Discrimination, Peformance and Career Progression in Australian Public Sector Labor Markets

While promotion is an important mechanism for allocating labor within organizations, relatively little is known about the determinants of promotion in the highly diverse and traditionally heavily regulated Australian labor markets. This study uses unique data from the Victorian Public Sector Census 2004 to identify the extent and nature of bias in the promotion process. Specifically, we use the promotion histories of 16,675 public sector employees to investigate the existence of discrimination in promotion on the basis of gender, disability and cultural diversity. We find that some differences exist in the rate of promotion on the basis of gender, and to a lesser extent, of birthplace, but, importantly, most of these are due to differences in endowments. There are effectively no differences in promotion on the basis of disability. We find that the main driver of promotion in Victorian public sector labor markets is worker effort and performance. Compared to labor markets elsewhere, the Australian public sector is relatively free of discrimination in promotions.

Human resource management in the public sector

'An impressive collection of authoritative treatments of major current and ongoing topics in public sector human resource management, provided by both well-established experts and up-and-coming scholars who are becoming leaders in the field. A valuable resource for courses on the topic and an important reference for scholars and those seeking to maintain expert knowledge about it.' - Hal G. Rainey, The University of Georgia, US. © Ronald J. Burke, Andrew J. Noblet and Cary L. Cooper 2013. All rights reserved.

Australian government budget balance numbers: the hybrid nature of public sector accrual accounting

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the nature and comparability of budget balance (surplus/deficit) numbers headlined by the Australian Commonwealth Government and the governments of the six Australian States and the two Australian Territories. It does this in the context of the transition to Australian accounting standard AASB 1049 Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting. Design/methodology/approach - A case study research method is adopted, based on a content/documentary analysis of the headline budget balance numbers in the general government sector budget statements of each of the nine governments for the eight financial years from 2004-2005 to 2011-2012. Findings - Findings indicate some variation in the measurement bases adopted and a number of departures from the measurement bases prescribed in the reporting frameworks, including AASB 1049. Findings also reveal that none of the nine governments have headlined a full accrual based budget balance number since the implementation of AASB 1049 in 2008. Research limitations/implications - While the study focuses on the Australian general government sector environment, it has significant implications in highlighting the ambiguity in the government budget balance numbers presented and the monitoring and information asymmetry problems that can arise. Research findings have wider relevance internationally in highlighting issues arising with the public sector adoption of accrual accounting. Practical implications - The paper highlights the manner in which governments have been selective in the manner in which they present important budget aggregates. This has important practical and social implications, as the budget balance number is one of the most important measures used to evaluate a government's fiscal management and responsibility. Originality/value - The paper represents the first detailed examination of aspects of the effect of the transition to AASB 1049.

Managing dynamic public sector networks : effectiveness, performance, and a methodological framework in the field of national security

Networks are increasing in number and in importance across the security field as a means of providing inter-agency coordination. Based on a large qualitative study of networks in the field of national security in Australia, this article aims to advance our knowledge of the internal properties of public sector networks in the field of national security and the conditions shaping their performance. It puts forward a multi-level theoretical framework involving five interdependent levels of analysis—structural, cultural, policy, technological, and relational—which aims to account for the internal properties of networks and examines each of these levels in relation to public sector networks in the field of national security. Using detailed interviews with senior members of security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies, the article aims to highlight the potential lessons this framework has for strategically organizing and managing dynamic networks within and beyond the field of national security.

What factors influence the organizational commitment of public sector employees in China? The role of extrinsic, intrinsic and social rewards

This study investigates the relationship between extrinsic, intrinsic and social rewards, and the organizational commitment of 239 Chinese public sector employees. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that although variables included to measure extrinsic and social rewards were strongly related to organizational commitment, variables included to measure intrinsic rewards had limited influence. These findings suggest that the antecedents of organizational commitment in the Chinese public sector are significantly different from those in the Chinese private sector and public sector organizations in the West. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Servant leadership, trust, and the organizational commitment of public sector employees in China

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. So-called servant leaders strive selflessly and altruistically to assist others before themselves, work to develop their followers' greatest potential, and seek to benefit the wider community. This article examines the trust-based mechanisms by which servant leadership influences organizational commitment in the Chinese public sector, using data from a survey of civil servants. Quantitative analysis shows that servant leadership strongly influences affective and normative commitment, while having no impact on continuance commitment. Furthermore, we find that affective trust rather than cognitive trust is the mechanism by which servant leadership induces higher levels of commitment. Our findings suggest that in a time of decreasing confidence levels in public leaders, servant leadership behaviour may be used to re-establish trust and create legitimacy for the Chinese civil service.

