Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Public sector organization'

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 163-166).
The delivery of government services is currently a problem that many countries around the world are trying to solve by centralizing operations and by incorporating technology and digitized processes; however, very few have been truly successful. The main challenges faced concern the high complexity in terms of components (agencies and procedures) the organization has to manage, the need for strong coordination with the arm of the government in charge of the information and communications technologies (ICTs), and the integration of administrative processes with legal frameworks and political influences. In Chile, efforts in this matter have been made for almost two decades, but still enormous improvements are needed in order to catch up with developed countries. The ChileAtiende project is the initiative of the government of Chile whose goal is to design and implement the system of services delivery at the country level. The present work is an application of the Architecting Innovative Enterprise Strategies (ARIES) Framework, developed by Nightingale and Rhodes, to ChileAtiende, in order to support the architecting process at an organizational level. In addition to ARIES, several other techniques are used along the way, such as a comprehensive stakeholder analysis, a network analysis of the agencies and procedures incorporated into the system, and the formulation of an optimization model to prioritize and rationalize the product portfolio in the early phases of the initiative. The results obtained show that ChileAtiende should be built having a long-term architectural target, which can be reached by dividing the project into three main phases: first, the reorganization of the product portfolio and a process- and technology-driven boost; second, an expansion of the offerings to capture the majority of the services provided by the government; and third, the pooling of the resources to capitalize on the greater efficiency derived from smaller operations. This research shows how a systemic view can effectively address public sector challenges, and how a model-based approach can provide clarity regarding the future of a complex organization.
by Maximiliano A. Calderón Montecinos.
S.M. in Engineering and Management

As the business evolves, organisations are faced with challenges as today’s customers have changed, and demand a value for the products and services purchased. Customer satisfaction is a key factor to business excellence. The health sector and its service providers are faced with such demands, having to ensure customer satisfaction with limited resources. The aim of the study was to investigate a business model that could be implemented within the public sector to render pathology services. Particular reference was given to the National Health Laboratory Service as a provider of choice for rendering medical laboratory services within public health institutions and related departments. The data has been collected using a self constructed questionnaire which has been distributed to the NHLS centers within the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. 45 percent of the employees, in the region took part in the survey. The study tested the perceptions of the respondents with respect to the business model, specifically the determinants of a business model and its effects. The results of the empirical study revealed that a relationship exists between the business model, its determinants and customer satisfaction. Correlation analysis was done between the business model, customer relation management, continuous improvement, talent management, business process reengineering and customer satisfaction. Conclusions and recommendations have been drawn from the study. The NHLS needs to change its approach to business, invest in people education, training and development, improve its communication strategies with customers and realign its processes in order to maintain business excellence and provide a better service within the public sector

In South Africa, private and public sector organizations have been experiencing conflict at an increasing rate during the past few decades and especially the last ten years. The prominence and high level with which conflict is regarded in this new democracy has made the study of this phenomenon more relevant. Especially within business organizations, between individuals, groups, and at management level, the influence of transformation and affirmative action has steadily affected interpersonal and intergroup relations. This situation makes it more difficult to handle or to manage. The lack of knowledge experienced in many business organizations causes mismanagement of conflict which eventually (directly or indirectly) affects the productivity of the employee corps and subsequently, the effectivity or profitability of the organization. The objective of this study was to establish by means of a comparative theoretical and empirical analysis, the nature, causes and handling/ management styles of conflict within a public and a private sector organization. Being respectively non-profit and profit driven organizations and having introduced affirmative action and transformation at different degrees, it was possible to evaluate the effect with regard to conflict. The research method followed in this study was both qualitative and quantitative. In the first five chapters a theoretical, qualitative approach was applied. Different theories of conflict, from the classical, neo-classical to modern systems, were analysed in order to establish sources of conflict. From this discussion, an analysis of conflict which was viewed by the theories of both Karl Marx and Ralph Dahrendorf to be a social interactive process characterized by force, strife and animosity, was accepted to form the basis of the study regarding the sources of conflict. Departing from this basis the various concepts of conflict as developed in the literature were studied in a comparative way. This was followed by a comparative analysis of conflict handling processes for which an adapted conflict process model was presented. The elements of this model form the core research of this study. Analysis of three key conflict handling style models (Thomas-Killman, ROC-II and CMS) were consequently compared to decide which one would be the most suitable for the empirical survey. The second part of this study consisted of a quantitative comparison of causes, handling styles and manifestation of conflict on an interpersonal basis within a local authority and an agricultural company. This was done by means of questionnaires containing designed variables obtained from the qualitative section of the study and a standardized section borrowed from Rahim's ROC-II model questionnaire. The descriptive statistical analysis was done with the SPSS-program in consultation with the STATCON Bureau of the Rand Afrikaans University. The empirical survey validated the viewpoints brought forward in the qualitative part of the study. By way of the results obtained from the analysis, the four hypotheses which were linked to the set objectives of the study were validated. The four hypothesis are: - A significant difference exists with regard to the causes of conflict between a local authority and agricultural organization. - A significant difference exists between employees of the local authority and the agricultural organization's perception of what effect conflict has on them. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used when compared to different background variables in both organizations. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used amongst employees of the agricultural organization and local authority Explicit findings with regard to the literature (qualitative) and empirical (quantitative) study were brought forward, and practical recommendations for management as well as recommendations for further research were made.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Over the past 10 to15 years, there has been a boom in the construction software market. Most of these software’s have functionality to support processes like document management, on-site data logging and reporting, and safety management. They simplify the process of entering and storing the data through supporting mobile and cloud-based computing. Several construction organizations are looking to adopt such IT solutions in their existing processes. One challenge they face is identifying the requirements for the software, and ensuring that it meets the needs and expectations of the internal stakeholders. This thesis aims to address this issue. In this thesis, a case study of one such organization is presented; the case organization was looking to adopt a construction software in its Engineering Services division, and facing the challenge of identifying its internal requirements. This thesis uses a structured requirements capture approach, adopted from the domain of software development, and applies it to some of the existing processes in the organization. Semi-structured interviews were used to document the current Business Use Cases (BUCs), and challenges relating to different business areas. Each documented BUC was analyzed to identify the software requirements, which can address the existing challenges and make the processes more efficient. The requirements were validated through using self-checklists, stakeholder verification and expert reviews. The methodology for capturing requirements is presented in a way such that it can easily be replicated by other organizations. Overall, this thesis dissertation highlights on the importance of pulling requirements from the stakeholders, and presents a case of applying systems development approach on typical construction processes.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Graduate

ERP systems which initially were developed for manufacturing organizations have in recent years spread to public sector organization. It is put forward that public sector organization differ from private organization and this might affect how successfully an ERP system is implemented. ERP systems are rarely studied in public sector organization and few researchers have explored the fit between ERP system and organizational structures. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore what relationship that exists or do not exist between ERP system and organizational social structures in a military organization, and how this has affected the implementation and use. This is done through a qualitative case study of the Swedish Armed Forces with data from semi-structured interviews with 14 platoon commanders and 3 company commanders. The findings suggest that there is a misfit between the ERP system, PRIO, and the social structures in the organization which have made the implementation and use problematic. The technical shortcomings, such as the user interface, are not the main problem and employees might have been negative about the system anyway. This since platoon commanders and company commanders do not think platoon commanders are the best suited to do the tasks with PRIO.

Modernist perspectives on work and leisure rooted within the post-war period have reflected a differentiated relationship between work and leisure (Parker, 1971; 1983; Wilensky, 1960). The impacts of globalization, de-regulation of the labour market and the rise of flexible accumulation of capital have altered traditional modernist notions of work and leisure (Rojek, 1995; 2001; 2005b; Schor, 1992). Recent literature demonstrates the manner in which leisure is re-appraised in the postmodern context (Blackshaw, 2010; Rojek, 1995; 2001; 2010b), providing new ways of understanding how leisure can engage with work (Bowers, 2011; Guerrier & Adib, 2009; Ravenscroft & Gilchrist, 2009). This dissertation examines meaningful work and its relationship to leisure amongst professional and knowledge workers in a not-for-profit and public sector organization. Three areas of investigation were pursued using qualitative approaches, consisting of in-depth semi-structured interviews. Article one comparatively examined experiences of meaningful work amongst workers from both organizations, and the extent to which experiences aligned to what is understood as a ‘liquid work’ organization (Clegg & Baumeler, 2010; Poder, 2007). Through an analysis of the factors that promote and hinder satisfaction, workplace satisfaction was primarily found within the not-for-profit sector organization, which more closely reflected a ‘liquid work’ organization. Article two examines leisure’s engagement with satisfying and productive forms of work through what is understood as a form of ‘civil labour’ (Rojek, 2001). Through an analysis of workers’ feelings towards work, different levels of engagement offer the potential for leisure to engage in productive and satisfying work. This was primarily evident amongst not-for-profit workers, whose engagement in work provided opportunities for developing social and cultural capital. Finally, article three examines the extent to which a de-differentiation of work and leisure (Rojek, 1993; 1995) is taking place amongst workers in the two settings. In comparatively examining workers’ perceptions of work and leisure, it is evident that a differentiation still exists. The discussion focuses on the relevance of workers’ experiences of work in producing different ways of understanding leisure in relation to work. The concluding chapter presents an integration of three articles, limitations, alternative methods and proposals for future research.

The inquiry concerned gaining insights into environmental elements needed within California public-sector organizations to increase employees’ willingness to share innovative ideas. Although research exists regarding the need for service innovation and employees as fruitful sources of innovative ideas, there have been limited studies concerning public-sector organizations and the best method to solicit employee ideas. The data collection for this qualitative research study consisted of a series of interviews with front-line, non-supervisory civil servants. The results provide insights and information on how public-sector organizations may foster a culture that promotes and encourages employee-led innovation. The themes that emerged were (a) transparency in the process of sharing ideas and what is needed to feel motivated to participate in a formal submission process; (b) recognition and follow up, including which types of follow up and recognition are needed to feel the idea submission was worth the effort; (c) safe space including what needs to be present within the process for employees to feel safe to participate; (d) organizational buy-in including the need for encouragement and demonstrated support from all levels of leadership. These themes contributed to form the following recommendations for organizations to create a process and culture for soliciting ideas from employees: (a) establishing a transparent and easy to use process; (b) utilizing trusted and unbiased evaluators to review ideas; (c) providing meaningful and specific follow-up on ideas submitted; (d) ensuring there is no public criticism of ideas, but having public praise for submitting ideas; creating an organizational culture to be promoting and supporting participation in these processes. The data analysis revealed several implications: a significant disconnect between what employees' need to be comfortable sharing ideas and the existing process; the insufficient efforts of current leaders to promote and execute innovation within their organizations; the need for a paradigm shift to embrace a culture and operations that support innovation at all levels of an organization.

