Putting the Resource-Based View of Strategy and Distinctive Competencies to Work in Public Organizations

A key to the success of public organizations is their ability to identify and build capacity, particularly their distinctive competencies, in order to produce the greatest value for key stakeholders. This article grounds this proposition in the resource-based view of organizations and presents a method for identifying and making use of distinctive competencies in the form of a "livelihood scheme"—a business model appropriate for the public sector—that links distinctive competencies to organizational aspirations and goals. The case of a major public sector training and consultancy unit that is part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service is used as illustration. A number of conclusions are offered in the form of a set of propositions tied to the resource-based view and related research issues. The results contribute to both public strategic management theory and practice.     

Wie lässt sich Demokratie am besten messen? Zur Konzeptqualität von Demokratie-Indizes

This article proposes a new instrument for the assessment of the concept quality of democracy indices. We evaluate six famous democracy measurement datasets along our instrument’s requirements and show that the indices perform quite differently: The Index on Defect Democracy receives the best scores, whereas the Freedom House Index gets the worst. In addition, we provide some new insights as to general weaknesses of democracy measurement.     

Competitiveness and Democracy

After reviewing progress in Latin America's economic stabilization and international competitiveness in the last two decades, this essay discusses the current post‐Washington Consensus “social democratic convergence” agenda, which aims to sharpen market efficiency, improve the quality of democratic governance, and advance equity goals by attacking the social deficit. Two illustrative examples, at opposite ends of the development spectrum, are Nicaragua's pro‐CAFTA agenda and Chile's Chile Compete program. More generally, pluralistic democracy can hamper progress by giving veto powers to recalcitrant vested interests; but enlightened political leadership can make gains by combining carefully crafted coalitions, international support, popular pressures, and an attractive ideological message.     

Indigenous Rights,Resistance, and the Law: Lessons from a Guatemalan Mine

Using a case study of a controversial mine in an indigenous area of Guatemala, this article explores the transnational dynamics of development and regulation of large‐scale extractive industry projects in the developing world. It examines the roles played in the Marlin mine dispute by national law, international law, international financial institutions, and corporate social responsibility. It concludes that these legal regimes have a role in protecting human rights but have not addressed the fundamental questions of democratic governance raised by this case.     

Sexual attitudes and behavior of bulimic women: A preliminary investigation

One-hundred and seventeen college-aged women at varying risk for developing bulimia answered a number of questions addressing their attitudes toward and comfort with sexuality as well as their sexual and contraceptive history. Risk for developing bulimia was unrelated to sexual attitudes and weakly related to greater comfort with sexuality. High-risk women reported first engaging in intercourse at earlier ages and were also more likely to engage in risky contraceptive behavior than their lower risk counterparts. Despite their tendency to report a greater number of previous sexual partners, high-risk women currently engaged and expected to continue to engage in sex less frequently than lower risk women. Taken together with previous findings, results suggest that the relationship between risk for bulimia and certain patterns of sexual behavior reflects a general cycle of impulsive and controlling behavior exhibited by high-risk women. Limitations and implications of the present study are discussed.Half-time Editorial Assistant, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. Quarter-time research assistant, University of Kansas. Obtained M.A. and currently working on Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Kansas. Research interests include hope as it relates to personal health beliefs, eating disorders, and sexual attitudes.Obtained Ph.D. in human development from the University of Kansas. Presently studying adolescent pregnancy and parenting.Obtained Ph.D. in behavioral sciences from the University of Chicago. Presently researching item response theory.