Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Public administration Australia Case studies'

Purpose. This research sought to explore the factors that influenced the policy decision to change a city council electoral system from an at-large structure to a by-district structure. The structure of the electoral system impacts representation in that it creates the rules and requirements as to how people are elected and who can vote for them. This study provided context for local government decision making. This context provides decision makers and citizens alike with insight into the degree of influence exerted in the public policy process by internal and external forces.

Theoretical Framework. Three lenses were used: social exchange (Blau, 2017), focusing events (Birkland, 2013; Kingdon, 2003) and Force Field Analysis (Lewin, 1951)) to describe the interaction of theory in explaining the antecedent factors, focusing events, and forces that were present during the local decision-making process.

Methodology. This was a descriptive, multiple case study design. It looked at multiple cities in an effort to identify the driving and restraining forces that led to changing a specific public policy. Specifically, it conducted content analysis and applied Lewin’s force field analysis to public documents in an effort to understand the antecedent factors leading to the change in the structure of the electoral system in select California cities.

Findings/Conclusions. Both driving and restraining forces were evident in the policy process for change. Four categories of forces were identified: social, political, economic and legal. In the case of the change to a By-District Voting system taking place throughout California, the community itself has not necessarily identified a problem in need of a solution. Rather, a lawsuit—or threat of a lawsuit—is the impetus for change—wanted or not. Given that the focusing event for the voting system policy change examined in this research is litigation, most discussion and input takes place behind closed doors with input being from attorneys and city management staff. While this is important in order to create legislative strategy, it does omit input from the citizens who will be impacted by the decisions. Therefore, the question remains, once fully implemented, will the change in the structure of the electoral system bring “better” representation?

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities in Florida. The collected data included reviews of local news reports, voter turnout reports, and community health assessments, along with focus groups and semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 of the communities’ African American residents. Benet’s polarities of democracy model was employed to analyze the relationship between racism and social capital. Analysis included inductive coding followed by pattern matching to identify overarching themes between the selected cases. One key theme was that perceived racial disparity inhibited bridging and linking social capital in the selected communities. Another key theme was that racism created social capital deficiencies and a dysfunctional community culture, which limited the capacity to address collective issues. Social change implications include specific policy recommendations to state and local leaders to increase the participation of Black community members in democratic processes. Additionally, this research has potential to improve understanding of the various ways that racism may affect Black Communities.

In an era of continuing economic uncertainty public sector organizations face unprecedented challenges in resourcing increasingly complex missions. To meet these challenges public sector managers must look for innovative ways to resource essential missions and define public sector outcomes. The use of collaboration to create public value represents one way to provide effective and efficient service in this environment.

This study informs the subject of collaboration as a mechanism for creating public value by considering these concepts as a practical matter against actual events or programs involving the California Highway Patrol, a large State police agency with multiple missions and complex inter-agency relationships. The results of the study demonstrate a correlation between the strength of the collaborative effort and the results obtained, as well as the effect of circumstances on results. In identifying a common formula for evaluating these concepts, other public programs can be evaluated based on these contexts.

Mexico is not a country at peace. Despite the government's fight to restore stability, violence has erupted since 2006 in several areas of the territory. According to Vygotsky's social constructivism and to Galtung's integral perspective of peace, some elements of peacelessness are informed by values, perceptions, and conceptions about violence and peace. These topics have not been qualitatively investigated in Mexico. The purpose of this case study was to explore the process involving the social construction of values, perceptions, and conceptions in regard to organized criminal violence and peace possibilities in Mexico. Research questions focused on the role of mass media and oral conversations in the social construction of perceptions about the government, criminal organizations, and peace. This study employed semistructured interviews of 15 residents from a neighborhood in a large Mexican city. A purposeful sample stratified by gender, age, and profession, according to the neighborhood demographics, was used. Data from the interviews were coded for patterns using preexisting theory-based categories along with new emerging categories. Findings showed that among these residents, the process of social construction of perceptions was primarily formed through individual experiences and observations, and nurtured by conversations. Social constructors, such as traditional mass media, were much less important. Residents constructed their perception that the basic causes of criminal violence are rooted in the structures of the political and economic system, which, if correctly addressed, would foster peace. This study contributes to positive social change.by informing regional policymakers about the need to design local policies directed towards mediating structural and systemic transformations that are respectful of experiences and needs of citizens.