The central purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction, and the impact of organizational climate on that relationship in the public sector. The subjects of the study were all Oregon State Government managers at and above the level of supervisor in all of the state agencies and the judicial branch. This study was conducted with the use of a survey. Six hundred and fifty-six (656) questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 66 percent. The questionnaire consisted of four parts. The first part was drawn from the Organizational Climate Questionnaire; the second part was drawn from the Job Diagnostic Survey; the third part was drawn from the Job Descriptive Index; and the last part concerned managers’ demographic factors. Statistical methods used to analyze the data included Cronbach's alpha coefficient to determine reliability of the instrument and factor analysis to identify the dimensions of organizational climate. Pearson's product-moment correlation, multiple regression, and the subgroup method were used to determine the relationship between job characteristics and job satisfaction, and the moderating effects of organizational climate on that relationship. Chi-square and z scores were used to test the significance of the results. Examination of the data revealed that the relationship between job context factors (such as relationships with co-workers and treatment by supervisors) and job satisfaction was stronger than the relationship between job characteristics (such as job autonomy and task significance) and job satisfaction. The job characteristics-job satisfaction relationship was significantly moderated by organizational climate. This relationship was weak for the group with a favorable climate, but it was notably strong for the group with an unfavorable climate. Also, the relationship was significantly moderated by the effects of the interaction between organizational climate and individual need for personal growth (NPG). Thus, the relationship was particularly strong for the high-NPG managers with an unfavorable climate, but significantly weak for the high-NPG managers with a favorable climate. These findings suggest that the job characteristics-job satisfaction relationship cannot be comprehensively understood without reference to organizational climate, and that job enrichment intervention is appropriate when the high-NPG managers are dissatisfied with their working environment. Finally, to improve the quality of the state managers work life, programs to enhance the relationships among co-workers and between co-workers and supervisors are recommended.

The public-sector organizations have been in limelight for research work about the implementation of various quality management approaches with the evolution of process management ideology into this sector. The awareness among the citizens regarding their rights and demand for qualitative service has been increased which led to the focus on the quality management approaches like Six Sigma and Lean. The public-sector organizations such as municipalities, health care, social administrators and others are not driven by profits unlike private sectors making it complex to implement these approaches. This led to the purpose of the thesis to research on proposing a process improvement strategy for increased customer satisfaction in the public sector. Seven tools from Lean and Six Sigma methodologies have been chosen to propose the strategy and they are – Process Mapping, Voice of the Customer, Critical to Quality, Cause & Effect Analysis, 5 Why’s, Benchmarking and Standardization. To execute this research, a qualitative case study methodology has been conducted at MoS department of Linköping Municipality on one of their ground process – customer request handling process. The research questions were designed to understand how to map the process, the customer orientation and process efficiency specific to the case and finally grasp the effectiveness of the selected tools for public sector. Various data sources were collected for this study. The empirical findings led to interesting analysis and discussion on the case study in relation to the previous literatures reviewed in this area. Moreover, the usefulness of these tools has been clearly identified and the strategy for process improvements has been proposed. From the overall discussion, major conclusions on the thesis work have been made with respect to the research questions. Firstly, while mapping the process it is important to consider the customer perspective and identify the process steps which lead to customer satisfaction. Further, communication with the customers and considering their feedback for future improvements is identified to be vital. Finally, the selected tools contribute majorly for the process improvements in public sector where the numerical data availability is limited and the importance of the strategic order for the tools has been highlighted. Key Words: Process Improvements, Six Sigma, Lean, Public Sector, Municipal Organizations, Customer Orientation, Customer Satisfaction.

Since Sweden has one of the most comprehensive welfare states, the role of voluntary organizations active in the field of welfare is often neglected. The unique Swedish nonprofit sector is characterized by 1) the tradition of popular mass movements in which members are central and the real owners of the organization, 2) large membership and volunteering, but low employment levels, 3) dominance in the fields of culture and recreation, but the relative marginalization in welfare. This Ph.D. dissertation empirically studies work and the perception of work in voluntary welfare organizations (VWOs) in Sweden. I completed a series of 38 interviews of employees and volunteers in four VWOs: 1) a children’s rights organization; 2) a women’s center; 3) a volunteer bureau; and 4) a humanitarian organization. A quantitative survey of some 200 VWOs supplements the qualitative data. Looking at the internal work setting and interactions between workers one realizes that work in VWOs is influenced not only by the popular mass movements (folkrörelser), which are the foundation model of all Swedish voluntary organizations, but also by paradigms emerging out of the public and for-profit sectors: 1) the public paradigm permanently shapes voluntary welfare organizations through the action of paid workers who often have public sector work experience; and 2) work in voluntary organizations is partly integrated into the regular labor market, and interfaces emerge between volunteering and professional life (for-profit paradigm). The private sphere also interferes with volunteering. Finally, this sheds a new light on the claims of VWOs that they are autonomous, “free” entities, and their contribution to social integration and strengthening of social ties.

This thesis study is about the effects of tight budgetary control on managerial behaviour in the Swedish public sector. Managerial behaviour represents the four variables; motivation, organizational commitment, stress, and satisfaction. As previous research mostly investigated the effects of tight budgetary control on organizational performance in the private sector, this study can be seen as one of the first that focus on managerial behaviour and is based on the public sector. For the data collection process, an online questionnaire was created that has been distributed via email to the different participants. Moreover, the study is based on a sample of 62 managers from different municipalities and universities throughout Sweden. The result of the thesis research study revealed that the majority of the local managers in the Swedish public sector actually experience tight budgetary control. Furthermore, the statistical test of the created hypotheses showed that the behavioural factors, both, organizational commitment and stress were respectively negatively and positively related with tight budgetary control. However, for the behavioural variables of motivation and satisfaction no significant results have been found.

We are currently living in a society that is undergoing a rapid digitalization, spurring organizations to adapt and evolve their ways of operating through technology. But is it realistic to accept that all these technological changes come without some form of resistance? Technological resistance is not a new term, tracking back several centuries it is considered to be one of the side-effects that has followed the development of technology. The study utilizes a case study to investigate a department in the swedish public sector that is currently being introduced to intelligent automation (IA). By collecting insights through interviews from the perspectives of essential parties connected to the automation-project, we came to the understanding that the perceptions of a resistance can differ between actors. In this case, the technological resistance boiled down to a fear of technology’s limitations. It also became clear that the organizational form, the implementation, confusion about roles/responsibilities and the system itself were contributing factors to the technological resistance experienced in the case. The study shows the multifacetedness of technological resistance as well as how factors connected to an organization can impact the perception of the phenomenon.

The work motivation construct is central to the theory and practice of many social science disciplines. Yet, due to the novelty of validated measures appropriate for a deep cross-national comparison, studies that contrast different administrative regimes remain scarce. This study represents an initial empirical effort to validate the Public Service Motivation (PSM) instrument proposed by Kim and colleagues (2013) in a previously unstudied context. The two former communist countries analyzed in this dissertation—Belarus and Poland— followed diametrically opposite development strategies: a fully decentralized administrative regime in Poland and a highly centralized regime in Belarus. The employees (n = 677) of public and nonprofit organizations in the border regions of Podlaskie Wojewodstwo (Poland) and Hrodna Voblasc (Belarus) are the subjects of study. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three dimensions of public service motivation in the two regions: compassion, self-sacrifice, and attraction to public service. The statistical models tested in this dissertation suggest that nonprofit sector employees exhibit higher levels of PSM than their public sector counterparts. Nonprofit sector employees also reveal a similar set of values and work attitudes across the countries. Thus, the study concludes that in terms of PSM, employees of nonprofit organizations constitute a homogenous group that exists atop the administrative regimes. However, the findings propose significant differences between public sector agencies across the two countries. Contrary to expectations, data suggest that organization centralization in Poland is equal to—or for some items even higher than—that of Belarus. We can conclude that the absence of administrative decentralization of service provision in a country does not necessarily undermine decentralized practices within organizations. Further analysis reveals strong correlations between organization centralization and PSM for the Polish sample. Meanwhile, in Belarus, correlations between organization centralization items and PSM are weak and mostly insignificant. The analysis indicates other factors beyond organization centralization that significantly impact PSM in both sectors. PSM of the employees in the studied region is highly correlated with their participation in religious practices, political parties, or labor unions as well as location of their organization in a capital and type of social service provided.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet transformation process influenced the establishment of democratic institutions in the country of Georgia. Scholars and analysts from international organizations have revealed a gap in the development of the central and regional civil society organizations in Georgia. Using Morgan's organizational metaphors framework as a guide, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the nature, culture, and structure of regional nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia. Research questions focused on the influence of the post-Soviet transformation on the development of Georgia's regional NGO sector and its perceived capacity as a democratic institution. Data were gathered through interviews with 9 stakeholders from 3 regional NGOs, observations of the organizations' daily operations, and review of publicly available documents and organizational records. The data were analyzed thematically, using structural and pattern coding. The analysis revealed that regional NGOs in Georgia are strong leader-driven, family style organizations and limited in their financial and organizational capacities. The insufficient intersectoral collaboration with local government and businesses has kept regional NGOs fully dependent on small grants provided by international donor organizations and large NGOs from the capital city, Tbilisi. That dependence has restricted local NGOs' ability to initiate programs based on the identified needs and demands of the local communities. The results of this study increase the knowledge of civil society organizations outside Tbilisi and offer recommendations for enhancing the organizational capacity of regional NGOs, leading to rapid democratization processes and positive social change in Georgia.

In 2016, women represented 16.6% of all Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) in local governments across the United States. Previous studies have investigated gender disparities in managerial representation, which is explained by the glass ceiling phenomenon; however, little is known about whether the women that occupy these male dominated positions have the similar levels of responsibilities as their male counterparts. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand if gender disparities in levels of work authority manifest as a new form of the glass ceiling. Work authority in this study is operationalized as CAOs’ sanctioning authority (control over personnel operations) and decision-making authority (control over formal operations). Using a mixed methods research design, this investigation is implemented in two phases. The first phase employs Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression to explore the relationship between CAOs’ gender and CAOs’ level of work authority as well as the relationship between CAOs’ levels of work authority and annual pay. In the second phase, using a qualitative research method, I conduct an in-depth investigation of similarities and differences in the career paths of CAOs and the factors that shape their career-related decisions. This research has five main findings. First, female CAOs do not have similar level of sanctioning authority as their male counterparts. Second, disparities in level of sanctioning authority yield economic inequality among CAOs. Third, male and female CAOs take different career paths. Last, female CAOs perform dual roles—professional and personal—whereas most male CAOs are less burdened with household responsibilities in their personal lives. Last, for female CAOs with family responsibilities, their career paths are significantly fashioned by the presence of institutional and social support networks. Findings inform policy makers and public management practices. It informs that gender-based disparities in the workforce continually manifest in new forms, creating unequal employment opportunities for men and women in the workforce. Such disparities also continue perpetuating economic inequalities among men and women in the workforce. Also, it informs public management practices of the critical impact that institutional support has on leveling the playing field women to participate in male-dominated careers.

