Public Management Reforms Research Articles

Effects of Anti-Corruption Governance Strategy on Organizational Trust and Job Satisfaction in Ministry of National Defense

There are many programs and measures in the administrative reform of governments in various countries, where governance related theories are broadly discussed and indeed enhance public administration changing the traditional practice and turn the government into transformation in past years. Government reform in new public management becomes more difficult for governments constructing transparent accountability systems. In this case, it is urgent to establish transparent, accountable, and corruption controlled anti-corruption governance strategies for governments’ reform. In the process of transforming government administrative reform to governance, it is necessary to establish the core concepts of accountability, openness, transparency, zero-corruption, and high-performance standard. Aiming at employees of Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan, as the empirical objects, total 360 copies of questionnaire are distributed for this study, and 273 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 76%. According to the results to propose suggestions, it is expected to help the government draw the goal of transparency in government and promote many measures about anti-corruption to achieve the effective utilization of public resources, enhance people’s trust in the government, and reinforce government rule legitimacy.

Blurring the boundaries. University actorhood and institutional change in global higher education

ABSTRACT Higher education (HE) scholarship often focuses on the so-called ‘entrepreneurial’ university as a consequence of new public management reforms. Simultaneously, the remarkable expansion of private HE is said to fragment, specialize, and diversify HE systems. Such diagnoses are misleading as they ignore wider environmental pressures and simultaneous changes in both public, non-profit and for-profit HE. We argue that putative diversity in HE operates as a ceremonial façade behind which large-scale isomorphic change across national HE systems, sectors, and organizational forms occurs. Multiple causes trigger such change originating in the increasingly global HE environment, including a burgeoning international HE regime, accounting and accountability practices, increased permeability of HE systems facilitated by open borders, education markets, and global science as well as (neo)liberal ideologies stressing human capital and human rights. As other organizations, those in HE become subject to these pressures turning universities into more rationalized, standardized, and strategic actors.

An institutional theory perspective on public sector reform and service performance reporting by New Zealand universities

PurposeThis paper aims to examine new public management (NPM) reform in New Zealand Universities (NZUs) and the process by which government policy changes generated service performance reporting (SPR), and how the SPR practices were institutionalised. It seeks to explain the underlying institutional forces of the reform process, how universities were subjected to accountability pressures through government-imposed managerial techniques and how universities responded to them.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw on the theoretical lens of neo-institutional theory and the concept of NPM to interpret the setting of SPR. Data comprise annual reports and other documents produced by the NZUs.FindingsThe findings show that the development of the SPR was driven by NPM ideals and rationales of greater transparency and accountability. The institutional pressures bestowed extra power to the government by demanding greater accounting reporting of university performance. It also shows the ensemble of institutions, organisations and management practices that were deployed to reorganise performance reporting practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe study adds to the neo-institutional theory work that universities are experiencing extraordinary institutional pressure to become a market-type commodity in New Zealand and internationally. The findings have implications for government, universities, policymakers and public sector professionals who work in public sector reform.Originality/valueThrough the institutional theoretical lens, the study offers new insights into our understanding of NPM-driven regulation and institutionalisation of managerial techniques. The insights inform policy and practice surrounding design, implementation and the potential effect of future policy changes with reference to the performance of NZUs and internationally.

Accountability Measures in Higher Education and Academic Workload: A Ten-year Comparison

At the core of New Public Management (NPM) reforms sit the concept of accountability of publicly funded organizations. In Canada, it is suggested that provinces have increased the number of accountability procedures imposed to universities and those measures would have had an impact on professors' academic workload. This study relies on the Canadian faculty's perspectives collected through the 2007 Changing Academic Profession (CAP) study (n = 1151) and the 2017 Academic Profession in the Knowledge Society (APIKS) study (n = 2968). Descriptive statistics and a MANOVA comparing the scores of five variables in 2007 and 2017 suggest that academic workload increased significantly in ten years, academic acvities are significantly more evaluated, although less by academics themselves, female academics report dedicating more time to administrative tasks and being more frequently evaluated, and senior administrative staff and external reviewers are perceived as being more involved in the evaluation of academic activities in 2017 than in 2007. Our interpretation is that accountability measures could increase professors' admministrative burden and grant more authority to non-academic staff.
 Key words: accountability; academic workload; academic profession; new public management; Canadian universities.

