Ethical implications of the new managerialism: conflicting loyalties: normative pluralism in modern public administration one australian perspective

As public resources are not unlimited, choices have to be made between various community goals and the extent of their fulfilment. There is no necessary conflict between managing and attempting to allocate public resources amongst competing and sometimes conflicting goals in a more efficient, effective, economic and accountable manner on the one hand and contributing to society's overall wider goals on the other. Attention is drawn, however, to the need to deal in a balanced way with the requirements of equity, probity, fairness, impartiality, ethical considerations, public accountability, the public interest, and the exercise of public trust as well as, for example, deficiencies in data. A sound ethical basis is essential for workable and good administration.     

Management information bulletins and social services managers

Partnership and participation have co-evolved as key instruments of New Labour's agenda for the ‘modernisation’ and ‘democratic renewal‘ of British local government. It is often assumed that partnerships are more inclusive than bureaucratic or market-based approaches to policy-making and service delivery. This article argues that partnership working does not in itself deliver enhanced public participation; indeed, it may be particularly difficult to secure citizen involvement in a partnership context. The article explores the relationship between partnership and participation in a wide range of local initiatives, exemplifying difficulties as well as synergies. The article concludes that public participation needs to be designed-in to local partnerships, not assumed-in. A series of principles for the design of more participative local partnerships is proposed.     

Parkland acquisition and urbanization: Implications for managers

This paper reports the results of original research into the problem of acquiring parkland in an era of severe budgetary constraints on local government. Data on a variety of acquisition methods was collected and analyzed, and recommendations were developed to improve the efficiency of local parks planning. While these methods have previously been discussed separately in the literature, comparative studies have been the exception rather than the rule. The paper identifies a wide array of methods for acquiring parkland, formulates research questions based on a review of the literature, investigates them using a nationwide survey, and draws conclusions regarding practical implications for public administrators to use. Suggestions for further research are also made.     

Neo-Orientalism and the new barbarism thesis: Aspects of symbolic violence in the Middle East conflict(s)

Imaginaries of 'terrorism' and 'Arab mind' backwardness can be seen as closely connected: the latter explains the former as irrational--violence thus becomes the product of backward cultures. I regard this way of representing the violence of peripheralised peoples as a specific expression of symbolic violence: new barbarism. The 'new barbarism' thesis implies explanations of political violence that omit political and economic interests and contexts when describing violence, and presents violence as a result of traits embedded in local cultures. New barbarism and neo-Orientalist imaginaries may serve as hegemonic strategies when the production of enemy imaginaries contributes to legitimise continuous colonial economic or political projects, as can be witnessed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.     

Raising the curtain: experiences with training managers in eastern europe and the nis

As Eastern Europe and the NIS open up, US universities are doing more and more training of professionals from the region. Although much of this training is successful, differences in societal and organizational culture have created problems in the design and delivery of programs. This article discusses the experience of Pittsburgh's International Management Development Institute, and focuses on some of the problems encountered in training managers and officials from a variety of Eastern European countries. By examining and analyzing these problems and why they occur, trainers and training organizations will be better prepared to work effectively with their Eastern European counterparts and colleagues.     

布什中东战略"新思维"的理想与现实

布什连任后,对其中东战略进行了调整,以新的思维推进大中东战略.这就是打着"自由民主"和"反恐"的旗号,整合中东,清除美国所谓的"暴政"和"专制"国家,促进大中东地区国家的"民主改造".在保持绝对战略优势的情况下,美国的战略推进会取得一些成果,但也面临来自方方面面的困难和挑战.外来高压客观上使"大中东"地区国家面临巨大转型,转型期内各国内部和地区局势面临的动荡又对美国形成更大牵制.国际社会对美国中东"新思维"的前景正拭目以待.     

周恩来与中东--纪念周恩来总理逝世30周年

周恩来作为一代伟人,一生建树颇丰.他是当代中国和世界最有影响的外交家,其外交思想光彩照人,不朽功绩永垂青史.他为开拓新中国对中东的工作做出了卓越贡献,其业绩对推动中国与中东国家关系的发展产生了重大而深远的影响.     

