Brazilian Public Organizations Research Articles

Organisational justice, organisational values and gender-based equity of leadership opportunities: a case study in a Brazilian public security organisation

The work environment is a diverse place, where people interact daily to obtain results for organisations. Organisations have been providing gender-based equity actions to promote meritocracy. The situation worsens when criteria for ascension to leadership positions are discussed, most of the time intentionally occupied by men, violating the premise of impersonality. Diversity management and social inclusion have been intensively developed, generating engagement and psychological safety for the social actors involved. The main of this paper is to test two predictive models, in a Brazilian public security organisation, that include variables related to the perception of organisational justice, organisational values, and the perception of equality in professional advancement criteria. The sample was composed of 988 Brazilian police officers, chosen through stratified random sampling. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The results suggest that there is a strong and positive relationship between perceived organisational justice and perception of gender-based equity of opportunities. None of the organisational values predicted the two criteria variables. As limitations, the collected data were anonymous, a reason that did not allow the comparison between means due to some clustering variable. The equity suggested that organisational values need to be, in fact, operationalised in terms of formal practices that promote them. Limitations and suggestions were made.

The impact of blockchain on Brazilian public procurement processes from the perspective of transaction costs: scenarios as perceived by experts

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impacts of a blockchain network implementation to support purchasing processes of a Brazilian public organization. Design/methodology/approach The Grumbach method was used to build the scenarios. Five experts with knowledge in blockchain and experience in public procurement were consulted on 20 possible preliminary events, defining their probability of occurrence and relevance. The data obtained were processed in Puma software, which returned a selection of ten definitive events, based on probability, relevance and standard deviation indicators, generating a map of prospective scenarios. Findings Three following scenarios are shown, the ideal scenario, the one with greater implantation benefits and fewer complications; the trend scenario, more likely to occur under current conditions; and the most likely scenario of occurrence, according to experts. The results indicated which simulated events are drivers (motives), and which are influenced (dependent). They were categorized as opportunities or threats to the deployment of the technology. Research limitations/implications Although public procurement processes are standardized by Brazilian legislation, new events may arise from the replication of the model in different organizations. The research revealed the need for practical testing in a simulated public procurement environment. Originality/value The article explores the interaction between disruptive network technology and processes linked to public sector efficiency. Studies on electronic government point to the future of public management.

Turnover Intention Among ICT Professionals in Brazilian Public Organizations

This study investigates turnover intentions within the context of Brazilian public organizations, focusing on Information and Communications Technology professionals. Moreover, the research highlights the factors influencing turnover intentions and underscores the critical role of remote work and compensation satisfaction, particularly salary, in shaping these intentions. The desire for the flexibility inherent in remote work and the emphasis on equitable and competitive compensation packages emerge as critical drivers for retaining technology professionals. In addition to these key factors, these findings underscore organizations’ need to adopt effective retention strategies, encompassing policies that endorse remote work alternatives and establish competitive compensation norms. By addressing these factors, Brazilian public institutions can cultivate a stable and committed technology professionals workforce. Consequently, this study enriches the understanding of strategic decision-making and human resource practices, offering pertinent insights for organizational enhancement.

Construction and validation of reputation metrics for human resource management in Brazilian public organizations

Construction and validation of reputation metrics for human resource management in Brazilian public organizations

Combating misinformation with internet culture: the case of Brazilian public health organizations and their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

