Risk in Private Finance Initiative Projects::A Public Sector Perspective

The management of public sector risk is increasingly seen as a priority area of UK government policy. This has been highlighted recently by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown who stated that “the issue of public risk is one of the most challenging areas of policy-making for any government” (Strategic Risk, 2008). In response to these challenges, the UK Prime Minister has appointed a new body - the Risk and Regulation Advisory Council (RRAC) which is tasked with improving the way risk to the public is understood and managed. One area of particular concern with regard to the governance of public sector risks involves projects procured via the Private Finance Initiative (PFI). These projects involve long-term contracts, complex multi-party interactions and thus create various risks to public sector clients. Today, most PFI actors acknowledge the potentially adverse effects of these risks and make an effort to prevent or mitigate undesirable results. As a consequence, issues of risk allocation, risk transfer and risk management have become central to the PFI procurement process. This paper provides an overview of the risk categories and risk types which are relevant to the public sector in PFI projects. It analyses risk as a feature of uncertain future project-related events and examines potential pitfalls which can be associated with PFI risk management on the basis of a case study of a high-profile PFI hospital in Scotland. The paper concludes that, despite the trend towards diminished risk profiles during the operational phase, the public sector continues to be exposed to significant risks when engaging in PFI-based procurement.

“Paths for Action”: Leadership Theory and Practice in Complex Public Sector Systems

The nature and challenges of public sector leadership and management are examined in four case studies of project management in complex metropolitan environments. The cases selected by the authors as representative of contextual factors affecting decision-making processes and project outcomes. Drawing on recent theoretical work on complex leadership approaches (Uhl-Bein et al 2007, Hazy 2008, Lichtenstein & Plowman 2009), the authors assess leadership practices enacted and the circumstances that influence these practices. Leadership types theorized by Uhl-Bein et al (2007) are identified operating at different levels and across networks, with contextual factors outlined. The article concludes with a framework for leadership practice and management identifying network facilitation and complexity friendly tools as a practice within complex public sector systems.

Institutional Hybridity in Public Sector Reform: Replacement, Blending, or Layering of Administrative Paradigms

Despite an abundance of studies on hybridization and hybrid forms of organizing, scholarly work has failed to distinguish consistently between specific types of hybridity. As a consequence, the analytical category has become blurred and lacks conceptual clarity. Our paper discusses hybridity as the simultaneous appearance of institutional logics in organizational contexts, and differentiates the parallel co-existence of logics from transitional combinations (eventually leading to the replacement of a logic) and more robust combinations in the form of layering and blending. While blending refers to hybridity as an ‘amalgamate’ with original components that are no longer discernible, the notion of layering conceptualizes hybridity in a way that the various elements, or clusters thereof, are added on top of, or alongside, each other, similar to sediment layers in geology. We illustrate and substantiate such conceptual differentiation with an empirical study of the dynamics of public sector reform. In more detail, we examine the parliamentary discourse around two major reforms of the Austrian Federal Budget Law in 1986 and in 2007/2009 in order to trace administrative (reform) paradigms. Each of the three identified paradigms manifests a specific field-level logic with implications for the state and its administration: bureaucracy in Weberian-style Public Administration, market-capitalism in New Public Management, and democracy in New Public Governance. We find no indication of a parallel co-existence or transitional combination of logics, but hybridity in the form of robust combinations. We explore how new ideas fundamentally build on – and are made resonant with – the central bureaucratic logic in a way that suggests layering rather than blending. The conceptual findings presented in our article have implications for the literature on institutional analysis and institutional hybridity.

Managing the Entanglement: Complexity Leadership in Public Sector Systems

Abstract
Complexity and environmental uncertainty in public sector systems requires leaders to balance the administrative practices necessary to be aligned and efficient in the management of routine challenges, and the adaptive practices required to respond to complex and dynamic circumstances. Conventional notions of leadership in the field of public administration do not fully explain the role of leadership in enabling and balancing the entanglement of formal, top-down, administrative functions and informal, emergent, adaptive functions within public sector settings with different levels of complexity. Drawing on and extending existing complexity leadership constructs, this paper explores how change was enabled over the duration of three urban regeneration projects, each representing high, medium and low levels of project complexity. The data reveals six distinct yet interconnected functions of enabling leadership that were identified within the three urban regeneration projects. The paper contributes to our understanding of how leadership is enacted and poses questions for those engaged in leading in complex public sector settings.

Serving Multiple Masters: Exploring HRD in the Context of Third Sector Partnerships for Public Service Delivery

Organisations in the Non-Profit and Voluntary (NPV) sector increasingly face challenging and uncertain times with an increasing shift from public grant funding towards contract funding. As a result many of these changes employees in such organisations have often found themselves working more closely under contract with colleagues in public sector organisations in order to provide public services. Using a multiple case study methodology and in-depth interviewing of a range of stakeholders form two large Northern Irish based Non Profit Organisations in the social care sector, the purpose of this research was to
investigate HRD and people management issues and how a turbulent environment can affect how organisations approach HRD strategy and implementation.

The research identifies the importance placed upon NPOs adopting HRD strategies and addressing the development of unique and specialised skills in order to claw back power within the relationships they serve with statutory funding bodies. However this research also notes that the manner in which HRD and its associated issues are considered within NPOs can have an impact on the loyalty and commitment of the workforce which serves them. What is of concern is that the context for the delivery of public services under contract is putting increasing strain on NPOs and this has been felt markedly by their respective workforces, and unless strong values-led leadership and managerial practice is in
place in NPOs, the voluntary-centred ethos of those who work in the sector may be significantly damaged.