Kurdish policies in Syria under the Arab Uprisings: a revisiting of IR in the new Middle Eastern order

The effect of the Arab Uprisings on the interplay of state and non-state entities is revealed as influencing the emergence of multiple players of non-state status pursuing democratic rights, and as attempting to dismiss regional despotism as an intrinsic element of ongoing transition in the Middle East. This article focuses on the positive overall effect on the Kurdish movement of unity and cooperation between KRG and PKK-PYD actors to achieve Kurdish harmony, and as interconnected paradigms vis-à-vis their influence and interaction with regional players. Given the rise of the Kurds in Syria and the KRG’s regional importance as the first actual Kurdish de facto state entity, the PKK’s role appears key for unifying and institutionalising the relatedness of the Kurdish movements in Iraq and Syria. An empirical understanding of the Kurdish case, explained through a conceptual model of ‘multi-dimensional interrelations’, may further clarify how the theoretical framework can be applied to International Relations.     

The Middle Kingdom and the Coming World Disorder

Despite grand visions of a cosmopolitan planet living in peace, the first globalization at the turn of the 20th century descended into World War I as the old empires scrambled to preserve themselves as others sought self‐determination. Powers on the losing end of that war reasserted themselves in yet another worldwide calamity within decades. After World War II, in the early 1950s, with the victorious American‐led alliance in the driver's seat, institutions such as the United Nations and the Bretton Woods arrangements created a global stability that enabled peace, prosperity and the “rise of the rest.” In 2014, the world order is shifting again with the rise of China reviving in Asia the very kind of nationalist rivalries that led Europe to war twice in the 20th century. Will we be able to build new institutions that accommodate the new powershift without resorting to war, or will the second globalization collapse as well? Top strategists from the US, Japan and China respond to this momentous question.     

Managerial attitudes of public sector managers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa, and more specifically Sub-Saharan Africa, is faced with severe economic problems. The public sector, both the political and the managerial, is under severe attack to change its approach to the organization and management of society and its administrative System.

There is today, external, and to some extent internal, pressure to downsize the administrative system, to privatize, and to generally give up the prominent role played by the administrative system in the production and distribution of the general welfare.

This study attempts to assess the attitudes of public sector managers in Sub-Saharan Africa to what may be called universal managerial concerns such as problem-solving, leadership, job challenge, change, and organizational culture. It also assesses the level of satisfaction with career and particular positions of Sub- Saharan African mangers. In assessing attitudes and levels of satisfaction, we compare managers' attitudes with managers from other third world countries. The study concludes with the findings that routineness of work generates negative attitudes while bureaucratization and experience initiate positive attitudes towards universal managerial concerns.     

Occupational stress among professional local government managers: introspections and a prognosis

The area of stress research is broad and not well understood. Little is known about the ways in which workers cope with job related stress .This article explores this element of stress related behavior for local government managers. Among the most important findings are that local managers perceive their stress levels to be equal to or greater than many other professions often associated with high demand. It appears that local managers see other professional managers as facing increased levels of stress over the past decade. Managers also see their stress levels as equal to or greater than that of previous occupations or occupations they might wish to hold in th future. While age and length of experience appear to have little association with percieved levels of stress, increased education does appear to reduce such perceptions.     

阿拉法特逝世与中东局势

阿拉法特的病逝对中东时局的发展具有举足轻重的影响,他的去世使巴方内部和本已动荡不定的中东时局面临诸多变数.阿拉法特的去世,标志着一个时代的光荣和梦想走向终结,一个新的时期,也可以说是巴勒斯坦和中东地区的后阿拉法特时代来临.     

Public Administration in the Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the objective of the special issue which is to understand the status of public administration in six profiled countries – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Turkey – in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The special issue explores public administration as a concept—the diversity of guiding general principles that determines how governments administer the affairs of state in the context of their governance frameworks—and as praxis—the diversity of public administration structures, procedures and practice, and reform initiatives. It is evident that the countries profiled have adopted a mode of public administration and governance that mirrors its history, and its cultural, geo-political, socio-economic, and conflictive environments. In this context, the editors hope that the articles presented in this special issue will contribute to advancing the public administration literature in MENA.     

Mining strategies in the Middle East and North Africa

This article provides a mapping exercise of the economic importance of non-hydrocarbon minerals (nhm) in the Middle East and North Africa (mena) and shows how governments in the region increasingly perceive them as strategic resources. The focus is on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, Turkey, Morocco and Iran. nhm like iron ore, phosphates, aluminium and uranium are important for development models in the region, either as export commodities or as vital input factors. Since the 1990s, and as elsewhere in the world, the sector has witnessed privatisation and the promulgation of new mining codes. Yet governments have retained core capabilities and manage most key commodities themselves either directly or indirectly. Mining projects have met with opposition from labour representatives. They also have considerable environmental impact. The article discusses rentier state and resource curse theories, but argues that nhm have also increased development options and have contributed to economic diversification rather than being just a curse.