Purpose This study investigates the communication behavior of public health organizations on Twitter during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Brazil. It contributes to the understanding of the organizational framing of health communication by showcasing several instances of framing devices that borrow from (Brazilian) internet culture. The investigation of this case extends the knowledge by providing a rich description of the organizational framing of health communication to combat misinformation in a politically charged environment.Design/methodology/approach The authors collected a Twitter dataset of 77,527 tweets and analyzed a purposeful subsample of 536 tweets that contained information provided by Brazilian public health organizations about COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. The data analysis was carried out quantitatively and qualitatively by combining social media analytics techniques and frame analysis.Findings The analysis showed that Brazilian health organizations used several framing devices that have been identified by previous literature such as hashtags, links, emojis or images. However, the analysis also unearthed hitherto unknown visual framing devices for misinformation prevention and debunking that borrow from internet culture such as “infographics,” “pop culture references” and “internet-native symbolism.”Research limitations/implications First, the identification of framing devices relating to internet culture add to our understanding of the so far little addressed framing of misinformation combat messages. The case of Brazilian health organizations provides a novel perspective to knowledge by offering a notion of internet-native symbols (e.g. humor, memes) and popular culture references for misinformation combat, including misinformation prevention. Second, this study introduces a frontier of political contextualization to misinformation research that does not relate to the partisanship of the spreaders but that relates to the political dilemmas of public organizations with a commitment to provide accurate information to citizens.Practical implications The findings inform decision-makers and public health organizations about framing devices that are tailored to internet-native audiences and can guide strategies to carry out information campaigns in misinformation-laden social media environments.Social implications The findings of this case study expose the often-overlooked cultural peculiarities of framing information campaigns on social media. The report of this study from a country in the Global South helps to contrast several assumptions and strategies that are prevalent in (health) discourses in Western societies and scholarship.Originality/value This study uncovers unconventional and barely addressed framing devices of health organizations operating in Brazil, which provides a novel perspective to the body of research on misinformation. It contributes to existing knowledge about frame analysis and broadens the understanding of frame devices borrowing from internet culture. It is a call for a frontier in misinformation research that deals with internet culture as part of organizational strategies for successful misinformation combat.

O papel das capacidades de TI, capacidade de reconfiguração de TI e inovatividade no desempenho organizacional: evidências do setor público brasileiro

Abstract The growing investments in information technology (IT) each year pushes public sector organizations to develop the ability to gather, integrate, and implement these resources to improve organizational processes. Public sector organizations have to be agile and flexible to meet society’s dynamic demands. In this sense, IT management and creating an organizational environment facilitating innovation are crucial measures. These organizations must learn to cultivate IT capabilities and innovativeness to improve their performance and create public value. Thus, this study aims to identify the existing relationships between innovativeness, IT capabilities, IT reconfiguration capability, and organizational performance in the public sector. The research analyzed data from 254 Brazilian public organizations of the most diverse sizes and sectors using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that the ability to reconfigure IT must be listed among the organizations’ IT capabilities. Also, the findings suggest that IT capabilities foster organizations’ innovativeness, and IT capabilities and innovativeness positively impact the organizations’ performance. The study contributes to knowledge of innovation and IT capabilities by testing theoretical propositions identified in the context of the private sector but insufficiently assessed in the public sector. Finally, the study points out ways for public managers to better prepare their institutions to face constantly changing environments.

Influence of workplace spirituality in the job satisfaction of the public sector employees

The spirituality of the human being is a subject discussed since ancient times. Until today, no civilization was finding that did not have some kind of developed religion and spirituality. Spirituality is finding in many ways and in many places, including in the workplace. The objective of this research was to verify whether workplace spirituality influences job satisfaction of public sector employees. A survey based on a model created from the scales of workplace spirituality (Liu & Robertson, 2011) and job satisfaction (Siqueira, 2008) was conducted in a Brazilian public organization. Data analysis was done with SEM-CB. The results validate the model for predicting the influence of workplace spirituality on job satisfaction. We improved the model by providing context and by endorsing the idea that managers are able to improve the satisfaction of their work force, especially those working in the public sector, to deliver better services to citizens.

Organizational Culture and Strategic Management in Brazilian Public Organizations: Systematization of Factors to Improve School Management

ABSTRACT Drawing upon influencing factors in public organizations’ performance, this paper systematizes organizational culture and strategic management factors to improve school management. The team conducted a survey with 407 principals from public schools in Brazil, along with a factorial analysis to explore the cultural and strategic management factors. The results show two factors influencing school management, technical and political. More specifically, six factors influence the process, such as planning, participation, citizen formation, innovative practices, pedagogical practices, and community participation. The conclusion points out factors and establishes elements to provide a guide for public organizations toward improved management.

