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Purpose: This paper aims to introduce the concept of using the well-established Shared Lives approach to support survivors of domestic abuse with complex needs including those with learning and physical disabilities, older people and carers. Design/methodology/approach: Survivors with complex needs are often excluded from traditional domestic abuse support services thus increasing their risk and making recovery impossible. Using the Shared Lives approach in suitable cases could address gaps in provision and improve the outcomes for survivors with disabilities, older survivors and carers. Findings: The paper draws on evidence from reports and research about the experiences of these cohorts of survivors to explain how the Shared Lives approach could increase support options for specific categories of survivors. Practical implications: Using the Shared Lives approach to support cohorts of victims/survivors who experience barriers to accessing support could improve outcomes for these people, reduce risk of serious harm and improve quality of life. Originality/value: With the recent recommendation from Association of Directors of Adult Social Services around increasing use of Shared Lives, this paper provides one potential way to meet this recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine public spending cuts and welfare reforms to assess winners and losers amongst older people, children, young people and families. It proposes ways in which intergenerational fairness could be achieved through taxing wealthier older people. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews and analyses spending and policy plans from 2010 onwards, and draws conclusions. Findings – The paper concludes that children, young people and families are the relative losers of government spending cuts and reforms; older people have been relatively protected; the focus should be on taxing wealthier older people; intergenerational fairness needs to be addressed. Originality/value – Research tends to focus on one age group, so there have not been many studies which contrast the impact of public policy on different age groups. The concept of intergenerational fairness is only beginning to be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight the strategic role of housing for older people and how it can address some of the key challenges facing politicians. The paper aims to encourage decision-makers and service providers to collaborate in new ways locally. Design/methodology/approach - The paper seeks to highlight the strategic role of housing for older people and how it can address some of the key challenges facing politicians. It aims to encourage decision makers and service providers to collaborate in new ways locally. Findings - The paper argues that: Housing for older people is rising up the political agenda, but as a niche issue rather than one of strategic and economic importance. A multi-agency and outcomes-based approach to the wellbeing of older people, based on place-shaping principles, needs to be mainstreamed locally. Older people have not escaped the impact of austerity measures and this has heightened the need for a range of high quality housing options, in supportive communities, in later life. Good housing options for older people could address the key issues vexing politicians, but there are obstacles to older people accessing such options. Originality/value - The paper suggests a radical, systemic approach is required to ensure better outcomes for older people and, in turn, to generate savings for the public purse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate efficiency in the UK hotel industry and further evaluate the impacts of hotel characteristics and industry environment on efficiency. Design/methodology/approach: The network data envelopment (DEA) weak link approach is used for the efficiency analysis, while the determinants of efficiency are evaluated by bootstrapped truncated regression. Findings: The findings show that the UK hotel industry is very inefficient. The results of overall efficiency deconstruction show that the second-stage production process experiences an even lower level of efficiency than that of the first stage. The second-phase analysis shows that both the hotel-specific characteristics and the industry-specific characteristics are significantly related to UK hotel efficiency. Research limitations/implications: The robustness of the results is affected because a single set of input-intermediate product-outputs and a single DEA method were used. Therefore, further studies can use alternate inputs, intermediate measures and outputs in the efficiency analysis. In addition, the robustness of the efficiency score can be checked using alternate parametric or non-parametric methods. Practical implications: Hotels in the UK should focus on cost reduction, business diversification, improvement in the capital level and labor productivity, while at industry and macroeconomic level, discounts are recommended to be provided to international tourism and the tourism industry should be further opened. Originality/value: The weak-link approach has been applied to estimate the efficiency level, as this provides more robust and accurate results compared to other non-parametric methods in the existing empirical studies and unique hotel-specific and industry-specific determinants of efficiency are considered in the second-stage analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Research suggests that 85 per cent of health research is avoidably wasted. The research and development management community has an important role in the research process and can contribute to improving the quality and value of research. Al-Shahi Salman et al. (2014) identified ways in which the community can contribute towards the reduction of research waste by increasing the efficiency of recruitment and retention of research participants, data management and data sharing in studies, and promoting the integration of research into practice. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach A project undertaken between May 2016 and May 2017 explored the perspective, and contribution, towards reducing research waste amongst the research and development management community. The study identified those categories of research waste the community felt were the most important and of the most value to address. It also examined spheres of influence and barriers to addressing research waste.Findings The most important and highest value categories of research waste to address were: implementation of research in practice, prioritisation of research, and design, conduct and analysis of research. The research and development management community’s level of influence in those areas was low. The categories where the community felt they had most influence, with the exception of design, conduct and analysis of research, were generally those they thought were less important and valuable, i.e. research taking place to time and target, public and patient involvement, and administration.Originality/value Waste in research is a significant area of waste in health care expenditure. This study has provided a better understanding of research waste for the research management community. The research and development management community can take a leadership role in formulating an action plan and identifying measures of success in reducing waste in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The office is considered as a strategic resource that can support knowledge-based organisations to gain competitive advantage and operational efficiency. Although the modern scholar emphasises the role of user involvement in workplace design and management, there is little evidence showing how it can be linked to occupancy cost performance. The purpose of this paper is to investigate benefits of a user-centric workplace practice by focusing on working time and space utilisation practice of office users. Design/methodology/approach – A scenario-based approach was designed to analyse office occupancy cost performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted from a number of UK-based offices to create three workspace utilisation scenarios, namely, existing, property-centric and user-centric. Key comparison criteria include potential areas of savings, potential total cost savings and cost saving per person. Findings – It was found that a user-centric approach reflects an opportunity to save annual occupancy costs in terms of total costs and cost per person where users indicated how they utilised working time and space. In return, the organisations can gain more productivity from office users who are likely to perform better when they can work in the preferred workplace practice. Practical implications – By adopting this approach, organisations can understand the occupancy characteristics of the offices from multi perspectives, leading to better management in office premises. Originality/value – This paper is concerned with the analysis of how to achieve higher office efficiency by focusing on office user's working time and space utilisation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The National Pensioners' Convention aims to challenge the case for current government policies to raise the age of retirement from paid work and to diversify routes to and amounts of pensions entitlement. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - This policy-oriented commentary draws on evidence and arguments presented in the National Pensioners' Convention Manifesto about the relative affluence of socio-economic class groups and their length of life after 65. Findings - In contrast to government claims of simplifying pensions by introducing single-tier state pensions, three different pension schemes will coexist for many years and in many cases these will provide less than current entitlements. Other universal pensioner benefits such as concessionary travel and winter fuel payments are now also the target of financial cost savings. Access to home care and residential care is increasingly restricted by service cuts and wider means testing. Practical implications - National Pensioners' Convention Manifesto argues that the standard of care and support for older people needs to be guaranteed to be set above current poverty levels, to be linked to price and consumer indices and earnings, for universal pensioner benefits to be maintained, for a National Health and Care Service to be free at the point of use, funded through taxation and for standards to be improved through a legally binding Dignity code. Originality/value - This commentary expresses the views of a non-party campaigning organisation run by pensioners themselves to highlight their case for ways in which they may gain increased rather than decreased support for maintaining active living in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the My Way transition programme. Design/methodology/approach -- The programme was evaluated over a two year period via interviews with a range of stakeholders. The evaluation focused on outcomes for young people, experience of the transition process, differences in the cost of care packages and an exploration of what was different about the My Way approach. Findings -- There were positive outcomes for young disabled people using the programme, and reduced costs to commissioners. The success of the My Way programme seemed to result from its focus on implementing actions and "doing" rather than just developing plans. Originality/value -- This study provides evidence for commissioners, providers and service users of the importance of providing person-centred facilitators who implement actions. It clearly demonstrates that when this happens savings can be made and good outcomes achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can Lean work in public procurement, or is the field too complex and varied for a lean approach to succeed? In May 2010 the UK government announced a reform of public procurement; a key proposal was to use lean procurement to shorten timescales and reduce costs. This paper describes the Cabinet Office's work to develop a lean sourcing process and examines its practical implementation. Early implementation experience is discussed alongside lean principles and theory and we consider the effect on procurement success in the public sector environment where strategic outcomes are paramount. We also seek to identify whether there are key enablers or preconditions which must exist in order for public procurement bodies to use a lean sourcing approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this research was to identify the key factors for success of business process reengineering (BPR) applications in the UK-based companies. Design/methodology/approach - A questionnaire survey was used to gather primary research data from the UK-based companies that have applied BPR to investigate the triggers for BPR, identify the main barriers, and enable the authors' to propose key factors for success. Findings - The survey found that the main reasons for applying the technique were external competitive pressures, internal cost reduction, and productivity improvements. The main barriers to successful implementation were reported as tactical short-term solution driven approaches, which inadequately considered the people issues, and an over reliance on IT-based technology. It is proposed that the factors for success include adopting a strategic approach, which prioritises business processes for BPR projects. This should include the establishment of appropriate company-wide targets and measures that emphasise continuous