Inter-sector senior leader transitions : experience and outcomes

Purpose The purpose of this article is to explore the experience of senior leaders who move into the public sector from other sectors of the economy, a process we refer to as inter-sector senior leader transitions. This is a little researched area of public sector leadership yet has significant implications for fundamental public sector reform. Design/methodology/approach We employed an interview design to elicit senior leaders' stories of their transition into the public sector. Findings The data suggest that successful senior leader transitions are more likely when a set of conditions is met; (1) the leader transitions into CEO role, rather than levels below CEO, (2) Ministers provide inter-sector transition support, (3) senior leaders develop responses to stress, (4) senior leaders reject high formalization, (5) their change processes focus on building capacity, and (6) senior leaders confront dysfunctional organizational relationships directly. Research limitations/implications The research relies on a relatively small sample. However, access to senior managers at this level can be difficult. Nevertheless, those senior managers who participated were very willing to share their stories. Practical implications If public sector organizations are to realize the value of successful leaders from other sectors, they need to invest in structured processes that facilitate the transition. A laissez-faire approach is not viable given the cost of such transitions. Originality/value The paper focuses on a little researched area of leadership experience which has significant implications for the development and change of the public sector.

Factors for IT-enabled public sector process improvements in developing economies

IT resources are indispensable in the management of Public Sector Organizations (PSOs) around the world. We investigate the factors that could leverage the IT resources in PSOs in developing economies. While research on ways to leverage IT resources in private sector organizations of developed countries is substantial, our understanding on ways to leverage the IT resources in the public sector in developing countries is limited. The current study aspires to address this gap in the literature by seeking to determine the key factors required to create process value from public sector IT investments in developing countries. We draw on the resource-centric theories to imply the nature of factors that could leverage the IT resources in the public sector. Employing an interpretive design, we identified three factors necessary for IT process value generation in the public sector. We discuss these factors and state their implications to theory and practice.

A Comparative Analysis of Community-Based Service Providers for "Extreme" Case ASD: Exploring Activity Program Options

The purpose of my research was to examine how community-based organizations in the Niagara region provide programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), who are considered to represent “extreme” or “severe” cases. A qualitative, comparative case study was conducted that focused on three organizations who provide summer recreation and activity programs, in order to examine the issues these organizations face when determining program structure and staff training; and to understand what the threshold for physical activity is in this type of setting, and how the unique needs surrounding these “severe” cases are met while attending the program. Purposeful sampling was employed to select a supervisor and senior staff member from each organization to discuss the training process, program development and implementation, and the resources and strategies used within their organization’s community-based program. A confirming comparative analysis was comparative analysis of a parents survey with six mothers whose children are considered “severe” indicated that camp staffs’ expectations are unrealistic where as the parents and supervisors have more realistic expectations within the “real world” of camp. There is no definition of “severe” or “extreme” and therefore severity is dependent upon the context.

La mobilisation sociale dans un contexte de gouvernance au Québec et en Irlande : le rôle des organismes communautaires dans l'élaboration des politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté

