Public Administration Organizations Research Articles

New Organizational Forms of Contemporary Public Management: A Brief Analysis of Recent Experience of Mozambique

This theoretical essay is dedicated to present the constituent elements and characteristics of bureaucracy as a form of organization of public administration. In a second step discusses the criticism of the ideal typical bureaucratic dysfunctions related from the perspective that defends its lack of flexibility and efficiency in the process of functioning of organizations. We discuss also the contemporary current that underlie the new forms of administration, New Public Management and Interactive Governance and exposes some experiments related to the adoption of these new standards of public management in the context of the Mozambican public administration. Their preparation was based on the literature on the concepts of bureaucracy, the new public management approaches and experiences of the management of the Mozambican context. Concludes the existence of changes in the model and patterns of public management in the country, especially with the implementation of the public administration reform (2001-2011).

Algunas reformas estructurales en el Estado de Guanajuato para una administración pública eficaz

El presente estudio analiza los cambios en las estructuras administrativas más relevantes que han ocurrido en la administración pública del Gobierno del Estado de Guanajuato, derivado de la vigencia de la abrogada Ley Orgánica del Poder Ejecutivo para el Estado de Guanajuato de 1982, así como de la Ley que la sustituyó publicada en fecha 15 de diciembre del año 2000, con sus subsecuentes reformas, principalmente las de 2003 y 2012. Se resalta la importancia de las estructuras organizaciones de la administración pública como elementos medulares del cambio planeado; asimismo, se resalta la prioridad que en algunos periodos de la administración pública guanajuatense, se ha dado prioridad al fortalecimiento de estructuras con enfoque de planeación o de control. En el mismo sentido, se proponen algunas reformas estructurales de la administración pública del Estado de Guanajuato que en apreciación del autor son medulares para lograr una administración pública eficaz.

Organizational Competence Development in Two Public Agencies in the Netherlands

This article describes the results of a comparative case study of two competence development trajectories within Dutch public administration organizations. These two trajectories are rather different: One can be seen as a more theory-driven training approach whereas the other can be seen as practice-driven coaching. Their theoretical distinctions are elaborated upon, and the ways in which these differences impact upon their contributions to individual and organizational learning processes are analyzed. The article concludes with some observations on the relative value of both approaches as well as some conclusions about the ways in which the two approaches can strengthen each other and enhance individual and organizational learning.

Planning the information architecture in a local public administration organization

An Information Architecture is the basis for a comprehensive and integrated information system of any organization, capable of providing answers that meet the challenges posed by the contemporary competitive environment. In this paper we analyse a number of representative methodologies used in Information Architecture definitions and, based on a set of pre-defined criteria, we select the Adapted BSP (Business Systems Planning) Methodology to apply in a local public administration organization in Portugal. This methodology proved to be sufficiently flexible and suited to the goals proposed.

Rozhodování manažera při uvolňování pracovníků z podniku

The article deals with a department of human resources management and it is a personnel work. Many managers have to make an unpleasant decision on layoffs. This is a difficult situation for providing a solution. Using the circles model, as described in the article, is suitable when deciding. The model is based on the use of an informal working group structure and determination of personal relationships among employees. The application of the model requires manager's good knowledge of his subordinates. Using the model helps to minimize conflict situations in the workplace, to eliminate negative effects on other workers and contributes to a better work climate. The model facilitates managerial decisions on layoffs. The model can be applied not only in manufacturing companies and business ventures but also in public administration and other organizations. Wide application of the model in the field of human resources management represents one of its indisputable advantages for manager when deciding. Using the model is relevant especially to times of an economic downturn during reducing the number of employees in organizations.

Automatically producing tailored web materials for public administration

Public administration organizations commonly produce citizen-focused, informational materials describing public programs and the conditions under which citizens or citizen groups are eligible for these programs. The organizations write these materials for generic audiences because of the excessive human resource costs that would be required to produce personalized materials for everyone. Unfortunately, generic materials tend to be longer and harder to understand than materials tailored for particular citizens. Our work explores the feasibility and effectiveness of automatically producing tailored materials. We have developed an adaptive hypermedia application system that automatically produces tailored informational materials and have evaluated it in a series of studies. The studies demonstrate that: (1) subjects prefer tailored materials over generic materials, even if the tailoring requires answering a set of demographic questions first; (2) tailored materials are more effective at supporting subjects in their task of learning about public programs; and (3) the time required to specify the demographic information on which the tailoring is based does not significantly slow down the subjects in their information seeking task.

