Organizations In Denmark Research Articles

Bringing about change in patient‐centred preventive care

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how healthcare organizations in Denmark transform modern ideas of patient‐centred preventive care into organizational practice. Specific attention is given to the influence of existing organizational practices.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative multiple case study design is used to explore “motivational interviewing”, a health behaviour concept that was introduced in preventive consultations in ten Danish clinics. From an institutional perspective, the concept may be understood as an “organizational recipe” that translates into organizational activities. Data are generated by observations, interviews and document reviews. Theory and data provide the framework for an analytical phase model.FindingsThe paper reveals how abstract ideas on preventive care translate into specific activities in organizations following pre‐existing, general rules of medical practice. Disparities between clinics are related to distinctive local practices, such as clinics' conditions and preventive treatment practices that form local sets of editing rules. Differences in clinic performances result in variations in achieving the ideal of patient‐centred, preventive care prescribed by motivational interviewing.Research limitations/implicationsIt is acknowledged in medical practice that there are different conceptions of the ideal of preventive care. The paper points to the value of promoting transparency in clinical practice and of paying attention to the mismatch between external expectations and organizational capabilities.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the understanding of organizational dynamics at the micro‐level.

Impact of relational norms, supplier development and trust on supplier performance

Supplier relationship management and supplier development initiatives assume a fundamental role in enterprise supply chain management. An important aspect of effective supplier relationship management is the role of trust. This paper seeks to understand whether supplier relationship management or supplier development initiative should be emphasized as a firm strives to achieve superior supplier performance. The analysis and discussion draws upon sourcing strategy literature and is based on empirical survey-data of mid to upper level managers with responsibility for supply management initiatives in their respective organizations in Denmark and in the USA. It examines the interrelationships among “relational norms”, “trust”, “supplier development initiatives” and ensuing “supplier performance”. The data analysis shows that firms must emphasize relation and trust building activities before investing in supplier development initiative. Supplier perception audits must be routinely performed to gauge the level of trust and strength of relational norms.

Organizing homeless people: Exploring the emergence of a user organization in Denmark

People who are homeless belong to some of the most vulnerable, dispersed and disorganized groups in welfare societies. Yet in 2001, a national interest organization of homeless people was formed for the first time in Denmark. This article identifies the processes that facilitated the formation of the organization. It focuses on the importance of ideological and institutional conditions and changes, and it stresses the importance of alliances between progressive actors in the field and in the political-administrative system, in addition to the presence of dedicated activists among people who are or have been homeless. The analysis may thus serve as a case of inspiration for activists and professionals who want to improve homeless people's opportunities for participation in other national settings.

Connectedness among five European sport horse populations

This paper is one in a series of studies treating the prerequisites for international use of nationally estimated breeding values (EBVs) of sport horse stallions. One prerequisite for effective use of national EBVs across countries (populations) is genetic connectedness among concerned populations. Thus, genetic connectedness between five sport horse populations from breeding organizations in Denmark (DWB), the Netherlands (KWPN), Sweden (SWB) and from the two German breeding organizations Hanover (Han) and Holstein (Holst) was studied. The number of stallions in common (NSC), genetic similarity (GS), variance of the differences between estimated country effects (CEV) in two organizations and correlation between estimates of country effects (CEC) were used as measures of the genetic connectedness between organizations. Stallions with progeny tested in performance tests for young horses in at least one of the five organizations were used. The material included 2457 stallions, born between 1952 and 1997, for which 49 446 progeny had been tested in the five breeding organizations. The numbers of stallions with offspring that had been tested in two, three, four and five of the participating organizations were 218, 58, 25 and 5, respectively. The material was arranged into groups according to birth-year of the stallion. Values for NSC, GS, CEV and CEC were calculated for each group to investigate whether there was any difference or trend in genetic connectedness over time. The same measures were also calculated for the whole data-set, considering all available information on pedigrees and progeny. Genetic connectedness was found between all participating organizations in all groups and grew stronger over time. The results were on a similar level to or better than comparable results for Icelandic horses and dairy cattle; they suggest that estimation of genetic correlations between similar traits tested in different organizations is feasible.

