Strategy as practice:Interactive governance spaces and the corporate strategies of retail transnationals

There is growing interest in the role of corporate governance systems within the strategy-making process of firms. Using a 'strategy as practice' perspective, we conceptualize the governance system as a contested space in which management and security analysts mutually adapt/transform and enact corporate strategies vis-à-vis argumentation. Synthesizing this micropractice perspective within corporate governance research, the supple role of securities analysts' arguments in shaping corporate strategies assumes a new significance. It also provides a basis for observing and understanding the contested nature of the retail internationalization process. The implications and opportunities for management studies and economic geography are considered. © The Author (2007). Published by Oxford Press. All rights reserved.

A contingency theory perspective on the risk management control system within Birmingham City Council

In recent years the topic of risk management has moved up the agenda of both government and industry, and private sector initiatives to improve risk and internal control systems have been mirrored by similar promptings for change in the public sector. Both regulators and practitioners now view risk management as an integral part of the process of corporate governance, and an aid to the achievement of strategic objectives. The paper uses case study material on the risk management control system at Birmingham City Council to extend existing theory by developing a contingency theory for the public sector. The case demonstrates that whilst the structure of the control system fits a generic model, the operational details indicate that controls are contingent upon three core variables—central government policies, information and communication technology and organisational size. All three contingent variables are suitable for testing the theory across the broader public sector arena.

The link between job satisfaction and organizational commitment:differences between public and private sector employees

Employees in the public and private sectors experience different working conditions and employment relationships. Therefore, it can be assumed that their attitudes toward their job and organizations, and relationships between them, are different. The existing literature has identified the relationship between organizational commitment and job satisfaction as interesting in this context. The present field study examines the satisfaction–commitment link with respect to differences between private and public sector employees. A sample of 617 Greek employees (257 from the private sector and 360 from the public sector) completed standardized questionnaires. Results confirmed the hypothesized relationship differences: Extrinsic satisfaction and intrinsic satisfaction are more strongly related to affective commitment and normative commitment for public sector employees than for private sector ones. The results are discussed, limitations are considered, and directions for future research are proposed.

Risk management in FTSE 100 companies

In recent years the science of risk management has developed substantially, and many large companies and public sector organisations have established separate risk functions employing specialist staff. The reasons behind such developments are varied but they denote an increasing consciousness of a need to actively manage risks and, in compliance with regulations on corporate governance, ensure that an effective internal control system is in operation.

El movimiento social de 1995 en Francia contra el neoliberalismo

Las movilizaciones de noviembre-diciembre de 1995 en Francia contra el Plan Juppé fueron la primera gran revuelta en un país europeo contra el neoliberalismo. Con los trabajadores del sector público como eje de la protesta el movimiento se desplegó en base a la articulación combinada de huelgas y manifestaciones. Las reivindicaciones sectoriales se articularon en un discurso más general de defensa del servicio público y el interés general. Noviembre-diciembre de 1995 marcó el inicio de un ciclo de movilizaciones contra el neoliberalismo en Francia que testimonió su creciente pérdida de legitimidad.

The Governance of Childcare in Transition:A Comparative Analysis

A life cycle framework for governance of Intermodal terminals; planning, operations and strategic management.

This chapter establishes a framework for the governance of intermodal terminals throughout their life cycle, based on the product life cycle. The framework covers the initial planning by the public sector, the public/private split in funding and ownership, the selection of an operator, ensuring fair access to all users, and finally reconcessioning the terminal to a new operator, managing the handover and maintaining the terminal throughout its life cycle. This last point is especially important as industry conditions change and the terminal's role in the transport network comes under threat, either by a lack of demand or by increased demand requiring expansion, redesign and reinvestment. Each stage of the life cycle framework is operationalised based on empirical examples drawn from research by the authors on intermodal terminal planning and funding, the tender process and concession and operation contracts. In future the framework can be applied in additional international contexts to form a basis for transport cost analysis, logistics planning and government policy.

