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Improving Healthcare Services: Coproduction, Codesign and Operations
by Sharon J. Williams Lynne CaleyBuilding on co-author Sharon Williams’ previous title Improving Healthcare Operations, this book examines the role of co-design and coproduction in health and social care. Extending current thinking on coproduction in healthcare and how this can be operationalised, this book opens a discussion around how it can contribute to improvement. Providing a number of case studies, it links previous public service management, operations management and supply chain management research by extending and translating these core design and improvement principles into health and social care. Considering the wider role of patients, communities and other stakeholders it will challenge and develop existing thinking in relation to co-design, coproduction and redesign of services.
Improving Human Performance in Dynamic Tasks: Applications in Management and Industry (SpringerBriefs in Complexity)
by Hassan Qudrat-UllahThis book is about improving human decision making and performance in complex, dynamic tasks. The defining characteristics of a dynamic decision task are that there are a number of decisions required, that decisions are interdependent and that the environment in which the decision is made is transient and feedback is pervasive. Examples of dynamic tasks include the sustainable management of renewable resources and how businesses might allocate resources for research and development (R&D) projects. Decision making in dynamic tasks can be improved through training with system dynamics–based interactive learning environments (ILE’s) that include systematic debriefing. Some key features of the book include its didactic approach, numerous tables, figures, and the multidimensional evaluative model. Researchers can use the developed “evaluation model” to gauge various decision-aiding technologies. How to Improve Human Performance in Dynamic Tasks appeals to those interested in the design and evaluation of simulation-based decision support systems, as well as policy makers, students, researchers, and industrialists concerned by the issue of improving human performance in organizational tasks.
Improving Industrial Relations: The Advisory Role of ACAS (Routledge Library Editions: Industrial Relations)
by Rosemary Lucas Eric ArmstrongImproving Industrial Relations (1985) presents and discusses the findings of research into the advisory function of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). ACAS is most widely known for its attempts to resolve industrial disputes through conciliation, but most of its endeavours lie in its advisory role to improving industrial relations.
Improving Inter-professional Collaborations: Multi-Agency Working for Children's Wellbeing (Improving Learning)
by Anne Edwards Harry Daniels Jane Leadbetter Tony Gallagher Paul Warmington** Shortlisted for the NASEN Special Educational Needs Academic Book Award 2009 ** Inter-professional collaborations are invaluable relationships which can prevent the social exclusion of children and young people and are now a common feature of welfare policies worldwide. Drawing on a four year study of the skills and understanding required of practitioners in order to establish the most effective interagency collaborations, this comprehensive text Gives examples from practitioners developing inter-professional practices allow readers to reflect on their relevance for their own work Emphasises what needs to be learnt for responsive inter-professional work and how that learning can be promoted Examines how professional and organisational learning are intertwined Suggests how organisations can provide conditions to support the enhanced forms of professional practices revealed in the study Reveals the professional motives driving the practices as well as how they are founded and sustained Full of ideas to help shape collaborative inter-professional practice this book shows that specialist expertise is distributed across local networks. The reader is encouraged to develop the capacity to recognise the expertise of others and to negotiate theor work with others. This book is essential reading for practitioners in education and educational psychology or social work, and offers crucial insights for local strategists and those involved in professional development work. The book also has a great deal to offer researchers working in the area of cultural historical activity theory (CHAT). The four year study was framed by CHAT and offers a well-worked example of how CHAT can be used to reveal sense-making in new practices and the organizational implications of enhanced professional decision-making. As well as being important contributors to the developing CHAT field, the five authors have worked in the area of social exclusion and professional learning for several years and have brought inter-disciplinary strengths to this account of inter-professional work.
Improving International Capacity Development
by Jim ArmstrongNothing is more important to a new, fragile or developing nation than developing the capacity of its government to support national well-being. Every society is complex; every government is complex. Yet, well-intentioned international development aid, born in an era of infrastructure projects, continues to apply simplistic technical solutions to these wickedly complex development problems. It's an outside-in approach that rarely succeeds, even by the development industry's own admission. But out there, amongst the billions of dollars of failed interventions, there are bright spots of success places where capacity is harnessed, not just for today, but for tomorrow, too. What is working so well? Drawing on research, practical experience, and stories of success, Jim Armstrong explores these emerging approaches.
