scholarly journals Does lean cure variability in health care?

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1229-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Roemeling ◽  
Martin Land ◽  
Kees Ahaus
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Set Covering ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Quasi Experiment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles that employee-initiated Lean improvement projects play in health care. Lean ideas are introduced to improve flow in health care. Although variability is detrimental to flow performance, it is unclear whether Lean initiatives set out to reduce this variability and the associated buffers. Design/methodology/approach Longitudinal field research is combined with an exploratory field-quasi-experiment. First, a large set of Lean interventions were explored and their focus classified. Semi-structured interviews with practitioners supported the initial findings regarding the focus. Second, this study investigated whether a knowledge deficiency could explain the identified focus through a quasi-experiment in which the authors’ stimulated knowledge on the roles of variability and buffers and then classified subsequent interventions. Findings The results reflected a narrow application of Lean, with most interventions directed at reducing direct waste. A quasi-experiment demonstrated that a small investment in knowledge enables the focus to shift toward buffers and variability issues – i.e. toward a more complete Lean approach. Research limitations/implications This research supports the commonly held view that there is a tendency to focus on waste. Furthermore, a lengthy experience of Lean does not guarantee interventions will focus on buffers and variability, issues with arguably a higher complexity compared to obvious waste. However, small investments in knowledge can broaden the focus of practitioners’ interventions. Originality/value This study is one of the first to research the focus of Lean interventions through a data set spanning several years. The results are based on a unique data set covering a large number of documented Lean interventions.

scholarly journals Does the crowd mean business? An analysis of rewards-based crowdfunding as a source of finance for start-ups and small businesses

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Cox ◽  
Thang Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Set Covering ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Start Ups

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which rewards-based crowdfunding really does provide financial support for start-ups and small businesses relative to other types of activity such as creative and cultural projects. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports findings from a series of multiple regression on a unique data set covering around 205,000 rewards-based crowdfunding projects across a number of leading platforms in the USA, the UK and Canada. Findings The authors report two main findings. First, rewards-based crowdfunding is highly inequitably distributed and that success is concentrated within a relatively small number of platforms and campaigns. Second, crowdfunding campaigns explicitly related to business perform relatively poorly compared with those in other categories; particularly those in creative areas such as music and dance. Originality/value These findings call into question the extent to which rewards-based crowdfunding really is a means by which significant numbers of start-ups can bridge gaps in the provision of finance.

Dual leadership in a hospital practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Ravnborg Thude ◽  
Svend Erik Thomsen ◽  
Egon Stenager ◽  
Erik Hollnagel
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Leadership Teams ◽  
Decision Processes ◽  
Power Balance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Hospital Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Danish Hospital

Purpose Despite the practice of dual leadership in many organizations, there is relatively little research on the topic. Dual leadership means two leaders share the leadership task and are held jointly accountable for the results of the unit. To better understand how dual leadership works, this study aims to analyse three different dual leadership pairs at a Danish hospital. Furthermore, this study develops a tool to characterize dual leadership teams from each other. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Six leaders were interviewed to clarify how dual leadership works in a hospital context. All interviews were transcribed and coded. During coding, focus was on the nine principles found in the literature and another principle was found by looking at the themes that were generic for all six interviews. Findings Results indicate that power balance, personal relations and decision processes are important factors for creating efficient dual leaderships. The study develops a categorizing tool to use for further research or for organizations, to describe and analyse dual leaderships. Originality/value The study describes dual leadership in the hospital context and develops a categorizing tool for being able to distinguish dual leadership teams from each other. It is important to reveal if there are any indicators that can be used for optimising dual leadership teams in the health-care sector and in other organisations.

