Administration Theory Research Articles

BETWEEN FAIRNESS AND EFFICIENCY: TESTING WILSON’S THEORY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

During his first presidential term, faced with antitrust law reform, Woodrow Wilson had to deal with the reconstitution of conflicting values. These were, on the one hand, the importance of efficiency, guaranteed by the role of experts capable of effectively managing public administration; and, on the other hand, the importance of public and democratic participation, and therefore respect for traditional democratic values. Wilson faced a theoretical impasse in defining concepts such as competition and fairness when developing antitrust laws and had to put his theory of administration to the test. He opted for a pragmatic approach, based on managerial ideas and integrating the figure of the manager, expert in know-how.

Governance in the public sector: emphasis on better management, transparency and society participation

The objective of this theoretical article is to present and discuss the evolution of the adoption of the New Public Governance (NPG) agenda, with a view to improving management, transparency, accountability, society participation, integrity and the quality of public services. The theoretical approach is based on administration, institutional and agency theories. Based on the literature and reports, The discussion on the adoption of the new public governance (NGP) agenda proves to be original and relevant for understanding the changes taking place in public administration. The results of the discussions show that the evolution of governance agenda in the public sector has a direct relationship with the pressures and demands of society for improved management, transparency, accountability, greater participation by society, and the quality of public services. It was also evident the need for governments to prioritize in the country's political agenda the adherence of the policy to the governance strategy in the public sector. The findings of the study show that the New Public Governance (NGP) proves to be promising in meeting the demands for public policies and services, in a more democratic and transparent way, at a lower cost. These changes are impacting the functioning of government and public administration, which opens the opportunity for the emergence of new ideas in the field of public administration theories and governance strategy in the public sector.

Пространственное развитие территорий: практические аспекты реализации имиджевых ресурсов крупнейшей агломерации

 In modern realities, both the scientific community and public administration institutions give close attention to the spatial development of territories. The fundamental issue of the theory of public administration remains the plane of studying such concepts as the geocultural development of the territory, the image resources of the territory, their role in the management of urban environments and systems, the meta-brand of the territory. The authors analyze indicated aspects on the Nizhny Novgorod materials.

Public administration and politics meet turbulence: The search for robust governance responses

Public administration and politics meet turbulence: The search for robust governance responses

Cost Saving or Quality Shading? Exploring the Impact of Contracting Out on Organizational Outcomes

The question of whether contractors provide better performance than direct public service delivery is critical to public administration theory and practice. While public choice theory expects contractors to offer higher service levels at lower cost, public administration literature largely remains skeptical of these claims. We contribute to this literature by studying the impact of contracting out on a variety of performance dimensions of local public transit industry by employing a two-way fixed-effects regression analysis on panel data of 415 local public transit agencies from 2008 to 2017. The findings suggest that contracting out decreases the effectiveness and quality of public transit services, with very little impact on efficiency and cost recovery. This research contributes to the literature and practice by offering evidence to support the quality shading hypothesis and demonstrating that contracting out can produce undesirable outcomes even in a context that provides clear and measurable performance indicators.

Joint effects of shared and transformational leadership on performance in street‐level bureaucracies: Evidence from the educational sector

AbstractRecent theories of public administration emphasize the importance of leadership as shared property. This research focuses on the role of the interaction between vertical and shared leadership in promoting agency performance. Specifically, it examines the joint effects of shared leadership and transformational leadership on team empowerment and performance in public settings. Based on field study data collected from 74 street‐level bureaucracies and 423 public servants in Brazil, we find evidence that vertical transformational leadership strengthens the direct relationship between shared leadership and team empowerment as well as the indirect relationship between shared leadership and school performance through team empowerment (a moderated‐mediation model). The findings of this study suggest that greater attention should be paid to the dynamics of shared and vertical leadership structures to better understand their consequences for team processes and outcomes in public settings.

