Search

Abstract Promoting the development of a flourishing independent sector alongside good quality public services was a key objective of the community care reforms of the last decade. This paper charts some of the ways the independent domiciliary care sector is changing, as local authorities shift the balance of their provision toward independent sector providers and away from a reliance on in-house services. Two surveys of independent domiciliary care providers were carried out in 1995 and 1999. The aims of the studies were to describe the main features of provider organisations, such as size of business, client group and funding sources; to examine the nature of provider motivations and their past and future plans; to consider how local authorities manage the supply side of social care markets; and to examine the effects on providers of the development of the mixed economy. The first survey in 1995 was conducted in eight local authority areas, which by 1999 had increased to 11 because of the creation of three new unitary authorities. The findings are based on 261 postal surveys together with 111 interviews between the two studies. The research illustrates a domiciliary care market that is still relatively young with many small but growing businesses. There are considerable differences in the split between in-house and independent sector services in individual authorities and a common perception among independent providers that in-house services receive favourable treatment and conditions. Spot or call-off contracts continue to be the most common form of contract although there are moves toward greater levels of guaranteed service and more sophisticated patterns of contracting arrangements. There remains an ongoing need to share information between local authorities and independent providers so that good working relationships can develop with proven and competent providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests a way in which the psychological contract can be reconceptualized as a construct with multiple foci. It presents an argument for examining psychological contracts with importance placed on work groups. Previous conceptualizations of the psychological contract have almost exclusively focused on the single relationship between the employee and the organization. It is argued here, however, that the psychological contract is multifarious in nature and employees hold psychological contracts with all organizational constituents, the strength of which is determined by the proximity of the employee to the constituent. The most proximal relationships are generally those that exist in workgroups or teams and tend to be of a collective nature, rather than a single agreement between two individuals. This research paper draws a parallel between psychological contract theory and organizational commitment research. A number of researchers have found a significant and direct relationship between organizational commitment and psychological contracts however, the taken-for-granted assumptions provided by commitment theorists in terms of multiple constituencies has failed, until now, to be adopted in terms of psychological contract research.

