Technology, market change and the privatisation of communications in Britain

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Private Ownership ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Market Change ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Uk

Purpose What are the trade-offs between public and private ownership in the business and how does this impact industries responsible for providing and offering services on critical national infrastructure? The privatisation of British Telecom (BT), the UK telecommunications provider that was initially part of the British Post Office, is used to explore this question. By broadening the business perspective beyond the political goals and economic consequences of privatisation; this study aims to approach management history provides new perspectives of the benefits and challenges offered by both public and private ownership. Design/methodology/approach To fulfil its purpose, this paper examines how the UK telecommunications incumbent proactively adapted from being an organisation shaped by its unique position within the public sector, to one embracing the challenges offered by the private sector. The analysis is synthesised by linking an understanding of the customer’s requirements, services and technology with surveys of the secondary literature, supported where applicable by archival material, combining perspectives from authors both within the organisation and external to it. Sources include specialist and more general academic material and contemporary and reflective publications from practising engineers and managers; supplemented by material held at the BT Archives and the Guildhall Library in London. It links the debate on ownership to the evolution of the market under study and provides a balanced view across the business, its market, competition and technology. Findings The arguments surrounding public or private ownership, are complex, in particular, it is difficult to separate effects due to liberalisation and privatisation. Whilst the former provided the impetus for beneficial change, the latter reduced the level of detrimental entanglement with government policy and enabled the technology and structural changes that took the market forward. Originality/value A new and balanced view of the privatisation of BT is taken, with an emphasis on how the company needed to change to thrive in a liberalised market, noting how technological change both required organisational change and enabled it. In contrast to many studies, the emphasis is on what was driving the organisation rather than the policy of privatisation and its effectiveness.

Assessing retail market competition for multi-aquaculture products

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulai Fofana ◽  
Shabbar Jaffry
Keyword(s):  
Market Power ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
Retail Market ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
Aquaculture Products ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate market competition for three product types of salmon (smoke, fresh and whole salmon) to understand whether supermarkets are exercising market power over salmon consumers in the UK retail market. Design/methodology/approach – Competition and the corresponding pricing conduct among supermarkets are tested by applying dynamic structural simultaneous system equations and using similar data set used by Jaffry et al. (2003). Findings – The results indicate that the market is competitive for fresh fillets and whole salmon but retailers appeared to exert some level of market power for smoke salmon. The hypothesis that market power is the same for all three products in the study was rejected; further indicating that the market for fresh products are competitive while retailers may be exercising market power over consumers for smoke salmon. Research limitations/implications – Current data limitations did not allow the investigation to cover the past few years in the modelling process. However, the results are still relevant as there have been no major structural changes in aquaculture products retailing landscape in the recent past. Practical implications – Concerns over the supermarkets’ exercise of market power over consumers have prompted the competition authorities to continue investigating the situation in the UK supermarket sector since 1996. The most recent investigation by competition authorities was in 2006. In all cases, no evidence of market power was found despite increased market concentration. Results from this study generally uphold the claim of the competition authorities in the UK. Originality/value – This is the first study to use a model within a structural econometric framework of firms to test for competitiveness of salmon products in the UK market place.

scholarly journals Repositioning the boundaries between public and private healthcare providers in the English NHS

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 776-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Sheaff ◽  
Joyce Halliday ◽  
Mark Exworthy ◽  
Alex Gibson ◽  
Pauline W. Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Qualitative Comparison ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Service Production ◽  
Organisational Research

Purpose Neo-liberal “reform” has in many countries shifted services across the boundary between the public and private sector. This policy re-opens the question of what structural and managerial differences, if any, differences of ownership make to healthcare providers. The purpose of this paper is to examine the connections between ownership, organisational structure and managerial regime within an elaboration of Donabedian’s reasoning about organisational structures. Using new data from England, it considers: how do the internal managerial regimes of differently owned healthcare providers differ, or not? In what respects did any such differences arise from differences in ownership or for other reasons? Design/methodology/approach An observational systematic qualitative comparison of differently owned providers was the strongest feasible research design. The authors systematically compared a maximum variety (by ownership) sample of community health services; out-of-hours primary care; and hospital planned orthopaedics and ophthalmology providers (n=12 cases). The framework of comparison was the ownership theory mentioned above. Findings The connection between ownership (on the one hand) and organisation structures and managerial regimes (on the other) differed at different organisational levels. Top-level governance structures diverged by organisational ownership and objectives among the case-study organisations. All the case-study organisations irrespective of ownership had hierarchical, bureaucratic structures and managerial regimes for coordinating everyday service production, but to differing extents. In doctor-owned organisations, the doctors’, but not other occupations’, work was controlled and coordinated in a more-or-less democratic, self-governing ways. Research limitations/implications This study was empirically limited to just one sector in one country, although within that sector the case-study organisations were typical of their kinds. It focussed on formal structures, omitting to varying extents other technologies of power and the differences in care processes and patient experiences within differently owned organisations. Practical implications Type of ownership does appear, overall, to make a difference to at least some important aspects of an organisation’s governance structures and managerial regime. For the broader field of health organisational research, these findings highlight the importance of the owners’ agency in explaining organisational change. The findings also call into question the practice of copying managerial techniques (and “fads”) across the public–private boundary. Originality/value Ownership does make important differences to healthcare providers’ top-level governance structures and accountabilities and to work coordination activity, but with different patterns at different organisational levels. These findings have implications for understanding the legitimacy, governance and accountability of healthcare organisations, the distribution and use power within them, and system-wide policy interventions, for instance to improve care coordination and for the correspondingly required foci of healthcare organisational research.