The relationship between human capital, information technology capability, innovativeness and organizational performance: An integrated approach

The objective of the present study is to identify the existing relationships between the information technology (IT) human capital, IT capabilities, innovativeness, and organizational performance. A literature review indicated that there is space to be filled in the meeting of IT literature, human capital, and innovativeness, insofar as the particularities of these relationships are not clear and their joint role in the performance of organizations. A structural equation model was developed that analyzed the primary data provided by senior IT managers from 258 Brazilian public organizations. The results indicated that IT human capital is a unique construct and independent of IT capabilities, formed by the hard and soft skills of the IT staff, as well as their attitude towards technology. Human IT capital positively impacts the organizational IT capabilities, but it is not part of its composition since it is a corporate resource. The Human IT capital is of the necessary and fundamental inputs for IT capabilities, but it should not be confused with IT capabilities per se. We identified that IT human capital impacts IT capabilities, positively affecting organizational innovativeness. Finally, we identified that innovativeness is a driver for performance and leverages the effect of IT capabilities on performance.

Succession Planning in Brazilian Public Organizations

To understand the advances in Succession Planning and its conditions in public administration, we established as the main purpose of this study analyze and to connect the stage of succession planning development within the HR Model adopted (operational or strategic). It is considered the assumption that there is a direct association between the development of HR model with the succession planning stage in organizations, in other words, the more strategic the HR practices, criteria, instruments and policies are the more advanced is the succession planning. It was decided to study the organizations of the Brazilian Development Association that gather the Development Finance Institutions in all country that follow as its guideline a Resolution for organizations to structure their succession planning. The research is a qualitative approach and two sequential studies were carried out to achieve the research objectives. As one of the results, the structured the HR practices are the more advanced is the succession planning and the more structured are the criteria used for the selection. It was also found that advances in this process, for example, although they do not adopt a fullness succession process, they have developed selection mechanisms that seek to minimize the risk of wrong choices and reserve a percentage of management positions to be filled by professionals from their internal staff.

Framework for Building Information Modeling Adoption Based on Critical Success Factors from Brazilian Public Organizations

AbstractThe architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) sector is adopting building information modeling (BIM) in public and private organizations worldwide. The public sector pla...

COVID-19: Do weather conditions influence the transmission of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Brasília and Manaus, Brazil?

The global outbreak of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) disease is affecting every part of human lives. Several researchers investigated to understand how temperature, humidity and air pollution had an influence on COVID-19 transmission. Transmission of COVID-19 due to temperature and humidity is a pertinent question. There is a lack of study of Covid-19 in tropical climate countries. This study aims to analyze the correlation between weather and Covid-19 pandemic in Brasília and Manaus, two states of Brazil. The research topic is important to know how the climate affects or predisposes the spread of COVID-19. This knowledge will provide elements to decision-makers regarding health and public health standards and decisions. This study employed a secondary data analysis of surveillance data of Covid-19 from the Ministry of Health of Brazil and weather from the National Institute of Meteorology of Brazil. These are Brazilian public organizations that, on a daily basis, record this information on a systematic basis of dates. They are central federal organizations, responsible for data analysis and public policy planning to combat Covid-19. The data are reliables and obtained from reliable government sources. We systematically record all information for 51 days, during a period of high disease growth in the country. The components of weather include low temperature (°C), high temperature (°C), temperature average (°C), humidity (%), and amount of rainfall (mm). Pearson-rank correlation test showed that high temperature (r=.643; p<.001), low temperature (r=.640; p<.001) and humidity (r=.248; p<.005) were significantly correlated with deaths caused by Covid-19 pandemic used for data analysis. Social isolation rate (β = -.254; p<.001) and daily record of new cases (β = .332; p<.001), with adjusted R-squared of .623, were the predictors of deaths acummuled by Covid-19. The finding serves as an input to reduce the incidence rate of Covid-19 in Brazil. Statistical results show evidence of the relationship between climate elements and COVID-19 indicators, such as the number of deaths, spread of contamination and social isolation rate. The study of dimensions of climate as a seasonal pattern and its relationship to COVID-19 benefits epidemiological surveillance. The more geographic spaces are known, more will help to understand the differences in disease behavior in different places. The results of this research showed that environmental conditions influence the contagion and speed of transmission of Covid-19. Policies that contribute to benefits to health and sustainability need to be planned. The contribution of climate and other factors, such as air pollution, for example, require additional studies. Environmental changes, such as climate change and biodiversity, must also be investigated for their impact on human health. Acting in prevention, including the promotion of socially acceptable behaviors on the part of the population, seems to be the best way to deal with Covid-19.

