The performance of state-owned enterprises in taiwan

This study reviewed the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Taiwan. Focusing on the relationship between SOEs and national economic activities and private enterprises, the study revealed some mixed findings regarding the SOEs’ performance. On the one hand, Taiwan's SOEs have contributed to the state's management of economic activities, including assisting in the continuous economic growth, in the transformation and upgrading of the economic structure, and in the stabilization of the economy during the hard economic times. On the other hand, Taiwan's SOEs are found to be less efficient and less profitable than the similar private enterprises. The Taiwan experience, both positive and negative, provides information to SOEs’ researchers and practitioners to understand the overall phenomenon of SOEs and to consider the future development of them.     

Biased Lending and Non-performing Loans in China's Banking Sector

This article uses a panel data set of public listing companies in China empirically to explore the relationship between banks' lending behaviour and non-performing loans. Our results show that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) got more loans than other firms, other things being equal, and SOEs with high default risks were able to borrow more than the low-risk SOEs and non-SOEs. This suggests that Chinese banks had a systemic lending bias in favour of SOEs, particularly those with high default risks, during the period under investigation. The causes and implications of this behaviour are discussed.     

Public Enterprise Reforms and Financial Performance of Government Commercial Companies of Fiji

Public enterprise reform is no new phenomenon. Since the late 1970s, state intervention in the market has been increasingly challenged, acquiring a more ideological form with the rise of ultra-conservative governments in the UK and USA. Like other countries across the world, Fiji has also attempted to reform its public enterprises. This article compares the performance of corporatized public enterprises that sit at different levels of financial performance. Such enterprises have experienced reforms but with mixed financial outcomes. Overall, the major finding of this research is that there is no single factor that can lead to better or poor financial performance.     

Economics of State-Owned Enterprises

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) account for a substantial proportion of gross domestic product, employment, and assets in many countries. Based on a review of the theory and empirical evidence, we develop a novel five-step framework that can guide policymakers and economic advisors in making decisions about maintaining and/or creating SOEs. The framework suggests that the use of SOEs should be limited to circumstances in which a market failure exists, less invasive forms of intervention such as regulation/taxes/subsidies and private-sector contracting are ineffective or not possible, and the welfare loss of the market failure exceeds the costs, distortions, and inefficiencies of SOEs.     

The Institutional Settings for the Development of Public Services through State-Owned Enterprises in Brazil

The findings of this study make a timely contribution to the development of public services. Based on the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework, this study analyzes under which institutional settings state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can be social and financial options for public service provision in Brazil. Applying a multi-case research design, this study’s findings show that SOEs can be a suitable option for Brazilian social and financial development when: markets are weak or noncompetitive; if few decisional players act; if political interference is minimized regarding operational decisions; and if corporate control is effective to avoid mismanagement and corruption. Brazilian SOEs are effective economic and social tools, but they need to peroxide value improve their corporate control (in the case of Petrobras) and strategic centralization decisions (in the case of Eletrobrás) .     

PUBLIC LAW

Traditionally, both the academic study and the practice of UK public administration have drawn very little inspiration from the discipline of public law. In contrast to most other European countries, in which public services are subject to extensive administrative-legal codes, and in which administrative disputes fall under the jurisdiction of separate and specialized administrative courts, UK administrative law remains – recent reforms notwithstanding – significantly undeveloped. There is a marked contrast also with the United States, where the founding scholars of the discipline of public administration saw it as being firmly rooted in public law. There is no codified British constitution and no counterpart of the US Supreme Court; and there is no British counterpart of the US Administrative Procedure Act 1946. However, there are three factors which underline the urgent need in the UK for greater collaboration and convergence between the disciplines of public law and public administration: first, the accumulation in recent years of a substantial body of research-based, academic literature on public law, which provides important insights into the changing landscape of UK public administration; secondly, the continuing development of machinery for the redress of citizens’grievances against the state – in particular, the substantial growth of judicial review proceedings and the development of ombudsman systems; thirdly, the continuing transformation of the agenda of UK law and politics by developments in the European Union.     

Steering and Monitoring Model of State-Owned Enterprises

The aim of this study is to systematize the heterogeneous field of stated-owned enterprises (SOEs) especially for steering and monitoring purposes. Based on the existent literature and the heterogeneous field of the Finnish state’s share portfolio, we create a model for steering and monitoring purposes. In our model, the SOEs are grouped into categories according to how much the state as an owner is concerned with the social service assignment principle, strategic interests, or purely shareholder value interests. Consistency in the basis, extent, and listing status of SOEs for steering and reporting creates good preconditions for ownership policy decision-making and ultimately improves the outcomes of ownership policy and steering.     

