Team effectiveness: a test of in-put process-output

This research addressed the question: "Which factors predict the effectiveness of healthcare teams?" It was addressed by assessing the psychometric properties of a new measure of team functioning with the use of data collected from 797 team members in 61 healthcare teams. This new measure is the Aston Team Performance Inventory (ATPI) developed by West, Markiewicz and Dawson (2005) and based on the IPO model. The ATPI was pilot tested in order to examine the reliability of this measure in the Jordanian cultural context. A sample of five teams comprising 3-6 members each was randomly selected from the Jordan Red Crescent health centers in Amman. Factors that predict team effectiveness were explored in a Jordanian sample (comprising 1622 members in 277 teams with 255 leaders from healthcare teams in hospitals in Amman) using self-report and Leader Ratings measures adapted from work by West, Borrill et al (2000) to determine team effectiveness and innovation from the leaders' point of view. The results demonstrate the validity and reliability of the measures for use in healthcare settings. Team effort and skills and leader managing had the strongest association with team processes in terms of team objectives, reflexivity, participation, task focus, creativity and innovation. Team inputs in terms of task design, team effort and skills, and organizational support were associated with team effectiveness and innovation whereas team resources were associated only with team innovation. Team objectives had the strongest mediated and direct association with team effectiveness whereas task focus had the strongest mediated and direct association with team innovation. Finally, among leadership variables, leader managing had the strongest association with team effectiveness and innovation. The theoretical and practical implications of this thesis are that: team effectiveness and innovation are influenced by multiple factors that must all be taken into account. The key factors managers need to ensure are in place for effective teams are team effort and skills, organizational support and team objectives. To conclude, the application of these findings to healthcare teams in Jordan will help improve their team effectiveness, and thus the healthcare services that they provide

Organizational and Managerial Barriers in Humanitarian Organisations in Jordan

Information sharing is the act of exchanging data between numerous humanitarian organizations, individuals and technologies in order to ascertain that the context of supply chain management is achieved. Information sharing within humanitarian supply chain organizations is paramount as it ascertains that strategic planning and decision making brings forth a timely and better response to affected humanitarian individuals. The process of information sharing within the humanitarian organizations is encouraged because it leads to an increase in performance at a reduced cost across the supply chain. The article explored information sharing barriers in humanitarian organizations, by specifically focusing on the organizational and managerial departments in the supply chain process of information sharing. To gain an understanding on information sharing within the humanitarian supply chain organization (HSCO), use of case studies that incorporated interviews brought out what was needed. The methodology used the induction approach in the research design because focused on human aspects, understanding the research context, gathering qualitative data and flexibility to change the structure of the research during the research stages. The population of the study were humanitarian organizations in Jordan. Sampling consisted of searching from different websites, forums, and the ministry of planning and International Corporation. The analysis and result part indicated that the interviews conducted from the case studies were similar in result. The result was similar because the barriers identified were similar. For instance, the notable barriers were lack of trust, security of information and skills and capacity building. The paper summed up that barriers like lack of trust and lack of knowledge within organizational structure are likely to affect the effectiveness of information sharing in humanitarian organizations in Jordan

Team effectiveness : a test of in-put process-output

This research addressed the question: "Which factors predict the effectiveness of healthcare teams?" It was addressed by assessing the psychometric properties of a new measure of team functioning with the use of data collected from 797 team members in 61 healthcare teams. This new measure is the Aston Team Performance Inventory (ATPI) developed by West, Markiewicz and Dawson (2005) and based on the IPO model. The ATPI was pilot tested in order to examine the reliability of this measure in the Jordanian cultural context. A sample of five teams comprising 3-6 members each was randomly selected from the Jordan Red Crescent health centers in Amman. Factors that predict team effectiveness were explored in a Jordanian sample (comprising 1622 members in 277 teams with 255 leaders from healthcare teams in hospitals in Amman) using self-report and Leader Ratings measures adapted from work by West, Borrill et al (2000) to determine team effectiveness and innovation from the leaders' point of view. The results demonstrate the validity and reliability of the measures for use in healthcare settings. Team effort and skills and leader managing had the strongest association with team processes in terms of team objectives, reflexivity, participation, task focus, creativity and innovation. Team inputs in terms of task design, team effort and skills, and organizational support were associated with team effectiveness and innovation whereas team resources were associated only with team innovation. Team objectives had the strongest mediated and direct association with team effectiveness whereas task focus had the strongest mediated and direct association with team innovation. Finally, among leadership variables, leader managing had the strongest association with team effectiveness and innovation. The theoretical and practical implications of this thesis are that: team effectiveness and innovation are influenced by multiple factors that must all be taken into account. The key factors managers need to ensure are in place for effective teams are team effort and skills, organizational support and team objectives. To conclude, the application of these findings to healthcare teams in Jordan will help improve their team effectiveness, and thus the healthcare services that they provide.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT INNOVATION IN JORDAN’S PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

