Slovenian Public Administration Research Articles

Talent Management in the Slovenian Public Administration for Young Talented Individuals from Generation Z

Purpose – Talent management is becoming an increasingly important area of research and implementation in organisations as is the importance of the organisation's internal resources, i.e. people. The purpose of the paper is to present the results and key findings of the research on how employees in Slovenian public administration rate the implementation and its effects of talent management activities to attract, develop and retain young talented individuals from generation Z. Aims(s) – The aims of this paper were to evaluate the talent management activities for young talented individuals in Slovenian public administration and develop a model of Gen Z talent management. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data was collected with the help of an online questionnaire and the questionnaire, which was designed for the empirical research, consisted of several sets of questions. The collected data was processed in the SPSS statistical program and Microsoft Excel. Findings – The results of the survey show that the respondents do not rate attracting, development and retention of young talented individuals in public administration the best as the average rating of all sets is 3.0. Results show that some attraction and development activities have a positive impact (p < 0.05) on the retention of young talented individuals in Slovenian public administration organisations. Limitations of the study – The limitation was related to the fact that the survey was conducted only in the Slovenian public administration and not in the entire public sector. It would be reasonable to expand the research in the future to the entire public sector and abroad. Practical implications – The paper is useful for practice mainly because it presents the possibility of using the developed model of Gen Z talent management in public administration. Originality/value – The originality of the topic is reflected in the lack of empirical research on the topic of Gen Z talent management in public administrations and the first such research in Slovenian public administration.

Decoding the Digital Landscape: An Empirically Validated Model for Assessing Digitalisation across Public Administration Levels

This research advances the field of digital government by developing and empirically validating a model for measuring the digital state of public administration, with a specific focus on Slovenia. Moving beyond traditional digital maturity models, our study introduces a holistic framework that integrates elements of technology, process, structure, people and organisational culture, enriched by dimensions of digital principles, good governance, and external environmental factors. This framework is grounded in an adaptation of Leavitt’s diamond model, tailored to capture the nuances of digitalisation in public administration. The empirical validation is conducted through a comprehensive questionnaire administered to Slovenian public administration organisations at both local and state levels. The results provide a nuanced understanding of the current digital state that extends beyond technological aspects, including process optimisation, organisational structure, people elements and culture dynamics, and insights into internal and external barriers to digitalisation as well as principles of good governance and digitalisation. The study’s results show that ministries in Slovenia generally possess a more advanced digital infrastructure than municipalities, particularly in various aspects of ICT development and integration. While Slovenia aspires to align with the EU digital strategy, it faces various challenges, particularly at the municipal level, in achieving coherent development of digital skills and policy implementation. The comprehensive approach allows for a more informed evaluation of digital transformation efforts, offering insights into areas of strength and opportunities for further development. The findings have significant implications for policymakers and stakeholders, highlighting critical areas for targeted improvement and strategic planning in the digitalisation of public administration.

Extended Availability of Public Servants for Work from Home During Non-Work Time in the COVID-19 Pandemic

"The COVID-19 pandemic, with its public mea sures, has led to changes in public administration and in the way public servants organize their work and working time. The purpose of our article is to de termine whether there is a correlation between work during non-work time and extended availability for work among public servants in the Slovenian public administration who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was conducted in February 2021 in the Slovenian public administra tion and involved 1,676 public servants. Based on the data of our study, which we analyzed using var ious statistical methods (Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis test, Dunn-Bonferroni post hoc test, Spearman’s rho), we assert that during the COVID-19 pandemic, public servants in the Slovenian public administra tion who worked from home performed their work during non-work time and were excessively available for work. As a result, their ability to psychologically detach from work decreased."

Working in Public Administration During Nonwork Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the outbreak of Covid-19, a pandemic was declared in March 2020 and countries introduced various measures to overcome it. As a result, employees worked more intensively from home with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), which significantly affected the way of work, the length of the working day, and the time reserved for rest. The purpose of this article is to examine whether, during the pandemic, public employees in the Slovenian public administration worked during nonwork time. This is the first research of this kind in the Slovenian public administration. The research applied the quantitative method and an online questionnaire conducted in February 2021, whereby data from 1676 public administration employees were obtained. The results of the research show that at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, 80% of the respondents performed work during nonwork time. In fact, public employees quite often worked late in the afternoon after working hours and on weekends. Interestingly, about 10% of public employees even worked during annual leave and sick leave. The results of the research contribute to theoretical and practical knowledge about work related activities during nonwork time.

Modernisation Trends in Public Administration in Slovenia

The theory of public administration offers a wide range of paradigms or approaches that are developed as a consequence of various triggers from internal and external environment. The classical model of bureaucratic organization as outlined by Weber is no longer appropriate in modern countries, although it still remains the basis of public administration because of numerous transformations and upgrades. The first major reforms were introduced to public administration via the more modern and market-oriented New Public Management. However, Post-New Public Management approaches have recently developed as a reflection of social and political changes. In this paper, we offer an overview of modern approaches, which do not appear in pure form, but in the form of hybrids. There is no consensus, either in science or in practice, on the optimal direction of public administration development or on the preferential approach. This decision is left to the governments, bearing in mind that each public administration reform and hybridization of approaches affect the complexity of public administration. Analysing the reform of the Slovenian public administration, we have found that the current Strategy of Public Administration Development for 2015-2020 is based on modern elements and values of Post-New Public Management approaches and that reforms strive for modernization, but (as shown by the current crisis) a serious effort will be required in the future to achieve this goal.