The Worrying Global Economic Bubble in the Post-Pandemic Era — With Reference to the Public Management Reform Measures in the UK and the US

The Worrying Global Economic Bubble in the Post-Pandemic Era — With Reference to the Public Management Reform Measures in the UK and the US

Theoretically and methodological providing of modern management

Abstract. The right choice of the necessary business and management instru- ments, including the appropriate normative legal or theoretical and methodological basis, high levels of efficiency and coordination in management, knowledgeable leadership, particularly in the area of implementation a management decisions con- cerning, inter alia, sustainable exploitation of resources are factors that particu- larly important in the context of implementing the decentralization and public management reform, as well as sustainable development of our country. The current theory and management issues, the theoretical and methodological aspects of the administration have an influence on the two sides: first of all, on result and ef- fectiveness of the different sectors of economy; but, on the other hand, on the level of the social support for the different segments of the Ukrainian population. Under these circumstances, significant research into many aspects of theoretical and methodological foundation of modern management is necessary in an increas- ingly competitive environment conditions and the transformation of market relations. The article is devoted to the analysis of considerable theoretical and method- ological foundation of modern management as a primary way to inform and imple- mentation a management decisions at all management levels – national, regional, municipal and enterprise by which sustainable social and economic development of Ukraine is achieved. Comparison, methods of abstraction, analysis and generalization, graphic and tabular modeling are the research methods which were used in the article. In this science paper the concept of “modern management”, the theoretical and methodological basis, main features, basic principles and functions of the administration and impacts of the management decisions on social and economic development of Ukraine in the context of decentralization, reformation of public management and promoting the culture of managerialism are analyzed by authors. So, based on research, it was determined that the theoretical and methodological foundation of modern management can be improvement by building strong and accountable state institutions, preparation of quality executive decisions, forming professional civil service, launching e-governance, providing convenient services to general public. Key words: management, administration, theoretical basis of management, methodology of modern management, public management, management of enterprises, managerialism.

New Public Management Reform ideas and the remaking of the Italian and Danish health systems

ABSTRACT This article explores the role of New Public Management (NPM) ideas in the reform of the Italian and Danish health systems. In particular, it investigates the arguments that have supported changes in their institutional and territorial dimensions. Whereas the institutional dimension is concerned with the allocation of authority between layers of government, the territorial dimension is related to the definition of the size of subnational governments. By adopting an argumentative approach to policy analysis and focusing on the role of ideas in policy formulation, the article shows how Italian and Danish policymakers have shaped the institutional and territorial changes that have taken place in their national health systems. Through document analysis and in-depth interviews with experts and decision-makers, we show that the relationship between changes in size and authority in relation to NPM ideas is not clear-cut. Whereas in Italy arguments about the need to change the allocation of authority were not tied to a discourse about the size of subnational governments and health agencies, in Denmark discourses about size and authority have run in parallel. The present study confirms previous findings and provides additional evidence suggesting that NPM ideas have spread widely through governments following a path of implementation that varies from one national context to another.

The Role of Regulatory Agencies in Agenda-Setting Processes: Insights from the Italian Response to the COVID-19 Infodemic.

International organizations such as the WHO have worked to raise awareness of the massive infodemic that accompanied the COVID‐19 outbreak and made it hard for people to find trustworthy sources of information and reliable guidance for their decisions. Our contribution focuses on the Italian case, where the Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM) was able to act as first mover in its field so as to strategically frame the problem of disinformation in the absence of a pre‐existing policy intervention. An emerging body of research shows that the activity of formally independent regulators is not necessarily limited to the implementation of delegated regulatory competencies. We discuss the implications of the activity of independent regulators for the fight against disinformation during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We find that as a political actor in its own right, the Italian media regulator claimed control over sectoral expertise in order to shape the crucial first steps of the response to the infodemic.

Considering Social Equity in a New Public Management Reform: Evidence from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This article uses the case of independent charter schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to test whether New Public Management style reforms are compatible with the public administration pillar of social equity. Using three years of data, the author identifies inequities in access and outcomes due to the structural differences between charter and traditional public schools. Structural differences include governance, admissions, and transportation policies. Overall, independent charter schools serve fewer Black pupils, are less accessible, but do obtain comparatively better achievement scores. The article concludes with suggestions on how metagovernance can be used to ensure social equity in decentralized governance reforms. The study demonstrates how social equity can be analytically evaluated in a governance reform environment, and provides guidance on how structural barriers to social equity can be overcome in complex governing networks.

Embedding Australian Public Service management reforms: The Secretary could not make it so

AbstractPublic sector leaders in the Australian Public Service (APS) can learn from the demise of programme evaluation introduced as part of managing for results reforms, as they implement the evaluation of agency performance outcomes under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act (2013) (PGPA). This paper demonstrates that public sector management reforms require more than top‐down initiation by agency heads and that implementation needs to occur over an extended time frame. Although there has been increased communication of APS agencies’ purpose in annual reports, as required by the PGPA Act (2013), ambiguity continues in relation to how planned performance aligns with performance outcomes. The potential for inertia and resistance to management reforms from middle managers and employees may also re‐emerge where there is insufficient training to develop their skills to conduct performance evaluations; skills shortages and inertia from middle managers and employees may also be more evident in geographically dispersed APS offices. To increase the potential for performance reporting and evaluation reforms to be embedded, central agency and agency public sector leaders need to work together to reinforce the value of these reforms, particularly where government ministers or governments change.

