Catholic institutions need to respond to their managers, physicians, and other employees experiencing deep pain about the meaning and purpose of life. Initial approaches to people in spiritual distress include "tough love", codependence, and assistance programs, along with prayer and compassion. But a different approach that gives people the space ...

OSHA realizes the significance of providing a safe and healthy environment. Its objective is to eliminate or diminish employee exposure to workplace violence by establishing a preventive management program comprised of effective security mechanisms, administrative work practices and other safety control measures. In addition to creating a safer work environment, ...

Baldor Electric uses a tool it calls the value formula to help teach its employees to look at their work through the eyes of the customer. In fact, the goal of the value improvement process is to focus everyone on customer value, and the employees, by going through five training ...

The article examines the use of statistical process control and performance improvement techniques in employee empowerment. The focus is how these techniques provide employees with information to improve their productivity and become involved in the decision-making process. Findings suggest that at one Mississippi hospital employee improvement has had a positive ...

Replacing an informal operating system, since it represents a substantial change, faces a typical obstacle: reluctance based on familiarity with the old way of doing things and fear of the new and unknown. Taking a logical approach to the change is not enough. The hearts and minds of the employees ...

Benefits of this strategy include the promotion of innovation and growth among the team members while increasing the staff's capabilities through enhanced communication between colleagues with different perspectives. More work will be done with less resource thus reducing cost. Knowledge within the organization will grow and intellectual capital as embodied ...

By using target marketing strategies, corporate wellness programs can increase employee participation rates and tailor activities to meet employee needs. The authors examined this issue through a research survey that segmented a university's staff and employee population into three wellness program groups: High Participators, Moderate Participators, and Low Participators. Participators' ...

In order to elucidate employees satisfaction levels in using graphic user interface. (GUI) in a laboratory information system (LIS), users attitudes toward GUI versus CUI. (Character User Interface) in a similar LIS were surveyed one month after implementing upgraded version of LIS in a tertiary care university hospital laboratory. The ...

The rising cost of employee benefits and ongoing pressure to improve existing benefits is forcing employers to make difficult decisions. Most employers are truly concerned about the welfare of their employees and attempt to make these decisions in an ethical manner. This article offers practical advice on maintaining an ethical ...

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide a much-needed service to the employees of corporations. In these times of reduced benefits and diminished community resources, EAPs can dramatically compensate for those shortages. This article will explore the role of an EAP, the models of service available, and the selection process for choosing ...

Today's OR requires high caliber employees to provide quality patient care and excellent service to their medical staff members. As such, there is clearly a need for some mode of identifying the appropriate individuals to fill specific vacant positions. A recent survey was conducted of OR directors and managers in ...

Employee involvement per se is not always effective for improving performance and/or employee attitudes. Rather, there are several different forms of employee involvement, some of which are effective, while others are not. This article describes seven forms of employee involvement, giving examples, and summarizes research findings for each form, concluding ...

There is a substantial body of literature on psychosocial impacts of chemical and nuclear accidents. Less attention, however, has been focused on the program and policy issues that are connected with efforts to provide psychosocial assistance to the victims of such accidents. Because psychosocial assistance efforts are certain to be ...

Self-fulfilling prophecies are a well-studied phenomenon. The study of self-denying prophecies, however, is rare. Self-denying prophecies shift people's behavior in the direction opposite to the prophecy. The existence of self-denying prophecies was investigated in 222 students. The effects of self-esteem and the source of the prophecy were also investigated. The ...

The continued success of technology-based companies depends on their proficiency in creating next-generation products and their derivatives. So getting such products out the door on schedule must be routine for such companies, right? Not quite. The authors recently engaged in a detailed study--in which they had access to sensitive internal ...

In healthcare, competency assessment continues to be a concern. Even the JCAHO stresses its importance, along with ongoing education for employees. Many healthcare facilities have developed specific technical-competency requirements to ensure quality of service. The leadership at the University of Kansas Hospital (UKMC) wanted to develop a value-driven performance review ...

More and more companies struggle with growing competition by introducing improvements into every aspect of performance. But the treadmill keeps moving faster, the companies keep working harder, and results improve slowly or not at all. The problem here is not the improvement programs. The problem is that the whole burden ...

