Business Associations and the Decentralization of Penury: Functional Groups and Territorial Interests

This article compares the responses of subnational business interest associations (BIAs) in declining industrial regions to the demotion of centrally-administered regional economic policy in favor of regional and local initiatives — a "decentralization of penury"— in Great Britain and West Germany. As an organization that represents chiefly functional membership interests, a BIA is not the most obvious candidate for economic initiatives based on territory. Drawing on a comparison of BIAs in two British administrative regions and two German Länder , I discuss the mix of elements that influence whether business is capable of fighting out politics about territory across territory, either on a local or regional basis. The analytical framework employed is based on Schmitter and Streeck's logics of membership and influence. The findings suggest that business associations formulate and pursue territorial economic interests consistently, yet face powerful constraints generated by their relations with members and by central government policies. Where the spatial economic interests of business are concerned, BIAs in both countries, despite the clear differences in organizational properties and capabilities, are best able to balance the tensions generated by the two logics when government policy encourages a local focus.     

Corporate interests and public affairs: organised business–government relations in EU member states

The internationalisation of economic and political affairs changes the way in which business interests are brought to bear on public policy. This is a global phenomenon but can, in particular, be observed in Europe. The construction of the European Union, the development of the Single Market and the build‐up of the policy institutions to go with it, together change business–government relations profoundly. This paper answers the question of how organised business interests relate to government agencies and political institutions. By using the example of trade associations in the Netherlands and Germany, the paper shows that, despite the internationalisation of public affairs in Europe, the national political level remains strategically important for the representation of business interests. The paper thus argues that changes in European business–government relations are institutionally embedded at both the European and the national level. The implication for future research is that much of the dynamics of economic and political internationalisation materialises within the domestic arrangements of interest politics. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Corporate interests and public affairs: organised business–government relations in EU member states

The internationalisation of economic and political affairs changes the way in which business interests are brought to bear on public policy. This is a global phenomenon but can, in particular, be observed in Europe. The construction of the European Union, the development of the Single Market and the build‐up of the policy institutions to go with it, together change business–government relations profoundly. This paper answers the question of how organised business interests relate to government agencies and political institutions. By using the example of trade associations in the Netherlands and Germany, the paper shows that, despite the internationalisation of public affairs in Europe, the national political level remains strategically important for the representation of business interests. The paper thus argues that changes in European business–government relations are institutionally embedded at both the European and the national level. The implication for future research is that much of the dynamics of economic and political internationalisation materialises within the domestic arrangements of interest politics. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

CUTBACK MANAGEMENT IN CANADA*

Abstract: Although since 1975 the Government of Canada has been successful in containing its expenditure growth — partly as a result of the demands for value for money in government and the political implications of the large deficit — the drive for efficiency and economy has a long history. The Budget reforms of the 1970s (such as MBO, PPB and OPMS) have been joined at the Federal level by a new Policy and Expenditure Management System based on resource "envelopes". This involves the preparation of a five-year fiscal plan setting out projected revenue and total expenditure with a division of expenditure into ten "envelopes" for ten policy sectors. Expenditure priorities are determined by the Priorities and Planning Committee chaired by the Prime Minister, and five Cabinet Committees are responsible for managing the various policy sectors within the funds available. The intention is that "X-budgets", or across-the-board percentage cuts which were the earlier means of cutting back, will be replaced by the more sophisticated "envelope" system. In various ways all Provincial governments — even resource-rich Alberta — have also cutback their expenditures. Ontario has used two blunt instruments in its cutbacks; an arbitrary growth target below the level of inflation and the limitation of public service manpower through the device of "person-years". The lesson from Ontario's experience is the importance of political will in cutback management.     

