Public Sector In Norway Research Articles

When Norway met co-creation: the import, diffusion, and onboarding of a magic concept in public administration

Transformations of public governance, organization, and leadership are often propelled by the import, diffusion, and onboarding of new magic concepts promising to cure existing problems and to pave the way for a golden future. This article shows how the magic concept of “co-creation” entered the public sector in Norway, was spread across public organizations at different levels, and finally was given concrete meaning in local public service organizations. Based on a tailor-made theoretical framework and a mixed-methods, multi-level study, it presents empirical findings that shed light on how a national public sector is swept by new governance ideas. The discussion reflects on the impact of the swift introduction of co-creation in a Norwegian context. It ponders the risk that the new ideas and practices might clash with existing modes of governance and insists on the need to cope with emerging dilemmas and paradoxes. The conclusion summarizes the argument and calls for further research investigating the role of magic concepts as drivers of change in public administration.

Interpreting Impoliteness: Interpreters’ Voices

Interpreters in the public sector in Norway interpret in a variety of institutional encounters, and the interpreters evaluate the majority of these encounters as polite. However, some encounters are evaluated as impolite, and they pose challenges when it comes to interpreting impoliteness. This issue raises the question of whether interpreters should take a stance on their own evaluation of impoliteness and whether they should interfere in communication. In order to find out more about how interpreters cope with this challenge, in 2014 a survey was sent to all interpreters registered in the Norwegian Register of Interpreters. The survey data were analyzed within the theoretical framework of impoliteness theory using the notion of moral order as an explanatory tool in a close reading of interpreters’ answers. The analysis shows that interpreters reported using a variety of strategies for interpreting impoliteness, including omissions and downtoning. However, the interpreters also gave examples of individual strategies for coping with impoliteness, such as interrupting and postponing interpreting. These strategies border behavioral strategies and conflict with the Norwegian ethical guidelines for interpreting. In light of the ethical guidelines and actual practice, mapping and discussing different strategies used by interpreters might heighten interpreters’ and interpreter-users’ awareness of the role impoliteness can play in institutional interpreter– mediated encounters.

‘Language is a costly and complicating factor’: a diachronic study of language policy in the virtual public sector

This article examines language policy in the virtual linguistic landscape (VLL) in Norway and its development over time. The analysis is based on diachronic website data and interviews with state employees concerning the presence or absence of different languages on the websites of three central state institutions. The article reveals a linguistic homogenization of the VLL of the public sector in Norway, which is mostly due to the removal of immigrant languages from state websites. The analysis also shows an increased linguistic presence of Nynorsk (the less used written standard of Norwegian), of the indigenous Sami language, and of English, which performs a ‘hypercentral’ function. The virtual linguistic ethnography and follow-up interviews show that the websites of the three institutions in focus exist more or less fully only in two language versions: Bokmal (the more widespread written standard of Norwegian) and English. The translations into Nynorsk and Sami are mainly done to comply with official regulations. Furthermore, immigration, rather than leading to an increased visibility of language diversity in the VLL, can also put pressure towards homogenization. One could perhaps even go so far as to see Norway as the harbinger of change: once multilingual provision has reached a notional peak, there is a chance that more and more state institutions will cut down on ‘less than necessary’ languages online, opting instead for ‘commonsense’ English together with the respective official language(s).

Remedies for Managing Bottlenecks and Time Thieves in Norwegian Construction Projects – Public vs Private Sector

Reducing project execution time is an important aspect in today's construction industry. In practice, most construction projects are delivered behind schedule. This creates an incentive to find methods, processes and techniques to deal with elements which steal time and bottlenecks which cause delays. This paper address the magnitude, frequency and type of time-thieves and bottlenecks in various phases of construction projects from different construction firms and organizations in the public sector in Norway. It also discusses remedies to mitigate time thieves and bottlenecks. The questionnaire used was designed and tested to give a broad and open data collection. The purpose was to collect opinions from senior project managers and project members in order to identify time-thieves, bottlenecks and remedies and analyse the data to assertain if there are common and/or different opinions or perspectives in public and in private sectors. This study will provide an insight into the problem, time-thieves and bottlenecks, itself. The firms in this study are part of a larger national programme called SpeedUp. The programme focuses on every aspect of speeding up projects. The SpeedUp programme is a 10 million USD research programme with 5 researchers and 7-8 PhD students. It is linked to Project Norway which is a research-based collaboration of Norwegian project-based organizations in the public and private sector.

