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Purpose: The volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world environment has forced organizational leaders more than ever to adopt new leadership styles in order to bring sustainable changes. This study tends to examine the impact of authentic leadership and symmetrical communication on employees' openness to change. In doing so, the study also illustrates the mediating character of organizational trust. Design/Methodology/Approach: A self-administrated questionnaire based on a Five-point Likert scale was used to record the perceptions of top-level and middle-level managers from the services and manufacturing sectors of Pakistan. Data were analyzed through Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique in SmartPLS version 3.2.9. Findings: Results of this study reveal that authentic leadership promotes organizational trust among the individuals at the workplace, which further strengthens openness to change. Similarly, symmetrical communication also promotes corporate trust among workers. Interestingly organizational trust has been found a mediating phenomenon in this case. Implications/Originality/Value: The study adds important insights into the literature and practically provides guidelines to tackle the change management process in organizations. The study implies that in order to perpetuate employees' susceptibility to change, an organization needs to promote authentic leadership.

Community participation as a strategy in health aims to increase the role of citizens in health decision-making which are contextualised within the institutions of democracy. Electoral representation as the dominant model of democracy globally is based on the elite theory of democracy that sees political decision-making a prerogative of political elites. Such political elitism is counter to the idea of democratic participation. Neoliberalism together with elitism in political sphere have worsened social inequities by undermining working class interests. Latin America has seen adverse consequences of these social inequities. In response, social movements representing collective struggles of organised citizens arose in the region. This paper explores the theoretical underpinnings of democratic participation in contemporary Latin American context at the nexus of emerging social movement activism and policy responses. The paper will use empirical examples to highlight how such democratic practices at the societal level evolved while demanding political inclusion. These societal democratic practices in Latin America are redefining democracy, which continues to be seen in the political sphere only. Health reforms promoting participatory democracy in several Latin American countries have demonstrated that establishing institutions and mechanisms of democratic participation facilitate collective participation by the organised citizenry in state affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Venezuelan health reform Barrio Adentro (BA), initiated in 2003, aims to improve population health and promote popular participation. Access to healthcare has improved but the distinguishing feature of BA is participation by communities. Popular participation has been institutionalized through the formation of health committees and communal councils. We explored the challenges/barriers faced by these community groups in BA. A mixed-methods participatory methodology was used involving 31 participants selected through non-random purposive sampling from five Venezuelan states. Results indicate that implementation issues challenge participation. There is political will at the highest level but the opposition political parties, Venezuelan Medical Federation, and the private media oppose the reform. Public participation in state affairs is facilitated if there are popular arenas of participation that promote engagement of organized citizenry with the state and an ongoing interaction between state and civil society in order to radically transform the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At its inception in 1987, the Aga Khan University introduced the idea of community-based medical education in Pakistan, at a time when this model was being introduced and adapted internationally. Human resource development has been a major objective in the Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS). CHS has contributed to developing a medical curriculum that addresses the health needs of the community at large. This paper narrates the department's experience in working directly with under-served communities, leading to the development of specialized courses and degree programs. CHS emphasizes operational research and development of managerial skills among front-line public health professionals, in both the public and private sectors. Training is provided by people from diverse backgrounds, such as public health, community development, social sciences, law, epidemiology, economy, biostatistics, demography, theater, and film. The lessons we have learned show that the mode of training depends on the overall objectives of the program, the clients and the setting. However, in the spirit of the participatory approach, the recipients of the training must be involved during all stages so as to ensure the sustainability of the training program. Training must focus on the communities at the grass roots level or community based organizations, where the communities identify their own capacity and needs. Wide dissemination of training materials, courses and manuals is also useful to replicate successful experience.