Opportunities in Role Specialization Through Location in Public Sector Services

The purpose of this paper is to study whether organizations in the public sector have special roles that are similar to those in the private sector. The model used for the analyses is the Ferdows ‘strategic role of the plant’ model. The operations of Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland were analyzed for the study. The data used was gathered in interviews and from general sources. The results indicate that special roles can be found and, furthermore, that there are huge possibilities in this area. The idea of roles is important to improve their productivity.     

More Than 'Counting Manhole Covers': The Evolution Of The British Tradition Of Public Administration

This article is a revised version of an inaugural lecture, delivered at the University of Leeds on 30 April 1998. The focus of the lecture and, thus, of this article is concerned with administrative history and the civil service. The first part of the article is about the pioneers of the academic study of public administration, and the subject's relationship with political philosophy. The second part examines the role of the Webbs and the British approach to public administration. The third part evaluates the contribution of the academics of the 'Golden Age' of public administration. The fourth part deals with changing perceptions of public administration, with a particular emphasis on developments in the civil service; it is deliberately self-referential. The final part briefly considers the future of the academic study of public administration, concluding that it has one.     

Short notes on some books received

Using the data collected by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) under the Additional Rural Income Survey (ARIS) for the year 1970–71, two models are estimated for the use of HYV wheat seeds. The first model estimated is the logit for the adoption of HYV wheat seeds. The second model estimated is the linear regression model for the percentage of land under HYV wheat for its users. The models include many social and economic variables. The results indicate that the proportion of land irrigated and the availability of tractors on hire in the village are the most significant variables for the adoption decision. Being part of the wheat‐belt region is also a very highly significant variable. The distance of the market from the village is significant in some cases. The proportion of land irrigated is a significant variable in all estimates for the second model also. The land owned (with a negative impact) and the existence of moneylenders are significant in some cases in the second model.     

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

The field of intergovernmental relations has been strongly affected by the considerable processes of upheaval and change that have been experienced within the British system of central-local relations. Researchers have tried to understand these changes both at an empirical and theoretical level. This article reviews four of the main perspectives on the changing nature of intergovernmental relations. The first perspective provides a historical and institutional analysis within the tradition of public administration. The second perspective draws on organizational theory. The third develops insights through rational choice analysis. The final perspective draws on neo-Marxist influenced state theory. It can be concluded that in a search to understand the turmoil of recent years, students of intergovernmental relations have ranged far and wide in their theoretical concerns. The article closes with an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.     

马六甲海峡海盗活动的趋势与特征——一项统计分析

海盗活动被认为是影响马六甲航运安全的一大因素。1998年马六甲海盗活动快速增加的主要原因是1997年的东南亚金融危机,而2004年以后减少的主要原因是针对马六甲海盗活动建立起了一整套应对机制。马六甲海盗作案的目的主要是为了钱财而非出于政治目的。现有的反海盗措施是有效的,马六甲海盗活动已得到有效控制,海盗活动反弹的可能性不大。在沿岸国领海以外水域中发生的案件,各国都有权进行管制。中国船只受袭击的情况不常见,但在马六甲海峡与新加坡海峡的安全管理上中国应加大参与力度。     

STRONG LEADERS? THE CHALLENGES AND PITFALLS IN MAYORAL LEADERSHIP

The questions executive mayors face regarding the fulfillment of their leadership role often reveal dilemmas and paradoxes. The subject of this article is how executive mayors cope with these dilemmas and paradoxes and whether or not the selection procedure matters. It presents results of a comparison of English elected mayors' interpretations of three dilemmas and Dutch appointed mayors' expectations of those same dilemmas. The first dilemma involves the creation of a sense of community versus multiplicity of inclusions and identities. The second dilemma concerns the need for strong leadership versus the networked character of society. The third dilemma involves that strong leadership is expected, potentially leading to leaders having a false image of strength. The results show that mayors must balance the dilemmas within the boundaries set by the leadership context. Second, the directly elected mayors in England differ little from centrally appointed mayors in The Netherlands regarding their handling of the dilemmas.     

