Private Sector Practices Research Articles

Museum Governance: Lessons From the Past as a First Step Towards Innovation

Over the past thirty years, private sector governance has seen significant development in regulatory guidelines, best practices, and adaptation to emerging challenges. In contrast, the history of Canadian museum governance is relatively new. Not-for-profit Canadian museums began to establish governance frameworks only recently with influential publications like the UNESCO Recommendation on Museums and Collections (2015) and the SMQ Guide (2014), along with the implementation of Bill 114 in 2016. Bill 114 introduced constraints and responsibilities akin to those in the private sector, shifting governance from a more informal approach to a structured system. Notable examples of pre-Bill 114 governance include Rolland Arpin's initiatives at the Museum of Civilization and guidelines by the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization. This study aims to explore the lessons that museum governance can learn from private sector practices, comparing regulatory frameworks and drawing insights from corporate governance literature to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of not-for-profit museums and heritage preservation efforts.

Qualitative enquiry on factors affecting antibiotic prescribing at primary healthcare facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The major driver of antibiotic resistance is the huge increase in antibiotic prescribing, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to explore factors affecting antibiotic prescribing at primary healthcare facilities in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study was part of a three-phased explanatory sequential mixed method design. The study was conducted in five primary healthcare facilities through in-depth interviews of 20 prescribers and 22 key informants using pre-prepared interview guides. The data were analysed through thematic content analysis by applying ATLAS.ti 9 software. The antibiotic prescribing decision of prescribers was shown to be affected by various factors. The factors related to prescribers include not updating oneself on antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance, not reviewing patient history, not considering the concerns related to antibiotic resistance during prescribing, and competency problems. The patient-related factors were low awareness about antibiotics, lack of respect for prescribers, and pressure on prescribers. The shortage of antibiotics and laboratory reagents, a lack of updated antimicrobial resistance information, patient load, inadequate capacity, private sector practice, inadequate follow-up and support, and health insurance membership were the system-related factors. Appropriate interventions should be designed and implemented to address the identified factors and improve the prescribing practice.

Beyond a garden: Alignment of Sustainable Development Goals with botanic gardens

The United Nations’ (UNs) 2030 “Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.” This requires much effort of in governmental policies along with public and private sector practices. With regard to this, BGs have a crucial role in bringing this vision of the future. Of the 17 SDGs, Target 15—Life on land is directly associated with the traditional work of botanic gardens (BGs). But other four goals (2—Zero hunger, 4—Quality education, 11—Sustainable cities and communities, 13—Climate action) are also worthy of review and analyze when considering BGs. They could meet the needs of both the local and global communities and are effective in shaping the future and promoting the 2030 goals. In this context, paying attention to the UN's global and inclusive call, this paper focuses on Eden Project, United Kingdom, Ecorium of National Institute of Ecology, South Korea and Konya Tropical Botanical Garden, Turkey. Missions of the projects rely on conservation, restoration, education and community engagement. They address several global concerns, including climate and biodiversity emergency. Aim of this paper is to investigate to what extent the selected BGs can contribute to the SDGs. Results underline BGs as a valuable input in decision-making and policy action concerning environmental justice, equity, and inclusion that encourage transformative steps in achieving the SDGs.

Modelling public sector accounting on private sector practices: the perspectives of practitioners in Polish local government

IMPACT This study taps into the knowledge of practitioners who have hands-on experience of public sector accounting at the local government level. As the public sector and public services are developing by progressively reducing bureaucracy and focusing on improving efficiency and effectiveness, accounting practices should also evolve to meet these challenges. This article demonstrates the importance of involving experienced local government officials in discussions that include changes in accounting practices. Their feedback would enhance the value added of suggested changes, by decreasing the risk that new methods are not applicable or not practical and end up being only ceremonial in nature.

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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Clinical Dental Practice in Nigeria

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on oral healthcare services globally. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of COVID -19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice in Nigeria and discuss how adverse impact could be mitigated. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered pre-tested questionnaire-based survey of consenting dental practitioners from different States and geopolitical zones in Nigeria was employed for the study. Study participants were recruited by non-random convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: A total of 105 out of 142 respondents completed and returned the survey questionnaire giving a response rate of 74%. While only about 47% of respondents in public sector practice had their clinics shut down, all the respondents in private sector practice (100%) had their clinics closed down during the pandemic lockdown and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). Majority of respondents in private sector practice (65.4%) experienced income loss compared to 24.1% of respondents in public sector practice and this difference was also statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with government instituted lockdown periods with attendant scaling down or outright closure of dental clinical practices in Nigeria. The private sector practice bore the brunt of the adverse impacts of the pandemic lockdown in terms practice shutdowns and attendant economic losses. The adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice could be mitigated by the incorporation of teledentistry into routine dental practice.

