Shifting the balance of power

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Whaley ◽  
Di Domenico ◽  
Jane Alltimes
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disability ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
System Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Ordinary Life ◽  
System Service ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Service Redesign ◽  
And Control

Purpose This purpose of this paper is to examine the role of engagement and empowerment in “Transforming Care”, for people with a learning disability. The aim is to shift the balance of power so that people are able to live ordinary lives in the community, in the home they choose, close to people they love. It shares ideas to support people to take control over their own lives and to influence the system, so that it works with people, rather than “doing to” people. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines barriers and enablers to people having their rights as citizens. So that people have as much choice and control as they are comfortable with to live an ordinary life (bearing in mind any legal restrictions). The paper includes people’s involvement in system/service redesign. It critiques traditional views of looking at language, participation and power. The authors have used the language throughout which people have told us they prefer as a descriptor. Findings The authors present a framework for looking at the power of, and around, people with a learning disability who have mental health issues or have displayed behaviour that can challenge services. Originality/value This paper offers advice on how to address power imbalances at individual level and at organisational/system level. It looks at the language we use, the information we share and how we work with experts by experience to ensure we can transform care and support and enable people to live ordinary lives as citizens.

Structural heterogeneity in farm structures: a configurational approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83
Author(s):  
Bruno Varella Miranda ◽  
Anna Grandori
Keyword(s):  
Structural Heterogeneity ◽  
System Level ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Property Rights Protection ◽  
Farm Structures ◽  
Development Paths ◽  
And Control ◽  
Corporate Farm

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a multidimensional framework for the identification, description and comparative analysis of alternative farm structures and their properties for economic development. Design/methodology/approach Integrating previous typologies and considering a large set of examples, the authors identify six attributes that are necessary to characterize and compare farm structures: size; strategy; organizational form; legal form; who the owners are; and degree of separation of ownership and control. They also discuss potential complementarities between those organizational attributes and specific features of the institutions of developing and emerging countries, such as contract enforcement and property rights protection regime, and developed capital markets and corporate law. Findings Conceptually and empirically, effective farm structures can deviate from the templates traditionally considered – “small family-owned farm” or “large factory-like corporate farm,” combining structural attributes in diverse ways. The dimensionalization of farm structures also helps in revealing complementary institutional traits at the regional or larger system level that may foster development processes. Research limitations/implications The paper is limited to theory building and case-based evidence. Nevertheless, it provides dimensions that can be measured on a larger scale and by quantitative studies. Originality/value This paper sheds light on organizational diversity in agriculture and on a wider set of feasible development paths.

The HPWS and AMO: a dynamic study of system- and individual-level effects

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Edgar ◽  
Jing A. Zhang ◽  
Nancy M. Blaker
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Contextual Performance ◽  
System Level ◽  
Human Resource Research ◽  
Organizational System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
And Task

PurposeDrawing on the dynamic model of ability, motivation, opportunity (AMO) for human resource research, this study aims to examine how organizational system-level (i.e. the high-performance work system (HPWS)) and individual-level AMO affect employees' performance. Specifically, this paper proposes that employee task performance is resultant from the integration of system- and individual-level AMO factors with employee contextual performance.Design/methodology/approachA survey design is employed with data collected from 250 employees working in New Zealand's service sector.FindingsThis study finds both organizational system (HPWS) and individual AMO dimensions have positive associations with employees' performance. At the system level, the supportive role played by contextual performance is highlighted with pro-social behaviors fully mediating the relationship between the HPWS and task performance. At the individual level, contextual performance is found to partially mediate the relationship between ability and task performance and fully mediate the relationship between motivation and task performance. Opportunity, on the other hand, is significantly associated with task but not contextual performance.Originality/valueIn acknowledging there are a plurality of factors that impact performance, this study enriches our understanding of AMO's influence in the context of people management.

Culture’s causes: the next challenge

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Jan Hofstede
Keyword(s):  
Strategic Management ◽  
Control Measure ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
System Level ◽  
Cultural Patterns ◽  
Job Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
New Synthesis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that in cross-cultural and strategic management, we must pay attention to the processes creating and maintaining culture. How can everyday interactions give rise to national, “deep” cultures, recognizable across centuries, or organizational cultures, recognizable across decades? Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper using the evidence provided by research about cultural patterns, and using sociological status-power theory to explain the causation of these patterns. Emergence, also called self-organization, is introduced as mechanism connecting individual-level causation with resulting system-level patterns. Cases are used to illustrate points. Findings – Simulation gaming and computational social simulation are introduced. These methods allow “growing” a system, thus allowing to experiment with potential interventions and their unanticipated effects. Research limitations/implications – This essay could have major implications for research, adding new methods to survey-based and case-based studies, and achieving a new synthesis. Strategic management today almost invariably involves cross-cultural elements. As a result, cross-cultural understanding is now strategically important. Practical implications – The suggestions in this essay could lead to new collaborations in the study of culture and organizational processes. Examples include team formation, negotiation, mergers and acquisitions, trans-national collaboration, incentive systems and job interviews. Social implications – The suggestions in this essay could contribute to our ability of proactively steering processes in organizations. In particular, they can provide a check to the notion that a control measure necessarily results in its intended effect. Originality/value – The synthesis of biological, sociological and cross-cultural psychological viewpoints with design-oriented method, using games or social simulations as research instruments, is original in the field.

