We’re Not all Happy Yet: Attitudes to Work,Leadership, and High Performance Work Practices among Managers in the Public Sector

This article explores the attitudes of male and female managers in the public sector toward high performance Human Resource Management (HRM) policies and practices, work, and organisational leadership, and compares these attitudes to those of managers in the private sector. It finds that female public sector managers are most positive about high performance HRM policies and practices. Male public sector managers are less positive than female managers in the public sector and male and female managers in the private sector across all the measures. Psychological contract theory suggests either the changes associated with high performance HRM policies and practices, or attempts to decrease the disadvantage felt by women in the public sector may have resulted in a sense of disadvantage among some men in the sector, and created a changed, more transactional psychological contract between these men and their organisation. Strategies are needed to reengage public sector men.     

AFTER EXCELLENCE: MODELS OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Abstract: Organisational culture is recognised as a critical ingredient of organisational effectiveness. However, the popular "excellence" model of managing organisational culture is unsuited to the contingencies and character of many public sector organisations. Termed here the cultural control model, it is the only widely shared understanding of good culture and haw to create it. As a generic prototype of culture it is limited, since it relies on management imposing a culture on a work force devoid of subcultural conflict. Three other models of organisational culture are introduced which offer more promise for the public sector: the subcultural model; the professional-managerial multiculture; and the public service or public interest model. These other models recognise in the culture-building strategies they prescribe that culture is deeply-rooted and not readily malleable by management and that subcultures affect organisations in various, not necessarily negative, ways. While the cultural control model reminds us of the significance of culture to better management, subsequent research has refined models of organisational culture which are more Consistent with the values and ethics of professionalism and good administration.     

Towards virtuous and ethical organisational performance in the context of corruption: A case study in the public sector

With the increasing number of ethical violations reported across the public sector, the emphasis on ethics and values in governance is on the rise. Corruption is widely accepted as a form of unethical behaviour that can have detrimental effects on organisations as well as society at large. Research calls for empirical studies focusing on the contextual factors surrounding corruption. Based on the Contextually Based Human Resource Theory and using the case study method, this paper examines the role of context through a systematic analysis of corruption in a public sector organisation. We integrate corruption and human resource literature to understand employee behaviour, employee relations, HRM strategies, and organisational outcomes in the context of organisational corruption.     

Do Australian public sector employees have the type of culture they want in the era of new public management?

New public management theory proposes that public sector organisations should be managed more like private sector organisations. It is therefore expected that public sector managers will have preferences for an organisational culture that will reflect the culture of private sector organisations, with an external rather than internal orientation. The current research investigated the idea that managers' perceptions of ideal organisational culture would be different to the bureaucratic model of culture (internally oriented), which has traditionally been associated with public sector organisations. Responses to a competing values culture inventory were received from 925 public sector employees. Results indicated that the bureaucratic model is still pervasive; however, managers prefer a culture that is more external, and less control focussed, as expected. Lower level employees expressed a desire for a culture that emphasised human relations values.     

Livelihood strategies and performance of Ghana's health and education sectors: exploring the connections

The public sector in Africa is riddled with widespread ineffectiveness. Although some countries have implemented various reform programmes with the support of international development agencies, the results so far have been disappointing. One reason for the failure is that the policies have focussed more on achieving macroeconomic stability than making the organisations effective. This article explores a fundamental problem of the policies—the need to focus on the human component of organisational performance. Using education and health organisations in Ghana as examples, the article advances a hypothesis that the livelihood strategies of public sector employees and the performance of their organisations are interconnected. Specifically, it is argued that as public sector employees have become more dependent on multiple sources of income, they have developed multiple social identities, which influence the culture of their organisations. The organisational culture may have encouraged employee effectiveness in some cases, but for most organisations, it has resulted in practices that perpetuate inefficiency and poor performance. To be successful, public sector reform policies must therefore involve deliberate efforts to change organisational cultures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computer-Based Performance Information for Executives in Local Government

Performance information is crucial to effective management. Computer-based information systems (CBIS) now play a significant role in the effective delivery of information to senior managers. Executive information systems (EIS) are emerging as popular tools to assist organisations in their strategic decision-making processes. This trend has spread from the private to the public sector, and is now evident in Australian government organizations
This article draws on the findings of a survey into the uses and benefits of CBIS and EIS, from a sample of Australian local government organisations. The study shows that lessons from the private sector are being heeded by system developers in public organisations, leading to successful EIS projects, or at least improved CBIS. The study indicates that EIS, which were originally developed for profit-oriented private companies, are now seen as appropriate for many public sector organisations, providing effective delivery of information to senior managers. Survey results indicate that improved information systems give executives a more accurate picture of their organisation's performance and so provide support for improved strategic decision-making. In addition, EIS are seen by respondents as offering significant benefits not only to managers but also to the rest of the organization.     

