scholarly journals Exploring health work: a critical-action perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hassard ◽  
Paula Hyde ◽  
Julie Wolfram Cox ◽  
Edward Granter ◽  
Leo McCann
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Service Organisation ◽  
Critical Action

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a hybrid approach to the research developed during a multi-researcher, ethnographic study of NHS management in the UK. Design/methodology/approach This methodological paper elaborates a hybrid approach to the sociological analysis – the critical-action theory – and indicates how it can contribute to the critical health management studies. Findings After exploring the various theoretical, methodological and philosophical options available, the paper discusses the main research issues that influenced the development of this perspective and the process by which the critical-action perspective was applied to the studies of managerial work in four health service sectors – acute hospitals, ambulance services, community services and mental healthcare. Research limitations/implications This methodological perspective enabled a critical analysis of health service organisation that considered macro, meso and micro effects, in particular and in this case, how new public management drained power from clinicians through managerialist discourses and practices. Practical implications Healthcare organisations are often responding to the decisions that lie outside of their control and may have to enact changes that make little sense locally. In order to make sense of these effects, micro-, meso- and macro-level analyses are necessary. Originality/value The critical-action perspective is presented as an adjunct to traditional approaches that have been taken to the study of health service organisation and delivery.

scholarly journals Ambiguous hybridity? Main features of China's service-oriented government reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-433
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Tian ◽  
Tom Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
New Public ◽  
Service Oriented

PurposeCompared with the worldwide reform trend of transcending new public management (NPM) during the past two decades, China's service-oriented government (SOG) reforms are a relatively different reform approach. After building an SOG was politically identified in 2004, China launched three rounds of SOG reforms in 2008, 2013 and 2018. The purpose of this article is to examine what is meant by China's SOG approach and analyze the reasons behind its emergence. In particular, it explores how this approach might be interpreted in NPM, and particularly post-NPM terms.Design/methodology/approachThe main theoretical basis of the paper is three theoretical perspectives from organizational theory – the instrumental, cultural and myth perspectives, but more specifically, the concepts complexity and hybridity. The empirical examples are selected from the SOG reforms of 2008, 2013 and 2018. The data used are a combination of public documents and scholarly secondary literature.FindingsThis paper discusses the SOG approach in China as a response to the negative effects of NPM-related reforms and informed by the western post-NPM reforms. It contends that China's SOG is a complex and hybrid approach in which NPM and post-NPM elements coexist and their balance is different from the west.Originality/valueFew authors have considered China's SOG approach in NPM and post-NPM terms. This paper contributes not only to a wider understanding of the ongoing SOG reform process in China, but also to the understanding of the relevance of public administration theories in a comparative perspective.

scholarly journals Business model analytics: technically review business model research domain

foresight ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 654-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nastaran Hajiheydari ◽  
Mojtaba Talafidaryani ◽  
SeyedHossein Khabiri ◽  
Masoud Salehi
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Research Trends ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Model Field ◽  
Timeline Analysis

Purpose Although the business model field of study has been a focus of attention for both researchers and practitioners within the past two decades, it still suffers from concern about its identity. Accordingly, this paper aims to clarify the intellectual structure of business model through identifying the research clusters and their sub-clusters, the prominent relations and the dominant research trends. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses some common text mining methods including co-word analysis, burst analysis, timeline analysis and topic modeling to analyze and mine the title, abstract and keywords of 14,081 research documents related to the domain of business model. Findings The results revealed that the business model field of study consists of three main research areas including electronic business model, business model innovation and sustainable business model, each of which has some sub-areas and has been more evident in some particular industries. Additionally, from the time perspective, research issues in the domain of sustainable development are considered as the hot and emerging topics in this field. In addition, the results confirmed that information technology has been one of the most important drivers, influencing the appearance of different study topics in the various periods. Originality/value The contribution of this study is to quantitatively uncover the dominant knowledge structure and prominent research trends in the business model field of study, considering a broad range of scholarly publications and using some promising and reliable text mining techniques.

Validation of a management competency assessment tool for health service managers

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. Howard ◽  
Zhanming Liang ◽  
Sandra Leggat ◽  
Leila Karimi
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Competency Assessment ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Service Managers ◽  
Management Competency

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on the validation of a management competency assessment tool for health services managers (HSM), which resulted from the development and validation of the framework, addressed by a previous paper. Design/methodology/approach The management competency assessment tool (MCAP Tool) was validated using assessment data from a sample of 117 senior and middle managers working in two public hospitals and five community services in Victoria, Australia. The assessments were conducted between January 2013 and September 2014. Findings Both validity and reliability of the MCAP Tool were demonstrated. Practical implications The MCAP Tool has the potential to assist in the measurement of the competencies of HSM. Further research is required to determine if the framework and tool are applicable to HSM in other settings. Originality/value This is the first published study outlining the validity and reliability of an assessment tool to measure the management competencies of Australian health service managers.