Cette thèse porte sur le rôle des organismes communautaires entre 1994 et 2002 dans l’élaboration de politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté au Québec et en Irlande et ce, dans un contexte de gouvernance. Au cours de années 1980 et 1990, des gouvernements, dont ceux du Québec et de l’Irlande, ont fait appel à des organismes communautaires pour que ceux-ci participent à la gestion des services sociaux ainsi qu’à la formulation des politiques sociales. Cette participation s’est inscrite dans le cadre de nouveaux arrangements politiques, soit des nouvelles formes de gouvernance alors que les gouvernements éprouvaient des difficultés à remédier à l’accroissement des inégalités sociales. Cependant, il demeure difficile de discerner en quoi l’établissement de ces nouvelles formes de gouvernance a façonné le rôle des organismes communautaires dans l’élaboration des politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté. De plus, les partenariats sociaux en Irlande relèvent d’un processus davantage institué que la concertation au Québec, ce qui a entraîné des différences au plan des mobilisations sociales. L’objectif de cette thèse est donc celui de mieux cerner le lien entre les nouvelles formes de gouvernance et la mobilisation sociale des organismes communautaires dans l’élaboration de politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté. L’hypothèse mise en avant est que l’efficacité de l’action collective dépend de la manière dont les organismes communautaires s’y prennent pour pallier l’incertitude qui caractérise les modes de gouvernance. Sur le plan théorique, cette thèse mise sur les interactions entre acteurs et, plus particulièrement, sur la formation de réseaux de politiques publiques. Cela implique plus précisément de cerner comment les acteurs coordonnent des activités entre eux et se rallient autour d’un même thème, comme celui de la lutte contre la pauvreté. Lorsque la coordination des activités est forte et que le ralliement autour d’un même thème est important, on parle de coalition de cause. La nécessité de former une coalition se produit dans le contexte d’un champ institutionnel incertain, comme c’est le cas pour les mécanismes de concertation au Québec. Mais le caractère incertain du champ institutionnel entraîne aussi des divergences à l’intérieur de la coalition instaurée à cette occasion, ayant pour effet d’affaiblir la mobilisation sociale. Ainsi, l’interprétation que font les organismes communautaires des nouvelles formes de gouvernance façonne la manière dont ces organismes vont définir la lutte contre la pauvreté et élaborer leurs stratégies. Sur le plan méthodologique, le choix des cas de l’Irlande et du Québec repose dans les différences qui existent en termes de gouvernance et ce, alors qu’ils partagent de fortes similarités. Tant l’Irlande que le Québec sont caractérisés par des économies de marché ouvertes, des régimes d’État-providence de type libéral ainsi que l’emprise, par le passé, de l’Église catholique dans les services sociaux. Cependant, ces deux cas diffèrent en ce qui concerne le rôle de l’État, le système électoral, le statut juridico-politique, le caractère de leur économie et la place occupée par le milieu communautaire par rapport à l’État. Ces différences permettent de rendre compte du moins en ce qui concerne le Québec et l’Irlande, de la manière dont l’action collective découle de la relation entre les stratégies des acteurs et le contexte dans lequel ils se situent. Cette thèse montre comment, dans un processus davantage institué, comme c’est le cas des partenariats sociaux en Irlande, la mobilisation sociale s’avère plus efficace que lorsqu’elle se situe dans le cadre d’un processus moins institué, comme ce qu’on peut observer avec la concertation au Québec. Bien que, dans les deux cas, l’influence du milieu communautaire en matière des politiques sociales demeure mitigée, la mobilisation sociale des organismes communautaires irlandais s’est avérée plus efficace que celle de leurs homologues québécois eu égard de la formulation de politiques pour lutter contre la pauvreté. Au Québec, bien que les organismes communautaires sont parvenus à former une coalition, soit le Collectif pour une loi sur l’élimination de la pauvreté, leur mobilisation s’est trouvée affaiblie en raison de la prédominance de divergences entre acteurs communautaires. De telles divergences étaient aggravées en raison du caractère incertain du champ institutionnel lié à la concertation. En Irlande, bien que les organismes communautaires ont dû faire face à des contraintes qui rendaient difficiles la formation d’une coalition, ceux-ci ont pu néanmoins se mobiliser autrement, notamment en raison de liens formés avec des fonctionnaires dans le cadre des ententes partenariales.