Improving International Investment Agreements (Routledge Research in International Economic Law)
by Armand De Mestral Céline LévesqueThis book presents the reflections of a group of researchers interested in assessing whether the law governing the promotion and protection of foreign investment reflects sound public policy. Whether it is the lack of "checks and balances" on investor rights or more broadly the lack of balance between public rights and private interests, the time is ripe for an in-depth discussions of current challenges facing the international investment law regime. Through a survey of the evolution in IIA treaty-making and an evaluation from different perspectives, the authors take stock of developments in international investment law and analyze potential solutions to some of the criticisms that plague IIAs. The book takes a multidisciplinary approach to the subject, with expert analysis from legal, political and economic scholars. The first part of the book traces the evolution of IIA treaty-making whilst the other three parts are organised around the concepts of efficiency, legitimacy and sustainability. Each contributor analyzes one or more issues related to substance, treaty negotiation, or dispute resolution, with the ultimate aim of improving IIA treaty-making in these respects. Improving International Investment Agreements will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of International Investment Law, International Trade Law, Business and Economics.
Improving Inventory Record Accuracy
by Tony WildRecord accuracy has become the focus of attention for many businesses because customers have higher expectations of the right item being delivered on time, and competitive pressures do not allow for extra stockholding. Businesses now have the opportunity to become much more effective given the correct information, the development of better communication and integration of systems. For inventory management, the pressure for most companies is to become more efficient and hold less inventory. The accuracy of data has gradually been emerging in importance. The systems only work if the data is correct and with the introduction of integrated data, there are wide ranging repercussions for businesses that draw conclusions and make decisions based on inaccurate records.Where there is a lot of data, there is the opportunity for many and large errors. This is often the case with inventory: many items, large varieties of different items, and fast changing inventory. Measuring how much there is becomes a challenge in many businesses such as consumer retailing and manufacturing processes where inventory changes so rapidly. With large warehouses there is also the risk of inaccurate recording so that items are not there or not in the right place.Improving Inventory Record Accuracy initially discusses how to quantify the problem, set sensible targets for improvement and how to make the case for doing something to improve accuracy. The book then discusses why inventory records do go wrong and how to rectify the major causes of error. Finally the book illustrates the techniques with which everyone can make their records very accurate.This is a practical book that solves a practical problem and shows the ways to improve record accuracy. Tony Wild has amassed many techniques over the years, has tried them out in practice and he presents them here in an accessible style for professional managers in logistics and stock control, retail/wholesale distribution. The book is also intended for use by students on Institute of Operations Management Certificate, DPIM, CPIM and DLM courses.
Improving Large Taxpayers' Compliance A Review of Country Experience
by Katherine Baer Olivier P. Benon Juan Toro R.A report from the International Monetary Fund.
Improving Learning Cultures in Further Education (Improving Learning)
by David James Gert BiestaThrough its unique theoretical framework - a cultural understanding of teaching and learning – this book develops a new way of understanding educational improvement, one which focuses on the formation and transformation of the practices through which students learn. Based on detailed ethnographic research of seventeen learning sites in further education colleges, this book generates a unique insight into a wide variety of practices of teaching and learning. Illustrated by case studies, it is structured around three key questions: what do learning cultures in FE look like and how do they transform over time? how do learning cultures transform people? how can people (tutors, managers, policy makers, but also students) transform learning cultures for the better? Through a combination of theory and analysis, Improving Learning Cultures in Further Education makes a strong case for the importance of a cultural approach to the improvement of teaching and learning in further education, and provides practical guidance for researchers, policymakers and practitioners for implementing change for the better.