The objective of this study is to gain an understanding of how change leaders and managers affect a change implementation in a municipality. To help increase the understanding, the study examines the change project Skolplattformen which was implemented in Sweden's largest municipality Stockholms stad. This to uncover areas that possibly could improve change initiatives in the public sphere. The literature review of the study examines the concepts of public sector related change, change management and change leadership in order to help answer our research questions. This qualitative single case study is conducted primarily through 13 semi-structured interviews with five interviewees, combined with data from publicly published documents. The findings are analyzed through subcategories derived from the theoretical concepts and suggest that the scale of the change project was too complex to implement smoothly in a municipal environment. Hence, lack of communication was shown, the timeframe prolonged and strategic changes in structure was at times unexplained. In the end, Skolplattformen did not meet expectations in relation to time and cost spent.

Dans la perspective de mettre en œuvre les services qui relèvent de leurs compétences, les collectivités territoriales sont, en principe, libres d’emprunter le mode de gestion de leur choix et, en conséquence, d’opter soit pour une gestion directe soit pour une gestion déléguée. Cependant, désireuses de confier la réalisation de certaines missions à un tiers tout en conservant la maîtrise de leur exercice, les collectivités territoriales envisagent, parfois, de recourir à une entité personnalisée dont elles constituent les membres et que nous proposons d’identifier sous les termes d’« organismes satellites ». Dans ce cas de figure, les collectivités territoriales sont inévitablement amenées à nouer des relations avec ces structures satellites afin que ces dernières disposent des moyens de fonctionner et aient des tâches à accomplir. Ces relations, à la fois organiques, matérielles et fonctionnelles traduisent, d’une part, la participation des collectivités territoriales aux organismes satellites et, d’autre part, l’attribution de missions des premières aux seconds. Or, le cadre juridique dans lequel évoluent les collectivités territoriales tend à s’opposer à l’établissement de ces relations et à compromettre l’apparente faculté pour les collectivités territoriales de recourir à un mode de gestion mixte de leurs services
In order to apply the services that come under their competences, regional authorities are, in principle, free to take the method of administration of their choice and, consequently, to opt either for a direct administration or a delegated one. However, having the desire to entrust the realization of some projects to a third party while keeping the control, regional authorities sometimes plan to use a legal entity in which they are members and that we suggest to be identified under the words “satellite organization”. In this case, regional authorities have to build relationships with the satellite organizations so as they have tools to work and to get projects. These organic, material and functional relationships show, on the one hand, the participation of regional authorities in the satellite organization and, on the other hand, the awarding of projects to the satellite organization. But the legal framework around regional authorities seems to be opposed to the setting up of these relationships and compromising the apparent faculty for the regional authorities to use a method of mixed administration of their services

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Antioch University, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed October 7, 2009). Advisor: Elizabeth Holloway, Ph.D. "A dissertation submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March, 2009."--from the title page. Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-268).

This dissertation explores the legal issues raised by the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes, using the potential enlargement of legal standing in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a case study. In the first part, a typology of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members is drawn, to serve as a "normative bridge" between the twin phenomenon of legalisation of international trade relations and judicialisation of international trade dispute settlement. In the second part, a comparative study of the participation of private persons in the settlement of international economic disputes is conducted, using the doctrine of diplomatic protection from general international law as the analytical framework. This permits an inventory of the various means of private participation in the current practice of States, as well as shedding light on the main systemic problems that are raised, notably in the field of foreign direct investment, where important developments have taken place. In the third part, a study de lege feranda on the enlargement of legal standing in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is undertaken. The study is rooted in the previous analysis of the special regime of responsibility of WTO Members and the comparative survey on the participation of private parties in the settlement of international economic disputes. The dissertation demonstrates that the problems concerning private persons in the current mechanism should not be answered by offering them direct access to the WTO, but rather by refocusing attention on the central role of the State in the mediation of diverging interests in the governance of the world trading system. It proposes as a conclusion that WTO Members should instead look into formalising the process of handling private complaints at the domestic level.

Diplomová práce se zabývá současnou komunikační strategií Lipky, školského zařízení pro environmentální vzdělávání, a možnostech zlepšení této strategie zvláště s ohledem na oblast zahradního vzdělávání. Teoretická část se zaměřuje na vysvětlení základních konceptů v rámci dané problematiky. Následující část pak představuje výsledky interních a externích analýz komunikační strategie Lipky. Tato část též poukazuje na možné nedostatky a navrhuje alternativní řešení pro vylepšení efektivity komunikace. Práce se zaměřuje na pedagogy z jihomoravského kraje a jejich přehled o aktivitách Lipky a také jejich zájem o nabízené kurzy.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study set out to identify the key success factors of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the healthcare sector to be considered by Netcare when exploring possible PPP opportunities. Public Private Partnerships (PPP) presents a means of mobilising private funds for delivering of public services whilst government manages the relationship via a negotiated PPP agreement to ascertain the quality of services rendered. A literature study was performed in order to conceptualize the potential of the application of PPP in the healthcare industry and the factors impacting on the success thereof. PPPs around the world did not develop in unison nor are they uniform in nature. It is this variation in development that led to the formation of a wide variety of different PPP models that define these partnerships. The different PPP models currently applied by Netcare in the UK are similar in their basic characteristics to some of the models described in literature. One of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry in South Africa is the unequal split between public and private healthcare sectors. This is not only in terms of number of people serviced but also includes allocation of the available resources. Very limited information is available on application of PPP in the healthcare sector. The private hospital groups primarily involved in PPP in the healthcare industry in SA are Netcare and Medi-Clinic. Netcare has successfully positioned itself not only as the biggest private hospital group in South Africa, but also as the leader in PPP involvement in the healthcare sector in South Africa. The PPP projects undertaken, though still very early days, have been very successful, but do not yield very high returns. The rationale to Netcare for partaking in these extends beyond financial returns. It is mainly strategic in terms of its position in the local market and its potential involvement in the anticipated NHS (National Health System). It is essential that Netcare maintains credibility and goodwill and continues to demonstrate its commitment to address the healthcare industry needs of all in SA. Responding to the limited growth opportunities presented by the local market, Netcare expanded its operations to include international contracts, in particular in the UK, with negotiations under way for contracts in Portugal. The experienced gained through the PPPs in the UK, the country regarded as the leader in PPPs in the healthcare sector, is invaluable to their future participation in PPPs. Governments all over the world want to improve healthcare service delivery and curb healthcare inflation. This presents opportunities to Netcare that could arguably be in the form of a PPP. The ability to evaluate the key success factors that will impact on these PPPs is therefore of great importance to Netcare. The study showed that the actual process involved in forming a PPP depends on various key factors that impact on the outcome thereof. The role of government is essential and it includes the creation of the infrastructure and the legal environment for PPP, to demonstrating competence in managing PPPs, providing the political support and achieving investor confidence. An extensive list of key success factors was identified, but applying these factors to two possible PPP opportunities revealed their shortcomings. It was concluded that the list of factors cannot be applied as the ultimate checklist to pre-determine the outcome of a PPP. This is because various factors will only be revealed in the later stages of the PPP project life. It was also concluded that PPP participation by the company is a priority strategic decision. The strengths and weaknesses of the company relative to the opportunities and threats presented then needs to be evaluated. The list of key success factors provides an important guideline in terms of considering the specific opportunities and threats associated with PPPs. These factors should be considered during the various stages of the project development.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doelwat van die studie is die identifisering van die faktore wat die sukses van Staat Privaat Vennootskappe (SPV) binne die gesondheidsorg industrie sal bepaal, en wat deur Netcare in ag geneem moet word wanneer sodanige vennootskappe oorweeg word. Hierdie vennootskappe bied 'n geleentheid vir die mobilisering van privaat fondse vir publieke dienslewering terwyl die regering deur middel van die onderhandelde PPP ooreenkoms die verhouding bestuur en die kwaliteit van dienslewering monitor. Die literatuurstudie het ondermeer die potensiaal van sodanige vennootskappe in die gesondheidsorg industrie, sowel as die faktore wat die suksesvolle uitkoms daarvan bepaal, ondersoek. Verskeie SPV modelle en tipes vennootskappe bestaan weens die uiteenlopende ontwikkeling van SPVs in die onderskeie lande. Die modelle tans toegepas deur Netcare in Engeland reflekteer die eienskappe van modelle beskryf in literatuur. Een van die gesondheidsorg indrustrie in Suid Afrika (SA) se grootste uitdagings is die oneweredige verdeling tussen publieke en privaat gesondheidsorg, beide in terme van populasie verteenwoordiging en aanwending van die beskikbare hulpbronne. Inligting aangaande die aanwending van SPV in die gesondheidsorg industrie is baie beperk. In die Suid Afrikaanse konteks is Netcare en Medi-Clinic die dominante rolspelers in SPVs in die industrie. Netcare is tans nie net die grootste privaat hospitaalgroep in SA nie, maar ook die leier op SPV betrokkenheid in die gesondheidsorgsektor in SA. Hoewel die huidige SPV's relatief onlangs tot stand gekom het, is daar reeds heelwat sukses behaal. Die opbrengs gerealiseer is egter nie fenominaal nie. Die motivering vir Netcare se betrokkenheid in hierdie vennootskappe strek egter verder as bloot die finansiële opbrengste. Gegewe die potensiële nasionale gesondheidstelsel en die posisionering in die plaaslike mark, is dit noodsaaklik vir Netcare om gesien te word as toegewyd aan 'n oplossing vir die gesondheidsorg uitdaging in Suid Afrika. Netcare se internasionale uitbreiding kan deels toegeskryf word aan die beperkte groei geleenthede in SA. Hulle internasionale kontrakte sluit in Engeland met onderhandeling in Portugal tans onderweg. Die ondervinding opgedoen met die SPV's in Engeland is van onskatbare waarde gegewe Engeland se posisie as leier op die gebied van SPV in die gesondheidsorg industrie. Verskeie lande poog tans om hulle gesondheidsorg dienslewering te verbeter en mediese inflasie te beperk. Dit skep potensiële SPV geleenthede vir Netcare. Die vermoë om die kritiese sukses faktore wat die uitkoms van hierdie SPVs sal bepaal, te kan evalueer, is dus van kardinale belang vir Netcare. Dit blyk uit die studie dat die proses van die ontwikkeling van SPV deur verskeie faktore beinvloed word. Die regering van 'n land speel 'n belangrike rol in die daarstelling van die infrastruktuur, die regsaspektelike omgewing, hulle bevoegdheid in terme van die bestuur van SPV, hulle vermoë om politiese ondersteuning te verleen en hulle vermoë om beleggers se vertrou te wen. 'n Omvattende lys van faktore wat impakteer op die sukses van SPV is identifiseer. Tydens die toepassing daarvan op twee voorbeelde het dit duidelik geblyk dat die lys nie as allesomvattend beskou kan word en aangewend kan word om vooraf die uitkoms van 'n SPV te voorspel nie. Verskeie faktore wat krities is in die sukses van SPV kan eers bepaal word tydens later stadiums van die SPV. Daar is ook tot die slotsom gekom dat die firma strategie die primêre oorweging tydens die evaluering van SPV behoort te wees. Die sterk en swak punte van die firma relatief tot die geleentheide en bedreigings wat die SPV inhou moet evalueer word. Die lys van faktore krities tot die sukses van SPV dien as 'n belangrike riglyn vir die oorwerging van geleenthede en bedreigings geassosieerd met SPV. Hierdie faktore behoort tydens die verskeie stadia van SPV projek ontwikkeling in ag geneem te word.

