THE ROLE OF POLITICS AND INSTITUTIONS IN THE ITALIAN ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM TRAJECTORY

This article applies broad conceptual categories of comparative politics to the explanation of administrative reforms in Italy. It takes as its argument some lines of influence on public sector reform of the features of the party system in Italy, the executive‐legislative balance, the politician‐bureaucrat relationship, and the role of administrative law. In the search for explanations for the trajectory of administrative reform, pre‐existing political and institutional factors also have to be interpreted through the lens of negotiated change occurring via processes of conversion and layering involving new and old institutions that has taken place in Italy since the ‘political crisis' began in 1992.     

IMPLEMENTING PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL REFORM IN THE UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE

The 1978 US Civil Service Reform Act required federal agencies to design and implement new performance appraisal systems. The CSRA intends that these reformed systems produce accurate ratings which may be used as the basis for a wide variety of personnel actions, including decisions regarding pay, promotion, and retention. In this article, we describe and analyze the responses of civilian employees at four Navy research and development laboratories where CSRA appraisal systems have been in operation since 1981. These data were obtained through questionnaires and on-site interviews. Overall, reactions to the CSRA systems were supportive. However, signs of potentially serious long term problems may be appearing in the form of supervisory resistance to the significantly increased workload and potential for conflict associated with the new procedures. Recent changes in Office of Personnel Management policy suggest that this is a problem throughout the federal bureaucracy. The administrative-organizational'costs' of CSRA appraisals and radically changed political priorities are likely to present formidable barriers to the complete implementation of the CSRA.     

INTEREST GROUPS AND BUREAUCRATS IN A PARTY-DEMOCRACY: THE CASE OF ISRAEL

The relationship between interest groups and state bureaucrats in a party democracy tends to be based on parentela ties involving party mediation and resulting in deep and reciprocal commitment. The contacts between administrators and interest groups in Israel present a deviant case. The paper shows that despite the fact that Israel portrays the characteristics of a party democracy, interest groups gravitate towards the administration rather than toward political parties. Senior government officials interact extensively with interest groups; but at the same time they tend to discount the groups' activity. These deviations have been explained by the limited scope of interest group demands and the hybrid nature of Israel's administrative culture.     

POLICY TERMINATION: THE CASE OF TERM LIMITS IN MICHIGAN

This article tests a theoretical framework by examining a case study of term limits in the Michigan legislature. The Michigan case tests the “fit” of Daniels's seven generalizations about policy and organizational termination. The goal of this paper is to extend the discussion of termination policy to the issue of term limits and formulate an agenda for future research that can develop a better understanding of term limits based on the concept of termination.     

IMPLEMENTING PERFORMANCE-BASED MANAGEMENT IN THE TRADITIONAL BUREAUCRACY OF PORTUGAL

The influence of the New Public Management (NPM) movement in Portuguese administrative reform has been one of the country's noticeable trends in recent decades ( Araújo 2001, 2002a ; Rocha 2001 ). Many governments have aimed to introduce a new managerial rationality in public services. The literature about administrative reform shows that institutional bureaucracies resist change, particularly when it challenges prevailing practices and procedures ( Bjur and Caiden 1978 ; Olsen 1991 ). Thus, the influence of NPM in administrative reform has found different expressions and, in several countries, the introduction of NPM ideas is a limited and superficial phenomenon ( Pollitt 2000 ). This paper contributes to these debates. It examines the influence of New Public Management ideas in Portuguese administrative reform and discusses improvements in the way public services are implementing change using new managerial tools in Portugal: the Activity Plan (AP) and the Activity Report (AR). The data collected from official reports and a questionnaire show that the juridical-administrative model persists and transforms both Activity Plan and Activity Report into little more than a formality, another routine to be followed.     

REGULATORY REFORM IN BRITAIN: THE CHANGING FACE OF SELF-REGULATION

Self-regulation has been at the centre of a number of public and academic debates in Britain in recent years. This article enquires into the nature of self-regulation and attempts to improve our understanding of it in a number of ways: by attempting to define self-regulation; by assessing certain trends and developments in self-regulatory systems; by trying to explain these trends and developments; and by outlining the implications of self-regulation for policy making and public accountability. The main conclusion reached is that, from a public administration perspective at least, concern should not centre upon whether or not self-regulation is increasing or decreasing. Instead, the main focus should be upon the ability of such systems to respond to pressures for reform and provide effective regulation within a broad framework of public accountability.     

