Determinants of the Design and Use of PMS in Portuguese Government Agencies: A Complementary Theoretical Approach

Performance measurement is seen as a main pillar of public management reforms. However, prior research did not mitigate the level of ambiguity on PMS development and use and many questions left unanswered. Our findings provide knowledge on the design and use of PMS in the public sector answer- ing to calls for a complementary approach among institutional and contingency factors. The authors find that the design of PMS and the use of performance information for external purposes are increased to legitimate the organizational’ work and to obtain external support. Moreover, structural variables such as type of agency and management autonomy are also determinants on the organizational responses. Finally, the authors find some coupling between the design of PMS and outcomes. So, both contingent and institutional approaches play an important role on the empirical model.

A simplificação administrativa nos processos de obras particulares: a perceção e a realidade dos procedimentos de comunicação prévia

Com base no movimento da New Public Management (NPM) têm sido introduzidas alterações na Administração Pública com vista a uma gestão racional e eficiente e voltada para a satisfação do cidadão, implicando uma mudança do papel tradicional do Estado que de prestador de serviços, passa a regulador desses mesmos serviços. Também, em Portugal, principalmente a partir de 2005 (no XVII Governo Constitucional), se tem vindo a assistir a um impulso na reforma da Administração Pública, designadamente através do Programa Simplex, cujo objetivo é a simplificação administrativa e legislativa. Para esse efeito, foram introduzidas diversas alterações legislativas, entre as quais a alteração dada pela Lei n.º 60/2007, de 4 de setembro, ao Decreto-Lei n.º 555/99, de 16 de dezembro, que estabelece o Regime Jurídico da Urbanização e Edificação (RJUE), visando a simplificação dos procedimentos relativos ao controlo prévio das operações urbanísticas. É neste contexto que a figura da comunicação prévia passa a assumir um papel preponderante, como um instrumento de gestão urbanística mais célere, implicando uma diminuição do controlo preventivo por parte da Administração e reforçando a fiscalização a posteriori bem como a responsabilização dos intervenientes. Tendo como suporte a revisão da literatura e o estudo empírico abrangendo os Municípios de Esposende, Póvoa de Varzim e Vila do Conde, são analisadas as alterações legislativas introduzidas pelo Simplex no âmbito do RJUE, ao nível processual e procedimental - em particular os procedimentos sujeitos a comunicação prévia, comparando-os com os procedimentos de licenciamento e de autorização - com vista a indagar se o programa Simplex, simplificou verdadeiramente os procedimentos administrativos no âmbito do controlo prévio das operações urbanísticas.

Mensuração do ativo imobilizado autárquico: convergência entre o POCAL e as IPSAS

No âmbito da New Public Management, a contabilidade pública, a nível mundial, tem vindo a sofrer diversas reformas. Em Portugal a reforma iniciou-se nos anos 90, atingindo o seu ponto alto com a publicação do POCP em 1997, sendo em 1999 publicado o POCAL com aplicação à Administração Local. Cerca de 17 anos após a sua aprovação verifica-se que o sistema atualmente em vigor não produz informação com a qualidade desejável e adequada às necessidades dos diferentes utilizadores. A crise económico-financeira mundial dos últimos anos – na qual Portugal se encontra envolvido - bem como o ambiente de globalização vêm acentuar a necessidade da qualidade da informação financeira e a necessidade da adoção de princípios e procedimentos semelhantes nas diferentes entidades públicas. A divergência entre os normativos nacionais e internacionais leva a que não haja harmonização contabilística, prejudicando a comparabilidade das demonstrações financeiras entre os países, e também entre as entidades dos diferentes subsetores da Administração Pública. Deste modo, torna-se essencial a harmonização das normas contabilísticas, nomeadamente entre os Estados Membros da UE e, dentro dos próprios países, entre os diversos setores. Em 2012, com a criação de um comité de normalização contabilística público, iniciaram-se os trabalhos técnicos com vista à aprovação de um único Sistema de Normalização Contabilística-Administrações Públicas (SNC-AP) adaptado às normas internacionais de contabilidade específicas para o setor público (IPSAS) e às leis nacionais em que estas matérias são reguladas. Considerando a iminência da adoção das IPSAS em Portugal, neste estudo, procura-se fazer uma análise comparativa entre as normas portuguesas (nomeadamente o POCAL e o CIBE) e as normas internacionais (nomeadamente a IPSAS 16, “Propriedades de Investimento”, a IPSAS 17, “Ativos Fixos Tangíveis” e a IPSAS 31, “Ativos Intangíveis”), de forma a contribuir para o conhecimento sobre as alterações esperadas nos critérios de mensuração dos bens do ativo imobilizado das autarquias locais, identificando as situações omissas e os principais pontos de convergência e de divergência entre os diferentes normativos.

The Influence of Accounting Information in the Re-Election of the Mayors in Portugal

The changes recommended by the New Public Management (NPM) in public accounting have given special attention and importance to the evaluation of mayor’s performance by citizens/voters. Thus, this study aims to assess the impact of accounting information on the re-election of Portuguese mayors. Taking the agency theory as a point of departure, we start from the following research question: Does the accounting information disclosed by the municipalities influence the re-election of Portuguese mayors? The research methodology used in this study is the quantitative type, through which a multivariate analysis of data was performed on 308 Portuguese municipalities, in the period 2005-2008, based on the election results of 2009. The results from the binary logistic regression show that some indicators of accounting nature have impact on the re-election of mayors in Portugal, namely, the components of financial accounting and municipal revenues.

