<p>The aim of the study was to understand limitations and possibilities to the discretion of managers in order to fulfill wishes of users. The study is based on six interviews, three with managers and three with staff in common homes for mentally disabled people. The study took place in a municipality in Sweden in the spring of 2010. We used an interview guide with specific themes and questions. The theoretical framework was based on organizational theories as well as theories about management and discretion. The result suggests that there are limitations to a certain degree such as the quantity of staff and economy. There are some possibilities to enable discretion including the use of the hierarchy within the organization. Another possibility is to make use of the knowledge of the staff about the demands and wishes of users. The conclusion of the study is that there are both limitations and possibilities that have an effect on the discretion of managers in a complex organization. These limitations and possibilities affect each other and the meaning of them depend on the unique situation.</p>

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur biståndshandläggare förhåller sig till ansökningar i trygghetsfrämjande syfte för att därigenom öka förståelsen för deras situation i beslutsfattningsprocesssen. Åtta intervjuer med åtta informanter, varav 7 kvinnor och en man, har genomförts med en kvalitativ ansats. Resultatet visade att biståndshandläggarens arbetssituation påverkas av olika faktorer som leder till ett ökat eller minskat handlingsutrymme. Faktorer är: organisationens struktur, riktlinjer och handlingsstrategier. Resultatet visade även att begreppet trygghet uppfattas olika mellan biståndshandläggarna på grund av att Sociatjänstlagen är en målinriktad ramlag. Vidare visade resultatet att trygghet är en del i arbetet fast det benämns inte alltid med ordet trygghet. / The aim of this study was researching social workers’ attitudes towards applications having the purpose of safety promotion in order to increase the understanding of their position within the decision making process. Eight interviews with eight informers, whereof seven women and one man, were conducted using a qualitative approach. The result showed that the work situation of the social worker are affected by different aspects which leads to either an increased or a decreased discretion. The following factors are evident: the structure of the organization, guidelines and action strategies. The result also showed that the concept of safety is perceived differently between the social workers because the Social Services Act is a goal-oriented frame law. Furthermore, the result showed that safety is a part of the work even though the word safety is not always used.

According to research children in families that obtain social welfare are exposed to problems with their health and development. The aim of this study is to explore social workers way of working with child perspective in their everyday work with families and social welfare. It also aims to explore the social workers discretion and if it affects their work on child perspective. This study used a qualitative methodology and used semi-structured interviews to collect data. The data was later analysed through content analysis. Four themes emerged from the data analysis; definition of the child perspective, lack of time, financial framework, unclear frameworks and laws. The social workers experienced that lack of time has a negative effect on their possibility to document the child perspective in their work. The social workers expressed that they have possibilities through their discretion to influence the work situation, which has a positive effect on the work.  The study concludes that social workers want to work with child perspective but need more resources and time to do so. / Enligt forskning utsätts barn i familjer som uppbär långvarigt försörjningsstöd för mer problem med sin hälsa och utveckling i jämförelse med barn som lever i självförsörjande familjer. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur socialsekreterare arbetar med barnperspektivet i det dagliga arbetet med barnfamiljer inom ekonomiskt bistånd och hur socialsekreterarna förhåller sig till handlingsutrymmet som förekommer på deras arbetsplats. I denna studie använde jag mig av en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med semistrukturerade intervjuer där jag intervjuade fyra socialsekreterare för att samla in data. För att göra min analys har jag använt mig av Michael Lipskys gräsrotsbyråkrati teori. Resultatet har senare analyserats med en innehållsanalys. I innehållsanalysen framkom fyra teman; Definition av barnperspektivet, tidsbrist, budgetramar och oklarheter i lagar och riktlinjer. Resultatet av studien visade att socialsekreterarna har olika definitioner av vad ett barnperspektiv är och att de upplever tidsbrist. Tidsbristen resulterar i att tiden för dokumentation av barnperspektivet minskar. Det framkom även att socialsekreterarna anser att de delvis har ett stort handlingsutrymme när det gäller att fatta beslut gällande specifika ärenden. Studien drar slutsatsen att socialarbetarna anser att barnperspektivet är viktigt samt att de vill arbeta med det. Dock behöver socialarbetarna mer resurser och tid.

