Strategic Assumptions Research Articles

Problems of <i>Clostridium difficile</i> infection (CDI) in Polish healthcare units

The issue of patient safety during the provision of health services poses a key challenge in health policy. The number of hospital-acquired infections (also known as HAI - Healthcare Associated Infection) determines the level of quality of health services provided in a given health facility. Effective management reinforced by the awareness of a team of medical professionals allows not only reduction in the hospital's finances, but also the frequency of adverse events, which undoubtedly include hospital-acquired infections. Good cooperation between departments and a Hospital Infection Control Committee is one of the key aspects that translates to the rapid identification of new epidemic outbreaks. Infections caused by strains of Clostridium difficile (CDI, Clostridium difficile infection) are one of the main factors responsible for the prolonged hospitalization of patients. In the United States, Clostridium difficile causes almost half a million infections annually, and its treatment costs are estimated at nearly $ 4.8 billion per year. In Poland, the number of CDI cases in 2018 was 11.592 (for comparison, in 2013 the number of infections caused by this bacterium was 4.728). Hospital environment, inappropriate antibiotic therapy and development of multi-drug resistant strains increase the risk of infections. In order to improve the safety of hospitalized patients, infection risk management should be a systemic, formalized activity integrated with the overall process of managing a health facility. It is necessary that central units have interest in creating effective tools to enable successful epidemiological supervision and the implementation of strategic assumptions of health policy in this area.

The viable system model’s support to social responsibility

PurposeThe consequences of human social irresponsibility urge socially responsible reactions. The authors expose the consequences of socially irresponsible behaviour and state possible requisitely holistic tools to eliminate organisations’ dangerous and socially irresponsible behaviour. This paper aims to examine how the viable system model (the VSM) used as a diagnostic tool can help organisations support socially responsible behaviour.Design/methodology/approachGiven the variety of systems methodologies, the authors selected the VSM as a key methodological tool of Organizational Cybernetics. A case-study approach is used to demonstrate the power of the VSM as a diagnostic tool.FindingsHumans need to replace recklessness and selfishness by faster re-orientation towards a socially responsible society. By following the cybernetic circle of the preparation and implementation of the management process and practising social responsibility via the VSM, organisations can conduct socially responsible business operations for a socially responsible society. Respecting the pluralist nature of social responsibility and a limited framework of the VSM, the VSM analysis needs to be supported by interpretive systems approaches, such as Strategic Assumptions Surfacing and Testing (SAST).Research limitations/implicationsThe presented study’s limitation is the case study of a selected organisation from Europe. The discussion could be relevant to each organisation, which is observed as a viable system. The insights gained with this case study can be broadened by empirical research involving diverse organisations from various countries.Practical implicationsResearch results indicate socially irresponsible behaviours of the researched organisation and possible ways of overcoming them. The cybernetic circle of the preparation and implementation of socially responsible management processes through the VSM offers a possible path towards more social responsibility in organisations. Moreover, the VSM should be used in combination with interpretive systems approaches, such as SAST.Social implicationsThe generality of the VSM indicates that decision-makers could use the VSM for diagnosing socially irresponsible behaviour in organisations and for redesigning organisations to help develop a more socially responsible society.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to a cybernetic framework and methodological support to social responsibility. This study could serve as an essential starting point for organisations wishing to take further steps towards social responsibility.

Incentives in Matching Markets: Counting and Comparing Manipulating Agents

Vulnerability to manipulation is a threat to successful matching market design. However, some manipulation is often inevitable and the mechanism designer wants to compare manipulable mechanisms and pick the best. Real-life examples include reforms in the entry-level medical labor market in the US (1998), school admissions systems in New York (2004), Chicago (2009-2010), Denver (2012), some cities in Ghana (2007-2008), and England (2005-2010). We provide a useful criterion for these design decisions: we count the number of agents with an incentive to manipulate each mechanism under consideration during these reforms, and show that this number decreased as a result of the reforms. Our conclusion is robust to further additional strategic assumptions.