REFORM OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS IN AUSTRALIA: THE POLITICS OF FEDERALISM AND THE NON-POLITICS OF MANAGERIALISM

A remarkable process of reform of intergovernmental arrangements was initiated in Australia in 1990 designed, according to its proponents, 'to improve our national efficiency and international competitiveness and to improve the delivery and quality of services governments provide'. Unlike previous 'new federalisms' in Australia (and elsewhere) the reform process on this occasion was neither totally unilateral, nor top-down in design and implementation. Rather, while reflecting the commonwealth (federal) government's frustrations at the limits imposed by the federal system on its political power and administrative capacity, the process intentionally was cooperative, incorporating all state and temtory government leaders, and including representatives of local government. In the context of a review of the origins, nature and objectives of the reform initiative, this article points both to the valuable innovations embodied in its processes, and to the risks of reduced political access and citizen participation created by its attempts to apply 'single-government' managerialist principles to the redesign of intergovernmental arrangements in federal systems. Political and bureaucratic objectives, combined with a lack of adequate appreciation of federal principles, led, in our view, to an attempt to supplant participatory politics with relatively less accessible and responsive managerial structures.     

POLICY TRANSFER IN PRACTICE: IMPLEMENTING SUPPLIER DIVERSITY IN THE UK

This article draws on the policy transfer literature to examine a UK‐based initiative to promote supplier diversity and provides insights into three areas neglected in current research, namely: the dynamics of non‐governmental policy transfer; the factors that mediate policy transfer in different jurisdictions; and the integration of research and practice in small business related policy transfer. To this end, an innovative action research approach is deployed with the dual purpose of effecting practical change and advancing knowledge. This comprises two phases: first, a realist analysis of the US National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), an exemplar intermediary; and second, the implementation and concurrent realist evaluation of a supplier diversity initiative modelled on NMSDC, referred to as ‘Supplier Development East Midlands’ (SDEM). The findings provide lessons for academics and practitioners dealing with small and medium‐sized enterprise (SME) policy transfer in general and supplier diversity intermediaries in particular.     

THE ROLE OF POLITICIANS AND ADMINISTRATORS IN DEPARTMENTAL REORGANIZATION: THE CASE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

This article examines the history of the Department of the Environment from its creation in 1970 to the formation of the Department of Transport in 1976. Its main approach is an analysis of the roles of the Permanent Secretary and the Secretary of State in the development of the organization. The strong organizational relationship between these senior members of the department is an important factor in structural change both at the time of the initial reforms and throughout this period.
The influence of different personalities and their approaches to policy and management is considered as a determining factor in the evolution of the department. Additionally, the attempts at reorganization and reform are to be seen as largely developing within a traditional Whitehall framework, based on this relationship, which restricted its effectiveness.     

ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF POLICY CONFLICT IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER WATERSHED IN OKLAHOMA: AN APPLICATION OF Q METHODOLOGY[1]

ABSTRACT

Environmental policy formulation is a difficult business under the best of circumstances. In many cases, policymaking is complicated by factual uncertainty about the likely outcomes of policy intervention and by persistent value conflicts over desired policy ends and goals. This is nowhere more true than in formulating policy to manage adverse impacts to a watershed caused by natural and human activities. In the case of the Illinois River watershed in eastern Oklahoma, controversy over whether and how economic activities in the watershed should be regulated has effectively stifled meaningful policy reforms for three decades. As part of a test of a novel watershed management policymaking protocol funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency, a Q methodological study of stakeholders' perspectives on impact concerns and impact management preferences was conducted to diagnose the conflicts that have pre-empted policy initiatives for so long. We found that the conflicts that exist are not bipolar, but orthogonal – opening the way to potential super-optimum solutions that can satisfy everyone. This study demonstrates the power of Q methodology to assess conflict and thereby suggest strategies for its resolution.     

THE ROLE OF EXTERNAL INSPECTION IN THE PUBLIC SERVICES: THE CASE OF THE UK TRAINING MARKET

We consider two interpretations of the role of external inspection in the public services in the UK in the context of publicly funded, work‐based training programmes for young people. The first is that inspection provides substantive information to buyers concerning training quality, thereby improving efficiency in the ‘training market'. The second is that it provides procedurally oriented reassurance concerning service quality to government and the public, irrespective of substantive quality. Evidence is drawn from the inspection procedures and reports of the Adult Learning Inspectorate between 2001 and 2005. The inspectors rated training providers on various attributes, some clearly procedural, others potentially substantive. We find that while inspectors took both procedural and substantive dimensions of training into account in judging the quality of a provider's services, they attached considerably more weight to procedural than to substantive attributes. In particular, they undervalued the trainee completion rate, despite its potential association with the substantive quality of training and the priority the government attaches to raising it. These results are interpreted as evidence of limited validity in inspection findings, which do little to resolve information asymmetries in the UK training market.     

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC CAPITAL IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

This paper reviews the evidence of public infrastructure's impact on economic development. The evidence indicates the marginal net social returns is low. The paper also examines the effect of economic, demographic, and political forces on infrastructure investment. Finally, the literature suggests that improving maintenance and reducing congestion can greatly increase the benefits from the existing public capital stock.     

PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN DUTCH HIGHER EDUCATION: THE ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION OF THE UNIVERSITY

During the past few decades traditional state‐centred governing arrangements have been critiqued and replaced by alternative modes of governance. Higher education is one of the public sectors where such shifts in governance have been seen. As a consequence of the reshuffling of authority and responsibilities across the different levels in Dutch higher education, universities as organizations have become important foci of attention in the system’s coordination. The main question addressed in this article is to what extent we can speak of an organizational transformation of Dutch universities. Based on conceptual ideas from researchers such as Greenwood and Hinings (1996), Ferlie et al. (1996) , and Brunsson and Sahlin‐Andersson (2000) , we use a framework that focuses attention on the concepts of the construction of identity, hierarchy and rationality to systematically analyse the various aspects of transformations of professional organizations.     

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE: A CASE STUDY IN THE USE OF PRIVATE NON-PROFIT MAKING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PROVISION OF WELFARE BENEFITS

Some of the key features of co-operation between the State and other sectors (private, voluntary and informal) in providing welfare benefits are illustrated in the experience of the National Health Insurance scheme which operated in this country between 1911 and 1948. This is the only example in the UK of a major welfare scheme operating over a considerable period which utilized private, if non-profit making, organizations as responsible agents for administration. Under the scheme certain categories of working people were compelled to insure themselves against sickness. The scheme was administered and benefits paid through a multiplicity of independent 'approved societies', with insured people free to choose which society they belonged to. Contributions were paid by employers as well as employees, with a state subsidy on top. This study indicates that any future development of joint welfare provision with the private sector must overcome certain inherent divergencies in values between the public and private sectors.     

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE: THE ROLE OF THE HR FUNCTION IN THE MODERN PUBLIC SECTOR

As the public sector has modernized and sought to become more efficient and cost‐effective, the effective and strategic management of people has received increasing prominence and there have been calls for the Human Resource (HR) function to play a more strategic role. However, not much is known about whether the role of the HR function has changed substantively. In this paper, we present empirical evidence from six matched‐pair public sector organizations in the UK to assess whether HR functional roles have changed, as envisaged, into a model more akin to the private sector. The findings highlight the complex and often contradictory nature of HR functional roles, and suggest that new and more strategic roles have not replaced traditional approaches but, rather, have been grafted on, giving rise to a variety of hybrid HR forms.     

IMPLEMENTING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 1980s: AN OVERVIEW

Although it is over ten years since major legislation was enacted, equal opportunities remains a controversial issue in Britain. This has affected its implementation in a variety of ways. The article reviews arguments over the meaning of equal opportunities policy, its meaning in the British case and the way it is affected by the British conception of rights. Consideration is given to the experience of implementation by the relevant administrative agencies and local authorities. Particular attention is paid to the area of training. A concluding discussion suggests that market forces may provide the impetus for new developments in the implementation of British equality policy.     

BLAMING THE VICTIM; THE ROLE OF DECISION-MAKERS IN THE OCCURRENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE

ABSTRACT

Past research on environmental justice concerns has focused primarily on the siting of hazardous waste facilities. Less research has been done on other aspects of environmental policy in which concerns of racial or other injustices arise. This study shows that environmental injustice is not limited to the sitting of hazardous facilities or the occurrence of pollution, but occurs also at the policy formation and implementation stages in other areas such as solid waste management. To study this issue, this study focuses on the implementation of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act of 1988, in two counties in north-eastern Illinois, Kankakee and Will. In neither of the two counties were minorities included in the planning process, and out of a total of 91 advisory committee members, minority interests were represented by only one black male. At the same time racial minorities made up about 15 percent of the total population in the two counties.

The study shows that the main reason for this lack of representation is not a lack of environmental concern among blacks. Nor can it be explained by a lack of interest in participation in environmental decision-making among blacks. Rather, the study shows that the process is led by misconceptions among planners and decision-makers who generally believe that blacks are not interested in environmental issues and therefore not interested in participating in environmental decision-making. The conclusion of this study is that it is the belief held by local planners and decision-makers that there is a lack of interest in environmental issues among blacks, that produced a planning process in which the interest of minorities were not represented.     

THE EUROPEANIZATION OF HEALTH CARE GOVERNANCE: IMPLEMENTING THE MARKET IMPERATIVES OF EUROPE

The paper examines the Europeanization process and the impact of the European Union (EU) on national healthcare policies, using the example of Denmark. The analysis reveals that although health policy formally falls within the competence of member states, the impact of the EU is becoming increasingly conspicuous and has contributed to a gradual restructuring of healthcare boundaries as well as of some of its organizing principles. Furthermore, the process and impact have a de‐structuring effect on the more traditional governance tools used in relation to healthcare. The paper concludes that the EU has a significant impact and that we may be witnessing the formation of a new institutional legacy that represents the initiation of a Europeanized healthcare model: a model emerging around a new set of stakeholders, principles and structures, which includes the market, principles of free movement, patient choice and patient rights institutionalized and safeguarded by the EU.