Control charts in practice

In the first issue of Significance , Roland Caulcutt suggested that a common feature of many successful companies is their development of a "management-by-fact" culture. He further suggested that such a culture requires that managers focus on processes, and that control charts be used at all levels throughout the organisation. In this follow-up article he explains how the various types of control chart are set up and used in practice.     

Exploring structure-effectiveness relationships in nonprofit arts organizations

The authors examined nineteen nonprofit performing arts organizations, investigating the distribution of influence among organizational members, the grouping of volunteers and staff in organizational structures, and the effectiveness of the organizations. The organizations' effectiveness was assessed using multiple performance indicators. The analysis revealed five groupings or configurations of influence, which correlated to the organizations exhibiting the highest and lowest levels of organizational effectiveness. The authors conclude that a variety of structures are associated with good performance but structural dysfunctions are associated with organizational failure, and that members' commitment to an organization's structure is an important element of success.     

Attitudes and knowledge of social work students towards sexuality in later life

Background: Sexuality in later life may be compromised by restrictive attitudes, and lack of knowledge among professionals. This study examined social work students’ attitudes and knowledge towards sexuality and sexual expression in later life and investigated associated factors.

Method: Undergraduate social work students from Israel (n = 375) completed the Attitudes and Knowledge towards Older Adult’s Sexuality Scale and questionnaires regarding contacts and exposure to older adults, prior sexual education and sociodemographic.

Results: Attitudes and knowledge were correlated. First year students were the most conservative and demonstrated the least knowledge. No differences were found between men and women regarding attitude. However, men and married students had greater knowledge regarding older adults’ sexuality than women or non-married students did. Increased religious observance predicted more conservative attitudes. Age predicted more permissive attitudes and greater knowledge about sexuality in later life. A mediating process examined, suggested knowledge is a mediator variable between age and attitudes towards older adults’ sexuality.

Conclusion: As the population in Israel and in Western countries ages, it is important to examine the knowledge and attitudes of social work students regarding older adults’ sexuality and to develop educational and interventional programs aimed at increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes in this area.     

Marxistische Theoriearbeit in der Krise

The economic as well as political and ideological crises and transformations of capitalist social formations have created a crisis for Marxist approaches. This affects their assumption about the necessity, desirability and possibility of social transformation, but also about the actors fighting them out and their activities. Thus, a far reaching reformulation of its fundamental epistemological and theoretical assumptions is necessary. This contribution argues that the crisis of Marxism demands a self-reflective engagement with conditions of Marxist theoretical work. The acknowledgement of the fundamental openness and incompleteness of Marxist social critique as well as its contested production is indispensable to avoid authoritarian forms of politics and to be implicated into the legitimation of domination again. The encompassing character of the crisis tendencies of capitalist social formations and the multiplication of fields of conflict demands to overcome a monistic interpretation of social dynamics. To conceptualise capitalist social formations as relation of relations is an indispensable precondition for the analysis of the connections between different social structures and relations of power and dominance. Furthermore, the ability of capitalist social formations to change, which has been shown by the recent crises and transformations, demands a fundamental dynamisation of the Marxist concept of reproduction. The dynamisation of relative surplus production in knowledge based capitalism moves the adaptability of the subjects and their capacity to work centre stage. Only against this background can the plurality of perspectives for emancipation and social struggles come into view for Marxist theoretical work.     

French and British Top Managers' Understanding of the Structure and the Dynamics of Their Industries: a Cognitive Analysis and Comparison

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of the content of and differences between managerial frames of references with regard to the structure and dynamics of competitive environments. These frames of references are examined and compared at both the industry level and the country level; and the paper shows the influences of both industry and institutional structures and national culture on managerial thinking. It therefore contributes to the field of comparative management, as well as the growing interest in cognitive analysis in the field of management. The study is particularly significant since (a) its context is the rapidly changing industry environment of Europe, and (b) the managers are all involved in the development of strategies for their firms. Thirty three top managers (16 English and 17 French) were interviewed in four industries (brewing, car manufacturing, retail banking and book publishing) on their understanding of their industry and the strategy of their company. Content analysis of the transcribed interviews surfaces cognitive constructs which facilitate the identification of similarities and differences between managers, (a) within industries, (b) across industries, (c) within countries, (d) between countries and (e) between countries within the different industries. The analysis also provides means whereby the constructs can be represented in the form of cognitive maps.     

