Organizational Setup Research Articles

A data-driven decision support tool to improve hospital bed cleaning logistics using discrete event simulation considering operators’ behaviour

Beds are a critical resource for hospitals, requiring effective management to ensure the quality of care for patients. Beds operate in a closed-loop circuit and must be thoroughly cleaned between patients’ arrivals to prevent infections. Hospitals must implement efficient logistics systems to collect, transport, store, and clean unclean beds from discharged patients. These systems must be robust and efficient to meet the varying bed supply needs, given the available resources such as beds, staff and machines. This study aims to develop a decision support tool to optimise bed cleaning logistics and ensure the availability of sterile beds for incoming patients at all times. The study is based on the bed flow and cleaning organisation of a Danish public hospital. A discrete event simulation model (DES) of the back-end bed flow has been developed. The paper also presents a tension level indicator to reflect the behaviour of cleaning staff when facing variations in demand and bed stock. Using the organisational set-up (staff schedules, policies, and bed fleet size), the DES model: (1) evaluates the ability to provide sterile beds in a reasonable time, (2) measures the stress on cleaning staff, and (3) visualises resource usage. This study illustrates how to incorporate the staff’s perceived workload and resulting behaviour into a DES model to capture the behavioural aspect of staff’s decision-making.

Corporate accelerators: design and startup performance

Corporate accelerators (CAs) have emerged as a key component of entrepreneurship ecosystems, offering startups corporate guidance, industry connections, and resources for accelerated venture creation. Although their proliferation is evident, we still know little about the value they produce for startups across different contexts. This study investigates the organizational setup and program design of 15 CAs in Germany using a unique and hand-collected dataset of 223 alumni startups. Our findings reveal a tradeoff: Specialized and integrated programs positively impact startups’ speed to market and growth, while specialization and rising corporate control may hinder follow-up venture capital financing. This research contributes to our understanding of CAs and the startup acceleration process and provides insights for corporate and accelerator managers and startups alike. Startups can use these findings to identify the most suitable CA for their needs. Program managers and designers gain insights into the strategic orientation and organizational setup that positively impact startup acceleration.

Enhancing Financial Sustainability of Urban Water Supply Systems in Bhutan: A case study of Thimphu Thromde (Municipality).

In almost all existing Urban Water Supply systems in Bhutan, one major issue confronting the sustainability aspect is the lack of adequate financial resources thereby failing to achieve the intended level of performances in terms of service delivery. Recognizing the poor financial scenario of the systems at the moment, it is deemed necessary to adopt necessary measures/interventions to help improve the existing financial situation and to ensure the optimum level of operation and maintenance. To further substantiate the findings and assessments, a case study for Thimphu Water supply systems was carried out through a conventional approach to examine specific interventions that are deemed vital to address key issues and challenges. In conclusion, based on overall findings and assessment, recommendations have been proposed that are in principle, implementable across all existing urban water supply systems in Bhutan because of the reasons that all water utilities across the country are managed/operated in the same manner as Thimphu Thromde including the organizational set-up of the existing water supply management, mode of financing, availing donor assistance for capital investments, seeking tariff revisions, system designs, amongst others and such parameters are regulated by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. The adoption of the proposed measures, particularly addressing of the ‘non-revenue water’ and conduct of advocacy measures on water conservation would significantly help the water utilities enhance the financial sustainability of the systems thereby resulting in overall improvement in the delivery of water services to the consumers.

Building a Cardiac Palliative Care Program: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Ten Program Leaders From Across the United States.

