Decentralization Of Decision Research Articles

Community-based Islamic education: Democratizing learning through local wisdom

This study examines the role of community-based education in the context of Islam as a means of democratizing education and integrating local wisdom, motivated by the need for a more inclusive and responsive education system. Using a literature study method, this research analyzes primary and secondary sources related to Islamic education, democratization, and local wisdom. The results reveal that community-based education has strong historical and normative roots in Islamic tradition, reflected in various forms of traditional educational institutions such as mosques, kuttabs, and pesantrens. This educational model is proven to encourage active community participation, decentralization of decision-making, and integration of local values into the curriculum. However, its implementation faces challenges in balancing national standards with local autonomy, as well as potential conflicts between universal Islamic values and local cultural practices. This study highlights the complexity of integrating local wisdom into modern Islamic education in the era of globalization, paving the way for further research on optimal mechanisms for adapting this educational model to increasingly diverse Muslim societies.

Multi-agent system-assisted fault section location scheme for distribution networks with DFIG-based wind DGs

This paper proposes a multi-agent system (MAS)-assisted relaying scheme to identify the fault section in a distribution network (DN) that incorporates doubly-fed induction generators (DFIG)-based wind distributed generations (DGs). Firstly, to mitigate the adverse effect of the uncertain fault behavior of DFIGs on conventional directional elements, the fault direction identifiers (FDIs) are assigned at the I-type and II-type buses in the DN using the high-frequency component principle. Furthermore, a MAS-assisted relaying structure is devised to collect and integrate these identifiers and then accomplish the fault section location. On the one hand, since the setting of FDIs only requires local current information and the logical signals are solely exchanged within each predetermined associated region, the proposed fault section location scheme can be implemented in an immature DN with a limited number of voltage transformers or under weak synchronization conditions. On the other hand, the autonomy and cooperation of intelligent Agents also enable the proposed scheme to determine the fault section in a decentralized decision-making (DDM) mode, eliminating the dependence on strong central control and reducing redundant data transmission in a multi-bus distribution system. Simulation results under representative faulty scenarios validate the expected performance of the protection scheme.

Political corruption in the Arab Mediterranean countries: an innovative typology

ABSTRACT Corruption is a major challenge in the Arab Mediterranean countries (AMCs). The fight against it was a key point in the Arab uprisings, yet since then and despite the international community’s attempts to support anti-corruption strategies, the governments of the AMCs have not been able to address effectively the demands of their population. The article compares the anti-corruption initiatives in four AMCs: two republican semi-presidential systems (Egypt, Tunisia) and two constitutional monarchies (Jordan, Morocco). It focuses on their fight against political corruption, which has different forms. To reduce corruption, policymakers advocate the decentralization of power, as it leads to more accountability and transparency. The article unpacks the idea of decentralization and asks to what extent it contributes to reducing political corruption in the region. In doing so, the article produces a new typology that adds two important factors that contribute to a better understanding of the links between anti-corruption initiatives and decentralization: the challenges to the political survival of the government and the type of external support to fight corruption. The findings show that decentralization measures frequently result in administrative deconcentration rather than the decentralization of decision-making. Thus, they reproduce political corruption in the region.

A solution method for stochastic multilevel programming problems. A systematic sampling evolutionary approach

Stochastic multilevel programming is a mathematical programming problem with some given number of hierarchical levels of decentralized decision makers and having some kind of randomness properties in the problem definition. The introduction of some randomness property in its hierarchical structure makes stochastic multilevel problems computationally challenging and expensive. In this article, a systematic sampling evolutionary method is adapted to solve the problem. The solution procedure is based on realization of the random variables and systematic partitioning of each hierarchical level’s decision space for searching an optimal reaction. The search goes sequentially upwards starting from the bottom up through the top hierarchical level problem. The existence of solution and convergence of the solution procedure is shown. The solution procedure is implemented and tested on some selected deterministic test problems from literature. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can be used to solve stochastic multilevel programming problems with additional complexity in their problem definition.

Workshop on how persons with care needs participate in local health governance structures.