Book Reviews

Book Reveiwed in this article
The Limits of Administration Christopher C. Hood.
Policy Making in British Government: An Analysis of Power and Rationality Brian Smith.
The State, Administration and the Individual Michael Hill.
Understanding Local Government Jeffery Stanyer.
The Process of Local Government Reform 1966–74 Bruce Wood.
Second City Politics: Democratic Processes and Decision-Making in Birmingham Kenneth Newton.
The Politics Of Consumer Representation: A Study of Community Health Councils Rudolf Klein and Janet Lewis.
The European Communities: The Social Policy of the First Phase . Doreen Collins. Martin Robertson     

Neo-Islamism in the post-Arab Spring

The Arab Spring revealed the rise of Islamists and a wave of Islamic movements across the region. The Islamist agenda is debatable on issues regarding their commitment to democracy, pluralism and individual freedom. Central to this is understanding their evolving definition of Islamism and how the players view themselves. The article provides a brief background on which to describe and define the modern Islamist. The features of Islamist political parties are described. The article offers a definition of neo-Islamism that reflects its most modern trends, including these key characteristics: non-traditional religiosity, gradualism, Islam modernization, nationalism and pragmatic relations with the West.     

连横《台湾通史》论析：基于学术史的考察

连横一生以搜集、记录、整理、保存、研究台湾历史和文化为职志,著述颇丰,尤以《台湾通史》名世。纵观《台湾通史》的出版史和相关研究的学术史,实与近代以来中国历史进程相契合,其独特的学术价值和现实意义也逐步彰显。20世纪90年代以来,海峡两岸的《台湾通史》研究均进入新的发展阶段,无论视角还是视野、方法还是理论,特别是在学术性或学理性上,都有显著的推进和拓展。     

'Management by Contract': A Study of Programmatic and Technological Aspects

The practice of 'Management by Contract' can — as with any practice — be characterized by programmatic and technological dimensions. These dimensions contain concepts and ideas at the programmatic level, which shape the mission of the practice (concrete tasks and routines) at the technological level. Thus, the former attach the practice to the broader conceptual dimension. In this paper both of these dimensions will be analysed. The aim is to study how quality issues have been managed by contract. The first part presents some of the conceptual arguments of 'Management by Contract'. The arguments of a structure generally used (the Purchaser/Provider split) and a method often used (competitive tendering) will be discussed. The second part presents some technological effects through empirical findings. The paper concludes with an analysis of the interaction or non-interaction between these two dimensions.     

“时代力量”的政党制度化及其困境

台湾地区“时代力量”党是第三势力政党研究的典型。目前,对于“时代力量”的研究主要集中于宏观层面和微观层面,并不能完整的展现“时代力量”的组织变迁。本文试图从中观层面,勾勒其制度化图谱。“时代力量”的制度化水平一直处于较低的状态,受目标替代的影响,其自主性进一步削弱,而体系化程度受制于“属地化”的寡头式分权,难有起色。“时代力量”脆弱的组织很难承受政治参与扩大的冲击。     

Organizational Structure,Work Involvement,and Job Performance of Public Servants

The purpose of this study is to understand the predicting role of organizational structure on job performance. Work involvement is tested as a mediator in the hypothesized link. The study presents the results of a cross-sectional survey of 256 public servants in public service departments and agencies in Malaysia. The research results have provided marginal support for the key theoretical propositions. The significant and positive impact of job codification indicates the importance of this factor in predicting job performance of public servants. The empirical link is mediated by work involvement, which suggests that there is an indirect influence of job codification on job performance. This study aims to provide additional empirical evidence on the influence of organizational structure and job performance in the public sector.     

REGIONAL SERVICES COUNCILS IN SOUTH AFRICA: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

This article traces the evolution of local government structures in South Africa, known as Regional Service Councils (RSCs), which were created in 1985. The first section traces the history of local government in the country and how apartheid led to separate structures for different racial groups. This is followed by an account of why the National Party (NP) created RSCs, which were neo-apartheid structures, incorporating certain features of metropolitan government. The major features of Rscs are discussed and analysed. The operation of the Rscs around the country is assessed. The final section of the article looks at moves towards non-racial local government structures in the light of broader political developments in the country. The future of RSCs as well as metropolitan government generally is discussed.     

The Europeanization of social movements in the Czech Republic: The EU and local women’s groups

The goal of this paper is to analyze the impact the EU has had on Czech women’s groups since the 1990s. Drawing on both Europeanization and social movement theories, the first section defines the theoretical framework of the paper. The second section is focused on the impact of changes in the funding of women’s groups which, since the end of the 1990s, have relied more than before on European funding. The third section analyzes the shift in the political context and the domestic political opportunity structure in the Czech Republic that has occurred in connection with the accession process. The fourth section analyzes transnational cooperation for which new opportunities have appeared with the EU’s eastward expansion. The paper concludes by summarizing its main findings.     