PUBLIC SECTOR CULTURE MANAGERIALISM OR MULTICULTURALISM?

Abstract: Despite dramatic change in the Australian public sector, little attention has been paid to organisational culture. With the importation of private sector strategies and structures the traditional values of public administration have been eroded. Public organisations and their members have experienced consequences of "culture shock", even "cultural revolution". Managerialism is an introduced culture which has been criticised by some academics and public servants. It is seen as inappropriate to the distinctive values and operating context of the public domain, as purporting to value-free technique while in effect operating as the mystifying ideology of a dominant elite. Managerialism has been constructed, it is argued, on simplistic and now superseded concepts of rational "management man", goal setting and planning. While managerialism is not the culture which will endow public organisations with new meaning and propel them to excellence, it can expect to increase its hold in the absence of the development of new models of the culture of public organisation. While new public sector cultures will need to be organisation-specific, to accommodate the differentiation between and within public organisations, an overarching framework of public sector values and principles will be required. One of the distinctive features of most public sector organisations is die number and diversity of their stakeholders. A multi-cultural model of public sector culture is proposed, which construes this diversity of subcultures as an instrument of strategic flexibility.     

IMPLEMENTING POLICY-A BUREAUCRATIC POWER PERSPECTIVE

Abstract: This paper argues that theories of organisational power which are based on the concepts of dependence and uncertainty may constitute a useful approach for explaining the manner in which government policies come to be implemented. In the intra-organisational context, studies by Crozier and Hickson demonstrate that subgroups which can control sources of uncertainty and create dependencies rise to positions of relative power within the organisation and may use this position to bargain for increased organisational rewards. Subgroups within public sector organisations that achieve power in these terms may, as their organisational reward, seek to impose particular values on policy programs carried out by the organisation as a whole. Activities in the inter-organisational context may be viewed from a similar perspective. The work of J. D. Thompson indicates that organisations can possess positions of power relative to other organisations in their task environment. In the public sector such power may be used to influence the policy programs of dependent departments. The paper then suggests that in the public sector intra- and inter-organisational theories of power may be combined to explain how subgroups can evolve into organisations in their own right and, in so doing, succeed in considerably changing the stated direction of government policy. To show how such a situation can occur, a case study of the evolution of Queensland's institutes of technology is included. The paper concludes that theories of organisational power can be of value to policy implementation theorists but require some modification to accommodate the particular characteristics of the public sector environment.     

Paradoxical leadership in public sector organisations: Its role in fostering employee resilience

Government organisations, and their employees, need to be resilient to manage challenges such as resource constraints, rising demands, and the tensions and contradictions that underlie much public sector work, often stemming from the need to balance different stakeholder interests. Employee resilience, defined as the capacity to continuously adapt and flourish, even in the face of challenge, is an individual level construct that also benefits organisations. Despite its benefits, little is known about how to foster it. This paper explores whether paradoxical leadership (PL) can contribute to employee resilience. PL – the ability to balance competing structural and relational demands over time – may be one means of supporting employee resilience, as it corresponds to the tensions and paradoxes that exist in public sector work. This correspondence between PL and tensions in public administration work means that PL may also help employees behave resiliently. Findings from a quantitative survey (n = 233) in a large New Zealand public sector organisation indicate that PL antecedes resilience. The effect of PL facets on employee resilience is partially mediated by perceptions of organisational support.     

Organisational reputation and impact on employee attitude: A case study of MTN Ghana limited and Vodafon Ghana Limited

The impact organisational reputation has on employee attitude is very crucial to the fortunes of any organisation, and employees are the fuel that runs the engine of the organisation, and it is believed that their attitude towards the organisation creates a positive performance for the organisation. This study, therefore, sought to determine organisational reputation and the impact on employee attitude by determining the contribution of employee in achieving the reputation of the organisation. The type of research design was a survey, and it relied on secondary information such as reviewing available literature and primary data through the dissemination of questionnaires. The findings suggests that employees contribute earnestly and effectively to organisations reputation, and this creates an enabling environment for creativity and growth, as employees see themselves as stakeholders who play part in the achievement of organisations reputation to the market. It was also revealed that when employees are taken for granted, they become dissatisfied and apathetic, which is likely to adversely affect organisational performance and goes a long way to drag the image of the organisation into the mud. It is recommended that employees' feelings are sought on matters that affect their lives and work, and they should work under conducive and healthy environments as this would give employees the feeling that their employers are concerned about their wellbeing, and this builds a positive attitude to work within employees who in turn work to achieve the goals of their organisation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