Palliative care is guideline-recommended for patients with advanced heart failure (HF). However, studies on how cardiac palliative care is provided in the United States are lacking. To study how cardiac palliative care programs provide services, and to identify challenges and facilitators they encountered in program development. In this qualitative descriptive study, we used purposive and snowball sampling approaches to identify cardiac palliative care program leaders across the United States, administered a survey and conducted semi-structured interviews. Interview transcripts were coded and evaluated using thematic analysis. While cardiac palliative care programs vary in their organizational setup, they all provide comprehensive interdisciplinary palliative care services, ideally across the care continuum. They predominantly serve HF patients who are evaluated for advanced therapies or have complex needs. The challenges which cardiac palliative care programs face include reaching those cardiac patients who need palliative care the most and collaborating with cardiologists who do not see value added from palliative care for their patients. Facilitators of cardiac palliative care program development include building personal relationships with cardiology providers, proactively assessing local institution needs, and tailoring palliative care services to meet patient and provider needs. Cardiac palliative care programs vary in their organizational setup but provide similar services and face similar challenges. The challenges and facilitators we identified can inform the development of future cardiac palliative care programs.

Evaluating the technical, managerial, socio-economic and environmental performance of Kenya’s Ahero irrigation scheme using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) model

A majority of public irrigation schemes worldwide have continuously performed below their potential, and there is a need to investigate key components of irrigation scheme performance and provide study-based recommendations to enhance their optimal productivity. The Ahero Irrigation Scheme in Kenya is one such scheme, and this study is meant to evaluate the scheme’s technical, management, environmental, and socio-economic performance, which are crucial to the overall performance of an irrigation scheme. The technical factor considers the system hydraulics; management considers the maintenance of infrastructure and the organizational set-ups in the scheme to ensure effective service delivery; the environmental factor evaluates scheme operations against adverse environmental impacts; and the socioeconomic factor evaluates income by farmers from the sale of rice and credit access to enhance their farm operations. Models have been applied to evaluate the most significant parameters affecting the performance of schemes and to help plan out which factor is to be addressed first. This study aimed to evaluate the technical, managerial, socioeconomic, and environmental performance of the Ahero Irrigation Scheme in Kenya using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) model. The indicators used under the technical parameter include adequacy, equity, efficiency, and dependability. Questionnaires were used to obtain information on farmer satisfaction with irrigation water delivery amounts and timing and any extra feedback to improve the technical performance of the scheme. For the managerial parameter, the indicators include the effectiveness of infrastructure, land renovation ratio, and training. The number of functional structures was counted, and a ratio of functional to total structures was calculated to determine the effectiveness of infrastructure. The land renovation was calculated as a ratio of the area under irrigation to the total gazetted land of the irrigation scheme. Questionnaires were used to gather feedback on extension services, if any, advanced to farmers. Random sampling was used to select farmers distributed across the scheme, with a confidence level of 95%. For the environmental parameter, the indicators used include the drainage ratio, the river water ratio, and the groundwater ratio. On the technical parameter, the canal’s conveyance efficiency was found to be 60% (fair); adequacy in the upper, mid, and lower streams of the scheme was 0.99 (very good), 0.82 (good), and 0.74 (poor), respectively; equity was 0.57 (poor); the coefficient of variance for dependability for the April-July season was 5.3 (good), while for the reference year 2020, it was 16.23 (poor). The findings for the scheme’s hydraulic performance generally indicated that water distribution and utilization in the scheme were inefficient. Farmers also complained about inconsistencies in water delivery owing to the scheme’s reliance on pumping irrigation water, which is affected whenever there are power outages. On the managerial parameter, the effectiveness of infrastructure was found to be 89%, while the irrigation ratio was established at 62%. It was also noted that training farmers was not done regularly. On the socio-economic parameter, it was noted that credit was given to farmers based on their capacity to pay it back. Notable also was the fact that the income of farmers was poor, which was the result of an unavailable market for harvested rice. On the environmental parameter, the river water ratio was found to be 1, since the irrigation scheme had no other source of water other than river water. Based on the overall AHP analysis, the technical parameter (51%) should be given more priority, followed by the socio-economic parameter (32%), the management parameter (11%), and the environmental parameter (6%).

