Techniques for improving client relations in family planning programs

Demand for children and demand for contraceptives are not independent of the system of supply. And client transactions are the major means for lowering costs. Family planning workers, providers of services and mass media campaigns, are the harbingers of new ideas and new delivery systems that could modify the demand for fertility regulation and patterns of contraceptive use. The authors describe four broad techniques for improving client relations, emphasizing their potential as entry points into program development (systematic change). These techniques are presented as a sampling of experience that can be brought to bear on dysfunctional client relations. Among examples described: Patient flow analysis (PFA). A self-administered time-and-motion diagnosis that allows computerized documentation of patient flow and personnel use in health service clinics. Using relatively unobtrusive data collection, PFA seeks to get a representative snapshot of a program and its dysfunctions, replicating a typical clinic session. Data are later diagnosed and remedies proposed for bottlenecks and inefficiencies. Training and visit (T&V). A managerial approach for dealing with geographically scattered outreach programs. The four main principles of T&V: focus on a few key tasks, frequent in-service training and supervision, regularity and predictability, and face-to-face communication. The T&V model focuses on what workers should be doing with their time in the field to meet client needs. A goal of T&V: to enable all clients to name their worker and the day of the week s/he visits, and identify a few themes from their most recent encounter. Activity planning. The antithesis of T&V, activity planning calls for abandoning rigid time-place-movement schedules and specific messages and replacing them with a fluid work schedule adapted to local conditions. Workers must be well-trained in collecting data, listening and building rapport, and communicating with conviction. The quality of the worker-client relationship is all-important. A weakness is that if the workers have no objective they lose control of the exchange with clients. Training and worker empowerment. Training by itself is not enough for systematic change - training for what? But training can serve as an entry point into organizational development when it is rooted in methodologies that help to develop the participant's technical and interpersonal skills and ability to innovate. But training must be accompanied by changes in the system of supply that supports and facilitates innovation and quality of care. Techniques to improve client relations can address either the client-provider interface directly or the system of underlying determinants. It is important to ask basic questions: Is the idea to fix a single worker-client dysfunction or is it to provide a continuous program for modification and growth? Who will be affected by the change? Whoor what will be responsible for initiating and overseeing the course of action? What are the short- and long-run goals of intervention?Health Monitoring&Evaluation,ICT Policy and Strategies,Adolescent Health,Poverty Monitoring&Analysis,Geographical Information Systems

Evidence synthesis on the occurrence, causes, consequences, prevention and management of bullying and harassment behaviours to inform decision making in the NHS

Background Workplace bullying is a persistent problem in the NHS with negative implications for individuals, teams, and organisations. Bullying is a complex phenomenon and there is a lack of evidence on the best approaches to manage the problem. Aims Research questions What is known about the occurrence, causes, consequences and management of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? Objectives Summarise the reported prevalence of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Summarise the empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Describe any theoretical explanations of the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Synthesise evidence on the preventative and management interventions that address workplace bullying interventions and inappropriate behaviour. Methods To fulfil a realist synthesis approach the study was designed across four interrelated component parts: Part 1: A narrative review of the prevalence, causes and consequences of workplace bullying Part 2: A systematic literature search and realist review of workplace bullying interventions Part 3: Consultation with international bullying experts and practitioners Part 4: Identification of case studies and examples of good practic

Leadership as a determinant of innovative behaviour

In knowledge-intensive services innovative behaviour of co-workers is a critical success factor. In sectors like consultancy, research and architecture the nature of the work implies that projects are never alike. Innovative behaviour means that co-workers generate ideas for better and/or different products, services or working methods, and strive for implementing such changes. By carrying out certain leadership styles, entrepreneurs are able to boost innovative behaviour of their employees. This study presents an overview of innovation-enhancing leadership styles.

Exploring organizational service orientation: A preliminary analysis in the retail industry

This study explored organizational service orientation and focused on the dimensions, limits and measurability of the construct. A concept-centric literature review was conducted to clarify the borders of the construct, to investigate the dimensions of the construct and to gather tools for comprehensive measurement of the construct. Based on the findings, this study constructed an analytical framework for organizational service orientation and formed a scale that measures it accordingly. The framework and the scale represent a comprehensive view on the subject avoiding the context restrictions evident in previous research. The theoretical findings implicate that the following dimensions are essential for organizational service orientation: internal characteristics (e.g., service climate and organizational culture), strategy (e.g., service-orientated business strategy and service-oriented strategic choices) and the nature of the services offered (e.g., services in support of the client's actions or in support of the product). In the empirical section, the framework and the scale were utilized to gather data from the retail sector to examine organizational service orientation. First, the scales were pre-tested during February-March 2013 with a test survey among the members of the Union of special trade (Erikoiskaupanliitto) yielding 39 responses. Second, the actual quantitative data used in this study was collected during October-November 2013 with a web-based questionnaire administered to 1263 operative managers of speciality retail stores in Finland. The survey yielded 152 acceptable responses (response rate 12.02%). An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the collected data in order to identify the underlying dimensions of organizational service orientation. The empirical findings of the analysis indicate five acceptable factors in the collected data: service-minded leadership, service capabilities, commitment to serving customers, service recovery and organizational service culture. The results of the analysis differ from the dimensions gathered from previous research, thus providing a ground for further investigations concerning the construct of organizational service orientation

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Frontline police employees' social construction of client service.

The social construction of frontline employees’ client service plays a major role in organisational success. This study illuminated why frontline personnel are reluctant to accept organisational change which is in line with new policing philosophies. Applying modernist qualitative methodology, and particularly grounded theory within a case study design a ‘process satisfaction model’ was developed with the aim to improve employee satisfaction with internal processes and ultimately service delivery. This model may be used for change in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other government departments

Balancing employee needs, project requirements and organisational priorities in team deployment

The 'people and performance' model asserts that performance is a sum of employee ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO). Despite extensive evidence of this people-performance link within manufacturing and many service sectors, studies within the construction industry are limited. Thus, a recent research project set out to explore the team deployment strategies of a large construction company with the view of establishing how a balance could be achieved between organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences. The findings suggested that project priorities often took precedence over the delivery of the strategic intentions of the organisation in meeting employees' individual needs. This approach is not sustainable in the long term because of the negative implications that such a policy had in relation to employee stress and staff turnover. It is suggested that a resourcing structure that takes into account the multiple facets of AMO may provide a more effective approach for balancing organisational strategic priorities, operational project requirements and individual employee needs and preferences more appropriately in the future