Coordination Challenges Research Articles

The primate workplace: Cooperative decision-making in human and non-human primates

The success of group foraging in primates is not only determined by ecological and social factors. It is also influenced by cognition. Group foraging success is constrained, for instance, by the challenges of coordination, synchrony and decision-making, and it is enhanced by the ability to share, learn from others and coordinate actions. However, what we currently know about the cognition of individuals in groups comes primarily from experiments on dyads, and what we know of the effect of ecological factors on group dynamics comes from larger wild groups. Our current knowledge of primate group behaviour is thus incomplete. In this review, we identify a gap in our knowledge of primate group dynamics between the dyadic studies on primate cooperation and the large group observational studies of behavioural ecology. We highlight the potential for controlled experimental studies on coordination and cooperation in primate groups. Currently, these exist primarily as studies of dyads, and these do not go far enough in testing limits of group-level behaviours. Controlled studies on primate groups beyond the dyad would be highly informative regarding the bounds of non-human primate collaboration. We look to the literature on how humans behave in groups, specifically from organisational psychology, draw parallels between human and non-human group dynamics and highlight approaches that could be applied across disciplines. Organisational psychology is explicitly concerned with the interactions between individuals in a group and the emergent properties at the group-level of these decisions. We propose that some of the major shortfalls in our understanding of primate social cognition and group dynamics can be filled by using approaches developed by organisational psychologists, particularly regarding the effects of group size and composition on group-level cooperation. To illustrate the potential applications, we provide a list of research questions drawn from organisational psychology that could be applied to non-human primates.

Multi-Agent Systems for Resource Allocation and Scheduling in a Smart Grid.

Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) have been seen as an attractive area of research for civil engineering professionals to subdivide complex issues. Based on the assignment's history, nearby agents, and objective, the agent intended to take the appropriate action to complete the task. MAS models complex systems, smart grids, and computer networks. MAS has problems with agent coordination, security, and work distribution despite its use. This paper reviews MAS definitions, attributes, applications, issues, and communications. For this reason, MASs have drawn interest from computer science and civil engineering experts to solve complex difficulties by subdividing them into smaller assignments. Agents have individual responsibilities. Each agent selects the best action based on its activity history, interactions with neighbors, and purpose. MAS uses the modeling of complex systems, smart grids, and computer networks. Despite their extensive use, MAS still confronts agent coordination, security, and work distribution challenges. This study examines MAS's definitions, characteristics, applications, issues, communications, and evaluation, as well as the classification of MAS applications and difficulties, plus research references. This paper should be a helpful resource for MAS researchers and practitioners. MAS in controlling smart grids, including energy management, energy marketing, pricing, energy scheduling, reliability, network security, fault handling capability, agent-to-agent communication, SG-electrical cars, SG-building energy systems, and soft grids, have been examined. More than 100 MAS-based smart grid control publications have been reviewed, categorized, and compiled.

A Mixed Methods Analysis of Care Coordination Needs and Desirable Features of an M-Health Application to Support Caregivers of Children With Down Syndrome

Care coordination is critical for the management of health care needs of children with Down syndrome by encompassing management of health information and linking of providers. This study was designed to identify caregiver and health care provider experiences of care coordination to inform the development of an m-health application. In this mixed methods study, caregivers completed survey materials addressing the child's health care needs, m-health use, and care coordination experiences. A sample of caregivers and health care providers were interviewed to further understanding. Most caregivers reported having a primary health care provider but wanted increased communication and help with care coordination. Interview data identified themes related to care coordination challenges, including information management, information sharing, use of health care guidelines, tracking health data, resources, technology use, previous application use, and coordination of schedules. Qualitative themes were linked to desired features of an m-health application to aid in development.

