Changing work design in disaster response : the potential for innovation

Work design operates as the system of arrangements and procedures for organizing work to achieve organizational goals. These systems are commonly established in periods of environmental and organizational stability and formulated to achieve efficiencies in resources, employee and team configuration. However, organizations charged with responding to disasters need to be prepared to respond to unexpected events on a large scale, and disaster response planning needs to accommodate a broad range of possible disasters. When the disaster state occurs, enactment of the specific organizational response is devolved to group or individual level managers. While this enactment presents a range of risks, it also provides a potential avenue for innovation. Employees ultimately are the foundation of change and innovation, as it is people who develop, respond, change and implement new ideas. This study analyzes motivational characteristics of work design at an Australian humanitarian organization encompassing normal operations and periods of disaster activation. The study will identify the paradox of dual work designs and the implications for organizational innovation.

Part-time job design : symptom and solution for a changing work environment

Part-time work presents a conundrum. Across industrialised countries, there has been significant growth in part-time work as a solution to resolving the diverse interests of employers, workers and families in managing time and resources. However, there are intrinsic disadvantages associated with part-time work; notably with pay and career prospects, which impact the same stakeholders it is intended to benefit. These disadvantages are particularly evident in professional services organisations, due to strong cultural norms of long work hours, single-focused commitment to work and 24x7 availability. There are indications, both in research and practice, that the design of part-time work arrangements could be improved to address some of the disadvantages associated with part-time work, and to challenge norms and dated assumptions that influence the structure of professional work. This study explored the changes made when professional service workers move from a full-time to part-time arrangement. The study drew on a recently proposed framework for work design, which extended previous models to reflect substantial changes in the contemporary work environment. The framework proved to be a useful perspective from which to explore the design of part-time work, principally because it integrated previously disconnected areas of literature and practice through a broader focus on the context of work. Exploration of the differences between part-time and full-time roles, and comparisons between part-time roles in similar types of work, provided insights into the design of professional part-time work. Analysis revealed that having a better understanding of design characteristics may help explain disadvantages associated with professional part-time work, and that some full-time roles can be more easily adapted to part-time arrangements than others. Importantly, comparisons revealed that even roles that are considered difficult to undertake on a part-time basis can potentially be re-designed to be more effective. Through empirical testing of the framework, a contextualised work design model is presented that may guide further research and the practice of crafting part-time arrangements. The findings also suggest that poor work design may lead to the symptoms associated with professional part-time work, and that improved work design may be a potential solution to these structural constraints.

"Silly hours" : facilitating more effective part-time work arrangements through job design

Part-time employment presents a conundrum in that it facilitates work-life priorities, while also, compared to equivalent full-time roles, attracting penalties such as diminished career prospects and lower commensurate remuneration. Recently, some promising theoretical developments in the job/work design literature suggest that consideration of work design may redress some of the penalties associated with part-time work. Adopting the framework of the Elaborated Model of Work Design by Parker and colleagues (2001), we examined this possibility through interviews with part-time professional service employees and their supervisors. The findings revealed that in organizations characterised by cultural norms of extended working hours and a singular-focused commitment to work, part-time roles were often inadequately re-designed when adapted from full-time arrangements. The findings also demonstrated that certain work design characteristics (e.g. predictability of work-flow, interdependencies with co-workers) render some roles more suitable for part-time arrangements than others. The research provides insights into gaps between policy objectives and outcomes associated with part-time work, challenges assumptions about the limitations of part-time roles, and suggests re-design strategies for more effective part-time arrangements.

Facilitating sustainable professional part-time work: A question of design?

Despite significant socio-demographic and economic shifts in the contours of work over the past 40 years, there has been surprisingly little change in the way work is designed. Current understandings of the content and structure of jobs are predominantly underpinned by early 20th century theories derived from the manufacturing industry where employees worked independently of each other in stand-alone organisations. It is only in the last 10 years that elaborations and extensions to job/work design theory have been posed, which accommodate some of the fundamental shifts in contemporary work settings, yet these extended frameworks have received little empirical attention. Utilising contemporary features of work design and a sample of professional service workers, the purpose of this study is to examine to what extent and how part-time roles are designed relative to equivalent full-time roles. The findings contribute to efforts to design effective part-time roles that balance organisational and individual objectives.

