Does performance management affect nurses’ well-being?

AimThis article focuses on employee performance-management practices in the healthcare sector. We specifically aim to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of employee performance-management practices on affective well-being of nurses in hospitals. Theory suggests that the features of employee-performance management (planning and evaluation of individual performances) predict affective well-being (in this study: job satisfaction and affective commitment).MethodsPerformance-management planning and evaluation and affective well-being were drawn from a survey of nurses at a Flemish hospital. Separate estimations were performed for different aspects of affective well-being.ResultsPerformance planning has a negative effect on job satisfaction of nurses. Both vertical alignment and satisfaction with the employee performance-management system increase the affective well-being of nurses; however, the impact of vertical alignment differs for different aspects of affective well-being (i.e. job satisfaction and affective commitment).ConclusionPerformance-management planning and evaluation of nurses are associated with attitudinal outcomes. The results indicate that employee performance-management features have different impacts on different aspects of well-being.     

How performance management regulations shape evaluation practice in South African municipalities

South African municipalities are taking hesitant steps towards institutionalising evaluation practice. This paper explores how evaluation is being institutionalised at a municipal level, looking at both the legislative and regulatory requirements in terms of planning, budgeting, and reporting, as well as opportunities for evaluative practice. A well-established performance management system, coupled with certain constraints to innovation and building an evaluative culture are contributing to the creation of an evaluation function that serves a monitoring purpose. A combination of desktop research and participatory action research was used to understand the municipal practice of evaluation. The results have implications for how decentralised public sector evaluation systems are understood.     

Separating psychological momentum from strategic momentum: Evidence from men’s professional tennis

In dynamic contests, strategic momentum and psychological momentum potentially coexist, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the two. We employ the setting of professional tennis, which allows us to separate psychological from strategic momentum. In tennis, converting a break point potentially triggers both strategic momentum—due to a change in the relative position of the players—and psychological momentum—due to a change in the perception of the players. To distinguish between these two momentum types, we employ exogenously given interruptions. Interruptions are predicted to affect psychological momentum negatively, while leaving strategic momentum unaffected. Using 4930 game-by-game observations from 141 Grand Slam men’s single matches, we show that the breaking players’ probability of winning a game increases after converting a break point, which provides evidence for momentum. Moreover, we show that this momentum effect is negatively affected by an interruption. Thus, psychological momentum seems to be the main trigger leading to a performance increase after a converted break point.     

Work overload and intimidation: The moderating role of resilience

Work overload is a critical but understudied stressor at work, particularly for boundary-spanning positions. Recent studies have highlighted the need for more research on the identification of different predictors of the use of intimidation, a type of assertive impression management tactic. Relying on Lazarus's transactional theory, this study hypothesized and investigated a mediated moderation model that includes resilience, work overload, and its outcomes.This paper contributes to the organizational literature by examining the use of intimidation by salespeople as a reaction to stressful circumstances and the association between this tactic and salespeople's performance. The information provided by 248 employee–supervisor dyads confirmed the proposed model. Work overload has a positive association with intimidation, and the direct effect of work overload on intimidation depends on the level of an employee's resilience. Finally, the use of intimidation has a negative association with supervisor-rated performance.     

The participatory design of a performance oriented monitoring and evaluation system in an international development environment

This article illustrates the application of the impact monitoring and evaluation process for the design and development of a performance monitoring and evaluation framework in the context of human and institutional capacity development. This participative process facilitated stakeholder ownership in several areas including the design, development, and use of a new monitoring and evaluation system, as well their targeted results and accomplishments through the use of timely performance data gathered through ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The process produced a performance indicator map, a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework, and data collection templates to promote the development, implementation, and sustainability of the monitoring and evaluation system of a farmer's trade union in an African country.     

