Participation In Management Programs Research Articles

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY RESIDENCY CURRICULUM

In Brief Objective To establish the current level of instruction in practice management in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs; review recommendations of medical school practice management executives and current and former residents on design of practice management instruction programs; and develop recommendations for future management instruction by residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology. Methods A questionnaire was sent to 101 practice plan executives of obstetrics and gynecology departments at medical schools in the United States and Canada. A modified version was sent to 44 current obstetrics and gynecology residents and 72 former residents from the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Results The response rates were 71% (practice executives), 93% (current residents), and 81% (former residents). There were no formal management programs at 87% of responding institutions, although most respondents (62%) thought there should be mandatory participation in management programs, probably given by organizations outside the university. Potential subjects that received high ratings were current procedural terminology and diagnosis coding, managed care, billing procedures, contractual agreements between medical doctors, patient record management, and practice economics. Conclusion Residency programs should establish formal practice management instruction programs and make participation mandatory. Funding should come from the medical school and university. Instructional help should come from extradepartmental organizations and individuals. Residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology should establish a formal curriculum in practice management using internal or external expertise.

Practice management in obstetrics and gynecology residency curriculum.

To establish the current level of instruction in practice management in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs; review recommendations of medical school practice management executives and current and former residents on design of practice management instruction programs; and develop recommendations for future management instruction by residency programs in obstetrics and gynecology. A questionnaire was sent to 101 practice plan executives of obstetrics and gynecology departments at medical schools in the United States and Canada. A modified version was sent to 44 current obstetrics and gynecology residents and 72 former residents from the University of Tennessee, Memphis. The response rates were 71% (practice executives), 93% (current residents), and 81% (former residents). There were no formal management programs at 87% of responding institutions, although most respondents (62%) thought there should be mandatory participation in management programs, probably given by organizations outside the university. Potential subjects that received high ratings were current procedural terminology and diagnosis coding, managed care, billing procedures, contractual agreements between medical doctors, patient record management, and practice economics. Residency programs should establish formal practice management instruction programs and make participation mandatory. Funding should come from the medical school and university. Instructional help should come from extradepartmental organizations and individuals.

SELF-ESTEEM CHANGES IN CHILDREN ENROLLED IN WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

The purpose of this study was to examine self-esteem changes in school aged children enrolled in weight management programs. The study group was comprised of 54 obese children ages 10-15 enrolled in a weight management program. The control group was comprised of 60 obese children who had never been enrolled in a weight management program. Each child was measured for body mass index (BMI) and weight. All the children filled out the Pier-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale at the beginning of the study and 12 weeks later following the study group's completion of the weight management program. The groups were similar in average age, weight, BMI, and self-concept score at the beginning of the study. At the end of the 12 weeks, there was no significant change in the average weight or BMI in either the study or control group. There was a significant decrease in the self-concept score in the study group but not in the control group. The greatest score changes came from the physical appearance subscale. Participation in weight management programs may put children at risk for lower self-esteem (self-concept) while producing limited weight loss results.

Rural Women and Conservation of Natural Resources: Traps and Opportunities

Soil and water conservation measures change the state of natural resources, especially of water, soil and vegetation. These, in turn, have very different consequences for women and men. Planners of such programs influence the position of women with their ’gender ideology’ via assumptions which determine the structure and content of programs. Even purportedly friendly efforts on the part of these planners can increase pressure on farm women if they go about their projects without understanding the mechanisms underlying gender relations, the use of natural resources and the position of women.This was revealed in a study of integrated watershed management projects (WSMP) undertaken in a few villages at the foothills of the Shiwaliks in northern India. Once the program was implemented, the rural women were found to spend much more time in activities related to agriculture and animal husbandry, while they spent less time grazing their cattle, collecting fuelwood and bringing water. The values of the gender-related development index (GDI) were consequently higher in project villages. But when placed in perspective against the human development index (HDI), gender inequalities were found to be equally pronounced in both project and non-project villages, revealing an anti-female bias, thus emphasizing the need for planners and policy makers to understand the issues which directly or indirectly affect women’s participation in natural resource management programs.