Design of Competency Model for Labor Social Security Practitioners Facing Jobs In The Future

To meet the very large coverage of employment social security of Indonesian workers, including the growth of jobs in the future, labor social security practitioners need an adequate development process to become competent practitioners in their fields. This study aims to analyze the objective conditions of the competence of labor social security practitioners in Indonesia today, analyze and formulate competency standards for the field of labor social security, and design competency models of labor social security practitioners to produce competent labor social security practitioners in dealing with jobs in future. Primary data will be collected by distributing questionnaires to 300 labor social security practitioners and will be analyzed to produce situational analysis. In-depth interviews will be submitted to 20 experts to explore the competencies of labor social security practitioners and the results will be outlined according to the Soft System Methodology stage. The data will be processed using the Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing to identify strategic assumptions, Interpretive Structural Model to design system modeling, and Analytical Hierarchy Process to set strategic priorities. Keywords: competency, social security practitioners, jobs in the future

COVID-19 triggers great nonfinancial risk crisis: Nonfinancial risk management best practices in Canada

The spread of viral disease COVID-19 is the most transformative nonfinancial risk (NFR) of this decade triggering the Great Nonfinancial Risk Crisis. The uniting of strategy and risk management has never been more crucial for financial institutions. The interrelationship between the pandemic and the increases in ageing, chronic diseases, interstate conflicts, nationalism, cyber attacks, cyber dependency, asset bubble, and sovereign debt is transforming our reality in previously unimaginable ways. NFR management best practices Canadian Financial Institutions (FIs) prioritised NFR and adopted a NFR framework that enabled them to identify the spread of viral disease (COVID-19). Then they reprioritised COVID-19 risk into their existing enterprise risk management framework to reduce the exposure and impact of the pandemic and re-evaluated their strategic assumptions to reset their business strategy in light of the reprioritised risk matrix. In this paper, the author reviews best practices in managing NFRs and trends from the practitioner’s point of view. Thirteen Canadian FIs are reviewed along with their positioning of NFR pre- and post-COVID-19, and their recent enhancements to their NFR-management process. The author illustrates how the adoption of the Global Risks and Trends Framework by several Canadian FIs has influenced their preparation and resilience in this pandemic. Finally, the author discusses best practice examples, as well as challenges that still exist, how organisations have adjusted their strategy linking risk to their recent experience, and what lessons other FIs can learn about managing these NFRs.

Strategic Assumptions for The Success of Coal Mining Reclamation to be A Tourism Site; A Case Study in Rantau Pandan Village of Bungo Regency

Bad practice of open coal mining in Bungo Regency leaves many abandoned ponds. One pond in Rantau Pandan Village has been neglected for 5 years. Its environmental and social impacts pushed people to sue the government to revoke the permit of XXX Company that manages the mining. The low price of coal as well as the deep and large area to be piled make more difficult to do reclamation. This study aims at exploring the prospect of doing reclamation for tourism purposes with the concept of Community Based Tourism (CBT) and analyzing some strategic assumptions for the success that of reclamation. Primary data were collected through observation, interview and focus group discussion. Data were analyzed descriptively and qualitatively using Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing (SAST) method. Research finding shows that the people are eager to welcome the idea of CBT however the compensation from the mining company should be paid first. Of 22 assumptions for the development of tourism village, 18 assumptions can be grouped into quadrant II or Certain Planning Region, while 4 assumptions are in quadrant IV or Problematic Planning Region. To support this plan, it’s suggested five things i.e. resolving the social conflict among parties, strengthening the local institution, giving a mandate to villagers to manage the pond as a tourism site, then followed by supervising and enhance infrastructure to ease access.

