Managing Boundaries in Multiteam Structures: From Parochialism to Integrated Pluralism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. de Vries ◽  
Gerben S. van der Vegt ◽  
J. Stuart Bunderson ◽  
Frank Walter ◽  
Peter J. M. D. Essens
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Balance ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Boundary Management ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Control Center ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Operations Control ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Task Accomplishment

Multiteam structures are increasingly used to coordinate complex tasks between different groups. To realize this potential, however, the members of a multiteam structure must manage a complex set of boundary relations within, between, and beyond the various constituent teams—boundary relations that can be cooperative, competitive, or some combination of both at the same time. This multimethod study provides insight into how multiteam structures can meet this challenge. Specifically, we examined how the different organizations that utilize and support the Dutch railway system learned to manage boundaries as they transitioned from a centralized, arms-length structure to a colocated, multiteam structure for coordinating disruption responses (i.e., the Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC)). In part 1 of our study, qualitative analyses of interview, observational, and archival data suggested that learning to manage boundaries within the ROCC was not simple or linear but evolved through trial and error during various phases. Ultimately, the ROCC developed an approach we call “integrated pluralism,” establishing a dynamic balance that combines both collaborative and competitive approaches to boundary management. In this manner, the ROCC teams were able to attain integrated solutions and coordinated task accomplishment while simultaneously defending internal team operations and home organization interests. In part 2, we employed an interrupted time series analysis to demonstrate that the implementation of the ROCC resulted in significant performance improvements. Consistent with the results of part 1, we found that these improvements emerged gradually over time as teams learned to work out their boundary relations and transitioned to integrated pluralism. These findings provide new insights into how individuals and teams can work together to tackle the unique boundary management challenges presented by multiteam structures and illuminate the dynamic trial and error process by which component teams can learn to both cooperate and compete.

Использование программного обеспечения  для оптимизации работы Центральной диспетчерской службы

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktor, Solov’ev ◽  
M. Arbuzov ◽  
N. Lesnykh
Keyword(s):  
Entire Period ◽  
Control Center ◽  
Software Products ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Operations Control ◽  
Water And Wastewater

Представлен обзор программных продуктов, разработанных группой специалистов различных служб и отделов ООО Водоканал г. Новокузнецка. Более 10 лет персонал Центральной диспетчерской службы предприятия использует данное программное обеспечение в своей работе. Разработка и применение собственных программ позволяет вносить необходимые коррективы в течение всего периода их использования, что обеспечивает максимальную простоту и удобство для работы пользователей. Рассмотрен порядок работы с несколькими программами: приведены виды окон, отображаемых на мониторе пользователя отражена пошаговая последовательность работы диспетчера с программой указаны дополнительные функции программ, позволяющие оптимизировать отдельные производственные процессы деятельности персонала диспетчеров. На основе представленных материалов возможно создание собственных аналогичных продуктов с учетом индивидуальной специфики предприятий водопроводно-канализационного хозяйства. Работа в этом направлении позволит гарантированно оптимизировать работу персонала диспетчерской и других служб, процессы взаимодействия различных подразделений внутри предприятия, а также предприятия с потребителями.A review of software products developed by a group of specialists from various services and departments of Vodokanal LLC, in Novokuznetsk is presented. For more than 10 years, the staff of the operations control center of the enterprise has been using this software in their work. The development and application of self-developed software provides for making the necessary adjustments throughout the entire period of its use to ensure maximum simplicity and friendliness for users. The procedure of using several software products is considered: the types of windows displayed on the users monitor are given the step-by-step sequence of the operational managers work with the software is reflected additional functions of the software are indicated that allow upgrading separate actions of the personnel of the operations control center. On the basis of the information presented self-development of similar software is possible provided the specific features of water and wastewater utilities are considered. Further research in this direction will allow reliable upgrading the activities of the personnel of the operations control center and other services, improving the interaction of various departments within the enterprise, as well as the consumer relations.

The effects of centralizing cancer surgery on postoperative mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 135581962110089
Author(s):  
Roberto Grilli ◽  
Federica Violi ◽  
Maria Chiara Bassi ◽  
Massimiliano Marino
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Postoperative Mortality ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Cancer Surgery ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Meta Regression ◽  
Meta Regression Analysis ◽  
After Cancer

Objectives To review the evidence of the effects of centralization of cancer surgery on postoperative mortality. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, Cinahl, Cochrane and Scopus (up to November 2019) for studies that (i) assessed the effects of centralization of cancer surgery policies on in-hospital or 30-day mortality, or (ii) described changes in both postoperative mortality for a surgical intervention and degree of centralization using reduction in the number of hospitals or increases in the proportion of patients undergoing cancer surgery at high volume hospitals as proxy. PRISMA guidelines were followed. We estimated pooled odds ratios (OR) and conducted meta-regression to assess the relationship between degree of centralization and mortality. Results A total of 41 studies met our inclusion criteria of which 15 evaluated the effect of centralization policies on postoperative mortality after cancer surgery and 26 described concurrent changes in the degree of centralization and postoperative mortality. Policy evaluation studies mainly used before-after designs (n = 13) or interrupted time series analysis (n = 2), mainly focusing on pancreatic, oesophageal and gastric cancer. All but one showed some degree of reduction in postoperative mortality, with statistically significant effects demonstrated by six studies. The pooled odds ratio for centralization policy effect was 0.68 (95% Confidence interval: 0.54–0.85; I2 = 80%). Meta-regression analysis of the 26 descriptive studies found that an increase of the proportion of patients treated at high volume hospitals was associated with greater reduction in postoperative mortality. Conclusions Centralization of cancer surgery is associated with reduced postoperative mortality. However, existing evidence tends to be of low quality and estimates of the effect size are likely inflated. There is a need for prospective studies using more robust approaches, and for centralization efforts to be accompanied by well-designed evaluations of their effectiveness.

