Agency Culture Research Articles

Общекультурные факторы формирования управленческой культуры органов внутренних дел

This study examines general cultural factors that contribute to the emergence of management culture in specific forms of its existence in relatively large organizations. General cultural factors are described in relation to the internal affairs bodies. The consideration includes a set of general cultural factors due to civilizational characteristics. And also based on the specifics of various types of society. A description of the interactions of the participants in the management process is proposed based on the prevailing social relations inherent in pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial types of society. Russian society, due to its historical specificity, is diverse in ethnic, religious, demographic, economic and other characteristics. It is in such a heterogeneous social environment that the internal affairs bodies operate. In this article, the description and explanation of general cultural factors is carried out through the understanding of the essence of services, types of consumption and characteristics of public consciousness of subjects and objects of management. Attention is focused on the differences in cultures of different types of society. In what type of culture were employees and managers socialized, in which the social environment the police units operate, which expectations prevail among the population, which social order is formulated by the public, such will be the manifestations of administrative culture. The conclusion is that in order to understand both the manifestation and the external conditioning of the management culture of the internal affairs agencies, it is important to understand the specific influence of general cultural factors and the opening up of opportunities to optimize the phenomenon under study.

Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies

AbstractState fish and wildlife agencies in the United States are confronted with the realities of a rapidly changing society. With declines in historical sources of revenue and the growth of diverse voices with values that differ from those emphasized by traditional policies and user groups, agencies are faced with diminishing relevancy and are encountering institutional challenges that inhibit their ability to serve the broader public. Here, in collaboration with a group of fish and wildlife agency leaders from 11 states, conservation professionals, and academics, we employ qualitative methods and concepts from systems theory to develop an integrative model of a state wildlife agency. We use this model to identify leverage points to induce transformational change toward an ideal future state: one driven by a system of shared values toward wildlife and a mission to improve quality of life for all people. Our findings point to the importance of developing interventions that will lead to changes in agency culture, systems of governance, and policy and action, and enhance the accessibility of natural resources and opportunities for diverse publics to engage with and benefit from fish and wildlife. We offer recommendations for state wildlife agencies to engage in adaptive organizational change and for university programs to support agency needs.

Navigating the context of uncertainty in child protection practice

ABSTRACT This article offers a conceptual framework within a decision-making (DM) context in situations, when child protection workers have to decide to either remove a child from his or her parents care or leave him or her in a family. Based on the thematic analysis of data from the 33 interviews, we have developed the concept of DM context as a space of uncertainty which is multilayered and implies an inherent duality of each contextual element. The study contributed to the research on work in a private setting, by revealing the role of agency culture and public attitudes in child protection workers’ decisions.

Culture, Training, Technological Application and Crime Investigation Effectiveness across Commercial Crime Investigative Units in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis

Crime investigation is an important law enforcement activity.It is one of the least studied law enforcement functions. Generally, criminal investigation is viewed as a ‘truth finding’ process at the end of which the crime is solved, and offenders are caught. This study therefore investigated culture, training, technological application and crime investigation effectiveness across commercial crime investigative units in Nigeria. This study used a descriptive survey design of ex-post-facto type . One thousand and two hundred participants, selected through a combination of purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were drawn from commercial crime investigating units of the Police, EFCC, Customs and NDLEA in Lagos State. Data were collected using two adopted and three adapted instruments. The reliability coefficients yielded by the instruments were: Agency Culture Inventory, 0.88; Training Effectiveness Scale, 0.73; Technology Application Inventory, 0.91; and Commercial Crime Investigators Effectiveness Scale, 0.81. Three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance, while data were analyzed using of means, standard deviation and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings of this study indicated the results indicated significant mean differences in the influence of agency culture (F (4, 1179) = 4.765, p = .000), training (F (4, 1179) = 8.306, p = .007), and technological application (F (4, 1179) = 5.160, p = .000) on commercial crime investigators' effectiveness based on agency type. It is therefore concluded that agency culture, training and application of technology has substantial impact on law enforcement practices. In addition, any positive relationship that exists between agency culture, training and application of technology by the agency improves the quality of investigation and performance of law enforcement agencies.

