Marco metodológico y tecnológico para la gestión del conocimiento organizativo que dé soporte al despliegue de buenas prácticas de Ingeniería del software

Hoy en día nos encontramos inmersos en una sociedad que está en constante cambio, donde los paradigmas creados por los padres de la automatización y formalización de procesos de la era moderna, Henry Ford y Frederick Taylor, han dejado de ser totalmente válidos; cuando a principios del siglo XX la capacidad productiva se basaba mayormente en la fuerza física, hoy en los albores del siglo XII el paradigma es muy distinto, ya que la productividad de la sociedad actual, llamada “del conocimiento” se basa en buena medida en la capacidad de las organizaciones para gestionar de la manera más eficiente lo que saben, es decir, su propio conocimiento. En una sociedad, en donde un activo de mucho valor es el conocimiento, surge la necesidad de crear nuevos modelos y paradigmas para la gestión del mismo, sin embargo, esto conlleva superar diversos retos, tanto metodológicos como tecnológicos, es por ello que en esta tesis doctoral, se presenta Promise Framework,una propuesta de marco metodológico y tecnológico para la gestión del conocimiento organizativo, el cual está focalizado en su práctica efectiva en el ámbito de la ingeniería del software, para conseguir que el conocimiento de las organizaciones de desarrollo de software sea usable, útil, accesible y cuantificable. • Usable, de modo que el conocimiento organizativo pueda ser usado y reutilizado en la gestión de proyectos en el seno de la organización. • Útil, ya que sólo en el caso de que el conocimiento que esté disponible sea útil, la transferencia del mismo será efectiva. • Accesible, de modo que el conocimiento organizativo pueda ser recuperado eficiente y eficazmente. • Cuantificable, de modo que los activos de conocimiento de la organización puedan valorarse en función de su aportación a la consecución de los objetivos estratégicos. A lo largo de esta tesis doctoral se presenta una descripción de cada uno de los componentes de Promise Framework: • Modelo de Madurez y Capacidad del Conocimiento Organizativo (Modelo Altus): El cual tiene por objetivo principal sentar las bases sobre las cuales se valorará el conocimiento organizativo, así como los mecanismos para asegurar su accesibilidad, usabilidad y aprendizaje por parte de todos los miembros de la organización. • Marco metodológico: El cual define el método general de trabajo que debe implementarse dentro de una organización para utilizar Promise Framework y poder llevar a cabo la gestión y valoración de su conocimiento. • Marco tecnológico: El cual define un conjunto de herramientas de software, principalmente herramientas basadas en tecnologías Web 2.0 y gestores de bases de datos, a través de las cuales se implementa de manera práctica el marco metodológico y se facilita la captura de información para llevar a cabo la valoración de la madurez del conocimiento organizativo. La validación experimental de la propuesta presentada en esta tesis doctoral se ha definido en torno a la potencial utilidad de Promise Framework dentro de una organización de desarrollo de software para dar soporte a la gestión del conocimiento organizativo (creación, uso, reutilización, valoración y transferencia) en grupos de trabajo conformados por ingenieros de software junior de nueva incorporación; bajo esta premisa, la validación experimenta de esta tesis doctoral se ha llevado a cabo en un contexto universitario, al proporcionar un entorno de experimentación adecuado, ya que el perfil de los alumnos universitarios satisface los criterios de un ingeniero de software junior. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nowadays we are immersed in a constantly changing society, where the paradigms proposed by Henry Ford and Frederick Taylor, fathers of the automation and formalization of processes in the modern era, are no longer entirely valid; at the beginning of the 20th century the productive capacity was mainly based on physical strength. Today on the beginning of the 21st century the paradigm is quite different, productivity in the current society, that is called “the knowledge society”, is mainly based on the capability of organizations to effectively manage what they know, that is, their knowledge. In a society where the most valuable asset is knowledge, a need to create new models and paradigms to manage knowledge arises, it implies to overcome several methodological and technological challenges, for that reason, this doctoral thesis presents Promise Framework, a methodological and technological framework proposal for organizational knowledge management, that is focused to be deployed on software development organizations, and is aimed to help software organizations to make their knowledge usable, useful, accessible and measurable. • Usable, allowing to all the members of an organization to use and reuse organizational knowledge in projects execution. • Useful, easing knowledge transference and fostering work effectiveness. • Accessible, allowing knowledge access without complexity to all the members of an organization. • Measurable, allowing assessing the quality of knowledge assets in terms of their contribution to fulfill the strategic objectives of an organization. The organizational knowledge management framework presented in this work is composed by three main components, which are detailed throughout this doctoral thesis. • Altus Model: Capability and Maturity Model for Organizational Knowledge. This model is aimed to offer a mechanism to assess the maturity of organizational knowledge and the capability of an organization to manage its knowledge. • Methodological Framework. Defines the general workflow of Promise Framework by setting the rules that need to be followed by an organization to manage its knowledge. • Technological Framework. Defines a set of technological tools to deploy Promise Framework in an organization and ease the knowledge gathering, coding, storage and recovering. The experimental validation of the proposal presented in this doctoral thesis was conducted to corroborate if Promise Framework is useful within a software organization to support the creation, use, reuse, assessment, and transference of knowledge when a software project is executed by junior software engineers that are coordinated by senior software engineers. Under this context, this validation was conducted on a university environment, where last year students of a Computer Science degree played the role of junior software engineers and the lecturers played the role of senior software engineers

