Case study: Why Paysend is moving to remote-first working

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Nicolaus
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Set Up

Purpose With the COVID-19 pandemic causing businesses to shake up social and work practices, the purpose of this paper is to explore why global fintech Paysend has decided to shift toward a new norm of remote-first working. Design/methodology/approach A real-world case study. Findings Although some organizations, especially larger ones, are urging employees to return to a daily office commute, a remote first set up is definitely here to stay. Originality/value Paysend was one of the very first fintechs that moved to a fully remote model at the start of the pandemic in early March 2020.

Unlocking the value of HR to drive a change-ready culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
Campbell Macpherson
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Culture Change ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Culture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Organization ◽  
The Real ◽  
Personal Experiences

Purpose This paper aims to present a case study focused on developing a change-ready culture within a large organization. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on personal experiences gleaned while driving an organization-wide culture change program throughout a major financial advisory firm. Findings This paper details over a dozen key lessons learned while transforming the HR department from a fragmented, ineffective, reclusive and disrespected department into one that was competent, knowledgeable, enabling and a leader of change. Originality/value Drawing on the real-world culture change intervention detailed here, including results and lessons learned, other organizations can apply similar approaches in their own organizations – hopefully to similar effect.

An areal openness model (AOM) for quantifying the “openness” of floor plans

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoraya Roldán Rockow ◽  
Brandon E. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Floor Plan ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Alternative Plan ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Reasonable Approach ◽  
Floor Plans

PurposeThis paper aims to describe and demonstrate a quantitative areal openness model (AOM) for measuring the openness of floor plans. Creation of the model was motivated by the widely reported but rarely quantified link between openness and adaptability.Design/methodology/approachThe model calculates values for three indicators: openness score (OS), weighted OS (WOS) and openness potential (OP). OS measures the absence of obstructions (walls, chases, columns) that separate areas in a floor plan. WOS measures the number of obstructions while also accounting for the difficulty of removing them. OP measures the potential of a floor plan to become more open. Indicators were calculated for three demolished case study buildings and for three adapted buildings. The case study buildings were selected because openness – or lack thereof – contributed to the owners' decisions to demolish or adapt.FindingsOpenness indicators were consistent with the real-world outcomes (adaptation or demolition) of the case study buildings. This encouraging result suggests that the proposed model is a reasonable approach for comparing the openness of floor plans and evaluating them for possible adaptation or demolition.Originality/valueThe AOM is presented as a tool for facility managers to evaluate inventories of existing buildings, designers to compare alternative plan layouts and researchers to measure openness of case studies. It is intended to be sufficiently complex as to produce meaningful results, relatively simple to apply and readily modifiable to suit different situations. The model is the first to calculate floor plan openness within the context of adaptability.

scholarly journals The mediating role of documents: information sharing through medical records in healthcare

2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 1171-1191
Author(s):  
Esther Ebole Isah ◽  
Katriina Byström
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Medical Records ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role

PurposeThe focus of this paper is on the mediating role of medical records in patient care. Their informative, communicative and constitutive facets are analysed on the basis of a case study in an African University teaching hospital.Design/methodology/approachA practice-oriented approach and the concept of boundary objects were adopted to examine medical records as information artefacts. Data from nonparticipant observations and interviews with physicians were triangulated in a qualitative analysis.FindingsThree distinctive practices for information sharing – absorbing by reading, augmenting by documenting and recounting by presenting – were identified as central to the mediating role of medical records in the care of patients. Additionally, three information-sharing functions outside the immediate care of patients were identified: facilitating interactions, controlling hegemonic order and supporting learning. The records were both a useful information resource and a blueprint for sustaining shared practices over time. The medical records appeared as an essential part of patient care and amendments to them resulted in changes in several other work practices.Originality/valueThe analysis contributes to research on documents as enacting and sustaining work practices in a workplace.

Managing, tracking and evaluating coaching part 2: where could you be?

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Yates
Keyword(s):  
Return On Investment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Evaluation Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Valuable Data ◽  
Easy Task ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Robust Process ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a number of recommendations that will enable you to get your hands around the coaching that is taking place inside your organisation so that you can manage it better and, moreover, calculate the commercial and cultural returns your organisation is achieving from the coaching in light of research presented in the author's previous article. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on a case study. Findings – Although not an easy task, it is possible to evaluate the impact of coaching and, in turn, calculate the return on investment (ROI). Key to doing this is that each relationship should be set up correctly; the coach should be fully qualified, experienced and in supervision and information regarding the volume, status and expenditure of each coaching contract must be kept up to date and, along with evaluation data for each contract, used to measure the impact of coaching to the organisation and to calculate the ROI. Originality/value – The case study included shows how coaching has been transformed in E.ON UK since outsourcing all aspects of its coaching, resulting in a clear and robust process generating valuable data on the impact of individual contracts and the programme as a whole, as well as an ROI.

