Administrative Professionals in New Zealand: Their Professional Development Opportunities and Career Pathways

<p>This descriptive study to investigate the perceptions of administrative professionals of their professional development opportunities and career pathways was conducted mid-2009. The study used an on-line survey and focus groups. One hundred and ninety-three responded to the survey from throughout New Zealand. Fifteen of those respondents participated in the focus groups, held in both the North and South Islands. The majority of participants were from larger organisations who perceived that training and professional development was available for them and supported. However, the professional development available was often ad hoc, with no specific goal. Many participants perceive themselves as undervalued within the business world and noted that even where support for professional development was available there were significant barriers. These barriers, impacting on the availability and the uptake of professional development opportunities and career pathways, were both internal (value of self) and external. A conceptual framework is presented of the relationship between the key elements from the research, value of self and value of the role, and the impacts of those on professional development opportunities and career pathways.</p>

Administrative Professionals in New Zealand: Their Professional Development Opportunities and Career Pathways

<p>This descriptive study to investigate the perceptions of administrative professionals of their professional development opportunities and career pathways was conducted mid-2009. The study used an on-line survey and focus groups. One hundred and ninety-three responded to the survey from throughout New Zealand. Fifteen of those respondents participated in the focus groups, held in both the North and South Islands. The majority of participants were from larger organisations who perceived that training and professional development was available for them and supported. However, the professional development available was often ad hoc, with no specific goal. Many participants perceive themselves as undervalued within the business world and noted that even where support for professional development was available there were significant barriers. These barriers, impacting on the availability and the uptake of professional development opportunities and career pathways, were both internal (value of self) and external. A conceptual framework is presented of the relationship between the key elements from the research, value of self and value of the role, and the impacts of those on professional development opportunities and career pathways.</p>

Demographic Drivers of Workplace Deviance: A Survey of Clinical and Non-Clinical Hospital Professionals

This paper aims to determine the extent to which employee demographic characteristics (gender, age, tenure and professional group) predict an employee’s decision to participate in deviant workplace behavior. We conduct a quantitative field study consisting in a survey of 113 clinical and non-clinical professionals at the three largest hospitals in Brazil. ANOVA and linear regression were used to test the hypothesized model. Our results reveal that those most prone to deviant behavior are the short tenure, young and administrative professionals. Although we found no association between gender and workplace deviance, our results generate specific knowledge on relevant behavioral issues involving clinical and non-clinical hospital professionals. The knowledge of the demographic characteristics that may predict workplace deviance will allow managers to design and implement more accurate control systems and training programs that could reduce this dysfunctional behavior and its negative impact on organizations and society.

Foreign languages communicative skills in Secretarial Studies

The aim of the foreign languages teaching is to enable students to further develop and use English language skills in general and specific contexts and this aim is always achieved through the practice of the four skills - reading, writing, listening and speaking. As far as speaking skills are concerned, oral assessment and role-play situations are often used by English teachers to assess students’ skills. Students pursuing a degree in Secretarial Studies and Administrative Assistance at ESTGL and want to become successful administrative professionals must be aware of the importance of English in their future jobs and must be prepared to communicate in real contexts. This paper, using a descriptive humanistic-interpretative methodology, aims to acknowledge that role-play is one technique a language teacher can explore and to substantiate the Communicative Language Teaching approach used in the Bachelor of Secretarial Studies and Administrative Assistance. We concluded that it boosts students’ confidence and their personal interaction skills. and a maximum of 150 words.

Pediatric ambulatory appointment scheduling: a qualitative study of stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences

