Australian Public Sector Organisations Research Articles

Workplace democracy in action? Assessing employee board representation in Australian government agencies

AbstractVarious scholars and political actors advocate workplace democratisation to give employees greater influence over decision‐making. Many suggest employee board representation (EBR) as a mechanism to facilitate this, but some question how influential employee board representatives (EBRs) are and whether they represent their colleagues’ views. This study investigates the extent to which EBR contributes to workplace democratisation, via a comparison of three Australian public sector organisations. The study found EBRs exerted significantly more influence at the Australian National University than at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Most EBRs wanted to draw upon staff experiences but their communication with colleagues was often constrained. Variances of influence were explained by the number of EBRs, the actions of the Chair, chief executive officer, government, and other board members. Two findings stand out as unique contributions: the importance of appointment powers to EBR influence in the public sector, and EBRs’ limited influence on labour issues in the Anglosphere due to the adversarial system of labour bargaining being positioned largely outside the boardroom. The study concludes that EBR is a non‐tokenistic form of workplace democratisation, albeit with a specific scope, which has utility within a mix of democratising mechanisms.Points for practitioners Most EBRs exerted a limited or moderate influence on decision‐making, but others exerted more significant influence. They were most influential on matters related to their experience and expertise and were largely unable to influence workers’ pay, conditions, and other labour issues. Most EBRs did not represent their colleagues in a transactional or direct sense, but drew upon their experiences as staff members when making decisions. However, EBRs had fluctuating issues communicating with their fellow employees, largely due to managerial direction around confidentiality. The number of SEDs on the board and the actions of other board members, the Chair, chief executive officer, and the government explained the variances in SEDs’ influence between agencies. This study's findings regarding EBR influence were middling compared to European research, but appointment powers were found to be particularly important in the public sector context. EBRs’ influence was found to be limited on labour issues, suggesting a potential clash between the corporatist inclination of EBR and the adversarial system of labour bargaining prevalent in the Anglosphere. Elected EBRs offer employees a non‐tokenistic form of representation but within a limited scope of strategy and oversight. Given factors that constrain SEDs’ influence and representativeness can be at least partly countered by policy design and political leadership, these findings bolster the policy case for extending EBR throughout the public sector.

The effect of COVID-19 on managerial leadership style within Australian public sector organizations

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on leadership styles within Australian public sector organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative methodology was employed for this research consisting of semi-structured interviews with 50 managers. The study results suggest the pandemic affected managers’ leadership style, managers’ and employees’ emotions, stress and anxiety, and organizational performance and productivity. Changes in leadership style to incorporate being supportive, informative, and motivational to match the change in situation were found to be effective. This addresses a gap in the literature by identifying these three leadership styles as being important for employee support during the pandemic.

Challenges for Public Sector Organisations in Cloud Adoption: A Case Study of South Australian Public Sector Agency

This research explores critical aspects of procurement of ICT cloud services for South Australian public sector organisations with the case of South Australia Police (SAPOL) for evaluation. SAPOL as one of the state government agencies at the time is initiating this transition to the cloud environment. This exploratory research takes place when this public sector agency is doing its due diligence to ensure a successful implementation. In this study the researcher started off with surfacing the challenges in this journey for a public sector organisation before the actual journey commenced. SAPOL being a public sector organisation operates differently from private enterprises and has certain constraints and limitations that pose additional challenges for the organisation to transition towards the cloud. Interview with the CIO of the organisation responsible for the cloud migration initiative was organised. After detailed literature review, an interview questionnaire was prepared in accordance with the subject of interest. The information gathered in the interviews was recorded for detailed analysis. This paper contains a detailed report on the information analysed highlighting fourteen important challenges faced by the organisation in this cloud migration journey.

