Executive Commitment Research Articles

Perfil de los responsables de comunicación interna en España

An essential condition for internal communication (IC) to be effective is the commitment of top executives and CEOs. Recent international studies confirm that business leaders are paying more attention than ever to internal communication. This circumstance means that internal communication is growing quickly on an international scale and also in Spain. For this reason, it is advisable to know the profile of the professionals who are in charge of these tasks with the aim to verify if they are adapted to the functions of their position. Thus, this work analyzes the social and working characteristics of professionals who are responsible for internal communication in Spain, the structures in which they are integrated, the location of the departments, and their relationship with other departments of the company. The first results reveal that IC professionals in Spain have a very high academic level and are organized in teams. In addition, although they still do not have the necessary conditions to have their own identity, progressively they are reaching greater autonomy in the structures of the organizations.

Implementing Local Government Strategies: A Framework for Action

To implement its strategy, a local government (LG) can use six interrelated activites, which we call the Six Cs. These activities comprise coalition building, citizen involvement, conflict management, compensation and rewards, cross-unit collaboration, and control. Each activity is related to one of Chester Barnard’s classic three functions of the executive (communication, coordination, and commitment to purpose). The research was based on in-depth investigations of seven European cities that had received an award for high performance by the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA). A multiple case study “action research” methodology was used. Although each city had a different strategy, each had used the Six Cs in concert to make its strategy a reality. The Six-C model constitutes a framework that can be used by any city to help implement its strategy. Although there is no “cookbook solution” for using the Six Cs, they nevertheless constitute a conceptual framework that an LG’s management team can use to think about how it will move toward its strategic vision. An LG that wishes to achieve its strategy must think about how it will employ the Six Cs in a coordinated way. The central issues are not only the specifics of each C but how each matches and is aligned with the other five in order to assist the city to move toward its strategic vision.

Workplace violence in a tertiary care Israeli hospital - a systematic analysis of the types of violence, the perpetrators and hospital departments

BackgroundWorldwide, there is a widespread and disturbing pattern of violence towards healthcare workers. However, violent occurrences in Israeli hospitals have often been unrecognized and underreported. Moreover, most studies have not sufficiently differentiated among the different types of violence.To examine the different types of violence experienced by nurses and physicians, the types of perpetrators and the specialty fields involved.MethodsA quantitative questionnaire was used to assess the incidence of a “basket” of violent behaviors, divided into eight types of violent manifestations. The study population consisted of 729 physicians and nurses in a variety of hospital divisions and departments (surgery, oncology, intensive care, ambulatory services including day care, and emergency room) in a large general hospital. Six hundred seventy-eight of them responded to the survey for a response rate of 93%; about two thirds of respondents (446) were nurses and about one third (232) were physicians. The questionnaires were completed during staff meetings and through subsequent follow-up efforts.ResultsIn the 6 months preceding the survey, the respondents experienced about 700 incidents of passive aggressive behavior, 680 of verbal violence and 81 of sexual harassment. Types of violence differed between patients and companions; for example, the latter exhibited more verbal, threatening and passive aggressive behaviors. Violence was reported in all departments (ranging from 52–96%), with the departments most exposed to violence being the emergency room and outpatient clinics. Nurses in the emergency room were 5.5 times at a higher risk of being exposed to violence than nurses in the internal medicine department. Nurses were exposed to violence almost twice as much as physicians. There was a positive association between the physician’s rank and his/her exposure to violence. A multiple regression model found that being older reduced the risk of being exposed to violence, for both physicians and nurses.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that uniform definitions of a range of different violent behaviors and assessments of their prevalence are important to creating an improved discourse about hospital violence in both research and operational settings. The study findings could assist policy makers in the Israeli healthcare system in implementing interventions on a national level and can promote leaders’ commitment to violence prevention and management. This is an important contribution, as executive commitment is necessary and critical for the necessary organizational changes to occur.

Positioning a 5-State Nursing Workforce to Flourish by Advancing Baccalaureate Nursing Education.