Impoliteness – a challenge to interpreters’ professionalism

This article examines interpreters’ perceptions of impoliteness in interpreter-mediated interactions in public sector settings in Norway. The analysis is based on a survey conducted in June 2014, involving 28 interpreters from/to Bosnian/Croatian/ Montenegrin/Serbian and Norwegian. The analytical method is based on the theory of impoliteness and the rapport management model. The study has a discursive, data-driven and bottom-up approach.The study is motivated by challenges described by interpreting students who already work as interpreters in the public sector in Norway. These students repeatedly reported to their teachers two types of challenges with “impoliteness”. The first challenge concerns their own experiences with impoliteness from public service users, public service employees, or both. The other type of challenge concerns the very act of interpreting impoliteness. Even though the Guidelines for best practices in interpreting, which define the interpreter’s role and function, address these issues indirectly, interpreters express a need for more specific knowledge and guidance. As no research has been conducted on impoliteness in interpreter-mediated dialogues in the public sector in Norway, a pilot project was set up in order to describe and analyze the phenomenon, as seen from interpreters’ points of view. This article concentrates on the following research questions: How widespread is impoliteness in interpreter-mediated interaction in public sector settings, according to interpreters?, How do interpreters define and exemplify impoliteness? and What strategies do interpreters use for interpreting impoliteness?The findings suggest that impoliteness in the public sector is more widespread than the author expected. The notion of “conflictive talk” playing a central role in various discourses is supported by interpreters’ examples of impoliteness in interpreter-mediated encounters. Interpreters’ examples indicate that impoliteness may create ambiguity on different levels and that being able to cope with it is crucial for doing a good job as an interpreter. Impoliteness is more than swearwords. It is context dependent – whether something is impolite depends on a participant’s evaluation of the situation. Impoliteness is experienced in a number of ways, and the consequences for interpreters of not managing impoliteness range from hurt feelings to a halt in communication. Interpreters use different interpreting strategies while interpreting impoliteness – from interpreting what is being said, to reporting that impolite language is being uttered, to ignoring impoliteness altogether. These strategies can have a direct influence on the outcome of interpreter-mediated institutional dialogues. Insight into interpreters’ as well as the other communication participants’ concerns leads to the next step: developing and systemizing strategies that can help them cope better with these work-related challenges.

Internal rent – experiences from public sector in Norway

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to identify the advantages and disadvantages of introducing internal rent and to find the main success factors when introducing internal rent.Design/methodology/approach– This paper’s analysis is based on experience from the introduction of internal rent models within four major Norwegian public organisations. The experience is documented after 19 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders representing the client organisations, property management and tenants.Findings– The major advantage consist in that internal rent compels the different users to discipline concerning the use of space and make them adapt their use to fit the real needs and demand for space suited for their primary activities. The main disadvantage of internal rent consists in the temporary organisational noise that results from the introduction and the permanent extra bureaucratic burden it causes. The success factors for introduction of internal rent are: the users need to perceive the model as of real importance, the property management must take in enough funds to assure reliable maintenance and the client needs to avoid that the tenants think the model is constructed to seize funds.Originality/value– The authors discuss a market-orientated approach to property management, namely, introducing internal rent models. It is more than a decade ago since internal rent was first introduced in the analysed public organisations. Now it is possible to identify the success factors – related to the advantages and disadvantages – from this introduction.

Strategic Management Thinking and Practice in the Public Sector: A Strategic Planning for All Seasons?

AbstractThis paper explores how strategic management thinking manifests itself in strategic management practice in the public sector. Mintzberg's framework of ten strategic management schools of thought is chosen for mapping strategic management thinking. The paper analyses a convenience sample of 35 strategic management processes, observation of an agency's strategy reformulation process and interviews of managers in the public sector in Norway for informing the discussion. Strategic planning is heavily criticised in some of the business strategy literature. The analysis indicates that strategic management in the public sector extensively uses strategic planning, bundled with certain other schools of thought, despite tendencies to downplay formal, mechanistic planning in contemporary strategic management theory.

Worried sick? Worker responses to a financial shock

Excessive sickness absence may hurt productivity and put a strain on public finances. One explanation put forward for increasing absence rates is that a tougher labour market represents a health hazard. A competing hypothesis is that loss of job security works as a disciplinary device. We use a financial shock that hit the public sector in Norway in 2007 in some, but not all, municipalities to identify the effect of reduced job security on sickness absence. Public sector workers in municipalities that were not affected are used as a control group in a difference-in-differences analysis. In addition, trends in sickness absence of public and private sector employees are compared, in a triple difference-in-differences analysis. We find that sickness absence among public employees decreased considerably in the year after the shock in the affected municipalities. The results survive a number of robustness checks. The evidence is strongest for women, and consistent with a hypothesis that reduced job security has a disciplining effect.

