scholarly journals An uncertain, erratic story: the pandemic in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-555
Author(s):  
Irvine Lapsley
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Account ◽  
Reform Processes ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the pandemic from the perspective of the UK health-care system and risk management. Design/methodology/approach This paper follows a storytelling perspective. The author reflects on his experiences through the lens of research on health care and risk management. Findings The impact of the pandemic has been so massive that it has challenged the capacity of the UKs National Health Service. The political influences at work have not always promoted best practice in risk management and indicate blame-avoidance strategies by politicians. Research limitations/implications A single country experience of COVID-19. Practical implications There are major issues of asset management, of delays in decision-making, of supply chain problems and the need to reform processes of handling of crisis management. Originality/value This is an individual account of experiences of the pandemic.

What is happening to leadership in health care?

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
Valerie Iles
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Market Place ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Set ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Healthcare Leaders

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re-examine the challenges facing leaders in health care, to explore the impact of these on the choices available to healthcare leaders, and to re-visit the nature of leadership in general. It identifies a distinction between care that is a set of auditable transactions and care that is also a covenant, and suggests that leadership too can be practised in these distinctively different ways. It draws on a three year learning set of senior practitioners in the NHS in England. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the authors own observations over 25 years of educating and developing clinical leaders, and also on the insights of a learning set of senior NHS practitioners over a three period. Findings – The paper provides empirical insights about how both health care and leadership have changed over the last 30 years, and proposes that treating either of them as a set of auditable transactions in a market place results in dissatisfied leaders as well as practitioners, and that a covenant of both care and leadership needs to be understood and established. Research limitations/implications – Observations have been limited to the NHS in the UK although there are indications that the issues are of wider applicability. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the behaviours of those leading health care organisations, those being led, and those influencing the context. Originality/value – This paper challenges prevailing definitions of leadership and prevailing explanations for difficulties in health care organisations.

Strong governance: a result of evolutionary and revolutionary processes

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Collins ◽  
Ken McCracken ◽  
Barbara Murray ◽  
Martin Stepek
Keyword(s):  
Family Business ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Family Dynamics ◽  
Family Businesses ◽  
Formal Structure ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – This paper is the first in a regular series of articles in JFBM that will share “a conversation with” thought leaders who are active in the family business space. The world of family business is, like many other arenas, constantly evolving and as the authors learn more about how and why families “do business” the approaches and tools for working with them also evolve. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate further new research in areas that practically affect family businesses and to “open the door” to practical insights that will excite researchers and provide impetus for new and exciting study. The specific purpose of this paper is to explore “what is strong governance.” There has been much interest in governance lately yet there is a tendency to treat governance in a formulaic way such that, at the moment, the notion that every family business must have a family council or a formal structure in order to be considered “effective” and “successful” predominates. The authors’ panel challenges and discusses this notion drawing on the experience and knowledge as family business advisors, consultants and owners. Design/methodology/approach – The impetus for this particular conversation is a result of a brainstorming conversation that Lorna Collins and Barbara Murray held in February 2014 where they focussed on “how JFBM can encourage and stimulate researchers to engage in aspects of research that makes a difference to the family business in a practical way.” This paper reports a conversation between Barbara Murray (Barbara), Ken McCracken (Ken) and Martin Stepek (Martin), three leading lights in the UK family business advising space, all of whom have been involved in running or advising family businesses for more than three decades, held in August 2015. The conversation was held via telephone and lasted just over 60 minutes. Lorna Collins acted as moderator. Findings – Strong governance is not just about instituting a “family council” or embedding formal governance mechanisms in a family business. Evolutionary adaption by family members usually prevails such that any mechanism is changed and adapted over time to suit and fit the needs of the family business. Many successful family businesses do not have recognized “formal” governance mechanisms but, it is contended, they are still highly successful and effective. Future areas of research in governance are also suggested. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the family business discourse because the debate it reports challenges the basic assumptions upon which much consulting and advisory practice is conducted. It also challenges the notion of “best practice” and what is “new best practice” and how is it that any “best practice” is determined to be “best.” Furthermore, the panel provides insights in to the “impact of family dynamics on governance” and “the impact of family dynamics on advisors.” The paper content is original in that it provides an authentic and timely narrative between active family business practitioners who are also scholars and owners.

Fifty years of the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971: the legislative contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine Stothard
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the history of relevant legislation before and after the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). Design/methodology/approach A chronological narrative of laws and reports with concluding discussion. Findings That UK legislators have not made use of the evidence base available to them and have favoured enforcement rather than treatment approaches. That current UK practice has exacerbated not contain the use of and harms caused by illegal drugs. Research limitations/implications The paper does not cover all relevant documents, especially those from non-governmental sources. Practical implications The practical implications centre on the failure of consecutive governments to reflect on and review the impact of current legislation, especially on people who use drugs. Social implications That the situations of people who use drugs are currently ignored by the government and those proven responses which save lives and reduce harm are rejected. Originality/value The paper attempts to show the historical contexts of control and dangerousness of which the MDA is one instrument.

