Management Arena Research Articles

Design and Development of a Quality Management Information System

Among all quality strategies, the quality information system (QIS) is the one which finds comparatively little recognition among the quality engineering professionals. The situation is different in the general management arena where management professionals are striving to attain core competence of organizations through the implementation of management information systems (MIS). On realizing this trend and anticipating tremendous benefits, a research project has been started with the objective of developing a QIS compatible to ISO 9001:2000. In this paper, the quality management information system (QMIS) that has been designed by referring to Clause 4 of ISO 9001:2000 has been reported. After designing this QMIS, its development in real-time environment was examined by conducting a study at an ISO 9001:2000 certified high technology-oriented company. Also, a validation study was conducted by gathering the opinions and assessment of the managing partner of the company on QMIS. These studies revealed the feasibility and possibility of implementing QMIS in ISO 9001:2000 certified companies. The details of this work are presented in this paper.

Studying governance within the British public sector and without

In the critical arena of public management and policy debates several schools currently try to make sense of governance structures and processes, although one has so far had the strongest impact in terms of academic and policy influence in particular in the United Kingdom: network governance. Network governance has been associated with Stakeholder Capitalism – as represented for instance by the European (usually German) social-democratic settlement – and as the direct opposite of the New Public Management (as the epitome instead of Shareholder Capitalism). In this essay it will be argued that the alleged novelty of the reforms being currently implemented under the aegis of the ‘modernization’ or (network) governance rhetoric (by the Blair government, for instance) must be questioned, since they are the direct inheritors of the NPM tradition. Through the development of a multiparadigmatic model of ethical and organization theories it will be shown that alternatives to network governance are not only thinkable but also (institutionally) practicable.

What Can Case Managers Do When They are Not the Ones Controlling Health Benefits?

The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members and do not necessarily represent the views of AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the panel. This month's panel members include Norman DePaul Brown, Annette B. Haag, and Christine M. Kalina.

How Can the Disability Management Period Be Used to Address Larger Behavioral and Lifestyle Changes with Employees, and What Strategies Might Case Managers Use to Assist Employees in Improving Their Overall Health and Preventing Disabilities?

The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members and do not necessarily represent the views of AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the panel. This month's panel members include Norman D. Brown, Christine M. Kalina, Annette B. Haag, and Robin Tourigian.

Under What Circumstances Should a Case Manager Seek an Independent Medical Evaluation, and is There a Good Method of Selecting an Examiner for This Purpose?

Case Management Update appears as part of Clinical Rounds in the Journal. The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members and do not necessarily represent the views of the AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the panel. This month's panel members include Norman Brown and Robin Tourigian.

Community decisionmaking participation in development

Generally Western scholars think that active local participation in decisionmaking is a precondition for benefits reaching communities. In developing countries, however, this paradigm is difficult to put into practice owing to various constraints. Based on a study in the Jiuzhaigou Biosphere Reserve of China, it is demonstrated that despite weak participation in decisionmaking processes, the local community can benefit sufficiently from tourism. Thus, to have a say in the management arena is only one of many ways to ensure that local people benefit from ecotourism. Rather, the modes of participation are related to the institutional arrangements and the different stages of tourism development present in a community.

International telecommunications service management

This paper discusses the importance of high-quality telecommunication service management and discusses the standards used in international telecommunications service management. Telecommunication service management and standards are tightly coupled with each other as better standards result in better service management. The major standardisation bodies that are responsible for creating the technical specifications of major telecommunication service management standards are ITU-T, TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). A state-of-the-art survey of the telecommunications service management arena and forecast of the future direction and applications of international telecommunications service management standardisation are described.

What are Some Challenges Related to Return to Work Policies, Procedures, and Processes?

Case Management Update appears as part of Clinical Rounds in the Journal. The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members, and do not necessarily represent the views of the AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the Panel. This month's Panel members include Christine M. Kalina and Annette B. Haag.

