bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Tinkering towards Utopia: trying to make sense of my contribution to the field
Authors: Mulford Bill 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of what the author believes to be his major contributions to the field of Educational Administration.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken is a personal review and reflection based on research. For purposes of structuring the article three themes have been selected – complexity, development, and being close to and providing an empirical base for policy and practice. In addition, three areas are discussed that the author regrets having not taken further – the relationship between a school and its system from the school's perspective, the role of quality evidence, particularly the provision of valid and reliable surveys for use by practitioners, and public attitudes to education, including re‐examining the purposes of schools and their enactment.FindingsThe studies reviewed stress the importance of the interrelationship between the individual, organisational and contextual in effective teaching of educational administration, organisational development in schools, leadership for organisational learning and student outcomes, and successful school principalship. These studies promote a “tinkering towards Utopia”. “Tinkering” in the sense of improvement from the inside out rather than from outside schools and from the top down, and being about small scale and developmental rather than wholesale and/or continuous change. “Utopian” in the sense of focusing on complexity and heterogeneity rather than simplicity and homogeneity in both purposes and processes. “Utopia” is about learning for all, especially through facilitating schools as communities of professional learners. However, there continues to be a need for researchers in the field to provide a stronger empirical base for policy and practice, including providing quality, culturally specific evidence.Research limitations/implicationsWhile clarity is provided on the links between leadership and student outcomes in schools and areas for further research are identified, the article is limited by its heavy reliance on the author's Australian research findings.Originality/valueThe article has value in that the links are clarified between leadership and a breadth of student outcomes. It broadens what counts for good schooling and school leadership and provides clear evidence for improvements in policy and practice.
Why it pays to be old – and how to get old before your years
Authors: Briggs Hilary 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to challenge HR specialists to consider the value of experience, seek out older workers and ensure that younger staff are developed to give them experience beyond their years.Design/methodology/approachRecognizes that organizations need to ensure they get value for money from their employees, and that older workers are often perceived as expensive, less flexible and lacking technology skills. Gives examples from companies such as McDonald's, and from the author's own experience, which counter these perceptions. Concludes with practical actions to enhance employee value for money.FindingsArgues that leading organizations such as McDonald's have found tangible bottom‐line impact of employing older workers. Provides five key benefits of experience and suggests nine ways that HR managers could develop their staff so they get old ahead of their years.Practical implicationsThe paper challenges HR managers to go beyond a compliance approach to ageism, recognize the potential of older workers and ensure that younger staff are developed in ways that enhance their experience. Contains information that will be increasingly relevant as the proportion of older people in the workforce rises.Originality/valueThe paper is of benefit to HR specialists and line managers seeking ideas on how to ensure their employees provide value for money.
Penny‐wise, pound‐foolish managers: the syndrome affecting productivity and efficiency
Authors: Khan Anas 
Published: January 2012

PurposeOutlines the importance of senior management focusing on strategic and value‐creating activities rather than on issues that could be handled by subordinate staff.Design/methodology/approachDraws on information gathered from the authors' industry knowledge and experience, plus the HR literature.FindingsArgues that senior managers sometimes get side‐tracked by lack of proper teamwork and dynamics, organizational politics, ego and lack of confidence. Underlines the importance of setting clear and attainable objectives and introducing good communication systems with a supportive and professional organizational culture.Practical implicationsDraws attention to a common and concerning pattern of management in which senior managers get bogged down with minor matters instead of making significant issues a priority.Originality/valueDeals with organizational performance in the context of penny‐wise pound‐foolish thinking.
An empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value
Authors: Akroush Mamoun N. 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine an empirical model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance by using a value‐based marketing approach on organisations listed in Amman Stock Exchange Market operating in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative methodology was employed through conducting two surveys targeting Jordanian organisations' marketing managers and their customers as well as utilising hard measures for financial performance and shareholder value data analysis. A total of 218 marketing managers were involved in the managers' survey and 1,200 customers were involved in the customers' satisfaction survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs dimensions, unidimensionality, validity and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesised research model.FindingsThe empirical results indicate that external and internal marketing orientations (IMOs) exerted a positive and significant effect on marketing strategy components, namely: product, price, promotion and distribution strategies. Marketing strategy components exerted a positive and significant effect on customer satisfaction. The findings also indicate that product and price strategies are the strongest drivers of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction has a positive and significant effect on financial performance. More importantly, financial performance has a strong positive contribution to shareholder value measured by market value added and earning per share.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical research paper that has investigated a model of marketing strategy and shareholder value through customer satisfaction and financial performance especially in developing countries, e.g. Jordan. This research offered executives and marketing directors empirical evidence on drivers of shareholder value maximisation and how to enhance marketing's strategic influence on strategic decisions which were not available to them before.