Determining factors of environmental management practices in portuguese local entities

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of environmental management practices by Portuguese local entities and their determining factors. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected by sending a postal questionnaire. In order to measure the degree of development of environmental management practices an index of environmental management practices (EMPI) was developed, which reflects the extent to which a set of 16 environmental management practices have been implemented by the entities included in the sample. Four variables are considered in this study as possible factors that drive the development of environmental management practices by local entities, namely type of entity, size, proactive environmental strategy and Local Agenda 21 Findings: Results indicate the degree of development of environmental management practices in Portuguese local entities is low. Additionally, entity size, the adoption of proactive environmental strategies and the implementation of Local Agenda 21 are explaining factors of the degree of development of such practices. Originality/value: This study adds to the international research on environmental management in public sector by providing empirical data from a country, Portugal, where empirical evidence is still relatively limited.

Determining factors of environmental management practices in portuguese local entities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of environmental management practices by Portuguese local entities and their determining factors. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected by sending a postal questionnaire. In order to measure the degree of development of environmental management practices, an index of environmental management practices (EMPI) was developed, which reflects the extent to which a set of 16 environmental management practices have been implemented by the entities included in the sample. In total, four variables are considered in this study as possible factors that drive the development of environmental management practices by local entities: type of entity; size; proactive environmental strategy; and Local Agenda 21. Findings – Results indicate the degree of development of environmental management practices in Portuguese local entities is low. Additionally, entity size, the adoption of proactive environmental strategies and the implementation of Local Agenda 21 are explaining factors of the degree of development of such practices. Originality/value – The paper adds to the international research on environmental management in the public sector by providing empirical data from a country, Portugal, where empirical evidence is still relatively limited.

Portugal’s Minho-Lima region as a tourist destination: tourism operators’ attitudes towards its management and promotion

The success of tourism development depends on the capacity of a region’s tourism agents to establish and sustain networks, involving both private-sector companies and the public sector. Creating an attractive destination able to compete with others that are better positioned and consolidated requires cooperative behaviour among the various agents involved. This behaviour will facilitate both external and internal competition, which in turn will assure better product quality, continuous product renewal, a strong offer of unique experiences and the efficient use of endogenous resources. In this paper, the authors discuss the results of a survey of restaurant owners and of interviews conducted with the main institutional agents concerned with tourism promotion and the economic development of the Minho–Lima region. Such an approach, the authors argue, can be valuable in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the area in question with regard to future tourism development. The authors work from the premise that the commitment of tourism agents constitutes a precondition for the success of the strategy to be defined. This is especially applicable to Minho–Lima, which to date has suffered from an absence of commitment and coordination on the part of those agents.

Performance measurement and management in Portuguese law enforcement

Performance measurement of police services is complicated by ambiguous and complex goal- and objectives-setting, and by the difficulties of measuring outputs. This article looks at the organizational and management changes being made in Portuguese police forces. The authors fill a gap in the literature on performance measurement in Portugal by taking a national approach to the study of how law enforcement agencies are introducing new management accounting changes. The article therefore widens the debate on performance measurement and performance improvements in law enforcement.

Determinant factors of the implementation of the balanced scorecard in Portugal: empirical evidence in public and private organizations

In this article we aim to identify and analyze a set of variables that can potentially influence the adoption of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC)in Portugal. Hypotheses were tested using data obtained from a questionnaire sent to 591 publicly-owned organizations (local governments, municipal corporations and hospitals) and 549 privately-owned organizations (large companies and small and medium enterprises) in Portugal, with an overall response rate of 31.3%. The results allow us to conclude that although the majority of respondents claimed to know the BSC, its use in Portugal is still limited and very recent, particularly in the public sector organizations. However, it should be noted that its use has increased in Portugal in recent years. Using as theoretical framework the contingency and institutional theories, we found that decentralization, vertical differentiation and the degree of higher education are associated with the implementation of the BSC.

Performance management framework: the fit between PM framework adopted in Portuguese local government and the Otley’s framework

Purpose/objectives: This paper seeks to investigate whether performance management (PM) framework adopted in Portuguese local government (PLG) fit the Otley’s PM framework (1999). In particularly, the research questions are (1) whether PM framework adopted in PLG (SIADAP) fit the Otley´s framework, and (2) how local politicians (aldermen) see the operation of performance management systems (PMS) in PLG (focusing on the goal-setting process and incentive and reward structures). Theoretical positioning/contributions: With this paper we intend to contribute to literature on how the Otley’s PM framework can guide empirical research about the operation of PMS. In particular, the paper contributes to understand the fit between PMS implemented in PLG and the Otley´s PM framework. The analysis of this fit can be a good contribution to understand if PMS are used in PLG as a management tool or as a strategic response to external pressures (based on interviews conducted to aldermen). We believe that the Otley’s PM framework, as well as the extended PM framework presented by Ferreira and Otley (2009), can provide a useful research tool to understand the operation of PMS in PLG. Research method: The first research question is the central issue in this paper and is analyzed based on the main reforms introduced by Portuguese government on PM of public organizations (like municipalities). On the other hand, interviews conducted on three larger Portuguese municipalities (Oporto, Braga, and Matosinhos) show how aldermen see the operation of PMS in PLG, highlighting the goals setting process with targets associated and the existing of incentive and reward structures linked with performance. Findings: Generally we find that formal and regulated PM frameworks in PLG fit the main issues of the Otley’s PM framework. However, regarding the aldermen perceptions about PMS in practice we find a gap between theory and practice, especially regarding difficulties associated with the lack of a culture of goals and targets setting and the lack of incentive and reward structures linked with performance.