improvement for the long term. Finally, management needs to motivate and involve employees as a key enabler by removing their fears that BPR is really a "downsizing" exercise, and emphasising improved co-ordination of people and technology. Research limitations/implications - The research has limitations in that the respondent companies are UK-based and therefore the internationalisation of the findings requires further validity. Practical implications - The discussion and conclusions from this work are made in a practical manner. Originality/value - Some useful primary data from the UK industry which makes the work original and of value to both academics and practising managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the implementation of integrated information systems in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) via multiple internal stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: The approach analyses the implementation strategy of two HEIs and assesses the impact of new systems on working practices. This involves interviews with various stakeholder groups from the HEIs, capturing 35 interviews. Findings: Results indicate that growth of alternative power bases emerge within both HEIs, as well as new roles and responsibilities for administrative staff, and different working practices for academics. Varying levels of importance are given to people and culture, management support, user involvement and clarity of communication and systems' requirements at project pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages. Practical implications: This study provides lessons of HEIs planning to undertake significant change by implementing integrated information systems. Challenges emerge around fit, complexity, training, communication and consultation. Benefits gained and emerging challenges show some commonality between the two case HEIs, pointing the way forward for other "large" (student number determined) HEIs embarking on similar change. Originality/value: The UK HEI sector is experiencing major change emphasising cost reduction and operational efficiency. Understanding challenges relating to significant systems change in complex settings with varying stakeholder demands has considerable sectoral value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Ulaga and Eggert (2006a) examined a framework of relationship value in business markets. This study aims to replicate their study to show that relationship benefits are more important than relationship costs when it comes to choosing a main supplier. This research also extends the original study by hypothesising that the development of relationship value has a positive impact on relationship marketing outcomes, thus providing evidence for the nomological validity of the original scale. Design/methodology/approach: The study used empirical data from purchasing managers in manufacturing firms in the UK. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire. The study adopted a close replication to Ulaga and Eggert (2006a) using a rather similar context and methodology for comparison reasons. Findings: Relationship benefits are more important than relationship costs when it comes to choosing a main supplier. Cost competitiveness is a necessary but not sufficient condition to differentiate in business markets. Value dimensions relate significantly to relationship marketing outcomes, providing evidence for the nomological validity of the original scale. Research limitations/implications: Given the dynamic nature of the relationship value construct, future longitudinal research could offer useful insights on how value is created over time. Practical implications: Although internal cost reduction, which can ultimately lead to price reduction, should not be ignored, suppliers should focus on creating value through personal interaction, service quality, product enhancements and delivery efficiency. Originality/value: The findings provide support for Ulaga and Eggert's (2006a) conceptualisation, indicating that the relationship value is not merely a theoretical construct viewed on a high level of abstraction but rather can also be empirically measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates the savings that could be made by UK public libraries through the use of electronic data interchange (EDI). The findings stem from a one-year research project funded by the British National Bibliographic Research Fund during the period December 1998 through to the end of August 1999. The author of this article (who comes from a business/economics background) worked with a prominent academic (in the field of economics, particularly in the book trade) Dr Frank Fishwick, to investigate where cost savings could be made in elements of the library supply chain. The results suggest that wider adoption of EDI could potentially save the sector somewhere in the region of £2 million per annum. Cultural barriers, however, and lack of resources present two major barriers to these savings being achieved. The author acknowledges that further research is needed to qualify such estimates. However, the research does demonstrate that, for those authorities examined, cost savings have been achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on new public management and the funding of science and technology services to Great Britain government. During the past two decades a wave of public sector reform has swept through many OECD countries, and been pursued with vigor in Great Britain. Often characterized loosely as new public management, the change frequently embodies, inter alia, a commitment to downsizing the state, cost-cutting, marketization and competition, the devolution of executive functions to quasi-autonomous agencies and a commitment to customer-contractor and other quasi-commercial policy-making and management principles. Organizations are viewed as a chain of low-trust principal/agent relationships with the disaggregation of separable functions into quasi-contractual or quasi-market forms. Providers are thus deconcentrated into the minimum feasible sized agency, allowing users more scope to exit from one provider to another, thereby ostensibly promoting competition. First, the public sector becomes less distinctive from the private in terms of personnel, reward structures and methods of doing business. Second, the extent to which discretionary power over staff, contracts and money is limited by uniform and general rules of procedure is reduced.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Nick Welch on the development of the Supported to Independent Living project (SIL) which is designed to support and provide care for people with mental health needs in Oxfordshire, England, one by Emily Bird on the association between housing and health in Great Britain and one by Bruce Moore on the concept of personalisation.