Is the public healthcare sector a more strenuous working environment than the private sector for a physician?

Aims: The present study examined the differences between physicians working in public and private health care in strenuous working environments (presence of occupational hazards, physical violence, and presenteeism) and health behaviours (alcohol consumption, body mass index, and physical activity). In addition, we examined whether gender or age moderated these potential differences. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data were compiled on 1422 female and 948 male randomly selected physicians aged 25-65 years from The Finnish Health Care Professionals Study. Logistic regression and linear regression analyses were used with adjustment for gender, age, specialisation status, working time, managerial position, and on-call duty. Results: Occupational hazards, physical violence, and presenteeism were more commonly reported by physicians working in the public sector than by their counterparts in the private sector. Among physicians aged 50 years or younger, those who worked in the public sector consumed more alcohol than those who worked in the private sector, whereas in those aged 50 or more the reverse was true. In addition, working in the private sector was most strongly associated with lower levels of physical violence in those who were older than 50 years, and with lower levels of presenteeism among those aged 40-50 years. Conclusions: The present study found evidence for the public sector being a more strenuous work environment for physicians than the private sector. Our results suggest that public healthcare organisations should pay more attention to the working conditions of their employees.

The Impact of the Recent Economic Recession on the NEC Contract in Northern Ireland: A Preliminary Study

In comparison to the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) the Northern Irish Construction Industry was disproportionately affected by the recent economic recession. During this period, use of the New Engineering Contract (NEC) has proliferated in the public sector, however no study has been undertaken to examine the impact of the recession on this contract in Northern Ireland. The aim of this paper is to explore NEC contract implementation in Northern Ireland and the impact of the recession on its operation. A qualitative methodology is adopted using a literature review and semi structured interviews with six construction professionals. A qualitative analysis identifies themes and issues arising exploring connections and links between them using thematic coding. The initial findings are that the introduction of the NEC contract in Northern Ireland makes demands of contractors and consultants in terms of additional resources and training. Some consultants show a clear lack of understanding of the contract and its provisions. Whilst there is general agreement that the contract does help to stimulate good project management, the interviewees find the contract time consuming and complicated to administer, describing it as “unforgiving for the architect and unforgiving to the contractor.” Due to the impact of the recession, both contractors and consultants are still reporting a drop in income from pre-recession levels. Project resourcing levels have dropped significantly since the onset of the recession. Adversarial and opportunistic behaviour has increased. Many consultants and contractors are struggling to adequately administer the NEC contract at current income levels. The introduction of the NEC contract and the economic recession have exerted opposing forces on the implementation of the contract, hindering its execution. As the pressures exerted by the economic recession abate and a greater understanding of the contract develops, these opposing forces will ease leading to a more consistent implementation of the contract.

The Impact of the Recent Economic Recession on the operation of the NEC Contract in Northern Ireland

In May 2006, the NEC contract was introduced as the preferred contract for Northern Ireland public sector works. This was subsequently followed by the 2007 economic crash and ensuing recession, which continues to affect the Northern Ireland Construction Industry, to a greater extent than the remainder of the United Kingdom (UK). However, use of the NEC contract has increased during this period, particularly in the public sector. There has been debate in the literature regarding the impact of the NEC contract on adversarial behaviour, but little consideration of the impact of external economic factors on the use of the NEC contract. Using a sequential mixed method approach, the study aims to fill this gap in knowledge, through examination of the impact the economic downturn has had on the operation of the NEC contract in Northern Ireland. Qualitative and quantitative findings show that the demands placed by the NEC contract, and the effects of the economic recession, have exerted opposing forces contract implementation, thus hindering its execution. The findings can lead to a deeper understanding, in the context of both industry and academia, of situations where a lack of resources may negatively impact the operation of the NEC contract.

Examining architects' performance in Nigeria private and public sectors building projects

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine and compare the performance of architects with respect to clients' rating of importance over a set of performance criteria in Nigerian public and private sector building projects. Design/methodology/approach – A survey involving clients from both public and private sectors of recently completed building projects in Nigeria was undertaken. Data analysis includes comparing similarities and differences using standardised ratio, Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. Findings – The results show that private sector clients are likely to be more concerned with cost, while public sector clients are more concerned with buildability of design. A total of 79 per cent of the criteria were similarly selected by both sectors with respect to importance of the criteria. Architects need to improve their performance significantly in about 82 per cent of the whole set of 28 criteria. The architects performed better in the public sector than the private sector and 14 per cent of the criteria were indicated as being statistically different in terms of architects' performance. Originality/value – The results provide feedback which can be incorporated in architects' future projects so as to ensure successful project implementation in the building delivery process.

Do environmental and task characteristics matter in the control of externalized local public services? Unveiling the relevance of party characteristics and citizens’ offstage voice

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms adopted by cities to control the provision of externalized public services and to explore the determinants of such control choices.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the results of a multiple case study based on the experiences of three cities and three public services (transport, solid waste collection and home care services for the elderly), where control mechanisms and their possible antecedents were analyzed.

Findings: The results show that the control models found in the cases analyzed do not correspond to the "pure" patterns described in the private sector literature and that the factors identified by management control contributions do not seem to be exhaustive in explaining the configuration of control systems in the public sector. While environmental and task characteristics only partially explain the adoption of certain configurations of control, the features of the control systems seem to be rather influenced by variables that are related to party characteristics.

Originality/value: The paper shows that the combinations of control mechanisms are more multifaceted than those presented in the literature, and that the factors identified in the private sector literature do not seem to explain comprehensively the configuration of control systems in the public sector. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.