Neurosyphilis: A current review

Neurosyphilis continues to be a difficult diagnosis for clinicians. The decision to perform a lumbar puncture, interpretation of cerebrospinal fluid findings, clear diagnostic guidelines, establishment of definitive therapy (including alternatives to penicillins), and approach to the follow-up of patients with neurosyphilis are all areas that pose ongoing challenges to clinicians. Coinfection with HIV has also further complicated the already challenging arena of neurosyphilis presentation, diagnosis, and management. Clinicians must recognize the recent changes in the epidemiology of syphilis and know when to initiate appropriate screening. This article highlights the limitations and controversies related to neurosyphilis diagnosis and treatment, and current recommendations on management of patients with neurosyphilis, including those coinfected with HIV.

How are Community Resources Used in Case Management?

Case Management Update appears as part of Clinical Rounds in the Journal. The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members, and do not necessarily represent the views of the AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the Panel. This month's Panel members include Annette B. Haag, Christine M. Kalina, and Robin Tourigian.

What and where are environmental values? Assessing the impacts of current diversity of use of ‘environmental’ and ‘World Heritage’ values

A serious and escalating problem exists with respect to the status and meaning of ‘environmental values’. The paper considers the current diversity of meanings, understandings, and uses involving environmental value and values, and why current extensions of meaning and use in natural resource and protected area management contexts are not only conceptually and operationally problematic, but are impacting, in a very consequential way, on effective communication, collaboration, and management. The argument is framed and addressed with reference to the simple question of where environmental values reside, and in the form of an ‘impact assessment’ of a changed use and set of referents for environmental values in the natural resource management arena. In making this argument a number of conventional social science and environmental psychological perspectives on value(s) are reviewed, and contrasted with the ubiquitous equating of ‘environmental values’ with actual biophysical attributes, species, and processes which characterizes natural science and natural resource management discourse. This specific ‘environmental value(s)’ language and construct issue is situated with respect to the emergent environmental discourse literature, and language and ‘value’ considerations generally. Specific consideration is given to the intrinsic value debate in environmental ethics, and impacts of this debate and related controversies on representations, understandings and usage of ‘values’ in environmental protection and management. The case of World Heritage legislation and management in Australia is examined and profiled, given the international and cross disciplinary saliency, currency, and public accountability character of ‘value(s)’ considerations in conservation, environmental protection, and protected area management contexts. Research findings exploring the meanings, uses, and understandings of ‘world heritage values’ within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area of North Queensland are reported and discussed, confirming a serious problem and threat to effective protection, impact assessment, and management. The paper concludes that current practice and reference to ‘environmental values’ in the environmental research and management arena is in a chaotic and unsustainable state, that this constitutes a particular challenge for environmental psychology, and that there is a pressing need to better manage this discourse, and research and practice domain.

An examination of the literature relating to issues affecting how companies manage through measures

In the last decade, organizations have devoted enormous time and effort to the development of business performance measurement (BPM) systems. Many articles have been written on how to design and implement these types of systems. However, few studies have addressed the issue of why some organizations are better able to ‘manage through measures’ than others. In other words, why do some organizations struggle to ensure that action follows measurement, whilst others systematically use their metrics to inform their decision-making processes, and their subsequent actions? This paper aims to contribute to a more complete understanding of the use of BPM systems by reviewing the performance measurement literature developed in the management arena. It differs from previous examinations of performance measurement and management control systems in that it uses a broader scope and follows a new method of literature review applied to management research, namely, systematic review. The paper focuses on the thematic analysis of the review only. The insights extracted from the literature are articulated and presented in a management framework. In addition, the paper identifies different gaps in the literature that require further research.

FDRx (Federated Drug Reference) project as change agent

PurposeAt the foundation of FDRx was the drug formulary for UW Medicine published by the Drug Information Center. The DIC pharmacist had contracted with USPDI to receive the full text of its drug information electronically and reformat it into a print, pocket‐sized guide for distribution to clinicians. The goal of the FDRx project was to add to this core and distribute an expanded drug reference as part of a clinical resource.Design/methodology/approachLibrarians at the University of Washington Health Sciences Libraries collaborated with clinicians to create an electronic federated drug knowledge resource, FDRx, to be used at the point of care.FindingsSkills and experiences gained in previous projects, e.g. negotiating the licensure of campus‐wide access to bibliographic databases, project leadership, developing interfaces, instruction in the use of information resources, and IAIMS planning, easily transferred to the development of the FDRx project. The most immediate outcome, FDRx itself, had a short but successful lifespan, meeting the drug information needs of its users.Originality/valueThis partnership set the stage for future developments in the knowledge management arena at the University of Washington and changes in the roles of librarians.

