Urmi Nanda Biswas

Promoting Health and Well-being in Lives of People Living with HIV and AIDS

The highly effective pharmaceutical polytherapies for the treatment of HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) have practically reduced HIV and AIDS to a chronic condition like any other chronic illness. People living with HIV and AIDS can now have an almost normal life expectancy; the challenge for them is to live a physically and mentally healthy life. These challenges involve avoiding and managing opportunistic infections physically on one hand and taking care of their mental health needs and promoting and sustaining psycho-social well-being on the other hand. Although a torrent of research has studied the psychosocial correlates of slower disease progression and psycho-social well-being among people living with HIV and AIDS, very few sustained approaches have been made to understand and isolate the contribution of different psycho-bio-behavioural parameters for the psycho-immuno-enhancement in people living with HIV and AIDS. Systematic search in different electronic databases as well as different relevant psychological and AIDS care journals have been done to assimilate and review the research studying the effect of different psycho-social, bio-behavioural interventions through randomised control trials on the health promotion, well-being and disease progression parameters in people living with HIV and AIDS. The article makes an attempt to synchronise and consolidate these research efforts, discussing the role of cognitive behavioural stress management, exercise, spiritual practices, hypnosis, relaxation and guided imagery, social support for the psycho-immuno-enhancement in lives of people living with HIV and AIDS, and suggests a comprehensive three-tier intervention model, consisting of intervention at individual, dyadic and community levels, for psychological and immunological improvement in lives of people living with HIV and AIDS.

Legitimising Leadership: A Framework for Institutional Leadership

Different theoretical frameworks on leadership influence process are briefly reviewed. Particularly the process of leadership legitimisation crisis in organisations is highlighted and the transition of leadership influence process, from the transactional perspective to transformational leadership perspective, is discussed. The paper argues that leadership influence process is important and the intensity and resilience of this influence process makes a difference in organisational functioning and growth, which is rooted in the legitimacy of leadership in the eyes of the followers. The crisis of legitimacy and ways and means for attaining legitimacy, has been a major concern for many leaders and researchers. While acknowledging the inherent strength in the transformational leadership model as a major step towards legitimising the leadership influence process, this paper illustrates certain gaps in the existing transformational leadership framework. Based on later research and instances of leadership influences in organisations, a value based institutional leadership framework is proposed. It is argued that the value based institutional leadership will legitimise the leadership influence process in organisations and will be pervasive and enduring.

The Manufacturing Sector

This chapter reports how managers in the manufacturing sector in India and Sweden understand the values of CSR and EO, and discusses the importance of these values for workplace attractiveness. It begins by describing the manufacturing sectors of the two countries on the basis of their respective national statistics. Thereafter, we present an understanding of the two values based on three data sources: (a) qualitative data collected through cognitive interviews of managers; (b) data collected through interviews of administrative heads or HR managers regarding the demographic composition of organizations and (c) a quantitative survey of first-line healthcare managers. The chapter discusses how manufacturing organizations formulate, implement and communicate their policies on organizational values, besides reporting on managers’ perceptions of CSR and EO. Further, managers’ ratings of attractiveness (organizational commitment and intention to leave) and perceived effectiveness, supported by tests of differences between the countries on these parameters, are reported. The importance that managers attach to these organizational values when they evaluate the organization’s attractiveness is then discussed.

The Information Technology Sector

This chapter reports how managers in the IT sector in India and Sweden understand the organizational values of CSR and EO and their importance for workplace attractiveness. A general description of the sector in the two countries is provided on the basis of their respective national statistics. We then present integrated information based on qualitative data collected through cognitive interviews with managers regarding the conceptualization of the values in their national perspectives; data collected through organizational interviews with HR managers regarding the demographic composition of their organizations and a quantitative survey of first-line managers in 15 sample organizations. The chapter discusses how IT organizations formalize, implement and communicate these values based on the perceptions of existing managers regarding the different components of these organizational values. Managers’ ratings of attractiveness (organizational commitment and intention to leave) and perceived effectiveness, supported by tests of differences between the countries on these parameters, are also reported. Finally, we discuss the perceived importance of these values and of competitive performance for the attractiveness of IT organizations.