Controle social e transparência : avaliação do modelo de acesso à informação no Brasil

O objetivo principal deste estudo é avaliar se as medidas e ações implementadas pelos governantes para aperfeiçoar o modelo de governança pública brasileiro estão contribuindo para elevar o nível de controle social e de transparência na administração pública. Pressupomos que a promoção da transparência e do acesso à informação é uma medida essencial para o fortalecimento do controle social e da democracia, e por decorrência, para a melhoria da qualidade da gestão pública. Trata-se de um artigo teóricoempírico e bibliográfico, apoiado nas abordagens das teorias da governança, neoinstitucional e da agência. A partir da literatura, relatórios e das normas legais, buscamos identificar inicialmente as motivações que levaram à adaptação e transferência das experiências da governança corporativa para o setor público. Realizou-se, ainda, uma pesquisa de campo para avaliar a qualidades das informações das despesas públicas disponibilizadas pelos portais de transparência dos 200 municípios mais populosos do país. Conclui-se, por fim, que ainda existem inúmeros desafios e obstáculos a serem superados nos âmbitos sociocultural e institucional. Essas dificuldades são agravadas por deficiências de competência e de valores éticos e morais dos governantes e políticos, essenciais para viabilizar uma boa governança pública, elevar a transparência e aumentar o controle social no Brasil. _______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT

Muito além da tecnologia : o impacto dos mecanismos não operacionais na efetividade da governança de TI na administração pública

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração, 2016.

Misunderstanding or Misdirection?: Whistleblower Protection in Queensland

In his report into corruption in Queensland, Fitzgerald listed whistleblower protection as a necessary part of a strong governance regime. "What is required is an accessible, independent body to which disclosures can be made, confidentially (at least in the first instance) and in any event free from fear of reprisals." It was one of the reforms studied by the Electoral and Administrative Review Committee, the report of which resulted in the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1994 (WPA). The need for whistleblower protection was supported by all sides of Parliament. The Premier, Wayne Goss, in his Second Reading Speech on the Public Sector Ethics Bill , said that that Act and the WPA would form a package with the former outlining required behaviour and the WPA encouraging staff to report wrongdoing. The WPA was subsequently passed and has remained virtually unamended for over a decade. Such consistency is either an indication of skilled drafting and effectiveness or the fact that the Act has been neglected. It is the hypothesis of this paper that the latter is the case. This hypothesis will be tested by examining the sincerity and diligence with which the Act has been treated during, and following, its passage.

A strategic marketing approach to national development initiatives involving large scale collaborative ventures (LSCV)

This paper relates to government initiatives which aim at advancing their country’s economic development and investor attractiveness. It identifies large scale projects that involve collaboration between government and business (termed: large scale collaborative venture – LSCV) as one aspect of competing in the new economy. The study pursued the research proposition that a LSCV can be effectively facilitated by following a theory based process similar to what is used in corporate practice. An approach to managing such ventures is outlined, based on strategic marketing theory applied to a major project, the Multifunction Polis. It is proposed that such an approach may enhance the success of a collaborative venture and thereby help countries participate more successfully in global competition through such ventures.

Managing infrastructure transitions : a complex adaptive systems perspective

Engineering assets such as roads, rail, bridges and other forms of public works are vital to the effective functioning of societies {Herder, 2006 #128}. Proficient provision of this physical infrastructure is therefore one of the key activities of government {Lædre, 2006 #123}. In order to ensure engineering assets are procured and maintained on behalf of citizens, government needs to devise the appropriate policy and institutional architecture for this purpose. The changing institutional arrangements around the procurement of engineering assets are the focus of this paper. The paper describes and analyses the transition to new, more collaborative forms of procurement arrangements which are becoming increasingly prevalent in Australia and other OECD countries. Such fundamental shifts from competitive to more collaborative approaches to project governance can be viewed as a major transition in procurement system arrangements. In many ways such changes mirror the shift from New Public Management, with its emphasis on the use of market mechanisms to achieve efficiencies {Hood, 1991 #166}, towards more collaborative approaches to service delivery, such as those under network governance arrangements {Keast, 2007 #925}. However, just as traditional forms of procurement in a market context resulted in unexpected outcomes for industry, such as a fragmented industry afflicted by chronic litigation {Dubois, 2002 #9}, the change to more collaborative forms of procurement is unlikely to be a panacea to the problems of procurement, and may well also have unintended consequences. This paper argues that perspectives from complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory can contribute to the theory and practice of managing system transitions. In particular the concept of emergence provides a key theoretical construct to understand the aggregate effect that individual project governance arrangements can have upon the structure of specific industries, which in turn impact individual projects. Emergence is understood here as the macro structure that emerges out of the interaction of agents in the system {Holland, 1998 #100; Tang, 2006 #51}.