Nas últimas décadas, o domínio tecnológico tem sido enfatizado como elemento de progresso tanto no âmbito das empresas como no dos países. A tecnologia está presente na infra-estrutura das atividades econômicas e de toda a sociedade. Dessa forma, a tecnologia da informação é cada vez mais importante para o desenvolvimento tecnológico, mesmo em áreas não diretamente ligadas a ela. O setor de semicondutores, que em conjunto com os setores de computação e de software forma a indústria de microeletrônica, tem tido especial destaque na evolução da economia mundial. No Brasil, entretanto, o setor de semicondutores permanece restrito a um pequeno grupo de empresas. Neste contexto, com o propósito de desenvolver o setor de microeletrônica no Brasil, o governo federal, por meio do Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, investiu na criação de uma empresa de semicondutores, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A empresa criada constitui o objeto de pesquisa deste estudo de caso, desenvolvido ao longo de 2011, com foco em seu desenho organizacional. Os objetivos alcançados com o presente trabalho foram os seguintes: levantamento dos modelos de desenho organizacional na literatura, tanto do setor privado como do setor público; estudo das características administrativas de instituições públicas brasileiras, sua forma de operar e seu desenho organizacional, considerando suas várias dimensões; levantamento das características do setor de semicondutores, com foco no surgimento de empresas deste setor em países em desenvolvimento; avaliação das diferentes dimensões do desenho organizacional, suas interdependências e equilíbrios dinâmicos, por meio de um estudo de caso, considerando a realidade de empresa pública brasileira. A metodologia utilizada foi o estudo de caso, com abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de observação direta, análise documental e entrevistas semiestruturadas. A principal contribuição deste trabalho consiste na análise do desenho organizacional adotado pela empresa em estudo, considerando a organização de uma maneira integrada e sistêmica, incluindo todas as cinco dimensões do desenho organizacional Estratégia, Pessoas, Sistemas de Recompensa, Processos e Estrutura, além de identificar as interações entre as diversas dimensões e entre estas e o ambiente de atuação da empresa. Outra contribuição do presente trabalho está relacionada à análise da evolução dos subsistemas produtivos na organização ao longo do tempo, assim como a evolução dos objetivos de desempenho a serem buscados pela empresa. Considerando que os estudos acadêmicos sobre desenho organizacional no setor público brasileiro são relativamente escassos, os resultados obtidos neste trabalho consistem em contribuição para a teoria, uma vez que abrangem fatores específicos do setor público e sua influência sobre programas de reestruturação e mudança. Além disso, diante da grande necessidade de melhoria do setor, a descrição do caso e a análise dos resultados apresentam evidente aplicação prática, uma vez que proporcionam uma base para trabalhos futuros.
In the last decades, technological dominium has been emphasized as a progress element even in the ambit of firms as of countries. Technology is present in the infrastructure of economic activities as in the whole society. In this way, information technology is being each time more important to technological development, even in areas not directly linked to it. The semiconductor sector, which forms the microelectronic industry together with computer and software sectors, has received special highlight in the evolution of the world economy. In Brazil, however, the semiconductor sector remains restricted to a small group of firms. In this context, with the propose of developing the microelectronic sector in Brazil, the federal government, through the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, invested in the creation of a semiconductor firm, in Rio Grande do Sul state. The created firm consists in the research object of this study case, developed along 2011, with focus on its organizational design. The objectives reached with the present work were: identification of organizational design models in the literature, both of the private and the public sectors; study of administrative characteristics of Brazilian public institutions, their modus operandi and organizational design, considering its various dimensions; identification of semiconductors characteristics, with focus on the emerging of firms in this sector in developing countries; evaluation of different dimensions of organizational design, its interdependencies and dynamic equilibrium, through a study case, considering the reality of a Brazilian public firm. The methodology used was case study, with qualitative approach. Data were collected through direct observation, documental analysis and semi-structured interviews. The main contribution of this work is the analysis of the organizational design adopted by the studied firm, considering the organization in an integrated and systemic manner, including all the five dimensions of its organizational design Strategy, People, Reward Systems, Process and Structure, besides identifying the interactions between these dimension and between each dimensions and the organizations environment. Another contribution of this work is related to the analysis of the evolution of the productive subsystems in the organization along the time, so as the evolution of the performance objectives to be reached by the firm. Considering that academic studies about organizational design in the Brazilian public sector are relatively scarce, the results obtained in this work consist of contribution to theory, since they enclose specific aspects of the public sector and their influence in restructuring and change programs. Moreover, given the major need for improvement of the sector, the case description and the analysis of the results present evident practical application, because they provide a base for future work.

The main aim of this thesis is to get acquainted with issues concerning the non-profit sector in Czech Republic. The first part is theoretical, and defines the concrete types of non-profit organizations and their legal regulations. Further attention is paid to accounting for non-profit organizations, and definitions of terms commonly used in connection with non-profit organizations such as fundraising or self-financing. The second part describes the economy of a specific non-profit organization, namely Domov Sue Ryder, a public benefit organization. This part analyzes the revenues, expenses, and profit of Domov Sue Ryder for the period 2006 - 2009 in distribution to main and additional activities.

Problem. With the Swedish public sectors problem with efficiency in mind, several reforms have beeninitiated during the last decades. These reforms go, in academic contexts, under the name“New public management”. The reforms have resulted in, among other things, an increasedcompetition, privatization and goal-orientation in the public sector. These new conditionshave changed the public leadership challenge and demand an increased focus on innovation todecrease costs and increase value as a central aspect of the Swedish public leadership.

Purpose. The purpose for this research has been to examine the conditions for innovation in a publicorganization and how the leadership can improve the organizational innovativeness.

Method. This research does not aim to measure the innovativeness in a public organization, instead itfocuses on understanding the condition for innovation and how the leadership can affect theorganizational innovativeness. Hence, it is motivated that I use a qualitative approach in theresearch process. Semi structured interviews and precedent research are being used as afoundation for the results and recommendations given.

Conclusion. The leadership’s opportunities to improve the organizational innovativeness depend on anumber of independent organizational variables and the adaption of the variables to oneanother and the system as a whole. Leadership includes both the formal boss and the coworkerin a relationship that ought to be characterizing by reciprocity and cooperation. Bothmanagement and leadership are vital competences for the formal boss as both structure andculture must support each other. The conditions for organizational innovativeness improve ifthe organization has a structure and a culture that enhances: transboundary cooperation, spaceand energy for creative activities, a common context that contributes to an organizationalidentity and motivation and competence and organizational learning. The examinedorganization needs to decentralize the right to make decisions, improve the openness of theculture, and strengthen the organizational identity and audit structures in purpose to facilitatetransboundary cooperation.

Titel: Sjukt omhändertagande - en studie om sjukfrånvaron inom den kommunala äldrevården Författare: Tuyet Pham, Hannes Skanung och Ida Söderman Handledare: Kjell Arvidsson Kurs: Företagsekonomi III - organisation, examensarbete (kandidat)   Syfte Vårt syfte med denna uppsats var att undersöka om den generellt höga sjukfrånvaron inom äldrevården i kommunal sektor har en organisatorisk koppling. I samband med uppsatsens syfte ställdes följande forskningsfråga: vilka organisatoriska faktorer bidrar till sjukskrivningarna inom den kommunala äldrevården?   Metod Denna studie är både en kvalitativ och kvantitativ studie som antagit en abduktiv ansats. Studien går under undersökningsdesignen fallstudie där det empiriska materialet består av en enkätundersökning samt kvalitativa intervjuer. I enkätundersökningen deltar 56 medarbetare och på intervjuerna deltar nio anställda på sex avdelningar under tre enheter.   Slutsatser Den empiriska och teoretiska datainsamlingen resulterade i slutsatsen att den generellt höga sjukfrånvaron inom den kommunala äldrevården har en organisatorisk koppling. Organisatoriska faktorer som vi anser påverkar sjukfrånvaron inom den kommunala äldrevården är olika uppfattningar om ansvaret för arbetsuppgifter, låg bemanning, graden av gemenskapen i olika arbetsgrupper och frånvarokultur.  Vi menar även att dessa organisatoriska faktorer påverkas av strukturella faktorer som ligger utanför organisationen. Ett exempel på detta är det långsamma vårdsystemet.
The purpose of this study was to analyze if the sickness absence in the public elderly care is due to organizational elements. This study is based on the research question:   What organizational elements contribute to the sickness absence in the public elderly care?   Method This thesis is based on a qualitative and a quantitative research and presumes an abductive approach. The empirical study consist a survey with 56 employees and interviews with nine employees in six departments within three units.   Results The empirical and theoretical study has contributed with the result that the sickness absence in the public elderly care is due to organizational elements. Organizational elements, which are affecting the sickness absence, are different views on responsibility of work tasks, low staffing, the degree of community in various working groups and absence culture. These organizational elements are also affected by structural elements in the external environment. An example of this is the inertial healthcare system