Book review: Power shifts: Congress and presidential representation

Book review: Power shifts: Congress and presidential representation

Impact of ukrainian economy on the development of trade and economic relations and cooperation between african countries

Methods. The scientific and methodological basis of the study of the impact of Ukrainian economy on the development of trade and economic relations with African countries is a strategic approach to public administration. The results of the study are based on general scientific and specific methods of the theory of public administration and international economic relations. In particular, the methods of generalization and comparison were used to formalize the trends and directions of development of economic relations and trade between Ukraine and African countries; methods of graphical representation and visualization of the results - to analyze the dynamics of trade exchange between the studied countries. Results. The article analyzes the patterns of formation of the state policy of trade and economic relations of Ukraine with African countries and their impact on the economy of the African region. Trend analysis and graphical method of data visualization allowed to determine the priority areas of cooperation between Ukraine and the countries of the African continent in accordance with the Strategy of Foreign Policy of Ukraine. Novelty. Approaches to the formation of the strategy of public administration of trade and economic policy of cooperation between Ukraine and the countries of the African region are generalized. Practical value. The features of the formation of trade and economic relations between Ukraine and the five largest trading partners among the countries of the African region (Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya) are analyzed. The main problems of Ukraine's cooperation with African countries are determined, which include: insufficient level of diplomatic activity; significant influence of the Russian Federation on African countries in various spheres, in particular political, military, economic; lack of a basic strategy for the formation of relations with African countries; lack of a clear position, strategic vision of the development of trade and economic cooperation with African countries. The geographical structure of Ukraine's foreign trade in goods with individual African countries is analyzed.

UTILISATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE THEORIES AND EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATION IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

This study examined the utilisation of administrative theories on effective institutional administration in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB). The study used correlational research design to investigate the utilisation of the bureaucratic and systems theories on the administration of FUNAAB. The population of the study was 1929 out of which 120 academic and non-academic staff of the University was sampled randomly. Administrative Theories and Effective Institutional Administration Questionnaire (ATEIAQ) was used to obtain data from respondents. Mean and standard deviations were analysed and used to answer the research questions, while Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation was used to test the hypotheses at p<0.05 significant level. The finding revealed that the level of effective institutional administration of FUNAB is low at 2.23 average mean. The bureaucratic theory and systems theory had significant influence on effective institutional administration in FUNAB. Recommendation was made that the government and other stakeholders of universities should provide adequate resources (human, material, financial) for the administration of universities. Other administrative theories, such as the contingency theory could be applied alongside with the systems theory and the bureaucratic theory, in the institutional administration of higher education, in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. The human relations/behaviourist theory, which emphasises that high institutional administrative productivity, is a result of acceptable staff welfare packages, job security and humane decision making, could be intensified in the administration of universities for improved effectiveness.

Governance and public administration in China

ABSTRACT Pressing new (and old) challenges has put systems of governance and public administration under pressure around the globe. In this era, there is an ever greater need to globalize academic knowledge and learn from divergent systems. China has traditionally been held up as a suis generis exemplar of a particular mode of governance. An updated understanding of modern China and Chinese research on public administration stands to enrich the discipline by challenging old myths and assumptions – or by empirically demonstrating some enduring features. Given China’s size and geopolitical significance, it is also an important focus of study. This article outlines the key features of the Chinese system of government, governance and public administration. It maps the contours of the evolution of the study of public administration in China from the start of the twentieth century to a more mature and globally connected discipline in the present day. It also summarizes articles in this volume which shed new light on power, governance and public administration in modern China. They also provide new insights into governance and public administration theory. The volume shows that China has seen some localization and decentralization, alongside experiments with collaboration and networked-based policy making. However, the system of governance and public administration remains innately top-down and centralized with the center holding strong policy levers and control over society. As the pandemic revealed, this statist approach provided both governing opportunities and disadvantages.

Strategic Planning as a Factor of Public Administration in Ukraine

The article considers strategic planning issues as a factor of public administration in Ukraine. Consideration of strategic planning in the system of public administration is carried out based on factor analysis of the study of legal phenomena in the context of modern methodological principles of the theory of administrative law and the theory of public administration. The study's relevance is due to the need to increase the effectiveness of public administration of socio-economic development and national security in terms of integration into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is noted that Ukraine has accumulated experience in public administration, methods and tools, which continue to dominate, despite the development of a new system of the socio-economic structure. The need for sustainable socio-economic development and national security as a strategic goal facing the state necessitates the creation of appropriate legal arrangements that mediate the strategic nature of planning. Integration into the European Union creates the preconditions for forming a new paradigm of public administration, which is designed to include mechanisms and tools of the new general management, able to strategically ensure socio-economic growth and the appropriate level of national security.