This article summarizes experience and outcomes for a large, faith-based health system on a journey to ensure that its nearly 29 000-person nurse workforce has the foundational academic preparation to deliver superior, compassionate, and future-focused nursing care. The health system's bachelor of science in nursing completion strategy is summarized, including (a) programmatic structure, (b) curriculum themes, (c) participant experience, and (d) outcomes. Executive leadership's commitment and engagement are highlighted.

Can Political Skill Enhance Business and IT Knowledge?

ABSTRACTWe examine whether Chief Information Officers’ (CIOs’) political skill enhances their IT and business knowledge as a means of influencing executive teams’ commitment to strategic and operational IT initiatives. We empirically examine these relationships using data collected from 139 CIOs. The results suggest CIOs’ business and IT knowledge is significantly related to influencing executive team commitment to strategic and operational IT initiatives, but political skill only enhances business knowledge for influencing executive team commitment to operational IT initiatives.

Facilitating effective green procurement in construction projects: An empirical study of the enablers

Given the urgent need to enhance industry practices in a green, safe, and economical manner, facilitating the wider adoption of green procurement in building developments has been a major concern of the construction industry. This paper aims to provide insight into the factors that are important in enhancing green procurement in the construction process and to suggest recommendations for the effective adoption of green procurement through a questionnaire survey and expert interviews. The top three most significant factors identified are mandatory environmental regulations by the government, client requirements in tendering, and government and non-governmental organization requirements. The results of a factor analysis of 35 variables identify 10 underlying grouped factors for facilitating effective green procurement in Hong Kong's construction industry. The factor group “Regulations and standards of green procurement by the government” is the most significant, followed by “Life-cycle considerations and green construction technology” and “Executive management's commitments and requirements.” Efforts or initiatives undertaken by the community and the government on green procurement, such as competitions/awards, incentive schemes, and executives' green procurement commitments and requirements, are considered important in the green procurement process. The experts interviewed indicated that the government should take a proactive role in pushing green procurement adoption. Advanced construction IT (e.g., BIM) should be employed to stimulate the construction process to incorporate a green design approach and reduce waste. In addition, the establishment of a fully functioning green material market would help to promote the concept of green procurement and gradually lower material costs. Active engagement of suppliers to provide the performance details of construction materials is also necessary.

Prioritization of Components of the System of Communications and Coordination Using the People Capability Maturity Model, Case Study: Ghom General Office of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs

Now a day many organizations endeavor in evolution of their processes to gain more maturation. A high percent of these organizations have selected maturity models to be able to design a map of a trajectory that prepares and makes them fertile for institutional maturity. The purpose of using this model in the organization is continuous development of people skillfulness. In this research, in addition to introducing people capability maturity model, we will prioritize components of the system of communications and coordination of the general office of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affair in the province of Ghom using this model. This research was descriptive-survey study in kind and instrument of data collection was researcher formulated questionnaire with 21 items. After confirmation of validity and reliability of the research data using SPSS 18 software, results show that the components of system of communications and coordination of the general office of Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affair in Ghom province based on the model of people capability maturity and the Friedman test are in order of priority: executive commitments, executive ability, executive activities, confirmation of implementation and evaluation. It should also be noted that the situation of the components of evaluation and executive confirmation with attention to the mean obtained is not at a desired level and there is need for implementation and institutionalization efforts for establishment of a system of communications and coordination in these sections of the mentioned organization. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s2p71

LBJ’s Neglected Legacy: How Lyndon Johnson Reshaped Domestic Policy and Government ed. by Robert H. Wilson, Norman J. Glickman, and Laurence E. Lynn

