A representative workforce

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 578-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim Murji
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Target Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Racial Categories ◽  
The Public ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Target Set ◽  
Minority Ethnic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the inter-relationship between target setting, racial categories and racism via the case of a race employment target set for the police. Drawing on and extending public administration and governmentality perspectives, the work explores the shifting politics of enumeration and categorisation within a set of organisational manoeuvres. Design/methodology/approach – The data are qualitative and mainly based on interviews with senior figures involved in managing the organisational response to the target, as well as some documentary sources. Findings – The discussion reveals that both racial enumeration and categorisation are contested rather than fixed, but that debates about it ebb and flow in variable and uneven ways. They are the subject of manoeuvring around the number itself and of what counts as race. This indicates the complexity of governing race targets, which appear set but are made fluid in various ways. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on interviews with senior and prominent figures involved in governance who spoke “off the record”, as described in the paper. These conversations are not in the public domain and the justification for using them is that they reveal the thinking behind the public debate about the black and minority ethnic (BME) target, as well as a process of negotiation and manoeuvring. Originality/value – The BME target has been the subject of considerable media and political attention, plus some academic research. The paper presents a new and unique account of the target as it was implemented. It is of value to researchers interested in racism and policing interested in the organisational background that shaped the public debates about the target.

The 2016 Police and Crime Commissioner elections

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the 2016 elections for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and to compare them with those that took place in 2012. It seeks to evaluate the background of the candidates who stood for office in 2016, the policies that they put forward, the results of the contests and the implications of the 2016 experience for future PCC elections. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based around several key themes – the profile of candidates who stood for election, preparations conducted prior to the contests taking place, the election campaign and issues raised during the contests, the results and the profile of elected candidates. The paper is based upon documentary research, making particular use of primary source material. Findings The research establishes that affiliation to a political party became the main route for successful candidates in 2016 and that local issues related to low-level criminality will dominate the future policing agenda. It establishes that although turnout was higher than in 2012, it remains low and that further consideration needs to be devoted to initiatives to address this for future PCC election contests. Research limitations/implications The research focusses on the 2016 elections and identifies a number of key issues that emerged during the campaign affecting the conduct of the contests which have a bearing on future PCC elections. It treats these elections as a bespoke topic and does not seek to place them within the broader context of the development of the office of PCC. Practical implications The research suggests that in order to boost voter participation in future PCC election contests, PCCs need to consider further means to advertise the importance of the role they perform and that the government should play a larger financial role in funding publicity for these elections and consider changing the method of election. Social implications The rationale for introducing PCCs was to empower the public in each police force area. However, issues that include the enhanced importance of political affiliation as a criteria for election in 2016 and the social unrepresentative nature of those who stood for election and those who secured election to this office in these contests coupled with shortcomings related to public awareness of both the role of PCCs and the timing of election contests threaten to undermine this objective. Originality/value The extensive use of primary source material ensures that the subject matter is original and its interpretation is informed by an academic perspective.

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.

Performance measurement and management in the public sector: state of the art and research opportunities

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Garengo ◽  
Alberto Sardi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Business Management ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Conceptual Structure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Organisations

PurposeSince the 1980s, performance measurement and management (PMM) has been described as an essential element of new public management (NPM) reforms. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of the art and future research opportunities for PMM in public sector management.Design/methodology/approachThe paper carried out a bibliometric literature review using two main techniques named (1) performance analysis and (2) science mapping techniques. It investigated the academic research area describing the main publications' trend, the conceptual structure and its evolution from 1996 to 2019.FindingsThe results highlighted the growing relevance of PMM research in public organisations and confirmed a great interest of the business, management and accounting literature on PMM in public sector management. Furthermore, the results also described a conceptual structure of the public PMM literature analysed and its evolution being too generic to answer public organisations' needs. The results identified five main research gaps and research opportunities.Originality/valueAlthough the adoption of rigorous bibliometric techniques was recognised as being useful for assessing the academic research study, the paper describes the business, management and accounting literature contributing to new theoretical and practical future opportunities.

Autonomous vehicles: a review of the ethical, social and economic implications of the AI revolution

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shweta Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Autonomous Cars ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThere are ethical, legal, social and economic arguments surrounding the subject of autonomous vehicles. This paper aims to discuss some of the arguments to communicate one of the current issues in the rising field of artificial intelligence.Design/methodology/approachMaking use of widely available literature that the author has read and summarised showcasing her viewpoints, the author shows that technology is progressing every day. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are at the forefront of technological advancement today. The manufacture and innovation of new machines have revolutionised our lives and resulted in a world where we are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence.FindingsTechnology might appear to be getting out of hand, but it can be effectively used to transform lives and convenience.Research limitations/implicationsFrom robotics to autonomous vehicles, countless technologies have and will continue to make the lives of individuals much easier. But, with these advancements also comes something called “future shock”.Practical implicationsFuture shock is the state of being unable to keep up with rapid social or technological change. As a result, the topic of artificial intelligence, and thus autonomous cars, is highly debated.Social implicationsThe study will be of interest to researchers, academics and the public in general. It will encourage further thinking.Originality/valueThis is an original piece of writing informed by reading several current pieces. The study has not been submitted elsewhere.

