The impact of service cutbacks, job insecurity and globalisation

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Nigel Malin
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
Deficit Reduction ◽  
Pay Cuts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

The austerity agenda links deficit reduction to cuts in public service budgets. The main argument is that de-professionalisation lies at the heart of assessing the impact of the ‘commercial model’ in the form of efficiencies, pay cuts, rationing, reduced training/staff development and potentially affecting overall economic productivity. This chapter begins to shape an analytical framework for understanding the UK context in which a process of de-professionalisation exists within an employment culture dominated by inequality, precarity, globalisation and declining solidarity.

Public services, the UK economy and the Brexit debate

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-50
Author(s):  
Nigel Malin
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
Economic Productivity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Pay Cuts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Social investment has become a social policy concept that can be seen as a way to find a new economic legitimacy to social programmes. This has been as means of increasing economic productivity; it plays a positive role in economic regulation and investment in human capital (training and education) and social programmes like universal access to childcare and early childhood education, viewed as good for the economy. Interrogating ‘cuts to services’ as socially and politically contentious places the notion of ‘de-professionalisation’ at the heart of assessing the impact of the commercial model within the NHS, social care, education and criminal justice domains of the public sector. How have these cuts helped to downsize professional service-inputs in the form of efficiencies, pay cuts, rationing, reducing training and staff development, all of which potentially affect overall economic productivity? Will Brexit impact on the role and status of professionals living in the UK?

An economic exploration of oral and intravenous ganciclovir in the induction and maintenance treatment of AIDS-related cytomegalovirus retinitis

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 415-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Davies ◽  
Alan Maynard
Keyword(s):  
Maintenance Therapy ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Maintenance Treatment ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Oral Ganciclovir ◽  
Intravenous Ganciclovir ◽  
Uk National Health Service ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Care Costs

The objective of the study was to compare the impact of oral and i.v. ganciclovir on resource use and direct health care costs, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service NHS . The analytical framework used was cost analysis. The sources of data were an open, randomized clinical trial, and additional research which collected resource use and cost data. From the perspective of the UK NHS, the expected cost of i.v. ganciclovir for initial induction and 140 days maintenance and reinduction therapy was 730 higher than that of oral 8145 vs 7415 . Conservative estimates which did not favour oral ganciclovir were used wherever possible. Overall, the resource use and costs of maintenance therapy with oral ganciclovir calculated in the model used for this study were lower than those of i.v. ganciclovir, principally reflecting lower costs for the administration of therapy. In this model the drug cost of ganciclovir maintenance therapy was excluded.

Staff Perspectives on ILT

2011 ◽  
pp. 106-124
Author(s):  
Colin McCaig ◽  
Maria Smith
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Subject Area ◽  
Pedagogical Issues ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Staff Perceptions ◽  
Alternative Teaching ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines staff perceptions of information and learning technology (ILT) in the UK learning and skills sector. It is divided into two sections dealing in turn with pedagogic and cultural issues. The section on pedagogical issues explores the use of the VLE/intranet as an alternative teaching method, and asks why these modes of learning are comparatively rare in the learning and skills sector. This section is also concerned with perceptions of the impact of ILT on students’ retention and attainment and explores the concept of variable use and variable impact by level and subject area. The cultural and infrastructure issues explored in the second section relate to staff development and training opportunities (such as the number and type of courses offered), the additional help requested, and the barriers to further uptake.

The Level of Job Stress and Burnout Across Employees of Six Sectors in Indian Organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Irudhaya Rajesh
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Job Stress ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
The Impact

The economic recession in 2008 followed by a period of slow economic recovery and continuous volatile economic environment has apparently affected every sphere of Indian economy. The impact is so real that India cannot but revamp the business strategies in order to stay afloat and vibrant. Consequently, any financial instability directly affects the employees in the organizations in the form of work overload and job insecurity, which can increase stress and burnout among the employees. Therefore against the backdrop of slow recovery period in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, this study explored the level of job stress and burnout experienced by the employees across sectors, namely, I.T, health care, hospitality, educational, manufacturing and public-service sectors in India. Apparently, this study found that the Indian employees were overall moderately stressed and burned out. While health care and manufacturing sector employees experienced high amount of job stress and burnout, the educational and public-service sector employees reported lesser job stress and burnout comparatively. Hence, this study is of great help for the managerial practitioners to assess the level of stress and burnout spread across Indian sectors and take preventive measures against stress and burnout in a continuing atmosphere of economic instability.