A training program, based on procedural justice theory, was developed for teaching supervisors to take effective disciplinary action with employees. Canadian supervisors of unionized employees were randomly assigned to the training (n = 35) or the control group (n = 36). Analyses of variance revealed that both supervisory self-efficacy and ...

Counseling is an important supervisory skill applied for a number of purposes. Although the need for counseling is as constant as any need facing the supervisor, a number of commonly encountered barriers often prevent effective counseling. In most instances counseling is a necessary step preceding disciplinary action, and it is ...

The restructuring forced on many healthcare organizations today increases employees' stress and threatens their loyalty and productivity. To restore trust and improve morale, and maintain hope, healthcare leaders can implement six strategies: Clearly communicate decisions that affect employees, using verbal and written methods, and show compassion to displaced workers and ...

AIM: A study was conducted in June 1995 to determine the current level of sickness absence in Singapore. METHOD: The questionnaire survey was part of a larger labour market survey conducted quarterly by the Ministry of Labour, and covered 3,553 private sector establishments employing 25 or more employees. RESULTS: Overall, ...

The effect of participation in an employee fitness program on reduction of absenteeism due to illness on three different worksites (police force, chemical industry, banking) was studied. The study used a longitudinal pretest-posttest design. From 884 subjects, data were collected on absenteeism in the pre-intervention year and on absenteeism in ...

This study examined the effects of three different types of ergonomics training methods upon employee knowledge, attitude and behavior. Employees within intact processing lines (N = 104) were randomized into four groups, one group serving as a control group. Pre- and post-test measures were implemented. Results showed training to have ...

We know that just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing is a set of philosophies, not a set of techniques. These same philosophies are embraced by the total quality management (TQM) school. The most important element of this philosophy is that of continuous improvement--the acceptance of constantly changing objectives as a departure from reliance ...

Healthcare organizations need critical performance measures if they are to lead, manage, and operate effectively. Traditional financial measures or report cards on patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes are insufficient, however. Value-based cost management directly links cost accounting, processes, clinical outcomes, and patient and employee satisfaction through organizational, work environment, and ...

Benefit and occupational health managers need information on whether new treatments, such as sumatriptan, for migraine headache improve organizational or individual performance. A work productivity outcomes assessment was conducted among sumatriptan-using employees of an Independent Practice Association-health maintenance organization population. Of the 164 sumatriptan users, 101 full-time employees were surveyed ...

So what do Disneyworld, fishing trips, bingo games, bus tours, breakfast, Detroit Tigers' games, and skating all have in common? They are all events offered to employees and volunteers through St. Luke's Hospital's WorkPerks program. WorkPerks is an employee-based program that provides opportunities for employees and their families to relax, ...

Employee recognition practices and programs have suffered during the recent years of reengineering and downsizing. Frequently seen as a frill or as a direct cost that does not generate a direct benefit, recognition is often among the first expenses to go in a budget-cutting exercise. However, simple recognition can be ...

In the midst of the current marketplace's turmoil, healthcare organizations (HCOs) lack two critical commodities: time and money. Today, time and money are all that stand between many HCOs current operations and their demise at the hands of healthcare reform; therefore, healthcare administrators cannot afford to spend either frivolously. Consultants ...

In a Department of Salary Records where VDU tasks were performed at a high work rate, a participative ergonomic study was undertaken. First, the 'old' workplace was investigated for all 45 employees. Work stations appeared to be of poor ergonomic quality. Second, 12 employees participated in an experiment at the ...

The IRS requires healthcare organizations to properly classify their workers as either independent contractors or organizational employees. In order to protect their organizations from IRS-imposed monetary fines, healthcare financial managers must understand how the IRS evaluates employment status and the consequences their organizations will face if they misclassify employees. Changes ...

The costs of workers' compensation have curtailed in recent years, perhaps in part as a result of MCO's efforts in this area. Managed care organizations that consider jumping into the workers' compensation arena often make basic errors in developing their programs and networks. The author reminds MCOs of the practical ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a revised worksite health promotion program that featured an employee steering committee/menu approach to intervention. The "Take Heart II" program was evaluated using a quasi-experimental matched-pair design with worksite as the unit of analysis. Experimental and control worksites did ...