Improving Learning Transfer: A Guide to Getting More Out of What You Put Into Your Training
by Cyril KirwanIn today's constantly changing business environment, capable people are crucial to an organization's success, and developing their capabilities through training, learning and development initiatives is a major investment. While measuring the return on that investment is important, attempts to do so are much less valuable if they are not accompanied by a clear understanding of all of the factors than can affect the application of new skills and knowledge on the job - in other words, a clear understanding of what affects learning transfer. So, if organisations are to remain competitive, and develop the highly skilled people that will contribute to their future performance, improving learning transfer should be a priority. Cyril Kirwan's book addresses this critical issue at a number of levels. Firstly, it explores what learning transfer actually is (it's about application of learning back at work, as well as maintenance of that learning over time). Secondly, it describes the main factors that affect transfer, in terms of trainee characteristics, training design factors, and work environment characteristics. It also examines how those factors exert their effect, which ones are more important, how they interact with one another, and in doing so constructs a practical learning transfer model for practitioners. The book also describes in some detail what the various factors working for or against learning transfer look like in practice. Finally, using case studies, it points the way towards what can be done before, during and after training to improve the rate of transfer. This highly practical book will help trainers, development specialists and line managers ensure that their training is about real outcomes and not just inputs.
Improving Managerial Talent: Practical Psychology for Human Resourcing and Learning & Development Professionals
by Hugh McCredieAimed at senior HRM and L&D specialists responsible for improving their organisation’s managerial talent, Improving Managerial Talent covers the core findings of the author’s and other published research. It provides a highly participative overview of personality and ability psychometrics, involving the opportunity for self-application. It reveals hard evidence of the extent to which such tests can add value to the prediction of managerial success and their link to requisite competencies. It shows how qualified testers, HR and line managers can each make a unique contribution to the selection process. The book goes on to show how management style is a product of personality and habit and how the acquisition and use of a complementary style can improve persuasiveness and the cultivation of interpersonal skill both for the manager and for those whom the manager might need to coach. It regards job-challenge as the primary engine of managerial growth, both for development in key result areas and for underlying personal competencies. The book provides the reader with some self-insights and an appreciation of validated, powerful, often in-house, methods for selecting and developing better managers. The methods on offer have been validated on a population of over 400 directors of small to medium-sized business units. They include a generic psychometric algorithm for the selection of managers, some unique findings on styles of managing, coaching and persuading based upon close observation of over 200 senior managers and a distinctive and powerful approach to developing interpersonal skills by (1) practice, (2) demonstration of alternatives and (3) reflection.
Improving Municipal Management for Cities to Succeed
by Independent Evaluation Group, World BankCities now house half the world's population and produce 70 percent of its GDP. Managing them well helps development. Strengthening municipal management of planning, finance, and service provision has been at the core of World Bank support through municipal development projects (MDPs). This book reviews how, worldwide, nearly 3,000 municipalities have benefitted from 190 World Bank-supported MDPs over the past decade, three quarters of which achieved satisfactory outcomes. The finance dimension of MDPs-computerized accounting, revenue generation, and municipal credit-produced some of the best results, but weaker outcomes came from attempts to stimulate private finance of municipal services. City planning, used by municipalities worldwide, was not a strong priority for MDPs. But building municipal information systems, for example in Chile, were successful. Monitoring and evaluation rarely worked well, except when municipalities themselves were convinced of its usefulness, such as in Russia, Tunisia, and Colombia. Results in managing service provision were mixed. The poverty focus of MDPs was strikingly weak across the portfolio. Cost-benefit analysis rarely prioritized municipal investments. But MDPs helped municipalities strengthen their procurement function. MDPs helped municipalities manage services more effectively. Better results still can come from a stronger poverty focus, more attention to planning and prioritizating investments, and more effective operation and maintenance of such investments.