Family entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Ratten ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Frank Hoy ◽  
Joao Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Family Businesses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Internationalization Strategies ◽  
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ◽  
Emerging Themes ◽  
Family Entrepreneurship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of family entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies by discussing the papers in this special journal issue. Design/methodology/approach The main research areas related to family business are discussed in terms of socioemotional wealth and societal trends. A review of the literature is conducted to highlight the emerging themes affecting the decision of family businesses to internationalize. Findings The paper stresses how it is important to have an entrepreneurial approach to internationalization of family businesses. Research limitations/implications As more family businesses are born globals, it is important to focus on the positive aspects of internationalization, including emerging markets and gaining important entrepreneurial knowledge. Practical implications Family businesses need to be more innovative and risk-taking in their approach to internationalization as it helps them build their reputation and increase performance. Originality/value As there are limited studies about family entrepreneurship and internationalization in terms of a broad view of family, this paper takes an inclusive approach to the changing nature of how a family is defined in today’s global society.

EXPRESS: Exploring the dynamics of slack in extreme contexts: A practice-based view

2021 ◽  
pp. 001872672110077
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Leuridan ◽  
Benoît Demil
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Critical Care Unit ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
New Public ◽  
Management Context ◽  
Production Practices ◽  
Extreme Contexts ◽  
Organizational Literature

Organizations that operate in extreme contexts have to develop resilience to ensure the reliability of their operations. While the organizational literature underlines the crucial role of slack when facing unanticipated events, a structural approach to slack says little about the concrete ways in which organizational actors produce and use this slack. Adopting a practice-based perspective during a 14-month ethnographic study in a French critical care unit, we study the slack practices, which consist in gathering, arranging and rearranging resources from both inside and outside the medical unit. This permanent process is captured in a dynamic model connecting situations, their evolutions and slack practices. Our research highlights the importance of situational slack production practices to ensure resilience. We also argue that these micro-practices are constitutive of the context in which actors are evolving. Finally, we discuss why these slack practices, although essential for ensuring resilience, can be endangered by the New Public Management context.

A network of networks

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Iedema ◽  
Raj Verma ◽  
Sonia Wutzke ◽  
Nigel Lyons ◽  
Brian McCaughan
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Health System ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
System Reform ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multiple Networks ◽  
Network Of Networks

Purpose To further our insight into the role of networks in health system reform, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how one agency, the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI), and the multiple networks and enabling resources that it encompasses, govern, manage and extend the potential of networks for healthcare practice improvement. Design/methodology/approach This is a case study investigation which took place over ten months through the first author’s participation in network activities and discussions with the agency’s staff about their main objectives, challenges and achievements, and with selected services around the state of New South Wales to understand the agency’s implementation and large system transformation activities. Findings The paper demonstrates that ACI accommodates multiple networks whose oversight structures, self-organisation and systems change approaches combined in dynamic ways, effectively yield a diversity of network governances. Further, ACI bears out a paradox of “centralised decentralisation”, co-locating agents of innovation with networks of implementation and evaluation expertise. This arrangement strengthens and legitimates the role of the strategic hybrid – the healthcare professional in pursuit of change and improvement, and enhances their influence and impact on the wider system. Research limitations/implications While focussing the case study on one agency only, this study is unique as it highlights inter-network connections. Contributing to the literature on network governance, this paper identifies ACI as a “network of networks” through which resources, expectations and stakeholder dynamics are dynamically and flexibly mediated and enhanced. Practical implications The co-location of and dynamic interaction among clinical networks may create synergies among networks, nurture “strategic hybrids”, and enhance the impact of network activities on health system reform. Social implications Network governance requires more from network members than participation in a single network, as it involves health service professionals and consumers in a multi-network dynamic. This dynamic requires deliberations and collaborations to be flexible, and it increasingly positions members as “strategic hybrids” – people who have moved on from singular taken-as-given stances and identities, towards hybrid positionings and flexible perspectives. Originality/value This paper is novel in that it identifies a critical feature of health service reform and large system transformation: network governance is empowered through the dynamic co-location of and collaboration among healthcare networks, particularly when complemented with “enabler” teams of people specialising in programme implementation and evaluation.

scholarly journals New public management and budgeting practices in Tanzanian Central Government

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Goddard ◽  
Tausi Ally Mkasiwa
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Donor Funding ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inductive Research ◽  
New Public ◽  
Research Findings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the budgeting practices in the Tanzanian Central Government. New budgeting reforms were introduced following exhortations from the bodies such as the UN, the World Bank and the IMF and reflect the new public management (NPM). Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory methodology was used. This methodology is inductive, allowing phenomena to emerge from the participants rather than from prior theory. This ensures both relevance and depth of understanding. Findings The principal research findings from the data concern the central phenomenon of “struggling for conformance”. Tanzanian Central Government adopted innovations in order to ensure donor funding by demonstrating its ability to implement imposed budgetary changes. Organizational actors were committed to these reforms through necessity and struggled to implement them, rather than more overtly resisting them. Research limitations/implications The research is subject to the usual limitations of case study, inductive research. Practical implications This research has several implications for policy-makers of NPM and budgetary reforms. These include the recognition that the establishment of the rules and regulations alone is not adequate for the successful implementation of budgetary and NPM reforms and should involve a comprehensive view of the nature of the internal and external environment. Originality/value There are few empirical papers of NPM accounting practices being implemented in the public sector of developing countries and none at all based in Tanzania. The paper identifies the existence of struggling to conform to reforms rather than resistance identified in prior research.

