Gender culture and Malawian women’s reconciliation of work and family responsibilities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiyesere Mercy Chikapa
Keyword(s):  
Work And Family ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Insurance Sector ◽  
Gender Culture ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Formal Employment ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to examine how cultural systems shape spousal attitudes and the expectations placed upon women. This is based on the assumption that cultural systems shaping spousal attitudes and expectations on women makes their reconciliation of work and family responsibilities difficult despite sorting out childcare challenges and support with domestic work. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on 55 semi-structured interviews with Malawian women working in formal employment. From the 55 women interviewed, 31 worked in the public education sector and the remainder in the private sector’s financial and insurance sector. However, for comparison, 24 men from the same sectors were also engaged in the interviews. These were drawn from education and finance and insurance industries. Findings Analysis reveals that contrary to extant literature, childcare is not all or even always the main focus of family responsibilities potentially affecting Malawian women’s work life. Their experiences with reconciling work and family responsibilities were influenced by gender culture, which shapes spousal attitudes and community expectations. Research limitations/implications This study has not generated results suitable for statistical generalisation, but it may still allow for theoretical generalisation to similar contexts. Practical implications Managers need to recognise that women may be coming from homes and communities that place demanding expectations on them. Social implications There is need for promotion of gender equal social norms that enable women, just as men, to focus on their careers. Originality/value This paper contributes to limited literature about women’s experiences with reconciliation of work and family responsibilities in the contexts of a developing country where women have access to relatively affordable childcare support.

scholarly journals Fraud in overseas aid and the challenge of measurement

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
International Development ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.

Role reflections of police reservists: a study of volunteer reserve officers in Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phaik Kin Cheah ◽  
N. Prabha Unnithan ◽  
Suresh Suppiah
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Role Orientations ◽  
Grounded Theory Approach ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the work roles of the Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve officers.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory approach was utilized for the generation and analysis of the data. Data were collected through interviews, observations and follow-ups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 male and female volunteer reserve officers and 5 regular police officers aged between 24 and 58 years of mixed socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities and ranking in the Royal Malaysia Police force. Two civilian respondents (spouses of the Police Volunteer Reserve officers) were also interviewed for this study for the purpose of theory sampling.FindingsThe data were analyzed qualitatively resulting in a model of Royal Malaysia Police Volunteer Reserve officer roles consisting of four orientations.Research limitations/implicationsStudy outcomes are discussed theoretically and administratively. The four role orientations identified will assist researchers studying police reserve volunteerism.Practical implicationsStudy outcomes allow administrators to utilize and deploy police reservists in consonance with the four role orientations identified.Social implicationsThis study provides insight into how police reservists conceive of and execute their roles as they negotiate them in relation to the regular police officers they work with and the public from which they are drawn.Originality/valueThis is the first study of police volunteerism in Malaysia.

Are Moroccan job seekers different than job creators? An exploratory study of differences in entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abderrahman Hassi ◽  
Giovanna Storti
Keyword(s):  
Theory Approach ◽  
Business Networks ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Entrepreneurial Spirit ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Study Methodology ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine differences between Moroccan entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in order to circumvent the nature and origin of their differences. Design/methodology/approach – This research was carried out in Morocco with a sample of 20 entrepreneurs identified as individuals who have been operating their own business or who have unsuccessfully started a small business, and a contrast sample of 20 non-entrepreneurs, classified as career professionals working for other organizations such as the public service and/or the private sector who wanted to start their own business but failed in doing so. The study methodology adopted a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews due to the exploratory nature of the subject. The in-depth interviews were analyzed using the grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1999). Findings – The findings highlight that there are no differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in terms of personality traits and characteristics. The interviewees emphasize the importance of financial resources, business networks and connections as vital factors in the decision to start a venture. Research limitations/implications – In terms of implications of the current research, understanding the determinants of entrepreneurship in Morocco is of considerable theoretical and practical value, especially given that there is no research that looks into this issue in the Moroccan context. Practical implications – Concerning practical implications, by identifying reasons why Moroccan young graduates, by large, show a weak entrepreneurial spirit and would rather be job seekers than potential job creators, adequate measures need to be put in place with aspirations that they will encourage the creation of more start-up businesses. Originality/value – Studies that compared entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs are far from being consistent. Moreover, the current research is the first study that looked into differences between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs in Morocco.

