How is the New Public Management applied in the occupational health care system? - decision-makers' and OH personnel's views in Finland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In many countries occupational health care system is in change. Occupational health studies are mainly focused on occupational health substance and content. This study offers new perspectives on municipal OHS and its operations from management perspective.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The aim of this study is to analyse how New Public Management (NPM) doctrines are applied in the Finnish occupational health care system (OHS). The main focus is to describe and compare the views of decision-makers' and OH workers within the framework of NPM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data were collected by semi-structured interviews from 17 municipal decision-makers' and 26 municipal OH workers. Data was analyzed by examining coded data in a theory-driven way according to Hood's doctrine of NPM.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The doctrines were not as compatible with the OH personnel view as with the decision-makers' view. Decision-makers and OH personnel highlighted the strict criteria required for operation evaluation. Moreover, decision-makers strongly accentuated professional management in the public sector and the reorganization of public sector units. These were not equally relevant in OH personnel views. In OH personnel views, other doctrines (more attention to performance and accomplishments, emphasizing and augmentation of the competition and better control of public expense and means test) were not similarly in evidence, only weak evidence was observed when their importance viewed as medium by decision-makers. Neither of the respondents group kept the doctrine of management models of the private sector relevant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The NPM and Hoods doctrine fitted well with OH research. The doctrine brought out view differences and similarities between decision-makers and OH personnel. For example, policymakers highlighted more strongly the structural change by emphasizing professional management compared to OH personnel. The need for reorganization of municipal OH, regardless of different operational preconditions, was obvious for both decision-makers and OH personnel. The adaptation of more clarify management to a municipal context is not trouble-free. The municipality systemic structure, complex operational environment, and reconciliation of political and officer authority set challenges to management of municipalities.</p

System management and labour relations transformation in relation with talented, healthy and sportsman staff

The relevance of this article is to study new principles of work and interaction with staff. Currently, there is a transformation of labour relations. All these forces employers to actively search for talented employees inside and outside their companies, and then ensure their development and worthy use in solving priority business tasks. There is a need for system personnel management. The aim of the research is to explore ways to manage successful effective employees in information technology companies as an approach to human resources management. Research methods: as a research method, the questionnaire method was used to analyse the organization of the employee management system in Russian companies related to information technology. Research results: the article examines the experience of applying the concept of personnel management in IT companies. The novelty and originality of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the system of personnel management in the field of information technology was studied. It is shown that being an actively developing field related to information technologies - it is constantly in need of personnel. It is determined that not all employees of information technology companies are highly qualified, which may be due to the high demand for labour resources. It is revealed that the activities carried out in almost all companies include staff motivation and the formation of a remuneration system (compensation and incentives); recruitment; evaluation of company personnel; training management. It is determined that the need for changes may be due to such factors as changing the company's work profile, the arrival of a new boss, setting new tasks for the HR Department. It is revealed that representatives of companies see the need to make changes in the company's motivation in the remuneration system, training and development of personnel, career management and performance management, creating an effective team and evaluating personnel. It is shown that the system of motivation of ordinary employees and successful employees does not differ critically in most companies. They are motivated by additional payments (bonuses) and gratitude for the work done. It is determined that the motivating factors are corporate sports, individual types of incentives, additional payments for work experience. It is shown that the main motives for work from the point of view of employees are decent and guaranteed financial remuneration, the presence of certain job responsibilities and clear company policy, as well as the presence of diversity in work and interest in it. Practical significance: the data Obtained in this work can be used in marketing, management, Economics, personnel management, management psychology

Health and safety concerns related to CNT and graphene products, and related composites

The use of Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) and Graphene increased in the last decade and it is likely to keep increasing in the near future. The attractiveness of their properties, particularly the possibility to enhance the composites performance using a tailor made methodology, brings new materials, processes and products for highly demanding industrial applications and to the market. However, there are quite a lot of health/safety issues, as well as lack of understanding and standards to evaluate their effects. This paper starts with a general description of materials, processes and products dealing with CNT and graphene. Then, an overview of concerns related to the health and safety when handling, researching, producing and using products that include these materials is presented. It follows a risk management approach with respect to simulation and evaluation tools, and considering the consensual limits already existing for research, industry and consumers. A general discussion integrating the relevant aspects of health and safety with respect to CNT and graphene is also presented. A proactive view is presented with the intention to contribute with some guidelines on installation, maintenance, evaluation, personal protection equipment (PPE) and personnel training to deal with these carbon-based nanomaterials in research, manufacture, and use with composite materials.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program SMARTFAN under grant agreement No. 760779. IPC authors wish to acknowledge "National Funds through FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, References UIDB/05256/2020 e UIDP/05256/2020; Tania Peixoto acknowledges the financial support from FCT, through the PhD Grant PD/BD/143035/2018