Challenges for Managing Complex Application Portfolios: A Case Study of South Australian Public Sector Agency

This research explores the challenges in management and the root cause for complex application portfolios in the public sector. It takes Australian public sector organisations with the case of South Australia Police (SAPOL) for evaluation it being one of the significant and mission critical state government agencies. The exploratory research surfaces some of the key challenges using interview as primary data collection source, along with archive records, documentation, and direct observation as secondary sources. This paper reports on the information analysed surfacing eight key issues. It highlights that the organic growth of the technology portfolios, with mission criticality has resulted in many quick fixes which are not aligned with long term enterprise architectural stability. Integration of different mismatched technologies, along with the pressure from the business to always keep the lights on, does not provide the opportunity for the portfolios to be rationalised in an ongoing way. Other issues and the areas for further study are explored at the end.

The impact of coronavirus and quarantine on Australian public sector organizations

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has challenged leaders to alter the way they manage their organization's employees, such as requiring them to quarantine, self-isolate or practice social distancing so that they comply with government health directives. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the quarantine on the workplace.Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews containing open-ended questions were conducted with fifty Australian public sector executive managers to gauge the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their organizations.FindingsThe study reveals the effects that the virus had on the organizations' teamwork as well as individuals' learning. It finds that organizations experienced both positive effects, such as increased creativity and initiative, and negative effects, such as reduced satisfaction with work teams, from the pandemic.Originality/valueThis study also adds to the still-developing body of knowledge regarding the effects of the virus on individuals' levels of work team satisfaction as well as a variety of other factors specific to public sector organizations

Employee engagement and commitment to two Australian autism employment programs: associations with workload and perceived supervisor support

PurposeAlthough there is growing academic and business interest in autism employment programs, few studies have examined employee (manager and coworker) attitudes toward these programs. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of workload changes (a job demand) and perceived supervisor support (a job resource) on commitment to the program and employee engagement more broadly.Design/methodology/approachA total of 229 employees from two Australian public sector organizations completed a survey about the autism employment program in their organization.FindingsPerceived workload increases were associated with lower affective commitment and higher continuance commitment to the program. Perceived supervisor support was associated with higher affective commitment to the program and employee engagement, but lower continuance commitment to the program. Perceived supervisor support moderated the effect of workload increase on employee engagement, but not in the expected direction.Originality/valueThis research helps to fill a gap in the autism employment literature by focusing on commitment toward autism employment programs among existing employees. The research helps to provide a more complete and nuanced view of these programs within their broader organizational context.

Enhancing civil service capability: emergence of the professions model

In the last thirty years, the dominant approach in Australian public sector organisation has been one of devolution with an emphasis on management at the agency level. This has delivered benefits in terms of public service responsiveness to ministers and stakeholders and a more diverse set of approaches that are tailored to the circumstances confronting individual agencies. However, a number of reviews, including the recent Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (the Thodey Review), have highlighted the limitations of this approach and the constraints it has placed on the ability of the public service to respond effectively to broader challenges and to leverage skills across agency boundaries. The professions model is an approach that seeks to emphasise the continuity of practice across agency boundaries in various job families. A number of countries have tried the professions approach as a way to address a perceived lack of consistency and effectiveness across their collective public services. This article describes international trends associated with the professions model and describes the approach to implementing digital and human resources professions models in the Australian Public Service.

Financial Delegation System in the Context of New Public Management: Evidence from an Australian Public Sector Organization

This paper contributes to the study of financial management in public sector organization in the context of New Public Management (NPM). It deploys an earnest attempt to explore the financial delegation system in the context of NPM initiatives in Australia. A government department in the Australian Capital Territory has been adopted as the field for investigation. The nature of the present research is explorative and the focus of this research is to study in depth of a particular phenomena. Qualitative research methodology was chosen to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena. Case-based research method was used in developing a fuller understanding of the relative role of financial delegation system in the management of organisational performance. In this study, data collection involved a triangulation approach and the three sources were archival records, interviews and observation. As financial delegation system is socially constructed, Giddens’ structuration theory was adopted in this research to obtain a better understanding of human actions and to explore how these control devices are implicated in the wider social context through time. Empirical evidence from the field supported that the selected researched organisation has adopted a wide range of financial delegation mechanisms within the organization. The research also demonstrated that the implementation of financial delegation system in the selected organization is the function of NPM in the key areas of financial management. These findings are consistent with the view that NPM promotes a culture of performance in Australian public sector.