BACKGROUND: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) applies to all types of employers, including optometrists. The purpose of the standard is to ensure that employees are aware of chemical hazards in the workplace and know how to protect themselves. Any optometric office that uses chemicals ...

Productivity among organ procurement organizations varies widely in the US, and the pressure to determine critical success factors increases as the organ pool shrinks and managed care expands. This study compared three successful organ procurement organizations, identified commonalities among them in cost of doing business, and examined direct and indirect ...

The average dentist (as well as the average business person) tends to treat the hiring decision as a random event. However, it is relatively easy to update your hiring skills so that you can consistently select excellent employees. Hiring good employees is critical, because hiring poor ones can bring a ...

Effective orientation programs should provide new RN and LPN employees with very specific performance expectations. Competency-based orientation provides such a structure. This approach not only decreases the orientee's anxiety, but it also acts as a basis for establishing competencies specific to that unit. Because the existing staff members are intimately ...

The Australian workplace has emerged as an important venue for influencing the health of employees through regulations and behaviour change programs. Recent surveys have highlighted a growth in this activity but the effectiveness of these programs in changing unhealthy work practices and policies is questionable. The need for strengthening programs ...

The level of violent acts witnessed by African-American adolescents continues to be a major problem. For example, in a single southwest Michigan school system, 331 students were reprimanded for battery of other students, 69 for battery of employees, 150 for possession of a knife, 117 for possession of a gun, ...

How new employees function on the job stems from the orientation. If it is good, they will take off and soar. If it is poor, they will have to wade through the misinformation and overcome the bad teaching that will ultimately be more costly to everyone. Steps for a successful ...

Claims that, for the 1990s, images of careers are multidimensional and individualistic. Notes that employees are encouraged to take responsibility for their own self-development, incorporate horizontal as well as vertical moves and forge careers based on "employability", i.e. learning, networking and reputation. Bases its arguments on the findings of a ...

In this article the authors report the findings of a 2-year study evaluating the effectiveness of REACH OUT, a train-the-trainer program developed to assist small businesses comply with California legislation, Senate Bill 198 (1989), requiring employees to implement a worksite Injury and Illness Prevention Program. Data from a case study ...

The purpose of a mentor is to empower individuals to succeed in a professional career in animal science. Effective mentorship programs in animal agriculture will guarantee that more qualified women are retained in our profession, and thereby contribute to workforce diversity. Good mentors are the single most significant contributor to ...

PURPOSE: To identify demographic characteristics associated with worksite health promotion participation and to determine whether employees with high-risk health-related behaviors, as measured by a health risk appraisal, were participating in programs designed to address these behaviors. DESIGN: Descriptive. SETTING: A petrochemical research and development company where employees were offered a ...

1. In the past, employers did not routinely provide work for injured/disabled employees. While today many companies wish to reduce workers' compensation costs and understand the savings available through modified work programs, remnants of the old philosophy remain. 2. Often employers initiate a new program, only to have it detailed ...

The new disease management programs hold a promise of successful drug maintenance and lower health care costs for participants with certain chronic medical conditions. These programs can benefit both employees and employers, but employers adopting them should take all the steps necessary to bring them under ERISA and to carefully ...

A great deal of preparation, time, and expertise are needed to find a good staff member. Remember to be clear about your expectations and formalize your requirements with a written job description. If you plan to run a classified ad, be sure to write one that stands out from the ...

BACKGROUND: In response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recently issued "Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in Health-Care Facilities, 1994," during May 1994 we implemented and evaluated a pilot tuberculosis respirator training program that used four self-directed learning stations, through which participants proceeded at their ...

The reliability and validity of the Occupational Crisis Scale, (OCS; Hutri, 1995a) were examined in 3 separate studies. The OCS was developed to identify employees who are at a dead end in their job or career. Participants were employees from various occupations, psychology students, and previous vocational counseling clients. The ...

In this qualitative study, the 1950s-1970s work of Frederick Herzberg, the father of work motivational research, was compared, and contrasted with current data study about management effectiveness to explore how employee motivation may have changed. Staff members and managers (N = 38), primarily from healthcare settings, but also from academic, ...