Fra hjelper til profesjonsutøver - profesjonalisering av tolkeyrket i Norge


 
 
 The title “interpreter” is not a professional title in Norway; Norwegian legislation only applies to “sworn interpreters” authorized by the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi). The interpreter authorization scheme is one of the steps that have been taken to guarantee the quality of the interpreters and their services. Another step has been the creation of the National Register of Interpreters, which provides the public with access to qualified interpreters. However, the register is not flawless and may exclude well-qualified interpreters. The register has five qualification categories with different sets of requirements; the only problem is that the interpreter’s access to the different courses that enables the interpreter to enter the register is limited. This problem could be remedied easily by means of the official exams for the grant of the title ”sworn interpreter”, but regretfully the exams, as well as the necessary courses to advance from category to category in the register, are not available in all language combinations or on a frequent basis. The distinction between an “interpreter” and a “sworn interpreter” may not be the quality, as much as the professional title and having access to education. In this context, the importance of licensing or professionalization linked to the phenomenon of trust becomes evident. The foreign and native speaker have to communicate through an interpreter, they need to trust the interpreter in order to get their message through, but why anyone should do that without a guarantee that the interpreter is qualified is another question. Mainly non-professional interpreters perform interpretation in the public sector and several studies show that the interpreters lack linguistic and professional skills to do their job satisfactory. This problem should not be ignored, but rather properly addressed by establishing a professional graduate degree to ensure the quality of the interpreter and consolidate the status of the interpreter as a professional in the public sector in Norway. However, this is only one side of the problem, it is also necessary to promote and ensure the use of qualified labour in the public sector.
 
 

Effective Use of Resources in the Public Management Sector in Norway

Abstract Background The public sector in Norway has undergone a number of renewals and restructuring processes during the last few years. This development is referred to as New Public Management, and has resulted in more competition, the need for adaptions to the market, and several new organizational forms. Purpose of Study: To discuss effective use of resources in the public management sector in Norway. Sources of Evidence: One key aspect in the public sector is that in addition to emphasizing good service, the public sector also has an additional responsibility to provide an additional service or an extended product to its customers. A problem in this context may be to measure the effectiveness of this due to vague and unclear goals. Another important aspect when it comes to efficient use of resources in the public sector is that it may be difficult to observe or verify what the quality of a product or service really is. It could therefore be problematic to draw conclusions about what effective use of resources really is. Main Argument: Regardless of how one chooses to define efficient use of resources in the public sector, it will be up to the politicians to decide whether the services provided by the public sector have a high enough value in relation to the actual use of resources. Conclusions We conclude that there exist several major challenges regarding how to measure the creation of value in the public sector within the domain of New Public Management.

Efficiency Promoting and Restraining Management Factors in the Norwegian Armed Forces

Abstract Background The Norwegian Armed Forces is a part of the public management sector in Norway. As an organization and a community institution the Norwegian Armed Forces is responsible for governing large financial, material and human resources. Purpose of Study: To discuss efficiency promoting and efficiency restraining factors in the Norwegian Armed Forces. Sources of Evidence: We have chosen to discuss various efficiency promoting and restraining factors related to four parts of the Norwegian Armed Forces tasks, structure and resource assets. These four parts are the new model of governance, the budgeting and accounting process, the procurement policies, and the salary and career policy. Main Argument: By rationalizing these four parts the Norwegian Armed Forces follow the developments that are taking place within other public sectors in Norway. With the introduction of the model of governance an important step is taken in the direction of adaption to the market, although this market may be seen as a quasi-market. Conclusions The model of governance is efficiency promoting, but has a long way to go before it functions optimally. More efficiency promoting measures have been implemented in terms of the budget and accounting process. This has led to an increased insight into the ongoing processes and an increased degree of control. The implementation of a new procurement system is the most efficiency promoting factor in order to improve all aspects of the Norwegian Armed Forces procurements. However, the salary and career policy is perceived as too complicated and poorly communicated.

