Organizational Policy Changes Research Articles

University Work—life Benefits and Same-Sex Couples

The problem and the solution . Lesbian and gay (LG) employees experience work—life challenges due to exclusionary language and social norms that ignore the existence of their families; denial of medical, retirement, and leave benefits; and sexual orientation discrimination that can raise legitimate fears about job loss and family survival.A supportive and inclusive work culture is needed for employers to build loyalty, increase retention, and enable employees to perform at their peak.This article examines work—life benefits at 10 public universities.Work—life benefits are often taken for granted by the vast majority of employees within an organization because the inequitable application of these benefits across all kinds of employees remains invisible.Thus,work—life benefits inequitably applied have the potential to significantly damage the performance, psyche, financial status, and well-being of LG employees and their families. Recommendations for changes in organizational practices, policies, and language are provided.

Time, Stress and Intellectual Engagement in Academic Work: Exploring Gender Difference

This article is based on a pilot study that examines the effects of recent organizational and public policy changes on Canadian academics' work practices and academic culture. It explores the differences between the use of online technologies by women and male academics in managing these effects. It interprets the complex and often contradictory findings of the study through the lens of time theorization, and speculates about the broader cultural implications of academics' changing work practices, including the possibility of a gestalt shift in the identity of the university, less as a site of research and reflection on society and increasingly as a productive and efficient part of the economy.

Two-stage evaluation of the impact of a nursing information system in Taiwan

Purpose This study evaluated the post-implementation impact of a nursing information system and identified issues related to the technology adoption process. Given the high level of investment necessary to implement information systems, evaluation has become vital to ensure successful adoption and use. Improved understanding of implementation difficulties/barriers and factors leading to them can serve as a platform for the development of strategies and education programs for users. Method The study design was a two-stage data comparison analysis of a nursing information system focusing on computerized nursing care plan use. Data were collected from nurses by questionnaire during the first month (December 2004) and 1 year after system installation (December 2005). Results While nurses gave the information technology a higher evaluation score at the second stage than at the early stage, the overall ratings were slightly negative at both stages. Age and pressure to use the system were critical factors at both stages, whereas computer skills and perceived time using the system were vital at the beginning stage of implementation. Issues of concern at both stages were system functionality, efficiency, usability, and user support. Conclusion Implementation of an information system requires consideration of issues involving hardware and software, staff training, organizational policy, and workflow changes.

Well for Life: A Way of Life

Well for Life is an innovative public program in Victoria, Australia that focuses on improving nutrition and increasing physical activity to promote healthy aging. For more than 4 years Aged Care has funded projects for frail older people who live in Public Sector Residential Aged Care (PSRAC) facilities or attend Home and Community Care (HACC) Planned Activity Groups (PAGs). Many stereotypes exist around what frail older people can or cannot do. Well for Life challenges many of these through organizational culture and policy change and workforce development. A person-centered approach to care is adopted that emphasizes improving participants' activities of daily living and encouraging exercise and involvement. An external provider used a participatory evaluation approach to support the first phase of Well for Life. This approach enabled funded agencies to plan, implement, and monitor progress in their projects and assist them to embed Well for Life into policy and practice. The evaluation not only revealed insight into the delivery and adoption of Well for Life, but also assisted management and staff to make Well for Life a reality. Many PSRAC residents and PAG participants have reported significant gains from their involvement in Well for Life. These achievements reflect staff enthusiasm and organizational commitment to Well for Life principles. Evidence supports the benefit of improved nutrition and physical activity for people of any age and Well for Life is adding to the evidence-base for frail older people.

Kooperationsmodell zwischen psychiatrischen Kliniken mit dem Ziel der Qualitätssicherung bei Zwangsmaßnahmen

OBJECTIVE Since 1996 three, meanwhile eight, psychiatric hospitals have been working closely together in a multidisciplinary team aiming at improving quality management and reducing the frequency and duration of coercive measures, respectively. METHODS Development, aims, and functioning of the cooperation are described, and selected data of comparisons of documented restraints and of coercive measures in one of the hospitals (1998-2004) are presented. RESULTS This way of cooperation was conductive to changes in organizational policies and practices of coercive measures and, in parts, resulted in reducing coercive measures. CONCLUSIONS The cooperation was effective in improving quality management and implementation of changes in practice of coercive measures.

Using Technical Assistance to Strengthen Tobacco Control Capacity: Evaluation Findings from the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium

Immediately following the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 and the corresponding growth of new and existing tobacco control programs, it became clear that tobacco prevention and control organizations required technical assistance to help them carry out their missions. The Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC) was established at the Rollins School of Public Health in 2001 to provide tailored technical assistance services to meet the needs of the expanded workforce and to build tobacco control capacity. To understand whether and how TTAC's technical assistance enhanced capacity, TTAC conducted an evaluation of its services through semi-structured telephone interviews with the primary contacts and one to two additional informants for each of 48 technical assistance services provided over an 18-month period. The majority of respondents reported they had increased knowledge and skills in tobacco control, strengthened leadership skills, developed or strengthened partnerships with other tobacco control organizations, and changed the way they practice tobacco control following the assistance. More modest improvements were noted in the areas of increased organizational support and policy change at the local or state level.

