bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Creating collaborations: from isolationism to community
Authors: Slater Judith J. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe focus of this work is on the theories that explicate the possibilities of collaboration from the perspective of the participants.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on the literature and the author's own experiences and knowledge.FindingsFinds that successful change is characterized by changes in people: in the way they think and act due to and within particular organizational structures and in the way they interact with the world outside those structures.Originality/valueGives advice on the steps that need to be taken to gain support with collaboration in organizations and to be able to identify resistance to it.
Institutional admissions policies in higher education
Authors: Greenbank Paul 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis article analyses how higher education institutions (HEIs) have responded to government policy to increase the participation rates of students from lower social classes through their admissions policies.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses documentary evidence and interviews with institutional policy makers to examine HEI admissions policies and the rationale underpinning them.FindingsThis research found that admissions policies owed more to the nature of demand than attempts to widen participation. Old universities tend to ask for high A‐level grades and were sceptical about the value of vocational qualifications, but demonstrated a willingness to be more flexible where there was a low demand for courses. Less prestigious institutions tend to recruit more students from working class backgrounds because of the markets they were able to recruit in rather than because of their widening participation policies.Research limitations/implicationsWhilst this study is based on a small number of cases, the evidence suggests that institutional admissions policies perpetuate the problem of working class disadvantage. The ability of HEIs to review and change their admissions policies is, however, constrained by the way government policy encourages a competitive and stratified system of higher education. This is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future, but those wanting equality of opportunity in HE need to continue to put pressure on institutional policy makers to develop more inclusive systems of admission.Originality/valueBy interviewing key institutional policy makers this article has been able to provide insights into the rationale behind HEI policy on admissions and widening participation.
“Great classroom teaching” and more
Authors: Jackson Michael 
Published: July 2006

PurposeIn this paper teaching excellence awards are evaluated, with an eye to improving them.Design/methodology/approachLiterature is reviewed and an analytic framework developed in Canada is modified to apply to the University of Sydney's Vice Chancellor Outstanding Teaching Award. Data come from 60 respondents familiar with the Sydney award and web research on the Australian Group of Eight research‐intensive universities.FindingsAmong the conclusions reached are that the Sydney award is supported even by those who have been unsuccessful in applying for it, that awards alone do not make teaching the equal to research in a university that identifies itself as a research university, awards that integrate into the university's strategic direction are powerful, and that awards that have a continuing profile ease that integration.Research limitations/implicationsAlong the way, several contentious points are discussed including the relationship of awards to promotion and the importance of pedagogic awareness of the reflective practitioner in picking out outstanding teachers who can articulate their approach to benefit others and to integrate with the larger purposes of the university beyond their own classroom.Originality/valueSome practical means to enhance the impact of teaching awards are identified.
Restructuring a higher education institution
Authors: Sadiq Sohail M. , Daud Salina , Rajadurai Jegatheesan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe competitive environment facing all organizations has forced many of them to choose strategies that enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Re‐engineering is one of the tools used in administering productivity improvements, cost control and asset management.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the re‐engineering process of a higher education institution (HEI) in Malaysia. The impact of cost reduction strategies linked to the overall performance of the organization is discussed in comparison to management system prior to restructuring; vision, mission and strategic direction; core business processes; financial performance analysis; corporate and organizational structure; reorganization of learning centers; courses offered; human resource policies and customers feedback.FindingsThe study found that generally the HEI focused on the cost‐cutting strategy especially on cost of sales and operational expenses. Consequently, there were increases in the utilization of the learning; occupancy of the learning centers; number of home courses offered increased and a decrease in employment of part‐time teaching staff. There were also marked improvements in academic networks and partnerships that provide for knowledge exchange and transfer.Originality/valueAlthough a number of studies have been carried out in Malaysia, very few have concentrated on restructuring process of higher educational institutions. This study critically examines the restructuring process and the major gains of a higher educational institution that embarked on a restructuring program to fully meet its objectives of high quality education and training.
