Government Management System Research Articles

Protecting and regaining clarity of mission in the microfinance industry

PurposeThe paper's aim is to thoroughly examine solutions to mission diffusion and mission drift in the microfinance industry.Design/methodology/approachExtensive field experience relating to individual microfinance institutions and industry trends provide the grounding for a review of the trade and academic literatures in microfinance and social enterprise management.FindingsMission diffusion arises from pursuing diverse approaches to poverty alleviation and addressing disparate and changing stakeholder interests. Mission drift arises from commercialization and conversion activities aimed toward enhancing ratings and achieving scale. Mission clarity can be regained through clarification of the mission along with more effective corporate governance and performance management systems, and a research function.Practical implicationsThe tension between financial and social performance is not merely ideological – economic realities make it almost impossible to stay on mission. Understanding these realities can help microfinance institutions maintain and regain clarity of mission.Originality/valueThe paper sheds new light on solutions for challenges of mission drift and diffusion in the microfinance industry. Addressing this would enable the industry to deliver on promises of poverty alleviation during a period of heavy demand rapid scaling.

From drought to deluge: how information overload saturated absorption capacity in a disrupted health sector

Provision of technical assistance is a common form of support to health sectors emerging from prolonged conflicts. But what actions signal that the Ministry of Health (MoH) is, or is not, actively analysing and digesting the output of this assistance? Where are the boundaries between doing with and doing for? This article presents a qualitative description of an early post-conflict policy process in southern Sudan, which represented an opportunity to test these boundaries. The methodology of provision of technical assistance to the MoH in the formulation of a human resource plan is reviewed. Initial objectives are compared with the results accomplished. Shortcomings are discussed and recommendations for technical assistance programmes in similar contexts are provided. Between October 2005 and May 2006, World Health Organization advisers supported the MoH in conducting a human resources assessment to lay the grounds for a human resources development plan. The study employed three consultants, ten data collectors and entailed questionnaires, field visits, interviews and a review of literature. The survey shed new important evidence on the human resources situation in southern Sudan, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, and formulated specific recommendations. The formulation of the human resources plan, however, took another direction, apparently unrelated to the findings of the survey. Various factors contributed to the scope and methodology of the survey being inappropriate to the reality of southern Sudan. In the presence of systemic capacity gaps, including uncertain governance and precarious management systems, the benefit of one-off comprehensive surveys is likely to be negligible. Inaction is not always rooted in the lack of information, as too often assumed; this case study exposes the limits of a rationalistic approach to policy formulation and planning in the field of human resources for health. An alternative approach that entails incremental steps to institutional capacity building is suggested.

Consumer demand and quality assurance: segmentation basis and implications for chain governance in the pork sector

Consumers differ in their demands, and this may have implications for the type of supply chain governance that is most suitable for serving them. We present a segmentation of pork consumers in the EU based on their food-related lifestyles and demands for different pork products. We then present an inventory of pork chain governance and quality management systems, also resulting from a pan-European study, and attempt to match types of chains to consumer segments, arguing that the type of quality demanded by consumers has implications especially for the quality management system governing the chain, and that these implications are different for fresh meat and processed meat. The paper closes with a call for more collaboration between chain researchers and consumer researchers.

A Novel Security Mechanism for Hybrid Encryption in Mineral Management Information System

Abstract To increase the tax collection of mineral resources and enhance the management of resource exploitation, computerized mineral management information systems (HMIs) are developed and applied to the government management system. The MMIS are run at checking portals that inspect trucks transporting minerals. Only the trucks with the special pemut (also called ticket) can pass through the checking portal after the ticket is correctly authenticated by the MMIS. Due to the huge economic benefits of the special tickets, the tickets are frequently fabricated. Because tickets are exoteric and current, the security of them becomes an urgent problem. In this paper, a novel security mechanism is proposed for the mineral management information system, in which the hash fixnction, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) encryption algorithm and ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) encryption algorithm are hybrid to encode and encrypt the data involved with the ticket according to different sensitivity levels. Data are...

The American Medical Association, Health Insurance Association of America, and Creation of the Corporate Health Care System

This narrative demonstrates how public and private power interacted during the post–World War II era to create America's unique health care system, a system based on a high-cost, corporate model financed and managed by insurance companies. The article compares the divergent political, organizational, and economic strategies of the American Medical Association (AMA), which represented physicians, and the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA), which represented for-profit insurance firms. Even after the defeat of President Harry Truman's plan for a universal, government-managed system, policymakers in both parties attempted to reform the health care market, because most observers recognized that the embryonic insurance-company-funded model had inherent cost problems. In order to defeat numerous reform proposals, AMA and HIAA leaders allied to rapidly develop the market around insurance-company financing. Insurers and physicians constructed overlapping institutions to manage their increasingly close financial relationship, thus creating a pseudocorporate arrangement. In an attempt to control costs, insurance companies expanded their function beyond simply underwriting the risks associated with medical services consumption to also assuming a supervisory role, albeit distant, over health care delivery. When policymakers designed Medicare, they adopted the organizational framework that private health interests had already created, thereby legitimizing the previously contested high-cost model.