Product Innovation, especially New Product Development (NPD) is critical for the continued success, development, and long-term growth of a company. Despite extensive research on how to achieve NPD success, NPD process remains a difficult and a highly risky venture. The research was conducted to investigate factors that affect NPD in the Jordanian pharmaceutical sector. Five factors were conceptually identified from past literature as initial factors. They include senior management support (SMS), cross-functional teams (CFT), customer involvement (CI), supplier integration (SI), and time to market (TTM). These five factors were used to build the basic research model as independent variables; whereas NPD was the dependent variable for the research model. A qualitative research methodology was designed and used to achieve the research objectives. The needed data for this study was captured through personal interviews, and a survey that targeted all Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. The population from which respondents was chosen included research and development managers, marketing managers, and other personnel involved in NPD process in Jordanian pharmaceutical producing companies. Through conducting a number of personal interviews and using Content Analytical Technique (CAT) for data analysis, the results of the research show the existence of a number of factors that affect NPD process in Jordanian pharmaceutical sector such as: SMS, TTM, CFT, R&R, Knowledge, and Technology. In addition, a number of factors were identified as NPD challenges and constraints. These factors include the toughness and lack of clarity in R&R related to NPD process, the lack of financial and human resources, as well as addition to increasing DC. This paper suggests several recommendations. Firstly, senior managements need to provide enough support to NPD process whether as financial, moral or any other kind of support. Secondly, companies have to take the necessary actions to speed up NPD process in order to get the benefits of introducing products earlier into the market. Thirdly, companies have to work hard to ensure higher levels of knowledge among their staff, especially those who are involved in NPD process by providing continued periodic training to them

A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT INNOVATION IN JORDAN’S PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

Product Innovation, especially New Product Development (NPD) is critical for the continued success, development, and long-term growth of a company. Despite extensive research on how to achieve NPD success, NPD process remains a difficult and a highly risky venture. The research was conducted to investigate factors that affect NPD in the Jordanian pharmaceutical sector. Five factors were conceptually identified from past literature as initial factors. They include senior management support (SMS), cross-functional teams (CFT), customer involvement (CI), supplier integration (SI), and time to market (TTM). These five factors were used to build the basic research model as independent variables; whereas NPD was the dependent variable for the research model. A qualitative research methodology was designed and used to achieve the research objectives. The needed data for this study was captured through personal interviews, and a survey that targeted all Jordanian pharmaceutical companies. The population from which respondents was chosen included research and development managers, marketing managers, and other personnel involved in NPD process in Jordanian pharmaceutical producing companies. Through conducting a number of personal interviews and using Content Analytical Technique (CAT) for data analysis, the results of the research show the existence of a number of factors that affect NPD process in Jordanian pharmaceutical sector such as: SMS, TTM, CFT, R&R, Knowledge, and Technology. In addition, a number of factors were identified as NPD challenges and constraints. These factors include the toughness and lack of clarity in R&R related to NPD process, the lack of financial and human resources, as well as addition to increasing DC. This paper suggests several recommendations. Firstly, senior managements need to provide enough support to NPD process whether as financial, moral or any other kind of support. Secondly, companies have to take the necessary actions to speed up NPD process in order to get the benefits of introducing products earlier into the market. Thirdly, companies have to work hard to ensure higher levels of knowledge among their staff, especially those who are involved in NPD process by providing continued periodic training to them

The effects of work environmental factors on job satisfaction: the mediating role of work motivation

This paper explores how work motivation mediates the association between work environmental factors and job satisfaction. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to middle and top managers in Jordanian ommercial banks. A total of 295 questionnaires were returned out of 500, with a response rate of 59%. Validity and reliability analyses were performed, and direct and indirect effects were tested using structural equation modelling. Work motivation was found to positively and significantly mediate the effects of work environmental factors on job satisfaction. This finding is attributed to work itself and its contextual factors contributing to employees’ positive feelings towards their jobs, depending on the effectiveness of their work motivation. This study fills a gap in the literature on how the psychological environment of the workplace affects work environmental factors

The Influence of Work Life Balance on Turnover Intention in Private Hospitals: The Mediating Role of Work Life Conflict

This research aims to investigate the effects of work-life balance (WLB) practices (schedule flexibility, manager support and job autonomy) on work-life conflict and turnover intentions. The mediating effect of work-life conflict on the relationship between WLB practices and turnover intentions is also investigated. This research was applied to the context of private hospitals in Jordan targeting medical-staff. Questionnaires were randomly distributed to medical-staff and yielded a response rate of 80.6 percent. Reliability and validity tests were first carried out, then data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).Results revealed that manager support was the only WLB practice that had a significant negative direct effect on turnover intentions. Job autonomy had a negative indirect effect on turnover intentions through work-life conflict. Meanwhile, schedule flexibility had insignificant effect on turnover intentions. Therefore, it was clear that the informal WLB practices (manager support and job autonomy) had the most significant effect and are the determinants of turnover intentions. The mediating role of work-life conflict was only significant with job autonomy. Additionally, the effect of work-life conflict on turnover intentions was positive and significant. Keywords: Work-life balance, Turnover intentions, Work-life conflict, Private hospitals, Jordan.