Limits and Opportunities for Autonomous User Organisations in Denmark and Sweden

The Nordic welfare states generally support and facilitate the formation of civil society organisations and they provide relatively good opportunities for participation and interest mediation. The Nordic welfare states are also recognised for their efforts to limit social inequality and for seeking to provide acceptable living conditions even for the most vulnerable and excluded groups. This article focuses on the opportunities for the participation for drug users, which is one of the most marginalised groups in society. Taking the cases of Denmark and Sweden, it explores the extent to which it has been possible for people who currently use drugs to organise and gain recognition as legitimate spokesmen for drug users – even when they favour strategies that are not part of the official welfare state policy. The article shows that opportunities for the autonomous organisation of drug users have been better in Denmark than in Sweden. It argues that this can be explained by different approaches to addiction and state intervention. The article thus highlights some ideological differences between the two Nordic welfare states. The article also argues that drug policies in the Nordic countries appear to be converging.

Comparative assessment of study groups of elderly female computer users from four European countries: questionnaires used in the NEW study

There is a lack of consistent and comprehensive questionnaire forms for the studies of factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders at the European level. One of the results of the EU-funded project, neuromuscular assessment in the elderly worker (NEW), is a set of questionnaires for the screening of musculoskeletal status and the studies of factors that are believed to affect musculoskeletal health. The questionnaires have been used among elderly women (45+) in different occupations and organisations in Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The aim of this short communication is to present the questionnaires used in the NEW study and to evaluate the appropriateness of pooling data gathered in each participating country into a common database. It is concluded that although differences exist among the study samples, these are not of such a magnitude or pattern that data from the four groups cannot be pooled. The questionnaires are available in Danish, Dutch, English, German and Swedish.

Visions in Agriculture

AbstractBased on theories of social movements, this article is an analysis of the visions of the Presidium of the Danish Agricultural Council, the umbrella organisation for farmers' organisations in Denmark. The research is inspired by Alain Touraine's interventionist sociology. The research shows that the presidium was strongly committed to a productivist worldview, i.e. that the objective is to increase production, lower production costs and get as high prices as possible. The co‐operative history of Danish farming still played a role for the Presidium's worldview. They cherished the democratic procedures and institutions, but when there was an international merge the presidium did not wish to expand the privileges of membership to farmers in other countries. For Danish farmers the Presidium felt that the co‐operative way of organising was superior both democratically and economically. The analysis of the Presidium's narratives showed that it can clearly state a problematic situation ‐ the financial situation of the farmers ‐ but because it cannot attribute this injustice to specific groups it is unable to create a strong narrative about the opponents and hence about how the unfair situation might be improved.

Private versus public sector excellence

This paper analyses the differences between private and public sector organisations in Denmark in relation to the penetration of holistic management models, how companies achieve excellent results and the empirical weight structure of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model. The results show that the penetration of holistic management models is greater among public organisations. Furthermore private and public organisations do not achieve excellent results in the same way. Private companies put higher emphasis on the systems dimension whereas public organisations put higher emphasis on the people dimension. In relation to the empirical weight structure of the EFQM excellence model two significant differences were found. Private companies put higher emphasis on the criteria “leadership” and “policy and strategy” than public organisations.

