Characteristics of a central change programme within a governmental bureaucracy: a grounded theory study

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to present a theory of organisational change within the setting of a governmental bureaucracy. Design/methodology/approach Orthodox grounded theory is employed in the setting of a change programme in 12 Audit departments of the Dutch Ministries (public-sector). Findings The examined organisational change has specific characteristics. The Dutch ‘ministerial autonomy’ and the clearly recognizable role types of the key figures involved have a strong impact on the change programme and the realisation of its goals. Research limitations/implications Findings are derived on the basis of a substantive case study of the change programme of the Dutch Departmental Audit function. The research sheds new light on characteristics related to the occupational group of Chartered Accountants and characteristics of a governmental bureaucracy and it helps to understand change programmes within this bureaucracy. Practical implications The grounded theoretical model draws attention to the impact of key figures and circumstances on a change programme within the central government. Originality/value The paper builds on theories of organisational change but applies them in the typical context of the Dutch civil service where ministerial autonomy, on the one hand, and a move in the direction of more centrally organised activities (concern idea), on the other, require a difficult balancing act of all players in the change arena.     

Rolling with the shakes: an insight into teenagers’ perceptions of recovery after the Canterbury earthquakes

Natural disasters are harmful worldwide events that inflict multiple psychosocial impacts on disaster-exposed individuals. A significant proportion of affected individuals are teenagers (13–18 years old) who, compared with adults, have been historically overlooked in disaster research. The literature is particularly sparse concerning teenagers’ recovery from natural disasters, specifically what recovery means to them and the contributing factors towards their positive recovery. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to gain deeper insight into this largely unexplored area by conducting five focus groups with teenagers (16–18 years) who experienced at least one of the Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes since and including the initial September 2010 earthquake. This study directly asked teenagers about their recovery over the three years after the initial earthquakes, with data being analysed using thematic analysis. Two main themes were identified: (1) perceptions of recovery, with three sub-themes (i) knowledge and being less frightened, (ii) talking about the earthquakes and (iii) shift in perspectives; and (2) contributing factors to recovery, with three sub-themes (i) participation in the community response, (ii) returning to school and (iii) the rebuild of Christchurch. These factors provide insight into how we can better support the recovery process for disaster-exposed teenagers to reduce long-term distress.     

HIV Diagnosis Disclosure: Stigma Management and Stigma Resistance

This article reports diagnosis disclosure decision comments arising serendipitously in five focus group discussions with 34 HIV-infected New Yorkers over age 50. Three overarching disclosure themes demonstrate the complexity of diagnosis disclosure decision-making: (a) hiding or selectively disclosing, or stigma management; (b) partial disclosure because of the perception of partial control of the information; and (c) widespread or complete voluntary diagnosis disclosure, representing stigma resistance. Social workers and other human services practitioners should remember the diversity in the HIV population, the aging population, and the HIV-positive aging population. Experiences of HIV stigma and choices about diagnosis disclosure and stigma management or resistance are individual, reciprocal, and dynamic.     

Use of a case study in sequencing/scheduling research

This paper describes a study of an industrial sequencing/scheduling problem. The study contains the definition of the problem, data requirements and examination of solution technique. Definition of the problem is discussed from the aspect of uniqueness of the specific system. Discussion of data requirements includes availability and accuracy, while examination of solution technique considers limitation of time, computer capacity, etc., as well as the possibility of imbedding available algorithms into the solution procedure. Conclusions are presented relative to the use of the case study approach in sequencing/scheduling research.     

Human dynamics: A new approach to human behavior

This paper presents a new approach to analyze human behavior and more precisely human performance. It calls upon a system dynamics methodology to develop a general framework for looking at human beings. As an illustration of the approach, one subsystem is described. The global human system is also briefly presented. The contribution of such an approach is illustrated with an example dealing with the study of a worker performance subject to different types of control.     

HIV/AIDS treatments

Although fewer people are being diagnosed with AIDS in the U.S. and deaths continue to decline, the number of adults age 50 and older who are living with HIV/AIDS is larger than ever. It is likely that older people will continue to comprise an increasingly larger proportion of individuals diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, reflecting both the ineffective prevention efforts targeting older adults and the highly effective antiretroviral therapies that allow many people to live for significantly longer periods of time. These recent trends have created two distinct populations of older persons with HIV/AIDS: those who were infected later in life and those infected earlier and now aging with HIV disease. Aging with HIV/AIDS presents unique psychosocial challenges that may be exacerbated by the aging process. HIV-related stigma, social support and coping issues and evidence-based psychosocial interventions for older adults with HIV/AIDS are reviewed in this paper and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

What's an Oscar worth?

This article examines the impact of an Academy Award nomination and award for best picture, best actor/actress, and best supporting actor/actress on a film's (i) market share of theaters, (ii) average revenue per screen, and (iii) its probability of survival. The model is estimated using weekly box-office data for a matched sample of nominated and non-nominated films. The results indicate substantial financial benefits for a nomination and award for best picture and best actor/actress. The structure of rewards is consistent with that found in two-stage, single-elimination tournaments.     

Spouse selection and earnings: evidence of marital sorting

This article investigates economic bases for individuals'selection of marriage partners. Its central focus is matching of spouse pairs based on unobservable components of hourly earnings. Using a data extract from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we have observations of individuals'wages before and immediately after marriage, along with their spouses'earnings after marriage. We exploit the data to estimate the relation between spouses'wage residuals. The evidence supports positive marital matching on the basis of earnings. The results are robust with respect to variations in the statistical framework of the model.     

Pathways to productivity improvement

A study of productivity in the Machine Tool industry has just been published by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF). As a member of the Productivity Steering Group, information was available to one of the authors, in an unusually detailed and validated form for the twenty or so individual companies, (though they remain anonymous). It was thought worthwhile to apply methods developed in the Economics and Statistics Department of British Aerospace to this data in order to give pointers to the factors explaining productivity differences. The particular methods referred to were those of the Diagnostic Chart, though considerably simplified to match the data available, and multiple regression analysis. Particular care is necessary in applying the latter technique in productivity analysis if spurious results are to be excluded. The conclusions were as follows: the most favoured path to improved productivity is via increased turnover; changes in productivity are reflected mainly in changes in the ‘profit’ element of value added rather than in the labour cost element; the major factor distinguishing low from high productivity companies is an excess of the manual work force in relation to turnover; increased fixed assets favours increased labour productivity; increased commitment to R & D favours increased labour productivity; these conclusions are, of course, deduced from a study of the machine tool industry in particular, but may well be of applicability to other industries.