Review: Practical Heritage Management: Preserving a Tangible Past, by Scott F. Anfinson

Book Review| May 01 2023 Review: Practical Heritage Management: Preserving a Tangible Past, by Scott F. Anfinson Practical Heritage Management: Preserving a Tangible Past by Scott F. Anfinson. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. xxv + 514 pp.; figures, tables, appendices, index; hardback, $162.00; paperback, $76.00; eBook, $72.00. Rob Skalecki Rob Skalecki City of Minneapolis Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The Public Historian (2023) 45 (2): 150–152. https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2023.45.2.150 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Rob Skalecki; Review: Practical Heritage Management: Preserving a Tangible Past, by Scott F. Anfinson. The Public Historian 1 May 2023; 45 (2): 150–152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/tph.2023.45.2.150 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentThe Public Historian Search Anfinson wrote Practical Heritage Management: Preserving a Tangible Past “partly for a selfish reason”—the need for an accessible, comprehensive text without an archaeological focus (xv). Anfinson states the organizational setup of the book is intended to fit into a fifteen-week teaching semester, and the target audience is advanced college and university students taking a course in American heritage management (xvii-xviii). The book is a perhaps best suited for those who expect to gain applicable regulatory knowledge in heritage management prior to searching for careers in historic preservation and/or archeology. The book is divided into fourteen chapters. Chapters end with review questions to test reader comprehension and supplemental reading recommendations. Additionally, the author includes sidebars for each chapter which contain anecdotal notes with personal rhetorical queries added to prompt further discussion. Chapters that cover the backgrounds of legal frameworks and the histories of their implementation follow logical, chronological explanations. From the... You do not currently have access to this content.

Organizational setups and strategies for new healthcare models: integrated practice units

Organizational setups and strategies for new healthcare models: integrated practice units

The development of mental health care in Guangzhou, China

As an upper-middle-income country, China has a vast territory, a large population and substantial variations in the nature of mental health service provision. Guangzhou, one of the five biggest cities in China, is considered as indicative of the current development of mental health services in a more economically developed part of China. In this paper, we first introduce mental health services in Guangzhou and their historical development: from the rising development of mental health care (1949 to the mid-1960s), the stagnant development period of the psychiatric hospitals (1966–1976), the rapid development period of the psychiatric hospitals (1978 to the 1990s), to the integrated development period of community mental health care (2000–2020). This historical trajectory partly reflects the development of mental health services across China. Second, from the public health perspective, we introduce the current mental health care delivery system and resources in Guangzhou, including the psychiatric specialist hospitals, psychiatric units of general hospitals, and community mental health care. Third, based on the current mental health service system, we highlight community mental health care in Guangzhou. We will describe these elements of the mental health system under the following headings: organizational setup, management, and services. We also explore the design of community mental health service models and the challenges in the post-covid-19 era. Finally, we provide considerations and recommendations for mental health service delivery in Guangzhou in the future.

Prolonged length of stay and its associated factors at adult emergency department in amhara region comprehensive specialized hospitals, northwest Ethiopia

BackgroundProlonged length of stay at the emergency department interferes with the main goal of emergency care and results in adverse patient outcomes like nosocomial infection, dissatisfaction, morbidity, and mortality. Despite this, little is known about the length of stay and the factors that influence it in Ethiopia’s emergency department.MethodsAn institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 495 patients admitted at Amhara region comprehensive specialized hospitals emergency department from May 14 to June 15/2022. A systematic random sampling was employed to select study participants. A pretested structured interview-based questionnaire was used to collect data by using Kobo toolbox software. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Bi-variable logistic regression analysis was carried out to select variables with P-value < 0.25. The significance of association was interpreted using an Adjusted Odds Ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Variables with P-value < 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression analysis were inferred to be significantly associated with length of stay.ResultOut of 512 enrolled participants, 495 were participated with a response rate of 96.7%. The prevalence of prolonged length of stay in the adult emergency department was 46.5% (95%CI: 42.1, 51.1). Lack of insurance (AOR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.22, 3.65), non-communicative presentation (AOR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.07, 3.68), delayed consultation (AOR: 9.5; 95% CI: 5.00, 18.03), overcrowding (AOR: 4.98; 95% CI: 2.13, 11.68), and shift change experience (AOR: 3.67; 95% CI: 1.30, 10.37) were significantly associated with prolonged length of stay.ConclusionThe result of this study is found to be high based on Ethiopian target emergency department patient length of stay. Lack of insurance, presentation without communication, delayed consultation, overcrowding, and shift change experience were significant factors for prolonged emergency department length of stay. Therefore, interventions like expansion of organizational setup are needed to decrease the length of stay to an acceptable level.