Consumer‐oriented CSR communication: focusing on ability or morality?
Authors: Schmeltz Line 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThis article aims to investigate young people's opinions and attitudes towards companies' engagement and communication about corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a survey designed to uncover the underlying attitudes and values guiding young consumers' perception and evaluation of companies' engagement in and communication about CSR. The respondents are Danish students enrolled in eight different types of further or higher education.FindingsThe survey shows that consumers are interested in and expect more explicit CSR communication than currently assumed by corporations and academics alike. They favour communication that is personally relevant and factually based, and consumer scepticism is not as high as suggested by current literature. The findings reflect that the value system guiding CSR evaluation and perception is not based on moral aspects and social, society‐centred values. On the contrary, consumers' focus tends to be on competence and personal, self‐centred values, which has implications for the challenge of communicating CSR.Practical implicationsThe findings provide new insights that can inform corporations in their planning and execution of CSR communication aimed at young consumers.Originality/valueThis paper provides empirical evidence that corporations communicating CSR should have a much more externally oriented and explicit approach focusing on competence and self‐centred values instead of on morality and society‐centred values. This will allow them to create a healthy balance between what they can offer and what consumers demand.
Evidence‐based inpatient handovers: a literature review and research agenda
Authors: Scott Philip , Ross Penny , Prytherch Deborah 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe objective of this review is to address two research questions: What is evidence‐based best practice for intra‐hospital inpatient handovers? What areas need further research? The paper aims to take a particular interest in the interpersonal skills involved in successful handover, theoretically‐based approaches to implementing improvements in handovers, and whether there is sufficient data to construct an evaluation methodology.Design/methodology/approachThe paper takes the form of a narrative synthesis based on search of PubMed, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library.FindingsA total of 82 papers, comprising 29 implementation studies, 13 conceptual models or improvement methods, five subject reviews and 35 background papers were identified. None of the studies met the normal parameters of evidence‐based medicine, but this is unsurprising for a complex healthcare service intervention.Research limitations/implicationsThose papers published in English between 2000 and July 2010 that were indexed in CINAHL, Medline or the Cochrane Library or found opportunistically were the only ones to be reviewed. The authors did not search any grey literature or hand‐search any journals.Practical implicationsThe evidence is sufficient to justify widespread adoption of the guiding principles for inpatient handover best practice, provided that concurrent evaluation is also undertaken.Originality/valueThis is the first comprehensive review published in the peer‐reviewed literature that examines the evidence base for the practice of inpatient handovers across healthcare professions and specialties.
Clinical audits by trainee doctors: obstacles and solutions
Authors: Garg Deepak , Singhal Ankush , Neelam Kishen 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate trainee doctors' experience of clinical audits and to explore solutions for identified problems.Design/methodology/approachPsychiatry trainees from all the deaneries in the UK were invited to participate in a semi‐qualitative online survey. It focused on estimating the quantity and quality of the clinical audits done by the trainees, exploring their experience and possible solutions for identified problems. Descriptive statistics and framework analysis were used to analyse the data.FindingsA total of 2,267 audits were carried out by 504 respondents. Of the respondents, 42 per cent completed at least one audit‐cycle. Nearly half of the audits were presented locally and 37 per cent were submitted to the local audit departments. Recommendations from two‐thirds of all the audits went unnoticed because of inadequate dissemination and implementation. Suggestions for improvement included: formal training, participation by non‐medical colleagues, emphasis on quality of audits rather than quantity, and better co‐ordination by audit departments.Practical implicationsTrainees identify that local audits do not result in service improvement. Suggested changes may lead to improved effectiveness of the local clinical audit programmes.Originality/valueAudit activities by the trainee doctors lay the foundation of their involvement in clinical governance later on. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to capture the clinical audit activities by the trainee doctors at the national level in the UK.