Deciding where in the world to expand when determining a subsidiary strategy

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-35
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Foreign Market ◽  
Strategy Formation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Perceptions ◽  
Pertinent Information ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This case study paper concentrates on the managerial perceptions that determine where to establish a subsidiary and which strategies to follow in doing so. Cultural and economic distances have the biggest impacts on such strategy formation, followed by secondary administrative and geographic distance factors. Most managers preferred to adapt their marketing approach to the foreign market, to give high autonomy to acquired subsidiaries to manage their market, and to set up a subsidiary in a neighboring country. The interviewed Portuguese companies therefore predominantly opened a foreign subsidiary in Spain. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

scholarly journals Virtual reference amid COVID-19 campus closure: a case study and assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Garvey
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Virtual Reference ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reference Services ◽  
Eventual Return ◽  
Reference Service ◽  
Service Data

PurposeThis case study was conducted to assess and make changes to the consortial virtual reference service for the remainder of the period of fully virtual reference (campus closure); a second objective was to consider implications for service design and delivery upon the eventual return to the physical campus.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins by introducing the institution, reference practices prior to the pandemic and the changes to reference service necessitated by the campus closure. After a literature review of material related to reference and the pandemic, several years of virtual reference service data are analyzed.FindingsThe use of consortial virtual reference service has significantly increased in the pandemic, as demonstrated by questions asked by users and questions answered by librarians. Changes to work practices based on these data have been made.Originality/valueThis work is original in that it relates to the physical closure of the campus due to the pandemic, about which, to date, little has been published specifically concerning the design and delivery of reference services.

scholarly journals Shared collections to shared storage: the CARM1 and CARM2 print repositories

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 2-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathie Jilovsky ◽  
Paul Genoni
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Storage Facility ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Shared Storage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
Operational Costs ◽  
Set Up

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a case study of the CARM (CAVAL Archival and Research Materials Centre) Centre, a print repository owned and managed by CAVAL, an Australian consortium of academic libraries, based in Melbourne, Australia. The history, business models and operations of the initial module, CARM1, which commenced operations in 1996 and the recently completed module, CARM2 are described. This is preceded by a review of literature addressing the issue of retained or ceded ownership of stored items, and is followed by a discussion of the trend from a shared collection to shared storage within a shared facility. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is descriptive and explanatory. CARM1 was designed for both operations and space utilisation to be managed as economically as possible. This was achieved by storing items in a high density configuration and the collection, now known as the CARM Shared Collection, being owned by the CAVAL consortium. In exploring options for an expanded facility in 2007, a shared storage facility was determined to best meet the qualitative needs of member libraries. This option minimised the set-up and operational costs and required the lowest initial capital. CAVAL constructed a second storage facility, CARM2 which began operations in late 2010. Findings – The CARM Centre demonstrates that variant models for storage configurations and collection ownership can co-exist and meet the differing needs of member libraries within one facility. The need for off-site storage and the terms and conditions under which member libraries are willing to accept it differ widely. CAVAL's approach has been, and continues to be, that each member library makes its own decision and that CAVAL's role to facilitate those decisions while retaining an approach that supports broad-based solutions, be this in the form of a fully integrated shared collection, or a co-ordinated and carefully managed shared storage facility. Originality/value – This paper will be of interest and value to other organisations or consortia with an interest in the development, business models, implementation and management of shared print repositories that respond to the needs and circumstances of their member libraries.

Managing distribution networks in emerging markets. Evidence from the furniture sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Bortoluzzi ◽  
Maria Chiarvesio ◽  
Raffaella Tabacco
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Distribution Network ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Set Up

Purpose – This paper aims to examine how three firms set up distribution networks in China and India. The authors highlight the criticalities in this process and the modifications necessary to adapt the firms’ distribution networks to the local conditions of both markets. Firms entering emerging markets (EMs) must deal with specific business and environmental conditions that can jeopardise their ability to succeed. The establishment of a proper distribution network is among the most pressing priorities for entering firms. Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach was used to analyse three European firms in the furniture sector. Findings – The results show that several adaptations of already-tested solutions were necessary to cope with the specificities of both markets. Such adaptations differently involved the three layers that form the firms’ distribution network: actors, activities and resources. Theoretical and managerial implications are derived from the results. Research limitations/implications – This paper considers only three firms, which belong to the same sector and target a similar market segment (the high-end market). Therefore, the conclusions can be generalised only under certain conditions. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the development of international marketing literature by specifically studying distribution networks in EM contexts.

In liminality: interdisciplinary teams learning through challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigrid Westad Brandshaug ◽  
Ela Sjølie
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Interdisciplinary Teams ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Teams ◽  
Student Team ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Real World Problems

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to introduce the concept of liminality as a theoretical lens to explore and discuss how challenges, accompanied by frustrations and confusion, can enable significant learning in a teamwork setting. Student team narratives on how they handle challenges they face working to solve real-world problems are used as the basis for the discussion.Design/methodology/approachThis is a case study using student narratives from an interdisciplinary master course at a Norwegian university.FindingsWe argue that the concept of liminality can support teachers and student teams to understand and handle challenges in ways that enable significant learning and innovation. Practical implications for teachers and facilitators are provided at the end of the paper.Originality/valueThis paper offers new lenses to understand the team- and learning processes in courses where students work with real-world problems. If the teams are able to stay open in the liminality phase it enables significant learning and innovation. This capacity is valuable in a time where teams face complexity and uncertainty is becoming more of a standard than an exception, both in higher education and in working life.

Towards a taxonomy of intergenerational knowledge transfer practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Kerstin Kuyken ◽  
Mehran Ebrahimi ◽  
Anne-Laure Saives
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Design ◽  
Younger Workers ◽  
Intergenerational Knowledge

Purpose This paper aims to develop a better understanding of intergenerational knowledge transfer (IKT) practices by adopting a context-related and comparative perspective. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study design involving 83 interviews and non-participative observation in German and Quebec organizations has been chosen. Findings Two distinctive archetypes of IKT emerge from both national contexts: “we-individualizing” (Germany) and “I-connecting” (Quebec), leading to an eightfold taxonomy of IKT practices. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to young and senior workers and to high-tech sectors. Originality/value Comparative and inductive study of IKT, adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts, retaining younger workers. This inductive and comparative study allows a better adaptation of IKT practices to national contexts and therefore a better retention of younger workers.

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