Influence of New Public Management Philosophy on Risk Management, Fraud and Corruption Control and Internal Audit: Evidence from an Australian Public Sector Organization

Research Question: This study will explore how private sector financial management technologies (specifically, risk management system, fraud and corruption control system and internal audit) become embedded in a selected public sector organisation. Motivation: The motivation for this study is to explore how private sector financial management control tools contributed to and shaped new organisational culture within the public sector organisation. Idea: The idea was generated from the philosophy of New Public Management which was based on the premise that using the private sector tools, the public sector would be efficient and at the same time effectiveness would be improved (Chowdhury and Shil, 2017). Data: Qualitative research approach was adopted and data was collected in the case study tradition. Twenty top, mid and junior level executives from a selected Government Department in the Australian Capital Territory were interviewed (Chowdhury and Shil, 2016). Tools: The main data sources were interviews and archival official documents. Another tool used was direct observation which helped researchers to support the archival documents and interview data. Data were analyzed using the approach provided by Miles and Huberman (1994). Findings: Findings of the study revealed that strategic risk management is a part of the business planning life cycle of the researched Department and business units review their strategic risks as part of their business planning process. In the Department it is evident that fraud and corruption control system is a part of their cultural environment. The Department has established an independent Internal Audit and Review Unit, who provides service to management to meet all prescribed statutory responsibilities within a performance improvement environment. Contribution: The findings of the present study are expected to increase our understanding about the private sector control devices used in a public sector context and this study will be of value to the academic researchers and practitioners. The study may be useful to the policy makers also who are engaged in formulating new public sector policies. Moreover, the findings reported on this study would be useful to the public sector managers in their day to day decision-making process.

Does anonymising job applications reduce gender bias?

PurposeAnonymous recruitment seeks to limit managers’ reliance on stereotypes in employment decisions, thereby reducing discrimination. This paper aims to explore how managers interpret the information embedded in anonymised job applications and how they interpret the organisational priorities driving the adoption of anonymous recruitment.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews with 30 managers in two Australian public sector organisations were analysed.FindingsThe results showed that managers used implicit signals and cues to infer the gender identities of applicants in anonymised applications, reintroducing the possibility of bias. Managers perceived that anonymous recruitment sent positive external signals to prospective employees but were sceptical about its effectiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe results showed that removing applicants’ names and identifying information from applications may not be sufficient to reduce bias. In organisations where managers are sympathetic to equity and diversity issues, use of anonymous recruitment may provoke resentment if managers perceive organisational distrust or inconsistent objectives. Limitations regarding the size and nature of the sample are acknowledged.Practical implicationsOrganisations seeking to reduce gender discrimination in recruitment may consider adopting standardised application procedures or training managers to understand how stereotypes affect evaluations. Organisations should also assess managerial support for, and understanding of, anonymous recruitment prior to implementation.Originality/valueThe findings add to existing knowledge regarding the effects of implicit gender signals in managers’ assessments and the effectiveness of anonymous recruitment in reducing gender bias. It also contributes to signalling theory by examining how managers interpret the signals conveyed in organisational policies.

More of the Same? A Dual Case Study Approach to Examining Change Momentum in the Public Sector

AbstractDespite the significant amount of change experienced by the public sector, there has been relatively limited empirical examination of how change agendas affect public sector employees in Australia. This article presents a comparative analysis of two Australian public sector organisations that implemented the same positive work change agenda, but experienced very different outcomes. Using a critical realist approach, we draw on a mix of qualitative techniques to suggest that textbook notions of ‘successful change’, which are often derived from large private sector expectations, may fail to capture the complex nature of how public sector change initiatives may unfold. In particular, we demonstrate how political, temporal, contextual, and process factors interact to shift change momentum. Illustrative examples are provided throughout and the findings are discussed in terms of their implications for theory building, for change facilitation, and for future research.