Current studies illustrate that the development of the controller role has been where its focusis more about acting in the managements interest and to be a "business partner" which createsmore value for the company. Since most studies are completed in the private sector, we wanted to take the opportunity to examine the public sector to see whether the development has been carried out there. A development of the controller role means that the controller will have wider duties which could lead to an overload and non-controllable role. We have studied both new and old articles, collected and compared controller's duties towards our empiricism. We chose to limit ourselves to four municipalities in Skaraborg where we conducted a total of eight interviews to draw the fairest possible analysis. The purpose of the study was to see how controllers and even municipalities have been affected by this development, as recent studies present. After having compiled our empirical data collection, we could conclude that the majority feel that the tasks have become wider and where the skills are also becoming increasingly important. In the current situation, the basis of our empirical data says that controllers have not been particularly affected by the development. Respondents feel that the controller role isunder control and not overloaded, but at the same time that the development must be slowed down. Otherwise it will not be long before such a situation arises. For this, we have also linked how important Controller's skills is to be able to handle this now so broad professional role.
Nuvarande studier belyser att en utveckling av controllerrollen har skett där dennes fokus alltmer handlar om att agera i ledningens intresse och vara en ”business partner” för att på så vis skapa mer värde åt företaget. Eftersom de flesta av dessa studier är gjorda inom den privata sektorn ville vi passa på att undersöka den offentliga sektorn för att se om samma utveckling har genomförts där. En utveckling av yrkesrollen innebär att controllern får bredare arbetsuppgifter vilket skulle kunna leda till att rollen blir överbelastad och icke-kontrollerbar. Vi har med hjälp av äldre artiklar kombinerat med nyare artiklar ställt och jämfört controllerns arbetsuppgifter mot vår empiri. Vi valde att avgränsa oss till fyra kommuner inom Skaraborg där vi genomförde totalt åtta kvalitativa intervjuer för att kunna dra en så rättvis analys som möjligt. Syftet med studien var att kunna se hur controllers och även kommunerna har påverkats av denna utveckling som nyare studier tar upp. Efter att ha sammanställt vår empiriinsamling kunde vi dra slutsatsen att majoriteten upplever att arbetsuppgifterna har blivit bredare och därav har även kompetensen blivit allt viktigare. I dagsläget kan vi inte utifrån vår empiri säga att controllers har påverkats särskilt mycket av utvecklingen. Respondenterna upplever att yrkesrollen är under kontroll och inte överbelastad, men samtidigt att utvecklingen måste bromsas. Annars dröjer det inte länge förrän en sådan situation uppstår. Till detta har vi även kopplat hur pass viktig controllerns kompetens är för att kunna hantera denna nu så breda yrkesroll.

Bakgrund: Processorientering kommer ursprungligen från den tillverkande industrin och är en förbättringsåtgärd som det har fokuserats på i den offentliga sektorn den senaste tiden. Den traditionella organisationsstrukturen i sjukvården är särskiljande på flera sätt. Processorientering anses kunna lösa problem som finns i den traditionella sjukvårdsorganisationen, däremot kan andra problem med processorientering i sjukvården uppstå. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att analysera processorienteringens tillämpningsmöjligheter i sjukvården. Vi ämnar därmed studera i vilken utsträckning processorientering är tillämpbar i svensk sjukvård. Kunskapsbidrag: Studien kommer bidra med att öka kunskapen om det processorienterade arbetssättet i sjukvården. Resultatet kommer att vara till nytta för landsting och regioner som arbetar med eller funderar på att implementera processorientering. Metod: Denna studie har tillämpat en kvalitativ fallstudiedesign. Fallet processorientering i svensk sjukvård har undersökts genom att studera sjukvården i tre regioner, där elva intervjuer har genomförts. Tre förutsättningar av processorientering har identifierats och sedan analyserats i en sjukvårdskontext för att undersöka tillämpbarheten i svensk sjukvård. De tre förutsättningarna är kundfokus, standardisering och helhetsbild. Slutsats: Processorientering i sin helhet är ej tillämpbar i svensk sjukvård. Kundfokus går ej att uppnå på grund av svårigheter att identifiera vad som skapar värde för kunden samt uppfylla och överträffa kundens behov. Standardisering kan inte uppnås på grund av arbetsprocessernas komplexitet. Förutsättningen helhetsbild av processer går att uppnå genom att skapa en förståelse för hur processen hänger ihop. Däremot kan processorientering vara tillämpbar i vissa delar av en sjukvårdsorganisation samt att utvalda aspekter av processorientering kan vara fördelaktiga i sjukvården.
Background: Process orientation originates from the manufacturing industry and is an improvement measure that has been in focus over the past few years in the public sector. The traditional organizational structure of health care is distinctive in several ways. Process orientation is often considered the solution to problems found in the traditional health care organization however, process orientation may also create other problems. Contribution: This study will increase knowledge about process orientation in health care. The results of the study will be useful for county councils and regions that work with process orientation or are considering implementing it. Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the applicability of process orientation in health care. We intend to study in what extend process orientation is applicable in Swedish health care. Methodology: This study has a qualitative case study design. The case of process orientation in Swedish health care has been investigated by studying health care in three regions, where eleven interviews have been conducted. Three qualifications of process orientation have been identified and then analyzed in a health-care context, in order to investigate the applicability to Swedish health care. The three qualifications are customer focus, standardization and an overall picture of the process. Conclusion: Process orientation is not applicable to the Swedish health-care system. Customer focus cannot be achieved due to difficulties in identifying what creates value for the customer as well as fulfilling and exceeding the customer's needs. Standardization cannot be achieved because of the complexity of the work processes. An overall picture of the process can be achieved by creating an understanding of how the process is interrelated. However, process orientation can be applied to some areas of a health care organization and selected aspects of process orientation may be beneficial in health care.

This study explores the practical and ideological implications of the New Public Management (NPM) paradigm as introduced in Greece by the so-called “Troika”, a sobriquet referring to a triumvirate comprising representatives of the IMF, the European Union, and the European Central Bank. In the past, attempts had been made by Greek officials to implement managerial practices within the Greek National Health Service (NHS) and the hospital sector in particular, albeit at a more leisurely pace than that of other countries’. On arrival to Greece the Troika imposed a number of changes to improve the country’s public services; and set a brisk pace to accelerate their implementation. The present doctoral thesis seeks to critically evaluate the issue of whether those reforms, especially those salient to the Greek NHS system, are true manifestations of a shift in the NPM paradigm or whether they represent yet another archetypal Greek public sector restructuring. It will also evaluate responses to and outcomes of the successive reforms in the Greece’s NHS system, ascertain the factors contributing to and/or impeding the adoption of those reforms, and identify new opportunities for growth. In order to gain access to a more profound insight into the Greek context, the collection of secondary data provides, among other things, an historical background of Greece’s public healthcare system; reviews the system’s characteristics in terms of healthcare policies, and probes into the state of working conditions within public hospitals. The heightened managerial spirit prevalent in Greece at the moment and brought about by the Troika’s tenure, has made it necessary for the literature review of the present work to focus on the ways that managerial practices and ideologies are imposed on other countries so that their public sector dysfunctionalities may be rectified. Drawing on the literature reviewed, the study develops an integrated analytical framework anchored in NPM, so as to test it in the Greek case and contribute to understanding the Greek NHS organisational realities as well as to evaluating how the new changes have been evolving and faring within Greece’s healthcare organisations. The framework is comprised of a review of the NPM paradigm so as to contextualise the Greek reforms in terms of ideology and practices; a review of Principal-Agent Theory (PAT) for illuminating the interrelationships and involvement of the key actors with the reforms; and a review of Critical Realism (CR) for assisting to reveal the underlying mechanisms and structures that bind the actors with the organisations and their development. Apart from providing the conceptual basis of the thesis, the framework also serves in informing its methodological design (i.e., generating the interview schedule), analysing the findings, and steering the discussion. The study adopts an in-depth, qualitative research approach that views social life within organisations in terms of processes, events, actions, and activities between key actors as factors unfolding over time. To that purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key stakeholders of the Greek NHS system: State hospital doctors, hospital managers, and policymakers. The contribution of the study is an in-depth analysis of reform implementation as carried out in Greece’s medical system which now stands, within a turbulent economic and political context. By means of that analytical framework, it is shown that Greece is a sui generis case whose context and historical background are altogether different than those of other countries’. Moreover, the framework demonstrates that, despite the fact that NPM is firmly ensconced, as far as practice and ideology go, it is too soon to be drawing any conclusions: NPM is still in its infancy and reforms to the Greek NHS system have yet to be finalised as they continuously stumble on the inefficiencies and blunders of the past which hinder them from functioning properly. Last, the thesis does possess one more unique feature: it delves into the thinking, manoeuvres, and behaviour of the Greek healthcare professionals as a group, a world rarely if ever explored by empirical studies.

Since the 1980s, public sector entities have been exposed to accounting reforms under an umbrella of New Public Management (NPM). The main purpose of adoption of accounting reforms is to increase efficiency in decision-making by producing useful accounting information. However, it is argued that the adoption of accounting reforms by public sector entities in developing countries is attributed to the seeking of financial legitimacy, rather than increasing organisational efficiency (Mzenzi, 2013; Mkasiwa, 2011; Adhikari and Mellemvik, 2011; Tambulasi, 2007; Sarker, 2006). Therefore, it is the interest of this study to research the use of accounting information by public sector entities in developing countries. This study is based on an interpretative approach and employs an exploratory case study strategy with two cases (LGAs) in order to accomplish four specific objectives. The roles and responsibilities of LGAs and their multiple actors in delivering public services to the citizens, and their roles in budgetary decision-making attributed by the adopted accounting practices, represent the major motivation of this study. Institutional theory and its three branches, which are Old Institutional Economics (OIE), New Institutional Sociology (NIS) and New Institutional Economics (NIE), were used in the process of developing the initial model, and the overall interpretation of findings. The findings of this study revealed three dimensions of instrumental-conceptual use, which included conceptual use, decision relevant, and recommendations use of accounting information in decisions related to estimations and collections of own source revenue. Furthermore, the study’s findings showed that legitimating use was the main dimension of the symbolic use of accounting information in the budget approval, as well as in the decision about estimating and collecting revenue from external sources. It further identified 22 factors influencing the use of accounting information in the budget decision-making processes. The study findings also revealed that instrumental-conceptual use of accounting information increases both an organisation’s budget efficiency as well as its external financial legitimacy. On the other hand, the symbolic use of accounting information decreases the organisation’s budget efficiency and the actual external financial legitimacy but increases the promised external financial legitimacy. This is attributed, mainly, by external institutional pressures that result in decoupling behavior in the use of accounting information in budgetary decision-making processes. In addition, the findings revealed that budget efficiency and acquired financial legitimacy are interdependent. This means that the high financial legitimacy acquired can indicate high budget efficiency in the situation the instrumental-conceptual use exists than the symbolic legitimating use of accounting information. The study proposes a model of the determinants of the use of accounting information in budget decision-making processes for budget efficiency and external financial legitimacy. It informs reformers, practitioners, policy-makers and researchers about the necessary measures to undertake to make sure that NPM reforms, especially accounting reforms, enhance both efficiency and financial legitimacy in the public sector organisations through the use of accounting information.