Seeing the unseen
Authors: Haskins Mark E. , Clawson James G. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis article describes one way for committee chairs, program administrators, and/or task force leaders to effectively galvanize an educational program change process. In particular, it introduces and describes the successful use of an assumptions audit (AA) to expose, challenge, reinforce, and/or discard a variety of educational program design and delivery assumptions under‐girding one top‐ranked, MBA program's required first year.Design/methodology/approachFrom a case study perspective, this paper chronicles the actual process pursued by a faculty committee chair, to successfully and effectively initiate an educational program review and change process. The paper also roots the AA in the literature on creativity, teams, educational administration, and organizational development.FindingsAs a result of the insights provided by the AA, a successful educational change process was launched with high collegiality amongst the change team and with high clarity regarding avenues of change to pursue and not to pursue, all of which led to much less angst, debate, and elapsed time in bringing about an agreed – on set of program changes.Practical implicationsOthers seeking to productively, expeditiously, and collegially embark on an educational change process should find the AA idea and process useful.Originality/valueThe reasons for, the steps followed, and the results of a novel assumptions audit (AA) are presented. The AA process is described in sufficient detail that others can easily undertake their own version.
Mobility principle among Japanese professors
Authors: Yano Masaharu , Tomita Junichi 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the actual conditions of Japanese professors' mobility and to carry out an analysis of the principle on which university researcher mobility is based and of the relationship between mobility and research performance.Design/methodology/approachUsing the Japanese university researcher database which covered job title, research background, research publication performance and so on, the study analyzed the relationship between mobility and the publication rate before/after move.FindingsThe paper finds that moves from a research to an education university rarely occur. Moves from an education to a research university, on the other hand, occur with relative frequency. To achieve a move, a high publication rate is required. Post‐move publication rate increased greatly for those who moved from an education to a research university and also those who moved from an education university to another education university.Research limitations/implicationsIn Japan, company employees make decisions depending on expectations of further fulfilment in their companies rather than on mercenary calculations of present best interests. It was discovered that researchers have a desire to move to a better university or one with a better research environment for a brighter future. It is thought that while company employees depend upon the future within the firm, professors depend upon the future within the academic community.Originality/valueUp to now the relationship between mobility and research performance of professors is not necessarily clear in Japan. In this study of the economics field it has become more apparent.
Measuring fire service performance: a comparative study
Authors: Carvalho J. , Fernandes M. , Lambert V. , Lapsley I. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe new public management (NPM) agenda is transforming the public sector in many countries. However, there have been criticisms of NPM, particularly over its emphasis on quantification, results orientation and the measurement of performance to the possible detriment of service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to examine an important public service – the fire service – in differing contexts: the “mature” NPM setting of the UK, and a “late adopter” of NPM – Portugal.Design/methodology/approachThis study is conducted by a combined methods approach. The principal focus of this study is on publicly available databases of performance indicators. The data are supported by additional material from operational officers in fire services, and from oversight bodies, obtained by interviews and by survey in Portugal.FindingsThis comparative study reaffirms the potential for NPM solutions to public service management. In particular, there is a case for carefully targeted key performance indicators in Portuguese fire services.Originality/valueThis paper makes an original contribution to ideas of NPM in action by focussing on performance measurement in different contexts. The comparative aspect of this paper is crucial as a means of assessing the portability of NPM ideas in different national settings.
From partition to partnership
Authors: McMurray Robert 
Published: July 2006

PurposeSeeks to review policy and practice in the English National Health Service (NHS) to show the extent to which medically framed notions of cure act in opposition to attempts to enforce a duty of partnership in the delivery of health and social care.Design/methodology/approachA review of national policy and the relevant academic literature, spanning two decades, was used to examine the development of inter‐organisational relations at the boundaries of health and social care in England.FindingsThe paper finds that, despite an espoused willingness on the part of national and local stakeholders to remove long‐established disciplinary and organisational partitions between sectors, the failure to secure a shift from medically to socially constructed notions of health continues to impede more integrated care. Furthermore, policies emphasising patient through‐put, speed of treatment, episodic intervention and the primacy of hospitals are shown to encourage and empower health professionals to withdraw from cross‐boundary working in line with the isolating tendencies of bio‐medically framed notions of cure.Originality/valueThe paper draws together evidence from policy, research and theoretical literature to identify the underlying causes of collaborative failure, highlighting the manner in which associated processes of public service reform can serve to reinforce long‐established institutional barriers to inter‐organisational working, both now and in the future.
