Determinants of local government pension funding: Empirical evidence from Florida

The financial community is well aware that continued underfunding of state and local government pension plans poses many public policy and fiduciary management concerns. However, a well-defined theoretical rationale has not been developed to explain why and how public sector pension plans underfund. This study uses three methods: a survey of national pension experts, an incomplete covariance panel method, and field interviews.^ A survey of national public sector pension experts was conducted to provide a conceptual framework by which underfunding could be evaluated. Experts suggest that plan design, fiscal stress, and political culture factors impact underfunding. However, experts do not agree with previous research findings that unions actively pursue underfunding to secure current wage increases.^ Within the conceptual framework and determinants identified by experts, several empirical regularities are documented for the first time. Analysis of 173 local government pension plans, observed from 1987 to 1992, was conducted. Findings indicate that underfunding occurs in plans that have lower retirement ages, increased costs due to benefit enhancements, when the sponsor faces current year operating deficits, or when a local government relies heavily on inelastic revenue sources. Results also suggest that elected officials artificially inflate interest rate assumptions to reduce current pension costs, consequently shifting these costs to future generations. In concurrence with some experts there is no data to support the assumption that highly unionized employees secure more funding than less unionized employees.^ Empirical results provide satisfactory but not overwhelming statistical power, and only minor predictive capacity. To further explore why underfunding occurs, field interviews were carried out with 62 local government officials. Practitioners indicated that perceived fiscal stress, the willingness of policymakers to advance funding, bargaining strategies used by union officials, apathy by employees and retirees, pension board composition, and the level of influence by internal pension experts has an impact on funding outcomes.^ A pension funding process model was posited by triangulating the expert survey, empirical findings, and field survey results. The funding process model should help shape and refine our theoretical knowledge of state and local government pension underfunding in the future. ^

Territorial administrative reorganization as a strategy for optimizing the structure of local government

Through the tough economic and social situation and the lack of values that has been experienced in recent years, local governments especially in Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain have been forced to strongly consider the structure and size of their public sector. Despite some initiative to reduce the number of municipalities and provinces, little substantive progress has been made in improving the management of the local public Administration during this crisis. In this study a territorial administrative reorganization is proposed as a strategy to optimize the structure of local government, analyzing the Spanish situation in general, and an autonomous community in particular.

Reprint: Learning With a Strategic Management Simulation Q2 Game: A Case Study

The use of simulation games as a pedagogic method is well established though its effective use is context-driven. This study adds to the increasing growing body of empirical evidence of the effectiveness of simulation games but more importantly emphasises why by explaining the instructional design implemented reflecting best practices. This multimethod study finds evidence that student learning was enhanced through the use of simulation games, reflected in the two key themes; simulation games as a catalyst for learning and simulation games as a vehicle for learning. In so doing the research provides one of the few empirically based studies that support simulation games in enhancing learning and, more importantly, contextualizes the enhancement in terms of the instructional design of the curriculum. This research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulation games and management educators who use, or are considering its use. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate concerning the effective implementation of simulation game-based training in business and management education.

Strategic Management Simulation as a Blended Learning Dimension: Campus Based Students’ Perspectives

Although business simulations are widely used in management education, there is no consensus about how to optimise their application. Our research explores the use of business simulations as a dimension of a blended learning pedagogic approach for undergraduate business education. Accepting that few best-practice prescriptive models for the design and implementation of simulations in this context have been presented, and that there is little empirical evidence for the claims made by proponents of such models, we address the lacuna by considering business student perspectives on the use of simulations. We then intersect available data with espoused positive outcomes made by the authors of a prescriptive model. We find the model to be essentially robust and offer evidence to support this position. In so doing we provide one of the few empirically based studies to support claims made by proponents of simulations in business education. The research should prove valuable for those with an academic interest in the use of simulations, either as a blended learning dimension or as a stand-alone business education activity. Further, the findings contribute to the academic debate surrounding the use and efficacy of simulation-based training [SBT] within business and management education.

Hoshin Kanri – the Japanese way of piloting : An exploratory study of a Japanese strategic management system

Strategy is a highly topical subject among managers and since the world is constantlychanging it is also an important subject for companies’ competitive advantage and survival.At the same time experts in the field of strategic management describe western techniques ascomplex and ineffective while the Japanese techniques have been seen as unambiguous andcharacterized by focus on quality, productivity and teamwork. This calls for greaterknowledge in the Japanese management systems. Hoshin Kanri is a collection of Japanesebest strategic management practices and therefore an interesting target for our study. Thus, onthe one hand this study investigates the theory of Hoshin Kanri in order to give structure to itand provide a way for practitioner into the management system. On the other hand this studyinvestigates Hoshin Kanri in order to reveal how Japanese subsidiaries based in Sweden haveimplemented this strategic management system. This is firstly done by reviewing the existingliterature on the subject and secondly by a collective case study with in-depth interviewsconducted with managers at Japanese owned subsidiaries based in Sweden. There are somelimitations in this study. One is that the results of the study do not include all Japanesesubsidiaries in Sweden as not all companies participated in the study. Moreover, the study islimited by one individuals’ knowledge and perception of Hoshin Kanri in each of the threecompanies. The study contributes to the existing literature on the topic of Hoshin Kanri by;(1) structuring the literature and the existing models under one of two categories, namelycyclical or sequential; (2) providing a model that aims at making it more understandable andattractive for practitioner to apply; (3) initiating the mapping of the spread of Hoshin Kanriamong Japanese subsidiaries in Sweden and (4) providing a Swedish model for theapplication of HK in Japanese subsidiaries.