This paper studies the police reform in Egypt in the light of the revolution 2011. The ousting of the authoritarian president Hosni Mubarak was the beginning of the transition towards democracy. Within 15 months both parliamentary and presidential election had taken place. The political leaders were new and the transitional process had begun however the institutions where still the same and one feature of the revolution was to reform the police since the police was hated as the oppressive power it was. Transition from totalitarian regime to democracy is more than elections it is about reforming the institutions and especially the security sector hence they often play a significant role in oppressing the citizens in an authoritarian state. The police in Egypt used repressive methods to control the citizens. Therefore it is interesting to investigate whether the police are beginning to transform along the principles of democratic policing, a specific part of security sector reform focusing on the reformation of the police. The notion of human security with the people at the centre lay as a foundation of the theoretical framework. The material consists of in- depth interviews with leaders and active people in the civil society and their view regarding police work and police reform after the revolution. The conclusions drawn from the study is that the police lack capacity, understanding and training to reform. The reformation has to be influenced by political will from legislative and institutional level as well from the police officers themselves. There are challenges if a reform of the police will be successful and some of them are connected with national and international circumstances.

Den förtätade staden ses idag som en självklar del av en hållbar stadsutveckling. Vi lever i en urbaniseringstid och frågor kring hur vi kan skapa en förtätad stad av god kvalitet står högt på agendan. När allt fler människor lever i staden skapas ökad efterfrågan på samhällsservice i staden, som till exempel barnomsorg. I Sverige är det kommunen som ansvarar för att tillgodose medborgarna med denna service. Den svenska förskolan, som är den institution där detta behov till stor del ska tillgodoses, har i sin tur krav på god pedagogisk verksamhet samt en bra miljö för barnen, såväl inne som ute.Den här uppstasen handlar om hur förskolans utemiljö konstrueras i den urbana kontexten. Förskolans utemiljö i staden studeras utifrån de strategier som skapas i och med målsättningar kring både en förtätad stad och en förskola med goda utemiljöer. Genom en kvalitativ analys skapas en komplex bild av alla de strategier som genereras på olika nivåer i den offentliga sektorn, samt hur dessa strategier förhåller sig till varandra.Uppsatsens slutsats landar i hur strategierna påverkas av NPM-influenser och hur gräsrotsbyråkraten väljer att använda sig av sitt handlingsutrymme. Det visar sig också att strategierna verkar skapa en diskrepans mellan de delar som utgör helheten för en bra pedagogisk verksamhet.
The dense city is now seen as a self-evident part of a sustainable urban development. We live in a time of urbanization, and questions about how we can create a dense city of good quality are high on the agenda. As more people live in the city the demand for public services, such as childcare, also increases in the city. In Sweden, the municipality is responsible for meeting the public with this service. The Swedish preschool which is the institution where this needs are supposed to be met, have in turn, their demands on sound pedagogical activity and a good environment for children, both indoors and outdoors.This paper is about how the preschool outdoor environment is created in the urban context. The preschool outdoor environment in the urban context is studied from the strategies created by the goals around both a dense city and a preschool with good outdoor environments. Through a qualitative analysis appears a complex picture of all the strategies that are generated at different levels in the public sector, and how these strategies relate to each other.Conclusion of the essay lands in how the strategies are influenced by NPM and how the grassroots bureaucrat chooses to use its freedom of choice. It also turns out that the strategies seem to create a discrepancy between the spheres that make up the big picture for a good preschool.

Bakgrund: Kommuner har tidigare varit i en förvaltningsfas där de fokuserat på att förvalta samhället och de byggnader som finns. I och med att kommuner har ökat sina investeringar markant de senaste åren indikerar det på att kommuner befinner sig i en ny fas, vilket är samhällsbyggnadsfasen. I den nya fasen handlar kommunernas verksamhet om att förbättra samhället med nya investeringar samt rusta upp de befintliga byggnaderna för att öka kvalitén för medborgarna. De flesta byggnationerna sker i projektform där flera olika förvaltningar och nämnder i kommunen är involverade. Förvaltningar och nämnder har ofta olika intressen och motivationer vilket gör att gränser behöver dras för att precisera projektets innebörd. Med ökade investeringar ökar också risken hos kommunen och gränsproblematiken är en viktig faktor för att lyckas med projektet. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med ökad förståelse kring kommunala samhällsbyggnadsprojekt gällande de strukturella och konceptuella gränserna. Vidare syftar studien mer specifikt att bidra med förståelse för nämnda gränser vid etableringsfasen av ett kommunalt samverkansprojekt. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ fallstudie av ett kommunalt samhällsbyggnadsprojekt. Studien bygger på fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer samt dokumentstudie och observation. Den har en övergripande abduktiv forskningsansats och utgår således från teori och empiri. Slutsats: Studien visar att kommunen använder sig av direktiv och riktlinjer i projekt som skapar gränser för projektgruppen. De upplevs porösa och oklara då projektgruppen inte vet vad som förväntas av dem. Därmed behövs det en tydlig ansvarsfördelning inom projektorganisationen eftersom kommunen är ovana att arbeta i stora investeringsprojekt.
Background: For a long time, municipalities have been in an administration phase where the focus have been to administrate the community and existing buildings. Since municipalities in recent years have increased their investments it indicates that municipalities are in a new phase, which is the phase of social structure. The municipality’s work in the new phase is to improve the community with new investments and improve the existing buildings in order to increase quality for the citizens. The municipality’s work is done in projects where several departments are involved. The departments have often different interests and motivations which means that boundaries are required to define the meaning of the project. Increased investment results in higher risk for the municipality and therefore boundaries are an important factor for the project to succeed. Aim: The aim of the thesis is to increase the understanding of boundaries in a municipally social structure projects. Furthermore, the aim is to increase the understanding of boundaries in the establishment phase of a collaboration project. Methodology: This is a qualitative case study of a municipal social structure project. The study is based on semi structured interviews, document studies and an observation. The thesis has an abductive approach. Conclusion: The thesis shows that municipally use directions and guidelines, which creates boundaries for the project organization. However, the boundaries are vague and the project organization do not know what is expected of them. Therefore, it is important with a distinct responsibility distribution within the project organization because of municipality's unfamiliarity to work in large investment projects.

Depuis plus de dix ans, l'émergence des pratiques de contrôle de gestion en environnement public ont donné lieu à de nombreuses contributions dont certaines abordent le rôle des contrôleurs dans cette dynamique de changement.L'objectif de ce travail est de comprendre les déterminants de la légitimité des contrôleurs de gestion dans cet environnement et de déterminer comment les individus qui incarnent cette fonction ont pu « survivre » jusqu'à présent dans des organisations d'ordinaires hostiles au contrôle. Nous nous appuyons pour cela sur une étude de cas que nous avons mené auprès du Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives. Quatre profils-types de contrôleurs y sont étudiés : le jeune premier, le nouveau converti, le caméléon et le conseiller du roi.Ce travail de recherche contribue donc à enrichir la connaissance de la fonction de contrôleur en liant notamment les différentes composantes de l'activité des contrôleurs autour de la recherche quotidienne de légitimité. Il permet également d'approfondir le rôle du contrôleur et de resituer l'individu dans le processus d'institutionnalisation du contrôle et dans la mise en œuvre du nouveau management public
For more than ten years, the development of management control practices inpublic sector gave rise to many researches which some, focus on role that accountants play.The aim of this paper is to understand the determinants of management accountants' legitimacy in professional bureaucracies and to define how individuals, who embody this function, had survived in this unfriendly environment. From a case study at the French Atomic Energy Commission, we highlight four profiles of management accountants: the young novice, the new convert, the chameleon and the king's advisor.The results show that the legitimacy of the controllers should not be studied through his generic definition. Instead, it must be considered as a polymorphic judgment based on manifold determinants. It also allows to replace the individual at the center of the study field of the new managerial practices in public organizations

Offentliga sektorn i Sverige skulle, enligt en rapport från Europeiska centralbankssystemet (ECBS) 2003, kunna hålla samma kvalitet med bara hälften av resurserna. Det behövs därför nya sätt som kan öka värdet och minska kostnaderna i offentliga verksamheter i Sverige. Innovativa processerföreslås vara en möjlighet till att hitta nya arbetssätt för en effektivare offentlig sektor. I studien undersöks innovationsprocessen i ett offentligt bolag i syfte att ge förslag på arbetssätt som kan effektivisera bolagets innovationsprocesser. Följande frågeställningar vägledde studien: Vad kännetecknar effektiva innovationsprocesser? Hur kan effektiva innovationsprocesser tillföra värde för ett offentligt bolag? Hur kan Bolaget AB arbeta för effektivare innovationsprocesser i sin verksamhet?

Syftet med studien är att ta fram förslag på arbetssätt för effektivare innovationsprocesser i Bolaget AB: s verksamhet.

I studien används en kvalitativ metod i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt fyra personer. Det vill säga två medarbetare, en chef och en VD i ett offentligt bolag i Sverige. Intervjuerna syftade till att ge en nulägesbeskrivning av bolagets innovationsprocesser. Utifrån studiens teoretiska referensram analyserades empirin och förslag på arbetssätt för en effektivare innovationsprocess gavs.Effektiva innovationsprocesser ser olika ut i olika organisationer. Det finns ingen allmängiltig process som är mer effektiv än andra utan den skall anpassas till den organisation där den verkar. En effektiv innovationsprocess i det offentliga bolaget som undersöks här kan innebära möjlighet att skapa ettkonkurrenskraftigt näringsliv som ger fler arbetstillfällen för stadens invånare och ökar tillväxten i regionen. Det offentliga bolag som undersökts i studien har brister i den idégenererande verksamheten och i den kontinuerliga utvärderingen. Det är främst kulturella hinder som i dagsläget påverkar innovationsprocessen negativt. Bolaget behöver även rutiner för bland annatomvärldsbevakning och informationshantering.

