Background. The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology (TBSRTC) has attempted to standardize reporting and cytological criteria in aspiration smears. Aims. The objective of this study was to analyze the thyroid cytology smears by TBSRTC, to determine the distribution of diagnostic categories and subcategories, to analyze cytological features, and to correlate the cytopathology with histopathology, wherever surgery was done. Materials and Methods. This was a prospective study of 225 fine needle aspirations (FNA) of thyroid nodules. All fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) diagnoses were classified according to the features given in the monograph of TBSRTC into nondiagnostic/unsatisfactory (ND/UNS), benign, atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), follicular neoplasm/suspicious of a follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN), suspicious for malignancy (SFM), and malignant. Cytohistological correlation was done, when surgical material was available. Results. The distribution of various categories from 225 evaluated thyroid nodules was as follows: 7.2% ND/UNS, 80.0% benign, 4.9% AUS/FLUS, 2.2% FN, 3.5% SFM, and 2.2% malignant. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated. Conclusions. TBSRTC is an excellent reporting system for thyroid FNA. It also provides clear management guidelines to clinicians to go for follow-up FNA or surgery and also the extent of surgery.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the generational category that managers in India belong to on their job satisfaction and on their satisfaction with organizational communication; the authors defined organizational communication as the communication that occurs in interactions between employees. The authors wanted to see whether there would be differences between the generations in the attitudes to and expectations of organizational communication, and whether this, in turn, would influence their job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A total of 400 managers working in public and private listed companies in India were surveyed using a questionnaire over the period of a year, from August 2016 to July 2017. This resulted in 334 responses. The questionnaire measured the respondents’ choice and comfort with communication media, their satisfaction with the communication at their workplace and the type of interactions that took place. It also measured the respondents’ job satisfaction. The study was inter-disciplinary in nature, in that it drew on several theories of communication, e.g. accommodation theory and media richness theory, alongside the findings from empirical studies that have looked specifically at intergenerational differences. Findings The authors found that organizational communication was positively related to job satisfaction, and also that generational category moderated the relationship between these two factors. In addition, the results show that Gen Y managers in particular were the least satisfied generation at work, and that they frequently used avoidance while communicating with older adults. The conclusion is that job satisfaction may be enhanced, by focusing on the development of a positive communication environment; in addition, employees who belong to different generations may define what constitutes a positive communication environment in very different ways. Originality/value Despite receiving some attention in other contexts, such as in the family, the impact of intergenerational differences in the workplace has not been widely investigated. A few studies do exist on the influence of generational differences on work outcomes and on attitudes and behaviors, but much still remains to be done. In addition, while there have been many studies on job satisfaction, as well as on levels of attrition in workplace settings, very few have looked specifically at non-Western contexts such as India. The present study attempts to contribute to this debate, by providing a comparison of the workplace communication preferences and experiences within multi-generational organizations in India.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of extended waiting time on patients' perceptions of provider communication skills and in-clinic satisfaction, in three major cities in India. Design/methodology/approach - In total, 625 patients were interviewed. The multivariate general linear model was used to determine the causality and relationship between the independent and the dependent variable. A moderation analysis was also conducted to assess waiting time role as a potential moderator in doctor-patient communication. Findings - Results show that patients with higher waiting time were less satisfied with health care quality. Male patients and patients of male providers were more affected by extended waiting time than female patients and patients of female providers. The advanced regression analysis, however, suggests weak support for waiting time and its effect on overall satisfaction with clinic quality. Waiting time did not moderate the relationship between satisfaction with dominant communication style, and overall satisfaction at the outpatient clinic. Research limitations/implications - A cross-sectional study does not easily lend itself to explaining causality with certainty. Thus, sophisticated techniques, such as structural equation modelling may also be utilized to assess the influence of extended waiting time on satisfaction with healthcare at outpatient clinics. Practical implications - Findings are relevant for providers as the onus is on them to ensure patient satisfaction. They should initiate a workable waiting time assessment model at the operational level. Originality/value - There has been a relatively lesser focus on patient waiting time in patient-provider satisfaction studies. In India, this aspect is still vastly unexplored especially in the context of outpatient clinics. Gender wise pattern of patient satisfaction and waiting time is also missing in most studies.

No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the communication preferenc;s reported by different generations in the Indian workplace, as well as investigating the relationship between communication preferences, communication climate and employee satisfaction with the organizational communication. The authors therefore examined managers’ preferences for different communication media across two different generations, as well as their perceptions of the communication climate and their overall satisfaction with their organizations’ communication. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested an interaction model comprising ease of use of communication medium, communication climate and communication satisfaction, on 822 Indian managers belonging to two different generations. In doing so, they used a survey to investigate managers’ preferences for different media, their perceptions of the communication climate within their organizations and their overall satisfaction with the communication that takes place. The authors drew on studies on media richness theory, on communication climate and on inter-generational differences. Findings The findings show that while communication satisfaction in general was low across both generations, Generation Y employees recorded the lowest levels of satisfaction. In addition, a manager’s generational category does not moderate the relationship between media use and communication satisfaction, but it does moderate the relationship between communication climate and communication satisfaction. In terms of the ease of use associated with different types of media, the differences between the generations were largely stereotyped, although moderate media (VC, chat, voicemail) were preferred over rich media (face-to-face meetings) or lean media (fax, memos and emails), by all managers. Practical implications Senior management in India must shed their bureaucratic mind-set to promote openness in the communication choices that are considered acceptable, leading to more effective decision-making and problem solving. Mobile phones, chats, wikis, podcasts, video-conferencing and email should be officially embedded into the organizational communication culture to facilitate state-of-the-art knowledge management practices. More multi-generational teams and mentorship programmes need to be implemented to make a wider variety of media acceptable to all managers, which will in turn improve communication satisfaction. Originality/value This study is original in that it unpacks the influence of media use and communication satisfaction across Gen X and Gen Y, who will be moving into more senior positions in India in the next decade. In doing so, it provides a snapshot of organizational communication in an important emerging economy and provides recommendations as to how organizational communication may be made more effective in the future. Organizations in India and elsewhere can improve their organizational communication by enhancing transparency and by making a wider variety of media accessible, and therefore acceptable, to different generations of managers.