In this paper we examine new empirical evidence on the coherence and magnitude of the main classes in the Goldthorpe class schema. Particular attention is paid to issues that have recently been a source of academic dispute: the coherence and size of the service class and the distinction between the service class and intermediate classes. Using recently available British data collected by the Office for National Statistics we examine: (i) the extent to which measures of class relevant job characteristics are empirically discriminated by the categories of the schema; (ii) the structure of a 'contract type' dimension of employment relations conceived of as a categorical latent variable; and (iii) the association between this latent variable and both the Goldthorpe class schema and a related measure - socio-economic group (SEG). We find that the data are consistent with the existence of a three category latent 'contract type' variable largely corresponding to the notions of service, intermediate and wage-labour contracts explicit in discussions of the theoretical rationale for the Goldthorpe schema. We further find a substantial degree of fit between the latent 'contract types' and the schema. However, the service class fault line appears to lie within class I and II of the schema rather than between them and the intermediate classes which suggests a revised, smaller service class would better capture the reality of the contemporary British occupational structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's NJCC Code of Procedure for Single Stage Selective Tendering (now withdrawn) and its successor, the CIB's Code of Practice for the Selection of Main Contractors are criticized in the light of decisions of the common law courts with regard to regulation of the tendering process. It is argued that a new 'Tendering Code' should be produced in the style and format of a contract document which reflects not only the statutory regulation imposed on public bodies, but common law decisions of the courts. The nature of this tendering contract is explained as a means of regulating the tendering process. Issues discussed are: dealing with errors and irregularities found in tenders; dealing with non-compliant tenders; dealing with tender withdrawal prior to its acceptance or rejection; making provisions as to time for submission of tenders and dealing with late tenders; making provision for submission of tender by fax or other electronic means; making provision for evaluation of tenders received; and imposing or negotiating reductions in price with tenderers prior to acceptance. The paper concludes that the common law obligations placed on the owner to treat all tenderers equally and fairly arid to apply the tender conditions when evaluating tenders and awarding contracts seems to be good common sense and of commercial advantage, not only to the immediate parties concerned but also to the wider community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implications of the 1997 (Primary Care) Act have been largely overlooked in the rush to establish Primary Care Groups. Allowing health authorities to develop local contracts for primary care has far-reaching implications and is an important departure from the national system of negotiation that has characterized general practice to date. This paper describes a content analysis of a sample of Personal Medical Services (PMS) pilot contracts. In the first year little attention has been given to achieving cost savings or greater efficiency and few contracts promote clinical guidelines. The difficulties of specifying services sensitive to local health needs are highlighted and the national Statement of Fees and Allowances (the 'Red Book') may not be swiftly supplanted. However, The pilots have introduced innovations such as salaried general practitioners, nurse-led services and NHS trust-managed care. The development of local contracts provides a valuable learning experience for general practitioners and health authorities in advance of the establishment of Primary Care Trusts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the right to health care. Various expressions of this right may be distinguished. These include both individual rights and social rights which could be based upon international treaties and constitutional rights. They may be found in national health legislation and, in some cases, in jurisprudence. To analyze the consequences of limiting the right to health care, a framework for judicial review has been developed which encompasses these expressions of the right to health care. The framework was used to examine legal and health policy developments in three Western and two Eastern European countries. In Italy and the Netherlands the right to health care is protected constitutionally (but on differing legal bases) while the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. In contrast, Hungary and Poland have for many years seen the state take responsible for the provision, administration and allocation of health care services and the right to health care was guaranteed theoretically but not in practice because of the lack of (financial) means. However, the Polish Constitution explicitly anticipates possible limitations of the right to health care. What all these countries have in common is a cost containment perspective where the future will bring even tighter limits on what resources patients may consume. Despite differences in legal structure between these countries, where they seem to converge is on the consequences of putting limitations on the right to health care. The courts in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK have formulated conditions drawn from the acceptance that this right has to be judged within the context of limited resources. It may be concluded that finding a compromise between the right to health care and cost containment policies could also be an issue, Eastern European countries will have to face in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses contracts to keep down costs while maintaining quality of health services when patient demand does not reflect quality. There is then a natural role for forms of contract that have emerged during the reforms of the NHS in Britain that differ from pure fixed price or cost reimbursement contracts. The optimal form depends on whether the provider is entirely self-interested or benevolent in having genuine concern for patient welfare. With fully benevolent providers there are roles for block and cost and volume contracts. With partially benevolent providers, some degree of cost sharing is typically optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the core of the internal market reforms of the National Health Service (NHS) in the Great Britain as of October 1997 is the vertical separation of the roles of purchaser and provider. While this has inevitably led to an increase in the administrative cost burden, this cost may be justified in terms of the improved incentive structure which accompanies the sharing of risks between purchasers and providers. Instruments by which risk-sharing arrangements are implemented are the contracts as negotiated between purchasers and providers. However, it is simplistic to assume that the adoption of a contractual rhetoric on its own will achieve these aims. The nature of contractual arrangements are crucial. The paper attempts to explore empirically the choice between different contractual risk-sharing arrangements in the new managed health care market of Great Britain. Contractual types available within the post-reform NHS can be classified according to their sensitivity to the actual workload provided by the hospital.