The Healthcare Sector

This chapter reports how managers in healthcare organizations in India and Sweden understand the organizational values of CSR and EO and describes the perceived importance of these values for workplace attractiveness. The chapter provides a general description of the healthcare sector in both countries on the basis of their national statistics. Most healthcare organizations sampled from India are private, corporate or trust-owned, whereas the Swedish healthcare organizations in the sample are public-owned. The understanding of these values is based on three data sources: (a) qualitative data collected through cognitive interviews of managers; (b) interviews with administrative heads/HR managers regarding the demographic composition of the sampled organizations; and (c) a quantitative survey of first-line healthcare managers. The chapter discusses how healthcare organizations practice CSR and EO based on the perceptions of healthcare managers from the two countries regarding the different components of these values. The relationship between perceived attractiveness and effectiveness is rated and profiled to present a comparative picture. The perceived importance of the two values and of competitive performance for attractiveness is also discussed.

The Education Sector

This chapter reports how managers in educational institutions in India and Sweden understand the organizational values of CSR and EO, and the importance of these values for workplace attractiveness. A general description of the sector in the two countries is provided on the basis of their national statistics. Most sampled higher educational institutions from India are private or trust-owned, whereas in Sweden the sample comprises mostly government universities. The chapter presents integrated information based on cognitive interviews of managers regarding the conceptualization of these values; interviews of administrative heads/HR managers regarding the demographic composition of the institutions; and a quantitative survey of faculty members in managerial positions in sample institutions. A discussion of how higher educational institutions practice CSR and EO is supported by perceptions of employed academicians with regard to the different components of these values. In addition, the institutions are profiled in terms of their perceived attractiveness and effectiveness to present a comparative picture. The perceived importance of the values and of competitive performance for the attractiveness of educational institutions is presented.

Attractive Values Across Sectors in Sweden and India

This chapter provides an overall perspective of the expressions of the organizational values of CSR and EO across different sectors in Sweden and India. It examines whether the expressions of these values are shared between managers in the same organization. The chapter also maps the sample organizations selected from different sectors in the two countries in terms of CSR and EO. The findings are described and interpreted to understand the effect of national culture, sectoral culture and their interaction on the expressions of CSR and EO in the studied organizations. On the basis of higher statistical analysis, we then discuss how important CSR and EO are for perceptions regarding the attractiveness of work and the organization’s effectiveness. In addition, we compare the moderating effect of national and sectoral culture on the relationship between expressions of organizational values and the perceived attractiveness and effectiveness of the organization.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women as Organizational Values

This chapter introduces and discusses the concepts of CSR and EO as these have evolved in the context of the national cultures of India and Sweden respectively. It deliberates on different approaches to understanding CSR and EO as important values within organizations. The chapter highlights how legislative regulation can multiply the impact of these organizational values. It also discusses the important contribution of organizational and national cultures in the practice and expression of such values. The chapter argues that values like CSR and EO can help organizations in both India and Sweden to develop attractive and sustainable workplaces, despite the different laws and labour market environments in the two countries.

Multicultural Perspectives on Attractive Work

This chapter explores whether, in a world where organizations act globally and managers interact worldwide, the meaning of organizational values for managers is universal or context-specific. We discuss the need to consider culture as a multifaceted concept in cross-cultural studies. The chapter discusses national, sectoral (pertaining to different types of industries) and gendered cultures, all of which may affect employees’ perceptions and behaviour in organizations. It has not so far been tested whether managers share perceptions of organizational values across nations, or whether different sectors or variations in gender composition among different industries have a greater impact on what values are considered important in workplace attractiveness for male and female managers. We present a comparative design that is suitable for testing different cultural perspectives in different contexts. Later chapters apply this comparative design and a cross-level methodology to a large sample of managers and strategically selected organizations in different sectors and types of industries.

Major Findings and Insights

This chapter discusses the major results of the research presented in the book. It interprets the quantitative and qualitative findings from the results presented in Chaps. 6– 11. It presents the national and sectoral contexts of the organizations based on their socio-demographic characteristics and deliberates on differential perceptions of CSR and EO from the perspective of employer branding. A comprehensive understanding and comparative view are offered about organizational values and practices in a multicultural perspective (across sectors, nations and genders). These findings are consolidated and an overall understanding of the relationship between organizational values and the attractive workplace is offered. Additionally, the chapter discusses the limitations of this research and summarizes the major findings in its conclusion.