Small Number Of Organizations Research Articles

IRB challenges in multisite studies: A case report and commentary from the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA).

A shift from single to multi-site health studies enabled a range of research benefits including faster recruitment of larger and more diverse samples; increased statistical power, greater rigour, generalisability, and external reliability; and increased likelihood of impacting policy and clinical practice. However, ethical review of multi-site studies by Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) raises specific challenges compared with single site studies, with requirements to apply to multiple local IRBs increasing the burden on research, possibly endangering the integrity of the research process or inhibiting development of multi-site studies. The option of a single centralised IRB may offer a clearer, more consistent and efficient review process. This study presents a case report and commentary from 15 years engaging with IRBs in multiple sites in Ireland by the Intellectual Disability Supplement to the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA). It examines the ethics review process for IDS-TILDA through its first four waves. While the majority of 48 IRBs granted ethical approval within 13 weeks, six IRBs took 21-47 weeks to approve, leading to delays in data collection of up to 11 months. Despite additional review time, no changes were required to the study protocol. Therefore, a critical impact of the process was the delay in starting data collection within a small number of organisations, and reduced involvement in the study for one organisation. The ethical review process with multiple IRBs increased the degree of complexity of the process, with added bureaucracy and far greater communication required across 48 IRBs, substantially adding to the resource commitment for the review process. The relatively quick approval from the majority of IRBs was partially a result of the longitudinal study building relationships with organisations throughout multiple waves. That other health studies may not accrue this benefit supports calls for a single IRB system for multi-site health studies.

Mind the gap – a comparative analysis of (in-)congruences in HRD role perception

ABSTRACT Inspired by role conceptualisations and calls to rethink and reshape activities and competences of professionally qualified HRD practitioners, we examine HRD’s role and its associated activities through established versions of role theory. We ask: To what extent is there congruence in role expectations of HRD practitioners and other stakeholders? We study this question by interviewing 71 HRD practitioners and non-HRD managers across 16 organisations in three countries (US/UK/NL) and by analysing their responses on HRD role expectations and perceptions, congruences and incongruences. We map our findings on a 2 × 2 matrix and find that only a small number of organisations see professional HRD practitioners as strategic partners; most organisations find themselves within a more operational HRD role definition, or somewhere ‘on the fence’, with mixed ideas of role perceptions. Yet, a few organisations struggle to find alignment on HRD’s strategic aspirations and how those play out in practice. While our findings highlight the progress that HRD practice has made towards strategic partnership, we conclude that many HRD practitioners struggle to gain a seat at the table. We close our paper by discussing implications for HRD practice and scholarship.

Immigrant Settlement and Integration in Canada: Trends in Public Funding

This article is the first study to document trends in state funding for the settlement sector in Canada. It is based on an innovative new dataset that was secured through several years of using freedom of information legislation to collect federal and provincial funding data on settlement and integration programs. This study demonstrates, among other things, that there are significant disparities in funding for settlement and integration services among regions within Canada. Funding for immigrant-serving organizations (ISAs) is also concentrated among a small number of organizations. These trends have potential implications for the access and quality of settlement services available to newcomers based on where they land in Canada.

ERP System for Construction Site

Currently, enterprise resource planning (ERP) has been recognized as a foundation for the merging of organization-wide data systems. ERP systems connect all aspects of an organization's business, including accounting, finance, human resources, production, and distribution. They also connect the company to its consumers and suppliers across the many phases of the product's or process' life cycle. Just a few studies have been done on the use of ERP systems on construction sites, particularly for designers, technicians, and workers. the main focus has thus far been on retail businesses, engineering companies, and design firms. The purpose of this study is to conduct research on the effectiveness of ERP systems at contractor sites and, as a result, their implementation status. A wide range of market research, literature reviews, and modified surveys may be used as the methodology. The majority of contractor sites are reported to be aware of ERP systems, although only a small number of organizations have so far implemented such systems. The main reason is that every ERP system adoption requires a significant time, financial, and resource investment. However, if used to solve the right issues, these ERP systems could be a successful tool for business development