Examining buyer‐supplier relationships within a service sector context

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 272-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Doran ◽  
Peter Thomas ◽  
Nigel Caldwell
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Insurance Sector ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Cash Compensation ◽  
Compensation Approach ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Insight Into

PurposeThe primary aim of this research is to explore buyer‐supplier relationships within a service sector context.Design/methodology/approachTo address the primary aim, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilised. A questionnaire was issued to selected buyer and supplier groups in order to determine relationship issues associated with insurance claims. The questionnaire was complemented by a number of semi‐structured interviews with buyers and suppliers across each spend category.FindingsThe results of this research indicate that there are significant gaps between buyer and supplier expectations concerning how relationships should evolve and that the issues of power and trust will need to be explored in greater depth if relationships are to be optimised.Practical implicationsThis research is of practical use to service sector companies attempting to examine how to develop effective buyer‐supplier relationships. It is of particular use to service buyer operations within the insurance sector, that is moving from the traditional cash compensation approach to a replacement goods approach.Originality/valueVery little has been written about buyer‐supplier relationships in the insurance sector and as such this paper provides an insight into issues relating to such relationships within this unique service sector context.

Global mobility and the career of the stay-at-home partner

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Mutter ◽  
Kaye Thorn
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Global Mobility ◽  
Flexible Working ◽  
Family Demands ◽  
At Home

Purpose Contemporary global mobility and dual careers are two key features of working life today. Little is known, however, about where they intersect, where one partner travels for their career, while the other partner is left behind, caring for the family and attempting to manage their own career. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the partner’s career is impacted by the traveller’s absence, and the strategies employed to enable their continued career development. Design/methodology/approach The paper employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on semi-structured interviews with the partners of international yachtsmen. Findings The findings highlight the prioritisation of the traveller’s career, for reasons of finance and their passion for their career. The implications of this could be detrimental to the partner’s career. Personalised, flexible working arrangements are essential in order for the partner to achieve a sustainable career of their own. Research limitations/implications The gendered nature of the sample provides an opportunity for further research examining the implications of the female being the traveller and the male the stay at home partner. Practical implications The paper examines a range of alternative strategies for maintaining or developing the career when also faced with additional family responsibilities. Originality/value This paper gives consideration to the career of the stay at home partner. A new dual-career strategy is identified – the entrepreneurial secondary career strategy, which has the potential to deliver the flexibility required to manage both work and family demands, and allow partners to enact their authentic career.

Contextualising the antecedents of organisational innovativeness

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ahrens ◽  
Aishah A.K. Al-Sereidi ◽  
Halimah F. Al-Shaebi ◽  
Asra H. Rahmdel
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organisational Capabilities ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific meanings underlying the general antecedents of organisational innovativeness (OI) in one specific public sector context, to fill empirically the categories employed in prior quantitative research and to understand better some of the opportunities for strengthening facilitators of OI and overcoming barriers to OI that present themselves in particular contexts. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a field study. It uses 29 semi-structured interviews with the members of UAE government and semi-government organisations. The research methodology is qualitative: it seeks to elucidate the meanings that structure the respondents’ understandings of innovation at work. Findings Across the UAE public sector there are great differences in organisational members’ interest in, and readiness to engage with, OI. Members of the public sector tended to conceptualise OI as a set of individual efforts and relationships in which the trust with superiors played a key role, as did the availability of individual rewards. For some respondents communication served as an umbrella term to denote organisational characteristics that would enable individuals to join efforts to make the public sector more innovative. Overall, the great variations in respondents’ ability to articulate and conceptualise the antecedents of OI suggests that organisational capabilities to support OI need strengthening. Research limitations/implications The paper’s insights are based on the study of the public sector of only one country and may be difficult to generalise to other countries. Practical implications The paper suggests ways in which Emirati public sector organisations can strengthen the facilitators of OI and overcome the obstacles presented by the barriers to OI in order to help public sector leaders and employees make innovation a routine element of their day-to-day work. Originality/value The paper presents a first attempt at using qualitative research to deepen our understanding of the antecedents of organisational innovativeness in the public sector.

