Digital dilemmas: Values,ethics and information technology

In writings on public administration, the subject areas of values and ethics and of information technology (IT) have received substantial, but largely separate, attention. The public administration community can benefit by drawing on scholarship in the field of information and computer ethics and developing its own body of research with a view to sensitizing public servants to the effects of changes in IT on values and ethics. This article focuses on developments in the use of IT (for example, self‐service technologies, Big Data, the Internet of Things) as a basis for assessing their implications for public sector values and ethics. Research is needed on the extent to which the values and ethics regimes of public organizations take account of the impact of changes in IT; the degree to which the various components of these regimes can foster sensitivity to the implications of these changes; and the significance for the public sector of such emerging ethical issues as robot ethics. Value conflicts and dilemmas arising from advances in digital technologies argue for vigorous measures to alert public servants to the technologies' impact.     

Patterns of Canadian departmental survival

Assertions have been made about the immortality of public‐sector organizations and the need for higher rates of termination of public‐sector organizations. Research on the American federal government argued that such organizations had mortality rates lower than private‐sector organizations. Better research demonstrated that the mortality of public‐sector organizations has occurred at the highest rates observed in the private sector, where rates could be expected to be high because most organizations were very small. Mostly large public‐sector organizations were examined in the U.S. – they should have had low mortality rates. What is the situation in Canada? How does Canadian survival of public‐sector organizations compare to that in other sectors and other countries? This article compares the survival and mortality rates of Canadian public‐sector organizations to those of the private sector and the non‐profit sector. It also compares Canadian public‐sector organizations to those in Ireland and the U.S., finding that Canadian federal organizations have not been immortal and that their mortality rates are among the highest detected. The pattern of Canadian public‐sector organization terminations is punctuated equilibrium.     

浅论公共部门效率改革的策略

公共部门的迅速膨胀意味着公共部门与私人部门之间关系的根本变革。公共部门改革效率的问题成为目前理论研究的焦点。政策科学的应用性取向导致它寻求改进公共管理的方式。本文研究了公共部门的组织效率的定义及其改革的制度障碍,并且对公共部门改革的政治改革策略、缩减策略、分权与评估策略以及角色转换进行了探讨。     

Public CFO competencies – A National Defence case study examining the balance between financial and strategic priorities

The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in the public sector is relatively new. Prior research on private sector CFOs identified that CFOs tend to focus on either financial or strategic issues. In this study, we examined if these same tendencies exist within the public sector. Using the Department of National Defence as a case study, we asked Comptrollers to compare a set of 8 roles to determine if a bias towards financial or strategic roles exists. We found that some bias exists within National Defence; however, we also found most recognize that you cannot focus exclusively on either role.     

我国公共部门内部非正式机制运作分析

我国公共组织的内部运作受到正式权威制度与非正式制度双重力量驱动。其中非正式制度因官僚制非人格化在我国公共部门的反向表现、伦理中轴的政治文化、伦理结构构成的特殊的组织文化而使公共部门在伦理结构中运作。同时,公共部门在派系结构中运作,派系结构影响公共部门内的资源分配,形成实质上的利益结构,侵蚀了正式结构,并且派系结构随组织环境的变化不断再生产出来。     

边界移位与价值重构：关于西方公共部门改革的思考

越来越多的治理模式被引入西方国家公共部门改革之中,这使得政治与行政、公共与私人、国际与国内之间的边界发生移位,从而增加了公共部门的不确定性。寻找合适的关于新公共部门原则与价值的公共话语,已成为当务之急。     

简论民营资本参与农村公共消防——对一支民营消防队经营困境的思考

民营资本参与公共消防,是社会进步的必然趋势。它打破了公有部门垄断公共服务的现状,对缓解财政压力,有效利用民间资本等方面作用日益明显。但就目前而言,政府公共部门与民营资本和公共服务对象之间关系不明确、政府监管缺位和社会对民营资本参与公共消防认识尚不到位是目前民营资本发展过程中的最大障碍。解决这些问题的根本是要在合理规划、科学界定相关利益方的关系的基础上,建立一套权责明确、科学有效的运行机制。     