Beneficiary-centric decision support framework for enhanced resource coordination in humanitarian logistics: A case study from ASEAN

The growing frequency, impact, and complexity of natural- and human-made- disasters have resulted in an increased attention toward humanitarian logistics management practices. With most disasters having a global scale due to the high level of interconnectedness between supply chains, the adequate provision of humanitarian assistance through streamlined logistics systems has become paramount. Correspondingly, the traditional organization- and execution-centric approaches are no longer sufficient, and greater attention to beneficiary- and ecosystem-centric supply chain networks with equal emphasis on planning and execution are necessary. Accordingly, this work proposes a multi-method decision support framework to analyze, visualize, optimize, and simulate supply networks to address the key challenge of resource coordination in disaster response operations. A real-world application to the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA), the network of pre-positioned stockpiles managed by the ASEAN Humanitarian Agency in ASEAN, is also presented. Results of the analyses show that with the introduction of inventory management policies with safety stock, the DELSA network improves its performance in service level by +41%. Unlike the current practice where inventory decisions are, in most cases, supply-and funds-driven, the findings of this work bring about a paradigm shift for beneficiary-centric policies. More importantly, the analyses of this study could generate practical insights for proper humanitarian logistics planning not only in ASEAN but throughout the world.

Opposition failures in forming pre-electoral coalitions in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT There is an enduring discussion in the literature on why African opposition parties often fail to unite to fight the incumbent from a position of strength. Much of the extant studies have examined success stories of pre-electoral coalition-building in established democracies. There is less focus on why African opposition parties fail to form coalitions. In seeking to contribute to this debate, the article examines why Zimbabwean opposition parties failed to coalesce to form a pre-electoral coalition ahead of the 2018 election. This is against the axiom in the literature that pre-electoral coalitions do matter in increasing opposition stakes in elections, as read in line with the historical context of countries like Kenya. Using evidence gleaned from a qualitative study, it is argued that opposition-led pre-electoral coalitions remain uneasy to establish, especially in competitive authoritarian regimes like Zimbabwe, owing to structural and co-ordination challenges.

Challenges of Quantity Surveyors in Klang Valley to Work from Home

>With the uprising trend of modern management systems adoption, the enthusiasm for corporates to exercise the working culture of work from home are seemingly proliferated to fit in the recent corporate world. However, the published research papers and statistics regarding the information and comprehension of quantity surveyor to work from home are unexpectedly sporadic. Therefore, this research reviews the insights of quantity surveyor to work from home while drawing discussion and conclusion on the uprising challenges of work from home for quantity surveyors to execute their roles. The paper compiles the responses obtained from the methodology of surveying 145 related professions in construction industry around Klang Valley area. The questionnaire was designed with five-point Likert scale, and the data was analyzed by using SPSS software. The study displayed reduced supervision and direction as the greatest challenge, followed by significant challenges which include communication and coordination challenges, organization performance and productivity, job performance and productivity, and unclear performance metrics. Hence, personnel in the industry should be aware of the potential challenges of a quantity surveyor to work from home due to their roles, in order to indicate the potential effects that may incur to the individual and organization.

Sex-specific patterns and lifetime risk of multimorbidity in the general population: a 23-year prospective cohort study

BackgroundMultimorbidity poses a major challenge for care coordination. However, data on what non-communicable diseases lead to multimorbidity, and whether the lifetime risk differs between men and women are lacking. We determined sex-specific differences in multimorbidity patterns and estimated sex-specific lifetime risk of multimorbidity in the general population.MethodsWe followed 6,094 participants from the Rotterdam Study aged 45 years and older for the occurrence of ten diseases (cancer, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes, dementia, asthma, heart failure, parkinsonism). We visualised participants’ trajectories from a single disease to multimorbidity and the most frequent combinations of diseases. We calculated sex-specific lifetime risk of multimorbidity, considering multimorbidity involving only somatic diseases (1) affecting the same organ system, (2) affecting different organ systems, and (3) multimorbidity involving depression.ResultsOver the follow-up period (1993–2016, median years of follow-up 9.2), we observed 6334 disease events. Of the study population, 10.3% had three or more diseases, and 27.9% had two or more diseases. The most frequent pair of co-occurring diseases among men was COPD and cancer (12.5% of participants with multimorbidity), the most frequent pair of diseases among women was depression and dementia (14.9%). The lifetime risk of multimorbidity was similar among men (66.0%, 95% CI: 63.2–68.8%) and women (65.1%, 95% CI: 62.5–67.7%), yet the risk of multimorbidity with depression was higher for women (30.9%, 95% CI: 28.4–33.5%, vs. 17.5%, 95% CI: 15.2–20.1%). The risk of multimorbidity with two diseases affecting the same organ is relatively low for both sexes (4.2% (95% CI: 3.2–5.5%) for men and 4.5% (95% CI: 3.5–5.7%) for women).ConclusionsTwo thirds of people over 45 will develop multimorbidity in their remaining lifetime, with women at nearly double the risk of multimorbidity involving depression than men. These findings call for programmes of integrated care to consider sex-specific differences to ensure men and women are served equally.