The politics of public sector change: trends in health and education sector change in South Australia

BACKGROUND: As the changes underpinning the Coordinated Care Trials in South Australia have become more apparent, similarities have emerged between the rationalisation of public schooling in the mid 1980s and the transformation of public health in the 1990s.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to discuss the evolution of health services in South Australia and help us answer the question of how best to manage our public and private health infrastructure in a changing economic and social context.

DISCUSSION: Both strategies in education and health share common elements of cost cutting, attempts at improving efficiencies, a flirting with the private sector and the attendant risk of reduced quality of services to the public. This situation in both sectors is indicative of a shift in public policy and a growth in the belief that private management of public sector infrastructure can help resolve the funding crises around our education and health systems.

Bringing innovation to centre stage : the rhetoric of commercialisation and cross-sector collaboration

As a key element in Australia's national innovation system, public sector organizations, such as universities and public-funded research agencies, have increasingly become involved in R&D collaborations with firms. Government policy has encouraged this cross-sector collaboration, and in the most recent policy "act" has focused on the commercialisation of research findings (through which R&D outputs are translated into marketable commodities) and has encouraged public sector organizations to become more directly involved in this activity. But while the policy rhetoric has contributed to a discourse of marketization, through which cultural change in the research performing organizations is both promoted and legitimised, there are other voices in the unfolding policy drama which point to the complex and multifaceted nature of commercialisation in national economies. These countervailing voices emphasise the multiple roles that public sector organizations play in national innovation systems, and this introduces organizational role ambiguity into the discourse leading to confusion among the research performing actors. It is concluded that, given the complex and subtle nature of innovation processes, the traditional dichotomy between applied (or commercially-focused) research and "public good" research is no longer tenable nor helpful in the policy debates.

Biopharmaceutical innovation and industrial developments in South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan

South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan are well known as export-oriented developmental states which for decades employed industrial policy to target particular industries for government support. In the past fifteen years, these three countries all identified the biopharmaceutical industry as a strategic sector. This article explores, through economic analysis, the rationale for this decision and the strategies chosen for linking into the global bio-economy with the objective of catching up in biopharmaceuticals. The paper identifies three comparative advantages enjoyed by these countries in the biopharma sector: (1) public investments in basic research; (2) private investments in phase 1 clinical trials; and (3) a potentially significant contract research industry managing latter-stage clinical trials. Governments employ a range of industrial policies, consistent with these comparative advantages, to promote the biopharmaceutical industry, including public investment in biomedical hubs, research funding and research and development (R&D) tax credits. We argue that the most important feature of the biopharmaceutical industry in these countries is the dominant role of the public sector. That these countries have made progress in innovative capabilities is illustrated by input measures such as R&D expenditure as share of gross domestic product, number of patents granted and clinical trials, and volume of foreign direct investment. In contrast, output indicators such as approval of new chemical entities suggest that the process of catching up has only just commenced. Pharmaceutical innovation is at the stage of mainly generating inputs to integrated processes controlled by the globally incumbent firms.

Improving collaboration between private psychiatrists, the public mental health sector and general practitioners : evaluation of the Partnership Project

Objectives: We describe the evaluation of the Partnership Project, which was designed to improve linkages between public and private sector mental health services. We consider the Project's key elements: a Linkage Unit, designed to improve collaborative arrangements for consumers and promote systems-level and cultural change; and the expansion of private psychiatrists' roles to include supervision and training, case conferencing and secondary consultation. The evaluation aimed to describe the impacts and outcomes of these elements.

Method: The evaluation used de-identified data from the Linkage Unit database, the Project's billing system, and the Health Insurance Commission (HIC). It drew on consultations with key stakeholders (semistructured interviews with 36 key informants, and information from a forum attended by over 40 carers and a meeting of five public sector and three private sector psychiatrists) and a series of case studies.

Results: The Linkage Unit facilitated 224 episodes of collaborative care, many of which had positive outcomes for providers, consumers and carers. It had a significant impact at a systems level, raising consciousness about collaboration and influencing procedural changes. Thirty-two private psychiatrists consented to undertaking expanded roles, and the Project was billed $78 032 accordingly. Supervision and training were most common, involving 16 psychiatrists and accounting for approximately 80% of the total hours and cost. Commonwealth expenditure on private psychiatrists' participation in the expanded roles was not associated with a reduction in benefits paid by the HIC. Key informants were generally positive about the expanded roles.

Conclusions: The Project represented a considered, innovative approach to dealing with poor collaboration between the public mental health sector, private psychiatrists and GPs. The Linkage Unit achieved significant systems-level and cultural change, which has the potential to be sustained. Expanded roles for private psychiatrists, particularly supervision and training, may improve collaboration, and warrant further exploration in terms of costs and benefits.