LBJ's Neglected Legacy: How Lyndon Johnson Reshaped Domestic Policy and Government. Edited by Robert H. Wilson, Norman J. Glickman, and Laurence E. Lynn Jr. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. Pp. xii, 481. Paper, $29.95, ISBN 978-1-4773-0253-8; cloth, $85.00, ISBN 978-14773-0054-1.) This volume collects thirteen articles from social scientists, policy academics, and historians examining Great Society civil rights, education, social welfare, and urban policy and the mechanics of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration's budgeting and evaluation practices. The chapters are bookended by introductory and concluding essays from editors Robert H. Wilson, Norman J. Glickman, and Laurence E. Lynn Jr., who aim to redirect attention to the impacts of Johnson administration domestic policy, which, contributor Robert Dallek argues, have been overshadowed by sour memories of the war in Vietnam. While there has been no dearth of attention to Great Society critique in the years since Johnson left office (and the pile of books has only grown during the current cycle of fiftieth anniversaries), here the editors promise a specific, potentially fertile inquiry. Moving beyond evaluation of the programmatic successes and shortcomings of Johnson-era initiatives, they undertake to consider the extent to which governance frameworks created during the Johnson years have shaped subsequent national domestic policy choices. In this worthwhile effort, LBJ's Neglected Legacy: How Lyndon Johnson Reshaped Domestic Policy and Government falls short. Much of each chapter is taken up in reviewing policy approaches before the Johnson administration and in rehearsing the particulars of Great Society policy breakthroughs--all well-trodden ground. Contributors consider factors in Great Society programs' initial success and performance over the longer term, but insufficient attention is paid to the promised inquiry. Did Johnson succeed in making lasting changes in the methods of national policy making and, if so, what have been the consequences for subsequent policy changes? The essays do offer some insights into the factors behind the contemporary successes of some Great Society initiatives. Two chapters from Gary Orfield, on civil rights and education policy, suggest that an important factor in success was the Johnson administration's willingness and ability to offer holistic solutions to complex social problems--to hit the problem of the underprivileged with civil rights and education and antipoverty programming. Jorge Chapa's essay on voting rights highlights the importance of energetic executive commitment to the goal and to aggressive enforcement through the initial willingness of the Justice Department to back the promise of the Voting Rights Act with litigation. A lucid chapter from Elizabeth Rose suggests the importance of grassroots investment in the Head Start program, a savvy political choice made by the Office of Economic Opportunity to ensure the program's longevity. Glickman and Wilson's chapter on Johnson-era urban policy is a reminder of the importance of the administration's willingness to simply spend money on and create new government agencies (including the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1965 and the Department of Transportation in 1966) around a policy goal. The collection also provides useful reflections on factors influencing the extent of the impact of Great Society policies since the end of the Johnson presidency. Succeeding chief executives' inclination to pay attention to a policy area looms large. …

Recruitment and retention of health professionals across Europe: A literature review and multiple case study research

Many European countries are faced with health workforce shortages and the need to develop effective recruitment and retention (R&R) strategies. Yet comparative studies on R&R in Europe are scarce. This paper provides an overview of the measures in place to improve the R&R of health professionals across Europe and offers further insight into the evidence base for R&R; the interaction between policy and organisational levels in driving R&R outcomes; the facilitators and barriers throughout these process; and good practices in the R&R of health professionals across Europe. The study adopted a multi-method approach combining an extensive literature review and multiple-case study research. 64 publications were included in the review and 34 R&R interventions from 20 European countries were included in the multiple-case study. We found a consistent lack of evidence about the effectiveness of R&R interventions. Most interventions are not explicitly part of a coherent package of measures but they tend to involve multiple actors from policy and organisational levels, sometimes in complex configurations. A list of good practices for R&R interventions was identified, including context-sensitivity when implementing and transferring interventions to different organisations and countries. While single R&R interventions on their own have little impact, bundles of interventions are more effective. Interventions backed by political and executive commitment benefit from a strong support base and involvement of relevant stakeholders.