Establishing a Multibeam Sonar Evaluation Test Bed near Sidney, British Columbia

The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS), Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) and the Ocean Mapping Group of the University of New Brunswick (OMG) collaborated on establishing a multibeam sonar test bed in the vicinity of the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, British Columbia Canada. This paper describes the purpose of the sonar evaluation test bed, the trials and tribulations of two foreign governments collaborating on projects of mutual interest, the evaluation areas and their characteristics for sonar testing, and sample results of sonar evaluations using this test bed. Some target detection comparisons of several systems over a range of artificial sonar targets will also be given

Research and Applications of the Processes of Performance Appraisal: A Bibliography of Recent Literature, 1981-1989

[Excerpt] There have been several recent reviews of different subtopics within the general performance appraisal literature. The reader of these reviews will find, however, that the accompanying citations may be of limited utility for one or more reasons. For example, the reference sections of these reviews are usually composed of citations which support a specific theory or practical approach to the evaluation of human performance. Consequently, the citation lists for these reviews are, as they must be, highly selective and do not include works that may have only a peripheral relationship to a given reviewer\u27s target concerns. Another problem is that the citations are out of date. That is, review articles frequently contain many citations that are fifteen or more years old. The generation of new studies and knowledge in this field occurs very rapidly. This creates a need for additional reference information solely devoted to identifying the wealth of new research, ideas, and writing that is changing the field

Does it work? evaluating a new pay system

This report focuses on the evaluation of the impact of new pay systems in large, unionised multi-site organisations by the organisations themselves. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a pay system, however, does not take place in a vacuum and relates to the aims and objectives of the pay system concerned. Moreover, evaluation is not an end in itself. It is, therefore, relevant to consider if any further steps were taken as a result of evaluation. Accordingly our research questions were: • What were the aims and objectives of organisations when introducing new pay arrangements? • What data did organisations collect and review to inform their evaluation? • What steps have organisations taken as a result of their evaluation? We re-appraised our data from 10 NHS trusts in England which had introduced some innovations in pay and grading in the 1990s. Additionally, we looked at seven multi-site unionised organisations outside the NHS in both the public and private sectors, which had recently made changes to their reward systems, carrying out interviews and inspecting documents. The main output is a template for the evaluation of Agenda for Change by NHS organisations

Purposes, Uses, and Practices of Leadership Assessment in Education

Explores recent research literature dealing with personnel evaluations, professional learning, accountability, and the relation of leadership to learning, in order to clarify how leadership assessment practices impact student achievement

The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth About Our Quest for Teacher Development

Two years ago, we embarked on an ambitious effort to identify what works in fostering widespread teacher improvement. Our research spanned three large public school districts and one midsize charter school network. We surveyed more than 10,000 teachers and 500 school leaders and interviewed more than 100 staff members involved in teacher development.Rather than test specific strategies to see if they produced results, we used multiple measures of performance to identify teachers who improved substantially, then looked for any experiences or attributes they had in common -- from the kind and amount of development activities in which they participated to the qualities of their schools and their mindset about growth -- that might distinguish them from teachers who did not improve. We used a broad definition of "professional development" to include efforts carried out by districts, schools and teachers themselves.In the three districts we studied, which we believe are representative of large public school systems nationwide, we expected to find concentrations of schools where teachers were improving at every stage of their careers, or evidence that particular supports were especially helpful in boosting teachers' growth. After an exhaustive search, we were disappointed not to find what we hoped we would. Instead, what we found challenged our assumptions

Managerial Discretion in the Use Of Self-Ratings in an Appraisal System: The Antecedents And Consequences

Self-evaluations of performance have elicited the interests of researchers over the last four decades. Supporters attest to the importance of employee involvement in the appraisal process while detractors raise issues concerning leniency, validity and purpose. This study examines the circumstances under which superiors have discretion to ask subordinates to self-evaluate their performance in an ongoing appraisal system. Three primary issues are investigated: the conditions under which superiors requested subordinates to self-evaluate, the relationship between opportunity to self-evaluate and the type of post-appraisal interview that was conducted, and the impact of self-ratings on performance appraisal outcomes. Three hundred twenty-six subordinates responded to questions about the performance appraisal process. Results showed leader-subordinate relationships were strong predictors of opportunity to self-rate. Self-ratings were strongly related to type of interview conducted and had an impact on perceived fairness of ratings. While criticism of self-ratings exists, our findings indicate that voluntary self-ratings, focusing on performance development, have a positive impact on the appraisal process