Evaluating municipal solid waste management performance in regions with strong seasonal variability

The evaluation of municipal solid waste (MSW) services using management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001) is important for improving the quality of such services. In this study, we prioritize and select performance indicators (PIs) for MSW service evaluation and organize them in a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) tool. The tool is applied for the period 2008–2011 to the public administration organization responsible for waste management in Loulé Municipality, Portugal, a region characterized by strong tourist seasonality. MSW management priorities are well established through EU directives and the application of PIs should allow service objectives to be quantified, including reducing the production of waste, increasing the quantity of recyclables, improving clients’ satisfaction with the service, improving workers’ motivation, decreasing the quantities of waste in landfills, and reducing service costs. The results indicate that the use of indicators and BSC tool can assess the strategic objectives of the organization and monitor its performance over time. The overall BSC assessment ratings were 51.7%, 66.1%, and 70.1% for 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively, indicating an improvement in overall service performance over time. The results demonstrate that monitoring seasonal variations of PIs in tourist regions is important since these variations can help to explain annual changes in the factors affecting waste services management, their impacts on overall service quality, and the best time for measures to be applied. Based on this case study, the BSC can effectively contribute to improvements in the quality and cost of MSW services in areas characterized by strong seasonal variations in population and waste.

E-government adoption in public administration organizations: integrating institutional theory perspective and resource-based view

We develop and test a theoretical model to investigate the adoption of government-to-government (G2G) information systems in public administration organizations. Specifically, this model explains how top management commitment (TMC) mediates the impact of external institutional pressures on internal organizational resource allocation, which finally leads to the adoption decision. The hypotheses were tested using survey data from public administration organizations in China. Results from partial least squares analyses suggest that coercive and normative pressures positively affect TMC, which then positively affects financial and information technology (IT) human resources in the G2G adoption process. In turn, financial and IT human resources are confirmed to positively affect the intention to adopt G2G. Surprisingly, we do not find support for our hypothesis that mimetic pressures directly influence TMC. Rather, a post hoc analysis implies that mimetic pressures indirectly influence TMC via the influence of coercive pressures. Our findings provide important managerial implications for public administration organizations.

Managers’ attitudes to innovation in public administration organizations

In this publication the author took up attempt introducing main tendencies in creation aims of contemporary organizations. One of them is co-creation value by organization and its clients. Realization this aim demands change of the predominant management logistics and directing its on systematic creation the environment of experiences favourable to interactions. The aim of this publication is attempt answer on question: are managers’ attitudes in public administration organizations suitable to requirements of co-creation value through innovations? The second aim is verification of the thesis that these organizations are situated on different stages of reaching model solutions process in the range of forming the environment of the experiences allowing to join clients to co-creation value through innovations. In order to answer on this question and verify this thesis the author used the results of empirical researches which were carried out by The Gallup Organization in 4063 public administration organizations functioning in the Member States of the European Union. Statistical-comparison analysis of these results confirmed mentioned thesis.

Defining innovative competencies of leading: systems intelligence

Today’s organisations change the focus from the ineffective bureaucratic models to more flexible communities of professional workers such as online communities, virtual self-managing teams, networked organisations, etc. Such extreme challenges require radical solutions and the transformation of leadership development. In this context, it is critical to understand what are the innovative key competencies to be developed in order to deal with the fluidity and complexity of the world. The changing conditions in global environment require systems thinking, flexibility, networking and collaboration, innovation and the courage to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity. The paper aims to clarify the relationship between intelligence competencies and leadership performance in public administration organisations. The relevance of systems thinking and other intelligence competencies as innovative future competencies was disclosed in the context of leadership in the complex world.

Współpraca administracji publicznej z organizacjami pozarządowymi w opinii badanych organizacji

Współpraca administracji publicznej z organizacjami pozarządowymi w opinii badanych organizacji

The Role of Institutional Dimension in the Conception of the Sustainable Development

The article analyses the role of the institutional dimension’s in the conception of the sustainable development. It reflects in the identification of the equivalence of the institutional dimension towards social, economical and ecological dimensions; it manifests the significance of the New Governance in the sustainable development’s policy and it’s modeling and implementing processes. During the research the idea was substantiated, that the state governance and the public administration organizations should be actively involved in processes of the structuring and the permanent enhancing of the appropriate provisions for the sustainable development, because the objective of the sustainability is making the impact on the states’ policy increasingly through the global organizations’ information channels and its institutional nets. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.11.3.2503

Work–Life Balance Support in the Public Sector in Europe

This article examines the level of support for the integration of paid work and personal life (work–life balance [WLB] support) in public sector organizations in Europe. Data of the Establishment Survey on Working Time and Work-Life Balance 2004-2005 (ESWT) is used to analyze the supportiveness of public sector organizations within and between countries. So far, little attention has been paid to variation within the public sector and whether and to what degree this is related to institutional and economic drivers. The results suggest that institutional pressure is the most important driver for public sector organizations to offer WLB support to their employees: State support in a country has a positive relationship with WLB support in public organizations, in particular for public administration organizations. Little evidence for the relevance of economic drivers was found despite the introduction of new public management (NPM)-style reforms in the public sector.