The public sector in Sweden should, according to a rapport from the European central bank system (ECBS) in 2003, be able to keep the same quality with only half the economic resources. New ways that could raise value and reducing expenses in the Swedish public sector are therefore much needed. Innovative processes are suggested to be important for the public sector to find new andmore efficient methods of work. In this research the innovation process in a public corporation is reviewed with an intention to give suggestions of work methods that could improve the corporation’s efficiency. The following questions have guided the research: What characterize efficient innovation processes? How can efficient innovations processes help value to a publiccorporation? How can the public corporation work for more efficient innovation processes in their business?The purpose of this research is to develop suggestions for work methods that will help to improve the efficiency of the public corporation´s innovation processes.In this research a qualitative method is used in form of semi structured interviews with four employees in a public corporation in Sweden, two co‐workers, one executive and one CEO. The interviews were aimed to give a description of the present innovation processes in the corporation. The empiric data was analyzed from a theoretic point of view and set out to give suggestions for work methods that will help to improve the efficiency of the corporation´s innovation processes.Efficient innovation processes can vary from one organization to another. There is not one process that is more efficient than other processes and the innovation process have to be suited for the specific organization. A more efficient innovation process in the public corporation in this study can mean possibilities for a competitive business environment which gives job opportunities and an economic growth in the region. The public corporation in this study has flaws in their idea generating activities and in their continuous evaluation. It is primarily cultural obstacles that affect the innovation processes negative. The public corporation also needs routines for external and internalenvironment monitoring and for managing information.

The work deals with the issue of different legal forms of nonprofit organizations from a historical perspective, the legal definition, management and financing, and on examples of specific organizations describes the cost intensity of alternative institutional care for the state and municipal budgets. The cost intensity is compared with the cost intensity of foster care. The material also quantifies the differences in various types of alternative care and tries to create optimal solution to the current situation.

How do public organizations manage crises? How do public organizations learnfrom crises? These seemingly basic questions still pose virtual puzzles for crisismanagement researchers. Yet, the interest of the academic and practitionerrealms in crisis management has grown in recent years. In this doctoral dissertationEdward Deverell sheds light on the problems regarding the lack ofknowledge on how public organizations manage and learn from crises, with anumber of critical knowledge gaps in contemporary crisis management as thestarting point.   In the last few decades the interest in crisis management as a scholarly fieldhas grown. This developing field is composed of an increasing number of looselyconnected social science scholars concerned with issues of extraordinary events,their repercussions and the way in which they are managed by authorities,organizations, policy makers and other key actors. However, there are severallacunae to be dealt with in the emerging field of crisis management research.This dissertation sets the spotlight on four of these limitations of the crisis managementliterature to date.   First, influential scholars within the field call for increased structuration andfeasible models to help us understand and explain various important factorsinfluencing the crisis management process. In this dissertation I try to bridgethis gap by developing theory on crisis response and learning. Crisis responsesignifies organized activities undertaken by a stakeholder when a community ofpeople – an organization, a town, or a nation – perceives an urgent threat to corevalues which must be dealt with under conditions of uncertainty. Crisis-inducedlearning refers to purposeful efforts, triggered by a crisis event and carried out bymembers of an organization working within a community of inquiry, that leadto new understanding and behavior on the basis of that understanding.   Second, organizations play a key role in crisis management. Surprisinglyenough, however, crisis management research have only occasionally built theoryon how organizations respond to crisis. So far, the literature tells us moreabout crises as events than on how these events are actually managed. One reasonis the focus within crisis management research on highly unusual, big catastrophicevents and industrial accidents. Therefore, this dissertation explorescrisis episodes that affect specific organizations rather than entire communitiesor national governments. In addition, the dissertation brings together debateson crisis management and crisis-induced learning from a public managementand organizational perspective.   Third, crisis management researchers have to date dealt mostly with acutecrisis response and issues of preparedness, while the issues of crisis aftermathsand crisis-induced learning are still relatively unknown. However, althoughthis study recognizes the importance of crisis planning and sense-making, thisshould not lead to a relative neglect of the issue of learning from crisis. Crisisinducedlearning is important as crises are rare events with huge repercussions.Thus crises are opportunities to draw lessons in order to improve future managementand crisis response, and to mitigate the risk of future crises.   Fourth, the relatively few studies that have dealt with crisis-induced learninghave focused on learning after the crisis (intercrisis learning), while theoryon learning during crisis (intracrisis learning) is not as developed. My interestin both inter- and intracrisis learning obligates me to study crisis response andcrisis learning in conjunction. This means studying how organizations respondto crises and how they learn during and from these episodes. By focusing onprocesses of crisis response and learning under pressure – rather than pre-crisisplanning, threat perception, risk management and preparedness – the dissertationlooks into how organizations and their members manage the challenge ofcrises and how they take on, make use of and implement lessons learned fromone crisis to the next.   The lacunae outlined above are theoretical points of departure for this dissertation’sinterest in the extent to which public organizations learn from crises.Accordingly, the overall objective of the dissertation is to increase understandingof crisis response and crisis learning in public organizations. In doing so, Iconduct an abductive study of how public organizations respond to crises andhow they learn during and after these events. The term ‘abductive’ refers toa research strategy which is characterized by continuous movement back andforth between theory and empirical data.   The first step of the research process was grounded in the empirical world.The empirical contribution is a careful process tracing and case reconstructionof six cases involving Swedish public sector organizations. In the methodologychapter (Chapter 3) I describe the basis of the empirically bounded case study approach and case reconstruction and process tracing method. Six case studiesof organizational crisis management and learning were selected for furtheranalysis. The case studies were based on a variety of sources including posthoc accident investigations, articles, organizational documents and 129 extensivesemi-structured interviews with key crisis managers. The process tracingand reconstruction efforts led to case narratives, which were then dissected byidentifying dilemmas and critical decision-making occasions that were studiedin more detail. The following cases are explored in the dissertation: TheSwedish energy utility Birka Energi’s management of two cable fires that causedlarge-scale blackouts in Stockholm in March 2001 and May 2002; The cityof Stockholm’s management of the 2001 blackout and the repeated incidentin 2002; The Swedish Defence Research Agency’s (FOI) management of hoaxanthrax letters in 2001; and three Swedish media organizations’ (the Swedishpublic service radio Sveriges Radio, the Swedish private TV station with publicservice tasks TV4, and the Swedish public service TV station Sveriges Television)management of news work and broadcasting challenges on 11 September 2001(and to some extent following the murder of the Swedish Foreign MinisterAnna Lindh in September 2003).   As the case selection reveals, all organizations under study are not puregovernment organizations. Rather three organizations (Birka Energi, SverigesRadio and Sveriges Television) are publically owned corporations, while one(TV4) is a privately owned media organization. Accordingly, this dissertationclaims that ownership is not the only measure of ‘publicness’. Media organizations,for instance, are of great importance for democratic societies. The term‘public organization’ is thus in this dissertation not used in the sense of equatingto government, but rather in reference to the degree of which political authorityand influence impacts on the organization.   The theory generating approach that this dissertation takes on impliesthat the case studies are ‘heuristic’ case studies. The dissertation aims to promotenew hypotheses for further research rather than to produce generalizedknowledge. To this end the case studies are further analyzed by specific theoreticalapproaches suggested by prior research. This second step of the researchprocess is dealt with in some detail in the literature review. The literature reviewin Chapter 2 aims to bring an injection of organizational studies into the fieldof crisis management research. The review presents relevant studies from thefields of crisis management studies, organization studies (with special attentiongiven to organizational learning theory) and public administration and management.The review puts forth a twofold argument: There is a need of increasedknowledge not only about crises and how they develop, but also about how theyare actually managed by public organizations. However, prior crisis managementresearch with bearing on public management organizations are mostly based on either political executive foreign policy decision making or on veryspecific high reliability organizations operating in the pre-crisis phase. Hence,organization studies and public management studies should play a greater partin crisis management research.   The review also provides an overview frame for the study by highlightingrelevant research. The chapter discusses the problems of defining, categorizingand operationalizing key concepts such as crisis, crisis management and organizationallearning.   In the third step of the research process, the case studies are further analyzedusing theoretical approaches aimed at proposing propositions on how publicsector organizations may respond to crises, and how they may learn from theircrisis experiences. These analyses have been carried out with an aim to producestand-alone articles aimed for publication in international scholarly journals.Thus this dissertation differs somewhat from the typical public administrationdissertation as it is comprised of an analysis of several articles, as opposed to amonograph. The journal articles are published or accepted for publication inthe Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, the Journal of HomelandSecurity and Emergency Management, Public Management Review, and RiskManagement. The articles are reprinted in four empirical chapters (Chapters4-7), which make up the core of the dissertation. Introductory and concludingchapters aimed at bringing the discussion together have then been added.I present the first empirical analysis in Chapter 4. It looks into how organizationalculture affects strategy and adaptability in crisis management. The keyresearch question is: What mechanisms affect organizations’ ability to restructurein order to cope with acute crisis management challenges? In the study I propose atypology of temporal organizational responses to crises in public perception. Thetypology is based on organizations’ abilities to change strategy and adapt theirmanagerial and operational levels to deal with crises. The empirical data used toconstruct the typology covers three organizational crisis responses: 1) The utilityBirka Energi’s response to a cable fire that caused a thirty-seven hour blackoutin Stockholm in 2001; 2) The TV station TV4’s response in terms of how toreorganize and broadcast during the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks; 3)FOI, the Swedish National Defence Research Agency’s response to the anthraxletter scare of 2001 and 2002. The different organizational outcomes featuredby the typology reveal distinct aspects of organizational crisis management.According to the typology, the Fully Adapting Organization (TV4) managesto adapt both its strategy and its managerial and operational levels to deal withthe crisis. The Semi-Adapting Organization (FOI) changes its strategy but lacksthe capacity to change managerial and operational levels according to the newstrategy. The Non-Adapting Organization (Birka Energi) does not grasp theimportance of strategy change in the first place. Based on three inductive case studies, the study concludes that organizational culture plays an important rolein this process where the Semi-Adapting Organization and the Non-AdaptingOrganization were dominated by strong expert cultures which proved to be lessinclined to change. In contrast, the Fully Adapting organization had deliberatelyfostered an organizational culture in which flexibility – understood as thecapacity to readily adapt to changing demands – was a cornerstone.   The second empirical analysis is presented in Chapter 5. It deals with theissue of flexibility and rigidity in crisis response and crisis learning at two Swedishpublic organizations. The point of departure for the study is that the relationshipbetween crises, organizational crisis management response and learning hasto date been understudied. In an effort to broaden theoretical knowledge on therelation between crisis and learning, the study analyzes the crisis responses oftwo public organizations during a sequence of two failures. The empirical datais grounded in thorough process tracing and case reconstruction analyses ofhow the utility Birka Energi and the city of Stockholm managed two comprehensiveblackouts in March 2001 and in May 2002. The key research questionis: How does organizational rigidity and flexibility affect public organizations’ crisisresponse and crisis learning? A framework of rigidity versus flexibility in responseis utilized in the analysis. The findings are then discussed in relation to theirimplications for the nexus between crisis and learning. The study concludes byraising four propositions for further research.   The third empirical analysis is presented in Chapter 6. This study aims tocontribute to the debate on organizational learning from crisis by sheddinglight on the phenomenon of crises as learning triggers. In the study I pose thefollowing key research question: How can we analyze organizational learningduring and after crisis and what criteria should be part of the analysis? In an effortto unveil patterns of how organizational crisis-induced learning may appearand develop, I suggest a conceptual framework based on conceptual categoriesand answers to four fundamental questions: what lessons are learned (single- ordouble-loop)?; what is the focus of the lessons (prevention or response)?; whenare lessons learned (intra- or intercrisis)?; is learning carried out or blocked fromimplementation (distilled or implemented)? In the analysis section I explorethe practical applicability of the framework by using the same empirical casestudies as in Chapter 5. The final section suggests four propositions for furtherresearch.   The last empirical study is presented in Chapter 7. There I construct aframework of management, learning and implementation in response to crisis.My point of departure is a proposition from previous crisis managementresearch which posits that previous experience can shape crisis response as away of repeating former routines or as a precondition for improvisation. Thekey research question is: How do organizational management structures affect crisis response, learning and implementation? In the study I argue that flexibilityis closely connected to the way organizations learn – in behavioral or cognitivemodes. Moreover, these learning modes are connected to the role of managerialgroups, where I differentiate between centralized and decentralized top managerialgroups. In addition, two case studies of how two bureaucratic media organizations(Sveriges Radio and SVT) managed and learned from extraordinarynews events – most notably 9/11 and the assassination of the Swedish ForeignMinister Anna Lindh – are conducted. The findings show how the decentralizedmanagerial group learned in a behavioral fashion, by creating new formalpolicies and structures, while organizational members in the centralized managerialgroup relied on individual cognitive structures as a way of ‘storing’ lessonslearned. The study ends by discussing the findings from a crisis managementperspective, where I propose that the two modes of learning profoundly affectthe crucial issue of flexibility in organizational crisis response.The concluding Chapter 8 discusses and contrasts the findings and propositionsgenerated from the four separate empirical analyses. Here the role oforganizational structure and culture are highlighted by revisiting specific organizationalfactors that seem to impact on organizational crisis management andlearning processes, such as previous experience, flexibility and rigidity in crisisresponse and learning, and centralization and decentralization. These factorswere also outlined in the literature review. Further empirical evidence of howthe factors affect crisis response and crisis learning in organizations was foundin the four empirical analyses.   In addition, findings from the empirical studies also related to different types of learning processes such as intra- and intercrisis learning and singleand double-loop learning. Consequently these concepts are also deliberated upon in the concluding sections of the dissertation. As a final attempt to bring the propositions and arguments together, a framework of the crisis management and learning process is proposed. In regard to this venture, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the framework, and of the dissertation as a whole. As it is only based on data from six cases of Swedish public organizational responses to crisis, the framework is merely a visual schematic of a number of propositions to be further tested and validated by further research. However, the framework also has a few virtues. It is an attempt to approach the ambiguous nature of crises and crisis management processes. The framework may also assist in providing more sensible and practical conceptualizations, and thus bring us closer to definitions that remain close to everyday operations of practitioners involved in crisis management. This dissertation thus makes an effort to bridge the gap between crisis management scholars and practitioners. This is also an overall goal guiding research activities at the National Center for Crisis Management Studies (CRISMART) at the Swedish National Defence College, where the research behind this dissertation has been conducted.