Innovation and human resources practices in companies of Southern Brazil

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationships between process innovation, human resources practices and the competitive advantage of organizations, through seven research hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used is a descriptive, quantitative study applied to 207 human resources professionals from companies in the south of Brazil, analyzed by the modeling of structural equations. Findings: The hypotheses predicted that process innovation and human resources practices would be positively related to competitive advantage, as well as process innovation would be positively correlated with human resources practices. The results confirmed the direct relationships supported by the hypotheses. Practical implications: Regarding the managerial contributions, the present study brought important information to direct the strategic actions of the companies, integrating process innovation and human resources practices to generate competitive advantage, having human resources management as an important vector for the company strategy, guiding individuals towards the companies’ objectives. Originality/value: The originality of the study consists in the construction of a theoretical framework on the relationships between process innovation, human resources practices and the competitive advantage of organizations, which can be used by other researches and thus advance in the Theory of Administration.

ГРАФОАНАЛИТИЧЕСКАЯ МОДЕЛЬ И МЕХАНИЗМ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ИНТЕЛЛЕКТУАЛЬНОЙ КАРТЫ ТЕРМИНОСИСТЕМ В СФЕРЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ

The study of the conceptual and terminological apparatus used in public administration, in particular, in the activities of the customs authorities of the Russian Federation, the analysis of the practice of its application and ways of further improvement in the conditions of development of state structures is an urgent scientific and practical task that requires appropriate scientific support for its solution. The authors have developed a graphoanalytic model and a mechanism for the formation of an intellectual map of terminological systems in the field of public administration; graphical tools for determining the dimension of knowledge and the expected effect of the implementation of the intellectual map project are presented. Such methods as system analysis, prototyping and cognitive modeling are proposed as the main ones in the formation of management term systems; the order of their application is determined. The possibilities of using intelligent digital technology for the construction of term systems are revealed. The integral concept of the formation of terminological systems in the context of the ambiguity of the conceptual apparatus of the concepts of public administration is formulated. On the example of the theory of customs administration, the needs for solving problems of terminological analysis, including in the process of transition to cognitive management technologies, are determined. The authors present the results of a study of theoretical positions and existing methodological approaches to the study and development of management term systems, a graphoanalytic model and a mechanism for the formation of an intellectual map of the term system.

Nursing Administration: Watson's Theory of Human Caring.

Watson's human caring theory is widely used in nursing clinical practice, education, and research; however, further discussion on the application of this theory in administration is needed. The authors in this article aim to substruct Watson's theory of human caring for nursing administration. Major elements of the theory-transpersonal caring dimensions, caring competencies, and caring moments-are presented in a model of substruction that links the theoretical basis to methodology. In conclusion, this theory can be used as a framework or a conceptual model in nursing administration within an organization.

One of the Vital Educational and Scientific Heritage and the Development of Qur’anic Studies

This article describes the work of Abulhasan Mawardi, who lived in the years 964-1058 which made a significant contribution to the development of the history of political and legal doctrine and the theory of public administration. Public administration means clarifying the selection and election of specialists for their positions, the conditions of employment of public servants, duties, responsibilities, duties, authority, political and legal doctrine and practice.

Recommendations for a Sustainable Public Administration

Social, political and economic crises are caused by a complex system of underlying factors. Among those, in many cases two problematic factors play a fatal role in damaging the sustainable outcome of work-processes and on the long run in even causing catastrophic events like the COVID-19 crisis: the lack of the ability to cooperate and egoistic thinking. As an important institutional actor, public administration is deeply involved in those interdependencies. The following article firstly focuses on the general conditions for cooperation among individuals and organizational sustainability. From an interdisciplinary point of view, it describes research approaches of psychology, economics and ethical leadership. And secondly it deals with the question what kind of options exist, to maintain and support intra-organizational and customer-oriented empathy and procedural fairness as cooperation’s inevitable bases during this global crisis in which most interactions and administrative processes are limited to digitalized communication and meetings. The article combines the findings from the first part with new approaches from administrative practice, e-government and public administration theory. It tries to outline basic ideas to maintain a fair working culture and a professional service for citizens and to react to the risks of accelerated digitization.

“As Expected”: Theoretical Implications for Racialized Administrative Power as the Status Quo

AbstractThis article posits that racialized administrative power is the status quo in the United States and results from a wicked problem broadly construed as institutional racism. Acknowledging a baseline reality of racialized administrative power in the United States allows public administration theory to more directly grapple with the institutional racism that paradoxically may seem too big and complex to empirically study yet simultaneously too important and urgent to ignore. This article offers three contributions to the development of public administration theory from this conceptual frame of racialized administrative power as the status quo. First, by conceptualizing institutional racism as a wicked problem, a case is outlined to replace an assumption of neutral administrative power with a baseline assumption of racialized administrative power in the United States. Second, the article explores two prominent areas of theory in public administration—representative bureaucracy and administrative burden—to demonstrate how a baseline assumption of racialized administrative power can reorient and expand theoretical questions and research. Third, the article discusses the epistemological implications for public administration theory and research based on an assumption that racialized administrative power is the status quo. These contributions offer a step forward in addressing the need for public administration theory to better account for the institutional racism that pervades the management and performance of public organizations in the United States.

