Results: Residential and non-residential DUCPs show high diversity and pursue individualized approaches as the detailed case descriptions exemplify. Different modalities of proactively providing and including alcohol consumption are conceptualized in a wider framework of program objectives, including among others, quality of life and harm reduction. Typically DUCPs represent an effort to achieve public or institutional order. Their implementation and success are contingent upon their location, media response, type of alcohol management and the response of other substance-oriented stake holders in the treatment system. The legitimization of DUCPs is hampered by the lack of evaluation studies. DUCPs rely mostly – also because of limited resources – on rudimentary self-evaluations and attribute little importance to data collection exercises. Conclusions: Challenges for participants are underestimated and standard evaluation methodologies tend to be incompatible with the rationale and operational objectives of DUCPs. Program-sensitive multimethod approaches enabled by sufficient financing for monitoring and accompanying research is needed to improve the practice-oriented implementation of DUCPs. Barriers for these programs include assumptions that ‘alcohol-assisted’ help abandons hope for recovery and community response to DUCPs as locally unwanted institutions (‘not in my backyard’) fuelled by stigmatization.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Kao ◽  
Russell Furr

Conveying safety information to researchers is challenging. A list of rules and best practices often is not remembered thoroughly even by individuals who want to remember everything. Researchers in science thinking according to principles: mathematical, physical, and chemical laws; biological paradigms. They use frameworks and logic, rather than memorization, to achieve the bulk of their work. Can safety be taught to researchers in a manner that matches with how they are trained to think? Is there a principle more defined than "Think safety!" that can help researchers make good decisions in situations that are complex, new, and demanding?<div><br></div><div>Effective trainings in other professions can arise from the use of a mission statement that participants internalize as a mental framework or model for future decision-making. We propose that mission statements incorporating the concept of <b>reducing uncertainty</b> could provide such a framework for learning safety. This essay briefly explains the definition of <b>uncertainty</b> in the context of health and safety, discusses the need for an individual to <b>personalize</b> a mission statement in order to internalize it, and connects the idea of <b>greater control</b> over a situation with less uncertainty with respect to safety. The principle of reducing uncertainty might also help <b>non-researchers</b> think about safety. People from all walks of life should be able to understand that more control over their situations provides more protection for them, their colleagues, and the environment.</div>


2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwyneth V.J. Howell ◽  
Rohan Miller

Crises can impact an organisation’s viability, credibility and reputation. Communication can preserve and protect the valuable reputation of an organisation, by demonstrating an acceptance of responsibility for the crisis and addressing victim concerns. The research illustrates that Maple Leaf Food’s crisis communication strategy was effectual and in supported to its purported organisational values as an organisation focused on health and safety. This case highlights why it is crucial for organisations to develop and apply a cohesive crisis communication strategy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 741-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Llandis Barratt-Pugh ◽  
Susanne Bahn

AbstractThis paper explores the role played by a Human Resources (HR) department orchestrating culture change during the merger of two large State departments with dissimilar cultures. A 2-year case study determined what HR strategies were having the greatest impact on embedding new organisational values to produce a more flexible culture and how these practices could be accelerated. This paper indicates how a more strategic approach by HR departments can support and develop relational managing capability that accelerates cultures change towards a more flexible work environment.This paper describes the context of the change process, the relevant literature, and outlines the research process. The findings from the phases of the data collection are summarised revealing the traumatic perceptions of the change process, but also the instrumental actions of some managers, working creatively with their teams to tackle new tasks and projects. The evidence suggests that these informal practices of task allocation were at the core of change agency in this case study and put the new flexible organisational values into action. The findings illustrate how the organisation moves from valuing managers for their technical competence to valuing managers for their relational competence.The paper then discusses what strategic HR actions were accelerating this process and illuminates the critical role of building managers as change agents. The paper concludes by confirming the need for a strategic approach by HR during organisational change. Building manager capability and supporting informal change agency practices is presented as a core focus for HR during such organisational cultural change programmes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorelei Ortiz

PurposeThis study examines comprehensiveness and responsiveness of mission statements for the top 100 retailers on the 2020 National Retailers Federation list in order to (1) evaluate how effectively they communicate organizational identity, values and purpose, (2) underscore a distinctive commitment to stakeholders and (3) what extent these efforts are reflected in revised mission statements or addenda to meet global pandemic challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a 4-question metric to measure comprehensiveness and a two-pronged qualitative method of analysis consisting of keyword searches followed by content analysis.FindingsRetailer statements are considerably comprehensive in describing purpose and audience yet very few articulate stakeholder value, differentiate themselves as distinctive or substantively reaffirm their core mission and values. Retailers seem more invested in strategic communication around diversity, equity and inclusion, based on web content in their consumer, job seeker and investor touchpoints.Research limitations/implicationsCoding and interpreting language through content analysis methods may introduce some level of subjectivity, particularly when dealing with unstructured data. Implications for how organizations acclimated in order to survive and thrive, while maintaining focus on stakeholders and strategy. Examining organizational mission statements and their contexts yields perspective into how organizations define themselves and what they do during times of crisis.Originality/valueThis study provides insights into the content, structure and functions of the statements against a specific comprehensiveness metric and reveals patterns about the texts and their contexts during a pandemic and strong cultural and societal movements.


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