scholarly journals Offshore outsourcing of R&D to emerging markets: information systems as tools of neo-colonial control

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zehra Sayed ◽  
Henrik Agndal
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Scientific Discovery ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Offshore Outsourcing ◽  
Knowledge Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
And Control

Purpose This paper analyzes how information systems (IS) can serve as tools of neo-colonial control in offshore outsourcing of research and development work. It draws on critical work examining business and knowledge process outsourcing. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports an empirical study of how laboratory information management systems (LIMS) shape offshore outsourcing practices involving Western client firms and Indian contract research organizations (CROs) in the pharmaceutical industry. The study adopted a multi-actor perspective, involving interviews with representatives of Western clients, Indian CROs, system validation auditors, and software vendors. The analysis was iterative and interpretative, guided by postcolonial sensitivity to themes of power and control. Findings The study found that LIMS act as tools of neo-colonial control at three levels. As Western clients specify particular brands of LIMS, they create a hierarchy among local CROs and impact the development of the local LIMS industry. At inter-organizational level, LIMS shape relationships by allowing remote, real-time and retrospective surveillance of CROs’ work. At individual level, the ability of LIMS to support micro-modularizing of research leads to routinization of scientific discovery, negatively impacting scientists’ work satisfaction. Originality/value By examining multiple actors’ perceptions of IS, this paper looks beyond the rhetoric of system efficiency characteristic of most international business research. As it explores dynamics of power and control surrounding IS, it also questions the proposition that outsourcing of high-end work will move emerging economies upstream in the value chain.

It was people that brought down the Berlin Wall – not process

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Service Integration ◽  
Support Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The People ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Independent Life ◽  
Work Integration ◽  
Workforce Integration ◽  
And Control

Purpose – Integrating services does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for people with care and support needs and fails to address the need for workforce integration. Workforce integration requires different professional groups to give up personal power, put the people they are supporting ahead of entrenched professional rivalries and be versatile not flexible in how they work. Integration is not important to people with care and support needs, unless it makes a difference to their ability to lead an independent life. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A personal opinion piece based on learning from the development of principles for workforce integration with social care and health employers. Findings – Integration takes time and there is no quick fix or magic solution, but it can happen. People's behaviour and motivations are complex, confusing and often inconsistent, and mandating service integration will not change the way workers behave. Perhaps it is now time to stop using service integration as a way of avoiding making tough decisions about the more challenging issue of workforce integration and what this means for those with power and control over people's lives. Originality/value – The paper separates integration into service and workforce integration and argues that too much focus is given to the former rather the latter.

Adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities in Scotland: a national dataset

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Claire Stuart ◽  
Andrew McKeown ◽  
Angela Henderson ◽  
Chloe Trew
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
Adults With Learning Disabilities

Purpose – Learning Disability Statistics Scotland collects information on adults with learning disabilities who are known to local authorities in Scotland and the services they use. The data collection supports national and local government policy making and is focused on monitoring the implementation of learning disability policy. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Individual level data are requested from all 32 local authorities on adults aged 16-17 who are not in full-time education and those aged 18 and over. Annual data guidance is developed in conjunction with local authorities prior to the collection and is issued to standardise the process and manage avoidable error. The collated data are extracted from local authority administrative data and records are provided on each adult regardless of whether they are currently receiving a service. Anonymisation takes place prior to upload and strict guidelines are followed to ensure it is not possible to identify individuals. Findings – The paper provides insights to the project's processes, uses, challenges and future plans. It details the position of the data outputs within a policy context and the role these might play within a broader research agenda. Research limitations/implications – This data includes only adults known to local authority services. Originality/value – The value of the project lies in its strength as a national social care data set comprised of individual level data. This methodology increases the analytical potential of the data set. This paper will be of interest to those interested in data on learning disability and those with an interest in the analytical potential of an individual level national data set.

scholarly journals Safeguarding and personal budgets: the experiences of adults at risk

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-168
Author(s):  
Fiona Aspinal ◽  
Martin Stevens ◽  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
John Woolham ◽  
Kritika Samsi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Care ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Rich Data ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from one element of a study exploring the relationship between personalisation, in the form of personal budgets (PBs) for publicly funded social care and safeguarding. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people receiving PBs who had recently been the focus of a safeguarding investigation. Participants were recruited from two English local authority areas and data were subject to thematic analysis. Findings The analysis identified three main themes: levels of information and awareness; safeguarding concerns and processes; and choice and control. Many of the participants in this small study described having experienced multiple forms of abuse or neglect concurrently or repeatedly over time. Research limitations/implications This was a small scale, qualitative study, taking place in two local authorities. The small number of participants may have had strong opinions which may or may not have been typical. However, the study provides some rich data on people’s experiences. Practical implications The findings suggest that adults receiving PBs may need information on an ongoing and repeated basis together with advice on how to identify and address poor quality care that they are arranging for themselves. Practitioners need to be aware of the influence of the level of information received and the interaction of organisational or legal requirements when responding to safeguarding concerns when care being supplied tries to reflect the benefits of choice and control. Originality/value This paper reports original research asking adults with care and support needs about the interaction between two key policies of safeguarding and personalisation.