Privately Ordered Participatory Management: An Organizational Failures Analysis

American industrial enterprises long organized their production processes in rigid hierarchies in which production-level employees had little discretion or decision making authority. Recently, however, many firms have adopted participatory management programs purporting to give workers a substantially greater degree of input into corporate decisions. Quality circles, self-directed work teams, and employee representation on the board of directors are probably the best-known examples of this phenomenon. These forms of workplace organization have garnered considerable attention from labor lawyers and economists, but relatively little from corporate law academics. This is unfortunate, both because the tools routinely used by corporate law academics have considerable application to the problem and because employee participation is ultimately a question of corporate governance. According to conventional academic wisdom, perceptions of procedural justice are important to corporate efficiency. Employee voice promotes a sense of justice, increasing trust and commitment within the enterprise and thus productivity. Workers having a voice in decisions view their tasks as being part of a collaborative effort, rather than as just a job. In turn, this leads to enhanced job satisfaction, which, along with the more flexible work rules often associated with work teams, results in a greater intensity of effort from the firms workers and thus leads to a more efficient firm. Although this view of participatory management has become nearly hegemonic, the academic literature nevertheless remains somewhat vague when it comes to explaining just why employee involvement should have these beneficial results. In contrast, my article presents a clear explanation of why some firms find employee involvement enhances productivity and, perhaps even more important, why it fails to do so in some firms. Despite the democratic rhetoric of employee involvement, participatory management in fact has done little to disturb the basic hierarchial structure of large corporations. Instead, it is simply an adaptive response to three significant problems created by the tendency in large firms towards excessive levels of hierarchy. First, large branching hierarchies themselves create informational inefficiencies. Second, informational asymmetries persist even under efficient hierarchial structures. Finally, excessive hierarchy impedes effective monitoring of employees. Participatory management facilitates the flow of information from the production level to senior management by creating a mechanism for by-passing mid-level managers, while also bringing to bear a variety of new pressures designed to deter shirking.

Participative management and correctional personnel: A study of the perceived atmosphere for participation in correctional decision making and its impact on employee stress and thoughts about quitting

Participatory management has been identified in the empirical literature as a technique to alleviate job related stress in criminal justice organizations. Although many advantages have been noted, few criminal justice agencies have developed programs to capitalize on the benefits of employee participation in decision making. This article focuses on the perceptions of correctional officers regarding their participation in decision making and the relationship between organizational stress, physical stress, and thoughts about quitting the job. Four hundred eighty-six employees were surveyed from seven correctional institutions in the Southeast United States. A structural model, which explained 31 percent of the variation, showed that as employee participation increased, physical and occupational stress decreased. Thoughts about quitting were associated with higher levels of physical stress, occupational stress, and the perception of a negative atmosphere for participation. The results lend support for the use and development of participatory management programs in the field of corrections.

Rebates, Loans, and Customers' Choice of Appliance Efficiency Level: Combining Stated-and Revealed-Preference Data

Residential customers' choice of efficiency level for appliances, and their participation in demand-side management (DSM) programs, are examined using data on customers' stated preferences in hypothetical (i.e., conjoint-type) situations and their revealed preferences in real-world choices. The analysis provides information on customers' willingness to pay for energy savings, the importance of rebates in customers' decisions, and customers' response to DSM programs that offer loans for purchases of high-efficiency appliances. An estimated model is used to forecast the decisions of customers under: higher rebates, replacement of rebates with finance programs, offering of loans and rebates as alternative options for customers, and the elimination of DSM programs. We find that attractive loans (e.g., low interest rates, long repayment periods) are necessary to have the same effect as rebates. Programs that offer customers the option of loans or rebates are found to be far more effective than programs that offer only loans or only rebates.

The Application of Transactional Analysis in a Participatory Forest Management Program

This article describes the application of basic transactional analysis principles in a participatory management program for forest officials who are seeking the collaboration of local village peopl...