Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

Operational failures occur in all industries with consequences that range from minor inconveniences to major catastrophes. Many organizations have implemented incident reporting systems to highlight actual and potential operational failures in order to encourage problem solving and prevent subsequent failures. Our study is among the first to develop and empirically test theory regarding which reported operational failures are likely to spur problem solving. We hypothesize that problem solving activities are especially likely to follow reported operational failures that provoke financial and legal liability risks. We also hypothesize that management commitment to problem solving, enacted through managers' communication and engagement practices, can encourage frontline workers to conduct problem solving. We test our hypotheses in the health care context, in which the use of incident reporting systems to highlight operational failures is widespread. Using data on nearly 7,500 reported incidents from a single hospital, we find support for our hypotheses. Our findings suggest that frontline workers' participation in problem solving is motivated by some inherent characteristics of the problems as well as by particular management practices.

Managerial practices that promote voice and taking charge among frontline workers

Process-improvement ideas often come from frontline workers who speak up by voicing concerns about problems and by taking charge to resolve them. We hypothesize that organization-wide process-improvement campaigns encourage both forms of speaking up, especially voicing concern. We also hypothesize that the effectiveness of such campaigns depends on the prior responsiveness of line managers. We test our hypotheses in the healthcare setting, in which problems are frequent. We use data on nearly 7,500 reported incidents extracted from an incident-reporting system that is similar to those used by many organizations to encourage employees to communicate about operational problems. We find that process-improvement campaigns prompt employees to speak up and that campaigns increase the frequency of voicing concern to a greater extent than they increase taking charge. We also find that campaigns are particularly effective in eliciting taking charge among employees whose managers have been relatively unresponsive to previous instances of speaking up. Our results therefore indicate that organization-wide campaigns can encourage voicing concerns and taking charge, two important forms of speaking up. These results can enable managers to solicit ideas from frontline workers that lead to performance improvement.

Erstellung einer Bestimmungshilfe für Schadorganismen im Internetportal www.oekolandbau.de

Ökologisch wirtschaftende Landwirtschaftsbetriebe in Deutschland, insbesondere vielseitige und Umstellungsbetriebe, haben einen hohen und besonderen Informationsbedarf zum ökologischen Pflanzenschutz. Bisher verfügbare Bestimmungshilfen für Schaderreger sind entweder an Werbung für Pflanzenschutzmittel geknüpft oder decken nur ein begrenztes Artenspektrum ab. Im Projekt wurde daher eine nutzerfreundliche Bestimmungshilfe für den Ökologischen Landbau entwickelt und ökologische Regulierungsmöglichkeiten auf Basis aktueller Forschungsergebnisse und verfügbarer Pflanzenschutzprodukte zusammengestellt. Sie ist mit den Themenkomplexen Vorratsschutz, Ackerbau, Beikrautregulierung, Obst- und Weinbau, Hopfenbau und Gemüsebau einschließlich frischer Kräuter unter http://pflanzenschutz.oekolandbau.de veröffentlicht. Die Bestimmungshilfe ist als filterbare, bildbasierte Gesamtliste von Schadorganismen konzipiert, die eine beliebige Kombination von Auswahlmöglichkeiten erlaubt und keine Kenntnis mikroskopischer Merkmale erfordert. Neben Körpermerkmalen der Organismen kann auch nach Larvenmerkmalen, Befallenem Produkt (Vorratsschutz), Standortbedingungen (Beikräuter) bzw. befallenem Pflanzenteil und Schadsymptomen gefiltert und dann mit hochwertigen Bildern bestimmt werden. Schadorganismen wurden sowohl aus Insektenzuchten des Julius Kühn-Institutes entnommen als auch auf land-wirtschaftlichen Betrieben gefangen und in hochwertigen Makroaufnahmen abgebildet sowie Bilder anderer Urheber ergänzt. Aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse zu den Regulierungsmöglichkeiten der jeweiligen Schadorganismen wurden in internationale Forschungsdatenbanken und unter den im Rahmen des BÖLN geförderten Forschungsprojekten recherchiert und mit Informationen zu verfügbaren Nutzorganismen, Sortenresistenzen, Pflanzenstärkungsmitteln, Grundstoffen und Pflanzenschutzmitteln ergänzt. Filmische Porträts von acht Schadinsekten und ihren Gegenspielern und die Möglichkeit zur Weiterentwicklung in eine offline-fähige App erhöhen die Attraktivität des Informationsangebotes

Adolescents’ Daily Routines: Reliability and Validity of the DAY-Opp Questionnaire; An Exploratory Study