Mobility services at residence and district level: Experiences from Gothenburg/Sweden

One way to contribute to more sustainable travel patterns is involving real estate actors who assume responsibility for mobility services. This paper presents results of two projects that developed or tested MaaS-like mobility solutions for residential or mixed-use areas in Gothenburg (Sweden): A field trial of a mobility broker in a housing unit in a project called (1) DenCity, and a concept study for a mobility system for multiple real-estate actors within a district in the (2) Gamlestaden concept study. The evaluation of (1) adds insights to end-users’ experiences of MaaS. It also showed that expanding mobility solutions to cover multiple housing and facility providers in a district could remedy some of the shortcomings of MaaS for residential units. This would require a different organizational setup since a natural procurer is missing, an insight the concept study (2) was based on.

Public Administration in the Post-modern Era

Public affairs at the Post-modern Era suffer mainly from two major problems: A continues shortage of investment funds and b. a persisting struggle upon the main social services’ quality. The author relates to these issues by offering better ways and more sophisticated methods for combining Private funds with public demanding customers. In general, the Author suggests to divide all public activities into two categories; Category 1 – includes all Defense, Security, Law and Social services - the Software Group 1. Category 2 – includes all types of public works, Infrastructures, constructions communication lines etc. – the Hardware group 2. Principally, most expenses of Group 1 would be financed by regular budgets and funds. Group 2 costs and expenses would be financed by investment Banks and commercial funds. This schematic partition may provide a serious leverage for further development. In addition, some novel ways for improving collaboration between the public and the private sectors is offered. For improving the quality of the social services, the author suggests to expand the use of vertical modes of operation (projects), rather than the use of the popular horizontal ones (traditional organizational set-ups). A short discussion on project management is therefore included. Additionally, the author discusses the issue of bureaucracy in Public Administration. After reviewing Max Weber’s 6 major principles of the Theory of Bureaucracy, some critics and renovations are suggested. At the end the author offers some operational advices with the hope to see future Public Administration more peoplefriendly and a more human-oriented enterprise

Application of Two-Factor Theory of Motivation by Fredrick Herzberg: A Case of Female Workers Serving Pakistani Media Organizations

Fredrick Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation, a widely-applied theory with respect to varied contexts and organizational set-ups, advocates that hygiene and motivator factors influence employee satisfaction, motivation and ultimately job performance. Some of the past studies suggest the hygiene factors take precedence in influencing workers while others claim the motivator factors being more persuasive. Some studies also weigh upon both factors to create an impact on workers’ motivation and performance. This mixed-method study is an attempt to understand the application of the subject theory with respect to Pakistani media organizations with female media workers as the population of the study and Islamabad-based employees as its sample. It concludes that both hygiene and motivator factors are equally effective in employee motivation/demotivation in the given context and that Pakistani female media workers are not satisfied with the organizational settings and facilitation provided.

Image-based Seat Belt Fastness Detection using Deep Learning

The detection of seat belts is an essential aspect of vehicle safety. It is crucial in providing protection in the event of an accident. Seat belt detection devices are installed into many automobiles, although they may be easily manipulated or disregarded. As a result, the existing approaches and algorithms for seat belt detection are insufficient. Using various external methods and algorithms, it is required to determine if the seat belt is fastened or not. This paper proposes an approach to identify seat belt fastness using the concepts of image processing and deep learning. Our proposed approach can be deployed in any organizational setup to aid the concerned authorities in identifying whether or not the drivers of the vehicles passing through the entrance have buckled their seat belts up. If a seat belt is not detected in a vehicle, the number plate recognition module records the vehicle number. The concerned authorities might use this record to take further necessary actions. This way, the organization authorities can keep track of all the vehicles entering the premises and ensure that all drivers/shotgun seat passengers are wearing seat belts.

