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Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to examine the integration of an increasingly diverse workforce in the UK following the EU expansion of 2004 to incorporate the accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe, at a time of increased migration from other areas of the EU such as Portugal. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents data from five case study companies. The key methods of data collection were 88 semi-structured interviews coupled with lengthy time spent on observation at each company, leading to an ethnographically-informed method. Findings – The key contribution of this paper is to analyse the relationships between migrant workers and the British workers they work alongside in the context of the EU expansion. It shows how low levels of English language skills lead migrant workers into low skilled roles, and that in the workplace this leads to hostility from British workers. However, as migrant workers had mainly sought employment through an agency, the case study companies actually accentuated differences between workers, and this paper examines why they act in this manner, and analyses the effects this has on workplace relations. Originality/value – This paper provides an original contribution to the equality and diversity literature as it analyses workplace relations in the context of the EU expansion of 2004. In addition to providing new empirical data for academics, it will also be of value for policy makers, particularly with regard to legislation relating to agency work, and also to management practitioners who have a diverse workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In most European countries there is a range of quality control system mechanisms, however, poor quality and institutional violence can be found in the residential sector. Taking Portugal as an example of a country that uses an inspection-only approach, this paper focuses on the monitoring system for controlling the quality of care in nursing homes. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how mistreatment of older people is identified and dealt with by the national social security services. In particular it looks at what the indicators are with which to assess poor quality care and mistreatment (how it is perceived and defined), which factors affect mistreatment of older people and intervention outputs (i.e. what are the sanctions to prevent and combat this).Design/methodology/approach An exploratory approach was based on a mixed method, using a database of 3,685 complaints reported to the social security inspection services. To understand the context of the complaints and the assessment of institutional violence, focus groups were carried out with inspectors from the National Inspection Service.Findings The focus groups identified severe situations of poor care, mistreatment of older people and loss of human rights and dignity. Some indicators were found in key areas of care and the factors associated with this were based on Kamavarapu's typology (2017): physical conditions of facilities; closed organisational models; difficult working conditions; and perceived concerns of residents. Monitoring and inspection systems are still based on minimum standards focusing on structural and process quality, devoting little attention to the human rights situation of older persons and clinical issues.Research limitations/implications The number of participants in the focus groups was limited in size but the uniqueness of this exploratory method draws a dark picture of non-licensed nursing homes in Portugal.Originality/value An exploratory analysis was useful to identify institutional violence and discuss potential implications, in terms of effectiveness of quality care control, which calls for special attention by policy makers and researchers when monitoring the human rights of older persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The new public management (NPM) agenda is transforming the public sector in many countries. However, there have been criticisms of NPM, particularly over its emphasis on quantification, results orientation and the measurement of performance to the possible detriment of service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to examine an important public service — the fire service — in differing contexts: the ‘mature’ NPM setting of the UK, and a ‘late adopter’ of NPM — Portugal. Design/methodology/approach — This study is conducted by a combined methods approach. The principal focus of this study is on publicly available databases of performance indicators. The data are supported by additional material from operational officers in fire services, and from oversight bodies, obtained by interviews and by survey in Portugal. Findings — This comparative study reaffirms the potential for NPM solutions to public service management. In particular, there is a case for carefully targeted key performance indicators in Portuguese fire services. Originality/value — This paper makes an original contribution to ideas of NPM in action by focussing on performance measurement in different contexts. The comparative aspect of this paper is crucial as a means of assessing the portability of NPM ideas in different national settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim was to identify the competencies professionals need to promote co-creation engagement within communities. Design/methodology/approach: Co-creation could contribute to building community capacity to promote health. Professional development is key to support co-creative practices. Participants were professionals in a position to promote co-creation processes in health-promoting welfare settings across Denmark, Portugal, France and United Kingdom. An overarching unstructured topic guide was used within interviews, focus groups, questionnaires and creative activities. Findings: The need to develop competencies to promote co-creation was high across all countries. Creating a common understanding of co-creation and the processes involved to increase inclusivity, engagement and shared understanding was also necessary. Competencies included: How to run co-creation from the beginning of the process right through to evaluation, using feedback and communication throughout using an open action-oriented approach; initiating a perspective change and committing to the transformation of co-creation into a real-life process. Practical implications: Overall, learning about underlying principles, process initiation, implementation and facilitation of co-creation were areas identified to be included within a co-creation training programme. This can be applied through the framework of enabling change, advocating for co-creative processes, mediating through partnership, communication, leadership, assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and research, ethical values and knowledge of co-creative processes. Originality/value: This study provides novel findings on the competencies needed for health promoting professionals to embed co-creative processes within their practice, and the key concerns that professionals with a position to mediate co-creation have in transferring the abstract term of co-creation into a real-world practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]