Political Pressure,Conformity Pressure,and Performance Information as Drivers of Public Sector Innovation Adoption

Why public organizations adopt and abandon organizational innovations is a key question for any endeavor to explain large-scale developments in the public sector. Supplementing research within public administration on innovation with the related literature on policy diffusion, this article examines how external factors such as conformity pressure from institutionalized models, performance information from other organizations, and political pressure affect innovation adoption. By the use of two survey experiments in very different political contexts—Texas and Denmark—and a difference-in-differences analysis exploiting a reform of the political governance of public schools in Denmark, we find that public managers respond to political pressure. We find no indications that they emulate institutionalized models or learn from performance information from other organizations when they adopt organizational innovations. The results thereby point to political pressure as an important factor behind large-scale adoptions of organizational innovations in the public sector.     

Pressure and the division of a public budget

This paper considers the division of a public budget among competing interests. The planner determines the optimal allocation by maximizing a weighted social welfare function. These weights reflect society's attitudes to different recipient groups, and are not constrained to be constant. By exerting “pressure”, the recipients can attempt to manipulate the weights and hence influence the division of the budget. The amount of resources used on pressure, and the effects on the preference weights are calculated. An important parameter in the model is the elasticity of pressure, for which an appropriate estimate is presented from the case of competition for a share of a health services budget in Norway.     

警察心理压力的形成与缓解

随着社会的发展和科学技术的进步,现代犯罪出现许多新的特点,使公安工作面临严峻的挑战,给民警的心理带来严重的影响.由于工作紧张、压力大、责任重、人际关系复杂等因素的影响,民警可能存在意识上或潜在的心理问题,这些心理问题会影响公安民警的心理健康与身体健康,也会影响工作的效率与业绩.从目前警察队伍中出现的新问题、警民关系的融洽度出发,找出形成此现状的原因,总结出解决途径,对于帮助缓解警察心理压力、更好地发挥警察职业的职能作用十分重要.     

Grass-roots Influence: Pressure Groups within the Liberal Democrats

This article examines the self-perceived influence of the specified associated organisations and associated organisations within the Liberal Democrats. The analysis is set within the wider theoretical context of political party construction and the dichotomy between the elite and grassroots activists. The article tests the thesis that there is a hierarchical structure of ancillary organisations within the party and that this determines which organisations feel that they have any real influence. It takes a fresh look at the role of the Liberal Democrat ancillary organisations and questions whether or not their party-sanctioned status restricts their ability and willingness to influence the party.     

The Anti-Poll Tax Movement: a Pressure Movement?

The anti-poll tax campaign has been the subject of scant empirical or theoretical analysis. One explanation lies in the difficulty of locating the campaign within existing theories of pressure groups or social movements. This article argues for the creation of a distinct model of protest, based upon the concept of a pressure movement, to explain a campaign that was single-issue, decentralised, non-hierarchical and variable according to location. Distinctions between pressure groups and social movements have become increasingly arbitrary with the rise of groups lacking formalised membership. Pressure movements are thus likely to form key contestatory actors in future years.     

企业员工职业压力研究

职业压力又称为工作压力,特指在工作场所中发生的压力现象。职业压力是员工情绪研究中比较成熟的领域,一方面在于应激本身是情绪的重要形态,相关基础研究起步早,探讨深入;另一方面在于经济社会的发展,由压力所导致的员工身心健康问题突出,社会需求推动这一领域研究迅速展开。对企业来说,职业压力凸现的种种问题也应成为企业思想政治工作者关注的一个重要问题。     

Pressure,Legitimacy, and Innovative Behavior by Public Organizations

According to New Public Management (NPM) doctrines, public organizations involved in service delivery and policy implementation will be induced to innovative behavior if they have enough managerial autonomy and simultaneously are subjected to managerial pressure, such as result control by government or competition of other providers. This NPM pressure‐response model is tested by using survey data on 84 Flemish public organizations. These tests provide evidence for the assumed effect of NPM‐like pressure on the innovative behavior of public organizations. However, the empirical model shows more complex relationships as is assumed by NPM doctrine. These complex relationships are corroborated and explained by making reference to a multiple‐case study of four Flemish public organizations. An expanded political/administrative pressure‐response model, referring to legitimacy as a motivational force, is suggested in order to explain innovative behavior by public organizations. This model may help to understand the preconditions for spontaneous adaptation of public organizations.