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1 – 10 of 12Jerrell D. Coggburn, R. Paul Battaglio and Mark D. Bradbury
Organizational conflict is often thought of as a malady to be avoided or quickly resolved. Such views neglect the potential value of conflict—that is, the constructive management…
Abstract
Organizational conflict is often thought of as a malady to be avoided or quickly resolved. Such views neglect the potential value of conflict—that is, the constructive management of conflict—to organizational outcomes. Managerial practices resulting in too little conflict may shape and reflect an organization hypersensitive to discord, dissent, and innovation. But management practices promoting excessive conflict may overload an organization with information, rendering it incapable of reaching timely decisions, generating animosity, or creating other unproductive outcomes. This paper examines constructive conflict management, which gives employees voice and encourages authentic participation in decision-making. We hypothesize that such an approach is positively related to employee job satisfaction and organizational performance. However, given the potential for “too much of a good thing” when it encouraging conflict, we also test for a curvilinear relationships between conflict management and organizational outcomes.
“To work in an organization is to be in conflict. To take advantage of joint work requires conflict management” (Tjosvold, 2008, p. 19).
The purpose of this paper is to propose an organizational behavioral perspective that could provide useful analysis tools to understand the behavior of public leaders working in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an organizational behavioral perspective that could provide useful analysis tools to understand the behavior of public leaders working in changeable and uncertain contexts (like the Italian one). More specifically, drawing on public administration and organizational behavior literatures, this paper examines whether the lack of continuity and long-term planning is significantly associated to public service motivation for public management.
Design/methodology/approach
The main contribution of this study is in taking into account the agency of public managers in reaction to wider changes in their political context. It is a theoretical study that considers sudden changes in government from a behavioral perspective, analyzing an extreme case of political and organizational turnover, namely the Italian context.
Findings
Public managers, when faced with constant change, act as transformational leaders and have the objective of leverage on intrinsic motivations in order to make the change accepted and, more so, to make it perceived as an advantage for the administration.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to address the issue of public service motivation and intrinsic motivations in carrying out the own job in the public sphere in a constantly changing scenario. Assuming that motivational incentives for public and private employees are different, namely that the former, in particular, are particularly attracted to motivations related to people and common good, this study investigates how public service motivation should be stimulated and supported in a context of change.
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Christine L. Rush and Nicholas C. Zingale
We argue that the proliferation of governance in the public sector has raised questions regarding individual constitutional rights. While some proclaim cost savings and…
Abstract
We argue that the proliferation of governance in the public sector has raised questions regarding individual constitutional rights. While some proclaim cost savings and entrepreneurial solutions to vexing social ills, others suspect that these benefits donʼt outweigh the risk of diminished accountability and the loss of constitutional protection over public service production. We propose a new model to examine the relationships between direct government, governance, public value, and public law value. We apply this model to analyze two landmark Supreme Court cases and one contemporary federal appellate court case to explore the ongoing tension between the governance model and public service production. Our findings suggest that enforcible contract language and public-private entwinement can be used as tools to protect constitutional rights in the face of increasing pressure of governance approaches.
Almaas Sultana and Rayees Farooq
The purpose of the study is to develop a valid measure of stereotype threat.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to develop a valid measure of stereotype threat.
Design/methodology/approach
A convenience sample of 2,900 respondents from different occupational sectors, including managers, engineers and health-care professionals, was used for the present study. The data were collected from various government and private organizations in North India. The questionnaire survey was administered in three phases. During the first phase, 800 questionnaires were circulated, followed by 1,200 questionnaires in the second phase, and the third phase involves 900 questionnaires. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.
Findings
The results indicate nine dimensions, namely, occupational identification, occupational stigma consciousness, gender identification, gender stigma consciousness, religion identification, religion stigma consciousness, caste identification, caste stigma consciousness and negative effect of stereotype threat. The study ensures the reliability and validity of the stereotype threat scale. The measure also fulfils the assumptions of nomological validity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is the first of its kind to develop and validate the stereotype threat scale adhering to scale development procedures.
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Bharat Mehra and Joseph Winberry
This chapter explores “politic talks” (also known as political information) on the websites of academic libraries in land-grant state universities of the South in the context of a…
Abstract
This chapter explores “politic talks” (also known as political information) on the websites of academic libraries in land-grant state universities of the South in the context of a global retreat of democracy that emerged during former President Trump’s regime as the 45th President of the United States. The exploratory qualitative evaluation applies website content analysis of seven information offerings in three categories that include: (1) information sources (collections, resources), information policy and planning (assigned role, strategic representation), and connections (internal, external, news and events). Promising practices and illustrative examples of “politic talks” representation on academic library websites show how they are serving as significant providers of political information during current politically turbulent times. The discussion of these findings in relation to each state’s voting likelihood based on trends since 2000 has significant political implications in enhancing the role of academic libraries moving forward.
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Meisam Mozafar, Alireza Moini and Yaser Sobhanifard
This study aims to identify the origins, mechanisms and outcomes of applying behavioral insight in public policy research.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the origins, mechanisms and outcomes of applying behavioral insight in public policy research.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a systematic literature review to answer three research questions. The authors identified 387 primary studies, dated from January 2000 to April 2021 and coded them through a thematic analysis. Related studies were obtained through searching in Emerald, ScienceDirect, Sage, Springer, Wiley and Routledge.
