Line Managers Research Articles

New Avenues for Line Managers’ Agency in the Implementation of HRM Practices

New Avenues for Line Managers’ Agency in the Implementation of HRM Practices

Line Manager HRM Implementation: Linking its Attributions to Employee’s Experience and Behaviors

Line Manager HRM Implementation: Linking its Attributions to Employee’s Experience and Behaviors

Reviewing academic coordination on the rural distributed training platform in South Africa.

Distributed training of students from a variety of health professions is increasing in South Africa because of the type of learning it offers and that it caters for the increasing number of students being accepted into health sciences programs. Challenges and facilitators to distributed training are well documented in the literature, and include increased distance from the academic home, human resources for health challenges, student access to support systems, and identifying learning environments to match learning outcomes. In the case of the Rural Clinical School in the Western Cape, South Africa, 'academic coordinators' were employed on site to fulfil the role of coordinating and supervising student learning and community engagement. This article explores their experiences. A large-scale qualitative study was conducted in 2017 exploring the history and development of the Ukwanda Centre for Rural Health and the Rural Clinical School. Part of this study included semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with consenting academic coordinators exploring their experiences of developing and working on a rural distributed training platform in South Africa. Data were inductively analysed. Ethical approval and institutional permission were obtained for this study, and all participants provided consent. In addition to previously published challenges that clinical supervisors who are employed by the health system face, the academic coordinators reported facing challenges related to professional isolation, boundary blurring between providing student support versus acting as clinical educator, juggling multiple line managers and administrative responsibilities, navigating the new field of academia, and not having the potential for career progression. Reflecting on the needs of academic coordinators expressed in this article, we identified four conditions that may promote sustained and continuous academic coordination at rural or remote distributed training sites. These conditions are (1) living and working local; (2) having a dual role in academia and the health system; (3) having access to academic support; and (4) regular engagement with the academic home, the value of which is detailed in this article. These recommendations can be adopted to optimise and sustain academic engagement on the distributed training platform, especially in light of the current expansion of health professions training and subsequent need to attract and retain clinician-academics in remote locations.

Staphylococcus epidermidis bloodstream infections are a cause of septic shock in intensive care unit patients

ObjectivesStaphylococcus epidermidis (SE) is a supposedly low-virulence agent, which may cause proven bloodstream infections (BSIs), with little-known consequences on intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We aimed at studying ICU patients diagnosed with BSIs caused by SE (SE-BSIs). MethodsWe constituted a retrospective cohort in two medical ICUs. SE-BSIs were defined by two or more independent SE-positive blood cultures of the same strain, within 48 hours, without concurrent infection. ResultsWe included 59 patients; 58% were men (n = 34), with median age of 67 (interquartile range 60-74) years and a simplified acute physiology score II of 59 (36-74) points, and 56% were immunocompromised (n = 33). Among the 37 (63%) patients requiring norepinephrine initiation or increase at the onset of SE-BSI versus patients not requiring vasopressors (37%; n = 22), concomitant arterial lactate levels reached 2.8 (1.9-5.8) versus 1.5 (1.3-2.2) mmol/l (P <0.01), whereas the mean blood pressure was 49 (42-54) versus 61 (56-65) mm Hg (P = 0.01) and the mortality was 46% (n = 17) vs 14% (n = 3) at day 28 (P = 0.01), respectively. Regarding antibiotics, the susceptibility rates toward linezolid and vancomycin were 71% (n = 41/58) and 100% (n = 54/54), respectively. At the time of SE-BSI, all but one patient had a central venous access device. ConclusionThis work highlights SE-BSIs as a cause of septic shock, mostly in immunocompromised ICU patients, with increasing concerns about resistance to antibiotics and central line management.

Gendered agism in the media industry: Disavowal, discrimination and the pushback

This study aimed to understand the experiences of older women media professionals whose age and gender had prompted discriminatory behavior (gendered ageism) towards them by their line managers and/or employers. It draws on the testimonies provided by 24 women media professionals who self-identified as ‘older’ and who were interviewed for the work. All the participants had worked (and some still work) as journalists, presenters, producers or actors, and alongside diverse and routinised micro-aggressions, their experiences included having their contracts summarily terminated or not renewed, being manoeuvred out of front-of-camera roles, seen their career opportunities evaporate when they reached their 40s or even earlier, and been replaced by younger, ‘fresher’ women. However, some participants are fighting back by creating their own media and developing opportunities for other women to thrive.