Strategi Pengembangan Pasar Keramik Belawan Sebagai Daya Tarik Wisata Belanja di Kota Medan

This study aims to identify the strategic assumptions of Belawan Ceramics Market with a descriptive method approach. By compiling results from the perspective of customers and traders, this study analyzes strategic assumptions with the SWOT analysis tool. The results showed that consumers who came were consumers who had repeatedly visited the Ceramic Market, but the loyalty of visitors decreased for the fourth visit. Tourist considerations for visiting the Belawan Ceramics Market are diverse types of merchandise, traditional bargaining systems, interactions with direct traders, as well as structuring shopping space that is not rigid with social accessibility in the form of local community acceptance (especially traders) towards foreigners. From the SWOT analysis conducted, it was found that the strategies that could be carried out to develop the Belawan ceramics market were: opening stores early, adding collections of unique items, expanding promotions through social media, pentahelix synergy for more effective development, price competition considerations in accordance with the quality of the goods being marketed, complementing supporting tourism utilities such as lighting facilities and increasing the role of government and community self-help to increase the sense of security for visitors / tourists.

Harnessing protest potential: Russian strategic culture and the colored revolutions

ABSTRACT The perceived threat posed to Russia from so-called colored revolutions–popular uprisings attributed by Moscow to malign sponsorship by external forces–has become a central theme in Russian security discourse. This article analyses how colored revolutions came to be characterized as a specific threat to national security and how they continue to shape Russian thinking about the changing character of conflict. It explores Russian perceptions of the threat from colored revolutions, using the concept of strategic culture as a framework to analyze these perceptions through an analysis of the Russian military theoretical literature and strategic documents. The article establishes that concerns about non-military means of destabilization reflect continuities in Russian strategic assumptions about adversaries and how they seek to achieve their national objectives. It also reveals the perpetuation of specific narratives about the country’s vulnerability to foreign interference.

SAST & AHP METHOD IN DETERMINING THE BEST STRATEGY OF OFFICE ERGONOMICS PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT TO PREVENT RISK OF MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS AT XYZ COMPANY QATAR

Ergonomics Program has been recommended by many studies as one of the main guidelines in equipping employees at work to prevent injuries and health problems. One of the main benefits gained from implementing the Ergonomics Program is that it reduces the risk of injury by adapting work that suit to human, not forcing human to adapt to work. Offices that are designed using ergonomic principles can improve performance and reduce workplace injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
 This study aims to obtain strategies of Office Ergonomics Program Improvement to prevent risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) cases in XYZ Company Qatar. The research approach was conducted through qualitative descriptive using expert based approach (System of System Methodology - SoSM). The study began by analyzing data on MSDs cases and sick leave related to MSDs. The results of analysis are taken into consideration when collecting assumptions for office ergonomics program improvement and its level of importance and certainty. The method used is Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing (SAST). Prioritizing of strategic assumptions are determined using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The data obtained were analyzed using Software Expert Choice 11. The results of analysis showed that Policy and procedure had the greatest value with 0.256, while the work station was 0.219, health check-up 0.059, awareness program 0.087, regular exercise 0.202, training 0.088 and supervision / monitoring 0.089.

Strategic Management Teacher Performance Development to Improve Learning Quality

Strategy Management for Teacher Performance Development to Improve the Quality of Lessons is a response to the quality of learning that still needs to be improved, by developing teacher performance, is a solution to improving the quality of learning. Focus of the problem: How to Implement Strategic Management of Teacher Performance Development to Improve the Quality of Learning. Specific objectives of this study are to identify and analyze: (1) Internal and External Environments, (2) Formulation of Strategy Formulation, (3) Strategy Implementation, (4) Teacher Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Management, (5) Strategic Steps to Overcome Problems and Weaknesses. Research methods and procedures refer to the qualitative research approach. The theories that underlie this research are strategic management theory, performance coaching theory, higher order thinking learning theory and madrasah culture theory. The main findings of this study are: (1) The principal of madrasah has not analyzed and combined strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges into a strategic assumption conclusion that can be used as a basis for further strategic planning, (2) Strategy formulation is not based on strategic assumptions that maximize strength factors and minimizing the weakness factor by taking advantage of opportunities in facing challenges.