Strengthening health district management competencies in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda: lessons from using action research to improve health workforce performance

Background To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), more health workers are needed; also critical is supporting optimal performance of existing staff. Integrated human resource management (HRM) strategies, complemented by other health systems strategies, are needed to improve health workforce performance, which is possible at district level in decentralised contexts. To strengthen the capacity of district management teams to develop and implement workplans containing integrated strategies for workforce performance improvement, we introduced an action-research-based management strengthening intervention (MSI). This consisted of two workshops, follow-up by facilitators and meetings between participating districts. Although often used in the health sector, there is little evaluation of this approach in middle-income and low-income country contexts. The MSI was tested in three districts in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda. This paper reports on the appropriateness of the MSI to the contexts and its effects. Methods Documentary evidence (workshop reports, workplans, diaries, follow-up visit reports) was collected throughout the implementation of the MSI in each district and interviews (50) and focus-group discussions (6) were conducted with managers at the end of the MSI. The findings were analysed using Kirkpatrick’s evaluation framework to identify effects at different levels. Findings The MSI was appropriate to the needs and work patterns of District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) in all contexts. DHMT members improved management competencies for problem analysis, prioritisation and integrated HRM and health systems strategy development. They learnt how to refine plans as more information became available and the importance of monitoring implementation. The MSI produced changes in team behaviours and confidence. There were positive results regarding workforce performance or service delivery; these would increase with repetition of the MSI. Conclusions The MSI is appropriate to the contexts where tested and can improve staff performance. However, for significant impact on service delivery and UHC, a method of scaling up and sustaining the MSI is required

"I won't be staying here for long": a qualitative study on the retention of migrant nurses in Ireland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although international nurse recruitment campaigns have succeeded in attracting large numbers of migrant nurses to countries such as Ireland, where domestic supply has not kept pace with demand, the long-term success of such initiatives from a workforce planning perspective will depend on the extent to which these nurses can be retained in destination countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper draws on qualitative, in-depth interviews undertaken with 21 migrant nurses in Ireland, focusing specifically on their future migration intentions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our findings indicate that more than half of the respondents are considering migration onwards, for the most part because the destination country has failed to provide them with sufficient stability, particularly in terms of citizenship and family reunification. In considering onward migration, factors outside the health system were of most concern to those interviewed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This demonstrates the need for destination countries to take a broader and more long-term approach to international nurse recruitment, rather than regarding it as an inexpensive way to fill gaps within the health care system.</p

Expectations, experiences and plans of internationally recruited nurses in the UK : a case study in a NHS Acute Trust in London

In the UK, international recruitment is one of the strategies adopted to tackle the shortage of nurses. It is predicted that the UK will continue relying on internationally recruited nurses (IRNs) in the future. There is high attrition among both national and overseas nurses. While factors determining the turnover of British nurses are generally understood there is not much evidence about overseas staff. Literature suggests that factors involved in the decision to emigrate and experiences during recruitment are essential in the development of professional and personal expectations. The extent to which expectations are met is related to job satisfaction and retention. This research aims to improve understanding about the interface between IRNs' expectations, initial experiences and turnover. The study uses a qualitative approach, asking IRNs from India and the Philippines and using analysis of their narratives to generate data about their expectations and experiences. The first group comprised 6 Indian nurses, who were interviewed three times over eight months since their arrival in the UK, and someo f their managersa nd mentors. The second and third groups comprised Filipina nurses recruited from two cohorts, 6 nurses recruited one and a half years before and 9 nurses recruited four years before. Findings validate results from other studies about the motivation to emigrate. Motives are often, but not exclusively, economic. Indian nurses come with their families to improve their lives in the UK while Filipino nurses come to help their families back home. Professional and economic expectations arc often not met. There are important professional disparities between their countries and the UK. Nurses perceived that there was not enough institutional support for professional and cultural adaptation. Often their experience and skills are neither recognized nor valued. Isolation, frustration and consequently low satisfaction were identified in most of the nurses what is known to be related to turnover.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Expectations, experiences and plans of internationally recruited nurses in the UK: a case study in a NHS Acute Trust in London