Improving Operating Leverage Using Hyperautomation: Unlock Strategic Advantages Across Banking and Non-Banking Financial Institutions
by Kannan Subramanian RImproving operating leverage is about operational resilience, structural operational efficiency, and sustainable revenue growth. Activity-based enterprise non-interest cost management is an important component of enterprise risk adjusted return management methodology. This book builds on the author Kannan Subramanian’s earlier book, Event- and Data-Centric Enterprise Risk-Adjusted Return Management, delving in depth into enterprise non-interest operating cost management and operating leverage. Operating Leverage is about managing a bank’s capabilities and its capacity to deliver its products and services efficiently. It is not limited to managing operational costs but includes the operational support for the growth of business and for improving profitability. Profit is an absolute measure that denotes the amount of money the bank makes after deducting all expenses. Profitability measures how efficient the bank is at utilizing its resources to generate risk-adjusted returns. The reader can learn to improve risk adjusted operational effectiveness by implementing a nuanced approach to managing performance, risk, control, and cost simultaneously, at the process level. You’ll examine how some institutions have implemented activity-based costing in a siloed environment and without enterprise process automation. Many institutions do not have a scientific way of managing non-interest costs. The book explains why hyperautomation, a technology that intelligently automates business processes, is a more advanced and comprehensive way to manage these factors in a holistic and integrated way. Improving Operating Leverage using Hyperautomation is your complete guide to enhancing risk adjusted operational performance through a nuanced approach to performance, risk, control, and costs at the process level. What You Will Learn Define and use the bill of resources to improve operating leverage. Implement activity-based enterprise non-interest cost management using hyperautomation Monitor performance, risk, control, and cost at the process level. Implement time-driven activity-based costing for an enterprise risk-adjusted return model. Who This Book Is For Most banking industry professionals, including senior management teams, consultants, central bankers, financial regulators, software vendors, and Business Process Management Suite/Hyperautomation technology vendors.
Improving Organizational Performance: The Cube One Framework
by Richard E. KopelmanThis book presents the Cube One framework, which provides a basis for understanding, diagnosing, and improving organizational performance. It is based on the premise that successful organizations enact practices that satisfy three key constituents: the enterprise itself, customers, and employees. This book offers a uniquely empirical approach by examining enterprise-, customer-, and employee-directed practices. Validity evidence is provided by survey research, studies of financial metrics, and the analysis of cases involving well-known organizations (such as Google, Four Seasons, and Mayo Clinic). The Cube One framework is equally applicable to organizations in the for-profit, nonprofit, and government sectors. After reading this book, students and scholars, as well as organizational practitioners in the fields of organizational behavior and management, will find a practical approach to improving organizational performance.
Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support: An Implementer's Guide, Second Edition (HIMSS Book Series)
by Jerome. A Osheroff Jonathan M Teich Donald Levick Luis Saldana Ferdinand Velasco Dean F Sittig Kendall M Rogers Robert A JendersWinner of the 2012 HIMSS Book of the Year Award! Co-published by HIMSS, the Scottsdale Institute, AMIA, AMDIS and SHM, this second edition of the authoritative guide to CDS implementation has been substantially enhanced with expanded and updated guidance on using CDS interventions to improve care delivery and outcomes. This edition has been reorganized into parts that help readers set up (or refine) a successful CDS program in a hospital, health system or physician practice; and configure and launch specific CDS interventions. Two detailed case studies illustrate how a "real-life" CDS program and specific CDS interventions might evolve in a hypothetical community hospital and small physician practice. This updated edition includes enhanced worksheets--with sample data--that help readers to document and use information needed for their CDS program and interventions. Sections in each chapter present considerations for health IT software suppliers to effectively support their CDS implementer clients.
Improving Patient Safety: Tools and Strategies for Quality Improvement
by Raghav GovindarajanBased on the IOM's estimate of 44,000 deaths annually, medical errors rank as the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. Clearly medical errors are an epidemic that needs to be contained. Despite these numbers, patient safety and medical errors remain an issue for physicians and other clinicians. This book bridges the issues related to patient safety by providing clinically relevant, vignette-based description of the areas where most problems occur. Each vignette highlights a particular issue such as communication, human facturs, E.H.R., etc. and provides tools and strategies for improving quality in these areas and creating a safer environment for patients.
Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart
by Geary A. Rummler Alan P. BracheImproving Performance is recognized as the book that launched the Process Improvement revolution. It was the first such approach to bridge the gap between organization strategy and the individual. Now, in this revised and expanded new edition, Gary Rummler reflects on the key needs of organizations faced with today's challenge of managing change in today's complex world. The book shows how to apply the three levels of performance and link performance to strategy, move from annual programs to sustained performance improvement, redesign processes, overcome the seven deadly sins of performance improvement and much more.