Evaluating city-to-city cooperation: a case study of the Penang and Yokohama experience

Cross border cooperation among local governments has increased in the recent past. This cooperation claims to be an effective tool in enhancing management capacities of participating authorities. However, surprisingly little research and few evaluations of programmes have been undertaken. This paper begins to address these lacunae by examining and evaluating a 9-year technical cooperation and exchange programme between Penang Municipal Council (Malaysia) and Yokohama City (Japan) in the arenas of city planning and management. It outlines the successes and limitations of the cooperation in this instance. For example, the cooperation was successful in that it brought the important concept of pedestrianization and comprehensive urban design planning to inner city area of George Town, Penang, improvements to road maintenance and management, and the implementation of a recycling programme and solid waste data collection activities. At the same time, while the cooperation has had positive impacts for Penang's local government, there has been a relatively marginal role for local citizenry in this cooperation. The paper also highlights key elements that were related to the success of the cooperative effort and argues that city-to-city (C2C) cooperation has potential to support urban development processes. As such, much further work is needed to define the extent to which it can be successfully applied.

Prescribed Fire and Natural Disturbance

The recent coverage of our work on the relationship between fire history and an emerging forest epidemic called sudden oak death highlights landscape-level aspects of disease spread, which are often overlooked (“Fighting sudden oak death with fire?”, J. Withgott, News Focus, 20 Aug., p. [1101][1]). Although we are interested in the possible role of prescribed fire in managing this disease, subsequent reports in the popular press have claimed that we advocate such an approach as treatment. A cautionary note is therefore required at this point. We have not found a direct connection between fire suppression and this disease, and there is reason to suspect that the effects of past wildfires could be very different than those of the typical controlled burn. The decision to use prescribed fire in an ecosystem should be guided by location- and case-specific considerations ([1][2]). As Lindenmayer et al. note in their Policy Forum “Salvage harvesting policies after natural disturbance” (27 Feb., p. [1303][3]), natural disturbances such as fire are integral to the healthy functioning of most ecosystems and are often poorly understood in policy and management arenas. The emphasis here is on “natural” disturbances and the important role they play. Most prescribed burns, however, are attempted during conditions when fire is not likely to escape control (e.g., outside the normal fire season). Burning under these conditions will not necessarily produce the natural range of fire severities and subsequent fire effects that could result from past wildfires. Restoring fire regimes is of great importance, but prescribed fires must ultimately mimic natural events to fulfill their role in disturbance-mediated ecosystems. Prescribed fires that do not attain this goal can have harmful ecological effects, even if successful for goals of fuel reduction and fire reintroduction. Populations of fire-dependent native species can be decimated ([2][4]) if timing or heating requirements for regeneration are not met. Invasive species may also be promoted, which can lead to near-permanent alteration of fire regimes and ecosystem functioning ([3][5]). Whether for ecosystem health in general, or management of forest pathogens in particular, prescribed fire will need to be tailored to the societal goals and ecological requirements of the situation at hand. 1. 1.[↵][6]1. S. Pyne , Science 294, 1005 (2001). [OpenUrl][7][FREE Full Text][8] 2. 2.[↵][9]1. D. Odion, 2. C. Tyler , Conserv. Ecol. 6, 4 (2002). [OpenUrl][10] 3. 3.[↵][11]1. M. Brooks 2. et al. , BioScience 54, 677 (2004). [OpenUrl][12][CrossRef][13][Web of Science][14] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.305.5687.1101 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1093438 [4]: #ref-2 [5]: #ref-3 [6]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1. in text [7]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DPyne%26rft.auinit1%253DS.%2BJ.%26rft.volume%253D294%26rft.issue%253D5544%26rft.spage%253D1005%26rft.epage%253D1006%26rft.atitle%253DESSAYS%2BON%2BSCIENCE%2BAND%2BSOCIETY%253A%2BThe%2BFires%2BThis%2BTime%252C%2Band%2BNext%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.1064989%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F11691972%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [8]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiRlVMTCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjEzOiIyOTQvNTU0NC8xMDA1IjtzOjQ6ImF0b20iO3M6MjU6Ii9zY2kvMzA2LzU3MDIvMTY4MC4yLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ== [9]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2. in text [10]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DConserv.%2BEcol.%26rft.volume%253D6%26rft.spage%253D4%26rft.atitle%253DCONSERV%2BECOL%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [11]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3. in text [12]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBioScience%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1641%252F0006-3568%25282004%2529054%255B0677%253AEOIAPO%255D2.0.CO%253B2%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [13]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0677:EOIAPO]2.0.CO;2&link_type=DOI [14]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000222731700012&link_type=ISI