Tese de Doutoramento apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário
Este trabalho tem como objectivo principal, contribuir para a discussão do impacto dos programas governamentais de mudança nas instituições públicas, como fonte geradora de stress ocupacional, resultante do clima de ansiedade e incerteza que provocam nos trabalhadores do sector público e simultaneamente nas equipas responsáveis pela gestão destas instituições. Este contexto de transformação organizacional no sector público tem a particularidade de ser eminentemente unilateral, uma vez que as mudanças são impostas pelo Governo, através de um conjunto de normativos de previsões genéricas com objectivos aplicáveis a todo o sector público. Pretendemos neste estudo, analisar a possibilidade do efeito negativo do stress resultante destes processos de mudança poder ser reduzido através da influência de variáveis organizacionais ou de características individuais. Efectivamente, tendo os gestores públicos uma amplitude muito menor de políticas e instrumentos de motivação e alinhamento dos seus Colaboradores relativamente aos existentes no sector privado, uma actuação ao nível de variáveis organizacionais e/ou individuais, sem impacto financeiro, poderá funcionar, de forma alternativa, á criação de condições que potenciem o sucesso destas intervenções na performance das instituições, como resultado destes programas de mudança. Com este objectivo e considerando os resultados que a investigação no âmbito da psicologia positiva tem apresentado acerca dos desvios positivos nas dinâmicas interpessoais e a correspondente criação de estruturas organizacionais que permitam conservar e perpetuar esses impactos positivos, englobámos no nosso estudo um conjunto de variáveis associadas ao virtuosismo (confiança, optimismo, integridade, compaixão e perdão) e a uma cultura organizacional positiva. O impacto destas variáveis em termos de redução dos efeitos do stress, em contextos específicos de mudança organizacional, foi analisado. Foram igualmente seleccionadas variáveis individuais - locus de controlo, auto-estima e workaholism, com o propósito de analisar o seu impacto na relação entre o stress e as percepções de performance dos Colaboradores destas instituições, no seguimento dos programas de mudança. As associações encontradas, levam-nos a considerar a importância de práticas de gestão das pessoas que fomentem um clima organizacional virtuoso, especialmente crítico, em situações de mudança profundas, como acontece no âmbito dos programas governamentais de reforma pública administrativa. Para além dos efeitos directos das variáveis de virtuosismo e cultura positiva, bem como das variáveis individuais, foram encontrados efeitos de mediação, na relação entre stress e percepções de performance organizacional. A discussão dos resultados permite abrir novas pistas para futuros estudos de investigação.
ABSTRACT:This dissertation aims to contribute to the discussion on the impact that Governmental reform programs have in public institutions, as a source of work stress, resultant from the anxiety and uncertainty they produce in public workers and simultaneously in the teams responsible for the management of these institutions. This transformational context in the public sector has the particularity of being eminently unilateral, since these changes are imposed by the Government through a set of standard rules, with the definition of goals that are to be achieved by all the institutions within the public sector. In this study, we are analyzing the possibility of reducing the negative stress effect resultant from the change process, through the influence of organizational variables and individual characteristics. In fact, as public managers have less amplitude of policies and instruments to motivate and align their workers when compared to the private sector, considering new alternatives of intervention on an organizational and/or individual dimension, with no major financial impact, might create better conditions for the success of the organizations´ performance as a result of the public reform program. Based on this objective and considering the results that have been presented from investigation in positive psychology on the positive deviations in interpersonal dynamics and the corresponding organizational structures that facilitate the conservation and perpetuation of these positive impacts, we have considered a set of variables normally associated with virtuousness (trust, optimism, integrity, compassion and forgiveness) and a positive organizational culture. The impact of these variables in the reduction of stress, under an organizational change specific context, was analyzed. We have also selected individual variables - locus of control, self-esteem and workaholism - with the purpose of analyzing its impact in the relationship between stress and the workers´ perception of performance in these institutions as a result of the change reform program. The associations found, lead us to consider the importance of people management practices to foster a virtuous organizational climate, most critical, in situations of severe transformation, such as within a framework of Governmental public reform programs. Besides the direct effects of the virtuousness and positive culture variables, as well as the individual variables, we have found mediation effects, in the relationship between stress and perceived organizational performance. The discussion of these results will open new avenues for future investigation.
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)

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This study seeks to evaluate how enterorganizational and interpersonal trust affects the degree of State interference in the operations of public-nonprofit partnerships (PNPs). We conducted a qualitative case study in two Brazilian PNPs, Projeto Guri and Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, through documental analysis and semi-structured interviews. Content analysis of the data yielded a trust framework that begins to explain how a variety of factors, including the protective qualities of the management contract and the strength of the board, moderate the relationship between interpersonal and interorganizational trust in PNPs. The study reveals that unlike Zaheer et al (1998), interpersonal trust had a unique and prominent effect on State interference and types of collaboration in PNPs. Parting from the suggestions by previous authors to contextualize PNP literature findings, the framework takes into account the highly personalistic qualities of Brazilian culture as well as historical and institutional context while highlighting the crucial role of interpersonal trust in Brazilian PNPs.
Este estudo busca avaliar como a confiança interpessoal e a confiança interorganizacional afeta o grau de interferência estatal na operação das parcerias estabelecidas entre o Estado com o terceiro setor. Conduzimos um estudo de caso qualitativo em duas organizações sociais brasileiras (OS), Projeto Guri e Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, por meio de análise de documentos e entrevistas. A análise dos dados coletados gerou um modelo que explica como uma série de fatores, incluindo as qualidades do contrato de gestão e o poder dos conselhos das organizações sociais, moderam a relação entre confiança interpessoal e interorganizacional nas parcerias. O estudo revela que ao contrário de Zaheer et al (1998), a confiança interpessoal influenciou expressivamente o nível de interferência do Estado e o padrão de colaboração observado nas parcerias do Estado com o terceiro setor. Outros autores sugerem que as teorias sobre parcerias com o terceiro setor sejam contextualizadas. Desta forma, o modelo considera o contexto histórico e institucional do Brasil. Além disso enfatiza a importância do personalismo na cultura brasileira ao mesmo tempo em que destaca a proeminência da confiança interpessoal.

This thesis is aimed on the business process management of semi-budgetary organizations in the Czech Republic. For description of the field of business process management, the work lists common definitions and important information that is linked to this area. Subsequently, there was described the specificity of public administration in the Czech Republic, taking into account the level of and ability to implement business process management in this area. The important part of this thesis is the analysis of assumptions, which should public organizations fulfill in order to implement business process management. Thesis focuses on business process modeling, both in terms of methodology and standards used, and from the perspective of adequate tools for creating business process models. The main focus of the work is on the consolidation of the business process models of semi-budgetary organizations simultaneous checked on a case study. Case study, which is part of the practical part of this thesis, is a modified description of the implemented project, which aimed to merge two semi-budgetary organizations, especially from the perspective of the consolidation process management and process models.