• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.733-744
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• 2010

This study investigated the working conditions and job satisfaction of school cafeteria, according to their employment type in Chonbuk, South Korea. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 401 elementary, middle, and high school cafeteria employees. The data showed significant differences between regular and irregular employees. These factors were: previous work experience (p<.001), type of school (p<.001), the style of foodservice at a school (p<.001), the type of foodservice system (p<.05), and the number of meals served each day (p<.001). The working conditions for regular and irregular employees were significantly different with regard to several factors: these were union membership (p<.01), how they were paid (p<.05), their total working hours (p<.01), and difficulty of using their holidays (p<.01). Approximately 80.5% of the subjects were dissatisfied with the working conditions after the introduction of countermeasures for irregular employees. Results indicated that the average employee job satisfaction level was 2.53, but that there were not significant difference in the level of job satisfaction when comparing regular and irregular employees. The item employees were most satisfied with was having responsibility over meals for young students (3.37). They were least satisfied with their salary (2.00). An interesting issue for future study would be to determine the factors that could improve job satisfaction whilst satisfying the employees' needs which in turn would improve the quality of foodservice.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.525-532
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• 2009

School dietitians are divided into two groups according to their status of employment, school nutrition teachers and dietitians, with the latter being irregularly employed by the institution. In this study, the job satisfaction, communication ability, work performance and importance in feeding services and dietetic counseling of both groups were compared. To accomplish this, 100 regularly employed school nutrition teachers (regularly employed) and 101 dietitians (irregularly employed) were surveyed by questionnaire. The results were as follows: (1) The irregularly employed dietitians showed a lower level of job satisfaction than the school nutrition teachers. This was likely because the school nutrition teachers belonged to the strong inner circle of school teachers and cafeteria workers, and had enough time to prepare for class lectures and consultancy. Conversely, the irregularly employed dietitians generally handle extra office work in addition to their primary duties. Despite these differences, both parties agreed that it was necessary to change the work system. Additionally, school dietitians reported that they had little opportunity for further training for career development. (2) Both parties had good communication skills; however, the irregularly employed dietitians had more conflicts with other staff members than the regular employees. (3) Job performance and job importance level was compared among employees involved in school feeding services and nutrition counseling. No significant differences were observed between dietitians and nutrition teachers in either group (p<0.05). However, the school nutrition teachers showed better skills than school dietitian with respect to public relations, running independent counseling offices, and using effective tools and materials. Job performance level was lower when compared to job importance level for all items, which meant the job was not well performed when compared to the work importance awareness.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.593-603
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• 2019

Purpose: Previous studies have highlighted that the nutritional behaviors among South Korean workers are far from ideal. This study examined the organizational influences affecting the eating practices of office workers in South Korea. Methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 22 office workers at 12 companies in South Korea. The interviewer inquired about the employees' daily routines on food and beverage intake. The various factors that influence their food choices in their work environments were also explored. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using a content analysis. Results: A framework analysis revealed 7 key recurring themes, and these were grouped under three levels: team-, company-, and corporate group-levels. First, team dinners are core social events for all the workers and they tend to include high-caloric food and alcoholic beverages. The frequency of team meals and the food associated with them depend on various team characteristics such as gender composition, the nature of a team's work and the team leaders' emphasis on group meals. Second, the company's policies and practices regarding budget allocation for team meals and subsidies for cafeteria meals affect the workers' food intake practices. In addition, the physical environment of the worksite cafeterias can influence the choices of foods. Third, various corporate group policies that were not designed to target food intake had additional positive effects on the workers' eating behaviors. Conclusion: This study provides important insights into the broader organizational influences on the food consumption of employees in their workplace. These insights can be used to design and implement more effective intervention strategies for improving the nutritional behaviors of office workers.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.362-371
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• 2012

This study aimed at investigating the perception and action plans of the school breakfast program (SBP) proposed by nutrition teachers and dietitians at elementary, middle, and high schools in Gyeongbuk province. The survey was carried via questionnaires throughout April to May 2010. Two hundred ten questionnaires were returned (52.5%) and out of the total, 194 were used for analysis. Of the respondents, 73% disagreed and 27% agreed to the implementation of SBP, although most respondents agreed to the importance of eating breakfast in children. The percentage of disagreement was higher among subjects with working experience of 15 years and more, age of 40 years and more, and those who were employed at elementary schools. The primary reasons of disagreement were 'eating breakfast with family is better' and 'it increases the cost of school foodservice'. The respondents preferred students' optional participation (62.9%) over universal participation (37.1%) of SBP. Action plans of SBP, which were proposed by nutrition teachers and dietitians, included direct operating system by the school, food delivery schedule prior to the day of serving, 2-3 hours of preparation time, serving food 50 minutes before the start of classes, and convenient style menu served at the school cafeteria. Efforts to lessen foodservice employees' workload as well as support from school principals and the Office of Education were suggested as prerequisites for a successful SBP implementation.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.59-75
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• 2003

This study was conducted to investigate the degree of utilization of outsourcing in large hospitals in Korea. We also investigated the outcome and the level of satisfaction for adopting outsourcing in these hospitals. Types of work areas that were currently operated by outsourcing and were planned to adopt outsourcing in the future were identified. A total of 83 hospitals were eligible for this study, which had more than 500 beds, and were identified from the 2003 National Hospital List published by the Korean Hospital Association. A self-administered Questionnaire survey was conducted between April 25th and May 20th in 2003 with a personnel being charged of arrangement of outsourcing in each hospital. Among the 58 hospitals responding the survey(response rate=69.9%), 49 hospitals(84.5%) utilized outsourcing in at least one work field in their organizations. The largest proportion of the hospitals(85.7%) using outsourcing responded that the biggest outcome after introducing outsourcing were cost reduction(49.0%), followed by improved efficiency in operating the organization or human resources(34.7%) and the improved quality of the work(6.1%). The degree of satisfaction for outsourcing among the hospital managers(3.43) was significantly higher than that among the employees(3.l4) on a S-point Likert-type scale(p<0.05). Among the 7 work areas, the hospitals used outsourcing most frequently in facility management(housekeeping, building maintenance, hospital security and parking management), followed by non-medical profit business(funeral, convenient store, and cafeteria), logistics(provision of patient meal, in-house delivery, and purchasing), and information and computing system(hospital information system, maintenance of personal computers and printers). The work areas that the hospitals planned to adopt or expand the outsourcing in the future most frequently were facility management, non-medical profit business, logistics, and information and computing systems. In conclusion, outsourcing was highly diffused in large Korean hospitals, particularly in the work field of facility management and non-medical profit business. The satisfaction for outsourcing was not high yet in Korean hospitals.