Objective Scheduling ambulatory clinic appointments includes a complex set of factors and diverse stakeholders. Families, administrative staff and clinicians may have varied experiences with scheduling clinic appointments. The objective of our study was to understand stakeholders’ perceptions and experiences with scheduling pediatric ambulatory clinic appointments. Design Guided methodologically by qualitative description, focus groups were conducted separately with three stakeholder groups and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Setting This qualitative study was completed at a children’s hospital in Alberta, Canada. Participants Parents, administrative professionals and clinicians who used the pediatric ambulatory scheduling system regularly to elicit perceptions and experiences about issues and areas where improvements could be made. Results Across 12 focus groups, parents (n = 11), administrative professionals (n = 23) and clinicians (n = 13) discussed areas for improvement related to the pediatric ambulatory scheduling system. The perceived areas for improvement were grouped into three categories regarding levels of influence: (i) ‘intrapersonal’: knowledge, skills and behaviors (e.g. insufficient training of administrative professionals); (ii) ‘interpersonal’: communication processes (e.g. parents not receiving confirmation letters); and (iii) ‘institutional’: structures and processes (e.g. varying practices and processes across clinics). Conclusions Stakeholders provided a rich description of the interrelated factors and processes that influenced the scheduling of pediatric ambulatory clinic appointments. Multilevel, experimental interventions are needed to test whether the findings described herein can enhance the structure and function of pediatric ambulatory appointment scheduling.

What will it take to make a successful administrative professional in the fourth industrial revolution?

Orientation: The rapid economic developments of the last decade have been driven by the impact of revolutionary developments in information and communication technologies. These technological developments have irreversibly and significantly affected the role of an administrative professional with regard to assimilation, processing and utilisation of information.Research purpose: This study investigates the impact of global and national key drivers of change and transformation on the skills requirements of administrative professionals with the aim of developing a future-focused success profile to enable them to be effective in the new world of work.Motivation for the study: The study is motivated by the personal experience of one of the researchers, and her observation of the impact of technological advances and the necessity for administrative professionals to integrate new skills, knowledge and attitudes into the new world of work.Research approach/design and method: This study followed a mixed methods approach, using both pragmatist and constructivist paradigms. The pragmatist approach provides meaning through the natural work environment of an administrative professional, whilst a constructivist approach is followed to compile a whole-brain success profile. From a sample of 354, a total of 219 responses were received, which represent a response rate of 62%. Data were collected through a visual analogue scale-type questionnaire.Main findings: The findings reveal that the skill requirements for the future success of an administrative professional involve proficiency to function from all quadrants of the whole-brain model.Practical/managerial implications: The curricula of undergraduate qualifications should be adapted to allow for shorter credit-bearing skill modules in line with the latest trends in technology, because the profession of administrative professionals is mainly skill-based. In addition, owing to the focus of the study on the new world of work, the findings could be related to most occupations.Contribution or value-add: This study contributes to the construction of a future-focused whole-brain model, according to the functional skills, essential skills and emerging skills required for optimal effectiveness of administrative professionals in the future-focused world of work.

Ensuring Emergency Preparedness through Systematic Evaluations

Introduction:Hospitals are required to maintain emergency preparedness 24/7. In order to maintain readiness, Israeli hospitals operate Emergency Committees comprised of medical, nursing, and administrative professionals who are responsible for capacity building including the development of plans, infrastructure, equipment, training, crisis management, and learning lessons. The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Home Front Command (HFC) conduct a comprehensive, structured evaluation of emergency preparedness in every hospital every two to three years.Aim:To assess the impact of a periodical evaluation on levels of emergency preparedness over time in a level one trauma center.Methods:Evaluation of emergency preparedness is conducted by approximately 12 evaluators from the MOH and HFC, encompassing mass casualty incidents (MCIs), mass toxicological/chemical incidents (MTEs), radiological and biological events, earthquakes and conflicts. Evaluations are based on objective parameters, relayed to hospitals prior to the evaluation. The hospital’s level of emergency preparedness is graded and improvements that must be implemented are delineated. The grades of four evaluations conducted from 2011 to 2018 were compared to identify trends in preparedness.Results:Mean levels of emergency preparedness in the 2018 versus 2011 evaluations presented an increase concerning all threats, including MCIs (92 vs. 90), MTEs (99 vs. 77, respectively), biological events (96 vs. 73, respectively), radiological events (91 vs. 79), earthquakes (87 vs. 60, respectively), and conflicts (95 vs. 74). The relative change in levels of preparedness was more noted concerning biological events and earthquakes.Discussion:A periodical evaluation by governing authorities seems to motivate the hospital’s administrations to invest efforts in building and maintain a high level of emergency preparedness. Systematic evaluations conducted bi-annually contributed to improved readiness for diverse emergency scenarios, including for threats that less frequently materialize.