scholarly journals When Compliance Checks are Just the Start of the Journey: an Aviation Case

2019 ◽  
Vol 273 ◽  
pp. 01009
Author(s):  
Mart De Vré ◽  
Delia A. Richardson

Compliance with standards is assessed through internal and external audits, the findings of which are viewed as imperfections to be quickly repaired. A zero-findings mentality underlies companies that want to excel before the eyes of the authorities, customers, insurance companies and competitors. However, scholars and professionals over the last decades agree that compliance is a necessary but not sufficient condition for optimum system performance. The current study was initiated by a Ground Service Provider that in 2017 underwent an IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations and revealed several findings, especially in the documentation, such as missing parts, non-compliant material and lack of detail. Their goal was to pass the next audit without any findings within the documented procedures of six operational departments. To assess the audit documentation criteria, the researchers visited the operational departments, analysed 186 procedures, and conducted six semi-structured interviews with managers/supervisors and nine interviews with operational personnel. The analysis showed that all documents were properly controlled, but four departments had duplicated generic guidance material from 6% to 83% of the text checked. The interviewees claimed that understandability was not optimum due to language barriers and the non-tailoring of the content to their needs, leading to some staff disregarding manuals and consulting their supervisor instead. Other remarks included the long length of the documents, lack of knowledge of how to access online material, ignorance of the existence of documentation access points, and low technical accuracy. Overall, the results suggested room for improvement. Most importantly, through this research, the specific Ground Service Provider gained a better understanding behind non-compliance and had the opportunity to improve the quality and communication of its procedures. This study showed that even when compliance is the target, substantial improvement moves beyond box-ticking and engages employees in the revelation and mitigation of system imperfections.

Author(s):  
Valeria Cardenas ◽  
Anna Rahman ◽  
Yujun Zhu ◽  
Susan Enguidanos

Background: Despite some insurance plans now paying for home-based palliative care, recent reports have suggested that insurance coverage for palliative care may be insufficient in expanding patient access to home-based palliative care. Aim: To identify patients’ and caregivers’ perceived barriers to home-based palliative care and their recommendations for overcoming these barriers. Design: We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews. Our interview protocol elicited participants’ perspectives on home-based palliative care services; positive and negative aspects of the palliative program explanation; and suggestions for improving messaging around home-based palliative care. Setting/Participants: Twenty-five participants (patients, proxies, and their caregivers) who were eligible for a randomized controlled trial of home-based palliative care were interviewed by telephone. Results: Themes related to home-based palliative care referral barriers included reluctance to have home visits, enrollment timing, lack of palliative care knowledge, misconceptions about palliative care, and patients’ self-perceived health condition. Themes related to recommendations for overcoming these obstacles included ensuring that palliative care referrals come from healthcare providers or insurance companies and presenting palliative care services more clearly. Conclusion: Findings reinforce the need for additional palliative care education among patients with serious illness (and their caregivers) and the importance of delivering palliative care information and referrals from trusted sources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy Akrofi Ansah ◽  
Mercy Adzo Klugah

The relevance of language for quality healthcare delivery cannot be overemphasised. Within the framework of communication accommodation theory, this paper discusses language barriers in expatriate doctor–patient communication in three state-owned hospitals in Ghana, and the strategies employed by the medical personnel to bridge communication gaps. The study design is qualitative and the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 16 expatriate doctors, three nurses and three patients. Furthermore, observation of five patient–doctor interactions was undertaken and notes taken. Both datasets were then analysed using the qualitative conventional content analysis approach. The findings revealed that the expatriate doctors employed convergence strategies such as ad hoc interpreters, gestures, picture charts and electronic dictionaries to deal with language barriers. The study is expected to stimulate further research into innovative ways of dealing with language barriers in expatriate doctor–patient interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-89
Author(s):  
Heini Hyttinen ◽  
Hannu Kalevi Kivijärvi ◽  
Anssi Öörni

Discovery of digital innovations is a key organizational capability for sustaining competitive advantage. Despite its importance, discovery of digital innovations is still ill understood. In this paper, the authors seek to provide a theory-based practice for digital innovation discovery. To meet this objective, they source the theories of knowledge and knowledge combination. Data for this case study were collected through semi-structured interviews and a quantitative questionnaire from three pension insurance companies. The data were analyzed by using principal component analysis and by constructing biplots based of the results. Two significant dimensions in the digitalization needs that guide knowledge synthesis were recognized: the importance of adopting the enabler and the volume of resources needed to adopt the enabler. A closer look at the enablers revealed that the most business-critical current digital business enablers for the pension insurance industry are business process automation, online services, and big data.