Agency problem and bureaucratic governance in the people's republic of china

This article argues that the Chinese idea of agency problem is misconstrued. The analysis provides an alternative approach to empirically reassess the nature of the problems, along the principal-agent models. The article demonstrates the relevance of using law to make the case for the profitability of examining the issues of bureaucratic governance from principal-agent perspectives. The analysis concludes by arguing that bureaucratic governance in China cannot be achieved by intensifying hierarchical domination. The concern about agents’ moral quality cannot sufficiently induce responsible bureaucratic behaviour. The key to reinventing the bureaucratic state in China lies mainly on the recognition of the agents’ need for protecting their own interests. Seen in this fashion, macro-level alternative methods of accountability should be introduced to reflect the interests of both principal and agents.     

Can Social Innovations in Housing Save Public Money? The Case of Slovakia

ABSTRACT

The paper deals with research into the innovative provision of public services by the non-governmental organizations in the field of housing. The paper describes the legislation of the housing system in Slovakia and aims to analyse innovation in social housing provision. The paper contributes to the knowledge on innovative social housing solutions provided by non-governmental organizations. The use of cost benefit analysis reveals the benefits of innovation in housing provision by an internationally awarded organization ETP Slovakia. The analysis proves the government´s possible savings of public expenditures if it would decide to support the innovative approach in social housing provision.     

Book Notes

Book Reveiwed in this article
The Reformed Local Government System Peter G. Richards.
The Finance of Local Government N. P. Hepworth.
Local Authority Revenues R. E. Lake and others.
The Individual Citizen and Public Participation William Hampton and Raymond Walker.
The Law and Practice Relating to Local Authority Meetings Raymond S. B. Knowles.
The Government and Politics of France Vincent Wright.
The Irish Department of Finance 1922–58 Ronan Fanning.
The Management of Canadian Urban Government T. J. Plunkett and G. M. Betts.
The Australian Development Assistance Agency: A Post-Mortem Report Nancy Viviani and Peter Wilenski.
The Political Economy of Fiscal Federalism Wallace E. Oates (ed.)
Transplanted Indo-British Administration V. Subramaniam.
Public Enterprise and the Public Interest: Proceedings of an International Seminar Andre Gelinas (ed.)
The Public's Business: The Politics and Practices of Government Corporations Annmarie Hauck Walsh.
Planning in the ESB John Roche.
The British Tax System J. A. Kay and M. A. King.
Housing Rents, Costs and Subsidies: A Discussion Document Alexander Grey, Noel P. Hepworth and John Odling-Smee.
Welfare Rights: The Local Authority's Role Anne Howard.
Essays on planning Theory and Education Andreas Faludi.
Town Planning and the Practice of Politics John Gyford.
An Outline of Planning Law Sir Desmond Heap.
Health Care in Big Cities Leslie H. W. Paine (ed.)
We are Richer than We Think Community Affairs Department, Conservative Central Office
The Changing Faces of Juvenile Justice V. Lorne Stewart (ed.)
Benefit-Cost Analysis: A Practical Guide Lee G. Anderson and F. Settle.
Privacy J. B. Young (ed.)
Management in the Police Service D. Wainwright and N. A. Smith.     

Hidden dimensions: the stability and structure of regional political cleavages in Poland

The main aim of this paper is to show that behind the complex and fluid surface dimension of the Polish political scene it is possible to reveal a relatively stable two-dimensional structure of deep political identities. The study is based on the analysis of ecological data — the results of elections from 1990 to 1997. The results prove the exceptional stability of the Polish electoral geography and appear to be consistent with other studies based mainly on the survey data. The use of the spatial data allowed us to reveal the historical and spatial determinants of electoral behavior in Poland.     

Trust Matters: Distrust in an External Evaluation of a Public Sector Program

This article draws upon autoethnographic data to explore distrust in an evaluation relationship from the perspective of an external evaluator. The study is based within a local-level evaluation of an economic regeneration program. The longitudinal nature of the study allowed for trust and the evaluation relationship to be examined with time and process present—a gap in previous evaluation studies. The exploration demonstrates various causes and symptoms of distrust within one evaluation. The article also reflects on the autoethnographic research approach adopted.     

A Dream Deferred: The Microfoundations of Direct Political Action in Pre- and Post-democratisation South Africa

The stability of young democracies may be threatened by persistent protest as the economic legacies of the old autocratic regimes tend to outlive the defunct political structures. This paper seeks to explore the micro-level predictors of protest potential in South Africa before and after the end of apartheid. The results of the cohort analysis reveal that the political consciousness of the anti-apartheid struggle has a lasting effect. The gap between actual income and expected returns to education explains protest potential better than comparison of one's income with that of a reference group. The effect of race on protest potential has diminished over time.