Playing around an oxymoron: international business with a human face
Authors: Zanfei Antonello 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to discuss the apparent paradox that multinational firms may and sometimes do pursue social benefits as their main objective.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the grey area that lays between some consolidated analytical concepts, namely: spillovers, corporate responsibility, social cooperation and non‐governmental organizations. It is in this grey area that “social multinationals” can be placed and examined. Scattered evidence is provided to illustrate the emergence of this relatively new phenomenon.FindingsThere are weak signals that the “social multinational” is a viable institutional innovation. The economic rationale is mainly represented by what could be defined in Smithian terms as the “selfless component of self‐interest”, combined with the ex ante and ex post advantages associated to multinationality. Institutional and technological transformations have created opportunities for the emergence of this phenomenon over the past three decades. However, there is a need for specifically designed policies to reinforce this relatively new trend in international business.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a new analytical category and draws insights on its potential implications for welfare, poverty reduction and economic development.
The linkage between HRM, CSR and performance outcomes
Authors: Bučiūnienė Ilona , Kazlauskaitė Rūta 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to look into the current corporate social responsibility (CSR) and human resource management (HRM) developments in Lithuania and to study the relationship between CSR, HRM and organisational performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 119 medium and large‐sized organisations (over 100 employees) in Lithuania was conducted to study CSR and HRM implementation in the country and to test the relationship between CSR, HRM and organisational performance outcomes.FindingsIn total, 78.1 per cent of the respondent organisations have a written or unwritten HR strategy. Only 38.8 per cent have a CSR statement, but more than half of respondent organisations have a code of ethics, corporate values statement and diversity statement (respectively 65.4, 63.0 and 53.1 per cent). Research findings show that there is a linkage between HRM, CSR and performance outcomes – organisations with more developed HRM, i.e. those where HRM performs a strategic role and the HR function performance is evaluated, have better developed CSR policies. The latter were found to have an impact on organisational and financial performance outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is built on the Cranet survey data, therefore not all CSR‐related HRM practices are analysed. Due to a limited number of organisations using CSR‐related HRM practices, the statistical analysis fails to determine statistically significant relationships between the usage of those practices, the level of CSR development and performance outcomes.Practical implicationsOrganisations that are socially responsible and follow a strategic approach to HRM exhibit better performance outcomes, profitability in particular.Originality/valueThe paper confirms the existence of the HRM‐CSR‐performance linkage, i.e. organisations with better developed HRM, where HR plays a more strategic role and its performance is more evaluated, also have more developed formal CSR policies, which in turn has a positive impact on organisational and financial performance outcomes.
Exploring leadership effectiveness: nurses as clinical leaders in the NHS
Authors: Willcocks Stephen George 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore leadership effectiveness, with reference to nurses in the UK National Health Service (NHS).Design/methodology/approachThe paper is literature based. It explores the history and policy background to nurse leadership. It reviews a range of approaches to leadership and applies the theoretical findings to the case study of nurse leadersFindingsThe paper suggests there are several inter‐related aspects to consider in relation to developing the effectiveness of nurse leaders – these may be grouped around: developing core competencies; developing emotional intelligence; developing readiness and motivation; developing contextual sensitivity; and developing clinical innovation and change.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses the implications of the findings for the leadership development of nurses and makes recommendations.Originality/valueThe paper attempts to incorporate the insights from a variety of different approaches to leadership and apply them to nurse leaders in the UK NHS.