A representação social do papel de gestores em organizações não governamentais

The discussions concerning the absence of a management model appropriate to the peculiarities of third sector organizations have not been impeditive to their emphasized expansion in the last decades. In the attempt of understanding this phenomenon from the perspective of those who manage social organizations, this work based on the theory of social representations to understand the notion that organization managers of the third sector - based in Fortaleza CE - have of the part that they play and how this notion influences the direction of their activities. Social representations of managers of four different categories of non-governmental organizations have been investigated, each category composed of two unities. The categories researched were: social integration through art and education, prevention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, children s health assistance and community action. By using Doise s Societal Approach, the role of social managers translated in intraindividual, interindividual and situational processes of their actions, has been analysed within the social representations, focusing on beliefs, values, symbols and stories that give meaning to the existence of non-governmental organizations. Analysis and discussion of data displayed the existence of diversity in the understanding of managers within their practice, in other words, the management profile is also its own manager s. The branch where an organization acts is also preponderant in the shaping of a management style. It could be deduced, from to the organizations researched, that professional formation and the manager s social insertion mainly, are determinative factors in the outlining of a management model of its own. It was concluded that, due to heterogeneity of interests and action segments, there is no systematic process for social management among organizations. Management styles are supported by their director s own perception of achievement, who model organizations according to their contingencies

Issues related to HIV stigma: An embedded case study of PLHAS and community in Nepal

Little is known about HIV stigma in Nepal. Findings from other parts of the world suggest that HIV related stigma acts as a limiting factor for People Living with HIV & AIDS (PLHAs) from accessing needed health care and the subsequent psychological outcomes make PLHAs and their immediate family members more vulnerable. The purpose of this study is to understand and describe Nepalese PLHA's and community peoples' experiences regarding sources, types, causes and mechanism of HIV-associated stigma. This study aimed to best utilize the existing data. Study participants were recruited through local Community Based Organizations working in the field of HIV. The data, collected in the form of focus group discussions in workshop settings, were coded and analyzed. Study has revealed key issues related to HIV stigma in Nepal: hierarchy of stigma, denial and rejection, death as a form of punishment and Mumbaiya disease. A conceptual model was developed to explain the HIV stigma in Nepal. Our hope is that this finding, stigma being a contextual variable, will be helpful in triggering a novel public health discourse in the field of HIV stigma in Nepal, which will eventually be helpful for developing policies and interventions to eliminate HIV-associated stigma.^

Del plan a la realidad: gobernanza y toma de decisiones en los procesos de regeneración urbana. El caso de Boston = From plan to reality: governance and decision-making in urban regeneration processes in Boston

