A new look at restrictive covenants

While the restrictive covenant issue most often arises in medical group practice with the announcement of a physician's departure, addressing this issue in the planning phase of a group's operation will produce dividends for years to come. It allows preventive planning on these issues to be made in a less emotional context.     

The new look of office politics

Is a sea change occurring in the organizational politics of health care institutions? How is information informally spread throughout the office? It used to be that gossip was the vehicle by which employees learned much about the organization's culture and news. But now, organizations are characterized by a growing faction of staff who are emotionally detached and have a "day-laborer" mentality. The grapevine is not as effective as it once was. Non-participation includes ignoring the grapevine both as listener and feeder. What implications does this have for your organization?     

The evolving board: a look at the board's changing roles and information needs

In looking at the practices of firms in developing active boards with highly informed directors, information needs of directors were found to increase dramatically with increased board activity. This article discusses the changing role of the board and the corresponding change in director information needs.     

Caribbean: old myths and new realities

Attention is succinctly drawn to some trends which should encourage Caribbean islands to promote tourism further, and to exploit eg multicentre holidays. On balance, tourism can help these islands in several spheres.     

Servitization of business updated: Now,new, next

Coined in 1988, “servitization” has become the go-to concept for enhancing corporate competitiveness through value-added services. Over the years, the notion of value-added services to create a competitive edge, enhanced customer relationships, and market power has changed, facilitated by ever advancing technology. The authors look at this progression, spanning from the 1970s to the 2020s and into the future, with examples in both a B2B and B2C context. This is intended to assist both academics and practitioners in positioning themselves and taking steps to advance their research, thinking, and strategies.     

Customer service competencies: a global look

The purpose of the study was to identify competencies needed by those providing service to today's customers. A total of 460 service providers were interviewed from thirty-two different organizations in North America and twenty-six organizations in Asia and Europe. Based on 2.825 critical incidents, five major factors were identified to create the SERVE model: See the ‘big picture’ and how customer service fits into it; Establish an authentic human connection with each customer; Render timely, accurate and thorough service; Value and respond to unique customer needs; and Extend a hand to repair and strengthen relationships with customers who are upset or angry. Similarities and differences among the different geographic regions and among the different respondent types were noted. Implications for HRD practice and future research were discussed.     

The case for complexity: A look at the relationship between individual and structure from the inside out

Abstract

This paper develops a model of the individual – structure relationship using a predominantly sociological explanation. Adopting the perspective of the individual and grounding the approach in a structurationist framework, a system of person-based and role-based relationships is proposed. The model's implications for the individual are developed from an examination of markets, hierarchies and networks. Main conclusions cross-cut individual, functional and organizational levels: (1) work- and non-work roles need to be intentionally maintained and leveraged as a way to develop individual and organizational complexity; (2) individual discretion is essential to achieving the proper balance between the two kinds of roles; (3) networks provide the greatest potential for role satisfaction; and (4) HRD assumes an instrumental role in establishing and maintaining a culture of trust and in designing and supporting jobs that foster complexity and discretion.     

Unlocking the mask: a look at the process by which authentic leaders impact follower attitudes and behaviors

The conceptual and empirical links between authentic leadership and follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance outcomes have not been fully developed. Although we have a number of articles developing the theory of authentic leadership and testing propositions that will appear in a forthcoming special issue of The Leadership Quarterly (Vol. 16, Issue 3, 2005), the focus of this article is to provide some of the initial foundation work for the broader theoretical framework of how authentic leaders influence follower attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Here, we draw from positive organizational behavior, trust, hope, emotion, identification, and identity theories to describe the processes by which authentic leaders exert their influence on followers' attitudes and behaviors. Research propositions based on the proposed theoretical model and implications for future theory building and research are presented.     

A look at major planning methods: development, implementation, strengths and limitations

The purpose of this paper is to prepare an overview of planning as it is carried out in an organizational setting. The format utilized will be to examine the planning process in the context of three of the most popular planning models; management by objectives (MBO), program evaluation and review technique (PERT), and planning— programming—budgeting system (PPBS). Each of these models will be discussed in terms of the reasons for its development, the mechanics of implementing the model, the strengths of the model, and its basic limitations.     

Using an old tool to create a new compact in health care

Recent research reveals that much of the unwritten compact that has served for decades between medical staff and hospital administrators no longer holds. Learn how using three types of reciprocity can strengthen and rebuild this compact.     

Optimizing some constructions with bars: new geometric knapsack problems

A set of vertical bars planted on given points of a horizontal line defines a fence composed of the quadrilaterals bounded by successive bars. A set of bars in the plane, each having one endpoint at the origin, defines an umbrella composed of the triangles bounded by successive bars. Given a collection of bars, we study how to use them to build the fence or the umbrella of maximum total area. We present optimal algorithms for these constructions. The problems introduced in this paper are related to the Geometric Knapsack problems (Arkin et al. in Algorithmica 10:399–427, 1993) and the Rearrangement Inequality (Wayne in Scripta Math 12(2):164–169, 1946).     

The business of education: a new paradigm

Business as usual is not the answer these days. But how do you create a new paradigm for academic educational and research endeavors? There is increasing pressure to separate the costs of providing care to patients from those of educating students and residents. It is evident already that we will not enjoy the flexibility of the past to cross-subsidize the academic effort. Presented here is a case study--a joint venture between Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel HealthCare created to sustain the academic mission, as distinct from its clinical business, and promote innovation in medical education and research through intellectual leadership, dedicated state-of-the-art facilities, and a focused development effort.     

The new management competencies: a global perspective

How will tighter controls over health expenditures, an increased supply of qualified doctors, and clinical acumen becoming more critical in allocating health resources under market-driven, capitated payment-type plans affect physicians? Throughout the world, they will play a greater role in the management of health facilities and services. To train doctors to provide leadership in these new, more market driven environments, education should focus more on the integration and coordination of clinical and managerial processes, an approach outside the scope of most curricula now offered. New managerial competencies will be required by the paradigm shift away from simply delivering quality health services to tighter cost containment efforts. Physicians will play an increasing role in how medical facilities and services are organized and financed--the blending of clinical and managerial-financial-information science processes will be paramount in these educational pursuits.