Digital Technology Deployment and the Circular Economy

The relationship between digital technologies and the circular economy, both characterised as disruptive, is attracting increasing attention in company boardrooms, policy and pressure groups and in academic communities. Nevertheless, studies to date highlight a lack of understanding of how digital technologies enable organisations to improve their resource flows and value creation to promote the circular economy. This article looks to address this gap in the academic literature by an examination of if and how a small number of organisations are using digital technologies to support their sustainability objectives and circular economy initiatives. The research approach is inductive, using questionnaires and interviews with IT professionals employed in a range of organisations. The article concludes that where organisations are pursuing circular economy initiatives, the connection with digital technology deployment is not evident, even though a more general association with sustainability is. Digital technologies are bringing about greater efficiencies, improved processes and better data management, which are supporting and enabling sustainability objectives, but a more direct linkage with the circular economy will require clearer use cases of how specific digital technologies can progress the circular economy, both within organisations and across the supply chain. Enhanced information systems that facilitate the reporting and analysis of the operational performance of circular economy activities against set objectives will also be needed.

An Analysis of Otolaryngology's NIH Research Funding Compared to Other Specialties.

To compare NIH funding in the field of Otolaryngology to other medical and surgical specialties between 2009 and 2019. Data was collected from the NIH RePORTER database on funding dollars received by each specialty from 2009 to 2019. Along with data on total active physicians per specialty using the Physician Specialty Data Book, comparisons were drawn between Otolaryngology and other medical and surgical specialties with regards to trends in total funding and NIH funding dollars per physician. The distributions of grant funding, within Otolaryngology from various NIH institutes among principal investigators, organizations, and subspecialties were further explored. There were 3810 grants (1147 unique projects) for a total of $1 276 198 555 funded by the NIH to Otolaryngology departments from 2009 to 2019. Statistically insignificant funding increases (P > .05) caused otolaryngology to fall from first to fourth in funding among studied specialties. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders funded 57% of all unique projects, and 57.2% of all unique NIH projects were otology related. Most projects were basic science related. The top 10 principal investigators obtained 22.3% of the total NIH funding for Otolaryngology. The top 3 organizations over the studied period comprised 26.55% of the total funding, generating a combined 729 grants. Among principal investigators, 63.0% had a PhD degree, 25.3% had an MD, and 9.6% had an MD/PhD. NIH funding in Otolaryngology has remained stable and is highly concentrated among a small number of organizations, geographic regions, and principal investigators. Recent initiatives by academic communities have sought to address funding disparities by incorporating diversity and inclusion into clinician-scientist pipelines. We urge our colleagues to strive toward identification of the factors that contribute to successful acquisition of funding and implementation of a more conducive institutional infrastructure to produce research.

Breaking the Barriers to Innovation in Kidney Care: The Time is Now.

Breaking the Barriers to Innovation in Kidney Care: The Time is Now.

The drivers of collaborative innovation of the comprehensive utilization technologies of coal fly ash in China: a network analysis.

Coal consumption brings a lot of coal fly ash (CFA). It requires interdisciplinary efforts in research, policy, and practice to improve the utilization of CFA. Although there have been a lot of achievements in technological innovation, the utilization of CFA is still difficult to match its output. So, it is urgent to explore how to guide its effective innovation. This paper uses social network analysis to discuss the characteristics of the collaborative innovation network of CFA comprehensive utilization technology in China. Then, this paper uses regression analysis to explore the differences in innovation performance under different research and development (R&D) backgrounds. The results show that (1) based on the network-level indicators, the collaborative innovation scale has an obvious trend of expanding. Partnerships increased from 20 to 574. Meanwhile, the network shows obvious scale-free and “small-world” characteristics, indicating that innovation resources are concentrated in a few organizations. (2) Based on the node-level indicators, the major contributor has shifted from universities and research institutions to enterprises. Enterprises account for the highest proportion (73%) and have the highest centrality (8.3). The betweenness centrality of the universities is 265, and only 14% of the organizations are universities which means universities play an important role in connecting different organizations in the network, but their participation in the collaborative innovation is insufficient. (3) Based on the collaborative relationship-level indicators, the cooperation is lack of depth. Only a small number of organizations, especially enterprises, have stable partners, showing the characteristic of “low cooperation width and high cooperation depth,” which means fewer partners but more frequently collaborative innovation. (4) Based on the innovation performance, the innovation performance under the category of cooperative R&D, especially industry-academy cooperation, is better than that of independent R&D. But, industry-academy cooperation only occupied 43% of collaborative relationships in the network. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions for governments from five aspects: decentralization, defining roles of enterprise and university, encouraging collaboration, changing the idea of the patent application, and promoting deeper cooperation.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-19816-5.

