Rota-Risk-Profile-Analysis

In this article an update of the Rota-Risk-Profile-Analysis (RRPA) is presented. This RRPA is based on 9 rota-risk criteria that are central to a more encompassing rota theory. The RRPA allows coherent assessment of the physical and social risks of a working-time schedule (rota). comparison of schedules with one another in quantitative terms and interpretations of possible differential effects more adequately. First, a closer look at the instrument-a computer program-is taken. Afterwards the criteria and their way of implementation are discussed briefly. To get an impression of the way that RRPA functions an example will be given by applying the instrument to the working rotas from a study on shiftwork in the Netherlands.     

Response Generalization in Behavioral Safety

Abstract

This paper details concerns with the potential misuse of the term “response generalization” in the behavioral safety literature. Stokes and Baer's (1977) technologies of generalization and the basic literature on response induction are used to make the claim. Ludwig and Geller's (2000) Journal of Organizational Behavior Management special issue describing their work with pizza delivery drivers is used as an example. The potential problems of non-technical use of language in a technological behavioral science are briefly discussed. Finally, Baer, Wolf, and Risley's (1968, 1987) criteria of applied behavior analysis are re-visited in this context in hopes of calling researchers of organizational behavior management to more closely align their work with the tradition of applied behavior analysis.     

Quality management and performance: a comparison between the UK and Turkey

Purpose: The aim of this article is to detail the correlation between quality management, specifically its tools and critical success factors, and performance in terms of primary operational and secondary organisational performances.

Design/methodology/approach: Survey data from the UK and Turkey were analysed using exploratory factor analyses, structural equation modelling and regression analysis.

Findings: The results show that quality management has a significant and positive impact on both primary and secondary performances; that Turkish and UK attitudes to quality management are similar; and that quality management is widely practised in manufacturing and service industries but has more statistical emphasis in the manufacturing sector. The main challenge for making quality management practice more effective lies in an appropriate balanced use of the different sorts of the tools and critical success factors.

Originality/value: This study takes a novel approach by: (i) exploring the relationship between primary operational and secondary organisational performances, (ii) using service and manufacturing data and (iii) making a cross-country comparison between the UK (a developed economy) and Turkey (a developing economy).

Limitations: Detailed contrast provided between only two countries.     

Past,Present and Future Research on Multiple Identities: Toward an Intrapersonal Network Approach

Abstract

Psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers have long recognized that people have multiple identities—based on attributes such as organizational membership, profession, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and family role(s)—and that these multiple identities shape people's actions in organizations. The current organizational literature on multiple identities, however, is sparse and scattered and has yet to fully capture this foundational idea. I review and organize the literature on multiple identities into five different theoretical perspectives: social psychological; microsociological; psychodynamic and developmental; critical; and intersectional. I then propose a way to take research on multiple identities forward using an intrapersonal identity network approach. Moving to an identity network approach offers two advantages: first, it enables scholars to consider more than two identities simultaneously, and second, it helps scholars examine relationships among identities in greater detail. This is important because preliminary evidence suggests that multiple identities shape important outcomes in organizations, such as individual stress and well-being, intergroup conflict, performance, and change. By providing a way to investigate patterns of relationships among multiple identities, the identity network approach can help scholars deepen their understanding of the consequences of multiple identities in organizations and spark novel research questions in the organizational literature.     

The recruitment and selection of hospital medical consultants

Abstract

The literature on selection has been dominated in recent decades by the ‘prediction’ paradigm. Such an approach requires a substantial number of positions to be filled in order to compute validity coefficients. There are other approaches, using a different paradigm, when concentrated on adjusting the organization and the employee. Here careful analysis of job demands is essential. This article describes such an analysis, taking the medical consultant as an example. The method can be used in an iterative way. It is useful when one has to work with small numbers of positions.     

Modular design of integrated databases in production management systems

Abstract

Complexity is a serious problem with respect to the application of information technology in the field of production management. This paper presents an overview of the more fundamental problems encountered and proposes a solution for some of those problems in the form of modular decomposition of the conceptual database structure. It is argued that the complexity of information systems is closely connected to the complexity of the organization. Therefore a condition for the realization of integrated information systems for production management is a simplification of the organizational structure by way of defunctionalization and the forming of autonomous units.     

Rail safety in Britain: An occupational health psychology perspective

As occupational health psychology matures, it will become involved in a more detailed way in areas ofspecific concern, and it will outgrow its recent over-dependence on a small number of very generalconcerns such as work stress and burnout. One example of all area of potential interest andopportunity is that afforded by rail safety. This paper discusses the position in Britain. It outlines thehistory and nature of safety management in the rail industry following privatisation in the 1990s. Itthen describes recent changes in safety thinking that could represent a mini-paradign shift and thatopen the door to the more active involvement of occupational health psychologists.     

