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Because of the massive changes experienced within work contexts over the last decades, work design has received renewed attention both from scholars and practitioners interested in carefully balancing job demands with employees' needs, aiming to boost performance. Hence, work design, meant as a strategic human resource management tool to craft job context and content, has been proven to impact on work performance and burnout. However, despite this evidence, the literature clearly explaining the paths through which work design might lead to positive or negative organizational outcomes is still scarce. To address this gap, the present study investigated the contribution of work–family interface aspects (i.e., work–family conflict and work–family enrichment) as mediators in this relationship. The participants were 160 white-collar employees, invited to fill in an online survey encompassing socio-demographical information (e.g., age, gender, education, and professional role) and individual self-report responses on the study variables (i.e., work design, work/family conflict, work/family enrichment, burnout, and work performance). The path analyses were conducted to investigate the direct and indirect relationships among constructs. The results showed that work–family conflict mediated the relationships between some work design characteristics and burnout, whereas work–family enrichment had a mediating role in the paths leading both to burnout and to work performance. The implications for research and practice were discussed with respect to an evidence-based human resource management perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector is growing, and AI‐based technologies are envisioned to affect not only patient care but also how healthcare professionals work. Nevertheless, the actual impact of various AI applications on healthcare professionals' jobs has not been studied yet. Bringing together a framework to analyse AI applications in health‐care and the job design model, we analysed 80 publications from the grey‐literature platform 'SingularityHub'. Our findings demonstrate that AI applications in 1) diagnosis and treatment, 2) patient engagement and empowerment and 3) administrative activities have an impact on the various components of healthcare professionals' job design, including job autonomy and control; skill variety and use; job feedback; social and relational aspects; and job demands. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We respond to commentaries on our 2020 article 'Automation, algorithms, and beyond: Why work design matters more than ever in a digital world' and report on research on the topic since that publication. A top‐down work design perspective on digital technologies appears even more important than ever yet still neglected, as suggested by recent studies. The opportunities and challenges of new technologies have been addressed somewhat more successfully through bottom‐up work design in the form of job crafting. The specific topic of virtual working has also attracted significant research attention. Nevertheless, we continue to advocate more scholarly and practical attention to the following: how to proactively redesign work when introducing new technologies; how work design issues can be built into the design and procurement of work technologies; the need to identify and understand both the organizationally oriented strategies and macro‐level change needed for successful sociotechnical application; and how to upskill employees, managers, unions and other stakeholders, in work design and related topics. There is also more scope for consideration of the role of individual differences. Finally, we call for interdisciplinary research that involves, for example, the designers of technology, and we advocate the importance of intervention studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology influences work in important ways deserving scholarly attention. These include: that humans have the moral obligation to design humane work conditions for artificial intelligence; that connectedness and social media lead to burnout and unhappiness; that artificial intelligence may generate competitive advantages for the neurodiverse; and that gig work potentially creates opportunities for the disabled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used empowerment theory and job design theory to build a mediated moderation model to examine the relationship between empowering leadership and the turnover intention of industrial workers. Participants were 272 industrial workers in Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Results show that empowering leadership significantly reduced participants' turnover intention and that job crafting exerted a partial mediating effect on the negative correlation between empowering leadership and turnover intention. Participants' proactive personality positively moderated the effect of empowering leadership on their turnover intention, and part of the moderating effect was transmitted via job crafting. Our results have theoretical implications for related research and practical implications for human resource management practices in the manufacturing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Work intensification implies increased workload which, in turn, can impact on work engagement, and workaholism; however, their mutual relations have not received adequate scholarly attention up to now. This cross-cultural study, grounded on the Job Demands-Resources model, examined the association between workload and work engagement and verified if workaholism acted as a moderator. Moreover, we examined if cultural differences affected these associations. To this purpose, 416 Canadian and 412 Italian employees filled a cross-sectional questionnaire. The association between workload and work engagement varied significantly between countries, and was moderated by workaholism. Results discussed in view of the theoretical framework provide insights for both scholars and managers in terms of human resource management and job design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of boredom at work on psychological and sleep health and how rumination moderates these relationships. A total of 518 employees participated in this cross-sectional research design study from different organizations in Puerto Rico. Employees completed self-report questionnaires of boredom at work, work-related rumination, depression, anxiety, and sleep health. Boredom at work and rumination have a direct effect on psychological and sleep health. Meanwhile rumination moderated the relationship between boredom at work and psychological health. Because the research was exploratory and cross-sectional, conclusions are necessarily tentative. However, the findings add to the scant body of knowledge about boredom at work and it effects on psychological