What prevents senior executives from commenting upon miscommunication in top management team meetings?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore why executives participating in a top management team meeting avoid speaking up when they experience the goal as unclear or the discussion as wandering off track.Design/methodology/approachA total of 21 executives (CEOs and level 2 managers) from seven top management teams were interviewed, and the interviews analyzed according to the principles of Grounded Theory.FindingsThe executives’ silence was primarily governed by a core belief that to speak up about miscommunication is a negative act, which will probably elicit undesirable consequences. This assumption was reinforced by how the executives perceived themselves, other persons and relationships in the group, group norms, and the issue discussed in the meeting. In addition, three other basic beliefs prevented the level 2 managers from speaking up: “We have no tradition for speaking up in this group”, “It's futile to speak up”, and “It's not part of my role to speak up in this group”.Research limitations/implicationsThe data were collected from executives representing only seven top management teams from the public sector in Norway, limiting the generalizability of the findings. Future research should increase the number and types of top management teams from which informants are drawn.Practical implicationsExecutives should be aware of how their beliefs and perceptions prevent them from voicing their concerns when experiencing miscommunication during the TMT meeting, and how remaining silent in these matters represents an important barrier to team effectiveness in the meetings.Originality/valueThe study shows that even among executives at the top of the organizational hierarchy, people refrain from speaking up when experiencing miscommunication, and that there are more reasons for not voicing concerns than fear of consequences and feelings of futility.

Age management in the public sector in Norway: exploring managers' decision latitude

In response to decreasing retirement ages, greater attention is paid to ways of extending older workers' careers without inflicting them with unacceptable strain. Workplace management is supposed to be a key success factor and possible solutions have been coined ‘age management’. The purpose of this article is to assess the extent to which managers accept responsibility for age management issues, how do they perceive their decision latitude (options and constraints) with regard to age management and how does this perceived decision latitude vary in relation to a range of organisational and managerial variables. Data used consist of responses from 672 managers in the public sector. Decision latitude was defined by employees' support, option to reorganise work, sufficient human resources, sufficient budget resources and opportunities to unite age management with efficiency demands. The results showed that management attitudes were the most important predictors, explaining 22.4% of the variance for the decision latitude. Changing managers' attitudes and providing access to human and financial resources seem to be the most important criteria for influencing on managers' perceived decision latitude and contributing to retention of older employees.

Evaluation in policy implementation

As a consequence of changes in the steering of the public sector in Norway during the 1990s, evaluation has, as in other European countries, become a standard element in the governing of the sector. However, evaluation procedures also seem to be an important instrument in the implementation of public sector reforms in this country. Provides an “inside” report on how evaluation may function in this respect. By analysing the role evaluation played in the implementation of an educational reform in Norway, discusses to what extent this way of organising implementation processes represent a change in public sector steering.

Voluntary organisations and the welfare state: the case of Norway

Taking as the point of departure the political-ideological and fiscal ‘crises of the welfare state’, this article emphasises recent changes in the relationship between voluntary organisations and the public sector in Norway, changes that open up new space for the voluntary sector both ideologically and as a service producer. We question whether voluntary organisations are able to cope with new and extensive welfare problems within the more decentralised welfare state. Do they express the values, and do they possess the resources that both governmental agencies and the organisations themselves take for granted? As part of that discussion, the article questions the dominant view within the literature, namely that Scandinavia has a very weak voluntary sector. We argue that ‘state-friendly’ Norway has a rather strong voluntary sector, that this sector is of a specific type, and that both of these factors have important theoretical implications not only for Scandinavia, but for an overall understanding of the voluntary sector.

Economic Development and the Growth of Public Expenditures in Scandinavia, 1875–1965

This paper examines the sources of the growth of the public sector in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark from 1875 to 1965. The analysis focuses on variations over time and across the three Scandinavian countries in the elasticity of public expenditures to growth in GNP, and in the patterns of relationship between the rate of growth of expenditures as a proportion of GNP and the rate of change in various socioeconomic, political and institutional indicators, using correlation and regression analysis of annual change-rate data. The results cast doubt on the applicability to the Scandinavian context of Herber's adaptation of Wagner's Law of the growth of the public sector in industrial society. The results also cast further doubt upon the applicability to public policy formation of the Bull–Galenson hypothesis concerning differences among the Scandinavian countries in the impact of the timing and rate of their industrialization on the radicalness of their labor movements. The variations of public policy over time and space might be better explained by anti-depression and war-time spending and by certain aspects of organizational ‘learning’, such as the tendency for policy-making behaviour to adjust only slowly to changing conditions and the post-Keynesian effort to fine-tune the economy.