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Organizational Change (organizational + change)
Selected AbstractsORGANIZATIONAL PORTFOLIO THEORY: PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGECONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 4 2000L DONALDSON The article outlines some of the main ideas of a new organizational theory: organizational portfolio theory. The literature has empirically established that organizations tend not to make needed adaptive changes until they suffer a crisis of low organizational performance. Organizational portfolio theory takes this idea and constructs a theory of the conditions under which organizational performance becomes low enough for adaptive organizational change to occur. The focus is on the interaction between organizational misfit and the other causes of organizational performance. To model these interactions use is made of the concepts of risk and portfolio. [source] ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, SKILL FORMATION, HUMAN CAPITAL MEASUREMENT: EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMSJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2010Gilberto Antonelli Abstract This paper emphasizes the role of labour demand as a determinant of human capital formation. After a section in which the alternative conceptions on the functioning of labour markets are presented and different ways of measuring human capital are compared, an applied analysis is carried out in which we provide a labour-demand-oriented measure of human capital, as defined by the amount of specific skills firms generate through work-based training (WBT) activities. By merging three rich firm-level datasets, we estimate the impact of a set of variables supposed to affect both the propensity to invest in WBT and the intensity of training within the Italian manufacturing industry over the period 2001,2005. Special attention is devoted to the variables characterizing within-firm organization of knowledge, organizational change and the formation of competence pipelines: among them, innovation, internationalization commitment, out-sourcing and new hirings. The estimates show that the effect of innovation on WBT is higher when the introduction of new technologies is supported by organizational innovations. When looking at the nature of WBT, we investigate the different determinants of the firms' propensity to provide both in-house and outside training. We measure training intensity in terms, respectively, of the number of provided training activities, private and total training costs and share of trainees. [source] Organizational Change and Representations of Women in a North American Utility CompanyGENDER, WORK & ORGANISATION, Issue 3 2005Jean Helms Mills Using a critical sensemaking approach, this article explores the process that leads to the formation of different types of masculinity over time. In particular it looks at organizational change programmes, the subsequent representation of organizational men and women in corporate documents and the consequences this has on the gendering of organizational culture. Annual reports from a North American electrical company, Nova Scotia Power, which underwent significant changes between 1972,2001, are used to show how the company's masculinist cultures were reflected in company policies and portrayed in the images and text in these documents. The focus of this article is on how strategic change programmes influenced different notions of masculinity over time, how these understandings were enacted through organizational policies, how this identity was (unconsciously) portrayed in images and text and what effects this had on the gendering of organizational culture. [source] The Determinants of Organizational Change and Structural Inertia: Technological and Organizational FactorsJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 4 2002Massimo G. Colombo There are a growing body of theoretical work, wide anecdotal evidence, and a few large-scale empirical studies supporting the view that business firms quite rarely change their organizational structure, a phenomenon usually referred to in the literature as structural inertia. The present paper aims to analyze empirically the determinants of structural inertia and organizational change. As far as we know, this work constitutes the first attempt to directly address such issues through econometric estimates based on a large, longitudinal dataset at plant level. For this purpose, we consider changes of the organizational structure within a sample composed of 438 Italian manufacturing plants observed from 1975 to 1996. More precisely, we specify and test a duration model of the likelihood of an individual plant changing the number of hierarchical tiers after a spell r, provided that no change has occurred up to T. We also analyze the direction of change, distinguishing increases from decreases of the number of managerial layers. We consider a set of plant- and industry-specific explanatory variables that are expected to induce or oppose organizational change. The findings show that the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and new human-resources management practices favors organizational change. On the contrary, the presence of sunk costs and the extent of influence activities figure prominently in explaining structural inertia of business organizations. [source] Symposium on Organizational ChangeJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 2 2002Susan Helper [source] The Fragmentation of a Railway: A Study of Organizational ChangeJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2005David Tyrrall abstract This paper considers pathways of organizational change within British Rail (BR) during its long period of commercialization culminating in privatization. The Laughlin (1991) and Parker (1995a) frameworks are used to demonstrate how a new interpretative scheme supplanted the previous interpretative scheme within BR between the 1970s and privatization in the mid-1990s, leading to a fragmented organization. BR did not survive and privatization of Britain's railways remains controversial. The study demonstrates that without the earlier changes in interpretive scheme from ,social railway' to ,business railway' to ,profitable business', and the associated changes in design archetypes and sub-systems, privatization would have been both less