COMPETITIVE TENDERING POLICIES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS

Abstract: This paper compares and contrasts the application of competitive tendering policies in the public and private sectors. It is based on information derived from a large-scale survey of public and private sector organisations in New South Wales. Analysis of the survey responses suggests a common approach to the basic elements of the tendering (market-testing) process. However, there are also some important differences, the most striking of which is that public sector organisations advertise more frequently and generally review more tenders. Despite this, there appears to be little difference in the degree of effective competition achieved between the two sectors. More generally, while nearly all organisations surveyed collect information that is relevant to performance evaluation, it does not appear to be systematic or rigorous enough to secure contract compliance.     

Reputational leadership and preference similarity: Explaining organisational collaboration in bank policy networks

This article contributes to our understanding of the formation of policy networks. Research suggests that organisations collaborate with those that are perceived to be influential in order to access scarce political resources. Other studies show that organisations prefer to interact with those that share core policy beliefs on the basis of trust. This article seeks to develop new analytical tools for testing these alternative hypotheses. First, it measures whether perceptions of reputational leadership affect the likelihood of an organisation being the target or instigator of collaboration with others. Second, it tests whether the degree of preference similarity between two organisations makes them more or less likely to collaborate. The article adopts a mixed‐methods approach, combining exponential random graph models (ERGM) with qualitative interviews, to analyse and explain organisational collaboration around United Kingdom banking reform. It is found that reputational leadership and preference similarity exert a strong, positive and complementary effect on network formation. In particular, leadership is significant whether this is measured as an organisational attribute or as an individually held perception. Evidence is also found of closed or clique‐like network structures, and heterophily effects based on organisational type. These results offer significant new insights into the formation of policy networks in the banking sector and the drivers of collaboration between financial organisations.     

Internationalism Under Platform Capitalism: Brexit and the Organisation of UK Fast Food Workers

In October 2018, a coalition of UK trade unions and civil society organisations called a strike across the UK’s fast food sector in support of a living wage, union recognition and the end to zero‐hour contracts in the sector. This paper takes the day of action—labelled the McStrike—as a starting point for an account of the place of the EU and Brexit in the campaign for fast food rights, as well as the contrasting political standpoints adopted by the different trade unions involved in the action. Brexit is used as a prism through which to analyse aspects of Britain’s contemporary food politics, especially those pertaining to freedom of movement, workplace organisation, and the role of EU legislation in protecting workers’ rights. In exploring the international dimensions of union organisation among the UK’s fast food workers, other, more conceptual considerations regarding the changing nature of public and private food consumption and the incorporation of food‐to‐go into the gig economy are also broached.     

ORGANISATIONAL THEORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE: THE CASE OF REGIONALISATION IN YOUTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

Abstract: Conventional accounts of administrative change have relied on an instrumental view of organisations. Based on the notion that administrative arrangements are designed to meet predefined goals, such accounts have been unable to deal adequately with the production of organisational arrangements or to analyse the entanglements of theory in those arrangements. A number of revisions to this orthodox view have been suggested which are based on viewing administrative structures as political arenas within which conflicts organised within wider society come to the fore. The adoption of a regional administrative structure by the New South Wales Department of Youth and Community Services highlights the dependence that administrative arrangements have upon the interests and ideas of key administrative actors and coalitions, and their contingent power to produce and maintain changes in those arrangements. The regional structure was based on ideas of community participation and had the avowed aim of allowing the public to have greater access to departmental affairs. Subsequently, ideas of ministerial accountability and organisational efficiency were used to define strictly the legitimate boundaries of that public participation. Such ideas provided covering fire for different groups in and around the department to obtain and consolidate positions of advantage.     

Introduction: The State of State Employment

Public sector industrial relations is a somewhat neglected field of investigation. The relative neglect by industrial relations scholars is surprising given that public sector employees in Australia are much more likely to be unionised and work within larger organisations with formalised industrial. Moreover, it has been within public sector environments where the efficacy of public policy directions in industrial relations have been tested. Public sector environments are more likely to be characterised by structured bargaining and policy testing than much of the private sector. One of the purposes of this symposium, then, is to remedy this relative neglect of public sector industrial relations.     

