International Journal of Public Sector Management

Roland K. Yeo

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772486

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore several key issues on organizational learning and their contributions to theory, practice and policy in public‐sector management in Singapore. It also aims to determine the crucial factors and strategies in the development of organizational learning initiatives as a means of keeping competitive with the rapid changing business environment. Design/methodology/approach – Four representative Singapore public organizations were chosen for this study. A total of 24 organizational learning practitioners, including senior management and human resources personnel, participated in the in‐depth interviewing. Findings – It was found that Singapore's public sector is more concerned with the cognitive and behavioral development of individuals, rather than financial results. Research limitations/implications – Although this study is limited by the single geographical context, it offers direction for further research. Practical implications – Data revealed that: The complexity between different levels of learning can be reduced by understanding specific goals unique to each level; The relationship between learning and performance goes beyond tangible expectations; Reward and recognition is a catalyst for the development of organizational learning; and Dialogue and feedback is crucial to the implementation of organizational learning initiatives. Originality/value – Organizational learning in the public sector has not been comprehensively explored. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of organizational and management issues that have arisen from the recent public sector reform in Singapore. It offers a spectrum of recommendations in feasible terms for both organizational practitioners and researchers.

Cynthia Dereli

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772495

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build on a previous study of strategy in the public sector by Dereli in 2003. In the intervening period the environmental factors influencing local government's approach to strategy have changed considerably, particularly with the government's changed emphasis from best value to comprehensive performance assessment as its methodology for assessing local authorities. The impact of CPA on strategy formation in local authorities is the central focus of this study. The starting point for the research is the question of whether the tension between top‐down and bottom‐up strategy formation which was evident in the earlier study has disappeared, increased or been replaced by other tensions. Design/methodology/approach – The research involved semi‐structured interviews with Chief Executive Officers and middle managers in three smaller local authorities in England. Findings – The research found that living with a top‐down/bottom‐up tension in the creation of strategy is almost a norm, but that there is also evidence of a further tension between strategy making and performance management, from which flow some concerns about the future of strategy in local government. Research limitations/implications – The paper records the views of local government officers, as key participants in the processes of strategy formation in their authorities as valuable evidence in a changing local government scene. The research acknowledges the external factors creating the new set of tensions in local government, which are examined here. It does not seek to examine the relative diachronic impact of these external factors, a piece of work which could usefully explore further the relation between pressures from the centre and local strategy directions. Originality/value – In the present public sector context, where major reforms are on the horizon, the paper records a snapshot of opinion from key participants in strategy formation in three smaller local authorities.

Madhu Ranjan Kumar

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772503

Purpose – This paper seeks to assess the hierarchical tendencies among direct recruit managers, managers promoted from supervisory grade and supervisors in a large bureaucracy in India using an instrument developed in India. Design/methodology/approach – The instrument assesses hierarchy on three dimensions of “tendency for personalized relationship with superiors”, “status consciousness with superiors” and “dependence on superiors”. Findings – The paper concludes that in the Indian bureaucracy, 15 years of liberalization and more than 50 years of democracy have not brought about differential hierarchical tendencies between younger employees who joined the bureaucracy less than two years ago, and older employees who joined the bureaucracy roughly 25 years ago. Employees in Indian bureaucracy continue to be dependent on their superiors and continue to be conscious of the status of their superiors. However, they do not feel the necessity of developing a personalised relationship with their superiors. Further, employees exposed to higher managerial responsibilities are less dependent on their superiors and less conscious of the status of their superiors than employees exposed to supervisor level responsibilities. Practical implications – The paper provides empirical evidence to managers dealing with Indian bureaucracy about which dimensions of hierarchy need to be carefully handled by them. It also indicates the extent to which the Indian bureaucrats will be amenable to participative management practices espoused in the West. Originality/value – The paper makes an in‐depth empirical study of the well‐established hierarchical nature of Indians in an Indian bureaucracy. Thereby, this paper identifies the specific dimensions of hierarchy that are still prevalent in the Indian bureaucracy.