Stakeholders, Relationships, and Coordination: 2015 Baseline Study of Needed Enablers for Bridging Agriculture-Nutrition Gaps in Nigeria.

Renewed efforts by the Nigerian government to address malnutrition have led to nutrition actions by several sectors, including the agriculture sector. However, the success of these actions depends on the characteristics of the stakeholders involved, including their relationships and coordination. This article reports a 2015 study of nutrition-sensitive agricultural stakeholders in Nigeria that assessed what the stakeholders do, where they work and how they are organized to improve nutrition. The study provides a baseline for assessing progress and measuring stakeholder and coordination changes in the Nigerian nutrition-sensitive agriculture landscape. Semi-structured interviews (n = 17) and focus group discussions (n = 2) were held with federal, state, and local government level stakeholders; reviews of stakeholder program documents were also conducted. The study identified 7 groups of nutrition-sensitive agriculture stakeholders and several coordination challenges. Political leadership, advocacy and provision of material and human resource support by nongovernmental organizations, and donor interest and funding have been vital for mobilizing nutrition-sensitive agriculture. Still, although stakeholders frequently highlighted that nutrition was an important consideration in their interventions, nutrition goals and activities and/or indicators to measure outcomes were not regularly communicated. Also, while coordination mechanisms existed, there appeared to be minimal actual cross-sectoral partnerships because of inadequate trust, competition, and conflicts over institutional turf and mandates. Needed enablers for improving nutrition-sensitive agriculture in Nigeria included improved stakeholder nutrition literacy, as well as enhanced stakeholder engagement facilitated by role definition, clarification, and consensus. Exploring different approaches to coordination may also be necessary.

Communication and action predictability: two complementary strategies for successful cooperation.

Making one's actions predictable and communicating what one intends to do are two strategies to achieve interpersonal coordination. It is less clear whether these two strategies are mutually exclusive or whether they can be used in parallel. Here, we asked how the availability of communication channels affects the use of strategy to make one's actions predictable. In three experiments, we investigated how people reach joint decisions if they are not allowed to communicate at all (Experiment 1), allowed minimal reciprocal communication (Experiment 2), or allowed to use the full range of conventional communication (Experiment 3). We found that when participants were not allowed to communicate, coordination was achieved by increasing action predictability. When conventional communication was allowed, there were no attempts to increase action predictability. In the minimal reciprocal communication condition, successful pairs both increased action predictability and established a communication system. Overall, this study demonstrates that people are able to flexibly adapt to coordination challenges during joint decision making and that communication reduces behavioural constraints on joint action coordination.

The Dual Challenge of Search and Coordination for Organizational Adaptation: How Structures of Influence Matter