A nurse’s contribution to patient safety in regards to early detection of issues in the clinical setting is undisputed (Redman, 2008). If these patient situations require a response that is beyond the scope of nursing practice, in most instances nurses are not sanctioned to intervene without physician consultation (Gaba, 2000). The evidence in the nursing literature does suggest that some nurses exercise professional discretion and are, at times, making the decision to initiate interventions independently (Benner, Hooper-Kyriakidis, & Stannard, 1999; Hutchinson, 1990; Tiffany, Cruise, & Cruise, 1988). The focus of this inquiry was to examine the determinants of a nurse’s discretionary decision to respond to situations that place patients at risk for safety events but requires a response that is beyond the scope of nursing practice. This study utilized a cross-sectional correlation design. Data for this study were obtained using a survey questionnaire. The nurses were asked to respond to questions measuring each concept of the research model based on Thompson’s (1967) conceptual model of determinants of discretionary behavior (education, experience, situational awareness, proactive behavior, and perceptions of transformational leadership). In addition, the nurses were asked to read three clinical vignettes and answer questions regarding the decisions they would make if faced with the situation in the clinical setting. The overall fit of the research model for this study was significant at the 95% confidence level when two of the independent variables (proactive personality and nursing education) were retained, and the three independent variables were excluded (nursing experience, situational awareness, and perceptions of transformational leadership). The predictive power of the final model was low indicating that the two retained independent variables explained only a small amount of the model variance. Eighty percent (n = 84) of the respondents did indicate that they would make a discretionary decision that extends beyond the scope of nursing practice when the patient was at risk for a safety event. This study demonstrates that nurses do engage in this behavior, but fails to identify the majority of the variables that influence this behavior.

The purpose of this paper has been to investigate the monetary policy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), in terms of a Taylor rule based approach to their use of their interest rate. The evaluation of the different rules was based on both in-sample and out-of-sample forecast errors. Few significant or consistent influences from the variables proposed by the rules can be established, which might suggest that the bank operates primarily under a discretionary framework rather than a rule. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the European Central Bank interest rate (ECB-rate) does not exclusively drive the Central Bank of West African States interest rate (BCEAO-rate), which suggests that they indeed do retain some independence of monetary policy to respond to domestic variables as proposed by earlier research, despite having a fixed exchange rate. These results put into question the credibility of the BCEAO in attaining their stated primary goal of price stability, as there seems to be no significant or consistent response to it in the setting of their interest rate, despite a suggested ability to react to it. This can be the cause of the current high volatility of inflation in the area and give rise to future volatility and instability as well.

The aim of this study was to investigate how staff in their role at special accommodations for people with disabilities are experiencing and handling situations regarding the sexuality of clients with disabilities, to understand how staff uses their discretion in situations regarding client’s sexuality and understand how staff reason and act based on deontological ethics and consequence ethics. Group interviews were conducted with staff at special accommodations for people with disabilities, using a hermeneutic research approach to understand the staff’s narrative. We analysed the empirical material with the concepts and theories such as discretion, a relational perspective on discretion and the two ethical theories mentioned above this were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our main findings were that staff use discretion in different ways depending on how they reason ethically in situations regarding the client’s sexuality within the limitations of their discretion. We found that staff does not work with client’s sexuality continuously but that they act when a situation arises. We also found that staff took the responsibility to help and guide as well as correct client’s questions of sexuality and sexual behaviours mostly out of the feeling of deontological ethics due to toughs of bad consequences for the clients or the surrounding community. Staff needs more knowledge and education about the sexuality of clients with disabilities; how they should balance their many responsibilities and their personal values which without support could lead to inner conflicts and feelings of being insufficient. We found that education and information about the client's sexual needs and staff’s working conditions are needed for better understanding and development of the discussion regarding the client's sexuality. We also found that education for staff about how sexuality is being expressed by people with mental disabilities could be valuable for continued social work.

<p>The aim of this study is to explore the complexity of social workers professinal role in disability services in local municipalities. The study is based on qualitative interviews that took place in 5 local municipalities in the surroundings of Stockholm. I interviewed two social workers in every municipal. The theoretical point in the study is Roine Johanssons theory of streetlevel bureaucats´ discretion in the execution of their work and the limitations that comes from the organisation. The results in this study show that social workers are in a complex work situation between clients and the organisation they work for. Disability services are a multi-faced area and though the professionals have a substantial discretion in the execution of their work there are several limitations in the execution. The discretion is controlled by activities both from thr government and from the local municipality. The social worker is in a middle position in the organisation and has to choose between being loyal to the own organisation or show obedience to the laws.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-249).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--RAND Graduate School, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of the study was to understand limitations and possibilities to the discretion of managers in order to fulfill wishes of users. The study is based on six interviews, three with managers and three with staff in common homes for mentally disabled people. The study took place in a municipality in Sweden in the spring of 2010. We used an interview guide with specific themes and questions. The theoretical framework was based on organizational theories as well as theories about management and discretion. The result suggests that there are limitations to a certain degree such as the quantity of staff and economy. There are some possibilities to enable discretion including the use of the hierarchy within the organization. Another possibility is to make use of the knowledge of the staff about the demands and wishes of users. The conclusion of the study is that there are both limitations and possibilities that have an effect on the discretion of managers in a complex organization. These limitations and possibilities affect each other and the meaning of them depend on the unique situation.