and sleep health, especially the addition of rumination as a moderator, which it will serve as a useful guide to future research. Management must pay attention to boredom at work due to its impact on employees' psychological and sleep health, and to consider redesigning work as well as supporting employees that actively search to be challenged at work. Boredom at work is an important yet neglected area of human resources management and organizational psychology research. The current study is the first to examine if bored employees ruminate and how this affect employees' psychological and sleep health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years a considerable amount of attention has been paid to the design of the jobs of the workers and a great deal has been written about the effects of job design on employee intention to stay (1). Job design defines as, the process of determining the specific tasks to be performed, the methods used in performing these tasks and how the job related to other work in the organization. Job design considers the primary role of human resources management in each organization ,their most crucial function include designing of the content, methods, features of a job and monitoring the performances of their employees on how well they perform, maintenance duties and responsibilities assigned to them, Performance assessment of employees is done periodically and is crucial aspect of humanresources(2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Quality improvements are notoriously followed by "backsliding" or relapse to the status quo. This mixed-methods study examined the sustainment of Lean workflow redesigns for primary care teams several years after being implemented in a large, ambulatory care delivery system. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews of 57 leaders and frontline providers, and fielded post-Lean implementation surveys to 1164 physicians and staff in 17 primary care clinics across the system. We analyzed interviews and conducted independent sample f tests to identify key factors that facilitated the sustainment of new workflows among primary care teams. All analyses were conducted after Lean redesigns were implemented and scaled across the system in 3 consecutive phases. Results: Adherence to Lean redesigns was highest in the pilot clinic, despite having the longest postdesign measurement period. Members of the pilot clinic reported greatest participation in designing workflows, were most highly engaged in quality improvement efforts, and held most favorable beliefs about Lean changes. Adherence to redesigns was lowest among clinic members in the second phase of implementation; these members also reported highest levels of burnout. Conclusions: Staff participation in Lean redesign is a key to facilitating buy-in and adherence to changes. Change ownership and continued availability of time for improvement activities are also critical to the long-term team, primary health care, total quality management, success of Lean implementation in primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Assessing whether the meanings attributed to the work by teachers from a course of professional technological education (PTE), Human Resource Management (HRM) were predictors of the intention to remain in or to leave employment. Originality/value: There is a gap in the literature about the research of the relationship between working meanings and the turnover intention. Also, the recent expansion of PTE in Brazil was not accompanied by the development of research related to different aspects of the work of the teachers who work in PTE, considering that they act in a context of the historical and cultural devaluation of HRM teachers. Design/methodology/approach: We developed a multi-methodological study in two stages: 1. Application of semi-structured interviews; 2. Application of structured questionnaires. Findings: The results of the first stage provided an empirical basis for constructing hypotheses concerning the prevalence of leaving intention and the prediction of this phenomenon by the components of work meaning. The results of the second stage confirmed that the leaving intention was prevalent among most HRM teachers. Also, a valuation of the dignity-humanization, the occupation and a sense of the reality of dehumanization and exhaustion are predictors of the likelihood of the leaving intention. We concluded that, despite the increased job opportunities for teachers in PTE, it does not represent a quality alternative, as well as HRM teachers, considered it a temporary option of work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study integrates theories from strategic human resource management and the job demands – resources model and focuses on exploring the cross‐level relationship between high‐commitment work systems and work engagement. It includes further investigation into whether the emerging core construct of positive psychological capital plays a role in mediating the effects of high‐commitment work systems on work engagement. Data were collected from multiple sources, including 94 managers and 344 service employees at 47 stores in Taiwanese retail chain enterprises. The study's results show that high‐commitment work systems are positively correlated with work engagement and mediate work engagement through psychological capital. The implications of this research and possible limitations and directions for future research are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant research on learning orientation (LO) has primarily examined the effects of LO on organizational‐level performance from a management perspective. Meanwhile, the black box relationship between high‐performance work systems (HPWS) and individual outcomes has not been fully explored. The current study examines the cross‐level relationship between perceived unit‐level LO and individual‐level performance and investigates the moderation effect of LO in the HPWS – individual performance relationship. With a participant sample of 1887 individuals from 74 work‐units in the banking industry in China, a cross‐level model was tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Work‐unit‐level LO was found to have significant impact on individual performance and positively moderate the relationship between HPWS and individual performance. The implications of these findings and the research limitations were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores how to improve clinical handover practices in order to enhance health care. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care acknowledged the advantage of effective communication during clinical handover. The benefits of improved clinical handover practices are indicated, including enhanced delivery of quality care and reduced omission errors. Clinicians are advised to collaborate in order to ensure the success of clinical handover.