“Without work, I am nothing, I have no identity”: a qualitative study in a Brazilian public organization

Mental health in the workplace is a subject of great relevance and impact in the daily life of organizations. Leaders have to deal with increasingly constant demands in the work environment. The implementation of management actions to prevent psychological and behavioral disorders, as well as providing emotional support, has been increasingly required. Considering that work is essential for the formation of human identity, this article aims to analyze, based on the verbal report of fifteen leaders of a Brazilian public organization, experiences related to mental health issues in the workplace. More specifically, this article presents the importance attached by work to the professional life of these leaders. Through the analytical perspective of the psychodynamics of work, meanings attributed to work are described in this article, discussing its effects on the human psyche. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with formal leaders of the Organization under study. These leaders are strategic to the Organization. Categorical content analysis was performed from the transcribed interviews. As a result, a strong affective link between the leaders and the Organization under study was identified. The management of quality of life at work was identified as essential in the organizational context. The act of working implies feeling useful and valued. The survey provides to the public administration professionals a comprehensive understanding of issues related to the human factor at work. This article proves that the Brazilian public administration needs to pay attention to the development of good practices in people management. Several relevant issues are presented and discussed, seeking for a conformity in people development practices.&nbsp

Enterprise Risk Management Agile Canvas: A Framework for Risk Management on Public Administration

Society benefits from public services and dealing with the relative risks, increases the quantity and quality of services delivered to citizens, improving the country's development and welfare. The focus of this article is to report ERM framework tailored to the public sector through a case study with qualitative and quantitative data, involving a specific situation of a contemporary phenomenon of ERM diffusion at Brazilian public organizations. The ERM Agile Canvas uses visual thinking, allowing the participants to quickly see the big picture and objectively plan the ERM treatment. Results allow the comparison of relationships between the sections uncovering the sensemaking and causality.

A relationship between technostress, satisfaction at work, organizational commitment and demography: evidence from the Brazilian public sector

The literature is full of works that highlight the positive effects of the application of information technology on business processes, including gains in terms of transparency, efficiency and effectiveness. However, there is a growing number of studies showing that, in parallel with technological innovation, phenomena occur that cause distress and malaise to the workers, with studies on technostress being highlighted, that is, the difficulty of adapting to technological innovations in the work environment. However, few studies have been carried out to understand the negative effects of this technological transformation on public servants. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify the role of technostress on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in the context of the public sector. The technique of analysis of structural equations (CB-SEM) to analyze data collected with users of information technology from a Brazilian public organization. We have identified that the technostress negatively affects the satisfaction, which, in turn, positively impacts the commitment. In a complementary way, the relation between the demographic characteristics of the workers and the creators of technostress are presented in detail. As a result, several theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Decision-making and strategic planning in a public research organisation: The case of Fiocruz

Abstract The study was drawn to investigate an unusual form of 'industrial democracy', in Fiocruz, the Brazilian public research organisation in the health field, linked to the Ministry of Health. It is a single case study research making use of two contrasting cases: Embrapa and Pasteur Institute. The former is the Brazilian public research organisation in the agriculture field, similar to Fiocruz in space; and the latter is the French public research organisation for health, similar to Fiocruz in the field. The investigation works with the triangulation of methods approach, combining the analysis of quantitative and qualitative methods aiming at an in-depth analysis of the decision-making and the strategic planning processes of these research-led organisations. For this purpose, two exclusive tools were created and applied to their management boards and key actors. The first tool, an online questionnaire, was applied to the management boards; the second tool, a face-to-face interview, was made with the key actors. The findings were examined considering the literature, whose results supported the analysis of the context of each organisation and their strategic plans. The research revealed an original approach to industrial democracy by Fiocruz, based on a concept postulated by Arouca, which underpinned the creation of SUS, the Brazilian National Unified Health System: 'Democracy is health'. It represents a paradigm shift in the way the health concept is addressed, by adding a political dimension to it, which includes the citizenship, the free self-determination, the capacity of mastering the future. This unique approach to industrial democracy underpins the decision-making and the strategic planning of Fiocruz, revealing that it is, in fact, a new type of public research organisation; thus, questioning the validity of the existing framework concerning such entities. Key messages Democracy is Health is an original conceptual approach postulated by Arouca, which underpinned the creation of the Brazilian National Unified Health System. Fiocruz is the Brazilian Public Research Organisation in the Health field, whose unique administration approach questions the literature in the field.

