Nation speaking unto nation? Newspapers and national identity in the devolved UK

There are two problems with the existing account of the relationship between newspapers and national identity in the UK. The first is that although it is widely assumed that the mass media are central to the reproduction and evolution of national identity this has never been empirically demonstrated. The second is that exactly what comprises the relevant ‘national’ context in the UK is unclear. Content analysis of 2,500 sampled articles, together with qualitative comparison of different editions of the same newspaper titles and interviews with editors and journalists are used to show the extent and nature of ‘national’ frames of reference in newspapers in England and Scotland. Paradoxically, devolution may have reduced the spatial diversity of news stories in the press in England and Scotland.     

Surviving a new CEO

In the emerging era of integrated networks and alliances, as health care entities merge and re-form themselves, changes can be expected in management teams, particularly at the top. For those in senior management positions below the CEO, these times are fraught with peril. A new leader can frequently mean a new team. And in many cases, the best advice is to move on. But how can a manager navigate these treacherous waters, so that the decision to leave or stay belongs to the manager and not to the new leadership. In this regular column of the journal, the author offers some advice on what is apt to become a recurrent issue.     

Was that really funny? The politics of humor

Everybody loves a comic--or do they? A Human Resources Department picked up a pattern when several departing employees, all excellent performers, said they liked their jobs but felt "excluded" from the camaraderie. One said he'd found the humor "barbed." Another said she's never seen anything funny in jokes that seemed to convulse everyone else. The past five years have been so gloomy, economically speaking, that, in many hospitals and health care organizations, laughter is a mega-event. But lately I've been listening to what employees joke about and watching how their humor affects others. Physician executives need to be alert to some kinds of humor that are weapons used by employees against other employees, their managers, and the company generally.     

The politics of mean

Since mid-1990, there have been many signs that politics--especially relationships between middle management and the troops--have changed from annoying but rarely lethal to Mean, as in ornery, ugly, and sometimes downright grisly. Part of this has to be recession-related, but part comes from top management's attention having been diverted to survival issues. The loser has been the individual contributor in the organization. In laying out the reasons for this distressing turn of events, the author provides clear-cut advice on how to overcome it.     

Resolutions to make and keep

From mastering the latest technology to becoming an industry expert, listed here are nine career resolutions to seriously consider for 1997. You needn't wait until January to make or implement resolutions that will build your body, your soul, or your career. Start today.     

Why acting managers rarely survive

Can acting managers win the job? Or are the scales tipped so far in the outside candidates' favor that it's not worth venturing into this shaky territory? If you want to be your former boss' successor, take note of the cautionary tales offered here. From power and control issues to strategies for protecting yourself if the unmentionable happens--you lose the position to some outsider--insights are offered on why you should think twice about accepting the acting manager job.     

What kind of feedback are you soliciting?

How can you assess how well you're performing? From benchmarking to finding a mentor, here are some suggestions to help you solicit meaningful feedback to improve your performance. The feedback that's most beneficial isn't an opinion--even the CEO's, although it's important--because it's often the opposite of fact. You need standards against which to measure yourself that aren't tightly linked to your organization's culture, so you'll need to research what's going on with your competitor's employees and network with other professionals.     

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?