tempting and less feasible. It is intended that the approach developed here to analyse organizational change in BR should be applicable to the study of other privatizations and to other forms of organizational change in both the public and private sectors. [source] Incremental Organizational Change in a Transforming Society: Managing Turbulence in Hungary in the 1990sJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2000Laszlo Czaban The rapid liberalization of the former state socialist economies of Eastern Europe coupled with privatization were thought by many in the early 1990s likely to generate effective capitalist firms quite quickly. However, the radical institutional transformation and collapse of Soviet markets resulted in considerable uncertainty for most companies which, together with high sunk costs and lack of resources, inhibited organizational restructuring and strategic change. Despite high levels of foreign ownership and control by the mid-1990s, many Hungarian companies continued to produce much the same kinds of products for mostly the same customers with inputs from mostly the same suppliers as in 1990. While most had reduced employment substantially, and many had disposed of ancillary organizational units, the bulk of the companies considered here had not greatly altered their work systems and overall organizational structures. In the few enterprises where the production process had been extensively reorganized by 1996, this was funded and directed by foreign firms who had taken them over. These foreign firm-controlled companies also tended to have new top managers from outside the enterprise. They additionally introduced new products more often than Hungarian firms, albeit within rather narrow product lines that usually dominated the domestic market. Overall, most of the enterprises studied were still doing much the same set of activities in the mid-1990s, though with fewer staff, as at the start of the decade, and privatization per se had not led to major shifts in enterprise structure and strategy, nor did it seem likely to do so in the foreseeable future. [source] Key safety roles in organizational changesPROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2010Paul A. Davidson Abstract As, business moves to lean manufacture to minimize costs, it inherently leads to reduced staff and a flatter management structure. During these organizational changes, it is important that safety is not compromised by the removal of key people. A number of layers of controls and defenses are put in place, to both prevent an event and to mitigate the consequences if an event occurs. There are many competing techniques for assessing the impact of organizational change, each of which has its pros and cons. This article discusses a technique based on the use of the Bow Tie methodology to analyze major accident scenarios for a high-hazard site, and presents an example from a real life case study. Controls identified in the analysis have a responsible person assigned to them and a summary of these roles is used to define the impact of removing a role. Key roles for safety controls are maintained and any eliminated roles have their responsibilities reassigned. After the change, final role descriptions would specifically include descriptions of key safety control responsibilities. Within this article, we have discussed the application of the Bow Tie technique to Organizational Change on a site during a 15% staff reduction. This application and technique is easily followed, leading to identification and correction of gaps in the management systems. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2010 [source] Creating the Project Office: A Manager's Guide to Leading Organizational ChangeTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Gerald M. Mulenburg No abstract is available for this article. [source] Technological and organizational changes as determinants of the skill bias: evidence from the Italian machinery industryMANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2006Mariacristina Piva Recent empirical literature has introduced the ,Skill Biased Organizational Change' (SBOC) hypothesis, according to which organizational change can be considered as one of the main causes of the skill bias (increase in the number of highly skilled workers) exhibited by manufacturing employment in developed countries. This paper focuses on the importance of the SBOC with respect to the more traditional ,Skill Biased Technological Change' in driving the skill composition of workers in the Italian machinery sector. A dynamic panel data analysis is proposed which uses a unique firm-level dataset. The results show that both skilled and unskilled workers are negatively affected by technological change, while organizational change,which in turn may be linked to new technologies,is positively linked to skilled workers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Impact of Technological and Organizational Changes on Labor Flows.LABOUR, Issue 2 2007Evidence on French Establishments We conduct an empirical analysis in which we make extensive use of a unique data set on a representative sample of French establishments. Working with various indicators of labor flows (gross labor flows, hiring rate, firing rate, net labor flows, and churning flows), we find that the use of new technology seems to have a positive effect on aggregate job turnover and, more specifically, turnover among manual workers. In contrast, innovative workplace organizational practices are related to lower turnover among clerical workers and intermediate professionals and have a positive effect on churning among managers. [source] Organizational change: Ethics, information, and technology for improved practiceTHE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, Issue 1 2001Paul E. Mazmanian PhDArticle first published online: 26 APR 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] PUBLIC SERVICE PERSPECTIVES ON REFORMS OF ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION AND SUPPLY: A MODULAR ANALYSISANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2010Ute Dubois ABSTRACT,:,This article analyzes organizational change in electricity distribution and retail businesses and its impact on public service issues. Organizational change has resulted from the European electricity directives, especially the EU Electricity directive 