Power Dynamics in an Experimental Game

We introduce a new experimental method for studying power. Drawing from multiple theoretical perspectives, we conceptualize power as relational and structural, as well as comprised of different forms through which basic human needs can be met. Thus, the method we introduce examines how, when faced with a particular need, people use multiple forms of power concurrently and within a “field of influence,” namely, the other players in a game. This enabled us to examine how one form of power is transformed into another and how power is transferred from one player to another through interaction, as well as to measure power as behavior, as the exercise of choice, as potential, and as outcomes. Two experiments using egalitarian start conditions and a survivable ecology demonstrated that participants used power to gain more power, creating inequality. Being the target of force made some players unable to “survive” in the local ecology. Theoretical and methodological issues in the study of power are discussed and the application of our game method to the study of power in other fields is considered.     

Administrative reform in the federal public service: the first faltering steps

Abstract. This paper is complementary to one by H. L. Laframboise published previously in Canadian Public Administration (14, no. 3, fall 1971, pp. 305–25), ‘Administrative reform in the federal public service: signs of a saturation psychosis.’ Where Laframboise stresses the serious concerns that have arisen on the part of many managers over an accumulation of initiatives in administrative reform and seems generally to be advocating that we slow down the pace of such reform, the position taken here is that in our managerial practices we are very seriously below the level required to handle the enormous and complex demands facing the federal public service and therefore must attend far more energetically to administrative reform, albeit more expertly. The paper identifies four key needs to be met in managing public organizations effectively, and treats each of these in some detail: placing men and women of appropriate managerial mind and bent in managerial positions; identifying, developing and using appropriately the growing range of managerial support specialties; facing up to and countering the insularity that seems to afflict even the best of managers; and assuming a managerial approach suited to the dynamic nature of what Warren Bennis has termed ‘the temporary society.’ The paper concludes with a discussion of managing as a set of paradoxes. Sommaire. Cet article traite du même sujet qu'un autre article que publiait dans I'ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA (14, no 3, automne 1971, pp. 303–25) par H. L. Laframboise, intitulé“Administrative reform in the federal public service: signs of a saturation psychosis”. Alors que Laframboise soulignait les préscupations sérieuses de plusieurs administrateus devant le grand nombre d'initiatives en matière de réforme administrative et semblait préconiser de façon générale le ralentissement du rythme de cette réforme, l'on soutient ici que nos méthodes de estion sont bien loin de pouvoir répondre aux exigences nombreuses et compexes de la fonction publique féérale, et que partant, nous devons poursuivre la réforme administrative de façon beaucoup plus dynamique et plus experte. L'article détermine quatre exigences primordiales de la gestion efficace des administrations publiques et traite chacune d'elles en détail:affecter à des postes de gestion des hommes et femmes d'esprit et de tendance idoines; déterminer, établir et employer à bon escient l'éventail de plus en plus vaste des spécialités du soutien administratif; combattre la tendance que semblent avoir les meilleurs de nos gestionnaires de se renfermer dans leur coquille; adopter une méthode de gestion adaptée à la nature dynamique de ce que Warren Bennis appelle “la société temporaire”. L'article se termine en assimilant le processus de gestion à une série de paradoxes.     

Stressors, coping resources and strategies, and police stress in South Korea

The present article extends prior research to identify the predictors of police stress from work place problems, the resources available through social support, different strategies for coping with stress, and conditions unique to policing in South Korea. The unique conditions are perceived public perception of police and attitudes towards women working outside of the home. Seven hundred officers were asked to participate in the research, and 686 did participate (96 percent response rate). Almost half of the variance in stress could be explained. Reports of being ridiculed and “set up” in dangerous situations, and to a lesser extent, lack of support from superiors and perceived disrespect from the public, were salient predictors of stress. Coping strategies did not moderate the associations between stressors and stress. Findings were interpreted in relation to collectivist culture and possible points of intervention.     

Bio-Kraftstoff,Nachhaltigkeit, Boden- und Naturschutz

Zusammenfassung  Um ihr Klimapaket und die damit verbundenen Ziele im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energien umzusetzen, hat die Europ?ische Kommission eine Richtlinie zur F?rderung der Nutzung von Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen vorgeschlagen. Um den Richtlinienentwurf rankt sich – auch noch zur Zeit – eine breite noch nicht abgeschlossene Diskussion, in deren Rahmen unter anderem Bedenken gegen die F?rderung von Energiepflanzen, die als nachhaltig deklariert wird, ge?u?ert werden, da blühende Kulturlandschaften dadurch verschandelt werden. Der Beitrag besch?ftigt sich mit der politischen und rechtlichen Diskussion des Richtlinien-Entwurfs.     

Engage Them through Emotions: Exploring the Role of Emotional Intelligence in Public Sector Engagement

The public administration literature has demonstrated the valuable impact of employees' engagement on public service. However, studies conventionally deal with engagement as a unidimensional construct, with few explanations for its evolution. To promote knowledge in this arena, the authors propose public sector engagement (PSE) as a multidimensional construct, comprising social responsibility, work engagement, and organizational citizenship behaviors at the individual level. The authors develop and examine a set of hypotheses proposing that PSE may be augmented by enhancing civil servants' emotional intelligence (EI) as well as their supervisors' EI. Using a two‐study multimethod approach (i.e., an experiment and a survey), the authors identify employees' and managers' high EI as a critical resource in enhancing PSE. The article concludes by theoretically framing the findings using the job demands‐resources model and illuminating the practical value to public service of better selection and training of high‐EI employees and managers.     

Is a problem shared a problem halved? Shared services and municipal efficiency

It has long been argued that shared services represent an efficacious means of securing efficiencies for municipalities. Indeed, pressures from fiscal austerity, taxation limitations, and the specter of forced amalgamations have resulted in an increasing uptake of shared service arrangements. However, the extant evidence is rather inconclusive and is largely restricted to analyzing the nett efficiency outcomes for the specific service shared. We broaden this evidential base by examining the association between shared service production and the efficiency of entire municipalities. Our analysis, employing a 5‐year panel of data, suggests that shared services are associated with a statistically significant reduction in overall municipal efficiency. We conclude by explicating on the public policy implications arising from our prima facie surprising results.     

An application of innovation theory to the strategy of administrative reform in developing countries

Conscious pursuit of public goals is the essence of public policymaking. Policy process involves among other things activating and mobilizing various administrative elements such as authority, structure, resources, procedures, and relations. Rationality requires that these elements become continuously restructured, revamped, and realigned in order to maximize the goal effectiveness of policy. The effort to gear administrative elements to the achievement of deliberate policy goals is administrative reform. This is a continuous and prevasive process.Now the crux of administrative reform is innovation, that is, injection of new ideas and new people in new combinations of tasks and relationships into the policy and administration process. This is, however, not an automatic process. It requires strategy in order to facilitate its adoption and diffusion throughout the public organization.The purpose of this paper is to examine the relevance of innovation theory to administration in developing countries in general and administrative reform in particular and then to devise a heuristic matrix of administrative reform strategy that brings to the fore innovational leadership and environmental factors.