Cultural bridges and reimagined geographies: International students navigating and engaging the complex cultures present in the academic world of Taiwan

With the growth of higher education literature featuring emerging study destinations and new demographics of international students facilitated by government scholarships, scholars must address how students desire and imagine culture and diversity in study-abroad experiences and what impact these experiences have on cultural imaginaries and future aspirations. This article introduces a case study in Taiwan (officially Republic of China), an emerging study destination that attracts international students through government scholarships and accentuates powerful cultural discourses based on both Chineseness and Western-style development. Through qualitative interviews and analysis based on ‘capacity to aspire’, it examines students’ desires and perceptions of ‘culture’, their susceptibility to institutional cultural narratives, and ability to enact individual agency and reimagine culture and geography independently from ‘host images’ portrayed by institutions. A key finding is how students develop aspirations for their classmates’ home countries based on new perceptions of culture and place, revealing a new dimension of South–South student mobilities.

What Sources Are Natural Resource Managers Using to Make Decisions?

ABSTRACTNatural resource management is more effective when it includes collaboration among numerous stakeholders who bring multiple perspectives to the decision‐making process. In particular, many individuals and organizations (e.g., The Wildlife Society) have advocated for decisions to be science‐based as a means for improving management outcomes. But there has been little research evaluating the sources, science‐based or otherwise, used by natural resource agencies to support decision‐making at the state‐level within the United States. We surveyed state natural resource agency personnel in all 50 states to assess the sources of information used to make management decisions and the factors that influenced selection of the sources. Approximately 60% of respondents reported using ≥3 different source types when making recommendations. Existing management plans, the peer‐reviewed scientific literature, and expert opinion were the most frequently used sources. Perception of source relevance was the most frequent predictor of source use, and the number of management plans a manager had previously written positively predicted the use of management plans, expert opinion, and personal experiences. Ninety percent of respondents reported that increased use of the peer‐reviewed literature would or might improve management recommendations. Aspects of academic and agency cultures influenced which articles or journals were used to make recommendations. Our findings indicate managers support the use of peer‐reviewed literature as an important component of management decision‐making; however, if the goal is to improve the flow of information between scientists and managers, researchers should publish in journals that are readily accessible to managers and present results in a way that clearly articulates relevance to management decisions. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

\u201cWe're actually more of a likely ally than an unlikely ally\u201d: relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement

BackgroundSyringe services programs provide sterile injection supplies and a range of health services (e.g., HIV and HEP-C testing, overdose prevention education, provision of naloxone) to a hard-to-reach population, including people who use drugs, aiming to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases.MethodsWe performed a qualitative needs assessment of existing syringe services programs in the state of Colorado in 2018–2019 to describe—their activities, needs, and barriers. Using a phenomenological approach, we performed semi-structured interviews with key program staff of syringe services programs (n = 11). All interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and validated. A data-driven iterative approach was used by researchers to develop a coding scheme to organize the data into major themes found across interviews. Memos were written to synthesize main themes.ResultsNearly all the syringe program staff discussed their relationships with law enforcement at length. All syringe program staff viewed having a positive relationship with law enforcement as critical to the success of their program. Main factors that influence the quality of relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement included: (1) alignment in agency culture, (2) support from law enforcement leadership, (3) police officers’ participation and compliance with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, which provides intensive case management for low-level drug offenders, and (4) implementation of the “Needle-Stick Prevention Law” and Drug Paraphernalia Law Exemption. All syringe program staff expressed a strong desire to have positive relationships with law enforcement and described how a collaborative working relationship was critical to the success of their programs.ConclusionsOur findings reveal effective strategies to foster relationships between syringe services programs and law enforcement as well as key barriers to address. The need exists for both syringe services programs and law enforcement to devote time and resources to build a strong, positive partnership. Having such positive relationships with law enforcement has positive implications for syringe services program clients, including law enforcement being less likely to ticket persons for having used syringes, and encourage people who use drugs to seek services from syringe services programs, which can then lead them to other resources, such as housing, wound care, and substance use treatment programs.