Systemic Analyzing the Current Challenges in the Field of Public Health and Safety in Urban Construction- Case Study Mazandaran Province

Accidents that occur during operation of building constructions are bitter and tragic incidents that kill and injure many individuals and cause considerable property damage and other consequences associated. Thus, the study of the causes of these accidents in order to adopt the necessary measures to prevent them is inevitable. In this research, study and analysis of accidents on building sites in different cities of West Mazandaran, was written based on the systemic vision, for the first time, to determine the causes of accidents at construction sites, indirect factors considered with an expert view and eventually classified into several subjects .In studying the Factors influencing the accident in the system vision, a range of factors ignored in the ordinary look, to be determined. Also, in this study, the issue has not been raised in the context of safety, and world`s new look, the health, safety and the environment (HSE) has been considered. Regarding the type of research conducted, the achieved results and solutions can be effective and useful in improving the health, safety and environmental protection in the construction sector, and involving the use of standard materials, strengthening the bonds of executive and management commitment to strengthen and increase the number of skilled workers and establish a comprehensive system construction as a single system in the country, according to the study seems necessary.

Impact of executive citizenship and organizational commitment on corporate social responsibility

Purpose – This Malaysian study aims to use upper echelons theory and social identity theory variables to determine the chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics and attitudes associated with economic corporate social responsibility (CSR), legal-ethical CSR and discretionary CSR in Malaysian firms. The authors hypothesize that CSR engagements in the form of altruistic behaviour, with executives being part of the upper echelon, would tend to be expressing their values at individual level through the firm if they are affectively committed to their company. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 151 Malaysian firms that took part in an annual CEO survey in 2010, the study measures executive citizenship as CEOs’ having critical attitude towards public issues such as public transportation, public education and crime. Hierarchical regression analyses are used to associate the CEO attitudes with the firms CSR. Findings – The authors find that executive citizenship attitude is significant and positively related to firm’s legal–ethical CSR. The authors also find that executive organizational commitment has a significant positive impact on dimensions of CSR. Additionally, the executive tenure impacts the level of philanthropic CSR of the firm. Originality/value – In Malaysia, firms have a strong incentive to engage in CSR to enhance their reputation and legitimacy because of the government’s influence on commercial activities. Our study is the first to examine how this notion of legitimization efforts at the individual level affects firms CSR activities.

Lessons learnt from applying action research to support strategy formation processes in long-term care networks

This study demonstrates how action research (AR) that is aimed at scaling-up experiments can be applied to support a strategy formation process (SFP) in a subsidized long-term care network. Previous research has developed numerous AR frameworks to support experiments in various domains, but has failed to explain how to apply AR and action learning (AL) on the strategic level of organizational networks. Given this situation, we used a generic AR framework to explore its usefulness in supporting SFPs. The framework consists of four steps: (1) identifying the problem situation, (2) planning a solution, (3) taking action, and (4) reflecting on the action. The results show that utilizing AL in AR helps actors to reflect on and understand the challenges in forming a joint strategy in a network. We demonstrate that it can help to visualize the process and to create a common ground for discussion, to create a shared vision as well as commitment to scaling-up experiments. These insights should be used in future SFPs in networks. However, the results also show that the key barrier, the lack of executive commitment, was only identified at a late stage. This paper constitutes a first step toward a more sophisticated AR framework for strategy research. The mistakes highlighted here should help others avoid them in the future.

Antecedents of Quality Information Sharing in the FMCG Industry

Information sharing in a retail supply chain presents challenges of mapping information flow in terms of collection and transfer capabilities from one point to other internal and external users. Efficient mapping information flow seems to be dependent on information availability, velocity and the level of volatility. This would strengthen partnerships between the upstream and downstream sites of a supply chain in terms of information capturing, transformation and exchange between both internal and external supply chain users. This study examines the relative magnitude of advance economic information sharing in optimizing integrated supply chain activities in the consumer goods industry. It further analyses the challenges of bullwhip effect from the perspective of electronically-enabled supply chain management (eSCM) systems and information sharing in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The study finds that information sharing is related to supply chain performance targets in the FMCG industry in terms of a higher order fulfillment rate and achieving shorter order cycle time through integrated e-SCM systems. The managerial implications of this study are that integrated IT infrastructure capability and top management support (in terms of visible involvement, commitment and participation of executives and the allocation of the necessary resources) are significant antecedents of the quality of shared information.

