The clash between standardisation and engagement
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14779960810866792 |
| Date | 04 April 2008 |
| Published date | 04 April 2008 |
| Pages | 46-59 |
| Author | Anne Gerdes |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
The clash between
standardisation and engagement
Anne Gerdes
University of Southern Denmark, Kolding, Denmark
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how standardisation influences home care work
practice.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a qualitative interview-based case study
from the elderly care sector in a Danish council. The interviews reveal care workers and administrative
staffs’ interpretation of how the implementation of IT and standards affects their work situation.
Findings from the case study are supported by a large-scale quantitative study regarding
organisational transformations in the elderly care sector.
Findings – The paper discusses how standardisation, in the form of implementation of IT-systems
and categorization tools, influences the potential for development of competencies. The findings show
that an engaged practice is difficult to maintain when working under circumstances characterized by
lack of time and a requirement for standardisation and documentation.
Originality/value – The study provides insight into the divergence between standards and the
importance of relying on experience-based knowledge and value rational skills in relation to care work.
The paper stresses the point that standards are necessary to coordinate workflow activities and
support decision making. Nevertheless, it is shown that when reification dominates, the degree of
standardisation will lend itself to an instrumental practice not supportive of growing competencies
within the field of care giving.
Keywords Experience, Eldercare, Standards, Home care, Surveillance, Denmark
Paper type Case study
1. The unfolding of competencies in a practice of control
Public service care for the elderly in Denmark has been undergoing change during the
past decade in an attempt at quality control in key areas such as the planning of
care, time for the individual client, better management of resources and quality
assurance of services provided. Tools have been developed alongside concepts of
quality, particularly related to practice, with the aim of supporting knowledge
gathering and the assurance of quality in this area. These initiatives have at the same
time brought about an increase in standardisation in the description of job functions
with a view to establishing a uniform basis of comparison for quality assessments.
The majority of the councils in the country have introduced “Fælles Sprog” or
“Common Language” (The Councils’ National Assembly, 1998), which consists of a
catalogue supporting an undifferentiated categorisation of the needs of the clients in
relation to an assessment of the help required and to the means by which that should
be effected. The staff involved is required to develop a common conceptual apparatus
using Common Language. In this way, councils are attempting to establish an
indiscriminate starting point for the service provided in the area of care for the elderly.
Staff can, for instance, have different views of what the notion of “cleaning” covers and
this can bring about variations in the quality of the service provided. Using common
language as a point of reference provides a tool both for quality control and for the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1477-996X.htm
JICES
6,1
46
Journal of Information,
Communication & Ethics in Society
Vol. 6 No. 1, 2008
pp. 46-59
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1477-996X
DOI 10.1108/14779960810866792
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