En las últimas tres décadas, las dinámicas de restructuración económica a nivel global han redefinido radicalmente el papel de las ciudades. La transición del keynesianismo al neoliberalismo ha provocado un cambio en las políticas urbanas de los gobiernos municipales, que han abandonado progresivamente las tareas de regulación y redistribución para centrarse en la promoción del crecimiento económico y la competitividad. En este contexto, muchas voces críticas han señalado que la regeneración urbana se ha convertido en un vehículo de extracción de valor de la ciudad y está provocando la expulsión de los ciudadanos más vulnerables. Sin embargo, la regeneración de áreas consolidadas supone también una oportunidad de mejora de las condiciones de vida de la población residente, y es una política necesaria para controlar la expansión de la ciudad y reducir las necesidades de desplazamiento, promoviendo así ciudades más sostenibles. Partiendo de la hipótesis de que la gobernanza de los procesos de regeneración urbana es clave en el resultado final de las operaciones y determina el modelo de ciudad resultante, el objetivo de esta investigación es verificar si la regeneración urbana es necesariamente un mecanismo de extracción de valor o si puede mejorar la calidad de vida en las ciudades a través de la participación de los ciudadanos. Para ello, propone un marco de análisis del proceso de toma de decisiones en los planes de regeneración urbana y su impacto en los resultados de los planes, tomando como caso de estudio la ciudad de Boston, que desde los años 1990 trata de convertirse en una “ciudad de los barrios”, fomentando la participación ciudadana al tiempo que se posiciona en la escena económica global. El análisis se centra en dos operaciones de regeneración iniciadas a finales de los años 1990. Por un lado, el caso de Jackson Square nos permite comprender el papel de la sociedad civil y el tercer sector en la regeneración de los barrios más desfavorecidos, en un claro ejemplo de urbanismo “desde abajo” (bottom-up planning). Por otro, la reconversión del frente marítimo de South Boston para la construcción del Distrito de Innovación nos acerca a las grandes operaciones de regeneración urbana con fines de estímulo económico, tradicionalmente vinculadas a los centros financieros (downtown) y dirigidas por las élites gubernamentales y económicas (la growth machine) a través de procesos más tecnocráticos (top-down planning). La metodología utilizada consiste en el análisis cualitativo de los procesos de toma de decisiones y la relación entre los agentes implicados, así como de la evaluación de la implementación de dichas decisiones y su influencia en el modelo urbano resultante. El análisis de los casos permite afirmar que la gobernanza de los procesos de regeneración urbana influye decisivamente en el resultado final de las intervenciones; sin embargo, la participación de la comunidad local en la toma de decisiones no es suficiente para que el resultado de la regeneración urbana contrarreste los efectos de la neoliberalización, especialmente si se limita a la fase de planeamiento y no se extiende a la fase de ejecución, y si no está apoyada por una movilización política de mayor alcance que asegure una acción pública redistributiva. Asimismo, puede afirmarse que los procesos de regeneración urbana suponen una redefinición del modelo de ciudad, dado que la elección de los espacios de intervención tiene consecuencias sobre el equilibrio territorial de la ciudad. Los resultados de esta investigación tienen implicaciones para la disciplina del planeamiento urbano. Por una parte, se confirma la vigencia del paradigma del “urbanismo negociado”, si bien bajo discursos de liderazgo público y sin apelación al protagonismo del sector privado. Por otra parte, la planificación colaborativa en un contexto de “responsabilización” de las organizaciones comunitarias puede desactivar la potencia política de la participación ciudadana y servir como “amortiguador” hacia el gobierno local. Asimismo, la sustitución del planeamiento general como instrumento de definición de la ciudad futura por una planificación oportunista basada en la actuación en áreas estratégicas que tiren del resto de la ciudad, no permite definir un modelo coherente y consensuado de la ciudad que se desea colectivamente, ni permite utilizar el planeamiento como mecanismo de redistribución. ABSTRACT In the past three decades, the dynamics of global economic restructuring have radically redefined the role of cities. The transition from keynesianism to neoliberalism has caused a shift in local governments’ urban policies, which have progressively abandoned the tasks of regulation and redistribution to focus on promoting economic growth and competitiveness. In this context, many critics have pointed out that urban regeneration has become a vehicle for extracting value from the city and is causing the expulsion of the most vulnerable citizens. However, regeneration of consolidated areas is also an opportunity to improve the living conditions of the resident population, and is a necessary policy to control the expansion of the city and reduce the need for transportation, thus promoting more sustainable cities. Assuming that the governance of urban regeneration processes is key to the final outcome of the plans and determines the resulting city model, the goal of this research is to verify whether urban regeneration is necessarily a value extraction mechanism or if it can improve the quality of life in cities through citizens’ participation. It proposes a framework for analysis of decision-making in urban regeneration processes and their impact on the results of the plans, taking as a case study the city of Boston, which since the 1990s is trying to become a "city of neighborhoods", encouraging citizen participation, while seeking to position itself in the global economic scene. The analysis focuses on two redevelopment plans initiated in the late 1990s. The Jackson Square case allows us to understand the role of civil society and the third sector in the regeneration of disadvantaged neighborhoods, in a clear example of bottom-up planning. On the contrary, the conversion of the South Boston waterfront to build the Innovation District takes us to the big redevelopment efforts with economic stimulus’ goals, traditionally linked to downtowns and led by government and economic elites (the local “growth machine”) through more technocratic processes (top-down planning). The research is based on a qualitative analysis of the processes of decision making and the relationship between those involved, as well as the evaluation of the implementation of those decisions and their influence on the resulting urban model. The analysis suggests that the governance of urban regeneration processes decisively influences the outcome of interventions; however, community engagement in the decision-making process is not enough for the result of the urban regeneration to counteract the effects of neoliberalization, especially if it is limited to the planning phase and does not extend to the implementation of the projects, and if it is not supported by a broader political mobilization to ensure a redistributive public action. Moreover, urban regeneration processes redefine the urban model, since the choice of intervention areas has important consequences for the territorial balance of the city. The results of this study have implications for the discipline of urban planning. On the one hand, it confirms the validity of the "negotiated planning" paradigm, albeit under public leadership discourse and without a direct appeal to the leadership role of the private sector. On the other hand, collaborative planning in a context of "responsibilization" of community based organizations can deactivate the political power of citizen participation and serve as a "buffer" towards the local government. Furthermore, the replacement of comprehensive planning, as a tool for defining the city's future, by an opportunistic planning based on intervention in strategic areas that are supposed to induce change in the rest of the city, does not allow a coherent and consensual urban model that is collectively desired, nor it allows to use planning as a redistribution mechanism.