Organizations increasingly need to adapt to challenges in which search and coordination cannot be decoupled. In response, many have experimented with “agile” and “flat” designs that dismantle traditional forms of hierarchy to harness the distributed knowledge of specialized individuals. Despite the popularity of such practices, there is considerable variation in their implementation as well as conceptual ambiguity about the underlying premise. Does effective rapid experimentation necessarily imply the repudiation of hierarchical structures of influence? We use computational models of multiagent reinforcement learning to study the effectiveness of coordinated search in groups that vary in how they influence each other’s beliefs. We compare the behavior of flat and hierarchical teams with a baseline structure without any influence on beliefs (a “crowd”) when all three are placed in the same task environments. We find that influence on beliefs—whether it is hierarchical or not—makes it less likely that agents stabilize prematurely around their own experiences. However, flat teams can engage in excessive exploration, finding it difficult to converge on good alternatives, whereas hierarchical influence on beliefs reduces simultaneous uncoordinated exploration, introducing a degree of rapid exploitation. As a result, teams that need to achieve agility (i.e., rapid satisfactory results) in environments that require coordinated search may benefit from a hierarchical structure of influence—even when the apex actor has no superior knowledge, foresight, or capacity to control subordinates’ actions.Funding: Puranam thanks the Desmairis Fund at INSEAD for supporting the Organizations and Algorithms project.Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1601 .

Outward FDI and Domestic Employment Growth: A Penrosean Coordination Challenges Framework

Research to date has only rarely studied firm-specific reasons that influence how multinational enterprises grow employment in their home country after they make a foreign direct investment (FDI). We apply a Penrosean perspective to understand post-investment coordination challenges and develop novel theory about the domestic employment effects of the FDI’s relative size. Specifically, we argue that MNEs’ home-country employment growth is greater for relatively larger projects because of constraints in human resources who can attend to an increased amount of coordination challenges. Further, we suggest that MNEs’ establishment-mode choice, their regional orientation, and their degree of state ownership co-shape that relationship. We find support for our hypotheses analyzing 409 projects by MNEs from 13 countries.

Supply Base Geographical Complexity and Quality Risks: Evidence From the Chinese Automobile Industry

Supply base geographical complexity has important implications for supply chain risk and performance, but less is known about its relationship with product quality risks. Drawing on the transaction cost economics and social network theory, we argue that supply base geographical complexity increases monitoring and coordination challenges, thus leading to higher product quality risks. However, vertical integration and high network centrality can mitigate this impact by facilitating trust and information sharing. We test our hypotheses using Chinese automobile industry data collected from multiple sources and find that supply base geographical complexity is positively related to automobile quality risks, but this relationship is weakened by the network centrality asymmetry between a buyer and its suppliers. This study extends our understanding of the antecedents of product quality risks and the interaction of supply network structural characteristics.

Estadísticas y gestión política del primer año de pandemia de Covid-19 en Argentina

Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic triggered the generation as well as the ample circulation of health statistics. This article examines the role that Covid-19 statistics acquired in the management of the Argentine health emergency. Argentina adopted lockdown measures early and initially had a strict social confinement with subsequent relaxations that became a coordination challenge in a society in crisis. This research followed a qualitative methodological strategy supported by systematic analysis of regulations, government reports, press articles, and presidential press conferences. On the one hand, the article explores the institutional structure behind the elaboration of Covid-19 statistics, focusing on statistical classifications, and underlines the tensions to which it was exposed. On the other hand, it shows how statistics were used to bestow legitimacy to the decisions of the political authority, staged in true rituals of quantification, as they were a means through which that authority was exercised. In addition to attributing meaning to a shared experience, statistical indicators became a device for coordinating action at a distance and from the center, restricting the margins of discretionary action of the subnational authorities and operating as an external and impersonal mechanism of regulation in a society disrupted by an exceptional situation.

Collaboration in Purpose-driven Organizations

Cooperation and coordination are two complementary aspects of collaboration that are essential for firms. As firms articulate a prosocial purpose and embed societal goals into their strategies, routines, and culture, new coordination challenges arise. In contrast, such challenges do not exist when firms only implement peripheral corporate social initiatives and did not need to extend their attention beyond cooperation, which relates to employees’ motivation. In this paper, we highlight that prosocial purpose-driven firms should not care about their employees’ prosociality, but they should also ensure that they manage to coordinate those employees. We found that legitimacy judgments mediate the positive impact of employees’ prosociality on the level of collaboration a firm reaches. We also found that this mediating effect is stronger for prosocial purpose-driven firms relative to non prosocial purpose-driven firms.

