Professional Organizational Culture Research Articles

Creating an Anti-Harassment Policy for Workplace Sexual Discrimination

Harassment in the workplace can bring lawsuits, lower morale, decrease productivity, and increase employee turnover. Therefore, it is imperative that modern organizations offer inclusionary work environments where all employees are treated equitably and professionally in every workplace interaction, regardless of their gender. Each employee has the right to perform his/her expertise and passion in a professional organizational culture that promotes equal employment opportunities while prohibiting all forms of harassment and illegal discrimination. The methodology used in this paper is based on the personal experiences of two active human resource professionals along with an assessment of best practices in anti-harassment policies. While there are many papers dealing with anti-harassment literature and recommendations, there are very few published practical policies for integration in the workplace. As such, in this paper, we explore the importance of an anti-harassment policy regarding sexual discrimination through an example. Consequently, the importance of understanding harassment, reporting it, and effectively handling such allegations are presented. We recommend various necessary components of an anti-harassment policy along with an example of how such a policy can be legally written and documented.

Strategies to prevent workplace sexual harassment among Iranian nurses: A qualitative study.

BackgroundSexual harassment in the workplace has many negative consequences for nurses and the delivery of patient care. Appropriate policies and strategies can help to create a safe work environment for nurses. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate Iranian nurses’ strategies for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.Materials and methodsThis qualitative descriptive-explorative study used conventional content analysis to investigate how Iranian nurses cope with sexual harassment (n = 22). Participants were selected using a purposeful sampling method. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews from September 2020 to April 2021. In order to obtain rich information, maximum variation was considered (age, sex, work experience, level of education, marital status, and type of hospital and ward). The Guba and Lincoln criteria were used to increase the study’s trustworthiness, while the Graneheim and Lundman approach was used to analyze the content.ResultsOne hundred and twelve codes, one main category, four categories, and 12 subcategories were extracted. The main category, strategies to prevent sexual harassment among nurses in the workplace, includes four categories: behavioral response, working conditions adjustment, informing, and performance of hospital security guards. The most common strategy used by nurses was behavioral response.ConclusionBasic measures are required to prevent sexual misconduct against nurses, which is an obvious part of the professional organizational culture. Managers and policymakers should develop workplace ethics, legal accountability, and safety. They should also develop training programs and prevention strategies to help nurses improve their coping skills. Further quantitative and qualitative research in other healthcare groups is required to confirm the findings of this study.

A fuzzy interpretive structural modeling approach for evaluating the factors affecting lean implementation in Indian healthcare industry

Purpose Lean concept is implemented in healthcare organizations, as it deals with improvement processes so that best services may be provided to the patients and competitive advantage may be achieved. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the important factors which influence implementation of lean principles in the healthcare industry. Design/methodology/approach The factors influencing lean implementation in the healthcare industry have been determined through literature review and results of a survey where questionnaires were distributed among 325 healthcare professionals. Fuzzy Interpretive Structural Modeling (FISM) approach has been used to analyze the interrelationships among these factors. A FISM model has been developed to extract the key factors influencing lean implementation. Findings Results of the survey and model show that lean leadership, professional organizational culture and teamwork and interdepartmental cooperation are the top level factors. Clarity of organizational vision, communication of goals and results, follow up and evaluations are the factors with strong driving as well as strong dependence power. Even a slight action taken on these factors will have a significant impact on other factors. Practical implications The healthcare professionals and managers can acquire information from the drive power dependence matrix so that they can thoroughly understand the relative importance, interdependencies and relationships among these factors. The model will help in determining the hierarchy of various actions and activities which may be taken by the management for managing the factors that remarkably affect the lean management in hospitals. Social implications In this paper, only 15 variables appropriate for the Indian healthcare industry have been identified. The model developed in the present research has not been validated statistically which can be done by structural equation modeling (SEM). Originality/value Though there are various studies which depict that lean principles have been implemented successfully in various industries, there are few studies specifying the application of lean principles in healthcare sector in India. This paper is an attempt to identify various factors which are important for application of Lean concept in the healthcare sector.

Leadership behaviours, organizational culture and intention to stay amongst Jordanian nurses.

To investigate the impact of leadership behaviours of nurse managers and organizational culture on Jordanian nurses' intention to stay at work in public, private and university hospitals. Leadership behaviours of nurses and organizational culture are considered important factors in enhancing retention of nurses. A correlational design was used in the study. A sample of 285 Jordanian nurses was conveniently selected to complete a self-administered questionnaire that consisted of three measures; Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Practise Inventory, Professional Organizational Culture questionnaire and McCain's Intent to Stay Scale. Nurse managers' leadership behaviours and organizational culture were positively associated with the level of intention to stay at work. The study variables explained almost 43% of the variance in nurses' intention to stay at work. The limitation of the study was the use of convenience sampling method. The results asserted that transformational leadership styles of nurse managers enhance positive hospitals' culture as well as the intention of nurses to stay at work. Nurse executives should promote leadership behaviours of nurse managers through training. The regulatory bodies of nursing profession in collaboration with nurse educators and administrators should help in developing competencies for nurse managers that are based on transformational leadership and incorporate such competencies in nursing education programs as well as continuous education programs.

The retention of public child welfare workers: The roles of professional organizational culture and coping strategies

The purpose of the current study was to investigate how professional organizational culture and coping strategies (control coping and avoidance coping) related to workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare. With a sample of 234 frontline workers employed in Department of Human Services-Division of Family and Children Services (DHS-DFCS) offices in a state in the Southeastern region of the U.S., the current study tested a model in which coping strategies mediate the relationship between professional organizational culture and workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. Results revealed that professional organizational culture and control coping were significantly and positively related to workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare. In addition, control coping mediated the relationship between professional organizational culture and worker retention. On the other hand, a significant relationship between avoidance coping and workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare was not found. Implications of the findings for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Employees' Intentions to Remain Employed in Child Welfare: Testing a Conceptual Model

The purpose of the current study was to extend prior research on retention of child welfare workers by constructing and testing a conceptual model for worker retention that combined individual and organizational factors. The sample used in this study (n = 244) was drawn from a Department of Human Services-Division of Family and Children Services (US DHS-DFCS) from a Southeastern state of the United States. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model. The results indicated that professional organizational culture, satisfaction with extrinsic rewards, emotional exhaustion, and professional commitment were significantly related to workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare. Although organizational policies were not directly related to workers' intentions to remain employed in child welfare, there was an indirect relationship through emotional exhaustion. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Intentions to remain employed in child welfare: The role of human caring, self-efficacy beliefs, and professional organizational culture

This study reflects the national concern about high employee turnover rates in child welfare (CW). Personal and organizational factors contributing to CW employee's intentions to remain employed in CW were studied as an alternative to more traditional studies of employee burnout and turnover. New measures of intent to remain employed in CW, human caring, self-efficacy beliefs, and professional organizational culture were developed and administered to all CW staff in two states ( n = 941). Reliability estimates for the new measures ranged from .79 to .92. Core findings supported relationships hypothesized among the measures and identified human caring as an important, new variable linked to CW employees' intentions to remain employed in CW. In two discriminant function analyses, the human caring variable was the most heavily weighted variable in linear combinations of the study variables that differentiated extreme intent to remain employed groups (upper and lower quartiles). The measure of self-efficacy beliefs about capabilities to accomplish work tasks was positively and more strongly related to human caring than to professional organizational culture. Explanations of the core findings are provided and implications for theory development, education and practice in CW, and future research are discussed.