HRM’s impact on innovative work behavior

The importance of innovation to the long-term survival and growth of an organization has been well recognized and acknowledged, and HRM practitioners face a critical challenge to design and implement practices that ensure the behaviors and attitudes necessary for sustained innovation. In this paper, we present the findings from an exploratory study that establish initial indications of links between work design, training and dcvelopment, employee engagement, and innovative work behaviors, setting the agenda for lurther investigation of how spccific HR practices of work design and training and development can supp0l1 employee engagement, and facilitate sustained innovation.

Bouncing back : the role of design in facilitating students to understand and deal with adversity

After state-wide flooding and a category-5 tropical cyclone, three-quarters of the state of Queensland was declared a disaster zone in early 2011. This deluge of adversity had a significant impact on university students, a few weeks prior to the start of the academic semester. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role that design plays in facilitating students to understand and respond to, adversity. The participants of this study were second and fourth year architectural design students at a large Australian University, in Queensland. As a part of their core architectural design studies, students were required to provide architectural responses to the recent catastrophic events in Queensland. Qualitative data was obtained through student surveys, work design work submitted by students and a survey of guests who attending an exhibition of the student work. The results of this research showed that the students produced more than just the required set of architectural drawings, process journals and models, but also recognition of the important role that the affective dimension of the flooding event and the design process played in helping them to both understand and respond to, adversity. They held the ‘real world’ experience and practical aspect of the assessment in higher regard than their typical focus on aesthetics and the making of iconic design. Perhaps most importantly, the students recognised that this process allowed them to have a voice, and a means to respond to adversity through the powerful language of design.

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) – A case study of repetitive measures

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is a highly integral methodology in product development, starting from the concept development phase, with the aim of improving manufacturing productivity and maintaining product quality. While Design for Assembly (DFA) is focusing on elimination or combination of parts with other components (Boothroyd, Dewhurst and Knight, 2002), which in most cases relates to performing a function and manufacture operation in a simpler way, DFM is following a more holistic approach. During DFM, the considerable background work required for the conceptual phase is compensated for by a shortening of later development phases. Current DFM projects normally apply an iterative step-by-step approach and eventually transfer to the developer team. Although DFM has been a well established methodology for about 30 years, a Fraunhofer IAO study from 2009 found that DFM was still one of the key challenges of the German Manufacturing Industry. A new, knowledge based approach to DFM, eliminating steps of DFM, was introduced in Paul and Al-Dirini (2009). The concept focuses on a concurrent engineering process between the manufacturing engineering and product development systems, while current product realization cycles depend on a rigorous back-and-forth examine-and-correct approach so as to ensure compatibility of any proposed design to the DFM rules and guidelines adopted by the company. The key to achieving reductions is to incorporate DFM considerations into the early stages of the design process. A case study for DFM application in an automotive powertrain engineering environment is presented. It is argued that a DFM database needs to be interfaced to the CAD/CAM software, which will restrict designers to the DFM criteria. Consequently, a notable reduction of development cycles can be achieved. The case study is following the hypothesis that current DFM methods do not improve product design in a manner claimed by the DFM method. The critical case was to identify DFA/DFM recommendations or program actions with repeated appearance in different sources. Repetitive DFM measures are identified, analyzed and it is shown how a modified DFM process can mitigate a non-fully integrated DFM approach.

Design for manufacturing : a review and case study

Design for Manufacturing (DFM) is a highly integral methodology in product development, starting from the concept development phase, with the aim of improving manufacturing productivity. It is used to reduce manufacturing costs in complex production environments, while maintaining product quality. While Design for Assembly (DFA) is focusing on elimination or combination of parts with other components, which in most cases relates to performing a function and manufacture operation in a simpler way, DFM is following a more holistic approach. Common consideration for DFM are standard components, manufacturing tool inventory and capability, materials compatibility with production process, part handling, logistics, tool wear and process optimization, quality control complexity or Poka-Yoke design. During DFM, the considerable background work required for the conceptual phase is compensated for by a shortening of later development phases. Current DFM projects normally apply an iterative step-by-step approach and eventually transfer to the developer team. The study is introducing a new, knowledge based approach to DFM, eliminating steps of DFM, and showing implications on the work process. Furthermore, a concurrent engineering process via transparent interface between the manufacturing engineering and product development systems is brought forward.