Analysis of work plans of genetic resources commission of Jambi Province to develop plant genetic resources

Jambi Province has a wealth of plant genetic resources but its development for conservation and economic purpose is very limited. Some local varieties that have been registered in the Ministry of Agriculture and launched as national superior plant varieties are unpopular and now close to extinction. This research aims at exploring the existing condition of the plant genetic resources development among conservationists of local plant genetic resources and designing work plans as well as grouping those plans into two categories; Certain Plan and Problematic Plan. The method used in this study is qualitatively descriptive and Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing (SAST). The result of the study shows some problems faced by that of conservationists regarding unlabelled seeds, the absence of government guidance, and lack of promotion, business capital as well as marketing. Of 11 strategic assumptions, as many as nine assumptions are in the certain planning region. It means that those plans are important to develop the local plant genetic resources and believed to be successful. Also, three strategic assumptions grouped into the Problematic Planning Region. It means that despite the importance of these plans, the problems associated with them make the success of implementation is questioned.

Fossil fuel divestment: theories of change, goals, and strategies of a growing climate movement

ABSTRACTThe fossil fuel divestment movement has developed into an offshoot of the climate change movement in recent years. The movement has become increasingly effective at stigmatizing the fossil fuel industry. However, fossil fuel divestment remains poorly understood. Here, we apply the concept of theories of change to expand understanding of fossil fuel divestment through a thematic analysis of interviews with climate change and divestment activists. The main research question pursued is: What are the underlying strategic assumptions of fossil fuel divestment campaigns? Findings reveal that activists hold theories of change that are deeply antithetical to the fossil fuel industry and that divestment is part of a bigger strategic plan that seeks the ultimate demise of the industry. Implications for the study of divestment and climate politics are discussed.

Instytucjonalna ochrona dziedzictwa przemysłowego w perspektywie strategicznej w Polsce na przykładzie regionu górnośląskiego

The main objective of the article is to define the concept and fundamental strategic assumptions for the International Documentation and Research Centre on Industrial Heritage for Tourism. To accomplish this objective, the paper presents the results of in-depth interviews conducted among internal and external stakeholders of the International Documentation and Research Centre on Industrial Heritage for Tourism concerning the expectations for future directions of the Centre’s development and the effects of its activity. Then, based on the conducted consultations and the diagnosis of the Centre’s activity to date, the fundamental assumptions of the Centre’s strategy were specified and the key areas of activity were identified. They included: (1) archiving and research actions, and (2) educational and promotional actions.

Losing UNGASS? Lessons from civil society, past and present

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the role of civil society in the recent history of drug policy reform. It focuses on the UN drug control system, which is designed to regulate certain “scheduled” or listed substances internationally. It provides new light on recent reformist discourses and strategic agendas and how they related to the reality of UN politics and international relations. It questions the idea that the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) in 2016 was a failure in terms of outcomes. It concludes by suggesting that the true outcomes of the UNGASS process will initially be obscured by the complexity of national-international drug policy dialectics, but may eventually prove more tangible and enduring than proposed formal systemic reforms.Design/methodology/approachThe paper examines the historical role of civil society in the UN drug control system. It highlights that although civil society played a key role in the early formation of the system, this role diminished over time as the system professionalised. Meanwhile, as a new reformist movement emerged in the 1990s challenging the status quo, the paper traces this movement through the early UNGASS process, the decline of the reformist era and the eventual UNGASS outcomes. It concludes with a critical evaluation of civil society strategies and the relationship between idealistic strategies and the realities of national and international politics.FindingsRather than a failure of outcomes, UNGASS represented a failure of assumptions, strategic vision and ultimately expectations on the part of reform optimists. These groups ultimately created and became captive to a goal of formal systemic reforms, or treaty revisions, underpinned by a dogmatic assumption of “the inescapable logic of reform necessity”. This logic argued that highlighting treaty “breaches” and contradictions would be a sufficient condition to drive a formal UN system-wide re-evaluation of drug control. These failures of strategic assumptions and vision ultimately resulted in the sense of “failure” of UNGASS 2016.Research limitations/implicationsThis research highlights the need to critically evaluate civil society strategies and desired outcomes with an eye to history, international relations and the realities of managing a complex global issue. The application of mono-causal explanations for individual state actions or international cooperation is shown to be vastly insufficient to explain, plan for or predict the outcomes of a complex multilateral framework. Furthermore, this paper highlights a research agenda on the role of civil society in drug policy formation and how this relates to the current policy and advocacy groupings among member states and interest groups at national and international levels.Practical implicationsThis paper highlights a more realistic appraisal of the determinants of and possibilities to change international drug policy. It thereby utilises an impressionistic historical narrative of the UNGASS process to enable an evaluation of the frontiers of policy reform at the UN level and provide some guidance on the failures of past strategies and potential future directions of international drug control and reformist strategies.Social implicationsAs highlighted in this paper, drug policy is an area where major policy failures are recognised within the current international approach. Experimentation with new tactics and strategies are needed to break out of the traditional prohibition-centric approach to this issue. The benefits of more successful policies would be felt though a lower level of harm from drug use, drug markets and drug policy. As such, a pragmatic understanding of how the international system might evolve to support new evidence-based approaches is crucial to developing a socially beneficial approach to drugs and drug policy.Originality/valueThe originality of this research lies in its blending of a historical evaluation of the role of civil society in the UN drug control system and the strategies of contemporary civil society actors around the UNGASS process. Thereby it allows a more critical evaluation of the strategic goals, assumptions and outcomes of reformist strategies in the recent era and potential strategies moving forward.