2003/54/EC, which has imposed major transformations on these activities, requiring legal unbundling of electricity distribution networks by 1 July 2007. Organizational change has also resulted from an adaptation of companies to the newly competitive environment. This has led to a diversity of organizational choices across Europe. We analyze this diversity by using a modular approach, which decomposes reforms in electricity distribution and retail into logical ,blocks'. We then examine how European countries have dealt with two policy and regulatory issues related to customer protection in that new environment: the regulation of quality of distribution, which is a task of regulators, and energy affordability policies for vulnerable customers, which are a central aspect of public service policies in the electricity sector. [source] Sharing specialist skills for diabetes in an inner city: A comparison of two primary care organisations over 4 yearsJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2006Abdu Mohiddin MFPHM Lecturer Abstract Objective, To evaluate the effects of organizational change and sharing of specialist skills and information technology for diabetes in two primary care groups (PCGs) over 4 years. Methods, In PCG-A, an intervention comprised dedicated specialist sessions in primary care, clinical guidelines, educational meetings for professionals and a shared diabetes electronic patient record (EPR). Comparison was made with the neighbouring PCG-B as control. In intervention and control PCGs, practice development work was undertaken for a new contract for family doctors. Data were collected for clinical measures, practice organizational characteristics and professional and patient views. Results, Data were analysed for 26 general practices including 17 in PCG-A and nine in PCG-B. The median practice-specific proportions of patients with HbA1c recorded annually increased in both areas: PCG-A from median 65% to 77%, while PCG-B from 53% to 84%. For cholesterol recording, PCG-A increased from 50% to 76%, and PCG-B from 56% to 80%. Organizational changes in both PCGs included the establishment of recall systems, dedicated clinics and educational sessions for patients. In both PCGs, practices performing poorly at baseline showed the greatest improvements in organization and clinical practice. Primary care professionals' satisfaction with access and communication with diabetes specialist doctors and nurses increased, more so in the intervention PCG. Only 16% of primary care professional respondents used the diabetes EPR at least monthly. Patient satisfaction and knowledge did not change. Conclusions, Improvements in practices' organizational arrangements were associated with improvements in clinical care in both PCGs. Sharing specialist skills in one PCG was associated with increased professional satisfaction but no net improvement in clinical measures. A shared diabetes EPR is unlikely to be used, unless integrated with practice information systems. [source] Calman,Hine reassessed: a survey of cancer network development in England, 1999,2000JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 3 2002Beth Kewell BA PhD Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives,The paper assesses preliminary national data on the development of cancer care networks in England. Methods,In January 2000, a national postal survey was sent to lead clinicians at 36 cancer centres and associate centres. Respondents were asked to provide basic numerical data on the design of the network (i.e. its configuration), detailing how many units it encompassed, and whether the centre was a multiple or a single entity. Results,The survey highlighted national variations in the size and configuration of networks. The survey also highlighted tentative signs of shifts in clinical practice. The results showed that consultants at cancer centres and units were engaging in two forms of collaboration across centre,unit boundaries. Type 1 involved routine multidisciplinary team (MDT) outreach from centres to units, incorporating joint planning between clinicians at cancer centres and cancer units. Type 2 collaboration involved joint planning but also promoted joint centre and unit training and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes. Conclusions,In our estimation, both forms of collaboration represented early evidence of qualitative changes in medical working practices. Organizational changes within cancer services have moved swiftly since initial soundings were taken in 2000 and we update our initial commentary in the light of recent empirical data. The findings may be of wider significance to managers and health practitioners who are working towards the implementation of delivery network elsewhere in the UK National Health Service. [source] ORGANIZATIONAL PORTFOLIO THEORY: PERFORMANCE-DRIVEN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGECONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 4 2000L DONALDSON The article outlines some of the main ideas of a new organizational theory: organizational portfolio theory. The literature has empirically established that organizations tend not to make needed adaptive changes until they suffer a crisis of low organizational performance. Organizational portfolio theory takes this idea and constructs a theory of the conditions under which organizational performance becomes low enough for adaptive organizational change to occur. The focus is on the interaction between organizational misfit and the other causes of organizational performance. To model these interactions use is made of the concepts of risk and portfolio. [source] Endogenous Adaptation: The Effects of Technology Position and Planning Mode on IT-Enabled Change,DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2006Victoria L. Mitchell ABSTRACT The redesign of information technology (IT)-enabled work processes often necessitates fundamental design changes to the intended work process, the IT platform hosting the work process, or both. Research suggests that such design changes often can be traced to earlier decisions involving endogenous adaptation or internal organizational change. Two such decisions are a firm's technology position and planning mode. This study examines the relationship between technology position and planning mode in predicting the magnitude of design change in process redesign projects. The