Background: Maintaining a balanced and diverse daily routine is one way to ease adolescents’ transition to adulthood. The absence of tools that assess adolescents’ daily routines led to developing the Daily Activities for Youth Opportunity (DAY-Opp) Questionnaire. This research describes the development, reliability, and validity of DAY-Opp as a clinical assessment tool of adolescents’ frequency, independence, and satisfaction with daily activities. Method: The sample of 117 typically developing adolescents (59 girls and 58 boys aged 11–19 years) divided into three age groups and completed the Hebrew version of the DAY-Opp. We statistically analyzed discriminant, concurrent, and predictive validity with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: As the participants’ age rose, their activity frequency decreased, independence increased, and satisfaction from daily performance remained unchanged. Sleep habits and self-efficacy predicted the frequency, independence, and satisfaction in various daily routines. Conclusions: The DAY-Opp may enable occupational therapists to map and discuss with adolescents their strengths and challenges in daily routines and, thus, improve their occupational performance, satisfaction, and well-being

Online-Bestimmungshilfe für Schadorganismen für das Internetportal www.oekolandbau.de

Organic plant protection can be supported by diagnostic aids for pest organisms. A concept for a user-friendly, scientifically founded diagnostic aid for agriculturally relevant pest organisms is presented, which is based on a flexible filter structure and conclusive images. To provide practical information on biology and regulation options along with the diagnosis, recent scientific results and market availability of regulation options in organic farming are being reviewed. The on-going research and transfer project has launched the first section on storage pests in 2016 at: www.oekolandbau.de/erzeuger/pflanzenbau/allgemeiner-pflanzenbau/pflanzenschut

Effects of Threshold Uncertainty on Common-Pool Resources

Many natural resources and common-pool resources have inherent thresholds regarding the onset of deleterious environmental impacts or consequences. Group and individual behavior were examined in an experimental setting using three distinct games designed to model common-pools in which there existed such a threshold: one with complete information of the threshold, one with incomplete information of the threshold and one with sporadically enforced targets. By design the true threshold was unknown to the players in the role of policymaker, and the guesses of the threshold value were allowed to change during every round. Sporadically enforced targets had a significant negative effect on the lifespan of a common-pool resource and individual gains. Allowing the participants to develop and act on their own beliefs for the location of the threshold improved both individual benefit and conservation of the common-pool. Conservation of common-pool resources will be best achieved by policies which allow users of the resource access to reliable information regarding the status of the common-pool and which enable the development of their own beliefs regarding the location of threshold

Effects of Threshold Uncertainty on Common-Pool Resources

Many natural and common-pool resources have inherent thresholds determining the onset of deleterious environmental impacts. Group and individual behavior were examined in an experimental setting designed to model common-pools with thresholds using three distinct treatments: one with Complete Threshold Information, one with Incomplete Threshold Information and one with Sporadically Enforced Targets. By design the true threshold was unknown to the players in the role of policy maker, and the guesses of the threshold value were allowed to change during every round. Sporadically enforced targets had a significant negative effect on the lifespan of a common-pool resource and individual gains. Allowing the participants to develop and act on their own beliefs for the location of the threshold improved both individual benefit and conservation of the common-pool. These experiments indicate that conservation of common-pool resources will be best achieved through policies which allow users of the resource access to reliable information regarding the status of the common-pool and which enable users to develop and act on their own beliefs regarding the location of threshold

The RNA Chaperone Hfq Is Essential for Virulence and Modulates the Expression of Four Adhesins in Yersinia enterocolitica

In Enterobacteriaceae, the RNA chaperone Hfq mediates the interaction of small RNAs with target mRNAs, thereby modulating transcript stability and translation. This post-transcriptional control helps bacteria adapt quickly to changing environmental conditions. Our previous mutational analysis showed that Hfq is involved in metabolism and stress survival in the enteropathogen Yersinia enterocolitica. In this study we demonstrate that Hfq is essential for virulence in mice and influences production of surface pathogenicity factors, in particular lipopolysaccharide and adhesins mediating interaction with host tissue. Hfq inhibited the production of Ail, the Ail-like protein OmpX and the MyfA pilin post-transcriptionally. In contrast Hfq promoted production of two major autotransporter adhesins YadA and InvA. While protein secretion in vitro was not affected, hfq mutants exhibited decreased protein translocation by the type III secretion system into host cells, consistent with decreased production of YadA and InvA. The influence of Hfq on YadA resulted from a complex interplay of transcriptional, post-transcriptional and likely post-translational effects. Hfq regulated invA by modulating the expression of the transcriptional regulators rovA, phoP and ompR. Therefore, Hfq is a global coordinator of surface virulence determinants in Y. enterocolitica suggesting that it constitutes an attractive target for developing new antimicrobial strategies