Strategic Management of Resources for International Business Operations in Small Consulting Firms - People, Processes and Tools in Managing International operations

Research on strategic management of resources for small consulting firms which are international or planning to operate internationally is scarce or not existing at all. It is however important to start generating the theories that will support managers in their decision making and planning. This thesis investigates how do small management consulting firms manage their internal and external resources while operating in international markets. Throughout the study, aspects related to internal and external resources management as well as management strategies in these firms have been examined in relations to firm’s internationalisation activities. A qualitative analysis was carried out whereby four small consulting firms in Export Management Consulting, Integration Services Consulting-, Software Development Consulting- and Business Solutions Consulting companies were interviewed. In order to generate the holistic understanding of the study, the thesis writer selected Value Enhanced Collaborative Working (VECW) model as an analysis framework. The model focuses on people, processes and tools as key elements that small consulting firms consider when thinking about managing their international operations. The findings of the thesis reveal that, internal and external resources in the interviewed consulting firms are viewed similarly, but managed differently depending on the nature and size of the firm. Firm’s management strategies concentrate on the adequate utilisation of the employees' motivation and experiences, effective stakeholders' management, various administrative evaluation processes and tools, the ability to realise useful networks, constant improvement through employee trainings, employees and customers’ feedbacks as well as enhanced freedom in order to support employees’ creativity. Further research to examine functional administrative tools and tools that small consulting firms could use to assess their resource capabilities when planning to become international would benefit the smaller businesses in terms of resources management and certainty in planning.

The BCG matrix revisited: a strategic management assessment of the portuguese export industries

Doutoramento em Gestão.

Ligação entre a Liderança e a Performace através da Gestão Estratégica: Uma análise ao nível das Unidades de Saúde "Linking Leadership to Performance Through Strategic Management".

Esta dissertação pretende descobrir de que forma a Liderança pode influenciar o desenvolvimento da Estratégia de uma organização ou empresa, através de uma análise do seu desempenho. Abordando as temáticas então enunciadas, o objectivo deste estudo reside na avaliação da importância e contributo da Liderança ao nível da Gestão Estratégica implementada ao nível de uma unidade de saúde. A estrutura deste estudo envolve um enquadramento teórico da Liderança e da Estratégia, culminando na relação entre os dois conceitos. Seguidamente, evidencia uma abordagem à metodologia aplicada, culminando num estudo empírico às unidades de saúde analisadas. Pretende-se com isto que os conceitos estudados sejam adaptados a dois centros hospitalares pertencentes ao Distrito de Setúbal (o Centro Hospitalar de Setúbal - E.P.E., em conjunto com o Centro Hospitalar do Barreiro e Montijo - E.P.E.). Assim sendo, comparando diversos indicadores de actividades, dos recursos humanos e resultados financeiros de cada unidade hospitalar, com os resultados de entrevistas que avaliam na prática os conceitos da liderança e estratégia, as conclusões que se recolhem determinam que qualquer uma das temáticas abordadas é certamente uma parte essencial da gestão e que desta forma se mostram inevitavelmente ligadas e intrínsecas enquanto dotadas de uma correlação e dependência irrefutáveis. O resultado deste estudo, apresenta então um grande desafio para gestor, que reside em saber em que situações seguir ou alterar as suas estratégias permitindo assim gerar mais flexibilidade na conduta da sua actividade, em conjunto com a forma ou estilo mais correcto de liderar os seus seguidores, de forma a tornar os seus recursos humanos numa unidade sólida, harmonizada e orientado para a obtenção de um objectivo comum.

Mobilising community action towards a low-carbon future: Opportunities and challenges for local government in the UK

Over the last decade the important role that local authorities can play in catalyzing communityaction on climate change has been repeatedly emphasised by the UK Government. The paper examines this policy context and explores the options available to local authorities in terms of reaching and engaging their communities. The type of progressive response shown by some UKlocal authorities is illustrated with empirical evidence gathered through a study conducted in the London Borough of Islington focusing on their recently established ‘Green Living Centre’. The results confirm interest in this major council-led community initiative, with positive attitudes expressed by the majority of those questioned in terms of the advice and information available. However, it is also clear that many participants had preexisting pro-environmental attitudes and behavioural routines. Results from a broader sample of Islington residents indicate a substantial challenge in reaching the wider community, where enthusiasm for sustainability change and interest in this type of scheme were more mixed. The prospect for local government in addressing this challenge – and their ability to trigger and capitalize upon concepts of social change at the community level towardsalowercarbon future – is discussed in the final part of the paper.