MANAGING SOCIAL CAPITAL AND DIVERSITY FOR PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS

Managers concerned with the performance of their organizations will exploit available social, administrative, and human capital resources. However, extant theory and mixed empirical evidence leave the effect of social capital on performance unclear. The gains from these norms of reciprocity, participation, networking, and trust may disproportionately benefit only some of their clients, leading to disparities in outcomes among diverse clienteles. We argue that in such contexts, management will put in place policies to counter these disparities. Indeed, our empirical evidence from the management of public education supports the expectation that an institutional commitment to diversity successfully mitigates the uneven effects of social capital on organizational performance. This finding carries important implications for public management and equity in public policy outcomes and may be of particular relevance to management of outcomes relying on co‐production.     

Is local authority procurement supporting SMEs? An analysis of practice in English local authorities

The UK coalition government wishes to improve the access of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to public procurement, in recognition of their importance to the economy and for the benefits they can bring to public procurement and the wider public sector. Local government provides a significant opportunity for small firms, spending £84 billion of the total procurement spend of £230 billion. However, about two-thirds of both small businesses and local authorities think that SMEs face barriers in successfully accessing public procurement. This paper examines how councils are supporting SMEs in the procurement process by analysing 67 entry forms to the ‘Best Councils to do business with’ competition. This unique data source has provided insight into councils’ attitudes and procurement practices, and demonstrates that although a wide range of supportive actions are being employed there is considerable diversity across councils. Ambiguities and tensions in policies, between local and central government, have also emerged.     

The Role of Organizational Social Capital in Increasing Organizational Performance in Public Organizations: Evidence from Kyrgyz National Police (KNP)

Organizational social capital can develop a strong foundation for trusted relationships and committed actions in communities and organizations. This concept was examined in the public organization setting in this study. Organizational social capital is a source for trust-building processes where participative decision-making, feedback on performance, and empowerment are important elements of this phenomenon. Three dimensions of organizational social capital (participation, feedback on performance, and empowerment) and organizational commitment were examined in this study. The influence of organizational social capital on the perceived organizational commitment of the Kyrgyz National Police (KNP) is observed by utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of this study indicate that the three dimensions of organizational social capital have statistically significant relationships with perceived organizational commitment. Overall, results suggest that organizational social capital, with its dimensions, is a source for the trust-building process which influences perceived organizational commitment. Moreover, by practicing empowerment it is possible to increase the number of committed officers, also an important factor in improving organizational performance.     

Public‐Nonprofit Partnerships for Collective Action in Dynamic Contexts of Emergencies

This article seeks to understand the problem of building cooperation among public and nonprofit organizations to achieve public service goals in emergencies. It also examines the factors that contribute to successful public‐nonprofit partnerships (PNP) and what factors inhibit their development. The theoretical framework draws upon the literature on social capital, network theory and organizational collaboration. The article uses the network analysis perspective to assess the relationships among organizations in terms of their strength, direction and density in the rapid evolution of emergency response operations. The theoretical framework is applied to analyse the interorganizational responses to the 11 September 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks in New York City. Emergency response operations required coordinated action among many actors across multiple jurisdictions under conditions of urgent stress, high demand and tight time constraints. This type of network analysis can constitute a field of substantial interest and importance to democratic societies that are seeking to manage problems of public service delivery in emergencies using innovative means.     

HOW POLICY‐MAKERS (REALLY) UNDERSTAND GLOBALIZATION: THE INTERNAL ARCHITECTURE OF ANGLOPHONE GLOBALIZATION DISCOURSE IN EUROPE

There is a growing acceptance in the literature of a potentially significant causal role for ideas about globalization in shaping the trajectory of policy and institutional reform in contemporary Europe. Yet we still know remarkably little about policy‐makers' understandings of globalization, save those they choose to declare publicly. This paper contributes to the important task of operationalizing empirically this key set of ideational variables. Using factor analysis of new survey data collected by the authors it maps and compares UK and Irish policy‐maker's understandings of, and orientations towards, globalization. The analysis reveals considerable similarities in the ordering of assumptions and attitudes towards globalization between the two country cases and between civil servants and parliamentarians. Yet it also shows some subtle and intriguing differences between policy‐makers' responses in the UK and Ireland and between elected and unelected officials. Intriguingly, it also suggests a significant disparity between politicians' private understandings and public discourses of globalization, with the former less necessitarian in tone than the latter. Above all, it suggests that Anglophone globalization discourse in Europe is principally structured in terms of a number of dimensions which relate to the acceptance or rejection of a series of core neoliberal premises. In effect, the terms and internal architecture of globalization discourse in the UK and Ireland are defined by neoliberal assumptions, to the extent that they provide the core point of reference and orientation for even the most sceptical and critical of views.     