Risks of Future Drugs: A Danish Expert Delphi

This study adopts the prospective perspective in an attempt to explore and define the risks of future drugs. The use of the Delphi method in this study is substantiated by its psychological, financial, and (in the case of the pharmaceutical field) relevant advantages. This study is one of the first Delphi studies to fully utilize Internet (also referred to as the worldwide web [www]) html technology to collect and process data. The two rounds of questionnaires seek both qualitative and quantitative data through Likert-scale questions with mandatory open-ended questions for argumentation. Thirty (round 1) and 22 (round 2) top-level experts drawn from all of the pharmaceutical research and development organizations in Denmark participated. This study concludes that risks of future drugs expand and develop beyond our existing assessment and perception mechanisms. They have the ability to transform side effects from the traditional individual physical level to a societal level with economic, political, and ethical consequences. The study identifies several serious bottlenecks in drug discovery and development in the future; paradigm conflicts and, more important, the assessment of risks associated with future drugs need new and alternative methods and assessment procedures. This is essential in order to capture and cope with the unseen and new side effects that the emergence of the “informational paradigm” within the field of drugs will undoubtedly bring about.

Local Parties in Political and Organizational Perspective

Theoretical Orientation And Empirical Observations The Local Party as an Object of Interdisciplinary Comparative Study: Some Steps Toward Theoretical Integration (Hans Geser) Local Parties in Comparative Perspective (Peter John and Martin Saiz) Local Political Parties In Local And National Context Civic Parties in Canada: Their Diversity and Evolution (Pierre Filion) Local Parties in England: Development and Change 19731994 (Colin Rollings and Michael Thrasher) Local Parties in the German Countryside (Herbert Schneider) Local Parties and Electioneering in Germany: Local Political Messages in an Era of Nationalized Political Communication (Susan E. Scarrow) Do Political Parties Matter in U.S. Cities? (Martin Saiz) Forms of Patronage and Political Parties in the Italian City (Annick Magnier) Local Parties in Switzerland: An Active Pillar of the Swiss Political System (Andreas Ladner) Local Party Organizations in Denmark: Crisis or Adaptation? (Roger Buch Jensen) The Local Party System in Poland (Zbigniew Zychowicz) From Communist Predominance to Multi-party System: The Change in the Local Party System in Russia, 1986-1995 (Sabine Kropp) Conclusion Political Parties in National and Local Context (Martin Saiz)

Density Dependence and Spatial Duality in Organizational Founding Rates: Danish Commercial Banks, 1846-1989

This paper examines founding rates of commercial banking organizations in Denmark between 1846 and 1989 with two main analytical objectives. The first is to provide an empirical test of the claim that density-dependent legitimation operates more broadly than density-dependent competition in the context of processes of organizational founding. The second objective strictly connected to the first is to learn more about the implications of using alternative analytical strategies to capture the effects of legitimation on organizational founding rates in the context of a specific empirical study. Predictions of the standard model of density dependence in organizational founding rates are found to be strongly supported at more aggregate levels of analysis. Because founding rates of banks located in Copenhagen are negatively affected by national density, only partial support is found for the multilevel density-dependence model. Finally, the paper documents the effects of asymmetric patterns of community-like interdependence between organizational sub-populations defined on a spatial basis. The results of the study help to clarify selected aspects of the problematic relationship between density and legitimation across different levels of analysis.

Public Organizations, Multiple Constituencies, And Governance

Public organizations vary considerably. Yet little attention has been paid to the systematic analysis of this diversity. Drawing on case studies of four public organizations and a survey on all central government organizations in Denmark, variations in tasks, environments, constituencies, and central governance are conceptualized. Public organization tasks can be analysed at three levels ranging from user‐oriented outputs, general outputs which can further be divided into policy goals, scope of profile, standard setting and capital accumulation, to the normative base of the public sector. Public organizations vary with regard to the emphasis put on level of output and on how the different aspects of the tasks are interrelated. Variations in constituencies and exchange cycles with the environment are further related to different task profiles. Finally it is shown that central oversight organizations compete with other actors in the public organizations’ environment in the governance of public organizations. From an organizational point of view ‘the state’ appears to have a humble and remote position.