Absorptive capacity in child welfare: a qualitative study with child welfare staff eliciting key factors for evidence-based practice adoption

ABSTRACT Child Welfare (CW) provides an array of services to meet the needs of families, requiring agencies to be malleable in their ability to absorb new practices. Absorptive capacity (ACAP) refers to the routines and processes in which an organization acquires, assimilates, and applies new knowledge. ACAP has yet to be the focus of implementation research in CW settings. This exploratory study elicited feedback from CW staff in determining factors to consider when absorbing a new practice. Themes of logistic support, agency culture, and feedback from families emerged. Findings offer insights for CW agencies to consider when adopting a new practice.

Outcome-Based Approaches for Managing Wildfire Risk: Institutional Interactions and Implementation Within the “Gray Zone”

In the United States, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages rangeland resources under dynamic conditions such as drought, annual grass invasion, and larger and more frequent wildfires. But federal policies governing rangelands are not structured to respond to annual variability or unexpected events. To integrate flexibility into public rangeland administration and potentially leverage fuels management treatments at the landscape scale, the BLM and livestock grazing permittees are exploring outcome-based rangeland management approaches to achieve desired ecological, social and economic conditions. This paper examines administrative policies and barriers to using outcome-based approaches to manage fire risk in Idaho through 70 semistructured interviews with permittees, BLM staff, and other agency and nongovernmental stakeholders in three Idaho BLM field areas. We analyzed how rules and norms in policy implementation contributed to perceptions of barriers within and among different field areas. Factors affecting perceptions of outcome-based rangeland management implementation included BLM staff tenure, permittee-agency relationships, beliefs about the efficacy of grazing to manage fire risk, and leadership and staff experience in navigating National Environmental Policy Act requirements or potential lawsuits. Differences in the informal institutions among field areas led to different interpretations of latitude found within formal institutions (“gray zones”) for implementation. This study highlights the importance of local context and the interactions between administrative policies and agency culture for implementing adaptive approaches to managing wildfire risk on public rangelands.

Art Practice as Policy Practice: Framing the Work of Artists Embedded in Government

Embedded artists in government incorporate connect art methods and esthetic perspectives in non-arts contexts, working in collaboration with government staff whether through their own professional choice or through a formal program established by a government agency or arts organization. This article contextualizes embedded artists in government in connection to artist residencies in the art world, arts in non-arts contexts, and creative placemaking to understand how work is framed and to demonstrate potential impacts while making suggestions for future research. Benefits include cross-sector collaboration and idea generation, with the potential for agency culture shift and systems change in how civic work supports residents.

From Environmental Justice Activist to Agency Staff: Implications for Agencies, Movement Organizations, and These Insider Allies

Background: The environmental justice (EJ) movement has struggled for several decades to transform public agencies to be more responsive to the needs and voices of disadvantaged communities. Recently, some environmental agencies have begun to hire EJ activists as staff to help change agency practices from within. There is need for research on this shift from outside activist to insider ally. Methods: This article draws from 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with former EJ activists now working in environmental agencies conducted over a 6-year period. Interviews focused on the benefits, tradeoffs, and dilemmas experienced through their transition process from the outside in. Results: Benefits of this shift from the outside in include the potential to influence agency culture and practices, to apply skills and networks gained as activists, and to support outside activists' access to agency resources and shape decision making. The challenges included being disparaged as biased by agency colleagues, becoming frustrated by the slow pace of bureaucratic change, and the potential for outside EJ activists to reduce the radical edge of their advocacy. Discussion: The tradeoffs experienced by the interviewees suggest that the entrance of former EJ activists into government service is having substantive impacts on the agencies but that these changes come at a personal and professional cost and with uneven results. Conclusion: This research on the phenomenon of the shift of EJ activists into environmental agencies has filled an important gap in critical EJ studies. Future research should focus on the impacts on EJ movements and the long-term impacts in the government agencies.