Participation of citizens in health policy and health care organization has been recognized as cardinal since Alma Ata health care for all declaration. Yet, the width and breadth remain contested and implementation difficult. Movements to involving and empowering communities in decision making for health priorities and interventions varied from instrumentalizes community health worker approaches to bottom-up health policy planning. Especially in countries where professional health systems were weak these strategies received much attention and support, less so in professionally dominated health systems in Europe.
 Yet the shift from an individual care-oriented system towards a population based approach has opened opportunities to rethink health governance at local levels, and the voice of the population. Population-based health management implies the defining and addressing of health care needs of a specific population defined for instance by a geographic delineation. This allows decentralization of decision-making. However, especially in a highly professionalized health care system, such shifts are difficult. Implementation challenges relate to whom to involve, how to organize representation, and how to ensure equitable participation of different stakeholders. 
 In this working session, we aim to address the implementation challenge of how persons with care needs and informal care givers can take up and develop their role in governance of local health care planning. We will take a practice-based approach, exploring the role, organisation and effects of participation of citizens in the local care councils in the primary care zones in Flanders, Belgium. In part 1, persons with care needs and informal caregiver representatives in care councils will present their stories, implementation challenges and utility of instruments such as the participation toolbox. In part 2, session participants will assess tools and strategies for the challenges presented in a world café format. In part 3, the results of the café discussions will be presented to a panel of person and informal caregiver representatives, policy makers and researchers from different countries, to provide locally relevant and international perspectives on the problem and solutions. The session will be co-led by people with care needs, people from the implementation support organization VIVEL and by researchers from two higher education institutions. 
 Organisers: Josefien van Olmen (University of Antwerp), Christophe Wille (Artevelde University of Applied Sciences), Marlies De Clerck (VIVEL), Naomi De Bruyne (Coördinator Steunpunt Mantelzorg), Lieve Dossche, Annet Wauters (Vlaams Patiënten Platform), Lie Verryssen (VIVEL), Patricia De Vriendt (Vrije Universiteit Brussels, University of Applied Sciences)
 Procedures to ensure representation and inclusion: simultaneous translation in English and Dutch. 
 

The Strategic Performance Measurement System and Organisational Performance Through the Lenses of Contextual Factors: Empirical Evidence from the Hotel Industry

Abstract The unprecedented effects of COVID-19 have been problematic for hotels. Therefore, implementing a performance measurement system (PMS) has become critical for hotel organisations. This study thus examined how the balanced scorecard (BSC) as a strategic PMS has a function in revealing hotel performance. Two contextual factors of hotels—external environmental uncertainty (EEU) and decentralised decision-making—were also investigated to understand their effects on the use of the BSC, which, in turn, determines hotel performance. A survey was conducted involving 145 four- and five-star hotels in Turkey. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. It was found that EEU is significantly related to decentralised decision-making but not to the BSC. Meanwhile, the BSC does not have an indirect effect on the relationship between EEU and hotel performance; however, it was found to act as a mediator between the decentralisation of decision-making and hotel performance. Finally, decentralised decision-making was found to act as a mediator between EEU and the BSC.

High-performance Work System and Employee Retention: A mediated Mediation Model

High performance work systems HPWS are integrated human resource approaches designed to enhance employees' skills and efforts, resulting in higher levels of performance and productivity (Zhu, et al., 2018). The major components of HPWS include selective hiring procedures, employment security, decentralization of decision-making, extensive training, information exchange, and fair paying, all of which are interconnected and work in concert (Zhang et al., 2019). Performance is increased when HPWS is employee service-oriented, while morale and employee retention ER are increased when HPWS is creativity-oriented (Jo et al., 2023). HPWS is more efficient than traditional organizational systems, nevertheless, it is yet unclear how this happens. Multiple studies have produced conflicting findings, and some even contend that HPWS may increase employee effort and stress (Jensen et al., 2022; Cooke et al., 2019). There is a gap on previous researches explaining how HPWS can help translate EPB, JE, and EP into better ER outcomes and whether this relationship differs depending on the organizational setting or the industries, these connections need to be explored further in order to find practical methods improve organizational capacity for employee retention. In accordance with Vision 2030 and the (National Transformation Program) the Saudi government is increasing the private sector's contribution to the nation's healthcare system (Rahman & Al-Borie, 2021).Even though a lot of work has been put into HPWS, there are still large research gaps in Saudi Arabia.So this study is enhancing the current knowledge by examining possible mediators (i.e., EPB, JE, and EP) between HPWS and ER helps further knowledge of the function of HPWS in the Saudi Arabian healthcare system in light of Vision 2030. Keywords: High performance work system, Employee Proactive Behaviour, Job engagement, Employee performance, Employee retention