Providing end of life care (EOLC) in emergency departments (EDs) is challenging because of minimal resources, lack of staff education and outdated models of care. Dynamic, chaotic environments like EDs require systematic, clear and concise principles and goals for patient care. Death in EDs is inevitable, therefore staff should be equipped to provide optimal care to this vulnerable patient group. This article reviews the literature on the barriers to providing EOLC in EDs, and makes recommendations for clinical practice and further research. EOLC refers to care of terminally and critically ill patients in their final days and hours of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To empirically validate a conceptual model of Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery. Background There is limited evidence of frontline care delivery models that consistently achieve quality patient outcomes. Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery is a promising nursing model with a growing record of success. However, theoretical clarity is necessary to generate causal evidence of effectiveness. Design Sequential mixed methods. Methods A preliminary Clinical Nurse Leader practice model was refined and survey items developed to correspond with model domains, using focus groups and a Delphi process with a multi-professional expert panel. The survey was administered in 2015 to clinicians and administrators involved in Clinical Nurse Leader initiatives. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to validate the measurement and model structure. Results Final sample n = 518. The model incorporates 13 components organized into five conceptual domains: 'Readiness for Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery'; 'Structuring Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery'; 'Clinical Nurse Leader Practice: Continuous Clinical Leadership'; 'Outcomes of Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery'; and 'Value'. Sample data had good fit with specified model and two-level measurement structure. All hypothesized pathways were significant, with strong coefficients suggesting good fit between theorized and observed path relationships. Conclusions The validated model articulates an explanatory pathway of Clinical Nurse Leader integrated care delivery, including Clinical Nurse Leader practices that result in improved care dynamics and patient outcomes. The validated model provides a basis for testing in practice to generate evidence that can be deployed across the healthcare spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To examine frontline staff acceptance of telehealth and identify barriers to and enablers of successful adoption of remote monitoring for patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Heart Failure. Background The use of telehealth in the UK has not developed at the pace and scale anticipated by policy. Many existing studies report frontline staff acceptance as a key barrier, however data are limited and there is little evidence of the adoption of telehealth in routine practice. Design Case studies of four community health services in England that use telehealth to monitor patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Heart Failure. Methods Thematic analysis of qualitative interviews with 84 nursing and other frontline staff; and 21 managers and key stakeholders; data collected May 2012-June 2013. Findings Staff attitudes ranged from resistance to enthusiasm, with varied opinions about the motives for investing in telehealth and the potential impact on nursing roles. Having reliable and flexible technology and dedicated resources for telehealth work were identified as essential in helping to overcome early barriers to acceptance, along with appropriate staff training and a partnership approach to implementation. Early successes were also important, encouraging staff to use telehealth and facilitating clinical learning and increased adoption. Conclusions The mainstreaming of telehealth hinges on clinical 'buy-in'. Where barriers to successful implementation exist, clinicians can lose faith in using technology to perform tasks traditionally delivered in person. Addressing barriers is therefore crucial if clinicians are to adopt telehealth into routine practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the reduction of the patients' length of hospital stay in the U.S. It mentions the importance of new methodology, multidisciplinary team and standardized processes to improve patient outcome without compromising the quality care and medical costs. An overview of how the Institute for Healthcare Improvement successfully improved its productivity, quality of care and timely medical care delivery by using the Lean methodology is also offered.