Partnership and statutory local governance in a devolved Scotland
Authors: Carley Michael 
Published: July 2006

PurposePartnership has become a primary organisational tool for achieving overlapping policy agendas in local governance. But evidence shows that partnerships underachieve if they are not integrated into, and supported by, mainstream governance structures. Now recent legislation, the Local Government in Scotland Act (2003), sets out the intention of better integration of partnership into local governance. The Act establishes a statutory duty for institutional stakeholders to engage with communities in “community planning” to improve services and to meet community aspirations. This paper sets out to explore key issues to arise in the implementation of the Act.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on key informant interviews in three Scottish local authorities carried out in 2004 and 2005.FindingsThe research finds varying degrees of integration between governance structures and community planning, depending on the commitment, history and implementation of local government modernisation. Local authorities at the leading edge of modernisation are the most innovative in community planning and also demonstrate commitment to partnership working.Practical implicationsBecause of its statutory basis, the lessons of the implementation of community planning are relevant to a wide variety of local governance structures and partnership initiatives.Originality/valueThe paper reports on the first systematic study of the implementation of a policy initiative in integrated local governance.
People as prophets: liberation theology as a radical perspective on accounting
Authors: Moerman Lee 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present Latin American liberation theology, a contextual theology, as a radical perspective to inform and critique accounting and issues of accountability.Design/methodology/approachThe notion of sacred and secular is explored as a dualism that limits theological insights at the socio‐political level. By rejecting dualism, liberation theology presents an alternative ontological stance.FindingsStudies in critical accounting have focussed on the repressive nature of accounting. This paper provides critical accounting with a theological insight that has the potential to inform an emancipatory or enabling accounting project.Originality/valueEnabling accounting has been studied from the perspective of gender, class, ethnicity and environment. Adopting liberation theology as a critical perspective provides a means of critiquing extant accounting practice from the episteme of the economically marginalised and a Christian mandate for who to enable and why
Theorising accountability for NGO advocacy
Authors: Unerman Jeffrey , O'Dwyer Brendan 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a staged theoretical argument regarding whether non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) can be considered responsible and accountable for the direct and indirect consequences, on a wide range of stakeholders, flowing from their advocacy activities.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is primarily theoretical and conceptual, developing a structured, conditional and staged model illustrated with empirical examples.FindingsThe paper finds depending upon the theoretical arguments accepted at each stage of the model, the advocacy activities of an NGO may be considered to cause a widespread and often unintended negative impact upon the lives of many stakeholders who are either close to, or remote from, the NGO. Also, that depending upon the theoretical position taken regarding the scope of accountability, all entities – including NGOs – may be regarded as responsible and accountable for the impacts which their activities directly and indirectly cause to a broad range of stakeholders.Research limitations/implicationsThe model is primarily theoretical, so it can benefit from empirical studies to assess its applicability in practice. It also has the scope to be applied in assessing the responsibility and accountability of a range of other entities for their advocacy – such as businesses, religious bodies, political parties, and academics.Practical implicationsThe paper presents a ontribution to the growing debate on NGO accountability.Originality/valueThe paper uses the synthesis of various philosophical positions to develop a conditional, staged model which may be used to establish whether NGOs (and other organisations) can be regarded as having responsibilities and accountabilities for the direct and indirect impacts of their advocacy activities on a broad range of stakeholders.
Accounting and navigating legitimacy in Tanzanian NGOs
Authors: Goddard Andrew , Juma Assad Mussa 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of accounting in non‐governmental organisations (NGOs). It seeks to understand accounting processes and reporting practices in NGOs and the conditions that sustain those processes and practices. NGOs have become important institutions in world affairs but accounting research has not developed significant interest in their operations.Design/methodology/approachThe research executes a grounded theory strategy as the principal methodology for the inquiry. Fieldwork was undertaken in three Tanzanian NGOs.FindingsThe research established the importance of accounting in the process of navigating organisational legitimacy. This was achieved due to its important role in symbolising organisational competence. Two principal strategies were employed by organisations in navigating legitimacy – building credibility and bargaining for change.Originality/valueThe paper makes a contribution to the limited empirical research into accounting in NGOs in developing countries and to grounded theory, accounting research. The principal finding, that in the NGOs studied the primary purpose of accounting was its symbolic use in navigating legitimacy and that it has a minimal role to play in internal decision making, is an important finding for practice as well as for understanding and knowledge. Finally, the paper sheds light on accountability in NGOs by narrating how the phenomenon is constructed and perceived by organisations and stakeholders. Future research should extend our understanding of these phenomena across a broader range of NGOs to incorporate differences in geographical location, religious affiliation and also include Northern donor organisations.
