A review on the relation between simulation and improvement in hospitals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Simulation applications on operations management in hospitals are frequently published and claim to support decision-making on operations management subjects. However, the reported implementation rates of recommendations are low and the actual impact of the changes recommended by the modeler has hardly been examined. This paper examines: 1) the execution rate of simulation study recommendations, 2) the research methods used to evaluate implementation of recommendations, 3) factors contributing to implementation, and 4) the differences regarding implementation between literature and practice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Altogether 16 hospitals executed the recommendations (at least partially). Implementation results were hardly reported upon; 1 study described a before-and-after design, 2 a partial before and after design. Factors that help implementation were grouped according to 1) technical quality, of which data availability, validation/verification with historic data/expert opinion, and the development of the conceptual model were mentioned most frequently 2) process quality, with client involvement and 3) outcome quality with, presentation of results. The survey response rate of traceable authors was 61%, 18 authors implemented the results at least partially. Among these responses, evaluation methods were relatively better with 3 time series designs and 2 before-and-after designs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although underreported in literature, implementation of recommendations seems limited; this review provides recommendations on project design, implementation conditions and evaluation methods to increase implementation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A literature review in PubMed and Business Source Elite on stochastic simulation applications on operations management in individual hospitals published between 1997 and 2008. From those reporting implementation, cross references were added. In total, 89 papers were included. A scoring list was used for data extraction. Two reviewers evaluated each paper separately; in case of discrepancies, they jointly determined the scores. The findings were validated with a survey to the original authors.</p

Simulation modelling in administration-by-consensus organisations

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JORS Part Special Issue OR42 Papers: An Editorial Overview

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Happy High Performing Managers: Self-Sustaining Urban Myth or a Cause for Optimism?

A seminal question in human resource management is revisited by this investigation: ‘Do happy managers perform better than their discontented counterparts?’ This study provides support for the ‘happy-performing managers’ proposition by linking managers’ affective wellbeing and intrinsic job satisfaction with their contextual and task performance. 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 and by practitioners 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. An empirical study of Australian managers is reported to indicate which aspects of affective wellbeing predict their specific contextual and task performance.The emphasis was on investigating an aspect of human behaviour with the potential to enhance managerial performance. An empirical methodology was used to test the hypotheses and develop a Partial Model of Managers’ Affective Wellbeing, Intrinsic Job Satisfaction and Performance. Survey items were derived from the literature and administered to managers from Australian organizations using self–report on established affective wellbeing and intrinsic job satisfaction scales

Communication and social identity dynamics in UAE organizations

This research focuses on cross-cultural communication in the workplace between United Arab Emirates Nationals (Emiratis) and western expatriate employees. Communication Accommodation Theory and Social Identity Theory were the major theoretical frameworks used, to examine how Emirati employees perceived expatriate employees in terms of either “ingroups” or “outgroups”. 192 Emiratis (158 males and 34 females) from a variety of organizations in Dubai completed questionnaires in which they described an interaction they recently had with a western expatriate co-worker. The results indicated that miscommunications and negative perceptions invoked Emiratis’ perceptions of social distance from their western co-workers; that is, negatively perceived co-workers were categorized in negative outgroup stereotypes. However, many Emiratis reported positive communication with their expatriate co-workers. These respondents perceived their interactants at a more individualistic level, as opposed to categorizing them as a member of a stereotypical cultural outgroup. Given the rapid globalization of the workforce in the Middle-East, this study contributes towards a better understanding of cross-cultural communication between Arabs and westerners in a workplace context. Individuals from different nationalities, religions and values need to adopt a more inclusive approach to communicating with each other, to enable a shared a common identity and purpose when working shared towards organizational goals

A Survey that Contributes to the Development of a Framework to Evaluate Health and Safety Strategies in Supply Chains

This paper reports on the results of a survey that was part of wider research to link small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and larger organisations to help improve the health and safety records of SMEs. The survey results suggest that networking, as virtual organisations, would be a valuable way to link SMEs with their larger counterparts, partly because SMEs do not have the resources and time to release members of staff easily to attend physical workshops and other events. SMEs are important to many economies, but tend to have poor health and safety records. It is in the interests of larger organisations to assist SMEs within their supply chains, as the effects of absences resulting from poor health and safety management in SMEs result in supplies being disrupted. The research focussed on the construction industry. It is mapped to existing literature in relevant domains