The Environmental Commitment of Consumer Organizations in Denmark, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Belgium

Consumer organizations have traditionally been concerned with protecting, informing, and educating the "weak" consumers. These policies were deemed necessary because of the unequal power balance and conflicts of interests between consumers and producers. Since there are also conflicts between the interests of nature on the one hand, and consumers and producers on the other, this article discusses the rationale of consumer organizations' involvement in environmental issues while considering their original objectives. More specifically, it is aimed at identifying the commitment of several European consumer organizations with respect to environmental issues during the past two decades in order to assess whether and how environmental issues are internalized in consumer policy across time.

Quality evaluations in the management of basic and applied research

This paper studies the uses and impacts of evaluations performed by Research Councils and equivalent organizations in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. These evaluations are aimed at assessing research quality in basic and applied fields. The evaluated units were research areas, programmes and institutes. The evaluations were carried out by expert groups consisting mainly of non-Nordic scholars. The data for the study were obtained by interviews and written sources. The paper gives a short history of quality evaluations in the Nordic countries and probes into their science policy context and aims. It introduces concepts by which we may analyze uses and impacts, and highlights their meanings by examples. It draws attention to the various audiences of evaluations and to factors that enhance or hinder uses and impacts. It concludes by questioning the cost-effectiveness of evaluations by pointing out some possible negative and long-term impacts.

Body Culture as Paradigm The Danish Sociology of Sport

Danish sports research has historical roots of its own. More particularly; it involves: a preponderance of the natural science approach based on the importance of Swedish gymnastics, the plurality of sport organisations in Denmark, the "nonsynchronicities" of industrial culture and a weighty "popular", democratic tradition of sports. This led in the seventies and eighties, when the sociology of sports began to develop in Denmark, to the crystallization of a special paradigm: body culture as the frame for a critical study of sports. This happened in contrast to the dominant positivistic tendencies in the Swedish and Norwegian sociology of sport. But the critical engagement, too, is open to an integration into "hybrid research", a characteristic phenomenon of Scandinavian bureaucratic welfare corporatism.

Vegetable carbohydrates in human food. Preventive, prophylactic and epidemiological aspects

The composition of carbohydrates from 90 Danish vegetable foods has been determined by agronomist H. Englyst in the Institute of Hygiene, University of Aarhus, Denmark. The analyses are based on Southgate's method, modified and supplemented with gas chromatography (D.A.T. Southgate, G.J. Hudson & H. Englyst ‘The analysis of Dietary Fiber—The Choices for the Analyst’, J. Sci. Fd. Agric 1978). Results have been converted to contents per 100 gram food product (P. Helms & H. Englyst ‘Kulhydratsammensaetningen i vegetabilske fodevarer’, Husholdningsraadets Tekn. Medd. 1978/18; 3 p. 14) and transferred to magnetic cards as data-basis for a COMPUCORPR calculator, which has been used in calculating the food consumption of households. Farmers' organizations in Denmark have made food surveys regularly since 1927, and from their archieves the consumption of vegetable carbohydrates during the years 1927–1977 will be presented. The appended table gives average values from two epochs, one before and one after the world war II. The figures illustrate known facts: that carbohydrate consumption has declined, and that the reduction is most pronounced for fiber-rich natural carbohydrate foods, whole-meal bread and potatoes. The role of carbohydrates, especially the undigestible fractions will be discussed from preventive and prophylactic aspects. Prevention is defined as intervention directed against specified diseases, e.g. constipation. Prophylaxis is used as a designation for measures aimed at an undefinable raising of the general resistance against environmental challenges. Epidemiological experiences will be taken into account, and consequences of possible modifications in processing and comsumption of vegetable carbohydrate foods will be evaluated.

THE ZIG‐ZAG COURSE OF THE NORDEK NEGOTIATIONS

THE ZIG‐ZAG COURSE OF THE NORDEK NEGOTIATIONS

The Student Nurses Organization in Denmark

The Student Nurses Organization in Denmark

The Student Nurses Organization in Denmark

The Student Nurses Organization in Denmark