Metamorphosis ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prabhjot Kaur

Servant leaders attempt altruistically and selflessly to help others before themselves, believe in developing their followers to their greatest potential, and seek to benefit the wider community. The main purpose of the present article is to examine servant leadership as the antecedent to employee engagement, mediated by job satisfaction, in Punjab, using data from 190 employees from different service provider companies (banks, colleges, call centres, insurance companies). Quantitative analysis shows that when employees observe positive levels in servant leadership, they are fundamentally encouraged towards exercising significantly higher levels of engagement and satisfaction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-153
Author(s):  
Joseph Schembri

This study probes the MCAST insurance apprenticeship scheme and the impact of apprentices on the local insurance companies, acting as sponsors. This study is of particular relevance since the local insurance firms are experiencing growth but have the challenge of employee turnover and skills shortage. This research study investigates the work-based learning experience of students, the mentoring of apprentices and the supervising procedures adopted by MCAST and the insurance firms. The purpose is to analyse the impact of MCAST trainees on local insurance firms and depict practical recommendations to ameliorate the learning experience of the apprentices. The recommendations emanating from this study, assist MCAST to develop high-performance apprenticeship schemes and assist the local insurance industry, in the recruiting and training of young employees. This qualitative research gathers data through nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews and adopts the Grounded Theory Methodology to address the research problem and attain the stated objectives. The researcher adopts the constructivist approach incorporating an inductive and abductive stance. The findings emanating from the data illustrate the need to promote the insurance industry as a provider of stable and fulfilling careers with the possibility of job mobility. MCAST and the insurance firms need to enhance their collaboration to promote the insurance apprenticeship, among young learners, even at secondary level. An overhaul of the mentoring and supervising approach is needed to provide a work-based learning experience of excellence to MCAST apprentices. MCAST apprenticeship is considered by the insurance executives as the best training opportunity to recruit skilled workers and create networks. The scheme is cost effective to the firms and is considered as a long-term investment in human resources. A well-planned strategy to enhance collaboration and share knowledge between the leading VET provider of the Maltese Islands and the insurance industry is required for the benefit of the apprentices who are the future employees of the local insurance firms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayretdin Bahşi ◽  
Ulrik Franke ◽  
Even Langfeldt Friberg

Purpose This paper aims to describe the cyber-insurance market in Norway but offers conclusions that are interesting to a wider audience. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on semi-structured interviews with supply-side actors: six general insurance companies, one marine insurance company and two insurance intermediaries. Findings The Norwegian cyber-insurance market supply-side has grown significantly in the past two years. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is found to have had a modest effect on the market so far but has been used by the supply-side as an icebreaker to discuss cyber-insurance with customers. The NIS Directive has had little or no impact on the Norwegian cyber-insurance market until now. Informants also indicate that Norway is still the least mature of the four Nordic markets. Practical implications Some policy lessons for different stakeholders are identified. Originality/value Empirical investigation of cyber-insurance is still rare, and the paper offers original insights on market composition and actor motivations, ambiguity of coverage, the NIS Directive and GDPR.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wardah Bindabel

Considering the effective growth in challenges and an urge in establishment for sustainable business, companies trading globally are inclined towards the implementation of highly efficient cross-border reallocations of revolving capital. The prominent objective of this research paper is therefore the clear identification of the active key attributes and specifications of all strategic measures for efficient sustainable cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of the Islamic companies in the Gulf region that are keen to engage with the non-Islamic companies across the globe. This paper also explores the paradigm of culture, in its different manifestations, it was and still is a primary factor of creativity. This study also focuses on building some better understanding of the role of "Culture for Open Innovation Dynamics." Initially, since the need to interpret community, that can also influence the dynamics of open innovation, has sharply increased, the research addresses open innovation dynamics and its significant concerns related to cross border mergers and cross culture ventures of firms and organizations. The researcher purposively selected 15 financial institutions from the selected Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 40 key individuals including Board of Directors (BOD) members, lawyers and the Shariah scholars involved with three Islamic banks and two Islamic insurance companies in GCC. The findings indicate a consensus among the respondents regarding how the Shariah corporate governance principles can present barriers for cross-border M&As. Key obstacles to the success of cross-border M&As between the Islamic and the non-Islamic companies include the Shariah compliance, weak systems of disclosure, dependency, corruption in compliance, having family members on the Board, weakened communication with external auditors, different interpretations of Shariah by different scholars and a lack of alternative Islamic financial instruments. The comprehensive research in this paper fills the research gap by specifying the key attributes of considering the future implementation and management of M&As in broader scopes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 168
Author(s):  
Boonthipa Jiantreerangkool ◽  
Wasita Boonsathorn ◽  
Gary N. McLean

The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify the perceived definition of staff work passion, and 2) explore perceived factors affecting staff work passion, both in the Thai insurance industry. The study was qualitative, using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. Participants were 36 key informants from life and non-life insurance companies in Thailand, including executive managers, middle managers, and staff, selected to maximize variation in responses. The definitions of staff work passion in the Thai insurance industry were comprised of five categories: happiness, pride, goal setting, personal efficacy, and job fit. Seven factors affecting work passion were highlighted: 1) the power of teamwork, 2) great support from leader, 3) work value, 4) challenge and variety of work, 5) supportive company policies, 6) gaining knowledge and opportunity to learn, and 7) providing good service to customers. These findings were incorporated into an employee work passion model adapted from Blanchard’s model. The model showed personal characteristics of individual as meanings of work passion; organization and job characteristics; and organizational role behaviours as factors affecting work passion. The model might apply to similar businesses within the financial industry, e.g., insurance brokerage companies, financial institutions, and stock and securities firms.


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