Economics of savings-based finance: an interest-free model of rotating savings and credit association in Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf Dinç ◽  
Rashed Jahangir ◽  
Ruslan Nagayev ◽  
Fahrettin Çakır
Keyword(s):  
Financial Market ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Credit Associations ◽  
Free Model ◽  
Savings And Credit Associations ◽  
Financing And Investment ◽  
Credit Association

Purpose The emerging markets have been witnessing a remarkable revival of rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) serving as alternative informal financing and investment platforms, also known as savings-based finance (SBF) in Turkey. The purpose of this study is to present the SBF model mathematically, analyse the performance of the SBF sector and propose a new Sharīʿah-compliant SBF model for the acquisition of durables. Design/methodology/approach The paper thoroughly reviews the concept and practice of ROSCA across the globe, mathematically models and empirically analyses the performance of Turkish SBF companies using a unique data set. Findings The study formulates a two-person SBF model and proposes a Mudarabah-Wakalah hybrid model with a new investment feature. It is found that the concept of ROSCA is being operationalized in 105 countries across the globe under different names with slight business model modifications. The research also reveals that the demand for financing of durables in Turkey significantly increased in recent years with the demand for housing is twice greater compared to vehicles. Most importantly, a strong significant inter- and intra-comovement is observed between these durables implying that the success of the sector in one segment has attracted the customers to other SBF products. It shows that the SBF institutions can effectively serve as the alternative financing houses for pooling savings and financing the durables, and they have strong potential to capture a larger financial market share in Turkey and even globally. Originality/value The study constructs mathematical models and proposes a new investment wing to an existing SBF wealth fund.

Housing features and rent: estimating the microstructures of rental housing

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayato Nishi ◽  
Yasushi Asami ◽  
Chihiro Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Rental Housing ◽  
Hedonic Model ◽  
Traditional Media ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Omitted Variable Bias ◽  
Variable Bias ◽  
Hedonic Approach

Purpose While consumers did not previously have information on detailed housing features via traditional media, such as magazines, nowadays, due to the progress in information technology, they can access detailed information on various housing features via housing information websites. Therefore, detailed housing features may affect current rents to some extent. This paper aims to identify the effects of detailed housing features on rent and on omitted variable bias in Tokyo, Japan. Design/methodology/approach This paper applies the hedonic approach. To identify the effects of features which are not observed previously, we use a unique data set that contains various housing features and over 200,000 housing units. This data set enables to simulate the situations when the researcher cannot get some variables, and this simulation shows which variables cause omitted variable bias. Findings The analysis shows that housing features significantly influence housing rent. If significant housing feature variables are not included in the hedonic model, the estimated coefficients show omitted variable bias. Additionally, unit-specific features such auto-locking door can cause omitted variable bias on location-specific features such accessibility to downtown. Originality/values This paper shows empirical evidence that detailed housing features can cause omitted variable bias on other features including variables which are often used in previous searches. The result from our unique data set can be a guide for variable selection to reduce omitted variable bias.

Passing and moving: negotiating fieldwork roles in football fandom research

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-158
Author(s):  
Jessica Richards
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Framework ◽  
Multiple Stages

Purpose Gaining access to the research field has received much academic attention; however, the literature focusing on the changing and/or multiple roles that researchers adopt during fieldwork has at times been oversimplified. The purpose of this paper is to outline the multiple stages of the fieldwork journey, a more reflexive approach to fieldwork and the research process can be attained. Design/methodology/approach Data were generated from a four-year ethnographic study of the match-day experiences of the fans of Everton Football Club. In total, over 100 hours were spent doing fieldwork observations with an additional 25 semi-structured interviews forming the data set. Findings This paper argues that researchers should be more critical of their position in the field of their research, and should seek to identify this more clearly in their scholarship. This in turn would enable for more discussions of how each stage of the fieldwork journey affected the scope and overall findings of the research. Originality/value This paper provides an alternative framework for ethnographic researchers to better recognise and acknowledge reflexivity throughout the research process. This is done by outlining the various stages of fieldwork engagement more clearly to better understand how researchers change and adapt to the research environment.

scholarly journals Women, Exercise, and Eating Disorder Recovery: The Normal and the Pathological

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199204
Author(s):  
Hester Hockin-Boyers ◽  
Megan Warin
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Eating Disorder ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Theoretical Frame ◽  
Intensity Of Exercise

The appropriate form, regularity, and intensity of exercise for individuals recovering from eating disorders is not agreed upon among health care professionals or researchers. When exercise is permitted, it is that which is mindful, embodied, and non-competitive that is considered normative. Using Canguilhem’s concepts of “the normal and the pathological” as a theoretical frame, we examine the gendered assumptions that shape medical understandings of “healthy” and “dysfunctional” exercise in the context of recovery. The data set for this article comes from longitudinal semi-structured interviews with 19 women in the United Kingdom who engaged in weightlifting during their eating disorder recovery. We argue that women in recovery navigate multiple and conflicting value systems regarding exercise. Faced with aspects of exercise that are pathologized within the eating disorder literature (such as structure/routine, body transformations, and affect regulation), women re-inscribe positive value to these experiences, thus establishing exercise practices that serve them.