On the Use of Social Networking Services for Government Identity Management Purposes: A European Policy Analysis

The issue of identity policies for online environments continues to attract interest from academics, policy makers, and advocates. Today, the primary questions regard not only whether and how to identify or authenticate users online, but also who (i.e., which entity) should be entitled to do so. In this context, this article addresses the ongoing tension between the traditional way of managing identities (that is, through unilateral actions endorsed by governments and public administration organizations) and recent trends in the provision and authentication of identities by private parties (or through cooperative private-public partnerships). Some European Union (EU) Member States have already opted for business models in which the private sector provides electronic identities (eIDs) that may also be used to access online public services, such as Sweden’s BankID (which is e-government-enabled) and the proposed identity assurance model in the UK. The U.S. has its National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which calls for the creation and facilitation of a “vibrant marketplace” for identity provision, with multiple accredited identity providers — both private and public — offering identity services. In the context of private sector organizations emerging as identity providers, this article focuses on the possible role of social networking services (SNS) in government identity management (IdM). The widespread diffusion of SNS provides an opportunity to use these platforms for IdM purposes. Third-party sites have already started partnering with these services to simplify and streamline their registration processes. Governments appear next to do so. This paper thus explores the potential merits and drawbacks of these developments from a European policy perspective. Among the reasons why European governments may be interested in using pre-existing SNS for IdM, we discuss the following: a) large installed base; b) critical mass of users; c) relatively mature infrastructure; d) high social acceptance of 'social' technologies; e) cost-effectiveness; f) real-name policies (which could render these identities more trustworthy and adequate for official uses); g) mutual recognition and cross-border (EU-wide) interoperability of eIDs; and h) the potential use of biometrics (particularly with the integration of facial recognition). Still, there are several drawbacks. We consider the following: a) citizen discomfort with using SNS credentials for official interactions; b) unreliable registration processes; c) reduced possibilities for anonymity and pseudonymity (and the attendant threats to freedom of speech and other political participatory values due to the emphasis on using real names); d) potential exclusionary effects for citizens unable or unwilling to use these eIDs; e) problems of neutrality (i.e., which platforms do governments endorse?); f) problems of data ownership; g) security concerns; h) the potential for SNS to track users on government sites; i) jurisdictional issues (i.e., most popular platforms are US-based); j) task complexity; and k) liability issues (assuming that one’s SNS-endorsed eID is recognized and used for e-government services across different Member States, which party is liable for misuse, theft or impersonation?). A future version of this paper will discuss the different policy options available to the EU regarding the adoption of SNS for government IdM purposes. According to the framework presented in the paper, the policy options proposed would allow for the possibility of adding (on a purely voluntary basis) private eIDs to a list of mutually recognized official identities. Private eIDs would be considered apt for government identity-related transactions as long as they respect pre-established criteria. This policy option would make it possible to use both pre-existing and new private eIDs for e-government services. The analysis of policy options takes place in light of the legislative measures currently being proposed in Europe to facilitate electronic identification and authentication, namely within the scope of the ongoing Electronic Signatures Directive revision process. The article calls attention to the need to keep the approach of mutual recognition and interoperability of eIDs open to evolution, technological progress, and new business models. The paradigm of state monopolies over the provision of identities is outdated. Additional alternatives to this model should be sought in the private sector.

Change-Oriented Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Public Administration: The Power of Leadership and the Cost of Organizational Politics

Using a well-grounded theory of organizational citizenship behavior, this study attempts to extend the meaning of the good soldier syndrome beyond its common boundaries of the business sector. We follow Bettencourt's (2004) conceptualization and model of change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) to explain why and how public employees engage in activities targeted at changing and improving the public work environment and its job processes even when no formal rewards are offered in return. We extend Bettencourt's model and demonstrate its usefulness and contribution to public administration organizations, focusing especially on leadership behavior, leader-member exchange relations, and perceptions of organizational politics in public agencies. A field study of 217 public personnel in a large public health care organization yields interesting findings, demonstrating the uniqueness of change-oriented OCB over classical OCB measures (individual and organizational), the general positive effect of leadership on OCB and the moderating effect of perceptions of politics in this relationship. Implications of the findings are developed and discussed in the context of modern public administration.