Cost optimization of a real-time GIS-based management system for hazardous waste transportation

In this paper, the design and cost analysis of a real-time, geographical information system (GIS) based management system for hazardous waste transportation are described. The implementation of such a system can effectively prevent illegal dumping and perform emergency responses during the transportation of hazardous wastes. A case study was conducted in Guangzhou, China to build a small-scale, real-time management system for waste transportation. Two alternatives were evaluated in terms of system capability and cost structure. Alternative I was the building of a complete real-time monitoring and management system in a governing agency; whereas alternative II was the combination of the existing management framework with a commercial Telematics service to achieve the desired level of monitoring and management. The technological framework under consideration included locating transportation vehicles using a global positioning system (GPS), exchanging vehicle location data via the Internet and Intranet, managing hazardous waste transportation using a government management system and responding to emergencies during transportation. Analysis of the cost structure showed that alternative II lowered the capital and operation cost by 38 and 56% in comparison with alternative I. It is demonstrated that efficient management can be achieved through integration of the existing technological components with additional cost benefits being achieved by streamlined software interfacing.

Method of coupled interactions for real-time management of resource allocation

A method of coupled interactions for real-time management of resource allocation is proposed. A distinctive feature of the method is the replacement of the enumeration of decision patterns, requiring high computational efforts, by bilateral negotiations aimed at detecting conflicts and reaching compromises between incoming requests and available means in constructing complex schedules. This feature provides significant advantages during solution of complex problems of real-time resource allocation, which can be important for corporate and government management systems.

Managing and Controlling Extrabudgetary Funds

This paper addresses issues relating to the establishment and financial management of extrabudgetary funds (EBFs), a large group of government entities that on average accounts for 40 to 45 percent of central government expenditure-two-thirds of which represents social security funds-in countries at various stages of development. If improperly designed and managed, EBFs can undermine effective fiscal control. However, they also bring potential benefits in the form of greater autonomy of decision-making in countries with well-established governance and financial management systems that have applied the agency model of devolved public management and fiscal control. The paper develops a typology of EBFs and argues that EBFs are frequently created because of failures in the budget system and political economy factors that need to be recognized and, where possible, corrected. The paper recommends that data on EBFs be consolidated within a unified system of fiscal reporting and proposes an analytical framework that governments might use to evaluate the effectiveness and utility of their EBFs.

Evaluating Restoration Success on Lyell Island, British Columbia Using Oblique Videogrammetry

Abstract In degraded ecosystems where the impact on wildlife and the destruction of natural systems is high, restoration becomes a critical component of recovery. Monitoring restoration activities plays a key role in determining end points for restoration and assessing effectiveness. Appropriate monitoring of major systems, particularly in assessing vegetation reestablishment and slope stabilization, requires a long‐term commitment to annual assessment of change and improvement over time. However, intrinsic factors built into government or public management systems, such as budgeting and staffing limitations, limit the ability for long‐term monitoring of critical restoration projects. In the research reported in this article, we devised and assessed a new remote method for assessing restoration success and tested it on restoration and monitoring requirements in Lyell Island, British Columbia. We developed a system (the oblique data fusion system [ODFS]) to extract spatial information from oblique aerial video imagery. The ODFS enables low‐cost change detection and database updates at a range of operational scales. System tests show an absolute spatial accuracy on the order of ±2.1 m. The evaluation, based on digitized historical data, ground surveys, and the ODFS‐derived data, indicates that the landslide rate (new area/year) tapered off following treatment; after 5 years it had been reduced by a factor of 3 relative to the background rate. The recovery is deemed sufficient to initiate secondary restoration tasks. The evaluation demonstrates the accuracy and utility of the ODFS for long‐term monitoring of landscape restoration efforts, particularly in remote areas. In conclusion, this new innovative method shows considerable promise for park managers.

Poverty and Resource Degradation Under Different Common Forest Resource Management Systems in the Mountains of Nepal

Different types of forest management systems in the study area are analyzed, followed by an assessment of nontimber forest products (NTFPs) use systems and collection practices under the government and community-managed systems, and their implications for the status of forests and NTFPs. Confronted with severe poverty arising from small landholdings and scarce nonfarming employment opportunities, villagers in the upper portion of the watershed have benefited considerably from the income derived from NTFPs. Findings indicate that various components of a common forest resource can be managed differently and undergo degradation at different rates. NTFPs are undergoing degradation more seriously than timber under both government and community forest management systems. However, NTFP degradation is more serious in government forests than in community forests. Such degradation is due primarily to a lack of proper institutional arrangements, including the lack of a comprehensive government policy framework for sustainable use and management of NTFPs.