Getting the most from an independent review organization

Providing high-quality care while keeping health care costs under control is not the responsibility of just one group. It is a collaborative effort involving interorganizational cooperation. In the arena of case management (CM), that effort is shared by the insurance provider, the patient' physician, the case manager, and often by an independent review organization (IRO).

What are Some Effective Chronic Disease Management Strategies that can be Used in Case Management?

Case Management Update appears as part of Clinical Rounds in the Journal. The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members, and do not necessarily represent the views of the AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the Panel. This month's Panel members include Christine M. Kalina, Annette B. Haag, and Robin Tourigian.

Beyond the Black Box: Knowledge Overlaps in Software Outsourcing

The black-box approach - that is, the use of formal project requirements to transfer knowledge about the application problem domain from the client to the vendor organization - has long been the mainstay of outsourced software development. We've studied 209 custom application development projects in 209 global software development organizations. We used the study results to develop detailed guidelines for improving outsourcing practice and a client-vendor knowledge congruence assessment framework. The study's key finding is that effective outsourcing requires knowledge congruence - that is, a good fit in terms of business and technical knowledge across the client-vendor dyad. This uniquely extends the notion of the product/process fit from the manufacturing management arena into the more knowledge-driven domain of software engineering.

Expert judgement elicitation for risk assessments of critical infrastructures

Governmental bodies and companies are confronted with the problem of achieving rational consensus in the face of substantial uncertainties. The subject area of this special issue (risk and vulnerability assessments and management of critical infrastructures) might be a good example as are risk management of chemical installations and accident consequence management for nuclear power plants. Decisions with regard to infrastructures functioning and possible malfunctioning must be taken on the basis of predictions of technical and organizational system behaviour. These predictions use mathematical models containing scores of uncertain parameters. Decision makers want to take, and want to be perceived to take, these decisions in a rational manner. The question is, how can this be accomplished in the face of large uncertainties? One available source is experts in the many fields of interest within infrastructures. This paper describes the use of structured expert judgement in a formal manner. The paper refers to the Procedures Guide published by the European Union as EUR 18820. This Procedures Guide addresses two methods for using expert judgements developed at Delft University of Technology. The paired comparisons method is particularly suitable to identify the relative importance of attributes in the risk management arena, while the Classical Model, apt to arrive at subjective probability assessments, is particularly suitable to derive uncertainty distributions over model parameters. Examples will be referred to for further illustration of applications relevant in the field of risk assessment and risk management.

What are Some of the Challenges in Case Management and how have you Handled Them?

Case Management Update appears as part of Clinical Rounds in the Journal. The panel approach provides a forum for sharing ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives. Panel members come with expertise from a variety of case management arenas and have agreed to share their opinions and perspectives in response to specific questions or scenarios. Opinions and perspectives are those of the panel members, and do not necessarily represent the views of the AAOHN, the Editor, or the Publisher. We encourage readers to submit their questions or scenarios for the Panel. This month's Panel member is Robin Tourigian.