conceptual frame applied in examining these relationships involves a synthesis of Miles and Snow's adaptive cycle with elements central to concurrent engineering. Our results indicate that the magnitude of design change is related to differences in technology position and planning mode. To effectively implement organizational change, firms must leverage their IT platform by carefully timing IT investments in accordance with their adopted technology position. Directing the trajectory of a firm's IT platform and deploying it so as to complement the firm's technology position reduces design uncertainty, promoting reengineering success. [source] We've never done it this way before: Prompting organizational change through storiesGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 2 2008North McKinnon Organizations have discovered that storytelling is a powerful change management tool for addressing the emotional issues that have torpedoed many an initiative. Leaders from five businesses discuss how stories finally enabled employees and other stakeholders to get on board with major change efforts. The cases include organizations that used metaphors to create a common team vision, a road map for new business strategy, and the future vision for a massive high tech merger, as well as leaders who used personal stories to convey the essence of a difficult business issue for a skeptical audience. This article is reprinted from the book, Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results, by Lori L. Silverman (Jossey-Bass, 2006) © 2006 John Wiley & Sons. [source] Validation of the Learning Transfer System Inventory: A study of supervisors in the public sector in JordanHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008Abdulfattah Yaghi Jordanian policymakers rely on trained supervisors to lead organizational change in public administration. The impact of training, however, remains weak unless trainees apply what they have learned (training transfer). In order to assess training transfer, the present study validates a Classic Arabic version of the Learning Transfer System Inventory (CALTSI). The instrument was administered to a random sample of 500 supervisors. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique factor rotation validates 15 of the original 16 factors of the LTSI and explains about 65% of the common variance. These findings and their implications are discussed. [source] How Workers Fare When Employers InnovateINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2004Sandra E. Black Complementing existing work on firm organizational structure and productivity, this article examines the impact of organizational change on workers. We find evidence that employers do appear to compensate at least some of their workers for engaging in high-performance workplace practices. We also find a significant association between high-performance workplace practices and increased wage inequality. Finally, we examine the relationship between organizational structure and employment changes and find that some practices, such as self-managed teams, are associated with greater employment reductions, whereas other practices, such as the percentage of workers involved in job rotation, are associated with lower employment reductions. [source] Impact of organizational change on the delivery of reproductive services: a review of the literatureINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Tim Ensor Abstract In order to understand the impact of specific maternal health interventions, it is necessary to understand the likely effect of the health system structure. An important aspect of this structure is the organizational culture. Many systems in low-income countries have been based on a centrally planned and financed system. In recent years a series of organizational changes have been introduced into many systems and these substantially alter the way in which the system operates and impacts on reproductive health care provision. The main changes reviewed in this paper are: (i) decentralization, (ii) privatization and (iii) integration and sector wide approaches. Each of these changes is seen to have important implications for reproductive health. In each case it is clear that the nature of the impact depends crucially on the way it is implemented. Quantifying the impact of these changes remains extremely difficult given the many different ways they can be introduced and the many confounding factors that affect the overall impact. The literature does, however, point to a number of key issues that impinge on the way in which change is likely to affect reproductive health initiatives. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Managing people and performance: an evidence based framework applied to health service organizationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 2 2004Susan Michie People and their performance are key to an organization's effectiveness. This review describes an evidence-based framework of the links between some key organizational influences and staff performance, health and well-being. This preliminary framework integrates management and psychological approaches, with the aim of assisting future explanation, prediction and organizational change. Health care is taken as the focus of this review, as there are concerns internationally about health care effectiveness. The framework considers empirical evidence for links between the following organizational levels: 1Context (organizational culture and inter-group relations; resources, including staffing; physical environment) 2People management (HRM practices and strategies; job design, workload and teamwork; employee involvement and control over work; leadership and support) 3Psychological consequences for employees (health and stress; satisfaction and commitment; knowledge, skills and motivation) 4Employee behaviour (absenteeism and turnover; task and contextual performance; errors and near misses) 5Organizational performance; patient care. This review contributes to an evidence base for policies and practices of people management and performance management. Its usefulness will depend on future empirical research, using appropriate research designs, sufficient study power and measures that are reliable and valid. [source] A review of the Chinese cultural influences on Chinese enterprise managementINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT REVIEWS, Issue 4 2000Kit-Fai Pun In order to create and sustain competitive advantage, a company should not only develop technologies to create products and processes that meet customer needs, but also stimulate a corporate culture that commits to continuous performance improvement. Managing corporate culture is one of a number of important factors that make for organizational change and business success. This paper reviews the cultural roots and identifies the characteristics of Chinese cultural values and management. A comparative analysis of the differences between Anglo-American and Chinese cultures is made. The cultural influences on Chinese management systems are then elaborated with reference to enterprise management in Mainland China and Hong Kong. With unique cultural heritage, collective orientation has a pervasive influence on the mode of Chinese management and organization. The prevailing Chinese culture values stress largely the paternalistic approach to management, acceptance of hierarchy and the importance of relationships. Today's Chinese enterprises need to determine changes in practice or value or both aspects of corporate culture in order to facilitate organizational change and maintain a competitive edge over their rivals. The paper also discusses the links of cultural values to employee involvement (EI) and total quality management (TQM), and initiates a need to manage cultural influences on EI/TQM practices to improve organizational performance in Chinese enterprises. [source] Managing professionals: The emerging leadership role of Victorian Maternal and Child Health coordinatorsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 2 2004Kerreen Reiger PhD Drawing on research into cultural and organizational change in the Victorian Maternal and Child Health Service during the 1990s, this paper examines implications for the nursing leadership provided by service coordinators. The project included a quantitative survey of nurses and semistructured interviews with managers and coordinators. Under a strongly neo-liberal state government in Victoria, Australia, services were fundamentally restructured through tendering processes. A competitive, productivist culture was introduced that challenged the professional ethos of nurses and a primary health orientation to the care of mothers and infants. This paper focuses on the pressures that the entrepreneurial environment presented to maternal and child health nurses' identity and collegial relations and to the coordination role. It argues that coordinators emerged as a significant nursing management group at the interface of administrative change and the management of professional practice. Although many nurses skilfully negotiated tensions with peers and management, their leadership role needs further clarification and support. [source] The Ottawa Charter,from nursing theory to practice: Insights from the area of alcohol and other drugsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 4 2000Morgan Smith RN This article aims to assist nursing services to use the Ottawa Charter as a framework for nursing practice. Incorporation of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion into a nursing structure constitutes an innovation in nursing practice that was evaluated as a quality improvement exercise in a health-care organization responsible for providing services in the area of alcohol and other drugs. The evaluation consisted of two stages and sought to identify the degree to which the framework was effective in practice. This involved identifying issues surrounding the implementation of the Ottawa Charter as a framework for nursing practice as well as identifying the means by which quality improvements could occur. The evaluation involved an initial questionnaire to all nursing staff, followed by a series of focus groups. The data collected was both informative and enlightening and revealed a range of pertinent issues such as staff understanding and interpretation of the Ottawa Charter, expansion of the nurse's role and suggestions for organizational change. The Ottawa Charter strategies are discussed in relation to their relevance to the organization under evaluation and also expanded into recommendations to assist those contemplating using the Ottawa Charter as a framework for nursing practice. There was considerable agreement among the respondents that the Ottawa Charter provided a useful framework for nursing practice, but was on occasions problematic. [source] Perceptions of a service redesign by adults living with type 2 diabetesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 7 2009Joan R.S. McDowell Abstract Title.,Perceptions of a service redesign by adults living with type 2 diabetes. Aim., This article is a report of a study conducted to explore the perceptions of adults with type 2 diabetes towards the service redesign. Background., Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions and the management of this chronic illness is changing in response to this challenge. In the United Kingdom, there is ongoing restructuring of healthcare services for people with chronic illnesses to ensure that their general health and clinical needs are met predominantly in primary care. Method., An explorative qualitative approach was used. Eight focus groups were conducted with 35 people with type 2 diabetes in one urban location between 2003 and 2004. Five focus groups were conducted with people who had recently experienced the restructured service and three groups with people who had up to 2 years' experience of the new service. Concurrent data collection and thematic analysis were conducted by three researchers and credibility and verification sought by feedback to participants. Findings., Five main themes were identified: impact of living with diabetes; understanding diabetes; drivers for organizational change; care in context and individual concerns. Participants identified issues for ongoing development of the service. Conclusion., People with type 2 diabetes appreciate their care management within the primary care setting where there has been investment in staff to deliver this care. Healthcare resources are required to support the development of staff and the necessary infrastructure to undertake management in primary care. Policy makers need to address the balance of resources between primary and secondary