A Study of Structuring of New Management Systemfor Local Governments in Japan

“Bubble Economy” created many sort of problems in Japan Recently, many local governments in Japan are facing to financial crisis. They are trying to cut down expenses on public works and services, not only infrastructure but also public welfare and education service. However, it is still difficult to improve financial circumstances. For finding real situation of problems exiting in local governments, a study on public works implementation system is carried out. As a result, it could be found that the local government management system was strictly followed the central government way. It is necessary to establish ‘New Public Management System’ for improve financial circumstances.

A tragedy of non-timber forest resources in the mountain commons of Nepal

There is increasing degradation of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) in the mountains of Nepal. It has been proposed that different components of a common property resource (CPR) do not undergo degradation at the same rate, as they are not managed in the same way under different types of property rights regimes. To examine this, information was collected through a survey of 324 households, community resource assessment ranking and group discussion in a small mountain watershed of Nepal. The study analysed NTFP collection and management practices under government and community forest management systems, and impact of these practices on the status of forest and NTFPs. The analysis based on people's perception revealed that NTFPs were being depleted more rapidly than timber components in both types of forest. The pace of depletion was, however, considerably lower in community forests, as these forests were accessible only to the relevant forest user group members. Depletion of NTFPs was due primarily to the lack of proper institutional arrangements, including the lack of a comprehensive government policy framework, for sustainable use and management of NTFPs.

ВПРОВАДЖЕННЯ СИСТЕМИ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЯКІСТЮ В ОРГАНАХ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ВЛАДИ

The introduction of a quality management system to improve the quality of communications between the executive branch and society, which will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of public administration, reduce unreasonable or unnecessary time, improve the quality of management decisions and transparency of their mechanism. It is determined that the essence of management as the operation of human and financial resources to achieve a certain goal in the private and public sectors is the same. Therefore, new successful management models that have proven their effectiveness in the private sector have been borrowed by the state, in particular the introduction of the ISO 9001: 2000 quality management standard in public authorities. It is investigated that the local authorities of Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhya region, 2003), Komsomolsk (Poltava region, 2004) and Makeyevka (Donetsk region, 2006) were the first among the authorities to introduce the ISO system). Development of such systems has started in the mayoralties of Slavutych (Kyiv region), Korosten (Zhytomyr region) and Kamianets-Podilskyi (Khmelnytsky region). The next were Volyn and Kyiv regional state administrations. Currently, the only central government body in Ukraine that has implemented and certified a quality management system is the MDCSU (certified in October 2005). A comparison of approaches to improving government management systems based on the use of ISO 9001 and the CAF model, found that the first of them is more focused on streamlining and formalizing activities and is most effective in bodies where consumers are not yet clearly defined, services, the order of execution of processes. It was found that the introduction of self-assessment according to the CAF model, which can be aimed at a comprehensive analysis of the activities of public authorities, identification of weaknesses and development of measures to improve the process. Such an analysis will be effective if the public authority understands consumer expectations, clearly regulates the procedure for carrying out current activities and requires its further improvement in order to increase consumer satisfaction.

“New” Management in local government — rhetoric or reality? A case study of changes in middle management roles and behaviour

A growing volume of literature during the 1980s and 90s has focused on changes in local government management systems, involving essentially a move from bureaucratic and professionally dominated “administration” to more flexible and private sector style, customer orientated “management” of service provision. However, relatively little empirical investigation has been undertaken into the impact of these changes on middle managers' work roles. Middle managers play a key role in the implementation of these organisational changes, and this paper, using a case‐study analysis of a County Council well advanced in its adoption of “new” management practices, identifies the changes which middle managers have experienced in their work roles since the mid‐1980s.

Central Government Agencies and the Management of Vocational Educational and Training

ABSTRACT The article considers current proposals for the contribution of central government departments towards the effective management of vocational education and training in The United Kingdom. Starting from some broad assumptions about the objectives of vocational education and training, an attempt is made to place discussions about what roles the Department of Education and Science and the Department of Employment/Manpower Services Commission should play in this field within the context of events that have occurred over the past forty years. Three alternative forms of management relationships are considered, two of which recommend the formation of a new department, either a Department of Education and Training or a Department of Employment and Vocational Training, while the third supports a refinement of present ad hoc inter‐departmental arrangements. After examining the perceived advantages and disadvantages of these proposals, it is suggested that a new central government management system is requi...