Converting values awareness to values enactment through frame-of-reference training

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate whether values enactment could be increased through frame-of-reference (FOR) training configured around values prototyping and behavioural domain training for managers within an Australian public sector organisation.Design/methodology/approachEmployees from an Australian public sector organisation were studied to ascertain the effect of values training and development via a three-way longitudinal design with a control group.FindingsThe findings indicate that FOR training can increase employee values enactment clarity and, thereby, have a positive impact upon organisational values enactment.Practical implicationsThe application of FOR training constitutes a new approach to supporting the development of employee values clarity, which, in turn, can support the achievement of organisational values enactment. Through FOR training, employees can learn to apply organisational values in their decision-making and other behaviours irrespective of whether they are highly congruent with their personal values.Originality/valueEmpirical research into values management is limited and there is a lack of consensus to what is needed to create a values-driven organisation. The article shows that FOR training can be a beneficial component of a broader human resource strategy aimed at increasing organisational values enactment. With reference to the resource-based view of the firm, it is argued that values enactment constitutes a distinctive capability that may confer sustained organisational advantage.

Building employability through graduate development programmes

PurposeGraduate development programmes are a well-established strategy for recruiting graduates into the sector at the start of a lifetime public service career. There are indications, however, that public sector careers are becoming less secure and less long term in keeping with overall career trends across all sectors, a trend that has seen the emergence of employment contracts based on employability rather than job security. The purpose of this paper is to explore a graduate development programme offered by a state-based Australian public sector organisation to identify the extent to which it reflects and supports the shift to an employability-based contract from the perspective of programme participants.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 participants from three intakes of a public sector graduate development programme. Data were analysed through identification of first- and second-order themes as well as cross-case comparison.FindingsFindings indicate that the one-year development programme partially supports an employability-based contract. The organisation could not promise ongoing employment and job security but did assist participants to develop skills and competencies for the future through its formal training and development programme. Work unit support for employability was, however, much more variable and depended to a large extent on line managers.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted in a single organisation and only included current and past programme participants who were still employed in the public sector.Practical implicationsThe success of the programme was largely dependent on job placement and level of line manager support. Addressing these areas through better programme design and management can support the development of future leaders through opportunities for enhanced employability.Originality/valueThe study extends current research on employability by exploring how a public sector organisation provides support for graduates in a developmental programme from a participant perspective.

Innovation in Public Sector Management Control Systems in the Context of New Public Management: A Case of an Australian Public Sector Organization

This study is about the exploration of innovative management control systems in the context of New Public Management (NPM) initiatives. NPM initiatives created the changes to the structure and processes of public sector organizations with the objective of getting them to run better. A government department in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has been selected as the field for investigation. This study draws on a single theoretical perspective, Giddens’s structuration theory to understand the management control systems evolved in the researched organization. Qualitative research methodology is applied to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena. Case-based research method is used in developing a complete understanding of the relative role of controls in the management of organizational performance. In this study, it is argued that the researched organization has adopted various management control tools to improve its performance and demonstrate transparency and accountability. Some of the control tools it has adopted are the innovations in the public sector. It appears from the case that these adopted management control tools forced the researched organization towards better performance supporting the rationale of adopting New Public Management practices.

Putting Brain Training to the Test in the Workplace: A Randomized, Blinded, Multisite, Active-Controlled Trial

BackgroundCognitive training (CT) is effective at improving cognitive outcomes in children with and without clinical impairment as well as older individuals. Yet whether CT is of any preventative health benefit to working age adults is controversial. Our objective was therefore to investigate the real-world efficacy of CT in the workplace, involving employees from across the working-age spectrum and addressing many of the design issues that have limited trials to date.Methods and Findings135 white collar employees of a large Australian public sector organization were randomised to either 16 weeks (20 minutes three times per week) of online CT or an active control (AC) program of equal length and structure. Cognitive, wellbeing and productivity outcome measures were analysed across three timepoints: baseline, immediately after training and 6 months post-training. CT effects on cognitive outcomes were limited, even after planned subgroup analyses of cognitive capacity and age. Unexpectedly, we found that our AC condition, which comprised viewing short documentaries about the natural world, had more impact. Compared to the CT group, 6 months after the end of training, those in the AC group experienced a significant increase in their self-reported Quality of Life (Effect Size g = .34 vs −.15; TIME×GROUP p = .003), decrease in stress levels (g = .22 vs −.19; TIME x GROUP p = .03), and overall improvement in Psychological Wellbeing (g = .32 vs −.06; TIME×GROUP p = .02).ConclusionsCT does not appear to positively impact cognition or wellbeing amongst white collar office workers; however, short time-out respite activities may have value in the promotion of psychological wellbeing. Given looming challenges to workplace productivity, further work-based interventional research targeting employee mental health is recommended.Trial RegistrationThis trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12610000604000 (http://www.anzctr.org.au/TrialSearch.aspx).