Health Risk Assessment After Decontamination of the Beaches Polluted by the Wrecked ERIKA Tanker

Following the wreck of the oil tanker ERIKA off the north-west coast of France in December 1999, cleaning up of the beaches involved considerable work, which in any case could not be perfect. This raised the question of the short- and long-term health risks for the future bathers related to the toxicity of the remaining oil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This risk assessment study was conducted to help health authorities plan risk management policies and inform the public. Thirty-six beaches were selected, representing a sample of the most frequently encountered topographic and beach usage situations; seven "control" beaches, unspoiled by ERIKA, were also investigated. Samples of water and sand were taken from each site, as well as from the surface of rocks. The 16 PAHs selected by the U.S. EPA were quantified in each environment. Several scenarios of exposure were contemplated: (1) a child between 2 and 4 years accidentally ingesting a small ball of fuel, (2) a child daily exposed throughout his holiday-time stay, (3) an adult (including a pregnant woman) spending his/her holidays on the coast, (4) an adult working on the beach, (5) and an adult practicing water sports. Among the available and significant toxicological values, the most conservative ones were selected for computing risks. The sand and water, after decontamination, were slightly polluted (respectively, 7.8 microg/kg and 23.3 ng/l of total 16 PAHs), with values similar to those found in the control beaches. By contrast, the rocky areas in some places were still highly polluted (up to 23 mg/kg on the surface layer). No lethal risk was found for a young child who had accidentally ingested a small ball of fuel. The life-long excess risks for skin cancer and for all other cancers were about 10-5 in scenarios including contact with the polluted rocks. In all other cases, excess risks were considerably lower. The hazard quotient for teratogenic effects was very small, except in scenarios where pregnant women would walk among rocks containing high pollution levels. In conclusion, exposure was mainly associated with polluted water among children, and with spoiled rocks for adults. Despite uncertainties, mainly dealing with the prediction of long-term risks following a short-term exposure, this study showed that beaches where pollution was no longer visible after decontamination did not entail any significant health risks and could be opened to the public.     

Integrated enterprise modelling: A method for the management of change

'The capability to adjust to new conditions quickly has developed into a decisive competitive advantage. You cannot waste any time if you want to be successful.' (Emeritus Professor Dr h. c. mult. Changing conditions in the market place issue new challenges to small- and medium-sized enterprises. Organization and qualification of employees have to be adjusted to the modified situation. If the only steady factor is change, the management of change is going to be the outstanding role of the leader. The successful structuring of change processes requires powerful methods and tools: to make business processes transparent and lean; to find a common 'corporate language' based upon customers benefits and shareholders value; Dr-Ing. G. Spur) to bring together process know-how in a central information base. This contribution summarizes the experiences from several projects. We will show how the synchronization of necessary reengineering measures makes corporate knowledge active, e.g. to improve the shareholders value, reduce investment costs, and shorten the duration of projects. As successful examples two medium-sized companies are described.     

Finding your way into employment against all odds? Successful job search of refugees in Austria

Labour market entry poses enormous challenges for recently arrived refugees, ranging from language barriers, devaluation of human capital, unfamiliarity with customs of the job search process to outright discrimination. How can refugees overcome these challenges and quickly enter gainful employment? In this paper, we draw on interviews with 26 male and female refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, conducted in 2017 and 2018, who came to Austria in 2015 and 2014 and who have successfully entered employment. We depict refugees’ own perspectives on and strategies for fast job entry and integration. Personal agency and a proactive approach of seeking and seizing opportunities are key for overcoming initial barriers and entering upon positive integration pathways. At the same time, refugees’ personal agency is essential for establishing social ties to the host society, which also play a crucial role in early labour market integration. Finally, institutions of the Austrian labour market (the ‘apprenticeship’-system) interact with refugees’ agency in most intricate ways, both setting up nearly insurmountable barriers but also providing specific opportunities for refugees.