Public sector leadership‐subordinate ethical diffusion conundrum: perspectives from developing African countries

The interaction between organizational superiors and their subordinates has a practical implication on the entire organizational life cycle in terms of ethical conduct. This study explores how ethics among public leadership could trickle down on the conduct of public employees by using two empirical cases from developing African countries context. Using the attraction–selection–attrition and social learning models, the study assesses how superiors influence street level bureaucrats' interaction with clients or customers. Drawing from existing cases and other secondary data, we propose a leadership‐ethical diffusion model that argues that subordinates' perception and experience of superiors' behavior tend to create a kind of organizational ‘ethical groupthink’, which spans the rank and file of the organization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国家建构主义法治的理论逻辑——一个法政治学的论说

国家建构主义法治表征着法治进程中对建构理性和国家权威的倚重,具体是指在坚持党的领导的大原则下,以国家治理体系与治理能力现代化为目标,基于国家(权力)自上而下建构法治模式。国家建构主义法治的现实语境是:以中国共产党为轴心的意识形态基础;集中力量办大事的行动策略;党委领导下的多元一体治理格局。高度复杂的社会治理是需要全社会各个功能子系统之间的结构耦合所进行的治理,系统间通过党委的领导予以协调。中国共产党领导的合法性基础应当由绩效合法性向法理合法性转型,中国共产党的自我认知相应地应当由革命型政党向法治型政党转变。国家建构主义法治在具体操作过程中的"两账本"方式还带有一些人治的色彩和政治任务的味道,但客观上起到了督促下级政府快速形成"法无授权不可为"的心理强制作用。国家建构主义法治不排斥社会和个人的协同参与,三者形成了结构和功能上的共轭。国家建构主义法治在未来较长一段时间还会是中国法治发展的基本道路选择。     

城中村改造中的政府责任论

城中村改造涉及各种利益冲突,事关社会经济生活的有序运行,人民权利的实现;危及公众的切身利益、公共利益和公共安全;影响城市的发展、和谐与稳定。因此,在城中村改造中必须确立政府责任。人民主权原则是政府责任确立的理论基础,城中村改造市场存在着市场缺陷与市场失灵,需要政府"看得见的手"进行干预是政府责任确立的客观要求。城中村改造面临的困境是政府责任确立的现实诉求,政府主导是政府责任实现方式的集中体现,尽快制定和出台《城中村改造法》是政府责任确立的路径选择。     

充分发挥群团组织在我国社会建设中的作用——以工会组织为例

群团组织是党联系群众的桥梁和纽带，在推进社会建设中发挥着重要而独特的作用。党的十八 大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央高度重视社会建设。本研究以工会组织为例分析指出，群团组织参与社 会建设有利于发挥党在推进社会建设中的统领作用，有利于落实以人民为中心的社会建设理念，有利于贯彻依 法治国方略、提高社会建设的法治化水平。群团组织参与社会建设的主要任务，包括在保障和改善民生中发挥 补充作用、促进共同富裕的实现，在维权和化解矛盾中发挥协商协调作用、推进社会公平正义等。基于此，研 究建议要以改革创新精神提升群团组织参与社会建设的能力：强化维权服务职责，增强参与的主动性和时效性； 加快智慧工会建设，创新参与方式；努力维护劳动领域政治安全，牢牢把握住工会参与的底线；加强基层工会 建设，壮大参与力量。     

Leadership skills for regulators

Regulation plays a vital role in reducing harms and promoting public order. However, regulatory reform has been likened to painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it never ends. Coupling this reality with the increasing array of areas requiring regulation, there is an acute need for regulators to become more effective in how they work. We discuss the leadership skills needed to ensure regulators consistently contribute to the creation of public value.

Points for practitioners

• Regulators can be more effective when they appreciate their authorising environment and the factors which make that environment dynamic.
• Careful calibration of enforcement practices to the capabilities of those being regulated can reduce conflicts and improve outcomes.
• Regulators with good communication skills can do much to resolve apparently intractable disputes.

     

Reflective and decisive supervision: The role of participative leadership and team climate in joint decision-making

Supervisory bodies can intervene in organizational practices that may harm society, but their effectiveness to do so depends on their ability to make decisions reflectively and decisively. Are these tendencies incompatible with each other or can they go together? Can empowering leadership (i.e. participative, coaching, informing behaviors) stimulate reflectiveness and decisiveness? A 10-item Joint Decision-Making Questionnaire was developed and tested among supervisory officers (N = 87) and supervisory board members (N = 158). Reflectiveness and decisiveness were positively correlated, indicating that these tendencies can be reconciled in joint decision-making (Study 1). An examination of 44 supervisory teams further revealed that participative leadership relates to more reflectiveness and decisiveness, via cooperative trust and goal commitment (Study 2). Moreover, teams that experienced this team climate prior to COVID-19 reported that they acted more reflectively and decisively during this crisis (Study 3). Hence, participative leaders can foster reflectiveness and decisiveness, by promoting cooperative trust and goal commitment.     

中国特色社会主义制度建设的伟大工程

党的十九届四中全会通过的《中共中央关于坚持和完善中国特色社会主义制度、推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化若干重大问题的决定》,是一个关系党和国家长治久安的中国特色社会主义制度建设伟大工程,在党的历史上具有独特性和唯一性,具有里程碑意义。它构筑了党和国家长治久安制度建设的基本框架。党的领导制度体系建设是中国特色社会主义制度体系中最根本的制度建设。中国特色社会主义制度的"众星捧月"格局是相互衔接、相互联系的制度体系。目前的关键是加强干部队伍建设,不断提高领导干部的执政能力和治理水平。     

The role of authentic leadership on healthcare Street-Level Bureaucrats’ well-being during the pandemic

This study uses Conservation of Resources Theory, to explain Street-Level Bureaucrats’ (SLBs) workplace behavioural responses to threats to their well-being. We examine whether authentic leadership within street-level organisations positively impacts employee well-being by increasing SLBs’ perception of personal resources, and reducing their perceptions of work harassment. The research design comprises a survey that solicited quantitative and qualitative data from 163 healthcare SLBs working in Australian hospitals during the pandemic in April 2020. Analysis of the means indicates low levels of satisfaction with leadership and low levels of well-being for SLBs. The structural equation modelling findings show that poor leadership is associated with higher levels of work harassment and lower levels of employee well-being. Qualitative data support these findings. As healthcare workers were already listed as over-represented in the stress-related workers compensation statistics, one strategy may be to improve the level of organisational support by upskilling managers in authentic leadership behaviours with the aim of increasing their perception of support so as to increase employee well-being. This will benefit employees and their families, and the community they service.

Points for practitioners

• Street-Level Bureaucrats (SLBs) have been increasingly experiencing the public sector gap (demand outstripping supply of resources) because of the dominance of the austerity-driven managerialist paradigm.
• The recent COVID-19 crisis amplified the severity and impact of the public sector gap causing increased perceptions of work harassment and reductions in SLBs’ well-being.
• However, SLBs with high levels of Psychological Capital had a natural buffer in place to protect their well-being, and as such, they perceived less work harassment and erosion of their well-being.
• The way forward is to complement the austerity-driven managerialist paradigm in management decision-making with authentic leadership behaviours focused on maximising the well-being of SLBs and the public.