An Investigation into the Application of the Integrated Public Financial Management Reform Projects in Liberia at the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning

The study sought to investigate of the application of the integrated public financial management reform projects in Liberia at the ministry of finance and development planning 2014 – 2016. Generally, the objective of implementing Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) is to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of state financial management and facilitate the adoption of modern public expenditure practices in keeping with international standards and benchmarks. The study adopted a descriptive research in this study with a targeted population of 98. The primary data was collected using questionnaire that relates to specific objectives of the study. Secondary data involved past reports such as annual budget data, progress reports and internal audits reports since the system implementation started and had key information that will be helpful to the research study. The study used both quantitative and qualitative method of data analysis. Collected data was first coded and then quantitatively analyzed according to statistical information derived from the research questions. Secondary data were derived from desk review of annual information on IFMIS for all variables for a period of three years (2013-2015). The study found that organizational accountability systems, cash management and budgeting systems, internal control systems and financial reporting systems positively and significantly influenced the financial management in the public sector. The study recommends that managers can use this information to plan and formulate budgets; examine results against budgets and plans; manage cash balances; track the status of debts and receivables; monitor the use of fixed assets and monitor the performance of specific departments or units.

The role of social innovation policy in social service sector reform: Evidence from Hong Kong

AbstractThis article illustrates how the term “social innovation” is used in the public policy domain in Hong Kong in relation to the new public management (NPM) reform of the social service sector, which originated in the early 2000s. Through document reviews and interviews, the role that social innovation policy has played in instigating changes in the contemporary social service field in the post-NPM era is identified. This includes facilitating emergence of “new” forms of social entrepreneurial activities to fill unmet social needs, empowering new actors in entering the social service sector, and reinforcing the government’s position in the NPM reform. Adopting historical institutionalism as the analytical framework, multiple path-dependent characteristics arising from the historical legacies of the incumbent social service environment – such as the longstanding partnership between the state and non-profits – are highlighted. These historical factors have weakened the efficacy of the policy efforts aimed at enacting institutional change. Overall, this article demonstrates how historical context matters in the emergence and framing of social innovation policy. It contributes to the theorisation of the role of social innovation in social service sector development in East Asia.

Public Revenue Diversification in Botswana During Crisis Times

To maximise social and economic welfare, governments need sufficient and diversified revenues. Due to global interconnectedness, public revenues are susceptible to macro shocks such as global financial crises and global health pandemics (e.g. COVID-19). Susceptibility to crises and pandemics necessitates revenue diversification, mainly, in mono-cultural economies such as Botswana. So, this paper aims to discuss revenue diversification initiatives in Botswana during crisis times. The paper, based on interpretivism, used the qualitative case study approach. Since it is a desktop study, it used secondary data sources. The paper concluded that the quest for public revenue diversification is yet to bear fruit, hence, an evaluation is impossible for now. The foregoing conclusion notwithstanding, the general lesson from the Botswana case is that public revenue diversification is imperative, particularly given post-2007 and COVID-19 fiscal strictures. Finally, revenue diversification does not happen in a vacuum. Therefore, it must be girded in public financial management reforms.

EFFECT OF TAX REVENUE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

The main objective of this study is to ascertain the effect of Tax Revenue on Economic Development with a focus on Nigeria. The specific objectives were to determine; the effect of Companies’ Income Tax on Per Capita Income, Petroleum Profit Tax on Per Capita Incomeof Nigeria from 2000-2019. This study employed the use of time series data and Ex-post facto research design was adopted. Secondary data were sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Statistical Bulletin, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), World Bank Statistical Bulletin and Annual Abstract of Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Inferential statistics of the hypotheses were carried out with the aid of E-views 10 statistical software using Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis, Granger Causality test. The study found that companies’ income tax has a significant positive effect on per capita income of Nigeria; petroleum profit tax has a significant positive effect on per capita income of Nigeria; It was recommended inter alia that federal government of Nigeria should underpin public financial management reforms, strengthen supervisory and transparency practices, improve tax administration, and fight tax evasion.