Learning from suppliers: a framework for operation innovation in small and medium sized enterprises

Abstract

Inter-firm learning though partnering with suppliers is often considered as a relatively cheap way to develop the knowledge necessary for innovating operations procedures. SMEs may benefit, especially from the inflow of information, as they face multiple restrictions on innovating manufacturing or delivery processes due to their small size and limited resources. Based on the two studies – a logistic regression analysis and a configuration analysis – evidence was found that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) need to integrate knowledge sources in distinct knowledge configurations. In particular, it is shown that an operation process innovation (OPI) strategy for SME is incomplete if it does not find a way to combine internal and external knowledge to innovate operation procedures. The main contribution of this paper is to uncover the precise composition of effective knowledge configurations, which leads to innovation.     

The social construction of the meaning of acute stressors: A qualitative study of the personal accounts of police officers using a stress counselling service

The police profession is one in which acute stressors are encountered more frequently than in other occupations. Using the personal accounts of 35 police officers attending an in-house stress counselling clinic, the aim of the present study was to provide a qualitative examination of how the institutional context of policing influenced the ways in which acute stressors signified to individual police officers experiencing felt distress. Using the framework of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy as an analytical tool, it is argued that beliefs contributing to the experience of felt distress are related to the way in which policing as both an identity and an activity is constructed through the police organizational culture. Not only do these constructions influence the ways in which officers perceive themselves and their environments, but they also operate at the collective level to 'normalize' some emotional responses and to 'pathologize' others which, it is argued, could impact upon the outcomes of interventions such as stress counselling.     

4 Person–Environment Fit in Organizations: An Assessment of Theoretical Progress

Abstract

Person–environment (P–E) fit is a central concept in organizational behavior research. Historically, reviews of P–E fit research have summarized empirical studies but said little about whether P–E fit research has made theoretical progress. This chapter applies criteria for evaluating theory to review and assess the theoretical status and progress of P–E fit research. The review encompasses P–E fit theories that span nearly a century and cover research on job satisfaction, job stress, vocational choice, recruitment and selection, and organizational climate and culture. This review indicates that most theories in P–E fit research fall well short of criteria for developing strong theory, and theories presented in recent years are no stronger than those developed decades earlier. Reasons for theoretical stagnation in P–E fit research are identified, and ways to promote theoretical progress are discussed.     

Do you think that your health or safety are at risk because of your work? A large European study on psychological and physical work demands

Abstract

Throughout Europe there are relatively few statistics, gathered a national level, which deal specifically with the problem of violence at work. In the UK, the revised Reporting of Injuries. Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 now require that certain violent incidents are reported on a national basis. The criteria for reporting, which are entirely dependent on the physical outcome of incidents, are discussed. It is recommended that employing organizations should establish their own internal systems for reportmg and recording a wider range of violent, and potentially violent, incidents. These should then be used to inform risk assessment and risk management.     

Insights from big Data Analytics in supply chain management: an all-inclusive literature review using the SCOR model

Abstract

When supply chain management (SCM) intersects with Big Data Analytics (BDA), uncountable opportunities for research emerge. Unfortunately, how analytics can be applied to supply chain processes is still unclear for both academics and industries. To better connect SC processes needs and what BDA offer, we present a structured review of academic literature that addresses BDA methods in SCM using the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model. The literature since 2001 is reviewed to provide a taxonomy framework resulting in a nomenclature grids and a SCOR-BDA matrix. The most important result of this paper indicates a clear disparity and points to an urgent need to bring the efforts closer in a collaborative way for more intelligent use of BDA in SCM. Furthermore, this paper highlights a misalignment between data scientists and SC managers in BDA applicability. It also highpoints upcoming research tracks and the main gaps that need to be stunned.     

Developing a manufacturing vision

The concept of a manufacturing vision is introduced as a company specific, commonly shared, holistic picture of the way in which future manufacturing in the company will function. First is presented what a manufacturing vision is, and then is presented a five-step framework in which such a manufacturing vision may be developed. A manufacturing vision is regarded as a bridge between the mission, goals, and strategies of an industrial enterprise and the detailed design of a manufacturing system. Such a bridge may ensure that manufacturing is able to make a relevant strategic contribution to developing and sustaining the competitiveness of the company and may serve as a guide for innovation and integration of the various elements of a manufacturing system. The paper rests on action research projects in more than ten industrial companies, and the experiences gained are discussed in a section on issues related to the development process including experimentation without fear of losing face, participation and involvement of managers and employees, and finally the outset for a manufacturing vision. To give an example of a manufacturing vision the paper also very briefly introduces a case of a medium-sized supplier of welded parts and equipment for a number of different industries.     