Aim This paper reviews the Productive Ward: Releasing Time to Care™ literature, identifying and discussing the key characteristics that may contribute to successful implementation. Background It is 5 years since the official UK launch of the Productive Ward, and the Republic of Ireland commenced a phased, national implementation programme in 2011. Thus it is timely to reflect on the implementation lessons learned to date and described in the literature. Evaluation Using taxonomic mapping, this paper evaluates the current state of the literature that pertains to Productive Ward implementation experience; success factors; reports, and assessments. Key issues Seven common contextual characteristics were identified: robust and engaging communication; enabling and empowering roles; appropriate training; project planning and management; leadership; corporate/management engagement and support; and financial and human resource commitment. Conclusion The key characteristics identified have a direct impact on the implementation of the Productive Ward. The interplay between these key characteristics and how this interplay influences successful implementation of the Productive Ward warrants further research. Implications for nursing management Acknowledging and embracing the seven characteristics during implementation will positively improve the progress and success of the initiatives implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most western economies have in recent years been experiencing one of the longest and deepest economic recessions since the Great Depression. During a recession health-care expenditures are often among the first to be cut. However, what is occurring in daily practice from the point of view of care has not been documented to date. Describing the cost containment interventions undertaken and their effects as perceived in daily practice by Italian nurses was the aim of the study. A longitudinal study design was adopted from 2010 to 2011 involving 1,001 nurses each year. In the 2-year period taken into consideration, participants reported a significant increase in the number of cost containment measures adopted by their health-care organisations. The effects of these cost containment measures have been perceived by nurses especially in terms of (1) increased stress levels, (2) increased number of patients with social problems, and (3) increased nursing workloads. In addition, greater difficulties in finding clinical placement for nursing students and fewer resources devoted to nursing professional development were reported, indicating that some cost containment measures will have long-term effects. The economic crisis seems to affect mainly the most vulnerable groups of society. Innovative solutions for the need to reduce the costs of National Health Services do not seem to emerge from the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the establishment of the charge nurse development by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) in the U.S. The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 in the country is also tackled. Explored is the Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement model within nursing leadership development.

We examined geometric calculation with number tasks used within a unit of geometry instruction in a Taiwanese classroom, identifying the source of each task used in classroom instruction and analyzing the cognitive complexity of each task with respect to 2 distinct features: diagram complexity and problem-solving complexity. We found that instructional tasks were drawn from multiple sources, including textbooks, tests, supplemental materials, and the teacher. Our analysis of cognitive complexity indicated that the instructional tasks frequently involved both diagram complexity and problem-solving complexity. Moreover, the geometric calculation with number tasks from nontextbook sources tended to be more cognitively demanding than those found in the textbooks. Implications of task analysis on geometry domain and textbook analysis studies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of researchers have investigated the role of and importance of national culture on international human resource management and it is named as the major challenge that human resource management should be aware of when going global to achieve its organizational goals. Getting individuals from different ethnic backgrounds working together may be difficult in some parts of the world and international human resource management professionals should be aware of this cultural difficulty. This paper studies the influence of national cultural challenges on international human resource management which is investigated commonly by Hofstede's cultural dimensions, achievement motivation theory, equity theory, expectancy theory, job design, work centrality, and rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to design, pilot, and evaluate a care team model of shared accountability on medical-surgical units. BACKGROUND: American healthcare systems must optimize professional nursing services and support staff due to economic constraints, evolving Federal regulations and increased nurse capabilities. METHODS: A redesigned model of RN-led teams with shared accountability was piloted on 3 medical/surgical units in sample hospitals for 6 months. Nursing staff were trained for all functions within their scope of practice and provided education and support for implementation. RESULTS: Clinical outcomes and patient experience scores improved with the exception of falls. Nurse satisfaction demonstrated statistically significant improvement. Cost outcomes resulted in reduced total salary dollars per day, and case mix-adjusted length of stay decreased by 0.38. CONCLUSION: Innovative changes in nursing care delivery can maintain clinical quality and nurse and patient satisfaction while decreasing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study sough t to explore the perceptions of health care workers about engaging patients as partners on care redesign teams under a program called Transforming Care at the Bedside (TCAB), and to examine the facilitating factors, barriers, and effects of such engagement. Design: This descriptive, qualitative study collected data through focus groups and individual interviews. Participants included health care providers and managers from five units at three hospitals in a university-affiliated health care center in Canada. Methods: A total of nine focus groups and 13 individual interviews were conducted in April 2012, 18 months after the TCAB program began in September 2010. Content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Findings: Health care providers and managers benefited from engaging patients in the decision-making process because the patients brought a new point of view. Involving the patients exposed team members to valuable information that they hadn't previously thought about during decision making. Conclusion: Health care teams stand to benefit from engaging patients in the change process. Patients contribute a different point of view, and this helps to ensure that the changes proposed and implemented address their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible work accommodations provided by employers purport to help individuals struggling to manage work and family demands. The underlying model for change is accommodation—helping individuals accommodate their work demands with no changes in the structure of work or cultural