Ecosystems, Stakeholders, and Grand Challenges

The past five years have seen a surge of interest among strategy and organizations scholars in “grand challenges”, which are massive social and environmental problems whose scale and complexity necessitate coordination across diverse stakeholders, yet whose intractable nature renders that collaboration fundamentally challenging. This growing body research has made great strides in illuminating the coordination challenges that grand challenges pose. Yet, less is known about the processes and mechanisms that shape how and when collaborative responses to grand challenges unfold. The goal of this symposium is to advance our collective understanding of these processes. We do so by showcasing cutting-edge unpublished work from top scholars who are publishing in the areas of stakeholder theory, ecosystems, and strategy-as-practice. These papers draw on multiple empirical settings (i.e., healthcare, disaster response, corporate philanthropy, and sustainability) and diverse research methods to explore a set of closely-related, under-researched, and important questions: how do individuals and organizations perceive grand challenges, how do these (divergent) perceptions shape strategic action and resource allocation, and how does institutional context shape the dynamics and efficacy of coordination? Collectively, these papers advance our understanding not only of grand challenges, but also contribute more broadly to research and theory on managerial cognition, ecosystems, industry emergence, and corporate social responsibility. Following the four presentations, two expert discussants will discuss the four studies, as well as the broader research agenda and the theoretical issues they highlight. In the middle of the COVID-storm: A framing perspective on medical professionals in COVID wards Presenter: Madeleine Stefanie Rauch; Stanford U. & Copenhagen Business School Corporate social responsibility and pandemic response: Evidence from India Presenter: Christiane Bode; Imperial College Business School Presenter: Aline Gatignon; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Doron Tadmor; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Ecosystems as vehicles of robust action against grand challenges Presenter: Douglas Hannah; Boston U. Worlds apart: Stakeholder governance in different institutional environments Presenter: Sinziana Dorobantu; NYU Stern School of Business

End-of-Life Experiences Within a Dementia Support Program During COVID-19: Context and Circumstances Surrounding Death During the Pandemic.

Background: Persons with dementia (PWD) and their caregivers are uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including higher risk of mortality for PWD. Objectives: To describe the context and circumstances of deaths of PWD within a dementia support program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Retrospective data collection of PWD deaths between March 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021. Setting/Subjects: Decedents enrolled in Care Ecosystem, a multidisciplinary team model for dementia care at University of California San Francisco, Ochsner Health, and UCHealth. Measurements: Using mixed methods, we analyzed data using descriptive measures and team-based thematic analysis to understand the end-of-life (EOL) experience of PWD-caregiver dyads. Results: Twenty-nine PWD died across three sites. Almost half (45%) were between ages 70-79 and 12 (41%) were women. Eighteen (62%) died at a private residence; two died in the hospital. Hospice was involved for 22 (76%) patients. There were known causes of death for 15 (53%) patients. Only two deaths were directly related to COVID-19 infection. Social isolation was perceived to have a high or very high impact for 12 (41%) decedents. Four qualitative themes were identified: (1) isolation due to the pandemic, (2) changes in use of dementia supports and resources, (3) impact on goals of care decisions, and (4) communication challenges for EOL care coordination. Conclusion: Among PWD and caregivers enrolled in a dementia support program, the COVID-19 pandemic had direct and indirect influences on mortality and EOL experiences of PWD. Caregivers’ experiences of caring, decision making, and bereavement were also affected.

Primary Health Care Experiences of Autistic Adults and Their Caregivers: Utilization, Care Coordination, and Other Challenges as Reported by Caregivers

Abstract Date Presented 03/31/2022 Primary care encounters are reported to be challenging for autistic adults and their caregivers. The purpose of this presentation is to identify challenges experienced by this population, as reported by caregivers, as well as strategies to mitigate these difficulties. Primary Author and Speaker: Leah I. Stein Duker Additional Authors and Speakers: Elizabeth Goodman

Challenges to maintaining disaster relief supply chains in island communities: disaster preparedness and response in Honolulu, Hawai’i