Non-Agricultural Private Sector Labour Losses and Practices in Samoa_A Pacific Island Qualitative Study

Non-Agricultural Private Sector Labour Losses and Practices in Samoa_A Pacific Island Qualitative Study

Exploring the role of leadership, work environment, it alignment and company performance on the digital transformation: a study on the private sector companies in western region, Saudi Arabia

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate the role of leadership, work environment, IT alignment and company performance on the digital transformation of private sector companies in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia. The research problem is the lack of studies about digital transformation in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the research question can be formulated as “what are the implications of leadership, work environment, alignment of IT processes, and company performance on the digital transformation of a company?” Theoretical Framework: The framework of the study is adopted from the attributes of (1) leadership, (2) work environment, (3) IT processes alignment and (4) company performance. This framework aims to provide understanding on how these variables affect the digital transformation of a company. Methodology: Primary as well as secondary data have been collected. A survey was conducted on a sample of (461) participants through online questionnaire. The approach chosen for the study is the Quantitative Deductive Approach (QDA), and the data were analyzed using SPSS. Results and Conclusion: The results of the study concluded that there is a significant positive correlation of leadership, work environment, alignment with IT processes and company performance on the digital transformation. Research Implications: The study verifies the influence of leadership, work environment, IT processes and company performance on the digital transformation. This is helpful on the managerial level for organizations which are willing to adopt digital transformation. On the academic scope, the study adds contribution to the literature of digital transformation in Saudi Arabia. Socially, it is significant to keep pace with the digitalization trend that is evolving rapidly in the Saudi society. Originality: This study is a pioneering attempt to enhance the management practices in private sector companies to explore the role of leadership, work environment, alignment with IT processes and company performance on the digital transformation. The findings should motivate organizations to consider these variables when seeking to adopt digital transformation.

Seasonal Rise in Plastic Surgery during Ramadan: A Cross-sectional Survey

Background:While demand for plastic surgery continues to rise worldwide, there are no known seasonal differences in plastic surgery volume. This study aimed to evaluate whether Ramadan was associated with a measurable rise in demand for plastic surgery.Methods:This was a cross-sectional nationwide survey of plastic surgeons. Surgeon demographics, practice setting, case load, surgical preference during the month of Ramadan, factors associated with surgical volume, and procedures that were in demand during Ramadan were collected from all registered plastic surgeons in the Saudi Commission Health Specialties.Results:A total of 120 (73%) of 165 plastic surgeon completed the survey. The male:female ratio was 8:1. A total of 34 (28%) surgeons operated in public- and private-sector practices, and 53% (n = 64) maintained private practice only. When they operate, 60 (50%), 34 (28%), and 10 (8%) operate in the morning, in morning and evening, and in evening only, respectively. Although surgeons reported lower case volumes due to reduced working hours, 57% (n = 68) reported an increase in the proportion of cosmetic surgery. There was more than 80% consensus between surgeons on school vacation and ensuing wedding season as reasons for increased demand for plastic surgery.Conclusions:Seasonal demand for cosmetic plastic surgery was virtually unheard of. Although reduced working hours in Ramadan meant lower plastic surgery case volumes, surgeons reported an increase in the demand for cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures during the month of Ramadan. School vacation and post-Ramadan social events were attributed as reasons for this rise.

Social Workers’ Experiences of Bureaucracy: A Systematic Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

Abstract Since the 1990s managerialism has spread across the public sector, implementing private sector practices targeting greater efficiency in public services. Consequently, reforms focusing on risk management, standardisation, fragmentation and accountability have increased demands for paperwork and procedure compliance from street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). Focusing specifically on the impact on social work, this paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review synthesising social workers experience of bureaucracy across thirty-nine published qualitative studies. Despite warnings being voiced about the risks associated with enforcing highly bureaucratic and managerial cultures in social work, evidence reinforces the consequences predicted over two decades prior. Major themes from the systematic synthesis include negative effects on social workers and service users, social workers’ resistance to bureaucratic structures and the coping strategies they employed. Although the review found some positive perspectives, this was sporadic and only reported in a minority of studies. As SLBs, social workers face an important question: What should be prioritised in the delivery of social services? Managing procedures, administration and documentation or pursuing sustainable change through meaningful engagement with service users?

Governance and role of state impacting the green industry

Institutional norms and state policies are very important for defining equitable and sustainable use of the resources of the planet in which private sector plays a vital role more so in case of India. The focus of this essay is more in relevance to the country India. The governance impacting the private sector practices with particular attention to resource management, benefits and reduced cost associated with the green businesses).