A Multi-Methodological Approach to Complex Problem Solving: The Case of Serbian Enterprise

Increasing complexity and diversity of management problems in modern enterprises requires the increasing diversity of models, methods, and methodologies. In creatively dealing with these complex, changeable and multidimensional management problems, i.e., problem situations, different systems methodologies for problem situations, structuring have been developed. Since no methodology is able to explore all aspects of the complex problems in enterprises, the topic of this paper is a multi-methodology approach that implies combining selected systems methodologies (Strategic Assumptions Surfacing and Testing, Team Syntegrity and Organizational Cybernetics) within a particular intervention. Therefore, research in the paper is relied on Critical Systems Thinking as a conceptual framework for combined use of systems methodologies. The paper aims to demonstrate how mixing the selected systems methodologies and tools can help managers in solving complex problems, such as the issues of strategy formulation and implementation in enterprises. Accordingly, combining these methodologies to support strategy formulation and implementation is applied to a Serbian enterprise.

THE NEW POLICY OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION FOR CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION (CIMIC)

The paper presents a comparative analysis of two documents forming the political basis for the concept of civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, namely NATO Military Policy on Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) and Civil-Military Interaction (CMI) no. MC 0411/2, approved on 5 May 2014, and its predecessor entitled NATO Military Policy on Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) no. MC 0411/1, published on 6 July 2001. The analysis of the structure of both documents, their substance and thematic scope as well as their origin and background made it possible to identify the principal directions in the transformation of the CIMIC concept since its beginnings and to present its new elements, mainly the issue of civil-military interaction. The article discusses also the further anticipated directions of changes arising from the assumptions of the new NATO policy for CIMIC and CMI and the progress made so far in operationalising the strategic assumptions contained in MC 0411/2, including in particular the works on a new NATO doctrine concerning CIMIC and CMI.

Introduction to Performance Prism:A Tool of Performance Measurement System

This research paper describes and illustrates the practical application of a new measurement framework- The Performance Prism- Which addresses the shortcomings of many of the traditional measurement frameworks being used by organizations today. The Performance Prism, with its comprehensive stakeholder orientation, encourages executives to consider the wants and needs of all the organization's stakeholders, rather than a subset, as well as the associated strategies, processes and capabilities. DHL's board for the UK have used this framework to re-engineer their corporate measurement and reporting system and the research paper explain DHL and other firms' experiences with the Performance Prism. An extensive literature survey on performance measurement is used to identify the main aspects of the review in such systems. Various dimensions related to the characteristics of Performance Prism are explored. All the findings are then routinely put together to develop the proposed conceptual framework. The paper presents a conceptual model to review performance measurement systems (PMS) which are designed based on Performance Prism. The presented framework categorizes review processes and tools into two main categories; Business Performance Review (BPR) and Performance Measurement System Review (PMSR). In BPR, a loop is presented in three levels with regards to the five facets of Performance Prism which indicates the performance management process. PMSR deals with reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of the design and implementation of the PMS it. Several methods and tools have been gathered from the literature in this section to examine the relevance of measures and some have been introduced to study and challenge the validity of strategic assumptions and strategies and appropriateness of the infrastructure. Implications of various factors such as organizational culture, change management and characteristics of the measures are highlighted. The framework provides a procedural action for reviewing both business performance and PMS performance when applying the Performance Prism in practice. It provides a foundation for further empirical research. This study adds to the body of literature, by proposing a comprehensive review framework to be used in Performance Prism.