The contract is the main mechanism for governing transactions within public sector ‘quasi markets’. This article explores the nature of the contracting process in the light of new empirical data from a qualitative study of the development of contracting for HIV/AIDS services within the National Health Service, These data are compared with four possible models of the contracting process emerging from the academic literature, classical, relational, regulated and pseudo contracting. The White Paper on the NHS reforms uses a classical concept of contracting, in which purchasers are represented as making well informed and unrestricted choices between competing options. This bore little relation to the process observed within the four purchasing organizations studied. Instead, elements of all the models were observed, with the dominance of any one model varying with different situations, tinges and localities. Competition was only patchily evident, with purchasers more commonly encouraging co-operative relationships between providers to preserve stability. Attempts to utilize the contract process to mould and reconfigure services were often hampered by restrictions imposed by regulations and slow implementation of new mechanisms. Contracting was also adversely affected by rapid organizational change and lack of adequate information. It is concluded that contracting in the NHS is an evolving process and has yet to achieve its full potential as a management mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reforms of the National Health Service in England have given an emphasis to “strategic” approaches to health and health care, in that, ideally, purchasing decisions will be made on the basis of evidence from various forms of “needs assessment”. Alongside these reforms a strategic approach to the promotion of health has been set out in the “Health of the Nation” (DoH 1992). However, although the promotion of health is high on the policy agenda, the occupational group of health promotion specialists, whose prime function it is to devise, develop and implement health promotion strategies, have been ignored. Drawing on qualitative interview data with these specialists in both provider and purchasing settings in England this paper argues that thus far the reforms have actually hindered the development of a strategic approach to the promotion of health by health promotion specialists. Three main reasons for this are suggested; a confusion over the most appropriate institutional location for health promotion specialists; a lack of clarity by key actors as to the role and function of health promotion specialists; and the emergence of a model of effectiveness and efficiency which is largely antithetical to the philosophy and practice of health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An understanding of future trends in construction prices is likely to influence the construction investment strategy of a variety of interested parties, ranging from private and public clients to construction contractors, property speculators, financial institutions, and construction professionals. This paper derives leading indicators for construction prices in the United Kingdom. These indicators are based on two experimental methods: turning points of the basic indicators in relation to construction price turning points; and predictive power of lags of the basic indicators. It is concluded, based on the analyses, that unemployment level, construction output, industrial production) and ratio of price to cost indices in manufacturing are consistent leading indicators of construction prices. Building cost index and gross national product constitute coincident indicators. `Popular' macro-economic time series such as nominal interest rate, inflation rate, real interest rate, all share index and money supply produced inconclusive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bidding decisions, including the estimation of optimal mark-up on price, represent major decision problems for companies formulating a successful business strategy. The objective of this research was to develop an integrated bidding management expert system to assess the suitability of incoming enquiries for a particular company and suggest a 'bid/no bid' decision. If a decision to bid is taken then the expert system should provide advice on the optimal mark-up to maximize the chance of winning potential contracts. The system developed in this paper is composed of an information system that integrates design, estimation and production planning, and a knowledge base to provide abstracted information and advice to managers in charge of bidding. The information system analyses the records of previous contracts, and present managers with vital information that minimizes the risk of poor decisions associated with bidding. The knowledge base is composed of intelligent rules which were elicited from previous contract records and experienced managers in charge of bidding. They are designed to advise managers on two major issues: bid/no bid and estimation of optimal tender price. A number of factors that affect bidding strategies were identified by reviewing previous bidding methodologies and surveying eight major companies in the UK by means of semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the principal Lane Rental systems operated in the UK and describes the merits and disadvantages of each. Issues relating to contractual arrangements, management style, contract finish times, working conditions and arrangements are covered. Comparisons are drawn with conventional contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a study of the newly emerging role of specialist contractors in the UK building industry. It identifies a common strategy employed by specialists in dealing with the complexity and diversity of modern building. This is to maintain a consistent operating core insulated from the firm's environment. It also highlights particular problems which arise in current practice in respect of contracts, design responsibilities, coordination of work on site and the incidence of variations. It also shows that opportunities and problems arise from the power of modern information and the demands for quality assurance. All these individual issues give rise to a need to review the training of operatives and specialists' investment in research and development. For the rest of the industry, the study suggests a need to develop better ways of evaluating competitive design proposals from specialists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a derailed study of projects using the JCT With Contractor's Design (WCD) form of contract. Initially 49 projects were investigated to discover how the WCD contract is being used:for what kind of projects, by whom, in what circumstances, and what management approaches are being used. Fourteen projects were then selected to be investigated in more detail on their performance in tents of time, cost, quality and management. The variables were assessed in absolute terms and were then compared to what might have been expected if the contract had been managed in the conventional manner, i.e. using the ICT 80 Standard form of building contract. The conclusion of the study was that out of all the WCD projects investigated none had experienced serious problems and only a small proportion had encountered any difficulties at all in using the WCD approach [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formula most commonly used in the United Kingdom for predict ton of cash flows during construction of a building is that published by the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS). The one empirical formula for the S-curve requires a series of parameters to be used for different contract costs. From a reliability theory approach, an alternative mathematical form, which includes the Weibull function, has been proposed as the basis for the S-curves. This paper demonstrates that nor only can the Weibull function be used as an excellent altnerative to the DHSS formula but also that the Weibull function overcomes some of the limitations of the original formula, Relationships between the Weibull parameter values for each of the fits to the set of DHSS curves are derived empirically so that one single formula with a total of seven parameters replaces the DHSS formula and its associated tables for different project costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been written about the rapid rate of construction in the USA compared with the UK, very little investigation has been undertaken to determine exactly how the rates of construction are achieved. This paper briefly describes the differences between the UK and US construction industries, and then uses a case study of a US construction project to examine the relationship between the design of an element and the construction on site. The US designer pays attention to the way the components will be assembled on site, being concerned with the overlap of work packages undertaken by specialty subcontractors. Because each of the work packages is clearly defined and isolated from other work packages, the contractor has better control over the rate of production on site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the UK government's proposals for the reform of legal aid, which are based on block franchising. We identify several potential incentive-compatibility problems mainly concerned with the possibility of chiseling on quality after contracts are awarded or with supplier control of access to legal aid. Our suggestions for improving the scheme are based around awarding vouchers for legal aid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the effect of the white paper 'Working for Patients' on the contract of general practitioners (GP) in Great Britain. Introduction of practice budgets to GP; Aims of the white paper; Establishment of a quality control commission to monitor standards of health care.

