Jo Ann Duffy

The service concept: the missing link in service design research?

The service concept plays a key role in service design and development. But while the term is used frequently in the service design and new service development literature, surprisingly little has been written about the service concept itself and its important role in service design and development. The service concept defines the how and the what of service design, and helps mediate between customer needs and an organization’s strategic intent. We define the service concept and describe how it can be used to enhance a variety of service design processes. As illustrations here, we apply the service concept to service design planning and service recovery design processes. Employing the service concept as an important driver of service design decisions raises a number of interesting questions for research which are discussed here.

The relationship between job satisfaction and demographic variables for healthcare professionals

Purpose – The study aims to examine the association between job satisfaction and demographic variables, such as years in profession, of healthcare professionals in an in‐patient rehabilitation hospital setting.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 128 employees were surveyed using a 47‐item opinion survey to assess demographic variables and overall job satisfaction, as well as nine facets of job satisfaction.Findings – The findings indicate that years in profession (professional experience) is associated with job satisfaction in a defined pattern.Research limitations/implications – These findings need to be tested in other professional groups where plateauing is common. The results are limited by the use of a convenience sample, relatively small sample size, some categorical data that restricted the forms of analysis, and the fact that only demographic variables were examined. The use of continuous measures and broadening the study to include other organizational variables and personal variables would ...

The synergistic leadership theory

Modernist theories in leadership were traditionally dominated by masculine incorporation and lacked feminine presence in development and language. The synergistic theory of leadership (SLT) seeks to explicate the need for a post‐modernist leadership theory by providing an alternative to, and not a replacement for, traditional theories. Six aspects particular to the SLT influence the ideas and include issues concerning diversity and the inclusion of the female voice in the theory. Four factors are key to the relational and interactive nature of the theory, which provides a useful framework for building and understanding the interdependent relationships. In a tetrahedron model, the theory uses four factors, including leadership behavior, organizational structure, external forces, and attitudes, beliefs, and values to demonstrate aspects not only of leadership but its effects on various institutions and positions. Developed through a qualitative approach, the theory has been validated qualitatively and quantitatively nationwide and is currently being validated internationally.

Career success and satisfaction: a comparative study in nine countries

Purpose – This project aims to examine levels of career and life satisfaction among successful women in nine countries in the Americas.Design/methodology/approach – A structured survey and in‐depth interviews were used, and a variety of occupations, demographics, and personality characteristics assessed – 1,146 successful women from nine countries in the USA responded the survey: 105 from Argentina, 210 from Brazil, 199 from Canada, 84 from Chile, 232 from Mexico, 126 from the USA, and 190 from three countries in the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, SVG).Findings – Results show no differences in satisfaction based on occupation or country and most demographic variables investigated did not have a significant relationship with satisfaction. Age had a small, significant, relationship, with satisfaction increasing with age; married women were significantly more satisfied than single women. Higher scores on self efficacy and need for achievement, and a greater internal locus of control were all related to high...

A gender‐sensitive study of McClelland's needs, stress, and turnover intent with work‐family conflict

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to study gender differences in the relationship between McClellands needs, stress, and turnover intentions with work‐family conflict.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data were collected from 383 individuals representing 15 different industries. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses.Findings – Results suggest that McClellands needs act as an antecedent of work‐family conflict, and that they have a differential impact on work‐family conflict for women and men.Research limitations/implications – The subjects were college graduates, hence it was a self‐selected sample, and the results may not generalise to other populations.Practical implications – Women are more affected by family obligations than men and this may impact the performance and turnover intentions of women in organisations.Originality/value – This paper enhances understanding of work‐family conflict by specifically examining individual differences such as need for power, need fo...

Successful women of the Americas: the same or different?

Purpose – The intent of this cross‐national research is to study the personal and cultural characteristics of successful professional women. High‐achieving women may share certain personal characteristics, beliefs, and experiences, regardless of the countries in which they live. However, every individual is socialized within a particular national culture, and may be expected to share certain values and expectations with other members of that culture.Design/methodology/approach – Over 1,100 professionally “successful women” (including high‐level managers, entrepreneurs, academics, government personnel, and professionals) and 531 undergraduate business students in nine countries – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, the USA and the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines) completed surveys containing two sets of variables: national/cultural (collectivism/individualism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance) and personal (self‐efficacy, locus of control, need for achievement).Fi...

Identifying and studying “best‐performing” services

Purpose – One of the fastest growing service industries is long‐term care. Identifying the best performers in the industry in terms of service productivity is difficult because there is no single summary measure of outcomes, particularly quality outcomes. The purpose of the paper is to show the potential of data envelopment analysis (DEA) as a benchmarking method in long‐term care.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides background information on the long‐term care industry and describes the DEA methodology and applications to long‐term care. Data originated from two data sources with four databases furnishing information on 69 long‐term care facilities used.Findings – In the hypotheses tested it was found that most of the models showed that for profit nursing homes were significantly more efficient than nonprofit. The exception was in the model that included the condition of patients as a co‐production input and then there was no significant difference in efficient performance between ownership t...

Mentoring experiences of successful women across the Americas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare womens mentoring experience in nine countries within the Americas, and to explore linkages between personal characteristics, mentoring practices, mentoring functions, and consequences of being mentee.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 1,146 successful women are questioned about their mentoring experiences as a mentee: 105 from Argentina, 210 from Brazil, 199 from Canada, 84 from Chile, 232 from Mexico, 126 from the USA, and 190 from three countries in the West Indies (Barbados, Jamaica, and St Vincent).Findings – Most of the women have more than one mentor. Across all countries mentoring practices are more strongly linked to career mentoring function while the age and gender of the mentor are more strongly linked to psychosocial mentoring. Mentoring from the perspective of mentee has the same directional relationship with situational and individual variables, but the significance of those relationships vary by country. A possible cultural difference...

Attitudes toward women managers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine how mens perceptions of power distance (PD) and levels of social dominance orientation (SDO) interact to influence perceptions of women as managers in egalitarian and non‐egalitarian countries.Design/methodology/approach – A team of multinational researchers distributed questionnaires composed of previously validated scales measuring SDO, PD and Attitude toward Women as Managers to US and Kuwaiti men in college. The study hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression.Findings – It was discovered that high levels of SDO in college men was negatively related to a favorable attitude toward women as managers in both the US and Kuwait. It was also found that perceptions of PD moderated the relationship between SDO and attitudes toward women as managers in Kuwait, but not in the USA. In addition, the interaction between PD and SDO was weaker in cultures that are more egalitarian as compared to those considered to be non‐egalitarian. The findings also s...

Professionally Successful Women: Some Evidence from the English-Speaking Caribbean

Abstract This article reports on a study of professionally successful women in three countries in the English-speaking Caribbean—Barbados, Jamaica, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The study is part of a larger study that includes countries throughout the Americas. The overall objective of the study was to identify personal and social characteristics of professionally successful women, and to consider these across nations, by incorporating cultural measures. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative measures. Results suggested that, as hypothesized, professionally successful women scored higher on need for achievement, internal locus of control, and self-efficacy than did a comparative student group. Contrary to expectations, mentoring was not identified as especially important in achieving success, but family support was identified as important. On the cultural variables, successful women and the comparative student group scored similarly—moderate on collectivism/individualism, low on power distance, and high on uncertainty avoidance. The similarities and differences across the three countries included in the study are discussed.