Radical reassemblages: The life history of a Nile Delta pumping collective

This article investigates how people, technology, and water flows act together in using and transforming infrastructure to improve water access. Analytically, we propose to study collective action over time through the relationships between humans and non-humans as they collaborate to mediate water and other flows. Our case-study lies in Egypt. Over four decades, the Irrigation Improvement Project has introduced various sociotechnical and institutional measures to improve water management in the Nile Delta. By establishing collective pumping infrastructure and Water User Associations, water users were compelled to collaborate to reduce water extraction and over-irrigation. For heuristic purposes, we examine in detail the life history of one pumping collective facing increasing water scarcity. The article presents four life phases of the pumping collective and analyses what drives the assemblage and its transformations. Through time, we understand pumping collectives as heterogeneous and shifting assemblages of human and non-human agents that provide differentiated access to multiple resource flows. We describe the surprising stream of events that unfolds. The pumping collective radically dismantles the standard technological and organizational set-up and replaces it with a more flexible and disaggregated form of irrigation. By tracking this trajectory, the article demonstrates the remarkable agency of a pumping collective in renewing and reassembling itself. On this basis, we argue that the complex entanglement of material objects, human actors, water (and other resource flows) can explain this. Hence, it is important to look beyond the society-nature dichotomy to understand the transformational capacity of collectives.

Case study: Implementing the IT platform of the future in Copenhagen Airport

This paper describes in detail the journey that Copenhagen Airport (CPH) has embarked on towards the full replacement of the legacy core airport IT systems with a state-of-the-art, modern data platform supporting the high digital ambitions in its business strategy. It informs about the growing IT challenges requiring a radical approach, the bold vision for a ‘smart airport’, the strong organisational implementation setup and finally the details of the truly data-driven platform that has been developed as a result.

Personality traits and conflict management styles: building the relationship through leadership effectiveness

PurposeThe present study examines the relationship between personality traits (PTs) and conflict management styles (CMSs) directly and indirectly through leadership effectiveness (LE) in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study employs a survey questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data from academic leaders of higher education institutes (HEIs) in Pakistan. The authors utilized 325 useable cases to conclude the results.FindingsThe findings through the structural equation model (SEM) resulted in a positive and significant effect of agreeableness (AGS) on integrating (ITG), avoiding (AVG), obliging (OBG), compromising (COG) and dominating (DOG) styles. Extraversion (EXN) positively and significantly affects ITG, OBG, DOG and COG. Emotional stability (EMSY) is a positive and significant predictor of ITG, AVG, OBG and COG. The conscientiousness (CNS) trait significantly and positively predicts ITG, OBG, DOG, COG and AVG. Likewise, openness (OPS) positively and significantly affects ITG, OBG, DOG and COG styles. On the other hand, EXN and OPS negatively and insignificantly affect AVG. Finally, EMSY is the negative and insignificant predictor of DOG among academic leaders.Practical implicationsThis study offers additional insights into understanding direct and indirect connections between PTs and CMSs through EL. It would support the development of effective policies and organizational setup to resolve and manage conflict and employees' behaviour. Finally, the findings would further enrich the worth of literature through another empirical confirmation.Originality/valueThis study offers the original contribution of PTs and CMSs among academic leaders in HEIs of Pakistan.

PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN BANKING EMPLOYEES OF PAKISTAN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

ABSTRACT&#x0D; &#x0D; Purpose: The present paper reviews the existing literature in the field of psychological well-being (PWB) while presenting a comprehendible vision of existing dynamics and exploring the diversity of the notion. This systematic literature review reflects on a number of accessible research papers from ten years (i.e., 2012 to 2021) contributing to the factors associated to psychological well-being in organizational setup of Pakistani banking sector employees.