CSR and Corporate India: A Study on Public and Private Sector Divide

Abstract: CSR is increasingly a misunderstood and much debated concept worldwide. There is a saying in the business, “Business of the business is to do business and nothing else”. Profit is the only and dominating objective of the business, as profit is needed both for the working and growth of the business. Over the time, there has been a sea change in the objectivity and priority of business. From a commercial unit, the business now has been a social entity with corporate citizenship. CSR is fast becoming an increasing business strategy both nationally and globally. CSR practices of Indian companies got a radical boost with statutory provision in the Companies Act 2013 that make it mandatory to every Indian company and foreign entity with Indian presence to spend 2 per cent of its average net profits of its profit made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. There exists difference in the outlook of companies towards social causes and varying CSR policies and practices. Also Public and private sector divide in CSR practices prevails. There is need for continuous investigation of the changing social and economic needs and the role of corporate houses in meeting the aspirations of the stakeholders and the society at large. Keeping this in view, the present paper entitled “CSR and Corporate India: A Study on Public and Private Sector Divide” is a sincere attempt to make a comparative analysis of CSR practices of public sector and private sector companies with special emphasis on industries of Kalinganagar steel hub of Odisha. Keywords: CSR, FDI, MoUs, Corporate India.

A Critical Analysis of New Public Management, Human Resource Practices and Operational Performance in Uganda’s Public Sector

Many sub-Saharan countries have sought “new public management” (NPM) reforms to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. While these reforms have been implemented, public sector organisations have largely remained inefficient and ineffective. Some of the reforms have included adoption of private sector practices in the public sector, yet the two are uniquely different in their purpose, design, and operation. Moreover, human resource practices are continually evolving to become more strategic so as to achieve the desired goals through a combination of strategic and operational effectiveness. Whereas operational performance is crucial for improvement in service delivery through achievement of effectiveness, timeliness and efficiency, it has been given limited attention especially in public sector human resource practices. Therefore, we bring strategic human resource management (SHRM) into this forum by demonstrating how human resource (HR) practices can be used to improve operational performance in the Public Sector. In doing so, we pay special attention to three issues: (a) SHRM and operational performance, (b) NPM and operational performance, and (c) HR practices implementation in Uganda’s Public Sector. Accordingly, we call for the implementation of the ability-, motivation- and opportunity-enhancing HR practices in public sector organizations. Our conceptualization offers a novel perspective to both NPM and SHRM with the goal of guiding future research that will result in more applicable and relevant knowledge for both scholars and practitioners.

Medical faculty profile is an important determinant of student profile and future practice expectations of medical students in Angola

BackgroundAngola is among one of the most deprived countries in the world in terms of medical professionals. In the past decade, the Angolan Government has invested in the expansion of faculties of medicine in the country. We analysed the profiles of medical students in Angola according to four clusters of medical schools: older faculty in the country, private faculties, Cuban sponsored faculties and military faculty; under the assumption that the organizational culture of the different faculties might influence the expectations and decisions towards future professional life of medical students regarding where they want to work (community versus hospital) and in which sector (exclusively public versus not exclusively public).MethodsObservational cross-sectional study. Piloted, standardized questionnaire to final year medical students or higher year of training in the first four-month of 2014 (N = 402). Data were entered into a SPSS v.20 database and descriptive statistics computed. Statistical significance for categorical variables was tested by Pearson chi-square, Fisher exact or likelihood ratio tests as appropriate. Comparison of means was tested with Anova. Backward elimination binary logistic regression was used to test the hypothesis that type of faculty of medicine is an important determinant of future professional practice, i.e., level (hospital vs. community) or sector of practice (exclusive public sector vs. private or private and public), while controlling for confounders.ResultsAfter controlling for age, sex, marital status, place of birth and place of primary and secondary education, type of family and family influence, students were more likely to choose community over hospital practice and to prefer exclusive public practice if attending a Cuba supported faculty of medicine.ConclusionsMedical education cannot be isolated from planning of the medical workforce. Some important and impactful careers choices, like choosing rural over urban practice, public over private sector practice, have deep influences in the medical professionals’ labour market. Some of these decisions are shaped even before the end of the medical training. As such, the monitoring of future professional intentions in medical schools should be done regularly to accommodate both the health system needs and the hopes and dreams of medical trainees.

Locating leverage: contesting “empowerment lite” from the lower rungs of an aid chain

ABSTRACT The development sector’s adoption of private sector logics and practices has seen donors increasingly disburse funds using aid chains. Aid chains consist of at least two nodes, with work subcontracted from donors to organizations socially and geographically closer to beneficiaries. Aid chains enable “ethics dumping,” where subcontracting facilitates higher-tier actors distancing themselves from the messy work of engaging in the politics of interventions. The power inequalities of aid chains stand in sharp contrast to donors’ “partnership” rhetoric and raise the question of how lower-tier actors can challenge donors. This question is particularly pertinent for aid chains for women’s empowerment projects, given that the agenda of women’s empowerment has been instrumentalized. This article considers the resistance strategies used by lower-tier actors to contest policy. Analyzing a rare on-the-record case of resistance, it examines a women’s empowerment project implemented through a four-tier chain. The article documents the strategies deployed by a lower-tier actor to advance the understanding of women’s empowerment not as market inclusion but as originally conceived: as movement building. Its analysis offers insights into how feminist advocates can advance alternatives, as well as the impacts of aid subcontracting and how “partnership” is interpreted in practice.