Organizing municipal audit: contracting out and audit costs in Norway

PurposeThis paper analyses the deregulation of the municipal audit market in Norway, in particular how organization of the service affected audit costs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses multiple regression analysis of administrative as well as survey data of organizational structure and audit costs from 312 municipalities in Norway in 2012.FindingsThe introduction of contracting out in the municipal audit market in Norway in 2004 contributed to a reduction in audit fees eight years after the deregulation, compared to the situation four years before the deregulation. The type of audit, mixing inter-municipal co-operation and contracting private auditors, was related to lower costs.Research limitations/implicationsThe data does not include audit quality and are restricted to one country.Practical implicationsThe municipalities that combined inter-municipal co-operation and contracting a private auditor achieved the lowest costs. Hence, neither pure in-house production (“make”) nor outsourcing (“buy”) but mixing several governance forms (hybrid organization) was related to low costs.Social implicationsContracting out is a core element of new public management (NPM) but has often been a contested tool in public policy. This paper provides empirical evidence on the effects of a reform of a professional service, which is relevant for many services in the public sector.Originality/valueThis paper contributes by filling some of the gaps in the public sector accounting and public management reform literature by studying the organization and costs of the municipal audit, specifically by including transaction costs, addressing plural governance forms in addition to pure in-house production, inter-organizational co-operation and market contracting and by studying long-term effects.

New Public Management in the Developing Countries: Effects and Implications on Human Resource Management

Understanding the linkage between New Public Management (NPM) reforms and Human Resource Management (HRM) are required to be highlighted. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) used as a research methodology to discuss the implementation of NPM reforms, gaps and challenges of NPM, and the effects and implications of these gaps and challenges on HRM. This paper contributes to the existing literature by offering important lessons and experiences of the implemented NPM reforms, alongside their major gaps and challenges towards HRM in the developing world. The discussion and conclusion are presented at the end.

The shrinkage of justice and hospital facilities in small French cities (2000–2016)

ABSTRACT In many countries, the objective of reducing public spending combined with the introduction of New Public Management reforms have led to changes in the territorial organization of public services and to a withdrawal of public facilities in many places. Our hypothesis is that in France, this territorial process has not occurred in the same way in all cities. We assume that while medium-sized cities are seeing a reduction in some public service facilities, their disappearance usually occurs in small cities. Larger metropolitan areas have not been affected by such territorial retrenchment of public services facilities. These differences could lead to increased territorial inequalities at the level of urban systems and to a marginalization of some small cities. This paper examines these processes through a quantitative analysis of changes in the location of justice courts and hospital beds from 2000 to 2016, within French Functional Urban Areas. It shows that the decrease in the number of justice and hospital facilities was significant and has affected small cities.

Lietuvos viešojo valdymo reformų institucinė sandara 2009–2012 m.

His article sets out to explore two aspects reported in the literature: we pursued to fulfill the lack of research in the field of preparation and implementation of Lithuanian public management reform; searching for evidence that reforms are based on unclear public management doctrine. Principal – agent theory was applied to execute the aim of current research. The data collected by carried our eight in-depth semi structured interviews. The research sought to identify the change of opinions during the execution of public management reform. It was found, that preparation and implementation of public management reform depends on three factors: (i) value – based public management reform conception; (ii) existence of strong coordination center form reform execution; (iii) support of political – administration resource. However, the participation of political appointees at the reform process highlighted the conflict in their activity. From one hand the support of political appointees reduce control of performance. Otherwise, there is a threat for implementation of public management reform.

Going left or right? A study of the policy rationale of the Chilean center-left coalition Concertación in Education

What does it mean to deliver left-wing policies in education nowadays? During most of the 20th century, political parties of the center-left traditionally fought for a welfare state and a comprehensive public education. However, in an era of advanced capitalism, these same parties have tended to advocate and even deepen neoliberal and new public management reforms. In Chile, the center-left “Concertación” coalition governed for 20 years (1990-2010), inheriting a market-driven educational system established under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. This paper, based on an analysis of official public speeches and documents (in total 62), examines the Concertación’s rationale and political project in school education. The coalition’s aim was to move from a “free market” to a regulated market, through a balanced formula that—while preserving the market framework—added greater state investment, compensatory programs, and performance accountability measures. Hypotheses circulated in the country that the Concertación did not deliver further transformations due to legal constraints, international pressure, and “conflict phobia”. Despite historical limitations and internal disputes, the research provides evidence that the government’s educational program, in large part, was true to its own system of thinking. Hence, the center-left coalition did not maintain the market-based model in spite of its governmental rationality, but because of it.

Delivering the UK Energy Transition with an Accountable and Competitive Electricity Sector: Theory and Realities

This article discusses accountability in UK electricity services against the backdrop of the energy transition. Today’s decarbonisation imperatives stand as a major accountability test for the UK government and the electricity regulator, which have been grappling with the energy trilemma since the early 2000s. The analysis will determine the extent to which both have responded to these new goals while still abiding by their original mandate to uphold the public interest. Climate change imperatives have actually brought to the surface enduring faulty accountability dynamics, which had at first been obscured – by practice or design – by the new public management reforms of the early 1990s. The inherently ad hoc and flexible British accountability culture therefore appears to have contributed to hampering the country’s progress towards decarbonisation.