University of Dayton Magazine, Winter 2011-12

This issue includes Marianist art, a prairie companion and a civil path to revolution, plus at look at UD\u27s updated master plan. Also included is instruction from a dancer in residence at the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, sporting news, news from around campus, and much more.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dayton_mag/1004/thumbnail.jp

The effects of Lean Six Sigma critical success factors on organizational performance: a mixed-methods study on United Arab Emirates hospitals

Healthcare is an industry where mistakes are not tolerated. Various Improvement methodologies such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Lean and Six Sigma intend to improve the performance of processes and impact organisational performance. Lean Six Sigma (LSS) combines approaches for flow and quality with the intent to reduce waste, variation and defects in processes. There have been many attempts to implement LSS. However, there is a lack of academic research on the extent of implementation or whether it leads to improvement. Generic lists of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) have been created, but they have not yet been explored in more dynamic settings such as healthcare in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to examine LSS implementation in UAE hospitals being a multi-cultured, professional and high labour turnover environment. The study also examined whether Strategic, Tactical and Operational (STO) CSFs are positively correlated with LSS successful implementation measured by hospital performance. A mixed-method approach was adopted to explore the study aim and objectives also enhancing the study quality in terms of reliability and validity. A conceptual model was developed from a review of the literature and existing improvement frameworks identifying three distinct CSFs themes (Strategic, Tactical and Operational) and eight hospital performance indicators. The study analysed the findings from a survey, interviews and a brainstorming session using SPSS, thematic analysis, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). The study revealed that CSFs in healthcare should be sequenced in clusters, therefore creating a new framework for deploying LSS. Workforce stability and job security emerged as two new CSFs. Moreover, the empirical results showed that LSS CSFs have a positive effect on the performance of the UAE hospitals confirming previous research in other sectors. While the results confirmed that the UAE healthcare sector shares many common LSS CSFs and barriers identified in previous research, the study revealed three new barriers, namely lack of sustainability of LSS, lack of a holistic approach to deploy LSS and lack of advertising LSS success stories. This study contributes to academics and practitioners by providing a deployment framework for LSS in healthcare, offering better insights on the current status of LSS in UAE healthcare to enhance LSS deployment towards better organisational performance

The role of coaching in supporting private sector organisations in the Unitd Arab Emirates (UAE) to manage diversity and to achieve inclusion

This study aims to examine the role of coaching in helping private sector organisations in the UAE to manage diversity and achieve inclusion in support of Emiratisation initiatives. The research question originates from a personal interest in the field of diversity management and inclusion and stems from experience working with foreign-owned private sector organisations in the UAE in their pursuit to improve local-expatriate work relations. The research paradigm is based on the social constructivist perspective which defines my ontology and role as a researcher-practitioner in diverse contexts and the research strategy adopted a grounded theory approach. Procedures of data collection, coding and analysis were systematically and sequentially carried out in a simultaneous iterative process and included semi-structured interviews with 19 participants working in private sector organisations. Codes were used to retrieve and organise information, which created a web of meaning grounded in the data, constant comparison of the different conceptual levels of data analysis drove theoretical sampling and the ongoing data collection in developing theory. Findings highlight three mains categories illustrating the role of coaching in the context of study: 1) the contextual factors impacting upon the practice of coaching, 2) the use and value and the coach, 3) the coach’s attributes. The theory suggests that the role of coaching should be considered in relation to the contextual factors influencing its use and value, which depends on the coach’ s attributes. This means that the latter supersedes the use and value of coaching, and are preconditions which impact on the role of coaching from the start

Strategic and large scale government IT projects management: innovation report

This research focuses on the Implementation of IT systems and public sector and national ID card projects in particular. Such projects have high expectations but low success rates. The study Investigated the factors contributing to IT projects failure through on extensive review of the existing literature. This was enriched and tested by close Involvement with the UAE national ID card project, surveys and In depth interviews with senior managers from other ID card projects and presentations and attendance at over 50 conferences on this subject. Many of the factors leading to either success or failure identified in many practical studies could be addressed through a well designed project management methodology. Based on the literature, practical experience, observations and feedback from practitioners a project management methodology; named PROMOTE - PROject Management Of Technology Endeavours - was developed and tested for the planning and Implementing large scale IT projects mainly In a government context. The US$200+ million dollar national ID programme In the United Arab Emirates was the main test vehicle. Its Innovations include a hybrid systems development/project management customer based philosophy, a number of new tools and techniques and the Introduction of a mentor for the project manager. To help assess the general applicability of the methodology it was also tested In the Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain national ID initiatives. The methodology phases were refined several times (and other phases were added) to address the problems Identified from UAE project, the literature, the experiences reported at GCC committee meetings and from other large scale Implementations around the world (from conferences and study visits to other countries). From the testing conducted, the methodology is believed to add a significant contribution to the field of IT projects Implementation and In Increasing the success chances of such projects. Such success should have a profound Impact on government services. The study also recognises that a better understanding of the new methodology and its contributions Is only possible through further research and application In other large scale IT projects. This should allow the extension of the applicability of this methodology to a much wider spectrum

