Human Resource Management: A Critical Analysis

Since the 1970-BOs, employment relationships in the western world have been influenced by the emergence of human resource management (HRM) which has, to some degree, challenged the existing order- industrial relations (IR). The debate resulting from the emergence of HRM has kept the academic presses churning. At one Level, there is a 'co-existence' debate which explores the likelihood that HRM will supplant IR. At another Level, debate focuses on the 'distinctiveness' of HRM from IR and/or personnel management theory. However, the debates between the HRM and IR fields have only been intra-discourse; HRM literature has been almost silent on the subject of IR, while IR has had little to say about HRM. This, despite the fact that it could be argued that IR and HRM are simply different views of the same set of phenomena. Neither the HRM nor IR fields seem able to incorporate the strengths of the other. By mapping the underlying paradigms of these two fields, this paper explores the question: 'What makes the fields of HRM and IR unable to articulate?

A study to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation based decision support system in ERP implementation in SMEs

ERP system implementation is a challenging process and small medium enterprises (SMEs) face considerable challenges in implementing ERP system due to their limited resources and IT infrastructure. Still, due to their benefits, ERP systems are becoming an integral part of SMEs. This study evaluates the role simulation based modelling can play in assisting SMEs in ERP implementation. The key informants representing diverse backgrounds are interviewed to collected data. The findings of the research show that Key participants supported the idea of incorporating simulation based model during the implementation process since a simulation based approach make more sense since it will allow the implementation team to observe the implementation process and the role played by factors which are essential for the success of the implementation. Also, simulation model can also be useful in developing and analyzing different implementation strategies, predict efforts and resources needed for ERP implementation, which in turn can facilitate decision makers in adopting a ERP system or not

Employment Relations in the New Zealand Public Health Sector - A Survey

The New Zealand Public Health sector has undergone significant political, Legislative and managerial changes since 1986. These changes have had a major impact on the nature of employment relations in the sector. The unified, state sector industrial relations regime has been restructured and replaced a by diverse set of practices. Many of the changes of the last decade have had time to 'mature' and become embedded into the system and it now seems appropriate to start to identify issues that have arisen from the impact of the new regime of employment relations. This paper presents the results of a survey of related public health sector organisations including employers, unions, professional organisations, statutory bodies and funding agencies. Five distinct areas for future employment relations research, with varying Levels of priority, were identified by the respondents including; 1) Workforce development and planning. 2) The nature, scope and negotiation of employment contracts. 3) The problematic of people management of largely 'professional ' group of workers. 4) Relationships with external organisations such as the 'NZQA 'and the 'Health and Disability Commissioner' and the impact on internal employment relations. 5) The effects of uncertainty about current health care delivery structures and possible further politically directed restructuring are having on employment relations

An Analysis of Personal Grievance Statistics in New Zealand From 1984 to 1998

Personal grievance procedures have been a part of New Zealand$ industrial relations system since 1973. Initially these procedures were limited in availability to those employees who were members of unions and subject to a union negotiated document. Since the enactment of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA), personal grievance procedures have become available to all New Zealand employees. It is interesting to note that at the same time, unions' roles in industrial relations have diminished and progressively fewer employees know their rights in employment. This paper analyses the statistical data from the Department of Labour on personal grievance cases resolved by the specialist employment institutions between 1984 and 1998. The paper also notes the changes in types of personal grievances and the rates of growth and decline in personal grievance cases. Two important facts have been identified. The first involves the large increase in the number of personal grievance cases taken to the specialist institutions since the ECA came into force. The second issue is the large proportion of unjustified dismissal cases that make up the body of the personal grievance cases. Finally, this paper explores some explanations for the movements noted in personal grievance data as a precursor to further research

Human Resource Management: A Critical Analysis

Since the 1970-BOs, employment relationships in the western world have been influenced by the emergence of human resource management (HRM) which has, to some degree, challenged the existing order- industrial relations (IR). The debate resulting from the emergence of HRM has kept the academic presses churning. At one Level, there is a 'co-existence' debate which explores the likelihood that HRM will supplant IR. At another Level, debate focuses on the 'distinctiveness' of HRM from IR and/or personnel management theory. However, the debates between the HRM and IR fields have only been intra-discourse; HRM literature has been almost silent on the subject of IR, while IR has had little to say about HRM. This, despite the fact that it could be argued that IR and HRM are simply different views of the same set of phenomena. Neither the HRM nor IR fields seem able to incorporate the strengths of the other. By mapping the underlying paradigms of these two fields, this paper explores the question: 'What makes the fields of HRM and IR unable to articulate?