Risks of financial abuse of older people with dementia: findings from a survey of UK voluntary sector dementia community services staff

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kritika Samsi ◽  
Jill Manthorpe ◽  
Karishma Chandaria
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Voluntary Sector ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Money Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Abuse ◽  
People With Dementia

Purpose – Financial abuse of people with dementia is of rising concern to family carers, the voluntary sector and professionals. Little is known about preventative and early response practice among community services staff. The purpose of this paper is to investigate voluntary sector staff's views of the risks of managing money when a person has a dementia and explore ways that individuals may be protected from the risks of financial abuse. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey of staff of local Alzheimer's Society groups across England was conducted in 2011 and was completed by 86 respondents. Open-ended responses supplemented survey questions. Statistical analysis and content analysis identified emergent findings. Findings – Most respondents said their people with dementia experienced problems with money management, with almost half the respondents reporting encountering cases of financial abuse over the past year. Most were alert to warning signs and vulnerabilities and offered suggestions relevant to practice and policy about prevention and risk minimization. Research limitations/implications – Adult safeguarding practitioners are likely to encounter money management uncertainties and concerns about exploitation of people with dementia. They may be contacted by community-based support staff from the voluntary sector about individual queries but could ensure that such practitioners are engaged in local training and networking activities to promote their skills and confidence. Practical implications – As with other forms of elder abuse, professionals need to be aware of risks of financial abuse and be able to suggest effective yet acceptable preventive measures and ways to reduce risks of harm and loss. Further publicity about adult safeguarding services may be needed among local community support services. Originality/value – There have been few studies investigating the views of people working with people with dementia in the community about adult safeguarding.

Exploring climate finance for tourism adaptation development: an overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Vieira do Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
English Language ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Climate Finance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the links between climate finance and tourism adaptation development. Besides increasing adaptation and mitigation efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, climate change remains a major challenge in the twenty-first century and beyond especially for tourism which is highly climate sensitive. Hence, it is necessary for tourism to adapt to survive. The aim of the study is to provide a systematic overview of the topic to offer a foundation for better understanding different ways of integrating climate finance initiatives with tourism. Design/methodology/approach The research focused on the top-ranked, peer reviewed journals of each of the two selected research fields. To address this topic, an in-depth systematic literature review in the fields of climate change finance and tourism adaptation development was conducted. Furthermore, because it is a relatively new research topic, conference proceedings were also explored. To guarantee wide coverage of the literature, a query of the following scholarly databases was considered: Elsevier, ScienceDirect and Web of Science. Findings Based on the analyses of the literature available on the topic, the paper highlights the main research trends and conclusions. It is argued that there is imbalance of knowledge on climate change finance as it relates to tourism. To date, there have been relatively few published articles on this topic in the context of tourism. Based on the findings, promising areas for future research were identified, and in particular for small island communities and recommendations for future research are outlined. Research limitations/implications The paper is limited by the scope of the literature review accessed by the researcher. The results of this review may vary according to the databases used. Originality/value Currently, there is no extensive review of articles on climate finance and tourism adaptation. This paper aims at reviewing climate finance studies published in English language to explore knowledge gaps in tourism adaptation. Sets of themes being advanced are also highlighted. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Managing different forms of distances in Dutch healthcare organizations

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1080-1097
Author(s):  
Annemiek Stoopendaal
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Healthcare Organization ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Healthcare Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Healthcare Executives ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – Dichotomous “gap” thinking about professionals and managers has important limits. The purpose of this paper is to study the specific ontology of “the gap” in which different forms of distances are defined. Design/methodology/approach – In order to deepen the knowledge of the actual day-to-day tasks of Dutch healthcare executives an ethnographic study of the daily work of Dutch healthcare executives and an ontological exploration of the concept “gap” was provided. The study empirically investigates the meaning given to the concept of “distance” in healthcare governance practices. Findings – The study reveals that healthcare executives have to fulfil a dual role of maintaining distance and creating proximity. Coping with different forms of distances seems to be an integral part of their work. They make use of four potential mechanisms to cope with distance in their healthcare organization practices. Originality/value – The relationship between managers and professionals is often defined as a dichotomous gap. The findings in this research suggest a more dynamic picture of the relationship between managers and professionals than is currently present in literature. This study moves “beyond” the gap and investigates processes of distancing in-depth.

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