Required competencies in public administration study programs

In the evaluation of undergraduate and graduate study programs, there is an important issue about which competencies must be acquired by graduates. This study tested the importance of competencies in public administration study programs in the light of expectations of employers in Slovenian public administration. The aim of the research was to find out how various competencies acquired in higher education (undergraduate and graduate study in public administration) are evaluated by employers in public administration. On the basis of analysis of findings of similar research projects, the competencies contained in programs by renowned universities and competencies defined for the work positions, a set of discipline-specific competencies (61) were designed. Research was conducted in 2015 and involved 343 respondents. A qualitative research method (survey) was used to collect the data which were then analyzed with the SPSS statistical program and Microsoft Excel. The results show that the competencies related to ethics and ethical behavior were evaluated as the most important; generic competencies are better assessed than specific ones and on average the competencies received a higher assessment for graduates (compare to undergraduates) positions

Project Management in Public Administration. TPM – Total Project Management Maturity Model. The Case of Slovenian Public Administration

The purpose of the article is to present the importance of project management for the functioning of public administration, and its contribution to the realization of the developmental goals of the government. For this, integration of strategic management and project management is of vital importance. The methodology used is a combination of literature review, a case study of project management in public administration of the Republic of Slovenia, and development of a maturity model of project management in public administration, with its verifi cation on the case of Slovenia. The main contribution of the study is development of TPM – Total Project Management maturity model for public administration. Upon the TPM maturity model, project management in Slovene public administration is assessed and discussed. Out of fi ve maturity levels, the results for project management in Slovene public administration are: management of projects – level 2 (initiated), management of programs of projects – level 2 (initiated), management of portfolios of projects – level 3 (implemented), organizational support for project management – level 3 (implemented), HRM for project management – level 2 (initiated), and integration of project management and strategic management – level 3 (implemented). General fi ndings and recommendations in this respect are drawn, together with indicated areas for possible further research and investigation.

An Analysis of the Ethics Infrastructure and Ethical Climate in Slovenian Public Administration

Abstract In consideration of the fact that public administrations worldwide face a number of challenges, many governments are dedicated to improving the ethical climate in public administrations. The same issue is also the focus of the attention of many transnational associations. The basic goal is to ensure the development of comparable ethical climates, ethical behaviour in different public administrations and to develop comparable, suitable ethics infrastructures to enable this. Modern public administrations must bring ethical conduct to the fore and resist unethical behaviour. There are different ideas on how to build ethics infrastructures in public administrations, and examples of good practice that could facilitate the development of such infrastructures are found in the public and private sectors of different countries. In this paper, we connect ethics infrastructures and ethical climates. The evaluation of Slovenia’s ethics infrastructures is based on the framework prepared by the OECD, using its questionnaire developed by Victor and Cullen. The results show that there is no general relationship between ethics infrastructures and ethical climates in public administrations. Nevertheless, some determinants of ethics infrastructures correlate to a high degree to the ethical climate, the strongest impact on ethics climates being the ethical infrastructure’s determinant “public involvement and scrutiny”.

How to Assess Whether Qualified Evaluations of e-Government Projects Are Conducted? The Case of Slovenia

Countries are investing significant resources in the development of e-government, but evaluations of e-government projects are rarely conducted in a comprehensive way. In order to take the right measures and to be effective in fostering the use and raising the quality of evaluations of e-government projects it is important to reveal the state of the practice. The paper presents the results of the research based on identification of parameters required to be measured in order to conduct qualified evaluations of e-government projects. Thirteen such paramaters were identified via the focus group, with participants comprising (Slovenian) e-government decision-makers and researchers. Using these 13 parameters and 7 additional questions about the knowledge and use of evalution methods a questionnaire was designed and applied in a survey on Slovenian public administration. Employing a binomial test and Fisher’s combined probability test it was established that in Slovenian public administration qualified evaluations of e-government projects were not being conducted. The method has demonstrated an eligible usability both for analysing the general situation and for exposing opportunities for improvement in various specific situations.

Ex-ante evaluation: Towards an assessment model of its impact on the success of e-government projects

The paper addresses the issue of ex-ante evaluation of e-government projects. Many methodologies have been developed in the last 15 years in order to support such evaluations, but we still know very little about the impact of these evaluations on the success rate of e-government projects. The research conducted on the Slovenian public administration and presented in this paper fills in the gap between theoretical and empirical research in this area. Using the methodology of partial least squares, a model of indicators was developed and tested in the Slovenian e-government environment. It was proven that ex-ante evaluation of e-government projects has an impact on the success of these projects --28% of the variance in success can be explained by ex-ante evaluation.