Although the subject of ethics has been widely studied, no research has addressed the dilemma faced by government procurement professionals in underdeveloped countries, especially Togo. The purpose of this case study was to analyze insiders’ views concerning ethical dilemmas in public procurement for government contracting professionals in Togo. The study was based on deontological and teleological ethics. Research questions addressed ethical issues that are likely to arise from inappropriate interference by Togo government official in the public procurement process, and perceptions of public acquisition professionals regarding Togo government officials’ influence on contracting officers’ decision making. Data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. Findings showed that even though there are regulations in place, most public procurement professionals sometimes make unethical decisions, both because they are pressured to do so and because they are neither well-remunerated nor well-trained. Togo acquisition staff regularly deal with corruption, impunity, deception, and risk of retaliation. Based on results of this study, it is recommended that ethics training be established to improve Togo’s public contracting system and that the training be sanctioned by a three-level professional certification similar to the one in the United States. Further research could involve surveying other African nations to determine the extent to which public acquisition staff see interference by government officials.

Mentorship in the workplace is a critical component of leader development that benefits both the individual and organization. While the United States Army’s mentorship program takes an informal approach to initiating mentoring connections, active mentorship is an expectation of all leaders. Women in the army remain underrepresented in the senior ranks, creating a situation that may lead to more limited opportunities for the female-to-female interactions that would result in a diverse mentoring experience. This qualitative case study explored the mentoring experiences of a purposive sample of interviews with 10 women officers assigned to Brigade Combat Teams while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Results were analyzed using two cycles of inductive coding and pattern-matching techniques. The six themes that emerged provide insight into the conditions and mechanisms that may create more effective professional mentoring relationships for military leaders.

Key Words: female mentoring, women’s mentorship, United States Army officers, U.S. Army officers, leader development, qualitative

Military organizations are often called upon to assist with emergency management missions, so it is critical that they have appropriately established and well understood organizational perceptual factors. Military organizations are often unique within a nation, which increases the challenge for scholars to effectively analyze how organizational factors are influenced by the dynamics of national use of military forces for emergency management missions. There are several disparate theories of government organization, but the most recent and relevant is Keith James' organizational science of disaster and terrorism prevention and response theory. James' theory identified several important organizational factors specific to emergency management organizations. These factors include organizational structure and networks, processes, teams, leadership, and technology. James' organizational factors guided the development of this qualitative comparative case study's interview protocol with 24 members from the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of the United States National Guard and Israeli Homefront Command. Results revealed why two nations use their military forces for disaster response as well as provided a description of how each organization is used within their respective nation. The data affirmed aspects of James' theory, including relevant structural, networking, and procedural factors and identified the other organizational factors within James' theory as possible areas for future research. Finally, based upon interview participant perceptions, recommendations were made to the leadership of the Homefront Command and National Guard regarding areas of potential organizational emphasis to include internal messaging, additional doctrine, and clarified organizational structures for disaster response.

This thesis is a case study of changes within public administration. The purpose is to describe and discuss changes inspired by New Public Management within public administration. These changes will also be studied a bit further in order to find out whether they have been effected by any form of path dependency.

In order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis I intend to formulate my main question as follows:

• Does path dependency effect the possibility for changes within public administration?

To be able to answer my main question and fulfil the purpose of the thesis I have chosen to study the county planning commission in Trollhättan. Here I have selected a few changes concerning the possibility to handle various permissions in an efficient way. To examine whether these changes have been effected by any path dependency, a number of interviews were undertaken with representatives from the administration of my case.

After analysing these interviews the answer to my main question is, yes. The change process has all together been effected by path dependency, which has delayed the implementation and in some sense also worsened the possibility of in an effective way handling various permissions in the county commission.