scholarly journals Can Lean Thinking enhance research administration?

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arja Halkoaho ◽  
Emmi Itkonen ◽  
Esko Vanninen ◽  
Jori Reijula

Background: Hospital research administration is expected to provide improved work efficiency and service delivery in the upcoming years. Meanwhile, resources to support scientific research are dwindling, as is the amount of research support personnel. The aim of the study was to investigate the research admission’s user needs, their opinions on the state of today’s scientific research and also to assess its future development needs and find out whether a customer-oriented management philosophy such as Lean Thinking could be implemented in the research administration setting to enhance work processes and services. Methods: In this study, thematic interviews were used as a method. Kuopio University Hospital researchers (n = 7) and research administration personnel (n = 11) were interviewed. The interviews were carried out by one researcher and lasted on average approximately 60 minutes per interviewee. Results: The interviews revealed that several issues, such as bureaucracy, decreased attitudes towards research, lack of transparency and face-to-face customer service by the research administration, have hindered and complicated research work and service delivery. The study addressed a need for a comprehensive, linear, efficiency- and quality-oriented, user-focused management philosophy. Conclusions: The results of the study support implementation of a customer-oriented management philosophy into the research administration to improve its work processes and service delivery. Although Lean Thinking remains untested in the research administration setting, its fundamentals and strengths seem to answer many needs of the research administration.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jori Reijula ◽  
Sauli Karvonen ◽  
Hanna Petäjä ◽  
Kari Reijula ◽  
Liisa Lehtonen

Introduction.Old hospitals may promote inefficient patient care processes and safety. A new, functionally planned hospital presents a chance to create an environment that supports streamlined, patient-centered healthcare processes and adapts to users’ needs. This study depicts the phases of a facility planning project for pregnant women and newborn care processes (beginning of life process) at Turku University Hospital.Materials and Methods.Project design reports and meeting documents were utilized to assess the beginning of life process as well as the work processes of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.Results.The main elements of the facility design (FD) project included rigorous preparation for the FD phase, functional planning throughout the FD process, and setting key values: (1) family-centered care, (2) Lean thinking and Lean tools as the framework for the FD process, (3) safety, and (4) cooperation.Conclusions.A well-prepared FD project with sufficient insight into functional planning, Lean thinking, and user-centricity seemed to facilitate the actual FD process. Although challenges occurred, the key values were not forgone and were successfully incorporated into the new hospital building.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maduka D. Ughasoro ◽  
Iliya Jalo ◽  
Angela Okolo ◽  
Ebun Adejiyugbe ◽  
Mariya Murktah ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundQuality health care service delivery to children and adolescents is enhanced by continuous research into the health challenges of this subpopulation led by paediatricians with tremendous capacity to investigate and proffer solutions to the myriads of childhood illnesses. Understanding the health issues therefore is the foundation for implementation of viable interventions that assure optimum service delivery. In view of this background, the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) directed that research into children’s health challenges in Nigeria should be brought to the front burner in the country. Pursuant to this laudable goal this study was conceived to evaluate the research capacity and capability of paediatricians in Nigeria and the institutions they represent. In view of above needs, this study aimed at evaluating the research capacities and challenges among paediatricians.MethodsThe survey used a cross-sectional nationwide design to enroll paediatricians into the study. The study was a combination of both online and face-to-face survey using questionnaire developed from Research Capacity Assessment Framework. Information on previous research work, challenges encountered, existing capacity and utilization of research outcome were obtained. The SPSS version 20 was used for data entry and analysis. For qualitative variables, similar responses were grouped under thematic heading.ResultsThe response rates for online (via email survey, group-administered in a conference and individual face-to-face (at workshops) were 32 (3.2%), 75 (13.6%) and 15 (60%) respectively. The majority, 87(85.5%) of the participants had conducted prevalence studies, compared to 9 (8.8%) that had done experimental studies. Those who have ever received grant funding for their studies were 21 (19.4%), while the proportion whose research outcome had informed policy update and practice were policy 20 (18.2%). More than 55% of the participants had challenges on some of the seven aspects of research: research topic, proposal, funding, fieldwork, analysis, utilizing findings and collaboration. Less than 40% of the participants had received training on some of the tested 14 research capacity areas except for the area of ethics where 78 (70.9%) reported having received training. For 51 (46.4%) this ethics training included the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines.ConclusionNigerian Academic Paediatricians need to be stimulated to develop interest in research by building their presently low research capacity if future paediatric practice is to be driven significantly by evidence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 839.1-839
Author(s):  
Dominic Craver ◽  
Aminah Ahmad ◽  
Anna Colclough