‘But who’s going to pay for it?’ Contemporary approaches to green infrastructure financing, development and governance in London, UK

ABSTRACT Green infrastructure (GI) research has grown in prominence as planners, politicians and environmental specialists have promoted its socio-economic and ecological value in urban environments. However, as the pace of growth has continued so has the exploration of how GI can mitigate the impacts of poor air and water quality, promote improved quality of place and support economic prosperity. Unfortunately, investments can be undermined by weak organisational understandings of the financial and societal value of GI. Consequently, we identify a historical reluctance by decision-makers and developers to support GI, partially based on the outdated appreciation of economic-ecological value compared to other built infrastructure. To examine how cities respond this paper discusses GI as a ‘boundary object’ aligning divergent understandings of the ongoing challenges and responsibility for GI funding. Using an examination of public, private and environment sector practice in London (UK), the paper argues that opportunities exist to align alternative funding mechanisms using ‘GI’ to promote cooperation between economically and socio-ecologically focussed stakeholders.

The role of regulation and MNEs in ensuring equal opportunities for women

Government policy and private sector practice have the ability to spread gender equality, which can have an impact on growth and development. Over the past years, an upsurge has been observed in trade agreements that carve out space for gender issues in their agendas. The same is not true for international investment treaties. Foreign direct investment inflows can lead to more opportunities for women in the job market but may also exacerbate disparities. This paper aims to address and compare the role and effect of gender provisions in trade and investment agreements, and to shed light on additional policies that may be needed to ensure that governments and multinational enterprises address gender constraints.

More Than a Logo: Branding Viewpoints from City Managers Leading to Testable Propositions

In the realm of local government, private sector practices that once seemed taboo such as branding are increasingly employed within public administration. This study utilizes surveys and interviews from city managers and communication officials across Florida to investigate how branding is strategically used at the municipal level. Supported with three city case vignettes, we find that multiple elements in cities are branded to achieve public initiatives, including improving internal municipal perception among residents and that branding can provide value in collaborating with internal and external entities for regional promotion. We conclude our study with eight propositions developed from our empirical study to guide future comparative studies of branding in cities.

Single-use plastic packaging in the Canadian food industry: consumer behavior and perceptions

Single-use plastic food packaging is a major contributor to the global solid waste problem. Although the food industry is developing strategies to reduce single-use plastic packaging, it needs to better understand consumer awareness and attitudes about the issue. As consumer awareness about single-use plastic waste outpaces private sector practices, this study considered personal motivation factors, government policies, and innovative solutions related to single-use plastic food packaging. This Canada-wide study surveyed 1014 consumers and their willingness to pay premiums for sustainable food packaging alternatives and motivations to reduce single-use plastic waste. Overwhelmingly, most (93.7%) respondents were personally motivated to reduce consumption of single-use plastic food packaging. Canadians were highly motivated to reduce single-use plastic food packaging, but less willing to pay for sustainable alternatives. While environmental concerns were more critical than food safety, Canadians acknowledged that sustainable packaging alternatives were more desirable than outright plastic bag bans, despite not willing to pay for them. Using approaches that consider multiple driving factors on consumer behavior and opinions towards use of single-use plastic food packaging, limitations, recommendations and future research are proposed.

Teacher as a performer or a professional? An exploration into the possible impacts of performative culture on teachers’ identities

ABSTRACT From the early 1980s, neo-liberal shifts in educational policy aligned private sector values and practices with the public sector (Albo: 2009). This alignment provided an influx of performative policy in education, driving outcomes-based decisions rather than permitting teachers to make independent choices; this de-professionalises and restricts teacher autonomy. This restriction of autonomy is a common theme in what constitutes a professional. Since the Educational Reforms Act (1988) there has been an emergence of the New Public Management (NPM). With the NPM being based upon rules, guidelines, standards and benchmarks teachers have become caught up in a managerial milieu where their autonomy is restricted. I argue that the influx of performative neo-liberal education policy is a key factor in the restriction of teacher autonomy. Having been a teacher for the last 8 years, this is something I can attest to. I will discuss the formation of an activist teaching identity as a means to legitimise teacher autonomy. As autonomy is identified as a crucial factor in teacher retainment (NFER: 2020), opening discussion about performative culture could not only be a step towards resisting de-professionalisation (Sachs: 2003), but a step towards retaining experienced teachers.