scholarly journals The purposes, promises and compromises of extinction accounting in the UK public sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Weir
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corporate Context ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecological Criteria ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of extinction accounting, and the motivations for its use in the UK public sector. Prior studies are mostly concerned with corporate attempts to account for species, despite studies in related areas calling for examinations of the public sector context. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses the use of extinction accounting in three separate case organisations, conducting a total of 21 interviews across the three cases. Interviews were conducted with a range of organisational participants each having experience with extinction accounting. Findings Interviews reveal a number of common uses and applications of extinction accounting across the three councils. Practices are used to generate reports on species loss and recovery within each region, and to facilitate planning for species protection and recovery. However, in attempting to use this information, key trade-offs emerge between satisfying economic and ecological criteria, and even trade-offs are created regarding development of protection schemes. This leads to a subversion of extinction accounting. Research limitations/implications Commensurate with prior studies in the corporate context, the study finds the presence of an economic logic impinging upon ecological decision making, suggesting that practices of extinction accounting may be affected by the same acknowledged economic motivations that reside in corporate attempts to account for nature. Originality/value The paper makes an important contribution by evaluating the public sector context of extinction accounting, which is lacking in existing research. The findings relating to the public sector use of species and extinction information also provide a useful context to understand how relatively new social and environmental accounting practices are deployed in organisations, as well as some indication of their effectiveness and limitations.

Artificial intelligence: accelerator or panacea for financial crime?

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 634-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Yeoh
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Competitive Edge ◽  
Business Cases ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Administrative Sanctions

PurposeThis purpose of this viewpoint is to address the intended good and unintended bad impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in financial crime.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relied primarily on secondary data resources, business cases and relevant laws and regulations, and it used a legal-economics perspective.FindingsCurrent AI systems could function as antidotes or accelerator of financial crime, in particular cybercrime. Research suggests criminal law could be applied via three approaches to curb these cybercrimes. However, others considered this to be an inappropriate mechanism to hold AI agents accountable, as present AI systems were not deemed capable of making ethically informed choices. Instead, administrative sanctions would be considered more appropriate for now. While keeping vigilance against AI malicious acts, regulatory authorities in the USA and the UK have opted largely for the innovation-friendly, market-oriented, permissionless approach over the state-interventionist stance so as to maintain their global competitive edge in this domain.Originality/valueThe paper reinforced the growing arguments that AI applications should be deployed more as panacea for financial crimes rather than being abused as crime accelerators. There equally though is the need for both public and private sectors to be mindful of the unintended negative, harmful consequences to society, especially those connected to cybercrime. This implied the further need to beef up attention and resources to help mitigate these risks.

UK industrial strategy impact rests on implementation

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Green Paper ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Skill Shortages

Subject UK industrial strategy. Significance The UK government's industrial strategy responds to concerns about poor productivity, Brexit and the profound structural changes the economy is undergoing. ‘Building a Britain fit for the future' rests on five policy-area foundations -- ideas, people, infrastructure, business environment and places. Published on November 27 last year, the strategy was shaped by more than 2,000 responses to a green paper published in January the same year. Impacts Increasing R&D is key to narrowing the gap between the country's success in start-ups and its weakness scaling them up. R&D as a percentage of GDP is below the US, Chinese and German levels, undermining the goal of being the world’s most innovative nation. The STEM funds and the focus on technical as well as higher education will help fill possible post-Brexit labour and skill shortages.

scholarly journals The compassionate organisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poul Erik Flyvholm Jørgensen ◽  
Maria Isaksson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test whether organisations in the public domain have embraced a corporate type of discourse, mirroring the private sector’s preferred orientation towards expertise, or whether they maintain their traditional discourse of goodwill towards the publics they serve. At a critical time for the public sector with inadequate funding and dominance of New Public Management approaches, will it be more motivated to portray itself as expert and efficient rather than altruistic? Design/methodology/approach – The paper applies a rhetorical framework to provide a detailed analysis of organisational value statements posted on the web sites of public and private organisations. The research considers the value priorities of 50 organisations in the UK and Scandinavia in order to gauge the extent of convergence between the two sectors’ preferred discourses. Findings – The research shows that the public sector sticks to its guns in maintaining a web-transmitted values discourse which forefronts goodwill towards its clients. It also shows that the public and private sectors take different approaches to goodwill. Originality/value – Strategists and communication specialists are encouraged to contemplate the extent to which their organisation’s projected web image equates their desired image to avoid alienating important public audiences and reinforce levels of trust. The current framework brings attention to the complex nature of goodwill and may be employed to better balance a discourse of organisational expertise against a discourse of goodwill in planning authentic value statements.