Putting the Resource-Based View of Strategy and Distinctive Competencies to Work in Public Organizations

A key to the success of public organizations is their ability to identify and build capacity, particularly their distinctive competencies, in order to produce the greatest value for key stakeholders. This article grounds this proposition in the resource-based view of organizations and presents a method for identifying and making use of distinctive competencies in the form of a "livelihood scheme"—a business model appropriate for the public sector—that links distinctive competencies to organizational aspirations and goals. The case of a major public sector training and consultancy unit that is part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service is used as illustration. A number of conclusions are offered in the form of a set of propositions tied to the resource-based view and related research issues. The results contribute to both public strategic management theory and practice.     

Consultation and Contest: The Danger of Mixing Modes

This paper argues that public consultative procedures undertaken by governments or their public services sometimes go awry because of certain confusions as to the nature and purposes of consultation. One of the most important of these is a tendency to view consultation as an exercise in policy determination by the public rather than as public input into the representative democratic process whose ultimate use is to be defined by the elected decision-makers. The result of this confusion is a tendency to misunderstand or overestimate what public consultations can achieve, and a failure to make a distinction between occasions when such consultations are useful and occasions when they must give way to explicit political contest. Three levels of activity — the technical, the transactional and the political — are analytically distinguished along with the modes of action-response appropriate to each — in order to explain and clarify the nature of good consultative practice.     

Live Bureaucrats and Dead Public Servants: How People in Government Are Discussed on the Floor of the House

This article examines how members of Congress refer to individuals in government on the House floor. Using content analysis, floor speeches from the 103rd and 104th Congresses were examined to determine the way in which terms such as "bureaucrats" and "public servants" were manipulated in floor speeches, and the political gain members seek to achieve from these moves. The data show that the Republican takeover of Congress led to a marked change in the tone of debate, and a sharp increase in pejorative discussions of individuals in government. Republicans tended to use bureaucrats in legislative debate in their efforts to shape the debate over the size and role of government.     

Why people want something for nothing: The role of asymmetrical illusions

Abstract. This article examines if and why mechanisms exist at the individual citizen level that may contribute to public sector growth — and whether such mechanisms can be altered through provision of information about the costs of public services.We test and find empirical support for the theory of fiscal illusion according to which citizens underestimate the costs of public services and therefore demand more public spending than if they had been fully informed. We also develop and find empirical support for a theory of asymmetrical illusions. This theory claims that producers and users of public services are more spending–minded than ordinary taxpayers — and that limited rationality contributes to this difference. However, the provision of information about the unit costs of public services can weaken these mechanisms of fiscal illusion and asymmetrical illusions. The test is based on tabular, logit, and experimental analysis of survey data from Odense, a Danish city with 175,000 inhabitants.     

Promoting eco manufacturing: an Australian case

• This paper analyses the communication campaign of a small industry plant, the Fuji Xerox Eco Manufacturing Center in Sydney, Australia. Disproportionably to its size, it has become a national and world leader in the push for waste free, sustainable manufacturing. The rarity of the case—a resource‐poor for‐profit organization taking the role of an influential advocate—helps to highlight the centrality of public relations in the promotional mix. I examine ‘remanufacturing’ not as a one‐off technical innovation, but as prolonged internal and external communication campaign. I also stress on the public character of internal communication, where public relations is instrumental from the start. I draft and discuss an alternative model of integrated marketing communications for small businesses and nonprofits. Integration happens here on personnel rather than organizational (interdepartmental) level. The more such organizations turn towards external causes and multiple publics—as in this case of industrial advocacy and public affairs—the more likely public relations transforms from a component into the organizing principle of the communication strategy.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the New Regime

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the national regulator in the new competition regime. It acts as the public guardian against anti-competitive or unfair business activities. The ACCC's task is to promote competition where it is limited; to preserve competition where it is effective; and to safeguard the position of consumers in their dealings with business. Its efforts are directed primarily at fostering business compliance with the national competition and consumer law, the Trade Practices Act 1974. The commission tries to persuade, coax or cajole businesses into pursuing their interests within the legally defined boundaries of fair competition. Where that proves insufficient, the commission becomes the enforcer. The ACCC can coerce businesses — through court orders and penalties — into rectifying their behaviour where they operate outside the boundaries of the law. It also has the capacity to hold businesses publicly accountable for the prices they set. Underlying these ACCC functions is an ulterior objective: to enhance the material welfare of Australians by promoting, wherever practical, a more competitive and efficient economy.     