Aims/Objectives/BackgroundRapid risk stratification of patients is vital for Emergency Department (ED) streaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ideally, patients should be split into red (suspected/confirmed COVID-19) and green (non COVID-19) zones in order to minimise the risk of patient-to-patient and patient-to-staff transmission. A robust yet rapid streaming system combining clinician impression with point-of-care diagnostics is therefore necessary.Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) findings in COVID-19 have been shown to correlate well with computed tomography (CT) findings, and it therefore has value as a front-door diagnostic tool. At University Hospital Lewisham (a district general hospital in south London), we recognised the value of early POCUS and its potential for use in patient streaming.Methods/DesignWe developed a training programme, ‘POCUS for COVID’ and subsequently integrated POCUS into streaming of our ED patients. The training involved Zoom lectures, a face to face practical, a 10 scan sign off process followed by a final triggered assessment. Patient outcomes were reviewed in conjunction with their scan reports.Results/ConclusionsCurrently, we have 21 ED junior doctors performing ultrasound scans independently, and all patients presenting to our department are scanned either in triage or in the ambulance. A combination of clinical judgement and scan findings are used to stream the patient to an appropriate area.Service evaluation with analysis of audit data has found our streaming to be 94% sensitive and 79% specific as an indicator of COVID 19. Further analysis is ongoing.Here we present both the structure of our training programme and our integrated streaming pathway along with preliminary analysis results.


Logistics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Hicham Lamzaouek ◽  
Hicham Drissi ◽  
Naima El Haoud

The bullwhip effect is a pervasive phenomenon in all supply chains causing excessive inventory, delivery delays, deterioration of customer service, and high costs. Some researchers have studied this phenomenon from a financial perspective by shedding light on the phenomenon of cash flow bullwhip (CFB). The objective of this article is to provide the state of the art in relation to research work on CFB. Our ambition is not to make an exhaustive list, but to synthesize the main contributions, to enable us to identify other interesting research perspectives. In this regard, certain lines of research remain insufficiently explored, such as the role that supply chain digitization could play in controlling CFB, the impact of CFB on the profitability of companies, or the impacts of the omnichannel commerce on CFB.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-70
Author(s):  
M. A. Rahman ◽  
Y. A. Sarker ◽  
M. M. Parvej ◽  
A. Parvin ◽  
M. A. Rimon ◽  
...  

The research work was designed to assess farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practices about bovine mastitis. The data were collected by using structured questionnaire through face to face interview techniques among the 65 dairy farmers of Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Gazipur.  Disproportionate stratified random sampling was used to select the farmers based on study areas. Most of the studied farms are small (75.4%) in the studied area, only a few (10.8%) farms were large in Dhaka. In Gazipur and Mymensingh almost (86.2%) firms were small and rest of (13.8%) was medium. According to farmer’s knowledge, major cause of mastitis was microorganisms (46.15%), but 20% farmer reported that it is due to injury and 27.69% farmer don’t know the causes of the mastitis. Most of the farmers (87.7%) think that the source of infection is unhygienic floor, but others have no clear conception about it. Before milking only 23.10% farmers’ wash the whole udder where 58.5% used single towel. About 76.9% farmers have no knowledge of screening mastitis and only 9.2% of total farmers performed regular mastitis checking. Among the farmers, 55.4% are used antiseptic solution during washing the floor and others wash their floor only by water. Highest number of farmer use Tube well water (44.6%) for daily management of their farms. Most of the farmer takes suggestions from village doctor or pharmaceutical representative (64.62%) for maintaining the diseases condition. This study recommends that identification of factors associated with sub-clinical mastitis will help to take necessary steps to reduce the prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis. The most effective way to control sub-clinical mastitis is to take preventive measures such as regular cleaning of the floor, keeping the udder clean, milkman's cleanliness, and dry cow therapy especially in high yielding dairy cows.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohaib Razzaq ◽  
Salman Yousaf ◽  
Zhao Hong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant contribution of emotions along with other conventional loyalty drivers on the loyalty intentions. Design/methodology/approach The influence of three conventional loyalty drivers, i.e., value equity, brand equity, relationship equity on loyalty intentions was investigated by further exploring the moderating effects of negative and positive emotions. A sample of 834 Pakistani consumers in the supermarkets and banking industries was studied employing store-intercept survey design. Findings Consumer behavior is driven by emotions in both the supermarkets and banking context. Thus, in order to better predict customer loyalty intentions, the emotional component is crucial and should be included along with other cognitive components. Practical implications Since customers’ emotional responses throughout service delivery are strongly linked to loyalty, therefore supermarkets and bank service managers need to make sure that the customers experience with their services as pleasurable as possible and for this purpose, customer service employees need to be trained in order to better understand the customers’ emotional responses during the course of service delivery process. Originality/value The present study complements the existing literature regarding the role of emotions in service settings and offers a new point of view for the linkage among emotions, customer equity drivers and customer loyalty intentions.