Use of derivatives in public sector organisations

The present paper develops and tests a model explaining public sector derivative use in terms of budget discrepancy minimization. The model is different from private sector models. Private sector models do not readily translate into the public sector, which typically faces different objectives. Hypotheses are developed and tested using logistic regression over a sample of Australian Commonwealth public sector organizations. It is found that public sector organization derivative use is positively correlated with liabilities and size consistent with the hypotheses concerning budget discrepancy management.

Fragmented coherence: Solid waste management in Colombo

Notwithstanding the increasingly fragmented organizational relationships within Colombo's urban governance system, the cooperative nature of stakeholder relationships lends a high level of coherence to the overall system. Since 1995, Colombo's solid waste management system has been characterized by the increased role of the private sector, community-based organizations and NGOs. Whilst the increasingly fragmented nature of this system exhibits some deeply ingrained problems, there are also a number of positives associated with the increased role of civil society actors and, in particular, the informal sector. Reforming regulatory frameworks so as to integrate some of the social norms that are integral to the lives of the majority of urban residents will contribute to regulatory frameworks being considerably more enforceable than is currently the case. Such reform requires that institutional and regulatory frameworks need to be flexible enough to adapt to the changing social, political and economic context. In the Colombo case, effective cooperation between public sector and civil society stakeholders illustrates that adaptive institutional arrangements grounded in pragmatism are feasible. The challenge that arises is to translate these institutional arrangements into adaptive regulatory frameworks - something that would require a significant mind shift on the part of planners and urban managers.

Going up? Women in the public sector

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to document women's reflections on their careers over a ten-year period to provide quantitative baseline data on which to frame follow-up in-depth interviews. The participants work in the public service in Queensland (Australia) and had been recommended for, and participated in, women in management (WIM) courses conducted in the early 1990s. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected by means of a survey (containing closed and open items) which gathered demographic data and data related to employment history, perceptions of success and satisfaction, and the women's future career expectations. Findings – Findings revealed that the percentage of women in middle and senior management had increased over the ten-year period, although not to the extent one might have anticipated, given that the women had been targeted as high flyers by their supervisors. While not content with their classification levels (i.e. seniority), the majority of the cohort viewed their careers as being successful. Practical implications – Questions arise from this study as to why women are still “not getting to the top”. There are also policy implications for the public service concerning women's possible “reinventive contribution” and training implications associated with women only courses. Originality/value – The study is part of an Australian longitudinal study on the careers of women who attended a prestigious women-only management course in the early 1990s in Queensland. This is now becoming a study of older women.