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

scholarly journals Exploring producers' motivations and challenges within a farmers' market

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (7) ◽  
pp. 2089-2103
Author(s):  
Rosario Michel-Villarreal ◽  
Eliseo Luis Vilalta-Perdomo ◽  
Martin Hingley
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Farmers Markets ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Supply Chains ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Short Food Supply Chains

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore food producers' motivations and challenges whilst participating in short food supply chains (SFSCs). This paper compares findings with previous literature and investigates the topic in the context of producers' motivations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper includes a literature review concerning producers' motivations to engage in SFSCs. A case study was designed to investigate motivations underlying producers' engagement in SFSCs, as well as the challenges that they face. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a farmers' market located in Mexico. Thematic analysis is used to identify the principal issues for producers'. Propositions based on findings are presented.FindingsFindings suggest that small, large, part-time and full-time producers are willing to engage with farmers' markets for diverse primary economic and non-economic motivations. Individual and collective challenges were also identified.Originality/valueThis research helps to explain producers' motivations and challenges within SFSCs in an under-researched context, namely a focus on producers' and in the Global South.

Has Lean improved organizational decision making?

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 536-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Simons ◽  
Jos Benders ◽  
Jochen Bergs ◽  
Wim Marneffe ◽  
Dominique Vandijck
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lean Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Organizational Decision Making ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Contexts ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Care Processes ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Sustainable improvement is likely to be hampered by ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in care processes (the organization’s decision-making context). Lean management can improve implementation results because it decreases ambiguity and uncertainties. But does it succeed? Many quality improvement (QI) initiatives are appropriate improvement strategies in organizational contexts characterized by low ambiguity and uncertainty. However, most care settings do not fit this context. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a Lean-inspired change program changed the organization’s decision-making context, making it more amenable for QI initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – In 2014, 12 professionals from a Dutch radiotherapy institute were interviewed regarding their perceptions of a Lean program in their organization and the perceived ambiguous objectives and uncertain cause-effect relations in their clinical processes. A survey (25 questions), addressing the same concepts, was conducted among the interviewees in 2011 and 2014. The structured interviews were analyzed using a deductive approach. Quantitative data were analyzed using appropriate statistics. Findings – Interviewees experienced improved shared visions and the number of uncertain cause-effect relations decreased. Overall, more positive (99) than negative Lean effects (18) were expressed. The surveys revealed enhanced process predictability and standardization, and improved shared visions. Practical implications – Lean implementation has shown to lead to greater transparency and increased shared visions. Originality/value – Lean management decreased ambiguous objectives and reduced uncertainties in clinical process cause-effect relations. Therefore, decision making benefitted from Lean increasing QI’s sustainability.

Emotion display and suppression among Arab and Jewish assistant principals in Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Arar ◽  
Izhar Oplatka
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Assistant Principals ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Personal Needs ◽  
Teachers And Parents

Purpose It is widely accepted that educational leaders and teachers need to manage and regulate their emotions continually, mainly because schooling and teaching processes expose many emotions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to trace the ways Israeli assistant principals, both Arab and Jewish, manage their emotions at work. Design/methodology/approach Based on semi-structured interviews with 15 assistant principals, it was found that they are required to manage their emotions in accordance with entrenched emotion rules in the culture and society. Findings Most of the Jewish female APs tend to display warmth and empathy toward teachers in order to better understand their personal needs and professional performances. In contrast, Arab APs suppressed or fabricated emotional expression in their discourse with teachers and parents, in order to maintain a professional façade and retain the internal cohesion of the school. Both groups of APs believed their emotion regulation results in higher level of harmony in the school. Empirical and practical suggestions are put forward. Originality/value The paper is original and contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document