Benchmarking as a crisis management tool – from theoretical framework to practical application

The use of new management techniques is an integral part of the work of modern organizations. A key difference is the huge pressure currently under which the organizing is currently being put. In this regard, the application and approbation of new techniques successfully applied in other organizations is likely to continue to expand and lead to better results and more hope for the future. Benchmarking as a modern management tool is increasingly necessary in the practice of modern organizations and its proper use is a kind of guarantee for the development of flexibility and adaptability of the structures of successful managers. The use of new management methods is an integral part of the reforming picture of management and is a key factor for competitiveness. On the other hand, a small number of organizations are conservative about changes in their activities, lack initiative on the part of employees in their work and lack flexibility in managing certain processes due to over-centralization of decision-making processes.

Interoperability and standardization: lessons from the fruit-bowl

PurposeThis study hypothesizes the limitations of standardization as an interoperability development tool within emergency management.Design/methodology/approachPragmatism and Morgan's seminal organizational metaphors inform the conceptualization of the Interoperability Orange metaphor using symbolic logic and visual imagery.FindingsThe essence of standardization is homogeneity. Within emergency management, it is commonplace to develop legislation to standardize policies, procedures, training, equipment and terminology to engender interoperability among first responder and associated organizations. Standardization is achievable with similar or a small number of organizations. However, it is unlikely, if not impossible, in the context of disasters and catastrophes, given the broad range of organizations, groups and individuals typically involved. This diversity of cultures, subcultures, norms, values and indigenous and technical languages intimates that standardization is counterintuitive, particularly in disasters and catastrophes. The posited Interoperability Orange metaphor demonstrates that standardization as a policy, though desired, is theoretically unobtainable in enlarging multiorganizational environments. Thus, new perspectives, policies and solutions for interoperability are needed.Originality/valueThe posited theory builds on the growing body of metaphor-based emergency management research. The Interoperability Orange provides an accessible and easy-to-use communicative tool that aids theoretical cognition – notably within multicultural English as a Second Language environments – as it enables a deeper more critical and explicit understanding of the limits of standardization expressed via metaphor, symbolic logic and imagery.

RETENTION OF IDENTIFIED PROFESSIONALS AS POTENTIAL SUCCESSORS

The implementation of the succession process as a strategy of mapping, development and retention of talent is gaining space in organizations. This article aimed to verify whether organizations have a structured process for retaining professionals identified as potential successors and whether there is differentiation according to the level of maturity of the succession process. A sample of companies seeking to differentiate themselves in terms of people management, consisting of 396 companies, was analyzed. For analysis, the Phi coefficient was used, and the survey results showed that a small number of organizations have a process of retaining professionals identified as potential successors, and that organizations that are more mature with respect to their succession process are more likely to work on retaining their talents in a structured manner, and the aspects that lead to most voluntary dismissals of professionals in the organizations surveyed are linked to compensation, career and development actions.

Starting from scratch: Building of meaningful endowments by public charities

AbstractMost nonprofits lack a true endowment and endowment wealth is concentrated in a relatively small number of organizations and subsectors. This study supports an operational definition of material endowment, equal to or greater than annual expenses, and investigates how common it is for a nonprofit to establish a meaningful endowment over time. Specifically, we address whether the sector's enthusiasm over the potential of endowment building is reflected in charitable organizations' experiences. Using financial data, we find that building a meaningful permanent endowment is a rare achievement among public charities over a period of two decades. Meaningful endowment creation, achieved by less than 2% of the sample, is more common for organizations with donor attachments, the need for subsidization of mission services, those with more fundraising costs, and those with more donative revenue portfolios.

The progress of, challenges faced by, and future of rare disease patient organizations in China.

In addition to difficulties with treatment and expenses, patients with rare diseases in China greatly lack social support. In around 2000, Chinese patients with rare diseases and their families began to organize a series of charitable activities such as medical aid, public education, and policy advocacy. After nearly 20 years, organizations for Chinese patients with rare diseases have progressed. Many problems still remain, including a relatively small number of organizations, a low level of specialization, a lack of stability, limited social influence, and limited access to social resources. In order to spur the development of Chinese rare disease patient organizations, public education needs to be enhanced, policy support is needed, teams need to be created, and communication and cooperation need to be enhanced.