Benchmarking project management practices of Caribbean organizations using analytic hierarchy process

Effective management of projects is becoming increasingly important for any type of organization to remain competitive in today’s dynamic business environment due to pressure of globalization. The use of benchmarking is widening as a technique for supporting project management. Benchmarking can be described as the search for the best practices, leading to the superior performance of an organization. However, effectiveness of benchmarking depends on the use of tools for collecting and analyzing information and deriving subsequent improvement projects. This study demonstrates how analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multiple attribute decision-making technique, can be used for benchmarking project management practices. The entire methodology has been applied to benchmark project management practice of Caribbean public sector organizations with organizations in the Indian petroleum sector, organizations in the infrastructure sector of Thailand and the UK. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a proposed benchmarking model using AHP, determines problems and issues of Caribbean project management in the public sector and suggests improvement measures for effective project management.

Editorial

This second issue of Knowledge Management Research & Practice (KMRP) continues the international nature of the first issue, with papers from authors based on four different continents. There are five regular papers, plus the first of what is intended to be an occasional series of 'position papers' from respected figures in the knowledge management field, who have specific issues they wish to raise from a personal standpoint. The first two regular papers are both based on case studies. The first is 'Aggressively pursuing knowledge management over two years: a case study a US government organization' by Jay Liebowitz. Liebowitz is well known to both academics and practictioners as an author on knowledge management and knowledge based systems. Government departments in many Western countries must soon face up to the problems that will occur as the 'baby boomer' generation reaches retirement age over the next decade. This paper describes how one particular US government organization has attempted to address this situation (and others) through the introduction of a knowledge management initiative. The second case study paper is 'Knowledge creation through the synthesizing capability of networked strategic communities: case study on new product development in Japan' by Mitsuru Kodama. This paper looks at the importance of strategic communities - communities that have strategic relevance and support - in knowledge management. Here, the case study organization is Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), a Japanese telecommunication firm. The third paper is 'Knowledge management and intellectual capital: an empirical examination of current practice in Australia' by Albert Zhou and Dieter Fink. This paper reports the results of a survey carried out in 2001, exploring the practices relating to knowledge management and intellectual capital in Australia and the relationship between them. The remaining two regular papers are conceptual in nature. The fourth is 'The enterprise knowledge dictionary' by Stuart Galup, Ronald Dattero and Richard Hicks. Galup, Dattero and Hicks propose the concept of an enterprise knowledge dictionary and its associated knowledge management system architecture as offering the appropriate form of information technology to support various different types of knowledge sources, while behaving as a single source from the user's viewpoint. The fifth and final regular paper is 'Community of practice and metacapabilities' by Geri Furlong and Leslie Johnson. This paper looks at the role of communities of practice in learning in organizations. Its emphasis is on metacapabilities - the properties required to learn, develop and apply skills. This discussion takes work on learning and core competences to a higher level. Finally, this issue includes a position paper 'Innovation as an objective of knowledge management. Part I: the landscape of management' by Dave Snowden. Snowden has been highly visible in the knowledge management community thanks to his role as the Director of IBM Global Services' Canolfan Cynefin Centre. He has helped many government and private sector organizations to consider their knowledge management problems and strategies. This, the first of two-part paper, is inspired by the notion of complexity. In it, Snowden calls for what he sees as a 20th century emphasis on designed systems for knowledge management to be consigned to history, and replaced by a 21st century emphasis on emergence. Letters to the editor on this, or any other topic related to knowledge management research and practice, are welcome. We trust that you will find the contributions stimulating, and again invite you to contribute your own paper(s) to future issues of KMRP.

Reforming public services in the UK:Bringing in the third sector

In the UK, the government continues its project to reform public services. Earlier projects have focused on the modernization of public sector organizations; in the latest round of reform, New Labour has focused on widening choice and the personalization of services. To this end, the government has been working with Third Sector (TS) organizations to expand their role in shaping, commissioning and delivering public services. The government's vision is predicated on a normative assertion, that, unlike traditional public sector organizations, TS bodies create public value by being more innovative, are inspired by altruistic aims and values, and have greater commitment to their clients. This paper reviews recent policy and questions whether the government's policy is flawed, contradictory and risks damaging the attributes of the TS admired by New Labour. © 2007 The Author. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.