Construction of a heuristic architecture of a production line management system in the JSW SA Mining Group in the context of output stabilization, quality improvement and the maximization of economic effects

Construction of a heuristic architecture of a production line management system in the JSW SA Mining Group in the context of output stabilization, quality improvement and the maximization of economic effects

Deciphering HR challenges for organizational ambidexterity: a study on energy sector in India

PurposeFrom the lens of organizational ambidexterity, the energy sector companies in India are confronted with numerous human resources (HR) challenges as they explore new avenues in the renewable sector while exploiting non-renewable (conventional) resources. This study aims to decode these challenges and identifies key competencies to address these.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered and analysed using a sequential mixed methodology (qualitative and quantitative) in three phases. In Phase 1, a focused group discussion with eight senior management employees was carried out to identify the HR challenges and competencies required for meeting those challenges. The themes derived from this were used in designing the questionnaire for use in Phase 2 to capture the perceptual differences between HR and Line managers on these challenges. The identified competencies by senior management were prioritized using the analytical hierarchy process in Phase 3.FindingsThe study provides insight into the HR challenges in the pursuit of organizational ambidexterity by energy sector companies in India. Also, key competencies to deal with these challenges have been prescribed.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have identified generic HR challenges in this domain, the present study is unique in decoding the HR challenges as these organizations are simultaneously exploring and exploiting energy sources for achieving excellence in the Indian context.

Determinants of employee psychological ownership and its impact on sustainable manufacturing performance

This study aims to examine the determinants of employee psychological ownership and its effect on sustainable manufacturing performance. The population in this study is employees of a cigarette company in Indonesia. The sample used is 100 respondents, consisting of workers, supervisors, front line managers, and senior managers of a large cigarette company in Indonesia who are involved in initiative programs to achieve sustainable manufacturing performance. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling. Data collection is carried out by distributing questionnaires directly to respondents and conducting focus group discussions (FGDs). The analytical tool used is Partial Least Squares with SmartPLS version 3. The results show that Servant Leadership has a significant effect on Growth Mindset and Capability Building; Growth Mindset and Capability Building have a significant effect on Employee Psychological Ownership; and Employee Psychological Ownership has a significant effect on Sustainable Manufacturing Performance. Therefore, to achieve sustainable manufacturing performance, it is necessary to have a strong employee psychological ownership by forming a mindset to always grow, accompanied by increasing individual capabilities through effective servant leadership.

Decision support system for power cable insulation vulcanization production line management

The paper proposes a structural model of a decision support system for controlling a cable insulation continuous vulcanization line. The proposed decision support system is based on a mathematical model of the cable insulation continuous vulcanization technological process, a database, and a mode correction algorithm. The DSS will make it possible to quickly develop a new regime in case of using new materials or structures, as well as to correct the current regime in case of unplanned changes during the production process. The core of the DSS is the proposed mathematical model, which is based on conservation laws and is presented as a system of differential equations closed by boundary conditions. The vulcanization process is described taking into account the temperature-time dependence of the kinetic parameters, which made it possible to take into account the uneven heating of the cable, both in the radial direction and along the length. The numerical implementation of the differential mathematical model made it possible to carry out a systematic analysis of the nature of the processes in the vulcanization pipe and to evaluate the influence of various technological, structural and material parameters on the cable insulation vulcanization completion degree. As a result of the analysis, significant parameters were identified that significantly affect the vulcanization process completion degree. Based on the obtained numerical results, technological parameters dependence technological surfaces on the geometry of the product and the properties of the materials used were constructed, a regression mathematical model was proposed that allows determining the values of the process control parameters without resorting to the use of a differential mathematical model. Based on the results of the analysis, an algorithm for correcting the technological regime is proposed, taking into account only significant process parameters. The proposed algorithm allows you to adjust the value of the isolation rate, depending on external influences and deviations from the specified parameters. The results of the study can be used in the production of cable and wire products with vulcanizable insulation, when it is necessary to quickly select the optimal technological mode, take into account changes in the cable design, properties of the insulation material, as well as possible pressure deviations inside the vulcanization pipe.

