Exploring the limits of institutional change: The direct election of mayors in Western Europe

The process of local institutional reform that different Western European countries underwent starting in the 1990s converged towards the direct election of mayors in Italy, England, Austria and Germany. Using a comparative analysis of those countries and including in it Belgium and the Netherlands (where the introduction of directly elected mayors is planned) and Greece and Portugal (with a long tradition of it), the article examines why countries with such different municipal traditions have tended towards the same institutional solution. The answer runs through the text implicitly: the institutional tradition of each country appears to have a greater capacity for explaining the outcome of the reform rather than isomorphism in the introduction of the direct election of mayors.     

A Bibliography About a Changed Federal Government Workplace

Abstract

This bibliography contains more than 130 hand picked sources that address change in the Federal government workplace, including articles and books by academics and practitioners and reports by Federal agencies including the General Accounting Office and the Office of Personnel management, as well as Congress. The introduction to the bibliography draws on the expertise of three well known authorities in the field, as well as the authors' of the bibliography.     

Privatising Local Public Services: Between Industrial Legacy and Political Ambition

Since the 1980s, research on the privatisation of local services has analysed the factors affecting government's delivery choices; but this research has not given unanimous results, for reasons connected both to the different methodologies adopted and the dynamic nature of privatisation processes. This article introduces the case of Italian water services reform, drawing attention to the economic and political dynamics that make privatisation an extremely complex choice, in which the preferences of politicians have to be balanced with industrial heritage and the strategies of the utilities. By privileging a historical analysis of the conditions in which such choices take place, it is possible to grasp the changing relations between local governments and utilities and to look at the relative power of firms, citizens and governments in the process of service delivery choice.     

The case for ‘face-time’ in a computer-mediated global economy

Abstract

The structuring of marketing and communication management within key organisations in South Africa is changing. These changes are affecting the relationship between marketing and communication practitioners, as well as the key tasks they are responsible for within the organisation. Globally, companies are downsizing, restructuring and eliminating hierarchy. This article investigates how key South African companies have responded to these changes, by looking at how the marketing and communication functions are structured within the organisation. Marketing and communication managers from top South African companies were interviewed telephonically. Findings from the study indicate that the two functions are progressively moving towards an integrated approach. However, a commonly agreed organisational structure is still not pervasive. Each organisation structured the marketing and communication functions differently, and various perspectives existed on the key tasks of both marketing and communication managers. From these findings, it is evident that the relationship between marketing and communication, as well as the role and tasks of marketing and communication managers, is still very diverse in the South African context.     

Introduction: South Africa's multiple languages in a shifting media environment

Abstract

The global South, as the collective for the peripheries of mainstream development is known, is often regarded as merely a beneficiary of Northern-borne notions in the field of organisational communication. The problem is that the Southern context and circumstance do not always mirror those of the North, meaning that these dominant, revered theories are not necessarily applicable. One Southern context is that of the South African mining and construction industries, which is seen as notoriously dangerous, plagued by various obstacles to internal organisational communication (such as illiteracy and diversity), and what Le Roux and Naudé (2009, 29) refer to as ‘historical baggage’. The research question of this article is whether congenital Northern communication theories can be adequately incorporated into the unique global South, in order to fulfil the important task of communicating safety information to employees. The article explores the appropriate implementation of the principles of the excellence theory, the stakeholder theory as well as the relationship management theory, and the research methodology includes interviews, focus groups and quantitative questionnaires at two organisations. The result of the empirical research is the amalgamation and reworking of these theories’ principles into a model for internal safety communication applicable to the South.     

试论我国深化乡镇管理体制改革的目标

明确当今中国深化乡镇管理体制改革的体制性目标,在当前不仅是乡镇机构改革探索中亟待解答的一个重大而现实的命题,而且是全面深化农村综合改革所要迫切完成的一项基础性与根本性任务,更是新农村建设整体推进的必然诉求。为此,本文提出了我国深化乡镇管理体制改革的基本目标与核心目标之范畴,即重构公共管理体制与公共领导体制。     

我国公立大学组织管理的逻辑基础分析

作为社会组织的一种类型,公立大学具有明显的社会公共性质,但也具有遵循教育客观发展规律的学术本位特殊性质。本文从组织管理的逻辑起点出发发现:学科目录逻辑、问题导向逻辑和单位治理逻辑是我国公立大学组织管理的现实逻辑基础,并可汇集为政治逻辑的综合,这在一定程度上偏离了大学组织学术本位的原则,不利于公立大学按照高等教育发展规律以提升大学的学术创新能力,需要从基于认识论的学术逻辑出发,反思与重构多样性、自组织的学术组织管理及其治理机制,改革相应的管理体制。     

中美政府人事管理价值的历史演进与比较分析

价值的进路是深入到政府人事管理内核的必由之路。美国政府人事管理价值的历史演进体现了政治回应、道德主义、效率、个人权利、专业的职业化、社会公平等价值,其发展趋势是维护传统理念、加强管理弹性和以结果为本。中国政府人事管理价值的历史演进体现了宗族主义、政治回应、道德主义、公平竞争、分权等价值,其发展趋势主要是法治主义、效率和分权。美国和中国在政府人事管理价值历史演进和发展趋势上呈现了许多共同点和差异。     

政府公共服务外包中的风险管理研究

政府公共服务外包是创新公共服务体制机制、构建高效服务型政府的一种重要方式,也是政府体制改革的重要内容。本文在对政府公共服务外包内涵进行界定的基础上,以公共服务外包中的风险管理作为研究对象,结合交易成本理论和信息经济学的相关理论,从风险主体、风险客体和风险因素三方面对公共服务外包中的风险进行了较为系统地分析,提出了政府公共服务外包风险管理策略,以期推动公共服务外包的成功运作,提升公共服务质量。     

学校应急管理:特点、机制和策略

学校突发事件作为公共应急管理的一个特殊领域,与其它领域相比有一定的特殊性。以往的应急管理研究对学校的特点重视不够,导致应急管理实践效果不很理想。本文分析了学校突发事件所具有的时段性、情绪性、脆弱性、连带性以及责任先定性等特点,提出了学校突发事件应急管理的基本原则,在此基础上研究了学校应急管理的一般要求,并从校园自然灾害、校园安全事故、学校多发事件三类学校突发事件分别提出了应对的机制和策略。