Plans, performance information and accountability: the case of Best Value

The current UK government emphasizes the importance of mechanisms of accountability that involve the planning and public reporting of performance. One example of this is the Best Value performance plan. However, there has been little evaluation of the quality of the information provided in this type of document. This paper draws on literature on stakeholding and user needs to identify the data required for accountability. It then assesses whether the plans produced by Best Value pilot authorities in Wales provide appropriate information. The analysis shows that very few of the plans contained the relevant material. Interviews in the pilot authorities highlighted two key reasons for the poor level of data: a lack of performance indicators prior to Best Value and limited staff expertise in performance measurement. The evidence suggests that documents such as performance plans currently make little contribution to the accountability of public organizations.     

Westminster No More? Governance,Devolution and Delegation in Scotland

Abstract

Politicians have returned frequently to the need to reform schools to achieve wider objectives of social reform and economic prosperity. Within the UK education systems, however, there have been differing experiences and approaches at both national (Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish) and local levels towards school governance reform. School governance in Scotland remains distinct compared to the rest of the UK, both in terms of the pace of reform and the content. The pace of reform in Scotland has been slower and the content has been shaped to a greater extent by political and professional modes of accountability. This article argues that a new phase in school governance reform is likely to follow the election of the Scottish National Party (SNP) majority government in May 2011. A number of factors both external (international comparison of the school performance; the post 2008 politics of austerity) and internal (changes led by the SNP government to the policy-making process, namely outcomes-based policy-making) have placed debates about school autonomy and school governance on the political agenda.     

From-Long Term To Short-Term Contracting

One can look at the arrival of New Public Management and the extensive public sector reforms inspired by this theory from many angles. Here we examine the shift from long-term contracting, typical of bureaucracy and traditional enterprises, to short-term contracting, borrowed from private sector governance methods. Short-term contracting has three principal uses in the governance of the public sector: (a) contracting with service providers after a tendering/bidding process; (b) contracting with the CEOs of the incorporated public enterprises; and (c) contracting with executive agencies about what they should deliver. Theoretical analysis, supported by substantial empirical evidence, suggests that short-term contracting eliminates the extensive post-contractual opportunism connected with long-term contracting, but is vulnerable to precontractual opportunism. Short-term contracting is not just another public sector reform fad, but constitutes a new tool for government which increases efficiency when handled with prudence.     

Partnerships and public procurement: building social capital through supply relations

As one means of dealing with an increasingly interdependent or shared power 'noone in charge' world (Bryson and Crosby 1992) and adapting the public sector to the demands of the global economy, successive administrations in the UK have aimed to develop a more strategic approach to public procurement by emphasizing inter–departmental co–ordination and establishing long–term partnership relations with suppliers. This has proved to be a difficult task, however, as the operating framework and culture of the public sector have hindered the development of interorganizational relationships and trust. By focusing on the co–operative processes and interaction within central government departments and between departments and the private sector, this paper aims to analyse and identify the obstacles to, and opportunities for, implementing long–term supply relations and facilitating departmental co–ordination. While the paper argues that partnership relations can build social capital, it also shows that these resources can have both positive and negative effects for public procurement. To conclude, lessons for developing collaborative arrangements in public procurement are identified.     

ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS A PERFORMANCE: SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

Hypotheses derived from the public choice and other literatures on the relationship between ownership and performance were tested on ten UK organizations which had undergone status change, within the public sector or between the public and private sectors, in the last twenty years. Results on tests of performance in productivity, employment, and financial ratios against change in status, competition and internal management failed in most cases to support the thesis that change in ownership improves enterprise performance, even in its more sophisticated form where ownership change is assumed to be accompanied by increased competition and improved managerial incentives.     

Myths,Measures and Modernisation: A Comparison of Local Authority Performance in England and Wales

Local Authority performance in Wales is widely perceived as inferior to that in England. We analyse statistical evidence on current levels of performance and rates of improvement in the two local government systems, and find few significant differences between English and Welsh councils. Adverse judgements on Welsh local government seem to reflect perceptions of their management processes and methods of service provision rather than their substantive achievements. This may in turn be symptomatic of UK central government's assumption that public service improvement cannot be achieved unless organisations follow the specific model of ‘managerial modernisation it is currently promoting.