Small firm membership in national trade associations

• Business associations play a significant role in private–public interactions by aggregating company interests and relating these to political decision makers. Associations are particularly important for smaller firms, which generally do not have the resources to pursue political strategies independently. This paper discusses the question of what the motives are for small and medium‐sized firms to maintain their membership in national trade associations at a time when the European business environment is undergoing profound changes. Using the example of the Netherlands, it is argued that associational membership is determined foremost by political considerations. The implication of this conclusion is that national business associations continue to perform an important function in mediating business–government relations. Despite the internationalization of public decision making, these organizations remain important intermediaries for corporate public affairs.
• 1 We would like to thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding Minister–Bureaucrat Relations: Applying Multi-Theoretic Approaches in Public Management

The study of public management has remained theoretically limited. This article tests out the value of a multi-theoretical approach as applied to one area of public management research — minister–bureaucrat relationships. Three models are identified — agency theory, bureaucratic politics and institutionalism. All three models are shown to provide valuable insights into the relationship and I argue that this example indicates considerable scope for the further development of mulit-theoretical approaches within public management.     

ACCESS TO SERVICES: ETHNICITY IN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

Abstract: This paper starts from an argument, developed by Jean Martin in 1978, which links recent ethnic differentiation of the activities and structures of our major institutions with an underlying social redefinition of migrants. It then extends Martin's analysis in the particular context of the service activities of one of the major line departments of Australian government — the Department of Social Security. It is argued that the accommodation of ethnic considerations within the daily activities of administration has occurred largely through the concept of "access to services". Using this concept, administrators have been able acceptably to define the problem of ethnic disadvantage and to develop programs which approach its solution. The formula has been applied to Aboriginal as well as migrant disadvantage and reasons for the similarity of approach are considered briefly. A range of recent initiatives which make reference to the migrant and Aboriginal clienteles of government are considered — in particular, DSS services, namely language services, migrant and Aboriginal public contact staffing, information services and advocacy/agency programs. All of these are seen within administration, as approaches to the "access" problem. The final section comments on the general characteristics of this "access" formula and on its success in both accommodating ethnic claims of disadvantage and reinforcing administrative commitments to universalism.     

Marxism and the concept of racism 1

The term racism is engaged at two seemingly independent levels of analysis within Marxism. At one level it constitutes a definite concept within some general theory of capitalist relations of production and their corresponding ideological forms. At another level these ideological forms express themselves in a range of discriminatory practices. Marxism here takes up the challenge in terms of a more practical struggle. The present article establishes the connection between these two levels of analysis. It does so in particular via a consideration of the contributions of O. C. Cox and E. Genovese to the field. The implications of such theoretical work are then identified in terms of a number of strategies adopted by the Left to combat racism. The deficiencies at one level are seen to generate problems at the other. Racism, it is argued, signifies an almost indiscriminate range of practices that cannot be conceived together as effects either of dominant economic class relations and/or the political will of the ruling class.     

Administrative Reforms and Their Impact on Training the Public Bureaucracy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has recently experienced a number of administrative, institutional, structural and policy reforms which have attempted to recast the modalities of the public delivery system and address the perennial issues of "efficiency, effectiveness and productivity" in the public administration system. A number of these reform packages have called for drastic changes in the mode of governmental operations/processes as well as in institutional arrangements.
In this article, the author has reviewed such reform efforts and their impact on the overall public administration training curriculum and academic programs of the training institutions as well as with the universities in Bangladesh. The entry–level training packages have not adequately covered the critical areas that have been highlighted by the different reforms. The article concludes with a suggestion to review all entry–level training programs and identify some thematic areas to make the training programs "practical, pro–active and action–oriented." A close collaboration between the universities and the public administration training institutions is also strongly recommended.     