Governance structure and public health provision

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John Sheard ◽  
Gregory Clydesdale ◽  
Gillis Maclean
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Public Health Provision

Purpose A key question in the provision of public health concerns how that provision is governed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance structure of a public health board and its perceived impact on the efficacy of clinical operations. Design/methodology/approach Structural issues examined the level of centralisation and public participation, and whether governance should occur through elected boards or appointed managers. These issues were examined through multiple lenses. First was the intention of the structure, examining the issues identified by parliament when the new structure was created. Second, the activities of the board were examined through an analysis of board meetings. Finally, hospital clinicians were surveyed through semi-structured interviews with both quantitative and qualitative questioning. Findings A contradiction was revealed between intention, perception and actual activities. This raises concerns over whether the public are significantly informed to elect the best-skilled appointees to governance positions. Practical implications This research holds implications for selecting governance structures of public health providers. Originality/value Few studies have looked at the role of a publicly elected healthcare governance structure from the perspective of the clinicians. Hence, this study contributes to the literature on healthcare structure and its impact on clinical operations, by including a clinician’s perspective. However, this paper goes beyond the survey and also considers the intention of the structure as proposed by parliament, and board activities or what the board actually does. This enables a comparison of intention with outcomes and perception of those outcomes.

Employee benefits and high-tech fatherhood

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orna Blumen
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Employee Benefits ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Family

Purpose – This study, inspired by the theory of the separate spheres, considers the social circumstances of employee benefits, examining the needs of fathers in dual-earner families to cope with work and family responsibilities. The purpose of this paper is to explore how high-tech managers view the work-family interface of R & D engineers and analyzes the typical package of discretionary, non-financial, work-family employee benefits. Design/methodology/approach – Relying on the phenomenological approach, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 22 private-sector managers disclosed their shared perception and experience, revealing the informal level at which underlying social principles becomes business strategy, often intuitively. Findings – Values of gender are assimilated into the informal environment and reflected in the selection of benefits which have been effective in attracting labor in demand. Recently these values have been challenged by new ideas of more involved fatherhood, and these are inadequately addressed by the package of benefits. Research limitations/implications – Larger samples from various socio-cultural settings are needed. Practical implications – Managers are advised not to be blinded by the financial worth of discretionary employee benefits and consider how these meet the actual, as opposed to stereotypical, needs of employees and their family members. Observing social dynamics and considering non-financial consequences of employee benefits are essential for business-society continuity. Also, organizations of relatively low-social diversity should not alienate themselves from their multicultural environment. Social implications – The study unveils the reciprocity between organizations and people. Traditional fatherhood is being contested and negotiated at the work-family interface, as embedded to ongoing changes in the social meaning of gender. That employee benefits help to maintain the masculinity of high-tech, reflects also on gender segregation in the workplace. Originality/value – The study illustrates how businesses apply social values and describes how such values are processed and reinstated in society as employee benefits.

scholarly journals Examining bribery in Papua New Guinea's public sector: forms and accountability implications

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samson Tiki ◽  
Belinda Luke ◽  
Janet Mack
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accountability System ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine bribery and its accountability implications within Papua New Guinea's (PNG's) public sector.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 senior public servants from three central government departments. Perceptions, forms and accountability dimensions compromised through bribery were analysed through an actor network theory (ANT) lens to understand the actors contributing to bribery and how it might be addressed.FindingsForms (and variations) of bribery included “promises” by clients, pre-commitments by public servants and expectations/obligations imposed by public servants. Multiple and interdependent actors (including compromised accountability perceptions) are identified.Practical implicationsFindings provide important insights for public servants and policy-makers within and beyond PNG's government departments, highlighting the associated implications for individuals, the public sector and the country more broadly.Originality/valueThe incorporation and analysis of accountability dimensions through an ANT lens provides new perspectives on bribery. Further, the significance and extent of compromised accountability dimensions within the network suggests a broken accountability system.

Shapeholders: managing them as allies, partners and significant constituents

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleksiy Osiyevskyy ◽  
Vladyslav Biloshapka
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Social Activism ◽  
Business Success ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
The Public ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The authors review the concept of building relationships with Shapeholders,: a broad group of players that have no financial stake in the company yet can substantively influence it. The process for doing this is the subject of a new book by Mark Kennedy, Shapeholders: Business success in the age of social activism. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine Mark Kennedy’s framework for managing the firm’s shapeholders, a model composed of seven basic steps (7A’s): Align with a purpose, Anticipate, Assess, Avert, Acquiesce, Advance common interests, and Assemble to win. Findings Managing corporate reputation in alliance with enlightened shapeholders is a potential defense against self-aggrandizing schemes to wantonly maximize shareholder value in the short run. Practical implications Managing shapeholders is part of the messy democratic process that works when power is apportioned fairly among those affected by a firm’s decisions, and this process underpins the winning business models of true market leaders. Social implications Stakeholders previously discredited as mere “mosquitos” have gained new power, particularly when their legitimate concerns and unfair treatment resonate with the interests of a significant segment of the public and influential shapeholders. Originality/value Shapeholders can create enormous opportunities for smart managers capable of effectively engaging with them.

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