Outsourcing and downsizing: Processes of workplace change in public health

Throughout the 1990s, public hospitals embarked on a range of benchmarking exercises for support services, often accompanied by downsizing and, in some cases, outsourcing. These support services included clinical areas such as, radiology, pharmacy and pathology, and nonclinical areas of catering and cleaning, engineering and environmental services. The impetus for this trend was the introduction of the Federal Governments National Competition Policy with its rationale that private sector pressures and competition would make the public sector more efficient.
Through a case study approach, this paper discusses this process at two public hospitals, the aim being to investigate the reasons for outsourcing, outsourcings interconnectedness with downsizing, and the implications at the workforce level. Workplace issues discussed include consultation between management, unions and employees, changes to employee numbers and work practices, maintenance of workplace conditions, implications for staff recruitment and retention, and the relative power of management and unions. It concludes that benchmarking, outsourcing and downsizing have all been used to bring about workplace change. Whilst the choice between processes may be dependent on management perception of the workplace environment, implications for the workplace from each process have been similar.

Outsourcing and benchmarking in a rural public hospital : does economic theory provide the complete answer?

INTRODUCTION: The ideology and pronouncements of the Australian Government in introducing 'competitive neutrality' to the public sector has improved efficiency and resource usage. In the health sector, the Human Services Department directed that non-clinical and clinical areas be market tested through benchmarking services against the private sector, with the possibility of outsourcing. These services included car parking, computing, laundry, engineering, cleaning, catering, medical imaging (radiology), pathology, pharmacy, allied health and general practice. Managers, when they choose between outsourcing, and internal servicing and production, would thus ideally base their decision on economic principles. Williamson's transaction cost theory studies the governance mechanisms that can be used to achieve economic efficiency and proposes that the optimal organisation structure is that which minimises transaction costs or the costs of exchange. Williamson proposes that four variables will affect such costs, namely: (i) frequency of exchange; (ii) asset specificity; (iii) environmental uncertainty; and (iv) threat of opportunism. This paper provides evidence from a rural public hospital and examines whether Williamson's transaction cost theory is applicable. d into an analysis that relies solely on transaction

Outsourcing in the Australian health sector : the interplay of economics and politics

Purpose – The paper discusses the reasons and approaches used at three health organisations in introducing outsourcing. It specifically answers the question: why have managers of health organisations outsourced some functions in preference to others?

Design/methodology/approach – This research employs a case study method making use of qualitative analysis. The health organisations were chosen first as representatives of their type, and secondly due to the nature of the outsourcing decisions made. The first health organisation operates in the rural sector; the second is a metropolitan network; and the third is a large metropolitan hospital, which, in contrast to the other two case study organisations, had made only one decision to outsource, producing the largest outsourcing contract in health in Australia. Furthermore, this situation was distinctive as the contract was terminated and re-issued to another private sector organisation.

Findings – The reasons for outsourcing varied within and between health organisations. Although generally they were made on the bases of the characteristics of the labour market, employee skill levels and the nature of industrial relations, the perception of what was core, the level of internal management skills, the ability of internal teams to implement change and the relationship between management and staff. Even though cost savings and a downsized labour force resulted, generally these occurred even when services were not outsourced, through the use of other change processes, such as introducing new technology, changing structures and promoting workforce flexibility. The interplay of political reasons and economic effects was evident along with the political nature of the decision-making and processes used. The paper concludes that the power of managers was a moderating factor between the desire for outsourcing and whether outsourcing actually occurred.

Research limitations/implications – Although this research was conducted solely within the health sector it has implications for other public sector bodies and the private sector.

Practical implications – Managerial decision making can be enhanced with the exploration of the full complement of reasons for the outsourcing decision.

Originality/value – The paper has value to both academics researching in the public sector and public sector managers.

An overview of IT outsourcing in public secto agenices

For the past 15 years, governments in the developed, Western world have been contracting out, or outsourcing, services as a key part of public sector reforms. Outsourcing has been argued to lead to cost savings, improved discipline, better services, access to scarce skills, and the capacity for managers to focus more time on the core business of their organizations (Domberger, 1998). Government outsourcing initiatives have encompassed a range of services, but given the large sums of money invested in IT assets, the outsourcing of IT services (IT outsourcing, or ITO) has been a major initiative for many agencies. Lacity and Willcocks (1998, p. 3) defined ITO as "handing over to a third party [the] management of IS/IT assets, resources and/or activities for required results." For public-sector outsourcing, this handover is usually made by way of a competitive tender. Case studies have reported ITO successes and failures (e.g., Currie & Willcocks, 1998; Rouse & Corbitt, 2003; Willcocks & Currie, 1997; Willcocks & Lacity, 2001; Willcocks & Kern, 1998), but much of the evidence presented to public-sector decision makers to justify this reform is anecdotal and unsystematic, and when investigated in depth, does not necessarily support widespread conclusions.