Preparing healthcare delivery organizations for managing computable knowledge.

IntroductionThe growth of data science has led to an explosion in new knowledge alongside various approaches to representing and sharing biomedical knowledge in computable form. These changes have not been matched by an understanding of what healthcare delivery organizations need to do to adapt and continuously deploy computable knowledge. It is therefore important to begin to conceptualize such changes in order to facilitate routine and systematic application of knowledge that improves the health of individuals and populations.MethodsAn AHRQ‐funded conference convened a group of experts from a range of fields to analyze the current state of knowledge management in healthcare delivery organizations and describe how it needs to evolve to enable computable knowledge management. Presentations and discussions were recorded and analyzed by the author team to identify foundational concepts and new domains of healthcare delivery organization knowledge management capabilities.ResultsThree foundational concepts include 1) the current state of knowledge management in healthcare delivery organizations relies on an outdated biomedical library model, and only a small number of organizations have developed enterprise‐scale knowledge management approaches that “push” knowledge in computable form to frontline decisions, 2) the concept of Learning Health Systems creates an imperative for scalable computable knowledge management approaches, and 3) the ability to represent data science discoveries in computable form that is FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) is fundamental to spread knowledge at scale. For healthcare delivery organizations to engage with computable knowledge management at scale, they will need new organizational capabilities across three domains: policies and processes, technology, and people. Examples of specific capabilities were developed.ConclusionsHealthcare delivery organizations need to substantially scale up and retool their knowledge management approaches in order to benefit from computable biomedical knowledge.

Is the Enemy of My Enemy My Friend?

ABSTRACTThe terrorist organizations that have posed the greatest threat to international security are those with allies. Terrorist groups at the core of alliance networks, particularly the Islamic State and al Qaeda, define the threat today, as they are able to accrue and disperse the benefits of their alliances—including greater lethality, longevity, and resilience—to their partners. While the consequences of these alliances are clear, their causes remain poorly understood, especially with respect to why terrorist alliances cluster around a small number of organizations. I propose that groups ally with the organization at the core of a network to address organizational deficits. In addition, the prospective partners must have both complementary needs and the ability to link their ideologies and frames to build a shared identity. Finally, groups must overcome their inherent suspicions and build trust to ally. These three mechanisms lead to alliance formation, but they also offer numerous avenues for disruption.

Analysis on the Development of Cultural Intermediary Organization in China

Cultural intermediary organization is an important part of the cultural industry. It can accelerate the circulation of the cultural product and the dissemination of cultural information. It plays promotion role on the development of China’s cultural industry; the standardization of cultural market system, and the improvement of people’s cultural quality. However, due to the short development time of cultural intermediary organizations in China, there are few problems, such as a small number of organizations, a low level of brand influence and professionalization, lack of standardization of management and unbalanced distribution of industries. In view of this, it is necessary to strengthen its regulation and management, promote its healthy and orderly development through government promotion and support.

Renaissance of Investors' Control in 21st Century: Crowdfunding

Berle and Means in their seminal text The Modern Corporation and Private Property (1932) introduced a thesis on the separation of ownership and control in modern corporations. One of the arguments of Berle and Means was that the rise of large corporations in the United States left an enormous concentration of economic power in a relatively small number of organizations. Eighty-five years later, we witness a different direction of development. Globalization, capital dispersion and technological progress have generated greater competition by allowing formation of new entities in almost every other second. These mavericks happen to operate in technological industry, supported usually by venture capital firms. Besides venture capital, there has been a boom of new medium for financing: crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a mass financial collaboration through large number of people using social media and internet. There are number of internet platforms, which allow crowdfunding. Some focus only on low-budget projects, but some enable investments of thousands of dollars. One may say that crowdfunding supports the dispersion of ownership and therefore diffusion of investors’ control, depending on how many investors have decided to contribute. Yet, looking at the crowdfunding from another perspective, crowdfunding is only successful if sufficient threshold is reached. The crowdfunders have to bring an idea that among thousands catches the necessary attention of many. The project initiators have to present an appealing case, why it is “them” who the investor should fund and support. Exploring the crowdfunding platforms and the launched projects, one realizes that the projects that plead for support sustainability and claim to be often socially and environmentally responsible. They are usually novel and inspiring. Thus, investing in crowdfunding projects is based on more than just an interest in profit making. There is additional layer of significance of the idea. Managers as well as lawyers should be able to understand the additional character behind crowdfunding, not only from the perspective of attaining investors’ interest but also from the perspective of deal and investment structuring. The main claim of this article is that crowdfunding enables direct control over the newly established projects, and possibly over the new direction of corporate culture. It is without any doubt that crowdfunding per se encompasses number of challenges. Yet, if used wisely, crowdfunding may bring substantial difference into the corporate culture, where people will place social and societal progress before their demand for profit.