论公共部门人力资源开发的转型与创新

本文在界定公共部门人力资源内涵的基础上,分析了我国公共部门人力资源开发面临的主要环境,提出公共部门的人力资源开发必须从职务常任、终身雇佣到竞争选聘、合约雇佣转型;从单项开发向整体性开发转型;从被动性开发向主动性开发转型;从学院式开发向社会开发转型。同时公共部门人力资源开发必须实现理念创新、开发方法创新、开发文化创新、开发机制创新、开发制度创新。     

La fonction publique canadienne a perdu ses repères

Some thirty years ago, politicians in Anglo‐American democracies introduced a series of measures designed to give them the upper hand in shaping public policy and to push senior public servants to become better managers. The government of Canada was no exception. Politicians essentially decided to look to the private sector to improve public sector management. The efforts have failed, have been costly to taxpayers, and have knocked the federal public service off its moorings. The article argues that the public service needs to rediscover its roots and walk away from simple assumptions tied to economic self‐interest and deductive models and from the mantra that reforms inspired by the private sector can drive productive change in the public sector.     

Government of Canada's teleworking and hybrid policies in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

This article analyzes the evolution of teleworking and hybrid work policies in the public sector over the last two decades. It focuses on the Government of Canada, concentrating on the paradigmatic shifts brought about by COVID-19, particularly the impact on the development of teleworking and the transformation of the workplace into a hybrid model. Based on a historical neo-institutionalism approach, this article suggests that the pandemic has propelled the expansion of telework reforms, becoming a key driver in altering the application of both telework and hybrid policies. However, this article argues that, despite the general recognition in the effectiveness of telework and hybrid policies, there are still headways to be made, predominantly because there is still disagreement as to how these policies should be defined and ultimately applied in the federal public sector.     

Frontiers of public service motivation research in Canada: A scoping review

The Canadian public sector employs around one-fifth of Canadian workers; they are responsible for policy making, stewarding public funds, and serving the public. Canadian governments struggle with job satisfaction, engagement, retention, and turnover, all of which may be associated with public service motivation (PSM). We conducted a scoping review of Canadian PSM research to synthesize what is known about these associations in the Canadian context. We identified 24 published studies and four works in progress. These demonstrate that PSM exists among Canadian public servants from the early stages of their career until later stages, and that PSM bolsters attraction to public sector work among students. No studies measured PSM among Canadian public servants using a validated instrument. Further research about the contributions of PSM to the quality of Canadian public services and how employers can nurture PSM is recommended, particularly given recent changes in work environments.     

Is there performance convergence in OECD public administration styles?

This article contributes to the assessment of the comparative evolution of the public sector performance, productivity and efficiency of 22 OECD countries in the first decade of this century. Overall results show that the average public sector productivity of Anglo‐Saxon countries is higher than that of European Continental and Nordic countries, but the inequality of the distribution of wealth is also bigger. Although the administrative culture of the countries studied influences the areas on which public policies are focused, there is more than one route to improve the performance and productivity of the public sector.     

对公共部门人力资源管理的思考——以新公共管理为视角

公共部门人力资源管理是公共部门对工商业人力资源管理技术的借鉴性引入。我国目前在公共人力资源管理方面还存在着很多的不足,新公共管理范式在人力资源管理方面提出了适应时代要求的许多新思想,对我国的公共人力资源管理有着重大的借鉴意义。     

我国公共部门人力资源管理的四大问题

公共部门的人力资源管理状况与其行政效率密切相关,加强公共部门人力资源管理,促进公共部门人力资源能力的提升,既是公共部门行政效率提高的内在要求,也是社会政治经济发展的外在要求.综合文献法、访谈法和问卷法三种研究方法,本文提出我国公共部门人力资源管理的四大问题,以期对我国公共部门人力资源管理进行较为准确的把握和判断.     