路演中董事长面部表情与IPO后公司业绩变脸

投资者是否可以利用“软”信息来识别公司的真实价值?社会心理学理论认为人在提供虚假信息(如撒谎)的时候会流露出负面情绪,进而反映到面部表情上。论文以2009年至2014年在创业板上市的公司为样本,分析公司上市后的业绩变脸幅度与其董事长在IPO路演讲话时的负面情绪水平之间的关系。为了提高结论的可靠性,本研究首先基于实验室实验方法设计欺骗行为实验,检验了Facereader软件测量面部表情给出的负面情绪值与欺骗行为之间的相关性。本研究指出可以利用董事长在IPO路演讲话的面部表情来识别公司的真实价值,该结论为保护投资者利益提供了一条新的途径。     

A comprehensive health service evaluation and monitoring framework

ObjectiveTo develop a framework for evaluating and monitoring a primary health care service, integrating hospital and community services.MethodA targeted literature review of primary health service evaluation frameworks was performed to inform the development of the framework specifically for remote communities. Key principles underlying primary health care evaluation were determined and sentinel indicators developed to operationalise the evaluation framework. This framework was then validated with key stakeholders.ResultsThe framework includes Donabedian's three seminal domains of structure, process and outcomes to determine health service performance. These in turn are dependent on sustainability, quality of patient care and the determinants of health to provide a comprehensive health service evaluation framework. The principles underpinning primary health service evaluation were pertinent to health services in remote contexts. Sentinel indicators were developed to fit the demographic characteristics and health needs of the population. Consultation with key stakeholders confirmed that the evaluation framework was applicable.ConclusionData collected routinely by health services can be used to operationalise the proposed health service evaluation framework. Use of an evaluation framework which links policy and health service performance to health outcomes will assist health services to improve performance as part of a continuous quality improvement cycle.     

Stimulating effects of intelligent policy on the performance of listed manufacturing companies in China

Based on the pilot projects of intelligent manufacturing of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China and the annual data reported by listed companies, this paper studies the effect of China's intelligent policy on the performance of listed manufacturing companies by using the panel data of relevant enterprises from 2011 to 2017, as well as the mechanism of impact. Our empirical tests, using the difference-in-difference method, shows that intelligent policy can significantly improve the economic performance of manufacturing enterprises by guiding enterprises to optimize their intelligent management, strengthening investment in intelligent equipment and promoting collaborative manufacturing. Further empirical tests show that the impact of intelligent policy on economic performance is different in time. In the later selected pilot enterprises, the impact of intelligent policy on their economic performance is more significant; there is regional heterogeneity in the effects of intelligent policy: in regions with low intelligence, the positive impact of intelligent policy on the economic performance of manufacturing industry is more significant. Based on these conclusions, relevant intelligent policy suggestions are put forward.     

Performance evaluation based on multiple attributes with nonparametric frontiers

Performance rating and comparison of a group of entities is frequently based on the values of several attributes. Such evaluations are often complicated by the absence of a natural or obvious way to weight the importance of the individual dimensions of the performance. This paper proposes a framework based on nonparametric frontiers to rate and classify entities described by multiple performance attributes into ‘performers’ and ‘underperformers’. The method is equivalent to Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with entities defined only by outputs. In the spirit of DEA, the weights for each attribute are selected to maximize each entity’s performance score. This approach, however, results in a new linear program that is more direct and intuitive than traditional DEA formulations. The model can be easily understood and interpreted by practitioners since it conforms better to the practice of evaluating and comparing performance using standard specifications. We illustrate the model’s use with two examples. The first evaluates the performance of employees. The second is an application in manufacturing where multiple quality attributes are used to assess and compare performance of different manufacturing processes.     

Evaluation of Embedded Intelligent Real‐time Systems*

Over the past two decades, questions have surfaced about the effectiveness and contribution of intelligent systems to decision makers in a variety of settings. This paper focuses on the evaluation challenges associated with intelligent real‐time software systems that are embedded in larger host systems. With the proliferation of such systems in operational settings such as aerospace, medical, manufacturing, and transportation systems, increased attention to evaluations of such systems, and to resulting software safety, is warranted. This paper describes one such evaluation and proposes a set of evaluation criteria for embedded intelligent real‐time systems (EIRTS). Implications of the evaluation and the evaluation criteria are discussed.