expectations of ideal workers. The purpose of this article is to derive a Work Redesign Model and compare it with the Accommodation Model. This article centers around two change initiatives—Predictability, Teaming and Open Communication and Results Only Work Environment—that alter the structure and culture of work in ways that enable better work and better lives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The demands of today’s workplace—long hours, constant availability, self-sacrificial dedication—do not match the needs of today’s workforce, where workers struggle to reconcile competing caregiving and workplace demands. This mismatch has negative consequences for gender equality and workers’ health. Here, the authors put forth a call to action: to redesign work to better meet the needs of today’s workforce and to redefine successful work. The authors propose two avenues for future research to achieve these goals: research that (a) builds a more rigorous business case for work redesign/redefinition and (b) exposes the underlying gender and class dynamics of current work arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2000 the English National Health Service (NHS) began a series of workforce redesign initiatives that increased the number of doctors and nurses serving patients, expanded existing staff roles and developed new ones, redistributed health care work, and invested in teamwork. The English workforce redesign experience offers important lessons for US policy makers. Redesigning the health care workforce is not a quick fix to control costs or improve the quality of care. A poorly planned redesign can even result in increased costs and decreased quality. Changes in skill mix and role definitions should be preceded by a detailed analysis and redesign of the work performed by health care professionals.New roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined in advance, and teamwork models that include factors common in successful redesigns such as leadership, shared objectives, and training should be promoted. The focus should be on retraining current staff instead of hiring new workers. Finally, any workforce redesign must overcome opposition from professional bodies, individual practitioners, and regulators. England's experience suggests that progress is possible if workforce redesigns are planned carefully and implemented with skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

dearmon v., roussel l., buckner e.b., mulekar m., pomrenke b., salas s., mosley a., brown s. & Brown A. (2013) Journal of Nursing Management 21, 668-678 Transforming Care at the Bedside: enhancing direct care and value-added care Aim The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a Transforming Care at the Bedside initiative from a unit perspective. Background Improving patient outcomes and nurses' work environments are the goals of Transforming Care at the Bedside. Transforming Care at the Bedside creates programs of change originating at the point of care and directly promoting engagement of nurses to transform work processes and quality of care on medical-surgical units. Methods This descriptive comparative study draws on multiple data sources from two nursing units: a Transforming Care at the Bedside unit where staff tested, adopted and implemented improvement ideas, and a control unit where staff continued traditional practices. Change theory provided the framework for the study. Results Direct care and value-added care increased on Transforming Care at the Bedside unit compared with the control unit. Transforming Care at the Bedside unit decreased in incidental overtime. Nurses reported that the process challenged old ways of thinking and increased nursing innovations. Hourly rounding, bedside reporting and the use of pain boards were seen as positive innovations. Conclusions Evidence supported the value-added dimension of the Transforming Care at the Bedside process at the unit level. Implications for nursing management Nurses recognized the significance of their input into processes of change. Transformational leadership and frontline projects provide a vehicle for innovation through application of human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors combine to drive the growth in health spending worldwide, but the introduction of new technologies, drugs, and therapies is probably the most important. However, in contrast to other industries, innovations in health care have not tended to reduce the need for labor. In fact, labor still accounts for the largest proportion of expenditures in many health systems. But labor-saving technologies, workforce innovations, and patient self-care approaches are now emerging and altering health care's labor structure. For example, in Mexico more than one million households pay $5 per month to access a health advice hotline before setting foot in a physician's office. In India assembly line-style eye surgery has dramatically reduced cost without sacrificing quality. Policy makers should focus on such labor-saving innovations; reform reimbursement systems to encourage them; tackle professionals' resistance; and remove regulatory barriers. Bold experiments to redesign health services around patient self-care approaches are also warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Registered nurses are difficult to recruit and retain. Task shifting, which involves reallocation of delegation, can reduce demand for registered nurses. Effective leadership is needed for successful task shifting. Objective This study explored leadership styles of three surgical nurse unit managers. Staff completed surveys before and after the implementation of task shifting. Task shifting involved the introduction of endorsed enrolled nurses (licensed nurses who must practise under registered nurse supervision) to better utilize registered nurses. Methods Implementation of task shifting occurred over 4 months in a 700-bed tertiary hospital, in southeast Queensland, Australia. A facilitator assisted nurse unit managers during implementation. The impact was assessed by comparison of data before ( n = 49) and after ( n = 72) task shifting from registered nurses and endorsed enrolled nurses ( n = 121) who completed the Ward Organization Features Survey. Results Significant differences in leadership and staff organization subscales across the settings suggest that how change involving task shifting is implemented influences nurses' opinions of leadership. Conclusion Leadership behaviours of nurse unit managers is a key consideration in managing change such as task shifting. Implications for nursing management Consistent and clear messages from leaders about practice change are viewed positively by nursing staff. In the short term, incremental change possibly results in staff maintaining confidence in leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the key aspects of a project undertaken by Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) to reduce the cost of nursing care by decreasing supply waste. The process followed by the hospital began with the creation of a multidisciplinary team to develop goals, brainstorm and determine the project direction. The goals developed by the team are included. Several supply utilization ideas as put forth by staff members are described. Some of the other ways to go green and avoid wastage and some examples of savings that were brought about are included. The key role that nurse administrators and educators can play in this initiative is highlighted.