MANAGEMENT QUALITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANT VARIABLES

At the root of success in the tough competition, characterized by many unknowns which affect the way of business is conducted, is the quality of management. The universality of management is an undeniable reality, and its importance is all the more obvious as organizations become more complex. This study focuses on some of the most important variables that condition the quality of management. The variables are multiple, but the most important ones refer to the quality of human resources, which is reflected in personal skills and qualities, and the quality of decisions made within the management activity. The quality of the information is added to them, since they represent the "raw material" of the foundation, adoption and operationalization and follow-up of managerial decisions. Moreover, doing effective business today involves providing the right information at the right time to the right people. Also particular importance are the quality of the managerial tools used and last, but not least, the quality of the procedural and structural organization. Improving the quality of management implies, on the one hand, attracting and keeping talented and competent employees in the company, it being known that performance is an exclusive result of the quality of the human factor. On the other hand, the decision-making system in the management of the organization needs a priority treatment, given the importance of the decision which remains the biggest source of business risk. Regarding the managerial tools, it is recommended to promote modern management systems, methods and techniques adapted to the needs of each organization, but also to the managerial functions for which they are used. Fundamental importance are here: decision-making decentralization, avoiding high specialization at the job level that generates routine and reducing the extent to which organizations are based on strict rules.

Research on Pricing and Coordination of Dual-Channel Green Supply Chain

In recent years, environmental pollution and resource waste have become the focus of heated discussion around the world. In order to realize green and sustainable development, the development of green supply chain (GSC) has attracted the attention of many scholars. The research object of this paper is the dual-channel green supply chain (DGSC) composed of online channels and offline channels. The supplier is the leader of the entire DGSC, and it needs to optimize the wholesale price of the product and the level of green investment to maximize its own benefit. In addition, the supplier also needs to establish contracts with network sales platform (NSP) and store sales platform (SSP) to increase the benefit of NSP and SSP, and ultimately increase the benefit level of the entire DGSC. Among them, we constructed a centralized decision (CD) model and a decentralized decision (DD) model, and obtained the optimal pricing, optimal greenness and optimal benefit of the supplier, NSP and SSP under the two models. We found that the benefits of SC members under the DD model are generally lower than those of the CC model. Therefore, we built contracts between the supplier, NSP and SSP to coordinate. Finally, we substituted specific parameters to verify the model. The following conclusions are drawn: (i) When consumers prefer online sales channels, it will positively affect the online sales price, online sales volume and greenness level of DGSC. At the same time, it negatively affects offline sales price and sales volume. (ii) The benefit of DGSC and the benefit of NSP, SSP, and the supplier show a phenomenon of decline first and then increase with respect to consumers’ preference for online sales channels. (iii) Under the coordination contract, the subsidy factor positively affects the benefits of the supplier and online and offline wholesale prices, and negatively affects the benefits of online platforms and physical stores.

Linking decentralization in decision-making to resilience outcomes: a supply chain orientation perspective