Roger Wettenhall

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772512

Purpose – There are two connected purposes: to reflect on the widespread current use and abuse of the term “public‐private partnership”, and to present a case study of an unusual joint venture associating a public and a private enterprise in delivering a multi‐utility service in the Canberra region of Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The article combines the case study method with a review of relevant discourse about PPPs. Findings – On the case study evidence presented, the article concludes that this joint venture comes much closer to being a genuine public‐private partnership than many arrangements loosely described as PPPs today. Practical implications – The article invites the practitioner/academic community to think more precisely about the factors that need to be considered before it is appropriate to claim that a PPP exists. Originality/value – The joint venture that is the subject of this case study has not previously been analysed in this way. The article suggests that it has value in serving as a model for the development of better thinking about PPPs.

Hannu Rantanen; Harri I. Kulmala; Antti Lönnqvist; Paula Kujansivu

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772521

Purpose – This paper aims to identify the specific problems faced by the Finnish public sector organizations in designing and implementing performance measurement systems (PMS). Design/methodology/approach – An understanding of the problems is obtained by examining three case organizations in practice. In order to support the analysis of the empirical findings, a review of prior literature on the private and public sector PMSs is carried out. Findings – The design and implementation processes in the Finnish public sector organizations differ significantly from the way they are realized in industrial private sector companies. The four underlying reasons for problems in public sector organizations are the following: there are many stakeholders with conflicting needs; the end products and goals are undefined; there is a lack of property ownership and lacking management skills. Practical implications – By utilizing the results of the study, PMS design and implementation in the public sector can be carried out by taking into account and avoiding the evident pitfalls introduced in the study. Originality/value – A large portion of the prior research on public sector PMSs consists of surveys and conceptual studies. This paper describes three case studies and reveals new insights into the specific challenges faced by public sector organizations, especially in designing and implementing PMSs.

W. Hunter; M. Lumbers; M. Raats; The Food in Later Life Project Team

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772530

Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify the methods used by providers to evaluate their food services and identify elements of their service that would benefit from adopting a benchmarking system. Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews were conducted with 26 food services providers and key informants in day‐care settings in Surrey. Findings – Few providers formally evaluated their service provision and most had not considered benchmarking their services against other food service providers. Factors such as food variety, food quality, cost and environment have been identified as issues that could be benchmarked and may benefit from the adoption of this process. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted only in one country – in the UK – further research is needed into the evaluation practices of other local authorities. The benchmarking model that has been developed by the authors needs to be applied in a food service setting to establish its usefulness to food service managers. Practical implications – A model has been developed from the outcome of this research, which could aid evaluation processes for food service providers to identify aspects of the service in need of improvement. Originality/value – There has been little research conducted on the evaluation of food service provision for older people, especially for congregate meals. This paper provides a model, that food service providers may find useful, to identify areas of their food services that are suitable for benchmarking.

Colin Knox; Zhang Qun

2007 International Journal of Public Sector Management

doi: 10.1108/09513550710772549

Purpose – Legislative hearings are a relatively new way of encouraging citizen participation in administrative law making within China. The first such hearing in Liaoning Province (Dalian City) was held in April 2005. The purpose of this paper is to examine the detail of the hearing process and attempts to assess its effectiveness as a mechanism for engagement between citizen and the state. Design/methodology/approach – The authors consider both the practicalities of running a public hearing and its influence on the legal regulations under scrutiny. More generally, and within the limits of one case study, we consider whether hearings have the potential to shift the balance of power away from the state and its officials towards a more inclusive form of decision‐making. Findings – Legislative public hearings appear to offer the opportunity for public engagement. The out‐workings of these in practice, if the Dalian case study and secondary evidence from five other Chinese cities is typical, suggests practical limitations, some of which are bound up with the cultural origins of a paternalistic public sector in China and deference to authority. Originality/value – This paper examines whether citizen participation has been influenced by the wider global reform process of new public management and modernisation, synonymous with developed countries and offers insight into a more inclusive form of decision making for other public services.