MIS Quarterly ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 719-754
Author(s):  
Liwei Chen ◽  
J. J. Po-An Hsieh ◽  
Arun Rai ◽  
Sean Xin Xu

To attain customer satisfaction, service firms invest significant resources to implement customer relationship management (CRM) systems to support internal customer service (CS) employees who provide service to external customers in both face-to-face and virtual channels. How CS employees apply sophisticated CRM systems to interact with customers and how the mechanisms through which their CRM usage affects customer satisfaction vary across service channels and bear important implications. We approach these issues by investigating the concept of infusion use, defined as CS employees’ assessment of the extent to which they use a CRM system to its fullest potential to best support their work in the CRM-enabled service interaction context. Drawing on the IS success framework and expectation confirmation theory, we first formulate a baseline model that explains the direct and indirect mechanisms through which CS employees’ infusion use of CRM systems leads to customers’ expectation confirmation, which in turn affects customers’ satisfaction. We then draw on the lenses of media richness and communication adaptation to theorize why these two mechanisms exert differential influence in face-to-face and virtual channels. We test the hypotheses by collecting multiwave data from CS employees, customers, and firm archives of a Fortune 500 telecom service firm. We find that (1) CS employee infusion use can directly contribute to customer expectation confirmation and indirectly do so through CS employees’ satisfaction with the system (i.e., user satisfaction), and (2) the direct mechanism plays a more critical role in the face-to-face channel, whereas the indirect mechanism is more important in the virtual channel. Our findings inform managers of the avenues through which employees’ infusion use promotes CRM-enabled service success across face-to-face and virtual service channels.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Ayat Masaoud ◽  
Amal A. Hussein ◽  
Eman R. Ahmad

Background and objective: Complications during pregnancy and labour increase the risk of perinatal mortality fivefold which in turn has a negative effect on the neonate. Despite several studies have examined the determinants of neonatal mortality, limited studies have explored neonatal danger signs which potentially cause morbidity. This study aimed to assess danger signs observed in neonates at the different times so early, early, and late to identify associated factors with neonatal danger signs \& to determine the relationship between danger signs at different times and maternal danger signs/complications of high risk mothers.Subjects & Method: Setting: This study was conducted in the Obstetrics Department at Women's Health Center, Assiut University Hospital, Egypt. Sample: A total of 150 postpartum women and their delivered newborns were included and completed the questionnaire from April to the end of July 2017. Design: A descriptive correlational research design was utilized in this study in which structured interviewer managed questionnaire using face-to-face used to collect data.Results: The present findings revealed that nearly three-quarters (75.3%) and more than two-thirds (67.3%) of the total sample complained of antenatal & postnatal danger signs respectively and consequently the majority (80%) of their neonates had so early neonatal danger signs/complications with a most frequent one in the form of neonatal jaundice. A positive significant correlation was apparent between so early & early neonatal danger signs and maternal antenatal and postpartum danger signs. Educational level, maternal age, occupation & parity were considered significant factors affected neonatal danger signs.Conclusions: A highly percentage of neonates were born with so early danger signs. Maternal factors can be used to predict neonatal health condition at birth and 7th days postpartum with marked decline at 28th day postpartum.


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