Technical rationality and professional artistry in HRD practice

Abstract

This paper outlines the limitations of a technical rationalist approach to HRD practice without seeking to negate it. It then offers a complementary view based on Schon's notion of the reflective practitioner which exhorts HRD practitioners to embrace complexity and reflection. We outline, first, a number of dimensions of diversity which confer complexity upon HRD practice, and, second, a series of suggested questions that may aid the framing of practical problems in a more effective way than might be the case with a purely technical rationalist approach. We urge novice (and expert) HRD practitioners to adopt a mind set that is contemplative of the diversities that they may encounter in practice and which is conjectural with regard to how these diversities may impact upon problems and their solutions.     

Dynamic scheduling of manufacturing job shops using extreme value theory

Most job shop scheduling approaches reported in the literature assume that the scheduling problem is static (i.e. job arrivals and the breakdowns of machines are neglected) and in addition, these scheduling approaches may not address multiple criteria scheduling or accommodate alternate resources to process a job operation. In this paper, a scheduling method based on extreme value theory (SEVAT) is developed and addresses all the shortcomings mentioned above. The SEVAT approach creates a statistical profile of schedules through random sampling, and predicts the quality or 'potential' of a feasible schedule. A dynamic scheduling problem was designed to reflect a real job shop scheduling environment closely. Two performance measures, viz. mean job tardiness and mean job cost, were used to demonstrate multiple criteria scheduling. Three factors were identified, and varied between two levels each, thereby spanning a varied job shop environment. The results of this extensive simulation study show that the SEVAT scheduling approach produces a better performance compared to several common dispatching rules.     

The permutation flow shop problem with just in time production considerations

This research presents a variation to the permutation flow shop problem where Just In Time (JIT) production requirements are taken into account. The model developed in this research employs dual objectives. In addition to the traditional objective of minimizing the production makespan, minimization of Miltenburg's material usage rate is also incorporated. In this model, multiple units of any product are permitted in the production sequence. However, the minimization of material usage rates attempts to prevent batch scheduling of products and allows unit flow of products as required in demand flow manufacturing. A solution method is proposed for determining an optimal production sequence via an efficient frontier approach and Simulated Annealing (SA). Test problems and specific performance criteria are used to assess the solutions generated by the proposed method. Experimental results presented in this paper show that the use of the efficient frontier and SA provide solutions that approach the optimal solution for the performance measures used in this research.     

Signs of struggle (SOS): The development and validation of a behavioural mental health checklist for the workplace

ABSTRACT

For managers to successfully support employee access to mental health resources, they must first be able to recognise if and when an employee may need help. To manage employees effectively, managers must be able to recognise changes in employees’ work behaviour that may indicate when an employee is struggling at work. In study 1, we develop and establish the structure of the 20-item Signs of Struggle (SOS) checklist as comprising five factors that describe the warning signs of health impairment at work (i.e. distress, withdrawal, reduced attendance, degradations in performance, extreme behaviours). In study 2, we show that manager-rated signs of struggle correlated substantially (r?=?.72) with participant-reported strain. The SOS tool provides managers a way to recognise when employees may be struggling and could benefit from workplace resources. We recommend that for maximal benefit, managers also receive training on how to use the SOS, and also on how to approach and assist employees who are displaying warning signs.     

Modification of shiftwork effects by chemical workplace exposure

Abstract

Possible chronotoxic effects were the reason to study chemical workplace exposure under the special condition of shiftwork. Eight shiftworkers occupationally exposed to acetone vapours and eight controls were investigated during fast-rotated shiftwork. The mean concentration of acetone during the shifts was close to 1000 ppm (2400 mg/m³). Data on well-being and acute symptoms, but not on performance, indicate that the exposure contributed mainly in an additive way to the negative effects of shiftwork. As a consequence, the exposed shiftworkers revealed enhanced impairments during the night-shift.     

A decision support system for the selection of a casting process using analytic hierarchy process

This paper presents an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based decision support system to select the most suitable casting process for a given product. The hierarchical structure of the proposed method allows the decision maker to compare the different casting processes using the material suitability and flexibility, geometrical complexity, dimensional tolerance and surface finish of the casting, and the cost as the criteria for selection. Judgemental inconsistency of the decision maker in selecting the casting process is taken care by ensuring that the value of consistency ratio is below (0.1). A numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for selecting the suitable casting process.     

Healthcare 4.0: trends,challenges and research directions

Abstract

This paper aims at examining the trends, challenges and theoretical gaps in the implementation of Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) based on a scoping review of the literature. For that, we searched journal articles in four widely known databases and screened the retrieved articles to obtain a publications’ portfolio. Our findings indicate that, despite the recency of the subject, research in H4.0 has been conducted in an interdisciplinary way with a diversified set of applications and functionalities. In terms of its implementation, H4.0 has been more commonly found in hospitals’ information flows, especially the ones related to healthcare treatments. The identified implementation trends, however, neglect a more holistic approach for H4.0, which originated three main research directions for this topic. Although identified as a trending topic in the area of healthcare operations management, literature on H4.0 may be viewed as randomly conceived, lacking academic alignment and practical orientation based on a grounded theory, which we aim at providing with the present study.