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- Dahlin, Gunnar
(författare)
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Process Maturity : A Component of Process Management
- 2017
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- To be able to meet an increased competition through for instance globalization, and shorter product lifecycles, focus on performance control is central for organizations, where for instance processes and stakeholder orientation are central when continuously improving the operation of the organization.The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge of how process maturity can be linked to process management.The following research questions have been formulated: How does process theories relate to the integration of management systems? How are process theories used within the field of process maturity?Which are the key elements in a process maturity model?Regarding the first research question a literature review was conducted in order to find out how organizations are working with integration of management systems. The main focus of this study was how integration of management systems relates to processes and stakeholder involvement.Secondly a literature review has been conducted on the concept of process maturity. The main aim was to find maturity models focusing on processes and process management, examine the structure of the maturity models used and explore how process management is described within different maturity models.Thirdly a conceptual model for measuring process maturity has been constructed. The content of this model has mainly been based on findings from the literature review conducted on articles on process maturity as well as a literature review of Process Management literature.
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| 2. |
- Edvardsson, Kristina, 1973-
(författare)
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Health promotion in pregnancy and early parenthood : the challenge of innovation, implementation and change within the Salut Programme
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: In 2005, the Västerbotten County Council launched a child health promotion programme, “the Salut Programme”, in response to an alarming prevalence of overweight and obesity, and trends of increased dental caries, among young county citizens. The programme, initially developed in four pilot areas, is built on multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration and aims to support and strengthen health promotion activities in health care, social services and school settings. It targets children and adolescents (0-18 years of age) and their parents, and starts during pregnancy. This thesis focuses on interventions provided by antenatal care, child health care, dental services, and open pre-schools, directed to expectant parents and families with children aged 0-1 ½ years. Within the programme context, the aim was to explore socio-demographic patterns of overweight and obesity in expectant parents (Paper I), firsttime parents’ experiences of health promotion and lifestyle change during pregnancy and early parenthood (Paper II), professionals’ experiences of factors influencing programme implementation and sustainability (Paper III and IV), and early programme outcomes on professionals’ health promotion practices and collaboration following countywide dissemination and implementation (Paper IV). Methods and results: A population based cross-sectional study among expectant parents showed overweight and obesity in 29% of women (pre-pregnancy) and in 53% of men (n=4,352♀, 3,949♂). The likelihood for obesity was higher in expectant parents with lower levels of education, among those unemployed or on sick leave, and those living in rural areas. In 62% of couples, at least one of the partners was overweight or obese; a positive partner correlation was also found for BMI (I). An interview study with 24 first-time parents (n=12♀, 12♂) revealed that they primarily undertook lifestyle changes to secure the health of the fetus in pregnancy, and to provide a healthy environment in childhood. Parents described themselves as highly receptive to information about how their lifestyle could influence fetal health, and they frequently discussed pregnancy risks related to tobacco and alcohol, as well as toxins and infectious agents in foods. However, parents did not seem inclined to make lifestyle changes primarily to promote their own health. The antenatal and child health care services were perceived as being mainly directed towards women, and parents described a lack of a holistic view of the family which included experiences of fathers being treated as less important (II). An interview study undertaken with professionals (n=23) in the Salut Programme pilot areas indicated programme sustainability at most sites, two years after implementation, although less adherence was described within child health care. Factors influencing programme sustainability, as described by professionals, were identified at multiple organisational levels (III). A before-and-after survey among professionals (n=144) measured outcomes of the county-wide implementation of the Salut Programme in 13 out of 15 county municipalities. Results showed significant improvements in professionals’ health promotion practices and collaboration across sectors. A number of important implementation facilitators and barriers, acting at different organizational levels, were also identified via a survey comprised of open-ended questions (IV). Conclusion: The Salut Programme, developed with high involvement of professionals, and strongly integrated in existing organisational structures and practices, shows potential for improving health promotion practices and cross-sectoral collaboration. The findings can inform further development of the Salut Programme.as well as new health promotion initiatives, and inform policy practice and future research. These aspects include approaches in health promotion and prevention, father involvement during pregnancy and early parenthood, and factors influencing implementation and sustainability of cross-sectoral health promotion programmes.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Maria, 1976-
(författare)
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Creating customer value in commercial experiences
- 2009
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a type of business offering gaining much attention, both in the media and in financial figures, which provides the customer with something extra, something to be remembered. This offering is a commercial experience. It is claimed that commercial experiences are different from traditional industry and mass-production and even separated from goods and services. The possibility of creating something extraordinary in order to gain profit is of increasing interest in today’s business world. Consumers are seeking for experiences to reach a higher level of personal growth, an experience that create personal identity and lead to long-lasting memories. This is something an increasing amount of consumers are willing to pay money for - the commercial experience market. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute knowledge about and a deeper understanding of commercial experiences, both in general and especially with regard to how customer value is created. The focus of the research was also to strengthen and support organizations that offer commercial experiences. In order to fulfill the purpose, two case studies were conducted with different focal points. The first aimed to find best practice and explore excellent ways of working when providing commercial experiences. The second study aimed to identify the needs for improvement to strengthen organizations offering commercial experiences. According to my findings, there seems to be several distinctions between commercial experiences and goods and services. These include; the level of price, the time spent by the customer, the customer affect as strongly emotional and maybe most importantly, the finding that commercial experiences create a higher level of customer value than goods and services. All this proves that the commercial experience is to be considered an offering on its own, a refined customer offer of higher value. Since commercial experiences are said to engage customers in an inherently memorable way, reaching a higher level of customer value than goods and services, is seen as a critical factor. Understanding what the customer really wants, needs and what builds customer value when offering commercial experiences then become particularly important as drivers of success. When studying a particular organization for best practice, several similarities between providing commercial experiences and working according to the core values of TQM were found and established as a factor of business excellence. Further when it comes to providing commercial experiences storytelling, theming and a creative environment stood out as additional factors of business excellence. Moreover, selecting the right co-workers based on their values rather than merely their skills and academic qualifications was seen as an important factor of success. The co-worker is often the co-creator of the experience together with the customer and therefore has an important part to play in the organization. Creating a corporate culture with co-workers sharing the values is seen as essential in order to run a successful business. It appears that any type of organization can provide an experience for the customer, the key is adding on the extra value to reach the level of attractive quality. The commercial experience is described as deeply affecting both the feelings and senses of the customer, resulting in new memories; it is a memorable event the customer is willing to pay for. The commercial experience contains elements of engagement, personal relevance, novelty, surprise and learning and is not limited to certain types of businesses. The fact that this is an area of increasing business interest but as yet a poorly explored one indicates that there is a need to develop improved ways of working, tools and methods, tailor-made for providing commercial experiences. Improved tools for identifying customer expectations and measuring customer satisfaction are clearly needed, especially since this is a growing industry that cannot be ignored. Welcome to further explore the experience economy where new memories are so highly valued that people are prepared to pay for them!
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| 4. |
- Westerlund, Anna, 1978-
(författare)
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The role of implementation science in healthcare improvement efforts : investigating three complex interventions
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- For decades, scholars have found significant gaps between the knowledge available and the knowledge applied in healthcare. Many potential benefits of adequate knowledge based interventions are therefore never achieved. A considerable body of knowledge has evolved on how to promote a better uptake of evidence-based knowledge into routine use. Even so, the actual impact and usefulness of implementation research findings among healthcare practitioners have not been extensively studied.Accordingly, the overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of how the implementation of complex interventions into healthcare can be improved. This is done by investigating whether some of these efforts do correspond with available scientific knowledge on implementation.The thesis is based on three cases contributing to four studies. The cases studied are: the National Perinatal Patient Safety program (NPPS), the Dynamic and Viable Organisation initiative (DVO), and the International Child Development Program (ICDP). All studies focuses on the early stages of implementation.A mixed methods approach was adopted, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. Data collection consisted of interviews, questionnaires, observations, and process diaries. Qualitative content analysis (conventional and directed), descriptive and non-parametric statistics were used. The focus was on implementation strategies used by healthcare actors in relation to factors influencing implementation processes and outcomes. More specifically, healthcare actors perspectives on such factors and whether they were addressed by the strategies used, was investigated. A process evaluation of implementation outcomes was also part of the thesis.The healthcare actors in focus were the adopters, i.e. practitioners expected to change their work practices, and implementation facilitators. The latter refer to actors with a more or less explicit responsibility to implement new practices or interventions aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of the provided health services.Variation was found regarding how the implementation strategies used in the three cases corresponded with available scientific knowledge on implementation. In Case NPPS, the implementation facilitators planned, designed, and ensured that the core interventions of the implementation strategy were executed in a rational manner. Several important implementation factors were addressed by the strategy. The process evaluation of effects on readiness for change by the development of a team mental model among adopters showed positive results.In Case DVO a strategy was used that evolved over time, partly based on raised questions and feedback from staff and managers involved. The strategy can be described as an intuitive ‘socially accomplished activity’. This strategy involved addressing ‘Implementation Process-related factors’ in order to affect motivation and increase the tension for change among adopters.In Case ICDP, the results reflected a shortage of strategies during the early stage of implementation. The main intervention was the stepwise ICDP-education. A more comprehensive implementation strategy covering implementation factors highlighted as important among adopters was not developed. The process evaluation revealed vague directives on what was expected regarding the use and adaptation of ICDP to current practice versus preservation of fidelity to the original ICDP. This situation resulted in a rather large variation in how the changes in work practices were perceived among the health centres involved. No health centre practiced ICDP in its original form.A new knowledge-practice gap is discussed based on the findings in this thesis: a gap between the scientific knowledge on implementation and the actual implementation strategies used in practice during improvement efforts initiated by healthcare actors. The findings show that correspondence between scientific knowledge on implementation and what is actually done in order to accomplish change in practice might be more random (or implicit) than systematic. The question of how to transfer scientific knowledge on implementation into user-friendly resources for practitioners is discussed. A tentative model is suggested, which contributes to existing determinant frameworks by focusing on relations among factors. The model may be used in healthcare practice, to guide the design of an implementation strategy (or as a pathway for tailored implementation interventions) and aid the assignment of responsibilities in relation to factors that are known to affect implementation processes and outcomes.The question of how to transfer models and frameworks into user-friendly resources needs further attention. It is suggested that action oriented research aiming at further developing and establishing the concept of ‘practical implementation science’ should be conducted. This could be a way of bridging the knowledge-practice gap in healthcare.
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