Focuses on various government proposals and contracts regarding general practitioners (GP) in Great Britain. Effect of the paper, Working for Patients, to several GP; Plans for changing the working contract of general practitioners under the National Health Services (NHS); Calls for resignation of the GP from the NHS.

The article presents information on decisions regarding legal issues involved in employee relations in Great Britain. In a case between BBC v. Ioannou, the judge created a loophole in the unfair dismissal provisions on fixed term contracts. If the interpretation of "fixed terms" as given in Ioannou's case were to have been upheld, this would have meant that employers would have been able to evade the unfair dismissal provisions on fixed term contracts so provided for by the Employment Protection Consolidation Act 1978 S.55 (1) (b). Proposals for expanding vocational preparation for 16-18 year olds in employment were contained in a consultative paper published on April 5, 1979 jointly by the Secretaries of State for Employment, Education and Science, Industry, Scotland and Wales. These proposals are seen as an essential step towards the long-term aim expressed in into the Eighties [5] of establishing a universal scheme of education and training opportunities for all the 16-18 age group. The proposals include the development of traineeships formally recognized in the same way as apprenticeships for young people in their early months at work.

The article offers news briefs as of May 2013 on topics including call for papers issued for the 19th Psychiatric Nursing Research (NPNR) conference, Turning Point nursing staff to lose jobs if they do not sign new contracts, and the Dorset Healthcare Trust signs an agreement to improve governance.

The article reports on the contract signed between Open Text Corp. and the British Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DTSL). The aim of the contract is to provide the DSTL with Open Link's Livelink ECM electronic document and records management solutions. The organization plans to reduce their paper holdings, guarantees better records management and enables staff to have rapid access to a wide information across the organization. The DSTL chose Livelink ECM solution based upon commercial and functional grounds and through its own formal testing process.

Copyright of Collected Papers of Zagreb Law Faculty / Zbornik Pravnog Fakulteta u Zagrebu is the property of Sveuciliste u Zagrebu, Pravni Fakultet and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)