scholarly journals The impact of story: measuring the impact of story for organisational change

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Rossetti ◽  
Tony Wall
Keyword(s):  
Organisational Change ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Organisational Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

Purpose The role of dialogue has recently been identified as being important in generating impact in organisations, but the purposeful use of narrative or story-based approaches to effect organisational change and service improvement is still relatively innovative. The purpose of this paper is to document and examine two projects in health and social care settings which aim to generate organisational development and service improvement. Design/methodology/approach The paper evaluates and compares two case studies of story-based organisational development and service improvement projects in the UK. This involved developing an appropriate evaluation framework and assessing the impacts in each case using semi-structured interviews and thematic content analysis. Findings This paper reports the diversity of impacts and outcomes that were generated by the projects. Specifically, it is argued that there is a strong indication that story-based projects best achieve their objectives when clearly linked to key organisational strategic drivers or pathways, as evidenced by robust evaluation. Practical implications This paper recommends that researchers and practitioners, working with story-based methods, design credible and robust evaluative practices, in order to evidence how their work supports organisations to meet current sector challenges. The paper recommends a flexible evaluation framework for evaluating story-based projects in the workplace. Originality/value This paper offers new evidence and insight into the impacts and outcomes of using story-based approaches, and a new evaluation framework for these sorts of projects.

scholarly journals Anti-money laundering in the United Kingdom: new directions for a more effective regime

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Pontes ◽  
Nick Lewis ◽  
Paul McFarlane ◽  
Patrick Craig
Keyword(s):  
Money Laundering ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Regulatory Requirement ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

Purpose This paper aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering (AML) regime in the UK and explore opportunities to improve policy and performance. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews and a focus group with practitioners from both public and private sectors. Findings This paper identifies preventive measures are underfunded by the public sector; there is a disconnect between the regulatory requirement and the regulators’ supervisory approach leading to the ineffective application of the risk-based approach; and authorities have limited ability to stop low-utility reports. Increased collaboration across institutions and sectors, better utilisation of innovative technologies and a sustainable funding plan are needed to drive a collective response to money laundering. Research limitations/implications Few practitioners in the industry have the knowledge and expertise to discuss the topic at a strategic level and participants were limited (n = 8). Practical implications This paper adds to the growing corpus of research showing that the AML regime in the UK is ineffective and needs reform. Social implications This paper encourages practitioners to improve the AML regime, this research contributes to the reform of the existing measures against financial crime. Originality/value This paper presents new data from AML practitioners to provide a better understanding of the limitations of the AML regime in the UK.

“We need to slowly break down this barrier”: understanding the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81
Author(s):  
Tamara Nadine Sancho ◽  
Michael Larkin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Barriers And Facilitators ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Undergraduates are highly susceptible to the development of mental health difficulties. Afro-Caribbean students are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of university yet are less likely than other ethnic groups to receive early intervention. This paper aims to understand the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK. Design/methodology/approach Critical Incident Technique was used as the qualitative method because it explores the critical factors that contribute to or detract from a specific experience. Seventeen Afro-Caribbean undergraduates participated in five focus groups. This involved engaging in a novel psychosocial activity that incorporated vignettes to encourage the identification of barriers and facilitators to service access. The data were analysed thematically to generate categories of critical incidents and wish-list items. Findings Analysis revealed rich data from a sub-group rarely researched within UK literature. Fifteen barriers, eleven facilitators and five wish-list items were identified. The importance of mental health literacy, social networks, cultural sensitivity and concerns surrounding services underpinned many categories. Originality/value Findings provide a new perspective on barriers reported in previous literature. Novel facilitators were highlighted where, although psychological and sociocultural factors were deemed valuable, structural changes were most desired. Recommended changes illustrate innovative interventions that could make services accessible for young adult Afro-Caribbean populations. Future research should explore the barriers and facilitators identified by Afro-Caribbean undergraduates across various universities who have successfully accessed and engaged with services. This could provide a holistic perspective on viable facilitators enabling access despite the presence of barriers.

Studying the importance of change leadership and change management in layoffs, mergers, and closures

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann-Louise Holten ◽  
Gregory Robert Hancock ◽  
Anne Bøllingtoft
Keyword(s):  
Change Management ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Change Leadership ◽  
Change Processes ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Leadership And Change

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of change leadership (informing, communicating, involving and supporting) and change management (reasons and competencies for change) for organisational change processes and their outcomes across public and private organisations. The study includes three specific change situations: first, layoffs; second, mergers; and third, closures, relocations and outsourcing, focusing on how change leadership and change management relate to employees’ experience of the change processes and their outcomes across these change situations. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on panel data forming a representative sample of the Danish working population. A total of 2,120 responses were collected, 1,000 from public organisations and 1,120 from private organisations. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The study findings show that both change leadership and change management predict positive change experiences and change consequences – and that they do so similarly across public and private sectors. Despite this similarity, the study reveals important sectorial differences, with public sector employees reporting less positive change experiences and consequences. Originality/value The paper provides valuable knowledge for researchers and public and private leaders interested in the impact of change leadership and change management on change outcomes.

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