Development and validation of patient satisfaction instrument
Authors: Hazilah Abd Manaf Noor , Mohd Dinon , Abdullah Kalthom 
Published: January 2012

PurposePatient satisfaction of healthcare organisation is often used as a measure of organisational efficiency. However, there is a need for valid and reliable instruments to be used in order to ensure that the findings are accurate. This paper aims to explore the development and validation of an outpatient satisfaction instrument, with emphasis on the service of the attending physician.Design/methodology/approachTwenty‐six items on service of the attending physician and registration service were developed for the instrument based on earlier published research. The instrument was applied to a cross‐sectional study and data collected were factor analysed to ascertain construct validity, while reliability was established by assessing the internal consistency.FindingsThe instrument was found to establish excellent reliability with Cronbach's alpha 0.975, and two factors, “service of doctors” and “registration service”, were extracted from the factor analysis.Research limitations/implicationsA valid and reliable instrument on the service of the attending physician and the registration encounter prior to consultation was established. The instrument does not measure other outpatient services such as laboratory services, which could be considered for future research.Practical implicationsThe patient satisfaction instrument can be used by healthcare organisations in other settings due to its strong psychometric properties.Originality/valuePatient satisfaction studies are often used by healthcare organisations for service improvements and the instrument developed from this research will enable healthcare organisations to improve their service based on reliable and valid findings.
The effect of off‐farm employment on the decisions of households to rent out and rent in cultivated land in China
Authors: Huang Jikun , Gao Liangliang , Rozelle Scott 
Published: January 2012

PurposeDeveloping nations need good cultivated land rental markets to foster rational resource use and to enhance productivity and equity. Can cultivated land rental markets emerge in the face of rapidly developing off‐farm labor markets? The purpose of this paper is to measure the correlation between the emergence of off‐farm employment and cultivated land rental in China.Design/methodology/approachBased on a panel data from 2000 and 2008, the authors constructed econometric models to identify the impact of off‐farm employment on the decisions of households to rent out and rent in cultivated land.FindingsThis paper finds that the emergence of off‐farm employment has significant and positive impacts on stimulating household to rent out cultivated land. The effect is less prominent for renting‐in decisions.Originality/valueThe paper empirically estimates the impacts of off‐farm employment on cultivated land rent markets based on a unique panel data set from a national representative sample.
Nonlinear investigations of China's agricultural transformation based on the structural break regime switching model
Authors: Lu Jie , Hu Angang , Yan Yilong 
Published: January 2012

PurposeInvestigating the characteristics of the transformation of China's agricultural growth and the institutional reforms during the whole transition period in the 1980s will help to understand China's economic and agricultural reform and offer some successful experiences to other developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following questions: Has China's agricultural output experienced a structural break toward a more stable state? When did the break point happen? What factors did play key roles during the transformation?Design/methodology/approachThis study applies the nonlinear structural break regime switching analysis which includes two different models: one with the structural break only in the variance and one with the structural break in both shift parameters and the variance.FindingsThe empirical results showed that it took five years for agricultural development in China to finish the reform that began in 1980. The agricultural growth had become more stable after the break point which was around 1985‐1986. Both the primary industry and agricultural sector had transformed from a “low growth rate, high volatility” state to a “high growth rate, low volatility” state. Among the different driving factors, the Household Responsibility System (HRS) and preferential policies for agricultural products played the most important roles in the early stage of the economic reform.Originality/valueThe authors first study the structural break of China's agricultural output by the regime switching model. From the empirical results, the structural break point was determined to be around 1985‐1986, after which China's agricultural output had become more stable.
Technology, factor endowments, and China's agricultural foreign trade: a neoclassical approach
Authors: Li Xilin 
Published: January 2012

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain the determination of China's agricultural foreign trade pattern since the World Trade Organization (WTO) accession.Design/methodology/approachThe neoclassical trade theory indicates that differences in both technology levels and factor endowments can explain the international trade pattern. In terms of a neoclassical framework based on the restricted profit function, this paper employs the province‐level panel data to investigate whether China's agricultural foreign trade pattern is consistent with the neoclassical explanation.FindingsThe findings indicate that China's agricultural foreign trade pattern is evidently characterized by regional specific features. In the eastern region, agricultural foreign trade pattern is jointly determined by differences in technology levels and factor endowments. Agricultural foreign trade patterns are driven in the central and western regions by land and capital endowments, respectively. The findings also imply that the utilization of comparative advantage in China's agriculture needs to be exploited further.Originality/valueAs far as the author knows, this paper is the first to apply the neoclassical framework based on the restricted profit function and employ the province‐level panel data to investigate the determination of China's agricultural foreign trade pattern.