Leadership as enabling function for flourishing by design

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to alert the reader to the urgent need to address the most pressing challenge and opportunity of the twenty-first century, namely, leadership that enables flourishing for all forever. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper suggests a heuristic for the reader and supplies a working model of leadership as enabling function for flourishing that arises from a survey of the literature around leadership development, as well as a brief review of the literature on flourishing. Findings The paper highlights the reality that there are, as yet, only a small number of organizations and leadership that have conceptualized and implemented the notion of flourishing by design and that a great deal more research and implementation needs to occur to prove the validity of the model. Research limitations/implications There is a need to undertake quasi-experimental research in which leadership development praxis incorporates the element of flourishing by design and then action research through which the outcomes can be measured, modified and ongoing improvements iterated into the organizational design. Practical implications This paper suggests a different mindset and skillset for leadership and, by implication, leadership development. The ongoing research into “Seeking Best Methods for Leadership Development”, through the authors’ Round 1 Delphi survey has uncovered the elements of Human Capital, Social Capital, Structural Capital and Self Leadership, as core elements desired by global CEOs as necessary for an effective leadership development program. What the authors did not probe for, and need to probe for, is the element of “Flourishing Capital” or the degree to which the leadership might be developed to serve as an enabling function for flourishing for all forever. Social implications If organizations design flourishing into the raison d‘être of the organization, then organizations will seek and develop leadership that has flourishing as a core motif and focus. If organizational leadership supports and enhances flourishing as a central motif, then a shift will occur from profit only to profit that supports flourishing for all forever. Originality/value The paper highlights the reality that there are, as yet, only a small number of organizations and leadership that have conceptualized and implemented the notion of flourishing by design and that a great deal more research and implementation needs to occur to prove the validity of the model.

The use of social media for engaging stakeholders in sustainability reporting

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to assess if online interaction through social media, particularly Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, represents an effective stakeholder engagement mechanism in order to define the contents of social, environmental, or sustainability reporting (SESR).Design/methodology/approach– After examining 332 worldwide sustainability reports for the year 2013, drawn up according to the guidelines provided by the Global Reporting Initiative, the authors conducted a content analysis on the Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages of the organisations who rely on these types of social media. This was done in order to assess the scope of interaction between the organisation and its stakeholders.Findings– The authors found that a small number of organisations use social media to engage stakeholders as a means of defining the contents of SESR, and that the level of interaction is generally low. Rather than assuming a deliberative approach that is aimed at forging a democratic consensus on how to address specific corporate social responsibility or SESR issues, these types of interaction focus on gathering divergent socio-political views in an agonistic perspective.Research limitations/implications– Further research could complement this exploratory research with statistical analyses. It could focus on how comments/replies by users are used by organisations and examine the impacts of SESR on companies’ performances.Originality/value– The authors contribute to the literature on social accounting by understanding whether social media can be reliable instruments of stakeholder engagement and by examining the relevance of information that is voluntarily disclosed by corporations in SESR.

Fuzzy AHP approach to prioritize enablers of green supply chain management practices: A case study of automotive component supplier

Article history: Received January 5, 2016 Received in revised format April 15, 2016 Accepted May 20, 2016 Available online May 22, 2016 With superlative growth in the number of small organizations over the past two decades, the impact caused to environment due to higher production output is also immense. Most governments are continuously taking measures to mitigate the risks associated with industrial growth. One such measure is to implement green practices throughout the supply chain. Since small organizations are important part of supply chain and a major contributor of industrial output they also need to implement green supply chain practices. This paper aims to find out important enablers for green supply chain management (GSCM) from the view point of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process methodology has been used to rank the enablers, three important enablers were identified viz. top management commitment and finance, government support and regulations and recycling and reuse efforts. Managers of small organizations can benefit immensely by focusing on implementing these practices in their organizations. © 2016 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.