Innovation in public services: the case of Spanish local government

The present paper aims to determine the level of implementation of innovations in Spanish local government as well as to identify which types of innovations are most common. The paper also considers the link between innovative behavior and organizational size. However, since innovations cannot occur as isolated phenomena but rather as a part of corporate strategy, the study compares the innovative behavior of the local governments analyzed with their typologies or strategic profiles. In order to achieve the aforementioned aims, the paper uses a survey of the Human Resource Managers of Town Halls in the largest Spanish municipalities. The results of this survey show that the most frequent innovations in the local governments analyzed are collaborative; the largest town halls show more propensities to innovate and they focus on external relationships which are collaborative and on the basis on Information and Communication Technologies. The study reconfirms that town halls with a prospective profile are the most innovative.

Under the veneer of decentralisation. Ukraine's modernisation efforts stall due to lack of local government reform. OSW Commentary No. 102, 2013-02-12

President Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions have been repeating the pledge to decentralise power in Ukraine and to give local government a greater decision-making role ever since the party appeared on the Ukrainian political scene. The implementation of this reform is crucial both for the economic recovery of Ukraine’s regions and the overall modernisation efforts of the Ukrainian state. At present relations between central government and the regions are regulated by Soviet-era legislation that fails to address the modern-day challenges facing Ukraine. The political elite in the country, including the opposition, appear to have reached consensus on the importance of the decentralisation reform. The first attempts to implement changes in this area were made in the late 1990s, followed by a comprehensive reform programme developed between 2007 and 2009 by Yulia Tymoshenko’s government. In 2012, the Constitutional Assembly under the President of Ukraine appointed a team of experts who drafted a document detailing the reform of local government and the territorial organisation of power1. The document envisages the implementation of what effectively are two major reforms: (1) an administrative-territorial reform, which would help consolidate the fragmented administrative structure, creating larger and more economically self-sufficient administrative units, and (2) local government reform, focusing on creating clearly defined powers for local authorities with a view to securing government funding for specific tasks delegated from central government. Nonetheless, despite these measures, and in spite of the rhetoric coming from President Yanukovych and other members of the Party of Regions, it seems unlikely that the reform will be implemented in the foreseeable future. A series of concrete political decisions taken by the president over the past three years indicate that Yanukovych has not abandoned his plan to build a highly centralised political system. This in turn limits the capacity to govern of local authorities and further restricts the sources of funding for Ukraine’s regions. This apparent resistance to change stems from the fact that by implementing the proposed reforms, the president and his political allies would be forced to relinquish much of their control over the political processes taking place in the country and would have to free up the distribution of budgetary resources between Kyiv and the regions. The implementation of the reform within the specified timeframe (i.e. by 2015) is also unlikely due to the upcoming presidential election and the deteriorating economic situation in Ukraine. Without a comprehensive reform of local government, however, Ukraine will be unable to undertake effective modernisation measures, which are key for the socio-economic development of the country’s regions.

An examination of the role of the concept of the community within the current reorganisation of English local government

The thesis will examine the role and impact of the concept of the community within the structural reorganisation of English local government between 1992 and 1995. The methodological approach adopted within this thesis has been to compare the use, application and significance of the community with a case study of a specific local authority and its preparations for reorganisation. The authority in question was Wychavon District Council located in the County of Hereford and Worcester. The conclusions from this case study were then compared to the role and significance of the community in the reviews of other local authorities in England. This study produced two important results. These were that there was an established body of literature which argued that the community could be of value to local government and that the community should be identified by measuring individuals sense of belonging and feelings of attachment, as well as such daily activities as shopping and working (which help to stimulate these feelings). The then Conservative Government even instructed the specially appointed Commission to apply this particular interpretation of the community to their reviews, and to attempt to base any new unitary authorities upon the social and spatial area it created. The Conservative Government also gave the Commission a Community Index to assist with the identification of communities, and appointed the pollsters MORI to support the Commission with the task of identifying the emotional and more subjective senses of community. The Commission eventually came to rely entirely on the MORI polls, and whilst these polls attempted to faithfully apply the Governments interpretation of the community, they unfortunately produced small and often complex communities, which the Commission felt could not be applied to its reviews. This therefore led to the community becoming a secondary consideration to the factors of cost and efficiency. Furthermore the problematic nature of the community - that is, the production of small and complex communities - was repeated in this thesis' own survey of community identities in the District of Wychavon. In fact this authority's proposals for reorganisation were based almost entirely upon the factors of cost, size and efficiency.

The Audit Commission:guiding, steering and regulating local government

How does the non-executant state ensure that its agents are fulfilling their obligations to deliver nationally determined policies? In the case of elected local government in England and Wales, this function is carried out by the Audit Commission (AC) for Local Authorities and the Health Service for England and Wales. Since being established in 1983, it is the means by which local authorities are held to account by central government, both for its own purposes and on behalf of other interested stakeholders. Although the primary function of the AC is to ensure that local authorities are fulfilling their obligations, it does so by using different methods. By acting as a regulator, an independent expert, an opinion former and a mediator, the AC steers local authorities to ensure that they are compliant with the regulatory regime and are implementing legislation properly.