Manpower Studies Research Articles

Women and Specialties

To the Editor.— The article by Dr Allen1addresses an important issue. However, the data analyses as reported in Tables 1 and 3 of the article are based on a fallacy—that all physicians who list themselves in the American Medical Association's Physician Masterfile as practicing a certain specialty become eligible to join the major medical specialty society in that field. In obstetrics and gynecology, as in many other specialties, to be a fellow of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists requires certification by the specialty board and to be a junior fellow requires involvement in a residency program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or maintaining active-candidate board status after residency. Our own manpower studies over the years have identified a minimum of 10% of all obstetrics and gynecology physicians listed in the American Medical Association's Physician Masterfile as failing to meet these criteria.

How Many Physicians Is Enough?

The practical relevance of physician manpower studies relates to the effects of variation in supply on improvements in (1) the availability of services, (2) the outcomes of medical care, including costs and benefits, and (3) the health of the nation. In this issue of<i>JAMA</i>, a frequent contributor to studies on physician supply, William Schwartz, with Daniel Mendelson,¹applies standard economic theory in a secondary analysis of the American Medical Association's data for the years 1982 through 1987. The authors posit that a surplus of physicians is not developing. Their finding contradicts the projections of the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee (GMENAC) made in 1980.²It is questionable, however, that the work of Schwartz and Mendelson provides useful information regarding the adequacy of the physician supply for the 1980s and the 1990s. Schwartz and Mendelson use the American Medical Association's data for 1982 through 1987,³which

The changing role of British senior nurse managers.

JAMES McD BUCHAN, PhD, MA, DPM, is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Manpower Studies, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton in Sussex, England. At the time this article was written, he was Senior Research Officer, Royal College of Nursing

The seven year itch

James Buchan, Research Fellow at the Institute of Manpower Studies, starts a regular column with a look at the achievements of the nurses' pay Review Body six years since its inception

Flexibility: The Trade Union View

The trade union response to flexibility has become more pragmatic as public discussion about the subject has progressed. From initial and outright condemnation of the flexibility model produced by the Institute of Manpower Studies, unions have developed an awareness that some aspects of workforce flexibility may produce positive advantages for their members. The reality of that pragmatism should not be surprising since trade unions have adopted that approach throughout much of their history, but what is interesting in its application in this current sphere is its association with the ways in which trade unions are re‐thinking their relationships with their members and debating plans for their future workplace role. In this paper I seek to explore the nature of these relationships in greater detail, and the tensions inherent within them, as the trade union movement strives to come to terms with what are complex and sometimes disturbing changes in the relevancy of its workplace role.

Managerial Strategies for Flexible Employment: An analysis using cross‐sectional data

Few subjects in the employment field have generated as much controversy as the current debate over the existence of the ‘flexible firm’. The initial ideas put forward by the Institute of Manpower Studies (Atkinson and Meager, 1986) which gained a great deal of attention, have recently been the subject of close scrutiny. (Pollert 1988a, 1988b)

Editorial — Human resources at a premium

Methods used by UK employers to select staff have been called seriously into question by an Institute of Manpower Studies (IMS) report, Employee Selection in the UK (71pp, A4), based on research funded by leading employing organisations under the Institute's Co‐operative Research Programme. It criticises current selection methods as being unscientific, subject to bias and unreliable, and co‐author Stephen Bevan claims:

Duration of Pediatric and Internal Medicine Practice in Oregon

This study was prompted by the perception that there were few pediatricians older than 60 years of age in the state of Oregon who were practicing primary care pediatrics. The hypothesis that there was a high practice attrition rate of primary care pediatricians was suggested by this observation. This could be the result either of early retirement or career change. Data concerning attrition rates in medical specialties are sparse. Manpower studies of the medical profession have described the entry of students into medicine and the entry of young physicians into medical practice but have not offered information regarding the exit from practice or the frequency of career changes.

Graduate supply and demand

Welcoming the initiative of Leverhulme Trust, BP and Shell UK Limited with the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) in funding the new Institute of Manpower Studies research into long‐term graduate supply and demand, Richard Pearson, IMS Deputy Director, said:

RCN Orders recruitment and mobility survey

The Royal College of Nursing has commissioned the Institute of Manpower Studies to carry out an independent survey into the the attitudes of nurses to recruitment, retention and career mobility.