The article focuses on a study which explored the relationship between an evidence-based framework for high-performance work practices (HPWPs) use and three process improvement strategies. These strategies are hardwiring excellence, lean/six sigma and Baldrige. Results of the study showed that there are important gaps in these strategies in relation to incorporating HPWPs. It notes that organizations' existing management systems influence the efficacy of these strategies.

The article explains how a multidisciplinary team at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, New South Wales, launched a project to redesign the composition and practice of the hospital's trauma team. The clinical redesign methodology helped define aspects of trauma management at Westmead and identified areas that needed improvement. The importance of staff collaboration, involvement of stakeholders and sponsorship of the hospital executive team in the success of the project are emphasized.

This article argues that there are two lines of analysis in the high-performance work systems literature that are important for HR researchers and strategists. The first involves mapping the diversity that exists in work systems, and understanding which ones perform in which contexts and why. This line of analysis is most relevant where there are serious misfits between a firm's models of HRM and its strategic context. The second line of analysis can help to enhance performance in any firm. It involves analysing the chain of links inside the 'black box' of HRM, asking how managers envisage HRM, how they interpret and enact it, how it affects the psychological and social climates inside the organization, and for whom it performs. Following these lines of analysis, and improving our research methods, will make our discipline more relevant to the larger debate around economic and employee well-being in our societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses an analytic-based decision analysis tool called Employee-Job Assignment System (EJAS) for solving the employee-job assignment problem (EJAP). The EJAS is intended to determine an employee-job assignment (EJA) solution that optimizes the employees' work efficiency and job satisfaction. Two person-job (P-J) fit criteria are considered: (1) competency-based P-J fit, and (2) preference-based P-J fit. Depending on the decision-maker's selection, the EJAS determines an EJA solution that maximizes the chosen P-J fit. Additionally, it is capable of generating several near-optimal solutions to assist the decision-maker in selecting a suitable EJA solution. Significance: Effective management of the human resource is an important issue for every business organization. Assigning the right employees to the right jobs can help the organization to increase its productivity and/or enhance its service efficiency. The proposed decision analysis tool enables responsible decision-makers to develop the employee-job assignment solution that considers both competency and job preference; thus, achieving increased productivity and better job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation: For a long time, employees have been viewed as passive performers of their assigned job tasks. Recently, several scholars have argued that job design theory needs to address the influence of employees on their job designs. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to fit job crafting in job design theory. Motivation for the study: The study was an attempt to shed more light on the types of proactive behaviours of individual employees at work. Moreover, we explored the concept of job crafting and its antecedents and consequences. Research design, approach and method: A literature study was conducted in which the focus was first on proactive behaviour of the employee and then on job crafting. Main findings: Job crafting can be seen as a specific form of proactive behaviour in which the employee initiates changes in the level of job demands and job resources. Job crafting may be facilitated by job and individual characteristics and may enable employees to fit their jobs to their personal knowledge, skills and abilities on the one hand and to their preferences and needs on the other hand. Practical/managerial implications: Job crafting may be a good way for employees to improve their work motivation and other positive work outcomes. Employees could be encouraged to exert more influence on their job characteristics. Contribution/value-add: This article describes a relatively new perspective on active job redesign by the individual, called job crafting, which has important implications for job design theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports the effects of the properties of source texts on summarization. One hundred and fifty-seven undergraduates were asked to write summaries of one of three extended English texts of similar length and readability, but differing in other discoursal features such as lexical diversity and macro-organization. The effects of summarizability were examined from two perspectives: students’ summarization task performance and their perception of such effects as demonstrated in the post-summarization questionnaire and interviews. Source text had significant and relatively larger effects than the summarizers’ language abilities on summarization performance. These were more pronounced on Chinese than English summarization. Perceptual data were generally supportive of the performance data and further illuminated the dynamics of the summarizability of a source text and its potential effects on performance. Macro-organization, frequency of unfamiliar words, topic familiarity, length of source texts were among the most influential factors shaping text summarizability in the view of the participants. However, the effects of summarizability proved to be rather idiosyncratic. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to source text selection when designing summarization tasks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although a lot of research has been developed during the last century in the field of human work design, the results seem to be unsatisfactory. Nowadays, there is renewed interest in this field but it is not producing any new results. This is the main reason why, in our investigation, we have tried to determine the real variables that truly affect the human work design. We have carried out two empirical researches involving 660 and 310 companies, obtaining from both exactly the same results, four factors that confirm the conclusions reached in previous research: demand-adaptation, flexibility-polyvalence, improvement-autonomy and conciliation-participation. We can add that these factors are independent from the environment and the type of technology used by the companies, which does not occur if the size of the enterprise is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Prior research with individually isolated 3-person crews in a distributed, interactive, planetary exploration simulation examined the effects of communication constraints and crew configuration changes on crew performance and psychosocial self-report measures. The present report extends these findings to a model of performance maintenance that operationalizes conditions under which disruptive affective responses by crew participants might be anticipated to emerge. Experiments evaluated the effects of changes in incentive conditions on crew performance and self-report measures in simulated space-dwelling groups. Crews participated in a simulated planetary exploration mission that required identification, collection, and analysis of geologic samples. Results showed that crew performance effectiveness was unaffected by either positive or negative incentive conditions, while self-report measures were differentially affected—negative incentive conditions produced pronounced increases in negative self-report ratings and decreases in positive self-report ratings, while positive incentive conditions produced increased positive self-report ratings only. Thus, incentive conditions associated with simulated spaceflight missions can significantly affect psychosocial adaptation without compromising task performance effectiveness in trained and experienced crews. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This national study identified factors that affect quitting intentions among nursing home social workers (NHSWs). The findings indicated that greater job involvement and lack of a negative outlook may enhance NHSWs' job satisfaction and organizational commitment and contribute to decreased job search and quitting intent. Also, respondents that experienced less stress and routinization in their work and reported greater amounts of autonomy, equity in pay and benefits, promotional opportunities, and coworker and supervisor support, had decreased levels of quitting intent and job search via greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The results imply that changes in job design and greater supervisory and coworker support may encourage NHSWs' retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an empirical evaluation of the human resources management (HRM) effectiveness in relation to quality of labor and quality of care in older people's and nursing homes. The authors suggest that innovative policies, in terms of HRM and work design, increase the likelihood of lower stress rates and higher scores on quality of care. The data supply little empirical evidence for this hypothesis, which means that innovative policy practices have very little effect on the realities of stress, burnout, and individually tailored care. A question that arises from this is whether the search for best practices is then equal to a measure for nothing. This is not the authors' opinion. The reference framework for research must be turned round. This can be achieved by no longer starting from the normative (practice) theory but starting instead with excellent practice, which can teach researchers important content and policy lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors propose a practice-specificity-based model of arousal for achieving peak performance. The study included 37 healthy male physical education students whom they randomly assigned to a high-arousal (n = 19) or low-arousal group (n = 18). To manipulate participants' level of arousal, the authors used motivational techniques. They used heart rate and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (R. Martens, 1977) to measure the level of arousal that participants achieved. At the determined and given arousal state, the 2 groups performed the task (basketball free throws) for 18 sessions. Both groups performed a retention test at the 2 arousal levels immediately after the last exercise session, in the posttest, and after 10 days. Results showed that both groups learned the task similarly and achieved their peak performance at their experienced arousal level. When tested at an arousal level that differed from the one that they experienced throughout practice sessions, participants' performance had deteriorated significantly. Performance of the task seemed to have integrated with the arousal level of the participants during the task learning. The findings of this study suggest a practice-specificity-based explanation for achieving peak performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated coordination modes that emerged as a function of the interaction between skill level and task constraints in a multiarticular kicking action. Five skilled, 5 intermediate, and 5 novice participants attempted to satisfy specific height and accuracy constraints in kicking a ball over a barrier. Skilled and intermediate groups demonstrated a functional coordination mode involving less joint involvement at the proximal joints and greater joint involvement at distal joints, mimicking a chip-like action in soccer. Conversely, the novice group tended to produce larger ranges of motion throughout the kicking limb in a driving-like kicking action. Key differences were also found for task outcome scores, joint angle-angle relations, and ball-trajectory plots between the skilled and intermediate groups and the novice group. Findings from this study demonstrated that joint involvement during this discrete multiarticular action is a function of skill level and task constraints rather than a consequence of a global freezing-freeing strategy suggested