How do policy levers shape the quality of a national health system?

Poor quality of care may have a detrimental effect on access and take-up and can become a serious barrier to the universality of health services. This consideration is of particular interest in view of the fact that health systems in many countries must address a growing public-sector deficit and respond to increasing pressures due to COVID-19 and aging population, among other factors. In line with a rapidly emerging literature, we focus on patient satisfaction as a proxy for quality of health care. Drawing on rich longitudinal and cross-sectional data for Spain and multilevel estimation techniques, we show that in addition to individual level differences, policy levers (such as public health spending and the patient-doctor ratio, in particular) exert a considerable influence on the quality of a health care system. Our results suggest that policymakers seeking to enhance the quality of care should be cautious when compromising the level of health resources, and in particular, health personnel, as a response to economic downturns in a sector that traditionally had insufficient human resources in many countries, which have become even more evident in the light of the current health crisis. Additionally, we provide evidence that the increasing reliance on the private health sector may be indicative of inefficiencies in the public system and/or the existence of features of private insurance which are deemed important by patients.     

Response strategy to environment context factors using a lean and agile approach: Implications for firm performance

Based on the environment-strategy performance perspective and dynamic capabilities framework, we develop a theoretical model and hypotheses specifying how supply chain collaboration as a response to environment context factors – competitive intensity, supply uncertainty, technological turbulence and market turbulence, using a lean and agile strategy may influence firm performance. We test the model using partial least square structural equation modelling on data collected from a field survey with responses from 152 manufacturing firms representing a variety of industries. Empirical findings generally support the relationship between collaboration and firm performance using a lean and agile strategy. Also, for firms in industries that face environments characterised by high supply uncertainty and competitive intensity with, technological turbulence, the study finds evidence of a direct relationship between these environmental factors and supply chain collaboration. The findings provide an initial strategic response framework for appropriately aligning a lean and agile supply chain strategy through collaboration with environment context factors to achieve firm performance improvements.     

Politics in evaluation: Politically responsive evaluation in high stakes environments

The role of politics has often been discussed in evaluation theory and practice. The political influence of the situation can have major effects on the evaluation design, approach and methods. Politics also has the potential to influence the decisions made from the evaluation findings. The current study focuses on the influence of the political context on stakeholder decision making. Utilizing a simulation scenario, this study compares stakeholder decision making in high and low stakes evaluation contexts. Findings suggest that high stakes political environments are more likely than low stakes environments to lead to reduced reliance on technically appropriate measures and increased dependence on measures better reflect the broader political environment.     

Formal governance,interfirm coordination,and performance in partnerships: An empirical investigation of a mediation model

This study investigates the extent to which formal governance mechanisms such as contracts and equity ownership affect interfirm coordination and partnership performance. We analysed data from a survey of 301 Korean firms to show that interfirm coordination partially mediates the relationship between contract completeness, defined as the extent to which a contract specifies task operations and contingencies, and partnership performance. Furthermore, we find that more complete contracts can attenuate the negative effects of equity ownership on coordination, and that this effect is particularly strong when partner tasks are interdependent and relational norms are weak.     

The University: An Agent of Social Change?

Can universities be agents of progressive social change? How would we know if a university was acting as an agent of social change? Drawing on four case studies, I raise a number of questions to problematize our understanding of the university as an agent of social change. I outline a number of contributing factors that appear to explain successful cases. I conclude by arguing the relevancy of these cases for larger, and more traditional, sociological projects.     

Challenges to Connecting Sociology and Service Learning

Service-learning programs are not free from challenges brought about by lack of financial support, lack of widespread commitment from professors, community agencies, and recipients of service, and lack of knowledge and insight in students directly involved in such programs. While service-learning initiatives and programs serve positive functions for organizations and individuals, rhetorical accolades for service learning can distort or omit the realities of program implementation and sustained delivery. This paper specifically explores the following challenges connected to service-learning programs: (1) pedagogical difficulties; (2) student limitations; (3) time constraints; and (4) community cooperation.     

对车险改革后保险营销的浅析

在车辆保险条款费率改革之后的车险市场上,现实状况却与预计效果相差甚远。其主要原因是,对保险营销战略的忽视,没有以相应的保险营销战略为指导,使得营销战术在操作过程中显得盲目而跟从。针对以上问题,我们首先要做的是树立正确的保险营销观念,即重新审视营销战略在车辆保险中的作用,并在此基础上建立广义的产品观念;同时注重服务在车险营销中的作用;有效地进行市场细分和市场选择;最后对车险营销战略的具体实施即营销战术提出建议。     

商业银行个人金融服务的国际比较

目前,我国商业银行以代发工资、代收费等业务为突破口,已开发了近40个品种的个人金融服务业务。谁能提供更快捷、方便的金融服务,谁就会拥有更多的客户。进一步的对外开放,个人金融服务的巨大市场是中外银行竞争的焦点。个人金融服务市场从以往简单地通过银行储蓄存款获得利息并保障安全,已跳跃到支付结算、外汇买卖、临时透支、贷款融资、经营投资和综合理财等全方位、多层次的服务。这些对国内各家商业银行拓展个人金融服务提出了巨大的机遇和挑战。     

对市场经济条件下教育产业的审视

由于对教育产业的内涵与外延缺乏清晰的界定,使得我们在市场经济条件下对其产生了诸多认识上的误区和适用上的混乱。教育产业的规定性是由其产品——教育服务的性质和生产过程的特征决定的,市场经济只不过是教育产业由幼稚走向成熟和强盛的一种有效的经济运行方式,二者之间是过程和手段、内容和形式的关系。     

企业家素质量化评价方法的研究

首先概括了企业家素质的重要作用和企业家素质对企业能力的重要影响 ,在此基础上提出在评价企业家素质时企业家素质与企业能力的重要关联性 ,然后提出了一种以企业家素质对企业能力的影响为考核对象的企业家素质评价方法