“There Was No Plan in Place to Get Us Help”: Strategies for Improving Mental Health Service Utilization Among Law Enforcement

Police experience a documented, elevated need for mental health (MH) care due to the significant chronic stressors and acute traumatic experiences that characterize police work. Yet, many barriers prevent officers from accessing and engaging fully in MH treatment. The purpose of this study is to understand the idiosyncratic officer-perceived barriers and facilitators to MH service utilization to generate strategies for increasing the accessibility of MH resources. Heeding the call for more qualitative work in this line of inquiry, we used thematic analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a sample of 48 U.S. police officers to examine how officers came to initiate MH services, why they chose to engage or not engage such resources, and what organizational and supervisory factors promoted service utilization. Officers’ narratives show that police leadership should strive to (1) alleviate fear of negative professional consequences by addressing structural stigma, (2) improve agency culture and social norms around mental health care by focusing on prevention and resilience, and (3) emphasize the development of relevant and trustworthy MH care. To address structural barriers, officers described the urgent need for police leadership to clarify and make transparent organizational MH policies and processes, systematize departmental MH responses, and leverage mandated counseling. Additionally, officers perceived the need for a cultural shift emphasizing comprehensive, incentivized, preventative MH services. Finally, officers’ concerns regarding the quality of MH care encompassed the need for confidential, trustworthy services grounded in the realities of police work. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Development and Pilot Test of an Online Training to Engage Managers to Support Workplace Wellness.

To contribute to a broader understanding of effective implementation strategies to help managers engage employees in workplace wellness. We beta-tested an online training at four Washington state agencies (two test, two control). We administered a post-training evaluation, re-administered an online manager survey and conducted additional interviews with wellness leads. Training participation rate was high. The two test agencies experienced a significant increase in the percentage of managers who: agreed that they received training on employee wellness; agreed their agency's culture supports employee wellness; and encouraged their employees to participate in wellness activities. Approximately 80% of managers who received the training agreed they could apply information learned to support employee wellness. If proven effective, the training could be administered at a low cost and disseminated to improve employee health.

Consumer Identities: Agency, Media, and Digital Culture, Candice D. Roberts and Myles Ethan Lascity (eds) (2019)

Review of: Consumer Identities: Agency, Media, and Digital Culture, Candice D. Roberts and Myles Ethan Lascity (eds) (2019) Bristol: Intellect, 240 pp., ISBN 978-1-78320-981-1, h/bk, £72.00

Ad Agency Leadership in the US, UK, and Australia: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Effective Attributes and Styles

Unlike the extensive scholarship on leadership in related disciplines, research on leadership in advertising is almost nonexistent. This study investigates practitioner views on attributes and styles of effective agency leaders in the US, UK, and Australia using GLOBE’s (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness) Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theory. All three regions are part of GLOBE’s Anglo cultural cluster. The research examines whether the theory’s central proposition—that leadership in global contexts has universally endorsed elements but is also culturally contingent—is valid in an advertising setting. Using a mixed-method approach, data were collected from agency staff and leaders via 255 survey responses and 40 in-depth interviews. Findings indicate that the best leaders are seen as people-focused, collaboration-driven, and future-oriented. Integrity, vision, and inspiration are top leadership attributes, with collaborative and performance-oriented leadership styles considered the most effective. Views were fairly consistent across regions, with some nuanced differences. One interesting difference from main GLOBE findings is the emphasis on soft skills as a core component of effective leadership. Future research should examine this further, as well as the relationship between leadership and agency culture, millennial and gender differences, and leadership training challenges and also examine advertising leadership across other GLOBE cultural clusters.

Predicting the U.S. environmental protection agency’s criminal enforcement outcomes, 1983–2019

ABSTRACT Studies of environmental enforcement in the United States focus on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) civil enforcement actions. We develop a fuller understanding of why the agency enforces through analysis of how and why they use criminal enforcement. We build a comprehensive dataset on the history of the EPA’s criminal enforcement investigations and related prosecutions, 1983–2019. Through content analysis of the agency’s case summaries, we analyze 2,588 cases to explain criminal prosecution outcomes, contrasting organizational culture, transaction costs, and principal-agent explanations for agency behavior. We find that an agency culture focusing on deterrence and punishment of more serious crimes drives outcomes more than costs or pressure. Our findings inform the ongoing debate concerning why the EPA enforces the law and how its organizational prerogatives persist in complex political environments.