Quality of work life and turnover intention in primary healthcare organisations : a cross-sectional study of registered nurses in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to improve the retention of primary healthcare (PHC) nurses through exploring and assessing their quality of work life (QWL) and turnover intention. Design and methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire comprising four sections (Brooks’ survey of Quality of Nursing Work Life [QNWL], Anticipated Turnover Intention, open-ended questions and demographic characteristics). A convenience sample was recruited from 143 PHC centres in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. A response rate of 87% (n = 508/585) was achieved. The SPSS v17 for Windows and NVivo 8 were used for analysis purposes. Procedures and tests used in this study to analyse the quantitative data were descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, General Linear Model (GLM) univariate analysis, standard multiple regression, and hierarchical multiple regression. Qualitative data obtained from responses to the open-ended questions were analysed using the NVivo 8. Findings: Quantitative findings suggested that PHC nurses were dissatisfied with their work life. Respondents’ scores ranged between 45 and 218 (mean = 139.45), which is lower than the average total score on Brooks’ Survey (147). Major influencing factors were classified under four dimensions. First, work life/home life factors: unsuitable working hours, lack of facilities for nurses, inability to balance work with family needs and inadequacy of vacations’ policy. Second, work design factors: high workload, insufficient workforce numbers, lack of autonomy and undertaking many non-nursing tasks. Third, work context factors: management practices, lack of development opportunities, and inappropriate working environment in terms of the level of security, patient care supplies and unavailability of recreation room. Finally, work world factors: negative public image of nursing, and inadequate payment. More positively, nurses were notably satisfied with their co-workers. Conversely, 40.4% (n = 205) of the respondents indicated that they intended to leave their current employment. The relationships between QWL and demographic variables of gender, age, marital status, dependent children, dependent adults, nationality, ethnicity, nursing tenure, organisational tenure, positional tenure, and payment per month were significant (p < .05). The eta squared test for these demographics indicates a small to medium effect size of the variation in QWL scores. Using the GLM univariate analysis, education level was also significantly related to the QWL (p < .05). The relationships between turnover intention and demographic variables including gender, age, marital status, dependent children, education level, nursing tenure, organisational tenure, positional tenure, and payment per month were significant (p < .05). The eta squared test for these demographics indicates a small to moderate effect size of the variation in the turnover intention scores. Using the GLM univariate analysis, the dependent adults’ variable was also significantly related to turnover intention (p < .05). Turnover intention was significantly related to QWL. Using standard multiple regression, 26% of the variance in turnover intention was explained by the QWL F (4,491), 43.71, p < .001, with R² = .263. Further analysis using hierarchical multiple regression found that the total variance explained by the model as a whole (demographics and QWL) was 32.1%, F (17.433) = 12.04, p < .001. QWL explained an additional 19% of the variance in turnover intention, after controlling for demographic variables, R squared change =.19, F change (4, 433) = 30.190, p < .001. The work context variable makes the strongest unique contribution (-.387) to explain the turnover intention, followed by the work design dimension (-.112). The qualitative findings reaffirmed the quantitative findings in terms of QWL and turnover intention. However, the home life/work life and work world dimensions were of great important to both QWL and turnover intention. The qualitative findings revealed a number of new factors that were not included in the survey questionnaire. These included being away from family, lack of family support, social and cultural aspects, accommodation facilities, transportation, building and infrastructure of PHC, nature of work, job instability, privacy at work, patients and community, and distance between home and workplace. Conclusion: Creating and maintaining a healthy work life for PHC nurses is very important to improve their work satisfaction, reduce turnover, enhance productivity and improve nursing care outcomes. Improving these factors could lead to a higher QWL and increase retention rates and therefore reinforcing the stabilisation of the nursing workforce. Significance of the research: Many countries are examining strategies to attract and retain the health care workforce, particularly nurses. This study identified factors that influence the QWL of PHC nurses as well as their turnover intention. It also determined the significant relationship between QWL and turnover intention. In addition, the present study tested Brooks’ survey of QNWL on PHC nurses for the first time. The qualitative findings of this study revealed a number of new variables regarding QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses. These variables could be used to improve current survey instruments or to develop new research surveys. The study findings could be also used to develop and appropriately implement plans to improve QWL. This may help to enhance the home and work environments of PHC nurses, improve individual and organisational performance, and increase nurses’ commitment. This study contributes to the existing body of research knowledge by presenting new data and findings from a different country and healthcare system. It is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, especially in the field of PHC. It has examined the relationship between QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses for the first time using nursing instruments. The study also offers a fresh explanation (new framework) of the relationship between QWL and turnover intention among PHC nurses, which could be used or tested by researchers in other settings. Implications for further research: Review of the extant literature reveals little in-depth research on the PHC workforce, especially in terms of QWL and organisational turnover in developing countries. Further research is required to develop a QWL tool for PHC nurses, taking into consideration the findings of the current study along with the local culture. Moreover, the revised theoretical framework of the current study could be tested in further research in other regions, countries or healthcare systems in order to identify its ability to predict the level of PHC nurses’ QWL and their intention to leave. There is a need to conduct longitudinal research on PHC organisations to gain an in-depth understanding of the determents of and changes in QWL and turnover intention of PHC nurses at various points of time. An intervention study is required to improve QWL and retention among PHC nurses using the findings of the current study. This would help to assess the impact of such strategies on reducing turnover of PHC nurses. Focusing on the location of the current study, it would be valuable to conduct another study in five years’ time to examine the percentage of actual turnover among PHC nurses compared with the reported turnover intention in the current study. Further in-depth research would also be useful to assess the impact of the local culture on the perception of expatriate nurses towards their QWL and their turnover intention. A comparative study is required between PHC centres and hospitals as well as the public and private health sector agencies in terms of QWL and turnover intention of nursing personnel. Findings may differ from sector to sector according to variations in health systems, working environments and the case mix of patients.

