Search results

EVERYBODY knows that the housewife's work entails long working hours and occasionally strenuous activity. Consequently the first question confronting the work study physiologist is: How high must we rate the physical demand on the housewife?

This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/09513559610109466. When citing the article, please cite: Howard Mellett, Jan Williams, (1996), “Accountability and the accounting regime in the public sector”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 9 Iss 1 pp. 61 - 70.

This paper argues that by shackling the future of work to a vision of full employment, alternative futures are closed off. At present, employment creation is seen as the sole route out of poverty. Here, however, we reveal that a complementary additional pathway is to help people to help themselves and each other. To show this, evidence from a survey of 400 households in deprived neighbourhoods of Southampton and Sheffield is reported. This reveals that besides creating job opportunities, measures that directly empower people to improve their circumstances could be a useful complementary initiative to combat social exclusion and open up new futures for work that are currently closed off.

Today information products are available on various electronic media. Choices include traditional online hosts, databases on CD‐ROM or locally mounted, and the Internet with its numerous information resources. The paper describes the pricing structure of the different electronic options together with the technical and personnel requirements to run an information service. Also the characteristics of such information systems concerning user, training and availability of the service are dealt with. The discussion of pros and cons enable an information manager to make cost‐effective decisions.

In the UK, the Government is keen to introduce private sector procedures into the public sector. The latest stage of this process has been to suggest the adoption of accruals accounting by those parts of the public sector where it is not already operated. This approach to accounting was introduced into the NHS as part of the reforms which implemented a quasi‐market to match the demands of purchasers of health care with its providers. Outlines the assumptions which underlie accruals accounting and considers whether the environment created for NHS Trusts is sufficiently like that of the private sector to justify its use. Shows that the initial ideas of the extent to which Trusts could mimic private sector organizations have not been fulfilled in practice, and concludes that it is not possible to justify the use of accruals accounting in the public sector simply on the grounds that as it is the technique used in the private sector it must be superior to the available alternatives.

The purpose of the research presented in this article is to identify potential influences on an organization-specific “ideal” level of project management maturity by adopting a qualitative, exploratory approach.

In this paper, the results of a multiple qualitative case study, which has been conducted within industrial enterprises from automotive industry and energy sector, are presented. The research methods applied within the case research are qualitative guided interview, document analysis and standardized interview (maturity questionnaire).

The interview data reveal that the complexity of the companies' projects might be a determining factor regarding the “ideal” level of maturity. A comparison of the findings of the case research with a secondary literature review on project complexity showed that particularly those facets of project complexity that affect the interaction of the project participants (project team, client, suppliers) seem to require a certain level of maturity.

The idea of an organization-specific “ideal” level of maturity was raised by the developers of project management maturity models (PMMM). It is of interest for professionals due to efficiency reasons. Research literature in the context of PMMM has so far touched on environmental/circumstantial influences on this ideal maturity level only to a slight degree. The results of the qualitative research presented herein mark a contribution to this research gap and allow for quantitative testing.

The study of mindfulness is still shown to be of interest in different aspects of organisations and/or businesses. Therefore, this study aims to present an integrative, multi-level model of mindfulness based on a holistic approach that can contribute to better governance practices and lead to competitive advantages.

To fulfil this aim, an extensive integrative review of the literature, from the main articles about this topic, was made.

This study shows that the concept of mindfulness, a conscious presence or full attention and its relation with organisations or firms’ personal, behavioural and social characteristics, in the current context of great adversity, uncertainty and unpredictability, is of interest at the individual, organisational and social level.

This conceptual study has important implications for both practice and theory. It demonstrates that mindfulness significantly impacts the manager/business person’s ecosystem at the individual, organisational and social levels, particularly in relation to Sustainable Development Goals.

This study introduces a comprehensive theoretical model that explains this relationship and organises information from a multi-level perspective. This approach can contribute to the advancement of theory by clarifying and discussing the role of mindfulness at the individual, organisational and societal levels. It also identifies opportunities and outlines future research directions, aiming to promote more sustainable development.

This paper aims to discuss the main reasons behind the tension between accountability to donors and accountability to beneficiaries, in terms of obtaining the basic needs and human rights of the latter. Relying on three arguments; firstly, based on Angela Crack’s (2013) theory of the three waves of accountability, the authors argue that the unequal power relations between donors, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and beneficiaries is a source of the deficit and gap of this accountability. Secondly, the authors examine the relation between INGOs and politics, their role in influencing policy making and their increased involvement with governments and states. The authors suggest that INGOs reliance on governments for facilitation and funding makes them accountable to those governments in a way that conflicts with the needs of their beneficiaries affecting their chances to obtain their basic human rights. Thirdly, the authors explore the different agendas between the global north and global south, considering the Western roots of INGOs. Finally, the paper suggests that unequal power relations, INGOs’ questionable legitimacy and the unclear relation with politics explain the causes behind the tension in accountability making it inevitable.

Angela Crack’s (2013) theory of the three waves of accountability.

The paper suggests that unequal power relations, INGOs’ questionable legitimacy and the unclear relation with politics explain the causes behind the tension in accountability making it inevitable.

Identifying and resolving the tension between INGOs accountability to donors and accountability to so-called beneficiaries can result in better obtainment of human rights.

In an arts organisation context, this paper aims to further the understanding of service relationships by developing a framework explaining how sponsored arts organisations could better manage their relationships with sponsors to facilitate mutual benefit and relationship persistence.

Grounded theory methodology was applied to sponsorship of arts organisations through interviews with the managers of arts organisations worldwide who had been involved in seeking and managing sponsorship relationships.

Reciprocity was found to be the key factor in successful sponsorship relationships, but emotional reference to reputation was also important. Together they link uncertainty in the complex sponsorship environment with an arts organisation’s artistic ambitions.

This study extends the understanding of service relationships by shedding light on the sponsorship relationship from the sponsored organisation’s point of view and in particular highlighting the role of reciprocity in managing the relationship with their sponsor.

Understanding the moderating roles of reciprocity and reputation in sponsorship relationships helps to explain key facets of such relationships which can partially negate sponsor benefits and threaten a sponsorship’s continuation.