Improving Primary Health Care Delivery in Nigeria
by World BankThis paper, based on quantitative surveys at the level of primary health care facilities, health care personnel, and households in their vicinity, aims at understanding the performance of primary health care providers in four states in Nigeria. As possible ways to improve performance, the paper concludes that clearly defining lines of responsibility, implementing performance-based financing of local governments and providers, and collecting, analyzing, and sharing information are some options that can help realign incentives and improve accountability in the service delivery chain and service provision. This working paper was produced as part of the World Bank's Africa Region Health Systems for Outcomes (HSO) Program. The Program, funded by the World Bank, the Government of Norway, the Government of the United Kingdom, and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), focuses on strengthening health systems in Africa to reach the poor and achieve tangible results related to Health, Nutrition, and Population. The main pillars and focus of the program center on knowledge and capacity building related to Human Resources for Health, Health Financing, Pharma-ceuticals, Governance and Service Delivery, and Infrastructure and ICT.
Improving Procedural Justice in Anti-Dumping Investigations: Lessons from the US and EU Practices Against China
by Abdulkadir YilmazcanBy synthesizing both theoretical and empirical insights, this book offers a distinctive perspective on procedural justice within the context of anti-dumping investigations. The book highlights the disjunction between the provisions outlined in the World Trade Organization's Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) and the practical encounters faced by stakeholders such as exporters, regulatory bodies, and legal experts affiliated with the WTO. Employing a mixed-method approach, the research encompasses a comprehensive doctrinal analysis of procedural complexities alongside empirical investigations involving key stakeholders such as WTO legal experts, Chinese exporters, and investigating authorities. Furthermore, this book underscores the potential for enhancing procedural justice through either a comprehensive reform of the ADA or concrete measures such as a standardized anti-dumping questionnaire. Such improvements offered in the book have the potential to curtail the misuse of anti-dumping investigations, consequently mitigating a substantial number of disputes that might be brought before the WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism.
Improving Productivity and Service in Depot Businesses: How Haulage, 3PL, and Service Companies Can Increase Quality and Customer Satisfaction
by Colin WoodlandThis book is specifically for working operations managers across the broad range of business types that deploy fleet and product via a myriad of service types. It is applicable to businesses with small medium to large fleets in haulage, 3PL, and any service business operating a depot structure. The book is less about theoretical concepts – although specific references point to theories including Lean, continuous improvement, net promoter score, and balanced scorecard – but is essentially a practical guide applying worked examples and generic templates regarding the core ten activities that are critical to achieving service and profit expectation in any depot, route-based business deploying fleet. Every working manager – front-line to COO – will identify with and grasp that these are fundamental areas and that, if improvement can be sustained, will deliver better service to customers and enhanced profit in both local and business levels. The key areas examined are: People management Fleet management Route scheduling Optimisation of non-productive (on-depot) time Driver debrief Customer service and complaint management and measurement Key performance indicators The operating rhythm Continuous improvement
Improving Profit
by Keith N. ClelandBusiness of all sizes have a problem: How do you know--in real time--whether you are earning the profit you need to grow or even just stay in business? And which products or services are doing the "heavy lifting" in contributing to profit? Financial statements tell only part of the story. They are backward looking, for one thing, and they generally show results only in the aggregate. Worse, they never seem to reflect the hard work you''re doing on a daily basis. As one manager said, "If I''m adding 25% profit to every job, why am I getting barely 5% net profit at the end of the year?" Improving Profit: Using Contribution Metrics to Boost the Bottom Line solves this dilemma. As this book shows, Contribution-Based Activity (CBA) measures focus on two key levers that are fundamental to the operation of any business: financial contribution and units of activity. Knowing how to use these levers gets your company off the treadmill and on your way to stellar profitability. And as the 21 case studies show, CBA is surprisingly easy to apply to businesses of all types and all sizes. What is "financial contribution"? Simply the amount above and beyond the cost of goods or materials sold that contributes to covering overhead and creating profit. As entrepreneur, business consultant, and professor Keith Cleland shows, few managers actually know the financial contribution their products and services make, nor how to amplify that contribution by incremental adjustments to one or both levers. As