Due to global warming and rising sea levels, Honolulu, Hawai’i—a city on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean—is becoming more vulnerable to climate disasters. This article utilizes a mixed-method approach to investigate the challenges of maintaining disaster relief supply chains in the face of the emerging risks to Honolulu. We conduct eighteen in-depth interviews with key emergency management stakeholders to understand current approaches to supply chain risk management. Based on the research, three main challenges influence disaster preparedness in Hawai’i. First, the physical location of the island and the spatial distribution of risk, assets, and capabilities supporting emergency relief present large, unusual constraints not found in other jurisdictions. Second, the challenges of supply chain management, planning, communications and coordination are exacerbated during disruptions and disaster events. Unlike other states, with neighboring, contiguous jurisdictions, there are severe limitations to mutual aid and assistance from outside sources. Third, our research has also identified cultural challenges associated with social, political, and economic development and change. Stronger institutional collaboration both within the state and beyond its boundaries are key to increased supply chain resilience and effective response and recovery from disasters. We conduct social network analysis focusing on measures of density, degree, betweenness, and centrality to better understand the status and gaps in institutional collaboration. The social network analysis reveals that the current levels of collaboration are relatively low with significant gaps between government agencies and the private sector, as well as limited vertical collaborations with respect to supply chain management between federal, state and local partners. There is a need for stronger leadership with deeper engagement across stakeholders. A pathway forward includes: (1) vulnerability analyses focused on private sector supply chain management and public sector transport hubs, networks, and facilities, (2) exercises and training on emergency supply chain management, and (3) longer-term actions to support sustainability, self-sufficiency, local production, and community resilience. Our research is relevant not just to Hawai’i and other island and isolated communities but also to communities threatened by supply chain disruptions.

Mainstreaming Internal Migration in Law and Policy Frameworks in Bangladesh: Analysis of a Rights-Based Approach to a Wicked Policy Problem

Internal migration presents many challenges for governmental coordination due to the extensive and immediate action required to address this problem. However, it also poses opportunities regarding education, employment and living conditions, if the government creates pull factors to distribute migration away from primary to secondary cities. This process will require a rights-based approach, whereby the rights of internal migrants are mainstreamed in government planning to enable sustainable migration to Bangladesh’s secondary cities. In this paper, the current international human rights and internal migration laws will be analysed, alongside the domestic laws and policies relevant to internal migration in Bangladesh. In doing so, this paper will explore how government policy and action can employ a rights-based approach to incorporate internal migration within the government’s overarching development framework. A rights-based approach is necessary to effectively prepare for, and adapt to, the increase in internal migration in an equitable way.

Healthcare professionals’ experiences and attitudes to care coordination across health sectors: an interview study

BackgroundThe number of older people is increasing, resulting in more people endure chronic diseases, multimorbidities and complex care needs. Insufficient care coordination across healthcare sectors has negative consequences for health outcomes, costs and patient evaluation. Despite introducing initiatives to solve coordination challenges within healthcare, the need remains for more consistent solutions. In particular, improved care coordination would benefit older adults characterised by complex care needs, high use of healthcare resources and multiple care providers.Aims and objectivesTo identify and analyse healthcare professionals’ perspectives and approaches to care coordination across sectors when older people are acutely hospitalised.DesignQualitative interview study.MethodsSemi-structured, individual interviews with 13 healthcare professionals across health sectors and professions were conducted. The strategy for the qualitative analysis was inspired by Kirsti Malterud and labelled ‘systematic text condensation’. This strategy is a descriptive and explorative method for thematic cross-case analysis of qualitative data.ResultsFour themes/categories emerged from the analysis; “Organisational factors”, “Approaches to care”, “Communication and knowledge”, and “Relations”.ConclusionDifferent organisational cultures can discourage intersectoral care coordination. Approaches to care vary at all levels across health sectors and professions. Organisational, leadership and professional identity affect the working cultures and must be considered in the future recruitment and socialisation of healthcare staff. Our research suggests that combinations of healthcare standardisations and flexible, adaptive solutions are required to improve intersectoral care coordination.