Information and support to patients when the waiting time guarantee cannot be fulfilled: a qualitative study

BackgroundLong waiting times for health care services are a prominent health policy issue. Waiting time guarantees may limit time to assessment and treatment.MethodsThis study aims to investigate the information and support given to patients when the waiting time guarantee cannot be fulfilled from a care provider and administrative management perspective. Semi-structured interviews (N = 28) were conducted with administrative management and care providers (clinic staff and clinic line managers) in specialized clinics in the Stockholm Region, Sweden. Clinics were purposefully sampled for maximum variation in ownership (private, public), complexity of care, geographical location, volume of production, and waiting times. Thematic analysis was applied.ResultsCare providers reported that patients received inconsistent information and support with regard to the waiting time guarantee and that information was not adapted to health literacy or individual patient needs. Contrary to local law, they made some patients responsible for finding a new care provider or arranging a new referral. Furthermore, financial interests affected whether patients were referred to other providers. Administrative management steered care providers’ informing practices at specific time points (upon establishment of a new unit and after six months of operation). A specific regional support function, Region Stockholm’s Care Guarantee Office, helped patients change care providers when long waiting times occurred. However, administrative management perceived that there was no established routine to assist care providers in informing patients.ConclusionsCare providers did not consider patients’ health literacy when informing them about the waiting time guarantee. Administrative management’s attempts to provide information and support to care providers are not producing the results they expect. Soft-law regulations and care contracts seem insufficient, and economic mechanisms undermine care providers’ willingness to inform patients. The described actions are unable to mitigate the inequality in health care that arises from differences in care-seeking behavior.

Do New Policies Influence Practice? A Qualitative Study of Practice and Change in Relation to the New Welsh Child Sexual Exploitation Guidance

Abstract Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a relatively new term within policy and practice. Whilst policy responses have shifted from criminalisation to recognising CSE as child abuse, a review of the 2011 Child Sexual Exploitation Guidance commissioned by the Welsh Government found a growing, yet limited, understanding of CSE in professional contexts. In this article, we explore practitioners’ perceptions of how they work with young people experiencing, or at risk of, CSE and whether they believe the new Welsh CSE Guidance is effectively implemented in their practice. This small-scale qualitative study utilised small group interviews and semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of twelve participants in the initial phase of the guidance release. A thematic analysis of the data demonstrates a lack of professional awareness of the new Welsh CSE guidance, raising questions surrounding implementation efficacy. These findings highlight the complexity of implementation, illustrating a need for manageable caseloads and supportive cultures, which policymakers, senior management and front line managers need to be aware of. Clear and effective implementation strategies that consider these factors, pre- and post-release, are required to improve implementation efficacy in supporting best practice.

Line Managers’ Perspectives and Responses when Employees Burn Out

PurposeLittle is known about whether burnout can be stopped at an emerging stage. To develop this knowledge, we focus on line managers’ perspectives and responses when an employee who seems to be heading for burnout is still at work.MethodsWe interviewed 17 line managers working in the educational and health care sectors, who had been confronted with the sickness absence of at least one employee due to burnout in the past. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically.ResultsDuring the period that the employee seemed to be developing burnout while still at work, line managers experienced three different, successive phases: picking up signals, role-taking, and re-evaluation. Line managers’ personal frame of reference (e.g., having experience with burnout) seemed to influence whether and how they picked up signals of burnout. Line managers not picking up signals, did not take any action. When picking up the signals, the managers however generally took an active role: they started a conversation, changed work tasks, and - at a later stage - adapted the employee’s job description, sometimes without consulting the employee. The managers felt powerless yet learned from the experience when subsequently re-evaluating the period during which employees developed symptoms of burnout. These re-evaluations resulted in an adapted personal frame of reference.ConclusionThis study shows that improving line managers’ frame of reference, e.g., by organizing meetings and/or training, may help them to detect early signals of burnout and take action. This is a first step to prevent the further development of early burnout symptoms.