In pursuit of global regulation
Authors: Loft Anne , Humphrey Christopher , Turley Stuart 
Published: July 2006

PurposeIFAC, a Swiss‐registered non‐governmental organization, is emerging as an important international (auditing) standard setter amongst a powerful group of regulators, including the World Bank, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the European Commission (EC). The purpose of this paper is to focus on the changing governance and accountability structures within IFAC, the way such changes are shaping, or re‐shaping, its “public interest” commitments and the resulting strategic implications for processes of auditor regulation and public oversight in the global financial arena.Design/methodology/approachThe material and analysis presented in the paper derives from an extensive review of official reports, consultation documents and related responses, a range of other information available on IFAC's web site (www.ifac.org) or those of other key regulatory players in the global financial arena.FindingsThe paper analyzes how IFAC is succeeding as an international standard setter with an established place in the global financial infrastructure. From analysis of the recent establishment of a Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) and the changing nature of representation on IFAC's Public Interest Activity Committees (PIACs), the paper reveals a growing reliance on governance by experts together with a growth in influence of the large, multinational accounting firms. Governance of auditors has become a matter of global importance and governance structures are being reconfigured.Practical implicationsBy highlighting the changes that have taken place within IFAC's governance system, the paper establishes the importance for public policy of further study and debate concerning the nature and practical operation of such a system, particularly given IFAC's position within a complex but developing global governance arena.Originality/valueIFAC is becoming an integral player in global financial governance processes and yet has not been subject to any substantial academic accounting research. This paper seeks to rectify this by focusing on the structures and processes underpinning both the development of IFAC's International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and its own global strategy for advancement.
Time‐based analysis of total cost of patient episodes
Authors: Peltokorpi Antti , Kujala Jaakko 
Published: July 2006

PurposeHealthcare in the public and private sectors is facing increasing pressure to become more cost‐effective. Time‐based competition and work‐in‐progress have been used successfully to measure and improve the efficiency of industrial manufacturing. Seeks to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachPresents a framework for time based management of the total cost of a patient episode and apply it to the six sigma DMAIC‐process development approach. The framework is used to analyse hip replacement patient episodes in Päijät‐Häme Hospital District in Finland, which has a catchment area of 210,000 inhabitants and performs an average of 230 hip replacements per year.FindingsThe work‐in‐progress concept is applicable to healthcare – notably that the DMAIC‐process development approach can be used to analyse the total cost of patient episodes. Concludes that a framework, which combines the patient‐in‐process and the DMAIC development approach, can be used not only to analyse the total cost of patient episode but also to improve patient process efficiency.Originality/valuePresents a framework that combines patient‐in‐process and DMAIC‐process development approaches, which can be used to analyse the total cost of a patient episode in order to improve patient process efficiency.
Clinical pathway for hip arthroplasty six years after introduction
Authors: Jimenez Muñoz A.B. , Duran Garcia M.E. , Rodriguez Perez M.P. , Sanjurjo M. , Vigil  , Vaquero J. 
Published: July 2006

PurposeThis paper seeks to analyse clinical pathways (CP) as a useful tool for the improvement of all aspects of quality in medical assistance – in this case, hip arthroplasty.Design/methodology/approachThe study was carried out on patients who had undergone scheduled hip arthroplasty included in CP during the years 1999 to 2004. Data on demographics, lengths of stay, complications, process and result variables were gathered, coverage was calculated and the evolution of the indicators was compared.FindingsA total of 487 patients were enrolled, with five leaving the pathway and with unequal coverage, leading to a maximum peak of 77 per cent in 1999. A statistically significant decrease exists in the consumption of overall stays and in the pre‐surgical stay, which dropped from a mean of 19.41 days in the pre‐pathway situation to 10.12 days in 2004 and 4.5 days pre‐surgery to 1.08 days. As a process indicator, the performance should be highlighted of post‐operation check‐up radiographies, which have been gaining high levels of compliance (p < 0.05) since 2001. The rate of complications has remained stable over the years.Originality/valueImplementing the CP has meant a sustained saving of resources over the years and an improvement in the organization of work.