An Analysis of Personal Grievance Statistics in New Zealand From 1984 to 1998

Personal grievance procedures have been a part of New Zealand$ industrial relations system since 1973. Initially these procedures were limited in availability to those employees who were members of unions and subject to a union negotiated document. Since the enactment of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA), personal grievance procedures have become available to all New Zealand employees. It is interesting to note that at the same time, unions' roles in industrial relations have diminished and progressively fewer employees know their rights in employment. This paper analyses the statistical data from the Department of Labour on personal grievance cases resolved by the specialist employment institutions between 1984 and 1998. The paper also notes the changes in types of personal grievances and the rates of growth and decline in personal grievance cases. Two important facts have been identified. The first involves the large increase in the number of personal grievance cases taken to the specialist institutions since the ECA came into force. The second issue is the large proportion of unjustified dismissal cases that make up the body of the personal grievance cases. Finally, this paper explores some explanations for the movements noted in personal grievance data as a precursor to further research

Employment Relations in the New Zealand Public Health Sector - A Survey

The New Zealand Public Health sector has undergone significant political, Legislative and managerial changes since 1986. These changes have had a major impact on the nature of employment relations in the sector. The unified, state sector industrial relations regime has been restructured and replaced a by diverse set of practices. Many of the changes of the last decade have had time to 'mature' and become embedded into the system and it now seems appropriate to start to identify issues that have arisen from the impact of the new regime of employment relations. This paper presents the results of a survey of related public health sector organisations including employers, unions, professional organisations, statutory bodies and funding agencies. Five distinct areas for future employment relations research, with varying Levels of priority, were identified by the respondents including; 1) Workforce development and planning. 2) The nature, scope and negotiation of employment contracts. 3) The problematic of people management of largely 'professional ' group of workers. 4) Relationships with external organisations such as the 'NZQA 'and the 'Health and Disability Commissioner' and the impact on internal employment relations. 5) The effects of uncertainty about current health care delivery structures and possible further politically directed restructuring are having on employment relations

Degradation, Bioactivity, and Osteogenic Potential of Composites Made of PLGA and Two Different Sol–Gel Bioactive Glasses

We have developed poly(l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) based composites using sol–gel derived bioactive glasses (S-BG), previously described by our group, as composite components. Two different composite types were manufactured that contained either S2—high content silica S-BG, or A2—high content lime S-BG. The composites were evaluated in the form of sheets and 3D scaffolds. Sheets containing 12, 21, and 33 vol.% of each bioactive glass were characterized for mechanical properties, wettability, hydrolytic degradation, and surface bioactivity. Sheets containing A2 S-BG rapidly formed a hydroxyapatite surface layer after incubation in simulated body fluid. The incorporation of either S-BG increased the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the composites and tailored their degradation rates compared to starting compounds. Sheets and 3D scaffolds were evaluated for their ability to support growth of human bone marrow cells (BMC) and MG-63 cells, respectively. Cells were grown in non-differentiating, osteogenic or osteoclast-inducing conditions. Osteogenesis was induced with either recombinant human BMP-2 or dexamethasone, and osteoclast formation with M-CSF. BMC viability was lower at higher S-BG content, though specific ALP/cell was significantly higher on PLGA/A2-33 composites. Composites containing S2 S-BG enhanced calcification of extracellular matrix by BMC, whereas incorporation of A2 S-BG in the composites promoted osteoclast formation from BMC. MG-63 osteoblast-like cells seeded in porous scaffolds containing S2 maintained viability and secreted collagen and calcium throughout the scaffolds. Overall, the presented data show functional versatility of the composites studied and indicate their potential to design a wide variety of implant materials differing in physico-chemical properties and biological applications. We propose these sol–gel derived bioactive glass–PLGA composites may prove excellent potential orthopedic and dental biomaterials supporting bone formation and remodeling

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Reproducibility of Transcranial Doppler ultrasound in the middle cerebral artery

Abstract Background Transcranial Doppler ultrasound remains the only imaging modality that is capable of real-time measurements of blood flow velocity and microembolic signals in the cerebral circulation. We here assessed the repeatability and reproducibility of transcranial Doppler ultrasound in healthy volunteers and patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Methods Between March and August 2017, we recruited 20 healthy volunteers and 20 patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. In a quiet temperature-controlled room, two 1-h transcranial Doppler measurements of blood flow velocities and microembolic signals were performed sequentially on the same day (within-day repeatability) and a third 7–14 days later (between-day reproducibility). Levels of agreement were assessed by interclass correlation co-efficient. Results In healthy volunteers (31±9 years, 11 male), within-day repeatability of Doppler measurements were 0.880 (95% CI 0.726–0.950) for peak velocity, 0.867 (95% CI 0.700–0.945) for mean velocity, and 0.887 (95% CI 0.741–0.953) for end-diastolic velocity. Between-day reproducibility was similar but lower: 0.777 (95% CI 0.526–0.905), 0.795 (95% CI 0.558–0.913), and 0.674 (95% CI 0.349–0.856) respectively. In patients (72±11 years, 11 male), within-day repeatability of Doppler measurements were higher: 0.926 (95% CI 0.826–0.970) for peak velocity, 0.922 (95% CI 0.817–0.968) for mean velocity, and 0.868 (95% CI 0.701–0.945) for end-diastolic velocity. Similarly, between-day reproducibility revealed lower values: 0.800 (95% CI 0.567–0.915), 0.786 (95% CI 0.542–0.909), and 0.778 (95% CI 0.527–0.905) respectively. In both cohorts, the intra-observer Bland Altman analysis demonstrated acceptable mean measurement differences and limits of agreement between series of middle cerebral artery velocity measurements with very few outliers. In patients, the carotid stenoses were 30–40% (n = 9), 40–50% (n = 6), 50–70% (n = 3) and > 70% (n = 2). No spontaneous embolisation was detected in either of the groups. Conclusions Transcranial Doppler generates reproducible data regarding the middle cerebral artery velocities. However, larger studies are needed to validate its clinical applicability. Trial registration ClinicalTrial.gov (ID NCT 03050567), retrospectively registered on 15/05/2017