Challenges Faced by School Heads in Maintaining Students’ Academic Performance in Private Secondary Schools in Tanga and Korogwe Districts, Tanga Region Tanzania

The study investigated challenges faced by school heads in maintaining students’ academic performance in Tanga and Korogwe districts. Three specific objectives were formulated to guide the study. The study was guided by Administrative Management and Scientific Management Theory founded by Henry Fayol and Fredrick Taylor, respectively. A mixed research approach and convergent parallel research design were adopted. A sample size of 39 was obtained using proportionate purposive and simple random sampling techniques; questionnaires and interview guides were used in data collection. The validity ensured through member checking methods and through research expertise and supervisor check as well as the reliability ensured through the split half method. Quantitative data were analysed through SPSS software version 20 and presented through frequencies, percentages, figures, and tables, while qualitative data were analysed through thematic analysis and presented through quotation and narration. The findings revealed that major roles of school heads were planning, supervising, coordinating, and monitoring, while challenges they faced were inadequate funds, competition, low enrolment, fee-free policy, and high taxation by TRA, while strategies they used to overcome challenges were; motivation of teachers and students, marketing schools and monitoring discipline. The study concluded that challenges school heads face are: inadequate funds, lack of motivation and low enrolment of students. It is recommended for school owners to find other sources of funds and put clear policies which would guide private secondary schools as well as reduce the high taxes.

Technology Ethics in Public Service: Envisioning the Role of the Techno-Ethicist

In terms of technological progress, students of public administration confront a challenging dilemma where normative reflection in the realm of technology ethics has not kept pace with the rapidity and magnitude of technological advancement. Consequently, this necessitates further reflection on how to best apply aspects of ethical behavior to the development and usage of technology in the public sector. The significant role of the technology ethics in public service has received meager consideration in the literature, lacking a theoretical foundation that can help guide practitioners (as techno-ethicists) through rapid transitions in technological progress. Using the philosophy of technology literature, this article seeks to address this gap in public administration theory by considering first, how technological advancements affect the nature of didactic power relationships between the public and government; and second how the concept of technological nonneutrality is framed as a basis for structuring what obligations public administrators have when adopting and using technology in public service. This includes reflection upon the expanding role of newer technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in reshaping the nature of government-society relationships. Framing techno-ethical principles in theoretical dialogue prompts greater awareness for how practitioners may effectively respond as moral agents to rapidly changing technological advancements.

أسس التنظيم الإداري في الدولة الإسلامية وأسس التنظيم الإداري المعاصر (دراسة مقارنة)

This paper deals with the basics of administrative structure in the Islamic state during the era of Mohamed ( p.b.u.h ), that of his successors the caliphs as well as the era of the Umayyad and the Abbasids, and whether such structure has satisfied the basis of of modern administration.
 The researcher has prepared the paper depending on secondary sources of information provided by studies and publications that dealt with the subject. He has managed to analyze such data and draw conclusions. He has not resorted to field study due to the nature of the study, while he has benefited from the practices and applications performed during the different Islamic eras.
 The objective of the paper is to identify the concepts of administrative organization as derived from the practical application during the different Islamic eras. The paper has drawn a number of findings, the most important of which are:
 That the Islamic state has experienced the administrative organization and its principles before it has been known by of modern administrative theories. The Islamic leaders used to practice administration as a religious affair rather than a secular duty. Moreover, the Islamic administrative mode was based on solid ideological grounds while the modern administrative organization is man made. The researcher believes that the pioneers of modern administration have derived the basis of their thought from the Islamic administrative organization as it is prior to theirs, and that it has been applied for centuries and has known the state and counties system of administration before the modern theories. The Islamic administration has also known the one chamber legislative system i.e. the shura system, before he modern administrative organization.
 
 The researcher recommended that the diligent thinkers of the Islamic nation shall Endeavour to draw a government system that suits the conditions and interests of each state but not contradicting a basic Islamic sharia text as things are originally permissible and that the objective is to provide for public interest. The researcher has also called for further studies to draw meanings, concepts, basis and standards from the practical experiences of the different eras of the Islamic state.