Reflection in professional practice: Perspectives and experiences of a group of corporate trainers in the UAE

Reflection has been extensively noted in the literature to be an essential practice for professional competency. As a result, training on reflection is included in preservice and professional development in various professions, including teaching, nursing, medicine, social work, the legal profession, and in the police force. However, within corporate training, there is little to no in-depth research on the notion of reflection, how it is understood, if it is used, and how it is practised. This study aimed to address this literature gap by investigating how a group of nine UAE based corporate trainers conceptualised and used reflection within their professional practice. In addition, it aimed to recommend potential actions that could be taken to improve the use of reflection by corporate trainers. The study was situated within an interpretivist paradigm, and data was collected through oneon-one semi-structured interviews with each of the nine research participants, and an additional focus group with three research participants who were previously interviewed. The interviews and focus group were transcribed and analysed thematically. The data was then interpreted through a theoretical framework that drew on two sources: Donald Schön’s work on reflective practice, and the writings of Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky on higher mental functions. Results showed that corporate trainers in the UAE conceptualised reflection as a tool for continuous development. By learning from past and present experiences, and by thinking about the future, corporate trainers were able to improve their individual skills and deal with professional challenges. While this finding is consistent with existing academic literature on reflection, several issues emerged that could be problematic for the professional development of corporate trainers. These issues include: the tendency for corporate trainers to view reflection through an individual centric lens; the absence of any evidence of critical reflection; and the lack of any formal training on the benefit and use of reflection. Results also showed that the process of engaging in reflection, as described by the research participants, aligns with a Vygotskian model where reflection was first triggered by a realisation of a deficiency. The next step was a reconstruction of reality followed by an inner self-questioning phase. This was followed by a modelling exercise that took into consideration various future actions. The final two steps involved the development of a plan of action, followed by testing that action. A main finding from the analysis of reflection through a Vygotskian lens is the tendency of participants to favour self-dialogue over other mediational means. Within corporate training, reflection can, and should, be enhanced. The first recommended action is the design and delivery of a series of workshops that raises awareness of the professional benefits of reflection and explains how it can be used more effectively. A second recommendation is to encourage corporate trainers to use additional mediational tools such as reflective writing, reflective duologues with a mentor, and co-training. The final recommendation is an initiative to encourage the establishment of a community of practice. A first step towards achieving this goal is the facilitation of monthly group reflection sessions in which corporate trainers can discuss challenges and best practices

Quality Assessment of Performance of the Latvian Enterprises and Improvement Potential to Increase the Competitivenes

Promocijas darba autore, pamatojoties uz kvalitātes vadības un biznesa izcilības pieejām mūsdienu uzņēmējdarbībā, novērtējusi Latvijas uzņēmumu darbības kvalitāti atbilstoši biznesa izcilības modeļa prasībām, izstrādājusi tā pilnveidošanas iespējas konkurētspējas uzlabošanai un augstāka izcilības līmeņa sasniegšanai. Pirmajā nodaļā pētīta kvalitāte kā uzņēmējdarbības attīstības un konkurētspējas vadīšanas instruments. Izveidots paplašināts konkurētspējīgu priekšrocību modelis. Otrajā - pētītas EFQM modeļa izmaiņas. Trešajā – pētītas Latvijas uzņēmumu attīstības tendences. Ceturtajā - analizēta Latvijas uzņēmumu darbības kvalitātes atbilstība EFQM modeļa kritējiem un sniegti priekšlikumi tā pilnveidošanai. Atslēgvārdi: kvalitāte, kvalitātes vadība, kvalitātes vadības sistēma, konkurētspēja, Biznesa izcilības modelis, pašnovērtējums.Based on research on assess the quality of operations in Latvian companies using the requirements of business excellence model, elaborated the recommendations for possible improvements to increase the competitiveness and achieve higher excellence. The first chapter consists of research of quality management as an instrument for the company’s development. The author created expanded model of competitiveness. In the second - the analysed the changes of EFQM model. The third - explores the development trends of Latvian companies. The fourth - consists of author’s analysis regarding the compliance of the quality of activities of Latvian enterprises to the implementation criteria of EFQM model and it’s improvement. Keywords: quality management, quality management system, competitiveness, Business Excellence Model, self-assessment