The Three Exit, Three Voice and Loyalty Framework: A Test with Survey Data on Local Services

The article presents a modified Hirschman framework with three types of exit: moving location; moving from the public to a private sector provider; and moving between public sector providers; and three types of voice: private voice (complaining about private goods); voting; and collective action. Seven hypotheses are generated from this framework. The article then presents evidence from the first round of an online survey examining citizen satisfaction with public services and the relationship between exit and voice opportunities. We find dissatisfied people are more likely to complain privately, vote and engage in other forms of collective participation; but only a weak relationship exists between dissatisfaction and geographical exit. We find some evidence that the exit–voice trade-off might exist as more alert consumers are more likely to move from the public to the private sector and those 'locked in' are more likely to complain than those who have outside options. Overall the results tend to corroborate the hypotheses drawn from the modified Hirschman framework.     

Practices and Attitudes to Derivatives Use in Australian Commonwealth Organisations

Little is known about risk management in the public sector. This study reports on a survey of senior officers in Australian Commonwealth companies and statutory authorities concerning their practice and attitudes towards the use of derivative instruments for risk management. Using a variety of tests, the most important issue identified by respondents concerning the use of derivatives is for budgeting purposes. Of note, respondents rank commonly cited reasons advanced in the private sector, such as reduced bankruptcy costs and taxation, as being relatively unimportant, which is consistent with arguments advanced in the paper. The results also indicate that there are significant differences in the level of importance in some issues regarding derivatives use across public sector organisations, particularly those differentiated by a documented risk management plan. The study also documents for the first time the extent of derivatives use in the Australian public sector.     

PERFORMANCE PAY AS A COORDINATING MECHANISM IN THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SERVICE

Abstract: Public sector management is in a state of flux. Pressures for greater efficiency and a stronger customer service orientation have led to changes to the structures and planning and reward systems of public sector organisations. In the milieu of reform, performance pay for managers has been given prominence in a recent critical report by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration which recommends a return to a more standardised approach to management salaries in the APS. I argue instead that performance pay should be considered as a third-or fourth-order coordinating mechanism and linked to the strategies of individual departments in the APS. A policy for greater decentralisation of the design, implementation and management of performance pay schemes in APS organisations is presented.     

The negative relationships between employee resilience and ambiguity,complexity, and inter-agency collaboration

Employee resilience (ER) is often needed to face demands inherent in public sector work. Some types of demands, however, may hinder its development, rather than provide the type of challenging adversity from which resilience can develop. Public sector job demands have been a long-standing issue for public workplaces and employees but are also growing in salience as organisations face an increasingly variable, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources model and the challenge/hindrance stress literature, this multi-level study of Aotearoa New Zealand civil servants (n = 11,533) in 65 public sector organisations shows that ER is negatively affected by demands such as job insecurity, unclear job and organisational goals, and inter-agency collaboration. However, organisational resource constraints are positively associated with ER. This study identifies core PA job and organisational demands that hinder ER and offers practical implications and suggestions for further research.

Points for practitioners

• Job role ambiguity, job insecurity, unclear organisational goals, and inter-agency collaboration are common job and organisational demands in public sector workplaces.
• For employees, these demands are stressors that employees do not feel they control, and may therefore hinder employee resilience: the ability to learn, adapt, and leverage networks in the face of challenges.
• Surprisingly, resource constraints, where employees have to ‘do more with less’, might help employees develop ER.
• While inter-agency collaboration has potentially many benefits, it appears to have negative spillover effects on employees unaware of it or not involved in it.
• To encourage ER, agencies should clarify both organisational and job goals, and assure job security, control, competency development, and supervisor support.

     

Hypotheses on the Italian administrative system

Why is the private economy in Italy thriving, while the public sector is so poor? This article spells out the general characteristics of the structures and procedures of the public sector and outlines the criteria on which to judge its efficiency in order to proceed to the presentation of four explanatory hypotheses.

The first hypothesis is an economic one: the private sector may have exploited the public sector, which bears costs that are to the direct advantage of the private economy. The second hypothesis is social: the public sector is poor because it is a means of taking on labour from the underdeveloped South, becoming in this way a social buffer. The third hypothesis is political: the administration is used to secure political support for the ruling parties (and in particular, for the Christian Democratic Party). The fourth hypothesis is historical: the administration is badly run because, as a result of the Fascist experience, Italians fear any form of ‘Bonapartism’: and it is badly organised because the public sector's take‐off has been delayed and the pace imposed on its development has been excessive. In the last section some remedies are suggested and some conclusions are outlined.