in some previous research. The authors also highlight the merit of using a model of the acquisition of coordination in examining how coordination modes for multiarticular actions differ as a function of skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint position sense (JPS) is important in the maintenance of optimal movement coordination of limb segments in functional activities. Researchers have shown that the sensitivity of musculotendinous mechanoreceptors increases as muscle activation levels increase. In the present study, when 25 participants tried to replicate the same presented position, both vector and elevation angle repositioning errors decreased linearly as the external load increased up to 40% above unloaded shoulder torque. However, external load had no effect on plane repositioning error. The results indicated that JPS increased under conditions of increasing external load but only in the direction of the applied load. That finding indicates that JPS acuity improves as muscle activation levels increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examined the role of action effects (i.e., ball trajectory) during the performance of a soccer kick. Participants were 20 expert players who kicked a ball over a height barrier toward a ground-level target. The authors occluded participants' vision of the ball trajectory after foot-to-ball contact. Participants in a 1st group received erroneous feedback from a video that showed a ball-trajectory apex approximately 75 cm lower than that of their actual kick, although the ball's landing position was unaltered. Participants in a 2nd group received correct video feedback of both the ball trajectory and the landing position. The erroneous-feedback group showed a significant bias toward higher ball trajectories than did the correct-feedback group. The authors conclude that performers at high levels of skill use the visual consequences of the action to plan and execute an action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigated the time scales of the learning of a mirror-tracing task to reexamine G. S. Snoddy's (1926) original claim and the received theoretical view (A. Newell & P. S. Rosenbloom, 1981) that motor learning follows a power law. Adult participants (N = 16) learned the tracing task in either a normal or a reversed visual-image condition over 5 consecutive days of practice and then performed 1 day of practice 1 week later and again 1 month later. The reversed-image group's performance was poorer than that of the normal-image group throughout the practice. An exponential was the best fitting function on individual data, but the power-law function was the best fit on the group-averaged data. The findings provided preliminary evidence that 2 characteristic time scales, (a) fast, dominated by warm-up, and (b) slow, dominated by persistent change, capture individuals' performance in the learning of the mirror-tracing task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main elements in the design and validation of personnel selection procedures have been in place for many years. The role of job analysis, contemporary models of work performance and criteria are reviewed critically. After identifying some important issues and reviewing research work on attracting applicants, including applicant perceptions of personnel selection processes, the research on major personnel selection methods is reviewed. Recent work on cognitive ability has confirmed the good criterion-related validity, but problems of adverse impact remain. Work on personality is progressing beyond studies designed simply to explore the criterion-related validity of personality. Interview and assessment centre research is reviewed, and recent studies indicating the key constructs measured by both are discussed. In both cases, one of the key constructs measured seems to be generally cognitive ability. Biodata validity and the processes used to develop biodata instruments are also critically reviewed. The article concludes with a critical evaluation of the processes for obtaining validity evidence (primarily from meta-analyses) and the limitations of the current state of the art. Speculative future prospects are briefly reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To gain insight into the potential logistical benefits of worker cross-training and agile workforce policies, we study simple models of flexible workers in serial production systems. The primary control issue is how to assign workers to jobs/stations over time. Under assumptions of complete worker flexibility and collaborative work, we prove that a simple expedite policy minimizes along each sample path the cycle time (delay) for each job. Therefore, the expedite policy also minimizes work in process and maximizes throughput along every sample path. We also compute the performance improvement opportunity achievable using flexible workers as opposed to the optimal static allocation of workers. This enables us to examine the factors that make workforce agility a potentially attractive strategy. We also consider the intuitive analog of the expedite policy for the noncollaborative work environment, which we call the pick-and-run policy: however, we demonstrate by counterexample that it is not always optimal. Finally, we extend some of our insights from the demand-constrained environment to a capacity-constrained environment operating under a CONstant WIP (CONWIP) protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions to use selection devices or training are typically based on subject matter expert (SME) judgments concerning the trainability of job components, including tasks and knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs). The studies reported here examined the validity of SME trainability judgments from two perspectives. We found that (1) different SME groups' judgments related differently to actual learning changes in KSAOs covered in a training program and (2) sources of variability thought to be unrelated to the job influenced trainability ratings. Implications for the selection of SMEs in job analysis applications intended to determine the trainability of various job components are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]