Towards a context-specific approach to understanding lawyers’ well-being: a synthesis review and future research agenda

Legal sector organisations face mounting pressure to protect and promote lawyers’ well-being. However, knowledge is fragmented, hindering research and practice development. Our review investigated current conceptual understanding and empirical evidence of contextual influences. We systematically mapped the global scholarly and grey literature published since 1970, reviewing 145 relevant publications. Lawyers’ well-being is conceptualised primarily as ill-being, despite well-being’s positive facets. Empirical consideration of work context is mostly absent, though we deduce a focus on large commercial law firm practice and public service/legal aid. Our explanatory synthesis is abductive, coalescing Bourdieu’s concepts of field and habitus with Hobfoll’s conservation of resources theory to explain how context influences lawyers’ well-being via distinct resource losses. We urge theoretical development to elucidate the role of context and theory-driven research on the cumulative effects of resource loss and gain. Recommendations for practice include a renewed focus on job design and line management upskilling.

Establishment and implementation of a nurse-led interdisciplinary management strategy for central line maintenance: A single-center experience

ObjectivesThis study aimed to establish and implement an interdisciplinary management strategy led by senior nurses via a vascular access specialist team (VAST) at a teaching hospital. MethodsIn 2021, the hospital established and implemented a nurse-led VAST management strategy to improve the quality of clinical central line maintenance. The VAST comprised senior nurses specialized in intravenous therapy, ultrasound/radiology technologists, medical doctors with central venous catheterization certificates, central line maintenance nurses, and administrative coordinators. The management strategy mainly included systemic on-the-job training for VAST members, the establishment of an interdisciplinary central line emergency “green channel,” the formation of a VAST-based, nurse-led standardized clinical rounding system, and the standardization of central line self-care instructions for patients. During the pre- (July 2020 to April 2021) and post- (May 2021 to May 2022) of the implementation the interdisciplinary management strategy, overall patients’ self-care ability, the success rate of catheterization at first time, central line management compliance rate, and patients’ satisfaction with catheter maintenance were investigated and compared. ResultsThe results showed the score self-care ability was increased from 74.75 ± 18.4 (pre-VAST) to 99.10 ± 23.65 (post- VAST); the success rate for catheterization at first time was improved to 100% (225/225), compared to 92.9% (209/225) at pre-VAST; the central line management compliance rate was also increased to 99.6% (224/225) at post-VAST from 93.3% (210/225) at pre-VAST. A patient satisfaction survey on catheter maintenance showed improvements in all five indicators were compared to the pre- VAST (P < 0.05). ConclusionsThe nurse-led VAST interdisciplinary strategy can effectively improve the quality of clinical central line management and should be used to reinforce clinical catheterization and maintenance of central lines.

Inventory Risk Decision-Making Techniques Using Customer Behaviour Analysis

More recent research shows the significant impact of accurate demand forecasting on the operation of supply chain system and thus on the performance of the company. Inventories in the production process could represent waste, which results in higher storage costs and consequently a higher product price, which in turn reduces company's competitiveness on the market. Nevertheless, a company must implement a lean production process and consequently carefully control storage and inventory costs. The introduction of a lean production process is closely linked to the risk of stock-outs, and knowledge of this risk in relation to customer habits is therefore a useful piece of information for the line manager's decision-making. This paper will present a mathematical model that relates customer demand for a product to the inventory level in the warehouse or between the work operations of the production process and the risk of potential penalties that arises with the introduction of a lean production process. With this model we can simulate, how to improve the production processes with still acceptable risk, with the goal of achieving a balance between stocks and the leanness of the production process. The paper demonstrates the use of a mathematical model on a concrete example from practice for risk simulation when choosing different production scenarios resulting from changed customer behaviour.

Ethical violations: Shortlisting and interviewing processes in the South African public service

Background: Ethics, integrity and accountability in public service departments have weakened. These departments face ethical violations in recruitment, shortlisting, interviewing and appointment processes despite the presence of human resource management prescripts in place.Aim: This study aimed to probe the level of ethical violations in recruitment, shortlisting and interviewing processes, and describe the challenges faced by human resource practitioners and panel members in South Africa’s public service departments.Setting: Both the national and provincial public service departments of South Africa.Methods: The study adopted the qualitative modernistic research approach. A semi-structured electronic questionnaire was used to gather views from 528 participants, including human resource practitioners and line managers serving as panel members.Results: Ethical violations result in human resource practitioners and panel members being compromised, maltreated, victimised and bullied in the workplace. During recruitment, shortlisting, interviewing and appointment stages, abuses of power, undisclosed conflicts of interest and even patronage by political heads and top-and-middle management are acutely rife. Ethical violations inhibit the human resource functionary from building an ethical, professional and capable public service.Conclusion: Ethical violations during recruitment phases are exacerbated by political heads and top management’s observable disregard of prescripts.Contribution: This study will encourage management to consider human resource practitioners’ role in managing ethical dilemmas and galvanise employees towards maintaining ethics and jointly desisting from unethical practices.