The Relation between work motivation and project management success in case of temporary organizations : theoretical lenses

The purpose of this paper is to present theoretical lenses that explain the relation between work motivation and project management success in case of temporary organizations such as projects. This paper is a part of the larger research study that first empirically identifies the constructs of work motivation in case of temporary organizations, and then empirically determines the relation between work motivation, and project management success. In the current paper, we have briefly reviewed the theories of work motivation from the work design school. These theories are predominantly drawn from the industrial/ organizational psychology literature. Then, we have considered the recent research on Nine Schools of Project Management as a point of departure to review theory on project management success. These theoretical perspectives are drawn from project management literature. We then illustrate the points of overlap for the theories drawn from these two disciplines. This review helps us to position our research study within the industrial/ organizational psychology, and project management literature as a cross-discipline study.

Context-specific stressors, work-related social support and work-family conflict : a mediation study

Understanding the antecedents of work-family conflict is important as it allows organisations to effectively engage in work design for professional employees. This study examines the impact of sources of social support as antecedents of work-family conflict. The hypotheses were tests using Partial Least Squares modelling on a sample of 366 professional employees. The path model showed that context-specific stressors impacted positively on job demand, which led to higher levels of work-family conflict. Contrary to our expectation, non-work related social support did not have any statistical relationship with job demand and work-family conflict. In addition, individuals experiencing high job demands were found to obtain more social support from both work and non-work-related sources. Individuals with more work-related social support were less likely to have less work-family conflict. Surprisingly, non-work social support sources had no statistically significant relationship with work-family conflict.

Ausma Bushfire Research : Photographic record of built work

Colour Photographs of built work of architecture: Ausma House, Ocean Beach, Shire of Denmark Western Australia. Conducted as 100% commercial research with QUT-Client agreement. Clients M & S Ausma.

Focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age, job complexity, and work performance

Focus on opportunities is a cognitive-motivational facet of occupational future time perspective that describes how many new goals, options, and possibilities individuals expect to have in their personal work-related futures. This study examined focus on opportunities as a mediator of the relationships between age and work performance and between job complexity and work performance. In addition, it was expected that job complexity buffers the negative relationship between age and focus on opportunities and weakens the negative indirect effect of age on work performance. Results of mediation, moderation, and moderated mediation analyses with data collected from 168 employees in 41 organizations (mean age = 40.22 years, SD = 10.43, range = 19-64 years) as well as 168 peers providing work performance ratings supported the assumptions. The findings suggest that future studies on the role of age for work design and performance should take employees' focus on opportunities into account.

Multi-events stadium Buchanan Park redevelopment

Multi-purpose Community Entertainment and Recreation Venue, catering for the Mount Isa Rodeo; including campdraft, equine sports, shows, exhibition, trade events, concerts and other community activities. The design involved redevelopment of a portion of the Buchanan Park Race Course located in Mount Isa. The project included community infrastructure planning, major landscaping and the construction of built facilities.

Heritage refurbishment : National Trust House (Basement 3) [Architectural Practice Academy Office]

The refurbishment of The National Trust House (Basement3), undertaken in 2005, represents heritage consultation, architectural and interior design of a disused and deteriorating subbasement of a historically and culturally significant building situated in Brisbane. Research into rectification and restoration work of the existing structure and interior surfaces (inclusive of masonry work sourced from the Kangaroo Point quarry in the 1860's) formed a significant component of the project. The National Trust House sub basement 3 was refurbished to house the Architectural Practice Academy, a joint initiative of the Queensland Government and the Australian Institute of Architects.