Contractual control, the propensity to trust, active trust development: construction industry

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shao Kai Lu ◽  
Hong Yan
Keyword(s):  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trust Development ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Organizational Settings ◽  
Propensity To Trust ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Active Trust ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Control

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the assumptions concerning how the processes that foster trust are influenced by contractual control and managers’ propensity to trust. More specifically, the paper investigates the extent to which distinct types of trust (i.e. cognition- and affect-based trust) are differentially and interactively associated with contractual control and the propensity to trust. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected survey data on 260 architect–contractor project-based relationships in China. Findings The results of this paper show that contractual control and a project manager’s propensity to trust are positively related to the managers’ trust in their partners. However, the interaction of the propensity to trust and contractual control has a negative effect on cognition-based trust. Cognition-based trust, in turn, is linked to the unique and interactive relationships between contractual control, the propensity to trust and affect-based trust. Research limitations/implications While this paper adds to the literature on trust and control, future research is needed to fully understand the differences in interpersonal trust across alliances and countries. Practical implications These findings provide important implications for firms hoping to facilitate active trust development processes. Originality/value More is now known about the trust in inter-organizational settings at the individual level.

scholarly journals Evaluating trauma informed care training for services supporting individuals experiencing homelessness and multiple disadvantage

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupert Burge ◽  
Anna Tickle ◽  
Nima Moghaddam
Keyword(s):  
System Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Trauma Informed Care ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Care Training ◽  
One Year ◽  
Level Analysis

Purpose Implementing trauma informed care (TIC) for individuals facing homelessness and multiple disadvantage is proposed to help both service users and staff work effectively and therapeutically together. However, the effectiveness of implementing TIC via training is debatable. This study aims to explore the effects of a four-day TIC and psychologically informed environments training package in such services. Design/methodology/approach The analysis explores the effect of this training on the degree of TIC as measured by the TICOMETER, a psychometrically robust organisational measure of TIC. The study examines group and individual level changes from before training and again at six-month and one-year follow-up time-points. Findings At the group level analysis, three of the five TICOMETER domains (knowledge and skills, relationships, and policies and procedures) were higher when compared to pre-training scores. The remaining two domains (service delivery and respect) did not improve. Individual-level analysis showed some participants’ scores decreased following training. Overall, the training appeared to modestly improve the degree of TIC as measured by the TICOMETER and these effects were sustained at one-year follow-up. Research limitations/implications Findings are limited by the design and low response rates at follow-up. Practical implications Training is necessary but not sufficient for the implementation of TIC and needs to be complemented with wider organisational and system-level changes. Originality/value This paper is the first UK study to use the TICOMETER.

Rethinking dementia: how autonomy and control can be fostered through the development of person centred services

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo de Waal
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Service Design ◽  
System Level ◽  
Care Planning ◽  
Planning Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Person With Dementia ◽  
And Control ◽  
Dementia Services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the loss of autonomy and control as the core problem in dementia and highlights the individuality of the lived experience of dementia. It analyses the failure of dementia services to keep the individual central to their design and identifies that failure as the unavoidable result of methodological error. Design/methodology/approach – The paper guides the reader through the conceptual error in dementia service design and highlights the disconnect between clinical symptomatology and the lived experience of the person with dementia. The analysis continues with the fact that dementia diminishes those brain functions central to the lived individuality, a characteristic which should inform service design. Findings – The paper proposes an approach, building on these insights, to build a personalised care plan and resource centre, thus filling the gap system-level design of dementia services are bound to leave open. Practical implications – The paper presents a pragmatic approach using a digital, portable and editable care planning tool and personalised resource centre, which can be populated by the person with dementia and/or carer(s) with facilitation from, e.g. trained volunteers or others. Social implications – The care planning tool will have a range of functions, including facilities to aid staying in touch with relatives or peers (or anyone else, dependent on personal preferences), enable building peer-to-peer support networks and thus minimise social isolation and loneliness. Originality/value – There is limited understanding of the reasons why dementia services struggle to be user-friendly, accessible, transparent and responsive. The paper provides new insight into why this is comprehensively the case and its description of a digital healthcare platform, owned and formulated by the person with dementia, directly builds upon this insight and identifies how such a device can form part of a solution.

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