Public Health Employees' Perceptions about the Impact of Emerging Public Health Trends on Their Day-to-Day Work: Effects of Organizational Climate and Culture.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess the workforce characteristics associated with public health employees’ perceived impact of emerging trends in public health on their day-to-day work. Methods: Multinomial logistic regression was performed to analyze data from the 2017 PH WINS, a cross-sectional survey utilizing a nationally representative sample of the United States public health workforce. Results: More than 55% of the public health workforce perceived that their day-to-day work was impacted by the emerging public health trends. Workplace environment was significantly associated with the perception of their day-to-day work being impacted by emerging public health trends such as quality improvement (QI) (AOR = 1.04, p < 0.001), and evidence-based public health practice (EBPH) (AOR = 1.04, p < 0.001). Race, ethnicity, and educational status were also positively associated with the perceived impact of the emerging public health trends. Conclusions: The organizational culture of a public health agency influences the engagement of the workforce and their perception of the meaningfulness of their work. As practitioners shift into chief health strategists, it will be imperative for them to have training in public health foundations and tools in order to efficiently serve their communities.

Racial Equity as a Human Rights Issue: Field Agency Practices and Field Instructors' Knowledge and Attitudes.

Racial equity which, at minimum, is defined as the state in which health, social, and economic outcomes are no longer predicted by race has become a critical issue for social workers who work with and advocate for the rights of marginalized communities. Despite its importance, it remains to be seen if field instructors and the agencies they work for understand racial equity as a human rights issue. Through an anonymous survey, we assessed field instructor’s racial equity awareness, knowledge, and understanding and examined actions agencies have taken to address and advance racial equity. It was hypothesized that field instructors who view racial equity as a human right would report promoting and advancing these important concepts with their students and organizations. A total of 170 field instructors accessed the survey through an emailed link in this exploratory effort. Descriptive analyses found that field instructors believe that racial equity is a significant human rights issue and that their agency’s culture views racial equity as important; however, issues with time, resources, funding, and expertise to promote racial equity initiatives create obstacles to bring about change. The discussion emphasizes the importance of building capacity among field educators to address racial equity through a human rights lens, which is integral to advancing the collective social work goals of social justice and dismantling systemic oppression.

Evaluation of probationary performance of Thai Government officials

This mixed methodology research aims to evaluate the probationary performance of Thai Government officials in order to obtain the suggestion for improving the criteria and method of probationary performance. The qualitative research started from an interview with executives, followed by the survey on behaviours of new generation and opinion survey on probationary performance among government officials. Content analysis and multiple regression analysis were applied. According to the findings, data from every source agreed that the main function of probationary performance is to be the last step in selecting qualified government officials suitable for specific agencies. The factors of organisation culture of government agencies, the nature of Thai Government officials, and behaviours of the new generation can forecast the decision of new generation to work in civil service by 56.90%. The result suggested that the probationary period should be six months. It is also recommended that e-learning and general seminar among officials during probationary period as should not be part of the judgment criteria, but be under supervision of supervisors. In addition, the ratio of performance and behavioural score should be maintained at 50:50, but the minimum score of each attribute is 60%, and the minimum total score is 70%.

Sex and gender considerations in health research: a trainee and allied research personnel perspective

The first step in precision health is the incorporation of sex and gender-based considerations and increasingly, a number of national organizations have instituted policies to support and encourage this practice. However, perspectives of trainees and allied research personnel on incorporation of sex and gender into research is lacking. We assessed trainee (undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, clinical trainees) and allied research personnel (study nurses, laboratory managers) perspectives on the barriers to incorporating sex and gender into their own university-based health research and recommendations to improve the process. Two separate focus groups were completed, and a qualitative analysis was employed to derive themes within perceived barriers and solutions. Participants described three overarching themes consistent with barriers including, lack of knowledge and skill, lack of applicability and feasibility, and lack of funding agency and institutional culture. Participants recommended: (1) increasing awareness and skill of incorporation of sex and gender considerations into health research; (2) implementing practical education curricula to facilitate understanding; and (3) fostering greater transparency and accountability by funding organizations and journal editors. Sex and gender considerations in research contribute to precision health, drive innovation and foster breakthroughs in science and medicine.