What Makes a State Advocacy Structure Effective? — Conflicts Between Bureaucratic and Social Movement Criteria

State "advocacy structures"—agencies nominally designated to advance the status of collective social movements in public policy and society—must operate under conflicting criteria for "effectiveness." While government actors likely measure effectiveness as the ability to manage a policyissue—advancing policy influence by prioritizing and packaging demands —collective movements additionally or primarily emphasize structures' performance as representatives of the priorities and diversity of movements. This consequently leads to differing evaluations of agency "effectiveness." A case study of the Ontario Women's Directorate (OWD) analyzes the inherent conflicts and tensions between these two roles, particularly under repeated changes in government. The experiences of the OWD and other advocacy structures suggest that conflicting criteria are inherent and unavoidable in such institutions.     

Electoral Politics and The Corporate System: The Question of Support*

Much analysis has pointed to the impact of interest organisations on policy-making. This paper focuses on the importance of interest organisations at the mass level. The sympathies of citizens for parties and interest organisations are compared, and it is shown (a) that organisations more often than parties are 'neutral objects'; for the citizens and (b) that most citizens — even members of the organisations — rate parties higher than they do interest organisations. Finally, it is shown that organisational membership only has a small impact on political views in a policy field (labour market relations), which should be highly relevant for the organisations. In sum, interest organisations have hardly at the mass level replaced parties as main objects of affection and orientation.     

Environmentally friendly food initiatives in Iran: between environmental citizenship and pluralizing the public sphere

In this article I analyze acts of citizenship within environmentally friendly food initiatives in Iran. I show that act of environmental citizenship intersects with politics of pluralizing the public sphere within these initiatives. I present original research that shows how these practices are determined by state-society relations. It is shown that the main objective of most of the initiators of these enterprises is to provide a source of information about healthy and environmentally friendly food as well as providing access to such food. In contrast, many consumers also use these initiatives as spaces where they can experience and make a more pluralistic public sphere. This article contributes to a better understanding of the concept of environmental citizenship and demonstrates the relevance of the concept to broader notions of citizenship.     

Citizens,Partners or Patrons? Corporate Power and Patronage Capitalism

Abstract

The addition of new social roles in public service and civil society to large business corporations' enormous economic power and substantial political influence suggests novel but little-understood changes in the institutional relations between business, state and civil society. Sociological emphasis on the centrality of power relations in business conduct and radical diagnoses of a corporate ‘take-over’ of public and civil society institutions is contradicted by other literature which portrays corporations as socially responsible benefactors rather than all-powerful behemoths. The present analysis assesses rival emphases on power relations and normative shifts toward corporate social responsibility in the sphere of business–civil society partnerships. It argues that, in the United States and Britain, a new set of institutional relationships is emerging to fill a vacuum in tackling social and environmental problems. In this new institutional field, large corporations are taking on the role of patrons to a variety of clients amongst public and civil society organisations. This social relationship parallels similar episodes of patronage when systems of community and public welfare disintegrated during the rise of capitalism.     

The Wisdom of Crowds: Learning from Administrators' Predictions of Citizen Perceptions

Public agencies use surveys to solicit feedback from citizens and targeted customer groups, but many experts question whether the results of these surveys are valuable. This paper explores how a recent innovation in citizen surveys—asking public administrators to predict how citizens will respond to survey questions—may be used to increase that value and, at the same time, provide additional data of interest on its own account. The innovation is explored through two surveys: (1) a public opinion poll of Georgia residents conducted by the authors for the Georgia Department of Transportation in January 2004, and (2) a brief survey of that agency's administrators asking for their predictions of public opinion. The prediction process appeared to increase the agency's interest in the resident survey. The findings document the frequent superiority of groups—what Surowiecki terms "the wisdom of crowds"—over individuals in predicting public opinion.