Black South African women in construction: cues for success

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane English ◽  
Paula Hay
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
South African ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Barriers To Entry ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the findings of interviews based on a questionnaire and a focus group discussion (conducted in 2011) with three Black women employees who were part of a 2006 study, which canvassed 176 employees and employers, in which carpentry was found to be considered the most accessible and appropriate skills area for women, and chronicles their development and assessment of current employment for women in construction. Design/methodology/approach – The focus group was made up of the women from the 2006 study still in the same employment or better positions in the same company Neil Muller Construction (NMC) after five years. Women from NMC, in particular, were selected because the company has been considered a best practice example and therefore would provide an interesting context in terms of the issues around retention of women and potentially a model for the industry. Foci are female representation, barriers, conditions, skills acquisition and employers’ attitudes to family responsibilities. In particular, measures to support women and the impact of role models and mentoring programmes are discussed. Findings – The results of the 2011 focus group study show that positive measures for women to work in construction are developing, both through legislation (e.g. the Construction Charter) and company efforts such as those of NMC. Both the 2006 and 2011 studies highlighted that female attributes such as being peacekeepers on site were considered favourable, indicating a positive shift in attitude regarding women working in construction. Research limitations/implications – There has been and remains a paucity of research into and literature on the topic of women in the construction industry, particularly working at the skills level. Practical implications – The paper has practical implications for employers wanting to increase employment and retention of women on site by providing a best practice example. Social implications – Increased employment of women is a statuary requirement of South African employment law. Women are, on average, the lowest wage earners. Originality/value – The paper reviews challenges for women in construction and ways these can be circumvented through interaction between industry and companies. The challenges are entry and retention because of the practices and attitudes typical in a male-dominated work environment. As a follow-up to previous research of 2006 into barriers to entry for women, this paper adds value by considering retention and a best practice example. As women’s lack of knowledge of the sector is also a barrier, this paper contributes to building knowledge. Further research should determine developing trends in terms of women’s representation in the construction industry.

The changing tax environment for the UK hedge fund sector

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Dana Ward
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Pricing ◽  
Hedge Fund ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Firm ◽  
Investment Manager ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to summarize the main conditions that a UK investment manager has to meet in order to benefit from a UK tax exemption known as the Investment Manager Exemption (IME) and comment on the key developments introduced in the revised Statement of Practice.Design/methodology/approachProvides background explaining legislation that defines the IME and its Qualifying Conditions and then goes on to explain the impact of the revised Statement of PracticeFindingsThe IME is an exemption for non‐residents trading in certain investments in the UK where that trade is carried on through an investment manager. The IME was introduced in order to promote investment activities in the UK by providing some degree of certainty on the tax treatment of UK managers who manage offshore trading funds. The original Statement of Practice 01/2001 (SP 01/01) was issued by HMRC to provide guidance on the application of the legislation and, more specifically, on how the conditions in relation to the IME are satisfied. The policy aims of the revised Statement of Practice are to improve the IME and also to meet new developments in the investment management industry, thus providing more certainty in relation to the scope and application of the rules.Practical implicationsIt is critical that processes are in place to demonstrate satisfaction of the Qualifying Conditions for the tax exemption; and in particular, contemporaneous and detailed transfer pricing documentation needs to be in place for all but the simplest of structures.Originality/valuePractical guidance from a tax partner of a leading accounting firm.

The risk of risk management: adopting critical theories to explore clinical risk concerns in mental health care

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Deering ◽  
Jo Williams ◽  
Rob Williams
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clinical Risk ◽  
Critical Theories ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline several critical risk theories and explore their application to risk concerns in mental health care. This will contribute to the on-going debate about risk management practices and the impact these might have on recovery and social inclusion. Notably, while risks like suicide can be therapeutically addressed, risk management may involve paternalistic practices that exclude the participation needed for recovery. Design/methodology/approach A viewpoint of key risk theories will be presented to provide a critical eye about some clinical risk concerns in mental health care. Implications for recovery and social inclusion will then be discussed alongside direction for practice and research. Findings Clinical concerns seemed to involve difficulties with uncertainty, holding onto expertise, and the othering of patients through risk. These concerns suggest the patient voice might become lost, particularly within the backdrop of clinical fears about blame. Alternatively, a relational approach to risk management could have merit, while patient expertise may develop understanding in how to improve risk management practices. Originality/value Clinical concerns appear more than managing potential harms; it can involve appraising behaviours around societal norms, explaining to an extent why mental illness might be addressed in terms of risks. While the points raised in the paper support existing findings about risk management, the underlying reasons drawing on the critical risk theories are less explored.

scholarly journals The performance of a blended real estate portfolio for UK DC investors