scholarly journals Does admission prevalence change after reconfiguration of inpatient services? An interrupted time series analysis of the impact of reconfiguration in five centres

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Martin ◽  
Edwin Amalraj Raja ◽  
Steve Turner
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Emergency Admission ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Emergency Admissions ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Inpatient Services ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Admission Prevalence

Abstract Background Service reconfiguration of inpatient services in a hospital includes complete and partial closure of all emergency inpatient facilities. The “natural experiment” of service reconfiguration may give insight into drivers for emergency admissions to hospital. This study addressed the question does the prevalence of emergency admission to hospital for children change after reconfiguration of inpatient services? Methods There were five service reconfigurations in Scottish hospitals between 2004 and 2018 where emergency admissions to one “reconfigured” hospital were halted (permanently or temporarily) and directed to a second “adjacent” hospital. The number of emergency admissions (standardised to /1000 children in the regional population) per month to the “reconfigured” and “adjacent” hospitals was obtained for five years prior to reconfiguration and up to five years afterwards. An interrupted time series analysis considered the association between reconfiguration and admissions across pairs comprised of “reconfigured” and “adjacent” hospitals, with adjustment for seasonality and an overall rising trend in admissions. Results Of the five episodes of reconfiguration, two were immediate closure, two involved closure only to overnight admissions and one with overnight closure for a period and then closure. In “reconfigured” hospitals there was an average fall of 117 admissions/month [95% CI 78, 156] in the year after reconfiguration compared to the year before, and in “adjacent” hospitals admissions rose by 82/month [32, 131]. Across paired reconfigured and adjacent hospitals, in the months post reconfiguration, the overall number of admissions to one hospital pair slowed, in another pair admissions accelerated, and admission prevalence was unchanged in three pairs. After reconfiguration in one hospital, there was a rise in admissions to a third hospital which was closer than the named “adjacent” hospital. Conclusions There are diverse outcomes for the number of emergency admissions post reconfiguration of inpatient facilities. Factors including resources placed in the community after local reconfiguration, distance to the “adjacent” hospital and local deprivation may be important drivers for admission pathways after reconfiguration. Policy makers considering reconfiguration might consider a number of factors which may be important determinants of admissions post reconfiguration.

scholarly journals An Attention-Based Multilayer GRU Model for Multistep-Ahead Short-Term Load Forecasting

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1639
Author(s):  
Seungmin Jung ◽  
Jihoon Moon ◽  
Sungwoo Park ◽  
Eenjun Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Power Consumption ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Load Forecasting ◽  
Input Sequence ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Performance Improvements ◽  
Short Term Load Forecasting ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Input Variables

Recently, multistep-ahead prediction has attracted much attention in electric load forecasting because it can deal with sudden changes in power consumption caused by various events such as fire and heat wave for a day from the present time. On the other hand, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), including long short-term memory and gated recurrent unit (GRU) networks, can reflect the previous point well to predict the current point. Due to this property, they have been widely used for multistep-ahead prediction. The GRU model is simple and easy to implement; however, its prediction performance is limited because it considers all input variables equally. In this paper, we propose a short-term load forecasting model using an attention based GRU to focus more on the crucial variables and demonstrate that this can achieve significant performance improvements, especially when the input sequence of RNN is long. Through extensive experiments, we show that the proposed model outperforms other recent multistep-ahead prediction models in the building-level power consumption forecasting.

Recession and risk of suicide in Denmark during the 2009 global financial crisis: an ecological register-based study

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110132
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Konieczna ◽  
Sarah Grube Jakobsen ◽  
Christina Petrea Larsen ◽  
Erik Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
Suicide Rate ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Series Analysis ◽  
Prevention Programmes ◽  
The Impact

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the potential impact from the financial crisis (onset in 2009) on suicide rates in Denmark. The hypothesis is that the global financial crisis raised unemployment which leads to raising the suicide rate in Denmark and that the impact is most prominent in men. Method: This study used an ecological study design, including register data from 2001 until 2016 on unemployment, suicide, gender and calendar time which was analysed using Poisson regression models and interrupted time series analysis. Results: The correlation between unemployment and suicide rates was positive in the period and statistically significant for all, but at a moderate level. A dichotomised version of time (calendar year) showed a significant reduction in the suicide rate for women (incidence rate ratio 0.87, P=0.002). Interrupted time series analysis showed a significant decreasing trend for the overall suicide rate and for men in the pre-recession period, which in both cases stagnated after the onset of recession in 2009. The difference between the genders’ suicide rate changed significantly at the onset of recession, as the rate for men increased and the rate for women decreased. Discussion: The Danish social welfare model might have prevented social disintegration and suicide among unemployed, and suicide prevention programmes might have prevented deaths among unemployed and mentally ill individuals. Conclusions: We found some indications for gender-specific differences from the impact of the financial crises on the suicide rate. We recommend that men should be specifically targeted for appropriate prevention programmes during periods of economic downturn.

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