Stalling between fools: contradictions in the structure and processes of YTS

Abstract Three key researches bearing on YTS are analysed: that of the IMS (Institute for Manpower Studies) which provided the training rationale for YTS; an important economic analysis (Chapman & Tooze 1987); and Raffe's long‐term study derived from the SYPS (Scottish Young People's Survey). A series of ‘contradictions’ are examined which are likely to undermine YTS, the most serious being MSC's ambiguous role as a manager of both employment and unemployment. The IMS rationale is defective and ideologically based but has become institutionally entrenched. In practice it proves counterproductive, particularly with regard to the OTF (Occupational Training Families) system. Because of this YTS does not meet real labour market needs; there has been a reversal of the roles of supply and demand. Raffe argues that improving the quality of YTS has no bearing on its success or failure. He stresses the ‘primacy of context’ over content, arguing that unless labour market contexts are changed, YTS cannot succeed. In...

PREPARING FOR THE SCHOOL‐LEAVING SHORTFALL

The employment strategies available to employers to meet the forthcoming school‐leaver challenge are detailed in Employer Response to the Decline in School Leavers into the 1990s, an Institute of Manpower Studies report to NEDO and the Training Commission by Hilary Metcalf. But the worrying question is whether sufficient employers will recognise the challenge in time to implement them. The IMS study was of 20 major organisations with more than one million employees in total. These organisations could be expected to be in the forefront of personnel developments; yet only seven had any idea of the true scale of the projected decline in school‐leavers, and some had no idea at all. Very few had concrete plans for coping with the decline, although most could describe potential strategies to combat the demographic change. The main problem is that these strategies would take time to be effective, and many of the employers intended to wait until shortage became more acute before implementing any new policies.

Portfolio Listings

June 8 London: one day course at the Charing Cross Hotel on Presentation of Manpower Information for personnel and line managers who need to communicate manpower information. Fee £170 plus VAT. Further information from Meg Reed, Training Administration, Institute of Manpower Studies, Mantell Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN 1 9RF. Tel 0273 678181.

Survey highlights 'hidden shortage'.

The NHS is saving more than £166 million a year through not paying nurses for overtime and meal breaks worked according to a survey by the Institute of Manpower Studies.

Vascular surgery in the United States. Report of the Joint Society for Vascular Surgery—International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery Committee on Vascular Surgical Manpower

The Joint Committee on Vascular Surgical Manpower was established in 1985 by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the North American Chapter of the International Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. It was charged to provide recommendations regarding vascular surgical manpower requirements for the next 15 years. Analysis of National Center for Health Statistics vascular operative rate data and 1690 questionnaire responses from vascular surgeons documented that vascular surgeons performed 235,400 (41%) of the total of 571,000 vascular operations undertaken in 1985. Vascular surgeons performed 87% of 30,000 aortoiliofemoral reconstructions, 77% of 72,000 peripheral vessel bypasses, 75% of 33,000 abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs, 59% of 55,000 angioaccess procedures, and 50% of 107,000 carotid endarterectomies. However, lack of accurate data on caseloads of surgeons who were not vascular specialists precludes precise prediction of manpower requirements for vascular surgery. It is important that surgical leaders and policy makers define the types of vascular surgical procedures that may be undertaken by vascular and other surgeons. Ongoing analyses must include such determinations to establish accurate data for the prediction of future manpower needs for vascular surgery. Furthermore, future manpower studies should be linked to outcome studies to assess not only numbers of surgeons and operations but quality of care as well.

Tourism and Leisure Jobs: A Statistical Review

Job creation in tourism and leisure activities has received considerable attention since the publication of the government's Action for Jobs in Tourism. Yet there remains considerable controversy over the scale of job creation and the nature of the jobs supported. This article attempts to cast some light on these issues by drawing on recent research at the Institute of Manpower Studies, on available statistical data, information from in-company case studies and parallel research. The article concludes that recent job growth has largely focused on the hotel and catering sector and has largely but not exclusively stressed part-time work. Future prospects for slow employment growth in this sector look good.

New Technology and Career Progression in Financial Institutions

A recent study by the Institute of Manpower Studies has found that technology has had an influence on career progression within financial institutions resulting in an expansion of the ‘professional’ tier. The clerical tier has changed to become a non-career sector characterised by predominantly a female and often part-time work-force. This has resulted in a diamondshaped employment structure rather than the traditional pyramid.

Information technology and organization design

This report looks at technological impact on organizational design and discusses a study carried out by the Institute of Manpower Studies on organizational design and new technology.

Worker Circulation Between Asia and the Middle East

This paper presents an overview of a massive and relatively long-term system of international labour circulation. The labour markets at both ends of this system are examined and emphasis is placed on the complex manner in which demand factors in the oil-exporting countries of the Middle East intersect with supply factors in the major sending countries of Asia. Geographical economic social and political impacts are considered. (SUMMARY IN FRE) (EXCERPT)

Technicians need new skills

Two recent reports from the Institute of Manpower Studies indicate that the adoption of new technologies in the workplace introduces the need for, but benefits from, retraining of staff, particularly technicians.