Introducing Evidence-Based Practices into Substance Abuse Treatment using Organization Development Methods

Background: Dissemination of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in addiction settings is a national priority. We tested Organization Development (OD) methods for dissemination. Methods: Using OD in two addiction treatment programs we developed an organization-specific treatment plan using employee work teams with the goals of changes in organizational policies and procedures and improvement in practitioner skills. Results: OD was effectively applied, but EBPs were premature for these addiction programs because they first needed to address more fundamental aspects of client-clinician interaction and agency treatment philosophy. Conclusion: The OD approach in addiction treatment is complementary to other technology transfer efforts by being: (a) “organization-centered,” engaging practitioners at all levels; (b) “needs-focused,” addressing concerns of the particular organization; (c) flexible in its responsiveness to readiness for change; and (d) relatively affordable. However, before absorbing EBPs, substance abuse treatment organizations must develop strengths in delivering fundamental aspects of care.

Adding Value to City Planning: The European Union's Urban Programmes in Naples

The ongoing process of European integration is paying increasing attention to the role of cities in the future of Europe. This article looks at the question of the impact of integration on the governance of European cities by analysing the case of the city of Naples which after 1993 began to participate in EU-sponsored urban programmes. An empirical investigation of major organizational innovations and policy changes is conducted to determine how the public function of city planning in Naples has been affected by the city's participation in the formulation and implementation of European urban programmes.

Taxonomic Model of Withdrawal Behaviors: The Adaptive Response Model

This article presents and develops a theoretical model (The Adaptive Response Model; ARM) that proposes how employees adapt to the organization following changes in organizational policies that are perceived as dissatisfying. The ARM combines several streams of theoretical and empirical research in IO-Psychology. It suggests that different type of employees (i.e., institutionalized stars, citizens, lone wolves, and apathetics) resort to different behaviors to adjust to dissatisfying events. Institutionalized stars tend to exercise voice, lone wolves tend to exit, citizens tend to accept, and apathetics tend to resort to alternative forms of withdrawal (e.g., lateness, absenteeism, and theft). Implications for the management of each employee type as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Identifying Policy Opportunities to Increase Physical Activity in the Southeast Asian Community in Long Beach, California

This article describes how implementing policy changes in organizations and communities supported physical activity in the Southeast Asian community. Case studies describe the components of successful policy development for physical activity in the Families in Good Health program in Long Beach, California. Levels of policy attainment are described in two examples: organizational policy change at a local YMCA and advocacy attempts toward a city-developed policy to support community gardens. Increased policy opportunities occurred when high levels of five factors were present: Program champions were cultivated; strong partnerships were formed; the community gave approval of program results; community leaders were involved; and organizations or resources were ready for policy development. This article also proposes elements of a model approach that is applicable to future health promotion efforts in Southeast Asian communities.

Collaborative Resource Management

This article examines some of the key barriers to collaborative resource management: the differential costs and benefits of these approaches for organizations and individuals. Drawing on the U.S. Forest Service’s use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes to resolve forest plan appeals in the late 1980s, the analysis shows that although ADR can benefit the larger organization, the individuals who actually participate in ADR incur personal costs. The analysis focuses on the time demands and personal costs of collaborative processes. The article concludes by suggesting changes in organizational policies that can help mitigate the differential costs and benefits of ADR and reduce some of the barriers to more widespread use of collaborative management approaches by public officials.

Employee participation and assessments of support for organizational policy changes

We examine the effects of participation, profit sharing, and participation program structure on managerial assessments of employee support for policy changes. Evidence suggests that managers perceived greater support from employees covered by participation or profit-sharing programs than from other employees. Findings also suggest that managers perceived greater support where a larger percentage of employees were involved in the participation program, where employees had input on a larger number of issues, and where employees had a greater amount of authority to implement their recommendations.

Library Assistants in the Year 2000

This article focusses on factors that will effect the relationship between libraries and library assistants by the year 2000, and the resulting changes in libraries' organizational structure, policies and procedures, and compensation structure

A catastrophe theory evaluation of a policy to control job absence

This paper investigates the relevance of catastrophe theory for describing and predicting discontinuous changes in job absence rates as a function of an organizational policy change. Subjects were 19 groups of employees from a Midwest manufacturing company, divided into two company divisions. The organizational policy regarding absence provided cash incentives for good attendance; the policy change was intended to enhance immediacy of reinforcement of decisions to go to work rather than stay home. Sixteen departments showed a reduction in job absence, which was significant by the sign test. Polynomial regression determined that difference scores were cusp-catastrophically distributed (R2 = .58; control R2 = .27, .30) with average department age as the asymmetry parameter and company division as the bifurcation factor. Results are interpreted from the context of the butterfly theory of motivation in organizations, which has implications for individual persons and for groups.

An Examination of the Relationship Between The Federal Government and Private Fusion Development

The institutional and political criteria, which must be satisfied as prerequisites to any realistic cooperation between the federal government and privately financed fusion engineering development, are examined. The transition of the federal magnetic fusion program from an aggressive development effort into a more science-oriented endeavor is presented as an opportunity for private initiative on an equal partnership basis with the government. Organizational mechanisms and policy changes are proposed that would facilitate such an industrial-governmental partnership.