you''ll learn, the financial tool Cleland created, TARI (Target Average Rate Index), provides insight into each product''s value. You''ll not only learn which products are contributing the most to the bottom line, but how to unlock the profit potential in run-of-the-mill products or services. Improving Profit will help you: Restore and boost profit levels for your entire operation Relate your daily efforts to a transaction''s actual profitability Focus on the two key performance indicators that can help you identify and solve problems affecting finance and productivity Help everyone in the company--from CEO to janitor--understand how their activities help or hinder the company''s fortunes Make effective financial decisions If you''ve ever wondered why your results don''t match your hard work, hopes, and dreams, read this book. As the case studies make clear, identifying and applying TARI results in a significant--and often dramatic--boost to the bottom-line. What you''ll learn Readers will learn to: Improve the profitability of a job, product, service, or department Price products and services correctly Conserve cash and avoid financial crunches Win desirable quotes and tenders Identify and track productivity Who this book is for This book is for business managers, directors, consultants, students, professors, CPAs, and business advisers of all types. Table of Contents Background to Contribution-Based Activity (CBA) Kitchen Utensil Manufacturer Taken to the Cleaners Printing Business Multiplies Net Profit by 500% Furniture Manufacturer Climbs Out of the Red Contractor Overcomes Competition to Make a Profit Horticultural Equipment Proprietor''s Moment of Truth Wholesaler Nets $2. 5M in 10+ Months Jeweler''s Changed Focus Turns Red into Black Upmarket Café Learns How to Stay on Track Diesel Repair Shop Rescued from Sand-Up- Hill Country Garment Maker Multiplies Net Profit by 700% Switchboard Manufacturer Climbs into the Black Baker Identifies W here the Rubber Meets the Road Architectural Practice Eradicates a Malignant Cancer Accounting Firm Wins by Losing a Third of Its Fees Legal Firm Transfers Productivity to the Bottom Line Contractor Increases Strike Rate to 1 in 4 Hot Bread Baker Discovers More to Bread than Flour Window Manufacturer''s Flawed Foundation Multi-Home Contractor Discovers a New Way Home Award-Winning Hairdressing Salon Cuts Its Way Out of Bankruptcy Multi-Department Store Whitewashes the Past 14 Businesses Explore CBA/TARI Questions Answered Fast-Track Problem Resolution Guide Definition o...
Improving Quality Assurance in European Vocational Education and Training
by Adrie J. VisscherMany resources are invested in the development and introduction of Quality Assurance Systems in educational institutions all over the world. Our assumption is that, as a result of quality assurance activities, practitioners obtain information about their own functioning and institutional performance which is new and valuable to them and which therefore will form a basis for them to improve performance. This assumption proves to be naïve; too often performance feedback is under-utilized, and evaluations become void, legitimizing rites instead of a basis for organizational learning and the improvement of institutions. The aim of this book was to find out when educational institutions do transform Quality Assurance data into actions to improve performance, and how the use of such data can be promoted. This volume reports on the study of Quality Assurance structures and activities in 36 educational institutes in 6 European Countries and presents guidelines for Quality Assurance.
Improving Quality in Outpatient Services
by Carole Guinane Noreen DavisA valuable reference for those involved in the field of ambulatory patient care, Improving Quality in Outpatient Services offers time-tested instruction on how to create a world-class outpatient program. It supplies a high-level overview of current opportunities, national quality programs, and challenges outlining the policies, procedures, and plan
Improving Repurchase Rates at zulily
by Thales S. Teixeira Sarah McAraIn February 2015, zulily co-founder CEO, Darrell Cavens faced a major challenge in his business, a Seattle-based daily deals site that catered to moms. The more he spent to acquire new customers, the less he retained them in the form of repeat purchases. This was an entirely new conundrum in the company. Up to that point, customer repeat purchase rates had been incredibly consistent. Cavens and his executive team had just discovered this adverse dynamic and needed to resolve it as soon as possible. What was causing the decline in repeat purchase rates? How should Cavens resume new customer acquisition in order to return to the company's previously higher level of growth?
Improving Repurchase Rates at zulily
by Thales S. Teixeira Sarah McaraIn February 2015, zulily co-founder CEO, Darrell Cavens faced a major challenge in his business, a Seattle-based daily deals site that catered to moms. The more he spent to acquire new customers, the less he retained them in the form of repeat purchases. This was an entirely new conundrum in the company. Up to that point, customer repeat purchase rates had been incredibly consistent. Cavens and his executive team had just discovered this adverse dynamic and needed to resolve it as soon as possible. What was causing the decline in repeat purchase rates? How should Cavens resume new customer acquisition in order to return to the company's previously higher level of growth?