Employee organizational commitment in the Australian public sector

This study provides an insight into the association between specific cultural, organizational and demographic factors with the level of employee organizational commitment (EOC) from a sample of 500 Australian public sector organizations. The level of EOC is found to vary across management levels, while different cultural and organizational factors were associated with the EOC of managers at different levels in the organizational hierarchy. While there was no difference in the level of EOC to that reported in the private sector, there were specific factors found to be associated with EOC which are unique to the public sector. Such findings indicate that future researchers examining the association between organizational and cultural factors with EOC must consider the sector in which the organization operates. In addition, given the importance of EOC in improving organizational performance, the findings provide guidance to the management of Australian public sector organizations in how to enhance their employees' level of EOC.

Rethinking Workplace Bullying as an Employment Relations Problem

Over the past three decades, a growing body of international literature points to a relationship between workplace bullying and certain changes to organizational and employment policies. Some of these changes include an increase in precarious employment, greater workloads, restructuring and downsizing, and the reduction in third-party intervention in workplace relations. However, while governments and many organizations have introduced policies in response to workplace bullying, there is little evidence that they have been successful in either the prevention or resolution of the problem. This article explores reasons for this apparent policy failure by reviewing workplace bullying literature and using data collected from interviews with policy actors in Australian public sector organizations. What emerges from these analyses is that prevailing theorizations and policy definitions emphasize the individual aspects of bullying and overlook the significance of organizational, employment and cultural factors. The article argues that narrow explanations of workplace bullying limit the capacity of policies to prevent or resolve the problem. Finally, the article concludes by suggesting that a multidisciplinary approach to understanding workplace bullying as a work and employment relations issue is a fundamental step in its prevention.

Enablers of Open Source Software adoption: A case study of APS organisations

Despite a considerable body of literature investigating factors involved in the Open Source Software (OSS) adoption process, there is little research into adoption of OSS by public sector organisations. So it was important to reassess the factors enabling OSS adoption in order to enhance OSS utilization within public sector organisations. This study explored various factors that may enable OSS adoption within Australian Public Sector (APS) organisations by interviewing those involved in software procurement. The findings were analysed through the lenses of technology adoption theories (i.e, Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)), and OSS adoption literature. Success of OSS in government agencies was found to be contingent on critical aspects such as availability of support and maintainability of OSS products, ability to meet organisational business needs in a cost effective manner, economic value associated with OSS such as maintenance and training costs, and attitude of staff toward OSS. The findings suggested that Rogers’ relative advantage and compatibility constructs are major enablers while organisational attributes, environmental attributes, and TAM’s attributes also had some influence on OSS adoption.

Action research as a knowledge generating change methodology

The paper outlines an action research project conducted within an Australian public sector organisation with the purpose of changing a key internal business process. Despite the significant challenges incurred by using a change methodology considered to be 'radical' within this conventional, hierarchically structured, organisation, the business process was transformed successfully and productivity has increased significantly within the organisation. Furthermore, the action research approach generated pertinent new knowledge; greatly enriched various forms of intangible capital within the organisation; and created a precedent with respect to greater collaboration and democracy within the organisation. In encouraging this approach to managing change within hierarchically structured organisations, the paper advocates caution in its introduction and warns of the challenges that it poses for power management in such organisations.

Assurance of Australian Natural Resource Management

This article traces the challenges encountered in the development of appropriate guidance for an Australian public sector organization embarking on meeting its legislated responsibility of carrying out audits of natural resource management practices and performance, a new and challenging field of audit. The evidence suggests that the development of such guidance is complex, involving significant research development and innovation in which the current array of existing standards or guidance on sustainability and audit were of limited value.