PurposeGlobal supply chains are increasingly becoming more prone to high-impact disruptions, which has been fairly evident with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The capacity to address disruptions is essential for the survival of any organization. Coping with increasing complexity and uncertainties requires a systemic view of supply chains. Furthermore, a comprehensive understanding of the governance structure and timely decision-making are critical in times of disruptions. Although several aspects of supply chain resilience (SCRES) are broadly studied in the literature, the relationship between supply chain orientation (SCO), decentralization in decision-making and SCRES is an understudied area.Design/methodology/approachThis study takes a longitudinal approach to address this research gap with a comprehensive meta-analytic review to explore the relationships between the constructs of interest through the lenses of contingency and dynamic capability theories. Furthermore, 2 surveys with sample sizes of 250 and 200 were conducted with supply chain professionals to test the research framework before and after the pandemic to compare the findings.FindingsStructural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis indicates a positive relationship between SCO and decentralization and between decentralization and SCRES. The post-COVID-19 analysis further validates the influence of agility, collaboration and situational awareness related to decentralization and resilience. More importantly, capabilities have a higher impact on resilience during the pandemic than before.Practical implicationsThe results entreat organizations to attain decentralized decision-making vis-à-vis dedicated functional teams charged with reacting timely to disruptions. The teams should be empowered to leverage their knowledge and experiences regardless of their position in the hierarchy.Originality/valueAlthough SCRES is an active research stream, the structural aspects of SCRES and its relationship with SCO are understudied. Therefore, this research puts forth a research framework and empirically tests hypotheses that frame the relationship between SCO, decentralization and resilience outcomes in pre- and post-COVID environments.

Insights into health sector governance in a turbulent environment - towards best-practice approach

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred at a high spreading rate with sudden pattern changes, high variability, and unpredictability. This generated uncertainty making it hard for authorities to predict, plan, and conventionally prepare preventive and suppressive actions. As a result, governments worldwide had to find new, more comprehensive, and complex solutions to manage the health sector in a turbulent environment. The paper?s main objective is to analyze different organizational practices that respond to the COVID-19 crisis regarding healthcare sector resilience and describe best practices. Health sector authorities should consider applying the ?new mode of governance,? which refers to a policy not limited to a single approach with less hierarchy and formalism and with a flatter governance structure. Countries that have had more success in COVID-19 crisis suppression applied ?dynamic resilience? with decentralization in decision-making, a more important role of front-line healthcare providers, high transparency, and flexibility enabling continuous adaptation to rapidly changing conditions.

Participatory Methods for Urban Development

Many developing countries as well as some developed countries suffer from the problem of slums. They constitute a real defect in the economic and social development plan of the concerned countries. The methods used to finance development projects in countries vary according to the different social, economic, and legislative influences. The process of providing the expenses required for these projects is one of the most important problems that governments face. The study aims to establish some rules and principles in a proposed theoretical framework and to document some of the experiences of supporting cities globally as well as in the African and Arab countries, by using a general analysis model that includes Egyptian experiences to understand the most important problems related to sustainable development and how to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the development of urban planning and management. An analytical study is conducted to the experience of participatory development of Manshiyet Nasser is presented and the proposed development programs to determine their advantages and disadvantages. The study concluded to identifying several recommendations for dealing with slums and setting an integrated urban development model for low-income areas that can be replicated in other similar sites. The study also concluded that in development projects, focus is placed on popular participation and decentralization in decision-making, seeking to solve existing problems in society and taking the initiative to experiment new methods from which the government refrains for fear of failure.

EDUCATION OF MIGRANTS IN THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES

The article examines the level of education in the Scandinavian countries, educational opportunities for first- and second-generation migrants. The research demonstrates the high level of education provided by Scandinavian higher education institutions not only for the local population, but also for international students. The developed Scandinavian education system with good learning conditions and relatively low tuition fees for foreigners attracts foreign students. We also examined the economic component of the success of Scandinavian education systems. The level of education in the Scandinavian countries is one of the highest in the world, the state budget for the development of the education sector is much larger than in other EU countries. Annually the countries of the Scandinavian region allocate the largest share of the budget among European states to education. Decentralization of decision-making and administration of basic education to regional and local bodies is typical in all Nordic region countries. National-level decision-making is also divided between ministries and one or several national agencies in all these countries. The article provides statistics on the level of education of the general population and a comparison of the level of labor migrants’ education. In order to understand the comprehensive picture of education and employment of immigrants, we carefully examined the migration waves and trends in Northern Europe from the second half of the last century to the present. The article provides detailed statistical data on migrants and their descendants in Scandinavia in general and on individual countries, the status and statistics on family migration. Scandinavian scientists and statisticians comprehensively study the issue of migrants and their integration into society, they realize the fact that new arrivals should be considered and treated as individuals with specific problems. That’s why they need a thorough study of their immigrant background, providing opportunities to learn English or the required Scandinavian language, as well as opportunities and prospects for Ukrainian migrants under martial law.

