Human resource development: Proactive preparation to manage crises

Significant increases in the incidence of global terrorism, serious criminal activities, and the ever-present threat of natural catastrophes have emphasised the need for businesses to prepare for managing crises. A more systematic and robust conceptual approach has long been overdue to identify how businesses can effectively prepare to deal with crises. A shared understanding between business stakeholders is needed of what is meant by crisis management in a commercial context. This required a consolidation of the state of the literature, particularly a definition and description of what constitutes crises. Proactive crisis management policies and practices can contribute to businesses capacity to manage crises as well as to provide a safe working environment for employees. The preparation stage of crisis management was identified as the beginning of a strategic response to recover from crises. Human resource development is promoted as a key component of the preparation to respond to and subsequently management of crises

'Happy-performing managers' proposition

Few conundrums have intrigued organisational researchers and practitioners as has the 'happy-productive worker' thesis. Proponents of this idea are convinced 'a happy worker is a good worker'. Despite mixed empirical evidence from decades of research, there is support in the literature for the notion the 'happy-productive worker thesis'. An account is provided of a study on variation on the enduring debate of the happiness-productivity theme, the 'happy-performing managers' proposition. An empirical study is presented to establish which aspects of Australian managers' job happiness predict certain aspects of their performance. The emphasis was on investigating an aspect of human behaviour with the potential to enhance managerial performance. A contribution of this study was to provide qualified support for the 'happy-productive worker thesis' by linking managers' affective wellbeing, intrinsic job satisfaction with there contextual and task performance to propose the 'happy-performing managers' proposition. Managerial implications on these findings are considered

Preparing for crises with online security management education

Rising incidences of global terrorism and major criminal activities have underscored the need for high quality professional education in security risk and security technology as components of crisis management. This demand for human resource development about security management is reflected by a professional security education course developed by a Western Australian university. Learning materials developed for this course have unique attributes which include constructivist learning principles designed to provide realistic simulations and interactivity. A unit in physical security is featured to illustrate the learning processes and interactive activities incorporated into the development of these online interactive activities. Implications for HRM adopting Technologically Mediated Learning to prepare for crisis management in South East Asian communities are discussed

Long distance teaching: The impact of offshore programs and information technology on academic work

Australia’s higher education system has become financially dependent on fee-paying international students and is constantly seeking ways to enhance its competitiveness in overseas markets. Offshore teaching programs have become an attractive strategy for institutions hoping to improve their profile and gain additional market share. Long distance teaching is also being undertaken via use of information technology. Academic staff are increasingly required to spend time teaching in offshore programs, and will be involved in greater use of information technology to deliver their services. These developments raise issues relating to quality control, curriculum development, increased workloads and job satisfaction. This paper overviews recent developments in these areas and discusses their implications for the future of academic work

Implications of the 'happy-performing managers' proposition

A seminal question in industrial/organisational psychology and management is revisited in this paper - do happy managers perform better than their miserable counterparts? The 'happy-productive worker' thesis has intrigued organisational researchers and practitioners for decades. Despite mixed empirical evidence from research, there is support in the literature for the notion that 'a happy worker is a good worker'. A variation on the enduring debate of the happiness-productivity theme is presented - the 'happy-performing managers' proposition. A study of Australian managers is reported to illustrate how aspects of affective wellbeing are associated with their performance. The emphasis was on investigating an aspect of human behaviour with the potential to enhance managerial performance. A contribution of this study was to provide qualified support for the 'happy-performing managers' proposition by linking managers' affective wellbeing and intrinsic job satisfaction with their contextual and task performance. Implications of these findings are considered. In particular, it is argued that the capacity of managers to develop emotional intelligence, so that they are more aware of the importance of positive and negative leadership styles has the potential to increase organisational productivity

Human Ecology Economics (HEE) and Strategic Management

Human Ecology Economics (HEE) draws on evolutionary and complex systems processes by incorporating interdisciplinary material from the humanities and sciences. Lessons for strategic managers follow from this HEE perspective with examples from the banking industry. HEE can nurture a broad environmental perspective among strategic managers and an ontological understanding of their organization within its dynamic ecology. Reconciliation is attempted between the chaotic dualities inherent in strategic management (SM)

Security management education online

This paper describes the philosophy and pedagogy informing the design and development of Security Science online units. The Physical Security unit is used to illustrate the development of the online learning strategies and interactive activities. Learning materials developed for this course have unique attributes as they were specifically designed to provide simulations and interactivity in the learning process. Field scenarios have been developed for the activities to make the learning experiences as realistic as possible. Simulations and graphics provide these experiences, together with security site images for actual security barriers, systems and technologies. Features of units in the course include graphics, simulations, and video clips to present learning aspects of security that are not normally available to students

Stakeholder perspectives of a pilot multicomponent delirium prevention intervention for adult patients with advanced cancer in palliative care units: A behaviour change theory-based qualitative study

Background: Theory-based and qualitative evaluations in pilot trials of complex clinical interventions help to understand quantitative results, as well as inform the feasibility and design of subsequent effectiveness and implementation trials. Aim: To explore patient, family, clinician and volunteer (‘stakeholder’) perspectives of the feasibility and acceptability of a multicomponent non-pharmacological delirium prevention intervention for adult patients with advanced cancer in four Australian palliative care units that participated in a phase II trial, the ‘PRESERVE pilot study’. Design: A trial-embedded qualitative study via semi-structured interviews and directed content analysis using Michie’s Behaviour Change Wheel and the Theoretical Domains Framework. Setting/participants: Thirty-nine people involved in the trial: nurses (n = 17), physicians (n = 6), patients (n = 6), family caregivers (n = 4), physiotherapists (n = 3), a social worker, a pastoral care worker and a volunteer. Results: Participants’ perspectives aligned with the ‘capability’, ‘opportunity’ and ‘motivation’ domains of the applied frameworks. Of seven themes, three were around the alignment of the delirium prevention intervention with palliative care (intervention was considered routine care; intervention aligned with the compassionate and collaborative culture of palliative care; and differing views of palliative care priorities influenced perspectives of the intervention) and four were about study processes more directly related to adherence to the intervention (shared knowledge increased engagement with the intervention; impact of the intervention checklist on attention, delivery and documentation of the delirium prevention strategies; clinical roles and responsibilities; and addressing environmental barriers to delirium prevention). Conclusion: This theory-informed qualitative study identified multiple influences on the delivery and documentation of a pilot multicomponent non-pharmacological delirium prevention intervention in four palliative care units. Findings inform future definitive studies of delirium prevention in palliative care