Stakeholders’ categorization of the sustainable public procurement system: the case of Brazil

PurposeEncouraged by the State, the Brazilian public organizations practice sustainable procurement as one of the strategies to promote sustainable development. Performing them requires understanding to manage stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to identify and categorize the stakeholders of Brazilian public organizations’ sustainable procurement system.5Design/methodology/approachPreliminarily, the stakeholders were identified in the literature and by interviews with experts. Later, in a multi-case study, it was categorized by the model of stakeholder salience.FindingsIn general, governmental and intra-organizational stakeholders were classified as more salient. However, some stakeholders considered important by literature and experts have been categorized as less salient by organizations.Originality/valueThe proposed categorization is useful for the system comprehension and will serve as a basis for the development of future works, notably those who propose to understand or evaluate the sustainable public procurement (SPP). Additionally, this work aims to enlarge the knowledge and the better practices of SPP in a large emerging South American country, giving its contribution to the transition to more sustainable societies.

Design Thinking: Challenges for Software Requirements Elicitation

Agile methods fit well for software development teams in the requirements elicitation activities. It has brought challenges to organizations in adopting the existing traditional methods, as well as new ones. Design Thinking has been used as a requirements elicitation technique and immersion in the process areas, which brings the client closer to the software project team and enables the creation of better projects. With the use of data triangulation, this paper brings a literature review that collected the challenges in software requirements elicitation in agile methodologies and the use of Design Thinking. The result gave way to a case study in a Brazilian public organization project, via user workshop questionnaire with 20 items, applied during the study, in order to identify the practice of Design Thinking in this context. We propose here an overview of 13 studied challenges, from which eight presented strong evidence of contribution (stakeholders involvement, requirements definition and validation, schedule, planning, requirement details and prioritization, and interdependence), three presented partial evidence of contribution and two were not eligible for conclusions (non-functional requirements, use of artifacts, and change of requirements). The main output of this work is to present an analysis of the use of Design Thinking to see if it fits properly to be used as a means of solving the challenges of elicitation of software requirements when using agile methods.

Learning and Transfer of Training: a Quasi-Experiment with Longitudinal Design

Abstract This paper aimed to evaluate learning in three trainings held at a Brazilian federal public organization. It is a longitudinal quasi-experiment with three waves, pre-test (before training - T1), post-test 1 (right after the end of the training - T2) and post-test 2 (around three months after the training - T3). Learning was assessed with situational tests, so results are based on performance rather than self-assessment. Results show that the experimental group obtained better scores in post-test 1 than it did in the pre-test and better scores than the control group did in post-test 2. There were no difference in the results obtained by the control group, comparing pre and post-test, and that there was no difference in tests according to previous experience and demographic data. Results indicate that learning occurred as a consequence of training and was not explained by other factors of the organizational environment or individuals.

Attributes of the Organizational Change and Its Influence on Attitudes Toward Organizational Change and Well-Being at Work: A Longitudinal Study

This study investigates the role of attributes of organizational change and attitudes toward change as antecedents of well-being at work and how these antecedents vary over the course of an organizational change. Drawing on cognitive theories (a) organization change planning, (b) perceived risk level, and (c) attitudes toward organizational change are examined as antecedents. Attitudes toward change have also been tested as mediators in the relationship between change attributes and well-being. Hypotheses are tested in a three-wave study of 505, 390, and 348 respondents in each wave, involving employees from a Brazilian public organization undergoing a strategic reorientation toward continuous improvement. Attitudes toward change had stable positive effects in each wave, conducted 12, 24, and 48 months after the change was initiated. This study corroborates the findings that uncertainty and risk contribute to the formation of negative cognitions and feelings throughout the process of organizational change but do not necessarily result in discomfort in relation to the work and the organization. The effects of both planning for the change and the perceived risk level were not moderated by time. The results of this study do not support the idea of gradual shifts and discontinuous information processing in employee’s cognitive models. On the contrary, it is possible to conclude that perceptions have been confirmed over time. Implications for managing employee reactions and well-being in different phases of change are discussed.