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock: Valuing patient’s time by creating a collaborative of health-care providers and crossing traditional boundaries

Introduction: A persons time is their most precious commodity – no matter your age, your cultural or socioeconomic background we all have the same amount of time in each day and it’s never enough to do all we want. When unwell, our health systems, processes and decision making do not afford the coordination to minimise time wasted resulting in patients waiting for appointments and results, having time away from work and in some instances early entry into supportive care. The Southern Adelaide Health Alliance (SAHA) has facilitated collaboration between over twentyfive local health provider and consumer organisations that have made a commitment to implementing initiatives that will give back 500,000 healthy hours to the Southern Adelaide community by 2017. Commencing in December 2013, SAHA has already given back almost 50,000 hours through its first round of six projects. Background: Southern metropolitan Adelaide has 400,000 residents, 100 GP Practices, 77 aged care facilities, three public and two private hospitals, over 300 private providers and two Aboriginal Health practices. The growing pressure within the hospital system to reduce activity and promote hospital avoidance created a catalyst for conversations outside the hospital walls in an effort to better integrate care. Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SAFKI Medicare Local, SA Ambulance and the Health Consumers Alliance SA invited other interested providers to join them in sharing information and resources to develop projects focused on optimising access to care in the most appropriate settings through planned care pathways and responsive efficient service delivery. World Congress on Integrated Care 2014, Sydney, November 23-26, 2014. International Journal of Integrated Care – Volume 14, 8 December – URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-116593– http://www.ijic.org/ Challenge: To bring together disconnected, siloed providers with disparate funding models to improve patient’s experience and outcomes and increase service efficiency. Method: Three target areas were identified and task force groups created Specialist and Outpatient Care, Emergency and Ambulatory Care and Community Interface. First round of projects used 100 day methodology to encourage early outcomes. Second round had an EOI process and projects launched in August 2014. Selection is based on a set of key criteria that included giving back time to the community. Three of the core organisations committed staffing resources to delivering outcomes although a majority of project deliverables were achieved by integration of projects into day-to-day operation. Highlights and opportunities: Six initial projects (www.saha.org.au/projects) have provided encouraging results supporting the hypothesis that local, ground level change to integrate care will be effective if willingness for collaboration is present. The SAHA model and governance structure is well positioned to be transferred to other regions across Australia. SAHA already demonstrated its potential for long term Sustainability through the volume of EOI from community and organisational commitment. Conclusion: SAHA has already has created a vehicle to harness a momentum to create change from a local level. It has proven that in an environment of service and fiscal pressures there are still opportunities to improve the health outcomes and efficiency of services by integrating care. Strong leadership and executive commitment to change the way we do business as well as a skilled and willing workforce to operationalise initiative and ideas has supported the case for integrated care.

E-readiness of website acceptance and implementation in SMEs

This study aims to make a deep exploration into e-readiness from the viewpoints of technology, management, organization, and environment in order to understand how these dimensions affect the acceptance intention and degree of implementation of a corporate website. A mail survey was conducted. A total of 753 questionnaires were distributed and collected from SMEs’ senior executives, generating 163 usable replies with a total response rate of 21.65%. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique and partial least squares (PLS) software were used to conduct a path analysis for related variables in the research model. Results of the data analysis show that (1) the variables that have a significant positive effect on the intention to accept a corporate website in SMEs are an awareness of corporate website, enterprise resources, technological resources, government e-readiness, market force e-readiness, and supporting industries e-readiness and (2) the variables that have a significant effect on the degree of corporate website implementation in SMEs are an awareness of corporate website, senior executive commitment, corporate website governance, human resources, technological resources, government e-readiness, and market force e-readiness. Through the empirical results, this study provides contributions for SME managers and researchers.