The evolution of the public sphere

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 2201-2219
Author(s):  
José J. Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Media Theory ◽  
Language Games ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Purpose The purpose of this study is to rethink the issue of publicity from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. Design/methodology/approach Assuming that there is a dominant paradigm in the studies of the public sphere centered on Habermas’ ideas, media theory (and especially Luhmann who is considered as a media theorist) is selected as a new context that provides different concepts, ideas, language games and metaphors that allow the re-foundation of the study of publicity. Findings Publicity as a social structure emerges – and acquires different forms during history – out of the complex dynamics resulting from the interaction between success media, such as power, and different kinds of dissemination media. Originality/value A research into the forms of publicity not only promotes awareness of the ubiquity of the phenomenon across cultural evolution, but also offers tools to make new discoveries and systematize what is already known about the subject and its ramifications.

scholarly journals The influence of celebrity chefs on a student population

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (2) ◽  
pp. 614-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Rosemary Lane ◽  
Stephanie Margaret Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Food Habits ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Study Population

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the exposure of a student population to celebrity chef television programmes, to assess the influence these figures have, and how they are perceived. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted through an online questionnaire distributed at Bath Spa University. The approach included asking respondents why they watched programmes featuring celebrity chefs; to select a named celebrity chef whom they thought had most influenced their food habits, and to name particular chefs relating to campaign descriptions. Findings – A significant proportion of the study group watched television programmes fronted by celebrity chefs (84 per cent); the main reason for watching was for entertainment. Overall, reported influence was insignificant, though Jamie Oliver was selected as the chef with most influence on the respondent’s food habits. Jamie Oliver’s campaign to improve school dinners was also the most recognised, and celebrity chefs were generally viewed positively. Research limitations/implications – The study population was quite specific in its gender, age and ethnicity, and therefore might not be representative of wider society. Further work could consider gender differences in chef influence, as well as different forms of exposure. Originality/value – Despite their ubiquity, academic research into the role of the celebrity chef in modern society is limited, where very few studies have assessed the influence of named chefs or the public perception of these figures. This paper gives an insight into this under-researched field.

The epistemic project of open diplomacy and the League of Nations: Co-evolution between diplomacy, PR and journalism

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-621
Author(s):  
Arne Lorenz Gellrich ◽  
Erik Koenen ◽  
Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz
Keyword(s):  
League Of Nations ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communication History ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Collective Biography ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Method Approach

PurposeThe article discusses findings from a research project on the communication history of the League of Nations. It departs from the League's normative goal of “open diplomacy”, which, from an analytical standpoint, can be framed as an “epistemic project” in the sense of a non-linear and ambivalent negotiation by communication of what “open diplomacy” should and could be. The notion of the “epistemic project” serves as an analytical concept to understand this negotiation of open diplomacy across co-evolving actors' constellations from journalism, PR and diplomacy.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a mixed-method approach, including hermeneutic document analysis of UN archival sources and collective biography/prosopography of 799 individual journalists and information officers.FindingsIt finds that the League's conceptualisations of the public sphere and open diplomacy were fluent and ambivalent. They developed in the interplay of diverse actors' collectives in Geneva. The involved roles of information officers, journalists and diplomats were permeable, heterogenous and – not least from a normative perspective – conflictive.Originality/valueThe subject remains under-researched, especially from the perspective of communication studies. The study is the first to approach it with the described research framework.

Frailty – from bedside to buzzword?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
Steve Iliffe
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Subject ◽  
To Come ◽  
Recent Policy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore common usage and understanding of the term “frailty”, which is increasingly used in health care debates in England. Design/methodology/approach – This is a commentary from the perspectives of health and social care researchers. Recent policy and research are drawn upon in the arguments presented. Findings – Most research on the subject of frailty comes from clinical practice although a parallel sociological or gerontological critique of the social construction is emerging. The public is likely to come across the term frailty through the media’s adoption of the term. Different definitions of frailty mean that estimates of the numbers of “frail people” will vary. Research limitations/implications – The commentary draws on material in the English language and on policy, commentary, and research material. Practical implications – The commentary may prompt reflection in practice and policy development on the usage of the term frailty and promote efforts to ensure that its meaning is clear and that it is acceptable to those to whom it is applied. Originality/value – The paper contributes to debates about frailty by considering the implications of using the term across health and social care and in integrated settings and encounters. It draws on medical presentations of the term frailty and on critiques of it as a powerful discourse.

scholarly journals Tourism and mobile devices: provenance of academic research through a bibliometric study