Out of Arabia: British Strategy and the Fate of Local Forces in Aden, South Yemen, and Oman, 1967–76

The British engagement with Oman from 1967–76 came at a time when other imperial and defence commitments were being reduced in the Gulf region and elsewhere. Following the ignominious retreat from Aden, the British chose to support the Omani regime in its conflict with Communist-inspired insurgents (1970–6). This article gives context to the dichotomy of outcomes in southern Arabia and examines the role of local military forces in the counter-insurgencies. It demonstrates that Britain's domestic political considerations, regional strategic requirements, and concerns for its global reputation, rather than counterinsurgency operations and the local forces, were the main drivers of outcomes. Insurgents and local actors nevertheless responded to changes taking place in and around Oman, recalibrating their decision to co-operate or resist on their own terms, and changes in the international support for the insurgents were decisive. The key argument is that the dynamic combinations of international support, British strategic assumptions and miscalculations, and local agency, were crucially important to the outcomes in the region. The ‘fate’ of those who had allied with, or resisted, the British, needs to be set in this context.

Taxonomic Analysis of Logistic Potential of Polish Voivodeships

The aim of this article was to rank Polish voivodeships in terms of the level of their logistic potential. The features used in describing this potential were arranged as three sets of variables. They come from three research fields: transport infrastructure (road and rail), storage capacity and activity of companies involved in logistic processes. A taxonomic development indicator (TDI) based on nine variables from the logistics area was calculated. It enabled to classify the voivodeships into four clusters. The first places in the ranking were occupied by the following voivodeships: Wielkopolskie and Mazowieckie, the last positions were taken by Eastern Poland (Świętokrzyskie, Podlaskie, and Lubelskie).Then it was checked whether the ranking would change if the environmental factor was considered. The tenth variable representing air pollution caused by transport was included in the index.The development of the transport infrastructure while limiting the negative impacts on the environment is set as a target in the development strategy of the transport in Poland. The analysis results provide information for authorities to know which regions and cities grow according to the idea of sustainable development of transport. The authorities have to monitor, and modify if necessary, the transport strategy in cities and regions. TDI could be a tool enabling to compare the implementation with the strategic assumptions. Maintaining a similar position in both constructed rankings proves that a region with its capital city can be assessed as one that cares about realization of that idea. The regions which were ranked high could be used in benchmarking analysis as a model. That part of the analysis proved that the best regions have not changed their positions even when the environmental factor was included. They have proved that it is possible to develop their logistics potential and care about environmental issues at the same time.

Combining the methodologies of strategic assumptions surfacing and testing and organizational cybernetics in managing problem situations in enterprises

The limitations of the individual use of systems methodologies in creative dealing with complex, dynamic and ambiguous problems, i.e. problem situations, caused by the increasing complexity and diversity of problem situations, indicate the necessity of a combined, i.e. synergistic use of systems methodologies. The aim of the research is to show how some limitations of the individual using of the interpretive systems methodology of Strategic Assumptions Surfacing and Testing (SAST) and Organizational Cybernetics (OC), as a functionalist systems methodology, can be eliminated by their combining. After identifying Critical Systems Thinking as a relevant conceptual framework for combining systems methodologies, the key features and limitations of SAST and OC are specified, and the assumptions, the conditions, the potential way, as well as the limitations of their combined, i.e. synergistic use are then determined. Despite the limitations, the methodologically appropriate combined use of these systems methodologies enables the improvement of managing problem situations in enterprises.