公立医院改革模式研究——以台北市立联合医院为案例

在新公共管理思想的影响之下,将市场绩效纳入公部门管理的方式已成为改革潮流。台湾公立医院的改革工作,也是围绕这个核心思想来进行的。台北市立联合医院的成立,是将台北市的十家公立医院进行合并,成为一家台湾规模最大的公立医院,旨在通过层级的治理模式,强调公部门监管的角色,利用资源整合互补,达到降低成本、提高绩效的目标,发挥规模经济的优势,同时加强公立医院的品质和竞争力。从台北市立联合医院的改革经验来看,改革成效的关键在于行政效能是否得以很好的发挥以及行政权力的使用。因此,公部门应体认本身角色的转变并且因应不同的需求,采取不同的治理模式,思考如何从制度和管理层面富有弹性地去因应,为公立医院的治理寻求一个更富有弹性和可行性的改革模式,发挥公部门善治的效能。     

GitHub use in public administration in Canada: Early experience with a new collaboration tool

GitHub is a web‐based digital project hosting service that facilitates collaboration. We introduce how GitHub works and assess how it has been used in the public sector in Canada based on interviews with federal government leaders and a survey of Canadian public service GitHub users. With little research to date on public sector use of GitHub, and none on its use in Canadian governments, we explore the early experience with this collaboration tool and consider the possible implications for collaboration in government.     

Sexual orientation,work values,pay, and preference for public and nonprofit employment: Evidence from Canadian postsecondary students

Evidence shows that gay men hold fewer government jobs in the US than their share of the population would predict. Two large surveys of Canadian university and college students, however, indicate no lack of interest in public sector jobs among gay, lesbian, transgender and queer people (GLBTQs). This article explores data on the differing perceptions, motivations, and expectations of GLBTQ students of public and nonprofit employment. We find that (1) GLBTQs are more likely than heterosexuals to prefer public and nonprofit sector employment; (2) GLBTQ career goals and work values predict stronger desire for public and nonprofit sector jobs than heterosexuals; and (3) GLBTQs expect to pay a smaller penalty for working in the public and nonprofit sectors.     

印度公共行政改革中信息技术应用及启示

信息技术对于公共行政改革有着巨大的作用和潜力,然而,即使像印度这样一个信息产业较发达的国家,信息技术在其公共行政改革中的应用却不尽人意。其原因是多方面的,而高层官员信息技术知识、技能和对信息技术应用的态度,在某种程度上是决定与此相关的公共行政改革成败的关键因素。印度的经验教训对发展中国家此方面的改革有一定启示。     

Performance management and “undesirable” organizational behaviour: Standardized testing in Ontario schools

Performance management (PM) is a major administrative mechanism for assessing efficiency and effectiveness, and for exacting accountability from organizations and individuals. Many have argued, however, that using PM in such ways creates perverse incentives and may lead to undesirable behaviours, such as the obstruction of accurate performance measurement in an effort to avoid public mortification. By examining the introduction of standardized testing in the Ontario public school system, this article adds to the debate on whether PM leads to undesirable behaviours and distorts the representation of actual performance by public sector employees. It argues that, while PM in the public sector may be well intentioned, it may generate a system that produces undesired results.     

Partners in clime: Public‐private partnerships and British Columbia's capacity to pursue climate policy objectives

Governments are increasingly using public‐private partnerships (P3s) to draw the private sector into more active participation in infrastructure development. Climate action initiatives have not typically yielded profitable results for the private sector, and might therefore constrain the placing of conditions by governments on P3 arrangements. This article investigates a major P3 infrastructure project in British Columbia – the Canada Line extension to Vancouver's urban rail transit network – and concludes that the P3 organization did not constrain the government's capacity to pursue policy objectives for climate action. This counterintuitive result occurred because public sector leadership enabled an effective engagement with environmental policy priorities.