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Moss ◽  
Kieran Farrelly
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Real Estate ◽  
Specific Investment ◽  
Risk Return ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Investment Requirement ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the performance implications for UK DC pension fund investors who choose to combine global listed and UK unlisted real estate in a blended allocation relative to a pure unlisted solution. Design/methodology/approach – Blended listed and unlisted real estate portfolios are constructed. Investor risk and returns are then studied over the full 15 year sample horizon and distinct cyclical phases over this period using a number of risk-return metrics. Performance is then contrasted with that of a pure unlisted solution, as well as UK equity market and bond total returns over the same period. Findings – A UK DC pension fund investor choosing to construct a blended global listed and UK unlisted real estate portfolio would have experienced material return enhancement relative to a pure unlisted solution. The “price” of this enhanced performance and improved liquidity profile is, unsurprisingly, higher portfolio volatility. However, because of the improved returns, the impact upon measured risk adjusted returns is less significant. Practical implications – Relatively liquid blended listed and unlisted real estate portfolios create efficient risk and return outcomes for investors. Originality/value – This study uses actual fund rather than index data (i.e. measures delivered returns to investors), has chosen a global rather than single country listed real estate allocation and is focused on providing clarity around the real estate exposure for a specific investment requirement, the UK DC pension fund market.

Energy performance certificates in the context of sustainability and the impact on valuations

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Turley ◽  
Sarah Sayce
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The Government of UK is committed to reducing Green House Gas emissions by 80 per cent based on the 1990 levels, by 2050. In order to achieve this reduction, the UK Government, along with their European counterparts, have implemented various directives and incentives, which progressively and incrementally are intended to move them towards this target. One such directive is the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which sets the policy for achievement. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – This paper seeks to examine the complexities of these changes when considered against the real world use and operation of buildings, most particularly at lease end. It explores the inter-relationship of landlord and tenant at lease expiry and renewal. Findings – It argues that the Energy Act regulations might have significant impact on the actions of landlords and tenants; both in advance of and shortly after the lease is determined. Practical implications – One of the key mechanisms contained within this directive for the reduction in emissions is the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). An EPC must be produced where a building is being constructed, rented or sold. EPCs rate buildings on their asset energy performance and in conjunction with building regulations are becoming increasingly more stringent to achieve targets. Regulations under the Energy Act 2011, due to take effect from April 2018, will mean that it will be unlawful to let or re-let a building which fails to reach minimum energy performances standards, currently defined as an E rating; further it is intended that the regulations will extend to all lettings from 2023. Originality/value – This paper looks at the inter-relationship of landlord and tenant at lease expiry and renewal with the proposed directives on EPCs.

How employers are rising to the 20% challenge: increasing the uptake of degree apprentices from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-649
Author(s):  
Isa Mutlib
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Job Role ◽  
Minority Ethnic ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper outlines the UK Government's move to increase the numbers of apprentices. It explores how employers are looking to increase take up of apprenticeships with focus on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, the solutions they have identified and the role of higher education institutions (HEIs).Design/methodology/approachThis is the viewpoint of the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance and its Director through engaging with BAME apprentices and collecting a variety of research to show the benefit of recruiting from BAME backgrounds for individuals and organisations. Examples of good practices are included.FindingsThis paper shows there has been an increased effort from UK Government to increase apprenticeship representation from BAME communities. The UK Government has supported the role of apprentices in raising awareness of apprenticeships through recognition of their work.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to the last five years from when the first degree apprenticeship was announced in 2015. Its real impact must be measured after a degree apprentice graduates finding what influence this has on job role, salary and subsequently promoting it to prospective apprentices from under-represented communities.Practical implicationsPractical implications include promoting apprentices as role models for the community and engaging with regional and stakeholder networks between HEIs, employers and the Government to share best practice.Originality/valueInitiatives mentioned within this paper are original to the BAME Apprenticeship Alliance.

Addressing substance misuse in medium secure settings in the UK and Ireland – a survey of current practice

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Sandbrook ◽  
Tom Clark ◽  
Karen Amanda Cocksedge
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Forensic Mental Health ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Guidance ◽  
Training Unit ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – Rates of co-morbid substance misuse are high within forensic populations. Addressing these problems should be a priority as mental disorder with co-morbid substance misuse is associated with worse outcomes, including rates of re-offending and violence recidivism. A study undertaken in 2006 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research and Training Unit concluded that the provision of substance misuse treatments in medium-secure units (MSUs) at that time was inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how services may have developed since then to inform discussion over future development and best practice. Design/methodology/approach – A postal survey, supported by the Quality Network for Forensic Mental Health Services, was sent to 62 MSUs across the UK and Ireland. This questioned prevalence, interventions and staff training in substance misuse. Findings – In total, 41 units responded (66 per cent). The data suggest rates of substance misuse within MSUs have reduced and provision of treatment has increased in recent years. The majority of MSUs provide a variety of interventions to address substance misuse and are internally resourced, in tune with current national guidance. However, the data suggest many MSU staff are not receiving adequate training in substance misuse treatments and some MSUs do not appear to have a cohesive strategy that would be consistent with best practice. Practical implications – This study provides an up-to-date overview of the provision of treatment for substance misuse within MSUs. Originality/value – There is no other source for this information, which will provide an invaluable reference point for services seeking to develop or improve their clinical services.

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