The Moderating Effect of Board Diversity on the Relationship between Executive Committee Characteristics and Firm Performance in Oman: Empirical Study

This study focuses to achieve an important objective by examining the moderating effect of board diversity (foreign member on the executive committee and executive committee commitment) on the relationship between executive committee characteristics and firm performance in Omani companies excluding those categorized under the financial sector. The sampling covers two years, 2011 and 2012. This study used multiple regression and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze the association between independent, moderating and dependent variables. Based on the findings, a positive association between executive committee independence, executive committee meeting and firm performance is revealed although it is not significant. In the same context, the finding revealed a negative relationship between executive committee size and firm performance but not significant. Moreover, the board diversity moderated the relationship between executive committee characteristics and firm performance but the effect is not significant. Finally, this study offers recommendations for future researchers at the end.

The hard side of change management

Everyone agrees that managing change is tough, but few can agree on how to do it. Most experts are obsessed with "soft" issues, such as culture and motivation, but, say the authors, focusing on these issues alone won't bring about change. Companies also need to consider the hard factors-like the time it takes to complete a change initiative, the number of people required to execute it, and so forth. When the authors studied change initiatives at 225 companies, they found a consistent correlation between the outcomes of change programs (success versus failure) and four hard factors, which they called DICE: project duration, particularly the time between project reviews; integrity of performance, or the capabilities of project teams; the level of commitment of senior executives and staff; and the additional effort required of employees directly affected by the change. The DICE framework is a simple formula for calculating how well a company is implementing, or will be able to implement, its change initiatives. The framework comprises a set of simple questions that help executives score their projects on each of the four factors; the lower the score, the more likely the project will succeed. Companies can use DICE assessments to force conversations a bout projects, to gauge whether projects are on track or in trouble, and to manage project portfolios. The authors have used these four factors to predict the outcomes and guide the execution of more than 1,000 change management programs worldwide. Not only has the correlation held, but no other factors (or combination of factors) have predicted outcomes as successfully.

Under Cover of Westminster: Enabling and Disabling a Public Service Commission in New South Wales

Under Cover of Westminster: Enabling and Disabling a Public Service Commission in New South Wales

Using Benchmark Principles as a Formative Evaluation Strategy to Build a Leadership Development Culture in the Australian Rail Industry

Australian organisations are concerned about the global shortage of leadership talent and the increasing mobility of leaders. At the same time, studies are raising awareness among executives of the need to develop a cohort of leaders for the future. The rail industry is one sector that has been deliberating on how leadership capability can be enhanced by putting aside organisational and/or state differences in favour of a national, harmonised approach to nurture leadership development. At a time when Australian leadership talent is in short supply, this article draws on findings from research involving six major rail organisations working in partnership with universities within an Australian Government Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). The article finds that leadership development programs within the industry are infrequent, undervalued and under-resourced. It highlights the critical importance of gaining executive commitment, and develops a formative evaluation tool of 10 principles and evaluation criteria forming observable, measurable and evidence-based standards that can be appraised at the start of leadership development initiatives and programs and monitored as they unfold. The article illustrates how engaging executives in a ‘formative evaluation’ process before embarking on leadership development initiatives has the potential to promote successful and sustainable programs.

Identifying the critical success factors for relationship management in PPP projects

The longer the contract period, the higher the chance that major changes will arise. Thus a greater reliance on the established relationships is needed to maintain the contractual bond in PPP project. Relationship management (RM) can therefore be expected to be even more valuable in the PPP context. This paper aims to investigate current perceptions and experiences of RM in PPP projects and more importantly, to identify the CSFs for RM in PPP projects. By means of an empirical questionnaire survey geared towards PPP practitioners with direct hands-on experience, the opinions were solicited, analyzed and compared in relation to potential PPP RM success factors. The survey findings indicate that industry practitioners currently lack a general understanding of concepts and applications of RM, given that it is relatively new in PPP. However, they do think that RM is very important to improve the present performance of PPPs. Future PPP business opportunities can also be increased by effective RM. The top four CSFs for RM are found to be commitment of senior executives, defining the objectives, integration of the different divisions and a multidisciplinary team. However, the relative importance presently assigned for each of the above factors is insufficient, and commitment from senior management is perceived as the most difficult factor to improve.