Outsourcing in contests

We study ex post outsourcing of production in an imperfectly discriminating contest, interpreted here as a research tournament or a procurement contest for being awarded some production contract. We find that the possibility of outsourcing increases competition between the contestants, leading to higher total contest effort, if the contest winner is expected to obtain a sufficiently large share of ex post outsourcing rents. Under reasonable assumptions, outsourcing tends also to increase the number of active contestants, strengthening the case for outsourcing to increase total contest effort. If such effort is socially wasteful, outsourcing creates a welfare trade-off between ex ante and ex post efficiency.     

Special Edition on Organized Crime

This is the first edition of the Oxford Journal of Policingthat we, as General Editors, have entrusted to a guest editor.We have several such future editions planned, because we feelthis is an important way of expanding the number and varietyof voices commentating on policing. This is a key part of themission we have set ourselves—a vigorous debate     

Organized crime and the 1960 presidential election

It has been asserted that, based on a pre-election agreement promising them favorable federal treatment, the Chicago Mob (known as the “Outfit”) was responsible for John Kennedy’s election in 1960. An examination of these claims indicates that the sources generally lack credibility and their accounts are implausible. Additionally, there is no evidence Outfit controlled wards/suburbs around Chicago or members of Outfit influenced labor unions voted unusually heavily Democratic in the 1960 presidential election. Therefore, if anything the Outfit “double crossed” the Kennedys by not delivering the promised votes, as opposed to vice-versa. “Someone forgot to tell the horse.” – An old saying in horse racing.     

激发政府组织中的组织公民行为——试论和谐社会下改进政府组织绩效的对策

如何提高政府组织绩效是构建和谐社会过程中的一大问题.由于作为自变量的组织公民行为(OCB)对政府组织绩效具有积极的作用,所以通过激发政府组织的OCB可能是改进政府组织绩效的一条有效的路径.针对现阶段提高政府组织绩效所面临的问题和困难,需要从制度层面对组织中影响OCB的相关变量进行调节和控制,从而激发OCB,以提高政府组织绩效.     

有组织型经济犯罪侦查对策探析

关于有组织型经济犯罪,理论界尚无过多的研究专著,而随着社会经济的发展,有组织型经济犯罪作为一种常见的经济犯罪形态严重地威胁着我国经济运行环境的健康发展。有组织犯罪应指三人以上为长期实施一种或多种犯罪获取某种巨大利益而建立的犯罪团体,有计划、有分工地故意实施依法应受刑事处罚的行为。有组织型经济犯罪具有法定性、牟利性、组织性、智能性、隐蔽性、复合性的特点。     

Outsourcing in China: an exploratory assessment

The increasing demands for public services, growing resource externalisation and decentralisation have driven Chinese governments to seek alternative means of service delivery. This article addresses the largely ignored outsourcing practice in China. Lack of awareness of and research on the widespread outsourcing was a result of the conceptual barriers created by China's economic transition and its choice of incremental reform path. By decomposing national fiscal expenditures, the article finds that from 2002 to 2004, outsourcing accounted for about one‐third of the total governmental services expenditures and demonstrated a trend of continuous growth. Such developments effectively transformed the basic landscape of public service delivery and created significant external dependence. Within just three decades, China has quickly shifted from an omnipotent state to an ‘incomplete’ state. The capacity of the administrative hierarchy has become severely constrained. Nonetheless, the political risks of the macro‐level transformation are largely mitigated at the micro‐level by mechanisms of public–private cooperation. These developments are embedded in informal arrangements that, remarkably, maintain the survival of the current power structure. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Information Technology Outsourcing by State Governments in Australia

Outsourcing of IT services is being undertaken at a rapid rate within the public sector in Australia. This paper investigates the adoption of this practice by a sample of state government enterprises and departments from South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales which have tendered long-term IT outsourcing contracts.
The motivation, decision-making process and extent of outsourcing are examined in further detail. In addition, the tendering process, contract and risk management are investigated to determine whether consideration has been given to the full economic costs involved in entering into longer term contracts.     

Outsourcing: Uncovering the Complexity of the Decision

ABSTRACT

Outsourcing is a phenomenon that, on the surface, is used to reduce costs and enable an organization to focus on its core competencies. In researching into outsourcing and whether this assumption holds true, this article focuses on public health organizations where outsourcing has been applied to both clinical and non-clinical services. In the cases observed, public sector managers assumed contracting would lower production costs for peripheral services whose outcomes could be easily measured and monitored. Clinical services were not usually outsourced because these core services were more difficult to measure. In implementing contracts for non-core services, decision makers' political and ideological objectives overshadowed management imperatives that are necessary for effective contract design and implementation, leading to poor service outcomes and little cost savings. Choosing the “right” services to contract does guarantee good outcomes such as lower costs and improved labor flexibility, but it is necessary to understand that optimum outcomes are only achievable if the service is clearly non-core, has measurable outcomes, and has low transaction frequency. It is also clear that outsourcing will not remove management problems; it simply adds another layer of complexity on top of managing staff who still provide the service.     

Reexamining the Relationship Between Fiscal Stress and Outsourcing

The determinants of outsourcing in local government are widely studied from a variety of frameworks. One concept consistently used to explain local government outsourcing is fiscal condition, with many noting that outsourcing is more likely when a local government’s fiscal condition declines into fiscal stress. Despite the ubiquity of this expectation in the outsourcing literature, several articles reviewed suggest that the findings for this relationship remain uncertain. As a result, the research presented in this article sought to examine and extend what is known about the relationship between fiscal stress and outsourcing in U.S. municipalities. The research includes previous measures of fiscal stress and adds new measures. In addition, it tries to overcome the limited theoretical testing of the relationship between fiscal stress and outsourcing by examining both direct and indirect effects of fiscal stress on outsourcing. It finds that municipalities in the United States that are experiencing fiscal stress are more likely to engage in outsourcing, particularly municipalities that are experiencing fiscal stress and have a positive evaluation of the external market to provide services.     

论思想政治工作与建设和谐社会

社会转型与分层 ,已经致使社会出现不和谐状况。对此 ,党的十六届四中全会提出建设社会主义和谐社会的奋斗目标。在和谐社会的建设过程中 ,必须首先加强思想政治工作 ,只有充分发挥思想政治工作的社会功能 ,才能使我们的社会和谐稳定地向前发展。