Integrated socio‐technical knowledge management model: an empirical evaluation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the proposed integrated socio‐technical knowledge management (KM) model, and to determine the relative importance of social and technical initiatives in organizational KM.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual model was proposed with three inter‐related concepts (knowledge stocks, processes, and socio‐technical enablers) and was tested via a survey‐based study in the context of public administration of a small European country using 185 senior Civil Servants as subjects.FindingsThe findings provided a confirmatory test of the proposed model and revealed social factors to be of greater importance than technical factors in advancing organizational knowledge in the case of public administration organizations. They also pointed to leadership as the single most important enabler of organizational KM in these organizations.Research limitations/implicationsFindings are based on European public administration and may not reflect other geographic, economic and cultural contexts. Variables were perceptual and measurement items proxies for the real phenomena. There is a need for including objective data, improving measurement, and extending research towards deeper analysis of contextual influences on and consequences of KM.Practical implicationsThe model may be useful to managers for predicting organizational learning, as well as intervening to enhance organizational social environment and to increase the likelihood of technology use in KM.Originality/valueThe main contribution of this research is the discovery of complex interactions among knowledge enablers and processes influencing knowledge stocks. Another contribution of this research is the revelation that (at least in the context of public administration) leadership may be the single most important enabler of successful KM.

Prawno-administracyjne aspekty ochrony środowiska

Environmental protection is an area of interdisciplinary, in which the rule is the use of science concepts relevant to the legal, natural, technical or chemical. Therefore, in practice they may have different meanings depending on the conceptual context in which they are used. The concept, which draws attention to the rights and duties of citizens, public administration or environmental organizations, the legal and administrative aspects of environmental protection. Legal and administrative aspects of the environment in a manner related to the inherent rights of citizens, duties of public administrations, as well as practice and custom of our country and the European Union. Thus, their analysis is certainly an interdisciplinary context, and an important environmental dimension, the effect will be implied in the form of application by analogy comparisons and examples of not only national but international.

O cargo público de livre provimento na organização da administração pública federal brasileira: uma introdução ao estudo da organização da direção pública na perspectiva de estudos organizacionais

A organização da administração pública federal brasileira é raramente abordada na pesquisa no campo de estudos organizacionais (EOs). Privilegia-se a tomada de decisão, seguindo-se a tradição de pesquisa operacional de cunho funcionalista. Contudo, direção é mais complexa e inclui decisão. A direção na administração pública federal brasileira se dá exclusivamente por meio de cargos de livre provimento. Tal realidade permite entender a direção como ação eminentemente política, cristalizada na organização da administração pública. Este artigo possui caráter metodológico e demonstra que o cargo público de livre provimento possui centralidade na organização da administração pública federal brasileira. Identifica, ainda, práticas de operação e interações no exercício da direção pública.

Staying vigorous until work is over: The role of trait vigour, day‐specific work experiences and recovery

Staying vigorous throughout the day is important for work‐related behaviour, subjective well‐being, and for effective functioning in the family domain. This study examined trait vigour (i.e. a person's general level of vigour), day‐specific workload (time pressure, work hours), and recovery resulting from unwinding during leisure time as predictors of day‐specific vigour as experienced at the end of the working day. Seventy‐five individuals from service and public administration organizations completed one general survey and daily surveys two times per day for five working days. Trait vigour, demographic variables and control variables (e.g. job control, home workload) were assessed in the general survey. Day‐specific level of vigour, day‐specific workload, and day‐specific recovery were measured in the daily survey. Analyses following a hierarchical linear modelling approach showed that trait vigour, day‐specific workload and recovery accumulated during the preceding evenings predicted an individual's level of vigour at the end of the working day, after controlling for a range of other variables (gender, age, job control, and home workload). Trait vigour and accumulated recovery experiences interacted significantly to predict vigour at the end of the working day, indicating that individuals high on trait vigour benefit most from recovery experienced over the course of several days.

Family, Market and Voluntary Action in the Regulation of the "Care System": A Comparison between Italy and Sweden

In this article we focus on elderly care reforms in Italy and Sweden. According to Polanyi's theory, we analyze the process of change of welfare regulation in terms of the relation between public redistribution, familial and societal reciprocity and services provided by the market. The main purpose of the analysis is to outline the processes of convergence and divergence between these two welfare systems that have pursued different paths in their historical evolution. In the first part we compare Italy and Sweden in terms of social expenditure for the elderly and the relationships between female labour market participation and supply provision. In the second part we concentrate on the institutional process of change, focusing on the main reforms that have affected the relationships between local public administration, family, third sector and private market organisations.