Multi-Attribute Evaluation of E-Government Projects

This paper presents comparative review of existent (inter-)national approaches to e-government projects evaluation with the stress on intangible/hidden costs and public value dimension which are the two components usually missed out in traditional investments evaluation methods (e.g., net present value, cost/benefit analysis, return on investment). Based on the literature review and weaknesses identified through comparative review, the authors developed models for ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of e-government projects for Slovenian public administration. The models were developed together with representatives of Ministry of Public Administration.

The State of E-Business in Slovenian Public Administration: The Case of Administrative Units

Over the last few years e-government in Slovenia has experienced very rapid development, with the latest EU surveys showing that Slovenia is among the most advanced member states in this field. However, the actual use of public e-services lags far behind the growing supply. This paper offers a comparative analysis of the current state of affairs in this field in Slovenia, focusing on the country’s administrative units. That analysis is based on the results of empirical research into the administrative units’ e-business, which was carried out in the first half of 2009 by the Institute for Public Administration Informatisation at the Faculty of Administration. The research looked at e-business in the most typical areas of the administrative units’ work, such as internal affairs, the environment and physical planning, agriculture etc., which most accurately reveal the current state of e-business in Slovenia’s public administration, particularly insofar as it relates to operations with citizens. The paper also examines the e-business of administrative units in their internal operations and in operations with other administrative bodies. The final part includes a comparison of the results of the empirical research with the latest results from the EU Capgemini Benchmark study (Capgemini, 2009), as well as a number of other international studies.

Social Responsibility and Governance-Management Process as a Basis of Excellence in Public Administration

An increasing number of public administration organisations are already aware of the fact that excellence is not only the domain of private sector organisations. They are looking for up-to-date management tools with which they would like to continuously improve operations and increase stakeholder satisfaction. This confirms the belief that approaches for managing private organisations are the same as for public organisations, the only difference (by now) being in the basic goal(s) of private and public sector organisations. The article presents definitions and descriptions of key fields whose understanding is important for the logical and systematic formation and use of an up-to-date excellence model for public administration. The proposed excellence model was formed and tested with the objective to contribute to the development of Slovenian public administration and a state as a whole.

Long-term Digital Preservation in E-government — a Case of Slovenia

Long-term Digital Preservation in E-government — a Case of Slovenia The use of information and communication technology and its widespread presence cause a vast amount of data to be created in the public and private sectors every day. The widespread presence of e-government sites, services and communication in the developed world add even more data. This digital data does not only represent the accountability and reliability of the processes, steps and decisions taken by organisations, but also a source of information for future generations. This paper discusses the issue of long-term digital preservation with a special focus on long-term digital preservation in public administration. It analyses problematic issues, current development trends in this area, and principles and solutions that can be found around the world. The paper focuses on Slovenia as one of the EU countries that has most effectively developed its e-government during the last decade. It analyses the situation in Slovenia through legal, organisational and other changes that have appeared over the last few years, and considers this as a model for possible long-term digital preservation. To describe the situation for digital preservation in Slovenian public administration, the results of empirical research made in 2007 are used. The paper uses theoretical background from the field of digital preservation and empirical results to show the important link between e-business, e-government, e-governance and digital preservation. It demonstrates that since Slovenian public administration has strictly specified business processes, the task of implementing digital preservation is much easier. The same concepts can be transferred to the private sector in Slovenia or anywhere else in the world.

Innovativeness as part of quality and excellence development in the Slovenian public administration (survey results 2007–2008)

The purpose of the study was (1) to investigate the trends in the development of excellence and innovativeness, or the use of the relevant tools, by comparing the situations of 2003, 2006 and (as projected) 2009 to one another, and against the approaches used in companies, and (2) to encourage the spread of awareness within the public administration of the importance of identifying and spreading good practices. We found that trends are taking the same direction, with the number of different tools and the frequency of their use – especially of the CAF (Common Assessment Framework) and EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) models, partly also the BSC (Balanced Scorecards), and of ISO standards – being on a continual rise, while the main systemic deficiencies are the inconsistent top-down policy of quality and excellence development, and the non-existent methodology for empirical evaluation of the effects produced by the use of those tools. The organisations are left to their own initiative, and support of the Government and the Ministries is only declarative. Innovativeness, unlike this, primarily entails gradual improvements in the ways in which work is done – in the first place from the client perspective –, which is mainly reflected by the estimated financial savings.

The Importance of Democratic Freedoms and Equality in Slovenian Public Administration

The conflict between civil servants and politicians has often been described as the basic problem of modern authorities, for this reason, one must understand and thus research the relationship between these two groups of very influential actors in order to understand the governing process, In modern democracies, civil servants have outgrown their classic role of mere implementers of orders given by politicians. Both civil servants and politicians serve the same democratic state, and both are hews to the same democratic evolution. S argue that based mainly on the historically developed division of labour between bureaucracy and politics civil servants have never been tasked with creating the conditions for more democracy m the state, but instead with creating the conditions for a more effective and successful slate. Given that political bodies in which politicians operate have been established as the institutionalised personification of democracy, the task of politicians is above alt to promote democracy, its values and norms.