In the UK, international recruitment is one of the strategies adopted to tackle the shortage of nurses. It is predicted that the UK will continue relying on internationally recruited nurses (IRNs) in the future. There is high attrition among both national and overseas nurses. While factors determining the turnover of British nurses are generally understood there is not much evidence about overseas staff. Literature suggests that factors involved in the decision to emigrate and experiences during recruitment are essential in the development of professional and personal expectations. The extent to which expectations are met is related to job satisfaction and retention. This research aims to improve understanding about the interface between IRNs' expectations, initial experiences and turnover. The study uses a qualitative approach, asking IRNs from India and the Philippines and using analysis of their narratives to generate data about their expectations and experiences. The first group comprised 6 Indian nurses, who were interviewed three times over eight months since their arrival in the UK, and some of their managers and mentors. The second and third groups comprised Filipina nurses recruited from two cohorts, 6 nurses recruited one and a half years before and 9 nurses recruited four years before. Findings validate results from other studies about the motivation to emigrate. Motives are often, but not exclusively, economic. Indian nurses come with their families to improve their lives in the UK while Filipino nurses come to help their families back home. Professional and economic expectations are often not met. There are important professional disparities between their countries and the UK. Nurses perceived that there was not enough institutional support for professional and cultural adaptation. Often their experience and skills are neither recognized nor valued. Isolation, frustration and consequently low satisfaction were identified in most of the nurses what is known to be related to turnover

State-building and human resources for health in fragile and conflict-affected states: exploring the linkages.

BACKGROUND: Human resources for health are self-evidently critical to running a health service and system. There is, however, a wider set of social issues which is more rarely considered. One area which is hinted at in literature, particularly on fragile and conflict-affected states, but rarely examined in detail, is the contribution which health staff may or do play in relation to the wider state-building processes. This article aims to explore that relationship, developing a conceptual framework to understand what linkages might exist and looking for empirical evidence in the literature to support, refute or adapt those linkages. METHODS: An open call for contributions to the article was launched through an online community. The group then developed a conceptual framework and explored a variety of literatures (political, economic, historical, public administration, conflict and health-related) to find theoretical and empirical evidence related to the linkages outlined in the framework. Three country case reports were also developed for Afghanistan, Burundi and Timor-Leste, using secondary sources and the knowledge of the group. FINDINGS: We find that the empirical evidence for most of the linkages is not strong, which is not surprising, given the complexity of the relationships. Nevertheless, some of the posited relationships are plausible, especially between development of health cadres and a strengthened public administration, which in the long run underlies a number of state-building features. The reintegration of factional health staff post-conflict is also plausibly linked to reconciliation and peace-building. The role of medical staff as part of national elites may also be important. CONCLUSIONS: The concept of state-building itself is highly contested, with a rich vein of scepticism about the wisdom or feasibility of this as an external project. While recognizing the inherently political nature of these processes, systems and sub-systems, it remains the case that state-building does occur over time, driven by a combination of internal and external forces and that understanding the role played in it by the health system and health staff, particularly after conflicts and in fragile settings, is an area worth further investigation. This review and framework contribute to that debate

Decision space for health workforce management in decentralized settings: action research in Uganda

The aim of this paper is to improve understanding about how district health managers perceive and use their decision space for human resource management (HRM) and how this compares with national policies and regulatory frameworks governing HRM. The study builds upon work undertaken by PERFORM Research Consortium in Uganda using action-research to strengthen human resources management in the health sector. To assess the decision space that managers have in six areas of HRM (e.g. policy, planning, remuneration and incentives, performance management, education and information) the study compares the roles allocated by Uganda’s policy and regulatory frameworks with the actual room for decision-making that district health managers perceive that they have. Results show that in some areas District Health Management Team (DHMT) members make decisions beyond their conferred authority while in others they do not use all the space allocated by policy. DHMT members operate close to the boundaries defined by public policy in planning, remuneration and incentives, policy and performance management. However, they make decisions beyond their conferred authority in the area of information and do not use all the space allocated by policy in the area of education. DHMTs’ decision-making capacity to manage their workforce is influenced by their own perceived authority and sometimes it is constrained by decisions made at higher levels. We can conclude that decentralisation, to improve workforce performance, needs to devolve power further down from district authorities onto district health managers. DHMTs need more power and authority to make decisions about their workforce, but also more control over resources to be able to implement these decisions