Findings
The results identified eight themes for origins, 16 themes for mechanisms/techniques and 13 outcome-related themes. Through the thematic analysis, the major mechanisms of behavioral approach were found to be social marketing, information provision, social norms, incentives, affect, regulation design, framing, salience, defaults, simplification, networking, environment design, scheduled announcements, commitments, attitude-preference-behavior manifestation and combining behavioral and nonbehavioral mechanisms.
Practical implications
The findings of this review help policymakers to design or redesign policy elements.
Originality/value
This review provides the first systematic exploration of the existing literature on behavioral public policy.
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Lihi Lahat and Yekoutiel Sabah
This paper contributes to the literature on performance management by offering an inside look at a collaborative process that worked to define outcomes in the field of personal…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper contributes to the literature on performance management by offering an inside look at a collaborative process that worked to define outcomes in the field of personal social services. It asks if different kinds of trust and leadership have an effect on the outputs of a collaborative process that aims at defining outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses an exploratory case study based on mixed method analysis. Using a practitioner-researcher method, it first presents the collaborative process implemented to bring stakeholders together to define the desired outcomes. It then explores findings from a participants survey and focuses on the effect of different kinds of trust and leadership on the collaborative process outputs.
Findings
The findings show a unique collaborative effort aimed at defining outcomes in the field of personal social services. They reveal the importance of organizational trust to learning outputs and suggest the significance of “shared leadership”.
Research limitations/implications
Given the study's exploratory nature, the findings cannot be generalized to a larger population, but the study aimed at transferability. On a practical level, the findings can help mangers identify preferred conditions to implement collaborative initiatives aimed at performance measurement.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the theoretical and empirical literature on performance management and collaborative governance. It pinpoints the importance of organizational trust and shared leadership as bridging mechanisms between participants in collaborative arrangements.
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Nikos Kartalis, Mathew Tsamenyi and Kelum Jayasinghe
The purpose of this paper is to examine how accounting is implicated in the creation and maintenance of organizational boundaries. The analysis focuses on organizations subjected…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how accounting is implicated in the creation and maintenance of organizational boundaries. The analysis focuses on organizations subjected to conflicting objectives as a result of new public management (NPM) reforms.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis is based on case studies of four cultural organizations (Show Caves) in Greece. Data are collected from semi-structured interviews, informal discussions and document analysis. The paper draws on Bourdieu’s concepts of “field”, “capital” and “habitus” and Llewellyn’s analysis of organizational boundary maintenance.
Findings
The study observes that NPM reforms contributed to shifting organizational boundaries – from cultural/archaeological to economic/financial and this resulted in conflicting organizational objectives. This subsequently created conflicts between key actors (municipal politicians, professional managers and anthropologists). These actors, depending on the positions (and habitus) they occupy, and the capital (political, cultural and symbolic) they hold, are able to bargain for resources (economic capital). The conflicting objectives (archaeological/cultural/historical, political and commercial) that emerged and the tensions that arose between the key players shaped the identities and boundaries of the Show Caves.
Originality/value
The study makes an original contribution by revealing the complexity and struggle between actors and the role of accounting in managing the boundaries. For example, the study explains how financial threshold and accountability structures function within these cultural organizations that are subjected to conflicting objectives in the context of NPM reforms.
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This paper aims to examine Canadian government measures to support country’s economic recovery and sustainable development. The goal is to examine whether all orders of government…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine Canadian government measures to support country’s economic recovery and sustainable development. The goal is to examine whether all orders of government are working well to deliver the required help to Canadians.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical foundations for this article are drawn from liberal and institutionalist approaches to comparative politics. Specifically, the proposed study draws on political tensions that occur because of actions of self-centered regional (provincial) governments who legitimize individual policies based on their self-centered economic and political objectives.
Findings
Nowadays, we can observe the primary role of the state in supporting and regulating the health governance systems, the economy and social life. Many informal groups have unstructured approach, which does not require them to follow existing strategies. The challenges caused by COVID-19 have led to the resurgence of collective, state-based approaches to the recovery. The key findings illuminate the importance of crisis communication activities which should be implemented properly. This implies that all disclosures must be timely and truthful.
Practical implications
The study helps to better understand the events that disrupt parts of the Canadian economy during pandemic. It reviews the essential functions that are critical for reliable operation of infrastructure services to ensure safety and well-being of the population. During the COVID-19, federal–provincial–territorial collaboration runs into resistance because of competing interests, resource constraints, legacies from past conflicts and lack of coordination. In contrast to managers, who often focus on tangible short-term results, today’s leadership more often seeks intangible long-term results. This means that the central–local government relations tend to be more informal.
Originality/value
In the face of external shock, such as COVID-19, it did not take much time for Canadian provincial governments to realize that they cannot cope with a wide range of challenges alone. In these circumstances, the narratives of how governments work together during the challenging time to impact their desired outcomes are of crucial importance.
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