scholarly journals Creativity, innovation effectiveness and productive efficiency in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 564-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nebojsa Stojcic ◽  
Iraj Hashi ◽  
Edvard Orlic
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Process ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Productive Efficiency ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Management Of Innovation ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Creativity is often referred to as a seedbed of innovation. As such it holds the key to better performance and the competitiveness of firms. To better understand how creativity influences birth and commercialization of innovations and productive efficiency of firms the paper investigates how hiring of employees with different creative skills impacts innovation process and productivity. The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of creativity in innovation behavior and productive efficiency of firms. Design/methodology/approach Theoretical framework of the paper rests on pillars of evolutionary, Schumpeterian and endogenous growth literature contributions to the economics of innovation. The multi-stage analytical framework is applied to examine contribution of creativity to the decision of firms to innovate, investment in innovation activities, commercialization of innovations and firm efficiency. The econometric techniques of generalized tobit and simultaneous equations framework are applied to confidential data from the UK Innovation Survey in 2010-2012 period. Findings The investigation broadens our understanding of factors and forces that shape innovation process and improve productive efficiency of firms. It provides empirical evidence on an impact of the effectiveness of innovation process on the productivity of firms. The results reveal that creative skills contribute to the generation of novel ideas and investment in research and development but the ability to meet customer requirements draws from other organizational skills such as marketing or organizational innovations. Differences are revealed among economic sectors with respect to the forces driving the innovation process. Research limitations/implications Further research will be needed to investigate cross-country differences in management of creativity and its contribution to the innovation process and productivity. The limited availability of data on creativity and innovation activities of firms presents the most important limitation in this sense. The framework set by this paper can serve as direction for further investigations. Practical implications The results provide implications to managers regarding the management of innovation process. First, the study reveals how creative potential of employees can be optimally exploited in different stages of innovation process. Second, the research highlights number of other factors relevant in this process from the utilization of information, subsidies and the general management of human resources. Finally, the results suggest that sectoral heterogeneity should be taken into account in management of innovation activities of individual firms. Originality/value While the impact of creativity on innovation has been addressed previously, this paper is one of first attempts to examine the linkages between management of creativity, effectiveness of innovation process and productive efficiency of firms within a single framework. One of reasons for this is the fact that it relies on the confidential dataset of firms not easily accessible to researchers.

scholarly journals Understanding Research Culture: What researchers think about the culture they work in

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Helene Moran ◽  
Lena Karlin ◽  
Elsie Lauchlan ◽  
Sarah J. Rappaport ◽  
Ben Bleasdale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Research Culture ◽  
Biomedical Sciences ◽  
Personal Cost ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Background: The current performance of UK research can be presented as highly successful, but evidence has emerged about issues with working culture in research and the impact this may have on people and their work. Wellcome commissioned market research agency Shift Learning to investigate current perceptions and experiences of research culture among the research community. Methods: This article presents key findings from two phases of this project: 94 qualitative interviews and a quantitative e-survey with 4267 usable responses. Interview invitations were sent out to UK-based research staff at various career stages. The survey was open to international respondents, but the majority of responses came from the UK. Respondents came predominantly from academia and the sample was intentionally skewed towards biological and biomedical sciences. Results: While participants considered the quality of research outputs to have generally remained high, many felt that issues impacting research culture were becoming more apparent and there was real concern about the future of research professions and the high personal cost for individuals. Factors identified as disruptive to research culture included chasing impact, increased competition, proliferation of metrics, job insecurity and rigid career pathways. Poor research culture manifested in workplace behaviours and practices, including problems with management and leadership and unhealthy power dynamics, such as patronage, bullying and harassment, discrimination and exploitation. These conditions were linked to a range of negative impacts on the researchers and the research outputs. Conclusions: The research ecosystem is characterised by increased levels of competition, lack of job security and insufficient career flexibility. A key takeaway is that the conditions in which research takes place are not inclusive and lack sufficient support mechanisms, which is negatively affecting researchers’ wellbeing, and work-life balance. Such research culture was perceived as unsustainable.

Resource sharing in the UK public library system: an update

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Froud
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to review the position of UnityUK and FABLibraries (Find a Book in Libraries) some five years after a review by the same author (with Elisabeth Robinson) was published in 2011. Design/methodology/approach The UnityUK service and its co-service FABLibraries is placed in the current service and political context: changing politics and reductions in public service. The conclusions of a survey conducted by the University of Sheffield are noted as current technical developments. Findings Subscriptions to UnityUK remain stable despite an overall decline in interlending. The FABLibraries service is well positioned to play a key role in the creation of a single digital presence for public libraries in England and in the UK. Practical implications The outcome of major recent political change in respect of public service is not yet known, but there is reason to be confident about the role of the two services in supporting resource discovery and supply. Social implications The FABLibraries service is well positioned to be the major building block in a national e-public library platform. This would provide a cost-effective means of making national resources accessible to everyone who can get online. Originality/value The author provides an up-to-date perspective of the impact of change, recent government reports and public sector austerity on interlending and the position of key resource discovery tools in that environment.

scholarly journals Homeworking, Well-Being and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Diary Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7575
Author(s):  
Stephen James Wood ◽  
George Michaelides ◽  
Ilke Inceoglu ◽  
Elizabeth T. Hurren ◽  
Kevin Daniels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Public Health Initiative ◽  
Home Location ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Diary Studies ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments encouraged or mandated homeworking wherever possible. This study examines the impact of this public health initiative on homeworkers’ well-being. It explores if the general factors such as job autonomy, demands, social support and work–nonwork conflict, which under normal circumstances are crucial for employees’ well-being, are outweighed by factors specific to homeworking and the pandemic as predictors of well-being. Using data from four-week diary studies conducted at two time periods in 2020 involving university employees in the UK, we assessed five factors that may be associated with their well-being: job characteristics, the work–home interface, home location, the enforced nature of the homeworking, and the pandemic context. Multi-level analysis confirms the relationship between four of the five factors and variability in within-person well-being, the exception being variables connected to the enforced homeworking. The results are very similar in both waves. A smaller set of variables explained between-person variability: psychological detachment, loneliness and job insecurity in both periods. Well-being was lower in the second than the first wave, as loneliness increased and the ability to detach from work declined. The findings highlight downsides of homeworking, will be relevant for employees’ and employers’ decisions about working arrangements post-pandemic, and contribute to the debate about the limits of employee well-being models centred on job characteristics.

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