Overcoming the dark side of worker flexibility

Schultz, Kenneth L.; McClain, John O.; Thomas, Laura

doi:10.1016/s0272-6963(02)00040-2

Cited by 114 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The involvement of nonexperts also is an important opportunity to engender pro-nature behavior change: appropriately framed information and involvement in a process of developing a strategy to achieve a mutually desired state-the vision-can rapidly change people's norms (62,74,75). It forces them to confront realities about unsustainable futures that will be harmful to themselves and their offspring and to contribute by exploring possible solutions to these problems (72,(75)(76)(77).…”

Section: Operational Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

Cowling

Egoh

Knight

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

547

387

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Research on ecosystem services has grown markedly in recent years. However, few studies are embedded in a social process designed to ensure effective management of ecosystem services. Most research has focused only on biophysical and valuation assessments of putative services. As a mission-oriented discipline, ecosystem service research should be user-inspired and useruseful, which will require that researchers respond to stakeholder needs from the outset and collaborate with them in strategy development and implementation. Here we provide a pragmatic operational model for achieving the safeguarding of ecosystem services. The model comprises three phases: assessment, planning, and management. Outcomes of social, biophysical, and valuation assessments are used to identify opportunities and constraints for implementation. The latter then are transformed into user-friendly products to identify, with stakeholders, strategic objectives for implementation (the planning phase). The management phase undertakes and coordinates actions that achieve the protection of ecosystem services and ensure the flow of these services to beneficiaries. This outcome is achieved via mainstreaming, or incorporating the safeguarding of ecosystem services into the policies and practices of sectors that deal with land-and water-use planning. Management needs to be adaptive and should be institutionalized in a suite of learning organizations that are representative of the sectors that are concerned with decision-making and planning. By following the phases of our operational model, projects for safeguarding ecosystem services are likely to empower stakeholders to implement effective on-the-ground management that will achieve resilience of the corresponding social-ecological systems.adaptive management ͉ land-use planning ͉ social-ecological systems ͉ stakeholder engagement

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Section: Operational Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

Cowling

Egoh

Knight

et al. 2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

547

387

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Specialization is also valuable as it limits worker distractions due to task change (Schultz, McClain and Thomas 2003;Staats and Gino 2011). Psychology research shows that when a worker switches to a different task it is necessary to load the steps to complete the task into her working memory (Rubinstein, Meyer and Evans 2001).…”

Section: Focal and Related Experience At The Individual Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Changing tasks at hand necessitates changing the primary task set in her working memory (Monsell 2003). Prior work finds that there is an absolute cost to task change because individuals must go through a cognitive setup to prepare to execute the next task (Schultz et al 2003;Staats and Gino 2011). More importantly, prior task sets may have an ongoing negative effect on performance (Allport et al 1994;Allport and Wylie 1999).…”

Section: Sub-task Varietymentioning

confidence: 99%

Accumulating a Portfolio of Experience: The Effect of Focal and Related Experience on Surgeon Performance

Staats

2012

M&SOM

113

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One key driver of improvement in surgical outcomes is a surgeon's prior experience. However, research notes that not all experience provides equal value for performance. How, then, should surgeons accumulate experience to improve quality outcomes? In this paper, we investigate the differential effects of focal and related (i.e., tasks similar to, but not identical to, the focal task) experience. We open up the black box of the volume-outcome relationship by going beyond just dividing experience into focal and related categories, but also considering how subtasks and context (i.e., the organization in which the work takes place) affect performance. To understand these issues, we assemble a novel data set on 71 cardiothoracic surgeons who performed more than 6,500 procedures during a period of 10 years after the introduction of a breakthrough surgical procedure. We find that, as compared to related experience, surgeon focal experience has a greater effect on surgeon performance. We also demonstrate that subtask experience has different, nonlinear performance relationships for focal and related experience. Finally, we find that focal experience is more firm specific than related experience and that nonfirm experience reduces the learning rate for both focal and related experience. We discuss implications of our findings for healthcare delivery and operations management. AcknowledgmentsWe thank Rob Huckman, Gary Pisano, the associate editor, and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. All errors remain our own. Experience Accumulation & Surgeon Performance-1 - Accumulating a Portfolio of Experience: The Effect of Focal and Related Experience on Surgeon PerformanceOne key driver of improvement in surgical outcomes is a surgeon's prior experience. However, research notes that not all experience provides equal value for performance. How then should surgeons accumulate experience to improve quality outcomes? In this paper we investigate the differential effects of focal and related (i.e., tasks similar to, but not identical to, the focal task) experience. We open up the black box of the volume-outcome relationship by going beyond just dividing experience into focal and related categories, but also considering how sub-tasks, and context (i.e., the organization in which the work takes place) affect performance. To understand these issues, we assemble a novel data set on 71 cardiothoracic surgeons who performed over 6,500 procedures during a period of 10 years since the introduction of a breakthrough surgical procedure. We find that as compared to related experience, surgeon focal experience has a greater effect on surgeon performance. We also demonstrate that sub-task experience has different, non-linear performance relationships for focal and related experience. Finally, we find that focal experience is more firm-specific than related experience and that non-firm experience reduces the learning rate for both focal and related experience. We discuss implications of our findin...

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“…In examining work sharing in factory assembly lines, Schultz and colleagues (2003) cautioned that the behavioral effects of cross-training can reduce or even eliminate its potential benefits. [46] Similarly, some of the nurses indicated that cross-training was a source of stress and increased their professional clinical responsibility to the College of Nurses of Ontario (regulatory body in the province of Ontario, Canada). Indeed, given the already elevated workloads [47] that nurses experience, cross-training may place an additional burden on nurses' health and wellbeing.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many of the potentially negative impacts stem from thoughtless implementations of cross-training. [46] At the hospital where cross-training occurred (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada), there was a high rate of staff turnover with the implementation of cross-training at some hospital sites. Some felt that nurses had to take more time off of work in terms of sick days because of the physical and mental demands of the workplace.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative study of the work environment in obstetrical nursing in northeastern Ontario, Canada

Nowrouzi

Lightfoot

Carter

et al. 2015

JNEP

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Background: Nurses work environment is inherent with stressors that impact their quality of work life (QWL). Moreover, there is a dearth of evidence examining occupational stressors and QWL in nurses working in northern and rural areas of Canada. Objective: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the work environment of registered nurses working in obstetrics at four hospitals in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Methods: This qualitative study used thematic analytic approach to describe the work environment of nurses as it pertained to their occupational stress and QWL. During the analysis, themes and subthemes emerged relating to their underlying factors that influenced the nurses' work environment and QWL. Results: Five key themes that emerged from the semi-structured qualitative interviews were: workplace stress, relationships with colleagues (in and out of the workplace), quality of work life of obstetrical nurses, changes in care delivery and model of care (cross-training) and limited resources in the workplace. The nurses discussed both the positive aspects and challenges of their work environment. Conclusions: The study focuses the importance of understanding the work environment of nurses and its relationship to work stress, QWL and location of cross-training. Ameliorating nurses work environments is crucial to fostering better client care and bolstering recruitment and retention strategies, especially in rural and northern regions.

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Overcoming the dark side of worker flexibility

Cited by 114 publications

References 23 publications

An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

An operational model for mainstreaming ecosystem services for implementation

Accumulating a Portfolio of Experience: The Effect of Focal and Related Experience on Surgeon Performance

A qualitative study of the work environment in obstetrical nursing in northeastern Ontario, Canada

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