Polychronicity, decision-making and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of venture team founders: an exploratory study

PurposeThis study explores the role of polychronic temporal orientation and decision-making decentralization on founders' perceptions of entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE).Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal survey data were collected from 141 business founders in China.FindingsFindings suggest that decision-making decentralization is positively associated with founders' ESE. In addition, a polychronic temporal orientation is positively related to ESE, and this relationship is mediated by decision-making decentralization.Originality/valueThis study adds to existing knowledge on ESE and temporal related issues by presenting empirical evidence that explains how and why the temporal orientation context and the practice of decision-making decentralization can shape ESE perceptions among venture founders.

Carbon emission reduction decisions in construction supply chain based on differential game with government subsidies

In the context of a low-carbon economy, carbon emission reduction (CER) has become an environmental issue of world concern. As a key industry sector for CER, buildings' CER behavior in the low-carbon building supply chain is affected by the policies of various national governments. This paper fills this research gap by studying and analyzing the CER decision of the construction supply chain under government subsidies with the help of differential game theory and MATLAB numerical analysis software. In this paper, the differential game model with the centralized decision-making (CDM), decentralized decision-making (DDM) and the introduction of cost-sharing contract (CSC) for CER in the construction supply chain under the government subsidies model with developers and contractors as stakeholders in the construction industry are constructed with the help of differential game theory, taking the amount of CER in construction as the state variable, and the optimal feedback equilibrium strategies of both parties in the 3 decision-situations are derived and compared, as well as the optimal trajectory of CER in construction over time. The study found that after the introduction of CSC, the total profit of the construction supply chain under DDM reaches the level of CDM. Complemented by government subsidies, the building CER and the market demand for low-carbon buildings reach optimal values for both parties under DDM.

The Environmental Impact Assessment of Sanitation Projects in Chile: Overview and Improvement Opportunities Focused on Follow-Ups.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a legal and administrative tool aimed to identify, predict, and interpret the impact of a project or activity on the environment and human health. The EIA also evaluates the accuracy of the predictions and audits the effectiveness of the established preventive measures. Regarding the sanitation sector, efficiency of wastewater treatments and sanitation networks determine the pollutant level of the discharged liquid effluents and the subsequent impact on the environment and human health. This problematic makes necessary to assess how proper the regulatory follow-ups of sanitation projects is. This paper evaluates the performance of the Chilean EIA System concerning to sanitation projects. Taking into account that the more restrictive Environmental Impact Study (EIS) and more permissive Environmental Impact Declaration (EID) are the ways for projects’ entry to the EIA System in Chile, 5336 sanitation projects submitted to EIA between 1994 and 2019 were complied. A representative sample of 76 projects (15 entered as EIS and 61 as EID) was analyzed by using a principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) through 14 selected performance indicators. Observed weaknesses have led to propose improvement opportunities of the EIA focused on the follow-ups after the environmental license is obtained, such as creation of a simplified sanctioning procedure, decentralization of decision-making, deadline establishment in each stage, and unified direct link for each project. These proposals seek to improve the effectiveness of monitoring and possible sanctions to early identify impacts of sanitation projects on the environment and human health. This paper introduces a robust methodology for evaluation criteria focused on the follow-ups analysis, which can be used in other countries that consider respectful sanitation projects have direct social and environmental benefits leading to long-term indirect cultural and economic values.

US Special Forces transformation: post-Fordism and the limits of networked warfare

Abstract The last two decades have witnessed a rapid rise in the use, size and capability of many western Special Operations Forces (SOF). A response to the global jihadist threat, the growing presence, prominence and technology-enabled lethality of SOF in conflict zones has resulted in increased scholarly attention. Some have argued that their rise is indicative of important and ongoing changes in the character of war itself. One of the most influential of these works is Steven Niva's study of the transformation of US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Forces in Iraq. Niva argues that JSOC (more accurately its Task Force 714 Command Headquarters, henceforth TF714) was forced to adopt a networked organizational structure to counter Al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI). For Niva, this transformation provided evidence of a shift towards ‘counter-net’ and ‘chaoplexic’ forms of warfare conceptualized by Bousquet in this journal. This article uses new primary and secondary sources to critique these claims. It argues that although a network approach was an important part of TF714's transformation, it was only one part. Instead, JSOC's transformation is more accurately understood through a post-Fordist industrial framework of the centralization of management control and the simultaneous decentralization of decision-making; the integration of core and periphery forces; outsourcing; and a network approach to knowledge. From this analysis, it argues that post-Fordist, rather than network or chaoplexic theory, best describes even the most networked military organizations in the twenty-first century, and that more broadly, fully networked warfare is unlikely given the frictions associated with the coming ‘binary’ battlefield.