Personality traits, organizational cynicism and employee performance among academic leaders

PurposeThis study examines the effect of personality traits on organizational cynicism (OC). It explores, also, OC's predictive power on Employee Performance (EP) in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative study in which the authors employed a survey questionnaire to collect cross-sectional data from the academic leaders of Pakistan's Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). The authors utilized 325 usable cases to arrive at this study's findings.FindingsThe Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis shows a positive and significant effect of agreeableness, extraversion, Emotional Stability (ES), conscientiousness and openness to experience on Cognitive Cynicism (CC), Affective Cynicism (AC) and Behavioural Cynicism (BC). Moreover, CC, AC and BC have proven to be negative and insignificant predictors of EP.Practical implicationsThis study's findings offer additional insights to understanding the direct connection between personality traits, OC and EP. Therefore, the findings support the development of effective policies and organizational setups to manage OC through personality traits. The findings assist, also, in understanding OC and its adverse effects on EP. Finally, the findings further add to the depth of the literature through empirical confirmation by academic leaders.Originality/valueThis study's findings offer the original contribution of personality traits, OC and EP among HEIs' academic leaders in a developing country.

Serendipitous Learning in Collaborative Innovation in the Fight Against Severe Hypoglycemia

In the past decades we have witnessed an increase in collaborative innovation projects in the healthcare industry, and more recently some of these projects are of a broad pre-competitive nature where universities, research institutions, pharmaceutical, biotech and device companies work together to solve grand challenges in health. In this paper we investigate what organizations learn from participating in these non-commercial collaborations. Studies on open innovation, when assessing the benefits from such collaborations, have thus far focused on purposeful knowledge creating activities that lead to the achievement of planned objectives. However, in complex innovation where problems are often ill-defined, a focus on planned objectives and final outcomes, we risk ignoring important learnings that were not planned, but that instead emerged in the process. This paper argues that underneath the intentional knowledge building mode there is a more subtle ‘dwelling’ mode where intent is immanent in adaptive action and where new knowledge emerges in a non-deliberate way through everyday practices. To better understand the non-deliberate emergence of knowledge we apply a serendipity lens, suggesting that innovation and new knowledge creation can be seen as emerging and as accidental, unrelated side effects in collaborative processes leading to unexpected and beneficial discoveries. To investigate how organizations can embrace such serendipitous learnings emerging in inter-organizational collaborations, we carried out a 3-year study of an inter-organizational R&D project in the healthcare industry. We found several instances of distributed serendipitous learning and relate them to four organizational features (organizational setup, future-oriented mindset, sustained involvement, and heterogeneity in participants) that appeared to foster knowledge transfer from the inter-organizational settings to the focal company. The paper contributes to prior research on the roles and practices in knowledge absorption from inter-organizational innovation activities.

Agri-tech: experiential learning from the Agri-tech growth leaders

ABSTRACT This research study analyses the critical issues in Agri-tech start-up growth in India and explores ways to improve the process. Research methods are triangulated to understand Agri-tech entrepreneurs’ opinions and experiences. After the articles and reports were reviewed, a statistical analysis of a user opinion survey of two hundred and two Agri-tech users was conducted. Post survey, three rounds of semi-structured interviews among the twenty-two Agri-tech entrepreneurs and experts helped in fine-tuning the findings. The key issues highlighted in the findings are the availability of low-interest and creative financing models; Infrastructure availability and incubation support; Cross-domain quality solutions with multiple levels of features; Supportive mindset of business customers and partners; and Skill-building and Training of farmers. This research is one of the few academic studies on Agri-tech entrepreneurship and includes the COVID-19 pandemic effect. The findings help the researchers build the knowledge base of agriculture 4.0 entrepreneurship. Suggestions may help the practitioner boost the growth of Agri-tech solutions. In addition, the study highlights innovative suggestions like setting up an open national database of core parameters, cloud computing-based agriculture 4.0 digital stack, digitalising farmer producer organisations, and monitoring plus organisational evaluation setup.