The five capabilities of socially responsible companies

This paper develops and tests a model that integrates processes of public affairs management with stakeholder engagement and dialogue, business ethics and social reporting to explain social responsibility capabilities in organisations. The model, called Corporate Social Responsibility Management Capacity, describes social responsiveness as arising from a firm's social responsibility orientation and its public relations orientation. The paper shows how the model can be used by managers to measure, manage and improve their company's ability to be socially responsible. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Effects of the Voting Rights Act in Texas: Perceptions of County Election Administrators

Texas county election administrators view the Voting RightsAct negatively, but acknowledge that the act affects their decisionsabout election administration. The VRA is also seen as costlyand not contributing to citizen participation; however, onlya small percentage of the survey sample reported on here wouldeliminate the VRA. Although there is hostility expressed aboutfederal government intrusion in local affairs, there is compliancewith the VRA by local election officials. The number of Texassubmissions and U.S. Attorney General objections to electionchanges is sizable when compared with other states covered bythe VRA. Federal objections to some election law changes haveresulted in the election of minority public officials. Texas'Section 5 objections are evidence of a history of voter discrimination.     

Budget reform: The path to reform of process

Budget reforms include reforms of technique and reforms of process. Turbulence in budgetary environment is producing calls for changes in reform of process, but no consensus now exist indicating the next dominant budget reform technique. Modified zero base systems continue to appear at sub-national levels, while calls for reform of the federal Congressional process multiply at the federal level.     

Opposition research: some theories and practice

Abstract. An institution unique to parliamentary systems of government oper-ates within the Canadian House of Commons: a set of research offices serving each of the major opposition party caucuses but financed by public funds under the government's control, The writer, who was the organizing director of the largest of these 'counter-bureaucracies, examines the origins of the institution, delineates the competing role definitions considered for adoption, recounts operating difficulties, and tries to analyse some of the traceable conse- quences for the conduct of parliamentary business and party affairs. While the Research Office makes a discernible impact in a number of secondary dimen- sions, the characteristics of the members of the opposition and of their leader are found to be the major determinants of their parliamentary performance. Sommaire. Une institution qui est unique parmi les systèmes parlementaires de gouvernement fonctionne au sein de la chambre des communes. Il s'agit de bureaux de recherche au service des principaux partis en opposition, mais financés par les fonds publics sous le contrôle du gouvernement. L'auteur qui était directeur-organisateur de la plus grande de ces « bureaucraties parallèes » examine les origines de cette institution, expose les définitions du rôle compétitif considérées pour adoption, explique les difficdtés pratiques et essaie d'analyser quelques-unes des conséquences certaines sur la conduite des affaires parlementaires et de celles des partis. Bien que le bureau de recherche ait une influence indéniable sur un certain nombre de décisions secondaires, c'est le caractère particulier des membres de l'opposition et de leurs chefs qui est I'élément détenninant de leur comportement parlementaire.     

Whatever happened to regionalization? The curious case of Nova Scotia

Abstract: The case of Nova Scotia well illustrates the complexities involved in implementing a strategy of regionalization in health care. In 1996, under the leadership of Liberal Premier John Savage, thirty‐six local hospital boards were amalgamated into four regional health boards. By 2001, however, Conservative Premier John Hamm had expanded the four regions into nine district health authorities. Both measures were justified by explicit references to cost containment and greater accountability, even though the first took numerous units and amalgamated them, while the second took the few units and multiplied them. How can this seeming contradiction be explained, and what does it say about the nature of regionalization as a policy tool for health care? The authors find that neither cost containment nor citizen engagement can explain the system of regionalization which currently informs the health care system in Nova Scotia. Rather, the present form of regionalization exists because it is useful politically in two ways: it maintains the centralization of power that existed previous to the formal decentralization of health care; and it restores the system of representation that existed prior to the implementation of regionalization. The authors conclude that, to understand how regionalization has been implemented in any given jurisdiction, one must pay close attention to the political context in which strategies of regionalization have been executed. Sommaire: Le cas de la Nouvelle‐Écosse illustre bien les complexités inhérentes à la mise en œuvre d'une stratégie de régionalisation dans les soins de santé. En 1996, sous le leadership du Premier ministre libéral John Savage, 36 conseils d'hôpitaux locaux ont fusionné pour former quatre conseils de sante régionaux. En 2001, cependant, le Premier ministre conservateur John Hamm a élargi les quatre régions pour les transformer en neuf conseils de santé de district. Ces deux mesures ont été justifiées par des références explicites à la compression des coûts et à une plus grande imputabilité, même si la première a consistéà prendre de nombreuses unités et à les fusionner, tandis que la seconde a consistéà prendre quelques rares unités et à les multiplier. Comment peut‐on expliquer cette apparente contradiction, et qu'est‐ce que cela nous dit sur la nature de la régionalisation en tant qu'outil de politique en matière de soins de santé? Les auteurs trouvent que ni la compression des coûts, ni la participation des citoyens ne peuvent expliquer le système de régionalisation qui caractérise actuellement le système de soins de santé en Nouvelle‐Écosse. Au contraire, la forme actuelle de régionalisation existe parce qu'elle est politiquement utile de deux manières: elle maintient la centralisation du pouvoir qui existait avant la décentralisation officielle des soins de santé; et elle restaure, jusqu'à un certain point, le système de représentation qui existait avant la mise en œuvre de la régionalisation. Les auteurs concluent que, pour comprendre la manière dont la régionalisation a été mise en œuvre, il faut prêter une grande attention au contexte politique dans lequel ces stratégies de régionalisation ont étéélaborées.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

An exploratory outcome study to investigate the ability of a supervised access and custody exchange center to function as a safe visitation enforcement mechanism of the court was accomplished as part of a larger study investigating child well-being. During a 6-month period of program participation, frequency and consistency of noncustodial parents' access to children dramatically increased and interparental conflict significantly decreased, demonstrating that supervised visitation and custody exchange centers that function in partnership with family court during interim court processes can address the unmet needs of family court and high-conflict domestic disputant as well.