Sleep late? Pre-reform institutional embeddedness and entrepreneurial reinvestment of private firms in China’s transition economy

PurposeThis study aims to introduce an important temporal dimension to the research on institution and entrepreneurship in the transition period. This study develops the concept of pre-reform institutional embeddedness, and explores its impact on entrepreneurial reinvestment of private firms in China’s transition economy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used secondary data of a nationally representative sample of China’s private firms collected in the early days of the institutional transition period and applied ordinary least squares regressions and the Baron and Kenny approach to test the theoretical model.FindingsPre-reform institutional embeddedness has a negative impact on entrepreneurial reinvestment of private firms in the transition period. This relationship is mediated by guanxi-induced employment, such that pre-reform institutional embeddedness promotes guanxi-induced employment, which in turn discourages a private firm to reinvest. Additionally, the negative impact of guanxi-induced employment on entrepreneurial reinvestment is reduced when decentralization of decision-making is used.Practical implicationsFirst, entrepreneurs should be aware of pre-reform institutional embeddedness’ negative influence on firms’ risk-taking abilities and incentives. Private firms already constrained by this connection could alleviate the negative impacts through a widespread delegation of decision-making authority. Second, policymakers should be cautious about improper government-business relationships, which may discourage private firms from fully pursuing entrepreneurial growth opportunities.Originality/valueThis paper makes theoretical contributions to the literature on entrepreneurial reinvestment, embeddedness perspective of entrepreneurship and imprinting theory.

Municipal solid waste management decision-making during COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison between Brazil and Portugal

Decisions related to waste management were affected to contain the advance of the new coronavirus pandemic. Different measures have been adopted between countries around the world. This study aims to assess changes in decision-making on solid waste management in Brazil and Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the socioeconomic differences and the context of waste management in each country before the health crisis. A literature review was carried out on scientific bases, PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science. Differences were noted in decisions and guidelines for good practices in waste management, with measures being observed in a decentralized manner in Brazil, differently from what was observed in Portugal. In this way, the understanding of urban waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil becomes complex, in addition to the territorial extension and the diverse social composition, due to the decentralization of decision-making, while Portugal centralizes decisions related to waste management and has a smaller population and territorial extension.

Effect of service quality on software sales and coordination mechanism in IT service supply chain

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>Currently, the upstream software developer usually cooperates with the downstream service provider to sell software and related services to client enterprises. Furthermore, the quality of pre-sale services provided by the provider has significant impact on software sales and on the performance of IT service supply chain (ITSSC). However, the existing research on IT service supply chain management (ITSSCM) lacks attention to this issue. In this study, we consider an ITSSC with a software developer, a service provider and client enterprises. Two scenarios are discussed in this study. Our study finds that the quality of pre-sale services provided by the provider and the price of extended warranty service (EWS) provided by the developer (in centralized decision-making (CDM)) are both higher than those in decentralized decision-making (DDM); when the sensitivity of clients to the software price is lower than a certain critical value, the software sales price (in CDM) is unexpectedly higher than that in DDM; however, when it is higher than the certain value, the software sales price (in CDM) is lower than that in DDM. Due to the double marginal effect between the developer and the provider, the total profit of ITSSC (in DDM) is always lower than that in CDM. By providing a combined coordination contract based on "guiding price <inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}$ + $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> service cost sharing <inline-formula><tex-math id="M2">\begin{document}$ + $\end{document}</tex-math></inline-formula> product revenue sharing", not only the total profit of ITSSC can be increased, but also the profit of ITSSC members can be Pareto improved.</p>