care. [source] New Yorkers Respond to the World Trade Center Attack: An Anatomy of an Emergent Volunteer OrganizationJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2008William R. Voorhees In the aftermath of the New York World Trade Center attack, an emergent group of citizen volunteers organized to provide needed supplies to the workers at Ground Zero. The emergent-group phenomenon has been documented after many disasters. This paper examines the organization of this emergent group through the organizational characteristics of structure, legitimacy, communications, leadership and organizational change. Finally, it argues that through a better understanding of the organizational characteristics, emergency-management personnel will be better prepared to manage and coordinate the activities of disaster-related emergent groups. [source] ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, SKILL FORMATION, HUMAN CAPITAL MEASUREMENT: EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMSJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2010Gilberto Antonelli Abstract This paper emphasizes the role of labour demand as a determinant of human capital formation. After a section in which the alternative conceptions on the functioning of labour markets are presented and different ways of measuring human capital are compared, an applied analysis is carried out in which we provide a labour-demand-oriented measure of human capital, as defined by the amount of specific skills firms generate through work-based training (WBT) activities. By merging three rich firm-level datasets, we estimate the impact of a set of variables supposed to affect both the propensity to invest in WBT and the intensity of training within the Italian manufacturing industry over the period 2001,2005. Special attention is devoted to the variables characterizing within-firm organization of knowledge, organizational change and the formation of competence pipelines: among them, innovation, internationalization commitment, out-sourcing and new hirings. The estimates show that the effect of innovation on WBT is higher when the introduction of new technologies is supported by organizational innovations. When looking at the nature of WBT, we investigate the different determinants of the firms' propensity to provide both in-house and outside training. We measure training intensity in terms, respectively, of the number of provided training activities, private and total training costs and share of trainees. [source] The Determinants of Organizational Change and Structural Inertia: Technological and Organizational FactorsJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 4 2002Massimo G. Colombo There are a growing body of theoretical work, wide anecdotal evidence, and a few large-scale empirical studies supporting the view that business firms quite rarely change their organizational structure, a phenomenon usually referred to in the literature as structural inertia. The present paper aims to analyze empirically the determinants of structural inertia and organizational change. As far as we know, this work constitutes the first attempt to directly address such issues through econometric estimates based on a large, longitudinal dataset at plant level. For this purpose, we consider changes of the organizational structure within a sample composed of 438 Italian manufacturing plants observed from 1975 to 1996. More precisely, we specify and test a duration model of the likelihood of an individual plant changing the number of hierarchical tiers after a spell r, provided that no change has occurred up to T. We also analyze the direction of change, distinguishing increases from decreases of the number of managerial layers. We consider a set of plant- and industry-specific explanatory variables that are expected to induce or oppose organizational change. The findings show that the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and new human-resources management practices favors organizational change. On the contrary, the presence of sunk costs and the extent of influence activities figure prominently in explaining structural inertia of business organizations. [source] Sharing specialist skills for diabetes in an inner city: A comparison of two primary care organisations over 4 yearsJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2006Abdu Mohiddin MFPHM Lecturer Abstract Objective, To evaluate the effects of organizational change and sharing of specialist skills and information technology for diabetes in two primary care groups (PCGs) over 4 years. Methods, In PCG-A, an intervention comprised dedicated specialist sessions in primary care, clinical guidelines, educational meetings for professionals and a shared diabetes electronic patient record (EPR). Comparison was made with the neighbouring PCG-B as control. In intervention and control PCGs, practice development work was undertaken for a new contract for family doctors. Data were collected for clinical measures, practice organizational characteristics and professional and patient views. Results, Data were analysed for 26 general practices including 17 in PCG-A and nine in PCG-B. The median practice-specific proportions of patients with HbA1c recorded annually increased in both areas: PCG-A from median 65% to 77%, while PCG-B from 53% to 84%. For cholesterol recording, PCG-A increased from 50% to 76%, and PCG-B from 56% to 80%. Organizational changes in both PCGs included the establishment of recall systems, dedicated clinics and educational sessions for patients. In both PCGs, practices performing poorly at baseline showed the greatest improvements in organization and clinical practice. Primary care professionals' satisfaction with access and communication with diabetes specialist doctors and nurses increased, more so in the intervention PCG. Only 16% of primary care professional respondents used the diabetes EPR at least monthly. Patient satisfaction and knowledge did not change. Conclusions, Improvements in practices' organizational arrangements were associated with improvements in clinical care in both PCGs. Sharing specialist skills in one PCG was associated with increased professional satisfaction but no net improvement in clinical measures. A shared diabetes EPR is unlikely to be used, unless integrated with practice information systems. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||