КАДРОВАЯ ПОЛИТИКА КАК ОСНОВНОЙ ИНСТРУМЕНТ РАЗВИТИЯ ПЕРСОНАЛА

This article discusses the principles of personnel policy as the main tool for personnel development. The main tasks of personnel policy are studied. The principles of implementing an eff ective personnel policy in the organization are proposed. The main mechanisms of personnel policy in the fi eld of corporate culture, recruitment and adaptation of personnel, motivation, training, development and evaluation of personnel, information support of the organization’s personnel are described. The authors propose a model of working with personnel based on the division of functions and the organization of interaction between managers and staff services. The necessity of involving middle and line management in personnel management in order to increase the role and responsibility of managers at all levels in personnel management is argued. A system of measures aimed at increasing this involvement is proposed. The elements of an eff ective motivation system are studied in detail. The tasks of the motivation system, training and development system in the context of the profession are presented.

WEB-BASED NAVIGATION AND ATTRACTION INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR TOURISTS IN DUNIA FANTASI AMUSEMENT PARK

&lt;p&gt;Amusement Park is the perfect destination for&lt;br /&gt;all-ages with plenty of attractions for both families and thrill-&lt;br /&gt;seekers. To accommodate the various attractions, the park built&lt;br /&gt;must be huge. Because of those, the tourist may struggle to select&lt;br /&gt;an attraction to ride, waiting hours in a long queue line, and&lt;br /&gt;getting overwhelmed by exploring the enormous park. Every&lt;br /&gt;amusement park all over the world is experiencing this issue,&lt;br /&gt;including Dunia Fantasi. This final project development aim to&lt;br /&gt;build an information system that amusement park tourists, in&lt;br /&gt;this case, Dunia Fantasi, could use while touring the park. The&lt;br /&gt;project presents a tourist information system with a navigation&lt;br /&gt;system and queue line management system to help tourist enjoy&lt;br /&gt;their experience in Dunia Fantasi to the fullest. In addition, the&lt;br /&gt;Dunia Fantasi management will also benefited from better&lt;br /&gt;customer satisfaction. The system will consist of attractions&lt;br /&gt;description, estimated waiting time, Dufan map, the number of&lt;br /&gt;capacity available, and which attraction are available to ride.&lt;/p&gt;

The Relationship Between Assessment Centre Outcomes and Personality Traits

The present study aimed to assess the nomological validity of the Assessment Centre (AC). More specifically, the authors investigated the relationship between theoretically related personality variables and AC ratings in a personnel selection procedure. Previous studies have reported contradictory findings regarding the nomological validity of the Assessment Centre. We identified shortcomings in the previous studies and demonstrated the nomological validity of the AC in a relatively large sample of line manager candidates (N = 314). Our results are in harmony with trait activation theory, and this confirms the nomological validity of Assessment Centres. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

How the human resource (HR) function adds strategic value: A relational perspective of the HR function

AbstractIn the present article, we propose the concept of the HR function's relational activities and examine its influence on the firm's human capital resources (HCRs) and performance. Integrating insights from various streams of research in strategic human resource management (HRM) and strategic human capital, we develop a relational perspective of the HR function and propose the relational activities as the HR function's advisory and informative activities toward its internal stakeholders (i.e., line managers, employees, and senior managers) to help the stakeholders meet their goals and needs. In our framework, we theorize how the HR function's relational activities lead to superior firm performance by enhancing the firm's HCRs and identify the firm's strategic HR systems and human capital losses as factors that complement and necessitate the HR function's relational activities, respectively. Using a five‐wave, nationally representative panel dataset covering 1415 firm observations, we find robust support for our hypotheses: the HR function's relational activities were positively related to HCRs, which was more pronounced when coupled with high levels of strategic HR systems and human capital losses. The HCRs, in turn, transmitted the effects of the relational activities on the firm's subsequent operational and financial performance. Overall, these findings develop strategic HRM theory by contributing a more comprehensive conceptualization of the HR function's role in the strategic HRM process and by revealing its effects on firm performance along with key moderators.