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-112
Author(s):  
Francisco José Ortega-Fraile ◽  
Miguel Ángel Ríos-Martín ◽  
Cristina Ceballos-Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Bibliographic Reference ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reference Manager ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Worldwide Web ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Formed Part

Purpose This paper aims to outline a map of all the research that exists on mobile technology and tourism archived in the two main databases worldwide (Web of Science and Scopus). Accordingly, with the identification of all the scientific articles that deal with both mobile technology and tourism, the authors seek to ascertain the evolution of mobile technology in the tourism sector through the years, countries, universities and authors and determine the various collaborations brought about between authors, universities, institutions and/or companies in various research projects. Finally, it also allows the authors to distinguish the main topics under study within the scope of ‘mobile tourism’. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology has been carried out. The search focused on the principal databases of bibliographic references and citations of periodical publications, such as articles from scientific journals, books and other types of printed material. Once the results were obtained in the respective databases, it was necessary to be able to work with them. In this respect, the authors had to extract the relevant data and dump it in a bibliographic reference manager, for which they chose Mendeley. After this, the tabulation of data was performed in Excel and tables and graphs were created from all the data collected. Findings The main results obtained and analyzed are the number of articles per year, countries and universities. In the same way, it is interesting to highlight the number of countries and universities that participate in each article under study. On the other hand, an analysis has been carried out regarding the number of articles per author, as well as the topics dealt with in the different articles. Originality/value This analysis reveals the role that has been played by mobile phones in tourism since the first scientific article was recorded in 2002. In this regard, in recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of articles, finally resulting in moderate figures in relation to countries (40) and universities (233) that have formed part of the subject matter under study. In contrast to other areas of research in tourism, the relevance of this subject is therefore evident, as is the need for greater background knowledge to establish research models adapted to the new reality of tourism in a world of ever-increasing mobility.

scholarly journals Organizational commitment, job satisfaction and their possible influences on intent to turnover

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Machado Dias Ramalho Luz ◽  
Sílvio Luiz de Paula ◽  
Lúcia Maria Barbosa de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Intent To Turnover ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Subject

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which the organizational commitment and job satisfaction influence intent to turnover. Design/methodology/approach Following a quantitative approach regarding methodological aspects of this research, a case study was carried out in a company of information technology and communication located in Porto Digital, in the Northeast of Brazil. A data collection technique with 172 forms, a self-administered form with 18 closed questions with a Likert-type scale and an open questionnaire were used. In this analysis, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used as the technique; besides the descriptive statistics, a correlation was made between dependent variables (intention of rotation) and independent variables (affective, normative, instrumental and work satisfaction). The level of organizational commitment in its three dimensions (affective, normative and instrumental), the job satisfaction in its five dimensions (satisfaction with nature of the task, with leadership, with colleagues, with salary and promotions) and the level of intent to turnover from the respondents were investigated. Findings The results suggest that affective and normative commitments and satisfaction with pay, satisfaction with promotions and satisfaction with the nature of the work are correlated with the intention of negative turnover significantly. Among the demographic factors, only the age showed a negative correlation with intent to turnover. By performing multiple regression analysis, we identified that the variables that most impacted the turnover intention are affective commitment, satisfaction with salary and normative commitment. The qualitative portion of this study was accomplished through a content analysis of the open question of the form. Finally, one of the main considerations is the findings that revealed variables other than those adopted in the study, which influence the permanence of the respondents. Research limitations/implications Among the limitations of the research a single case study is highlighted that replicates the experience in other ICT companies to verify if the results found are similar in other organizations and in other segments. The findings direct the construction and validation of new scales, the creation of qualitative protocols to identify the variables that influence the retention of a specific group of individuals to serve as a guide for the elaboration of a questionnaire, as well as creation of surveys of longitudinal nature to correlate the data of intention of rotation with the effective turnover. Practical implications Based on the results, organizations can reduce voluntary evasion by adjusting actions, policies and practices, directing those responsible for People Management to attract and retain good employees. It should be emphasized that voluntary turnover should be treated as one of the management indicators of greater relevance by organizations, representing a thermometer of all human capital management. Social implications The monitoring of employment and unemployment levels is part of the public policy agenda for generating employment and income in Brazil. For organizations, employee turnover can and should be managed and monitored so that appropriate levels are found and their consequences are minimized through effective solutions. The results are important both for technology-based organizations and for all stakeholders interested in the subject as the public power. Originality/value Although in the international literature turnover is a topic of study for many years, in the Brazilian context, there is a shortage of research on the subject, specifically in the sector of advanced technology where there is a great lack of skilled labor, a fierce competition and where to keep employees standard high becomes a survival factor. This study may contribute to the exploration in the local literature, as it will help locate the academy on the Brazilian reality and open the doors to new research works on turnover and its possible correlations with other variables besides organizational commitment and job satisfaction.

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