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Qualitätsmanagement und verwandte Ansätze (am bekanntesten: Total Quality Management (TQM)) verbreiten sich immer mehr im Bereich der Dienstleistungen, sowohl im privaten, wie neuerdings unter dem Begriff des "New Public Managements" (NPM) auch im öffentlichen Sektor. In der hier vorgestellten Studie wurde ein theoretisches Modell zum Zusammenhang der Mitarbeiter- und Kundenzufriedenheit entwickelt. Das Modell wurde im Rahmen einer umfangreichen Forschungsprojekts (FWF, Projektnummer 13520) empirisch überprüft. Das Arbeitsmodell basiert auf der "Service-Profit-Chain" (Heskett et al., 1994). Erweitert wurde dieses in der einschlägigen Literatur bekannte Modell um die von Donabedian (1967) eingeführte Unterscheidung in Struktur- Prozess und Ergebnisqualität einer Leistung. Die Wahrnehmungen der MitarbeiterInnen bezüglich dieser Qualitätsdimensionen (perzipierte Servicefähigkeit; Hallowell et al., 1996)) wurden als zusätzliche Differenzierung in das Arbeitsmodell integriert. Die Studie basiert auf einer dyadischen Evaluation von Zufriedenheitsaspekten der MitarbeiterInnen und KundInnen im Bereich von Organisationen, die sich mit New Public Management auseinandersetzen. Die statistischen Analysen basieren auf einem aggregierten Datensatz, der eine Zuordnung der Einschätzungen von definierten KundInnengruppen und MitarbeiterInnengruppen ermöglicht. Die Daten wurden mit einem selbst entwickelten Messinstrument erfasst, welches für die einzelnen Mitarbeiter- und Kundendimensionen analoge Formulierungen der Items vorsieht. Mittels Faktorenanalyse konnte die Struktur der Struktur- Prozess- und Ergebnisqalität sowohl mitarbeiter- als auch kundenseitig bestätigt werden. Im direkten Vergleich wurde insbesondere die Ergebnisqualität der Leistungen kritisch beurteilt. Die MitarbeiterInnen neigen meist zu einer Unterschätzung ihrer Leistungen. Eine (kausale) Beziehung zwischen Mitarbeiter- und Kundeneinschätzungen konnte insbesondere für die Prozessqualität nachgewiesen werden. (Autorenref.) / Series: WU-Jahrestagung 2002

This dissertation explores the socio-cultural and institutional environment of the public sector organizations of Mongolia that have strong influence on current public administration reform results. This study applies the Cultural theory and Value theory. The strong hierarchy favoring rule-bounded behavior and collectivism, fatalism accepting an authority as inevitable and uncontrollable, and individualism wishing to have control over own actions are the types of culture common in Mongolian public sector organizations. Accordingly, Mongolian public sector employees transcending their selfish interests, emphasize the well-being of others, protection of order, harmony in relations, life safety and stability. Then self-direction values with emphases on independent thought and action, and creativity are important for them. This socio-cultural context has great implication for work behavior of public employees, for their action to implement the reform policies in government organizations. Thus, the institutional leadership, which produces and protects values, becomes essential for introducing changes in the existing intuitional environment. / Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht das sozio-kulturelle und institutionelle Umfeld der Organisationen des öffentlichen Sektors in der Mongolei, das signifikante Einflüsse auf die aktuellen Reformbemühungen in der öffentlichen Verwaltung hat. Die Studie stützt sich auf die Kultur- und Werttheorie. Die regelkonforme Verhaltensweise, Gemeinschaftsfavorisierende strenge Hierarchie, die fatalistische Annahme einer Autorität als unvermeidlich und unkontrollierbar sowie ein auf möglichst eigenständige Entscheidung und Meinungsbildung angestrebter Individualismus sind die weitverbreiteten kulturellen Verhaltensformen bei den Organisationen des öffentlichen Sektors der Mongolei. Dementsprechend streben die Beschäftigten des öffentlichen Dienstes uneigennützig das Wohlergehen der Bevölkerung, die Einhaltung der öffentlichen Regeln, die einvernehmlichen Beziehungen der Menschen zueinander sowie die Sicherheit und Nachhaltigkeit des Lebens an. Bestimmte Wertvorstellungen zur Selbstbestimmung, wie persönliche Geisteshaltung, eigenständiges Handeln sowie Kreativität sind für sie sehr wichtig. Dieser sozio- kulturelle Kontext hat große Auswirkungen auf das Arbeitsverhalten und auf die Aktivitäten der Beschäftigten des öffentlichen Dienstes zur Umsetzung von Reformen in der öffentlichen Verwaltung. Daher ist eine institutionelle Führung als Förderer und Beschützer von Wertesystemen bei der Umsetzung von Reformen in den hiesigen Institutionen unerlässlich.

Master-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2007.

Die Schriftenreihe „Arbeitspapiere des Instituts für Öffentliche Finanzen und Public Management“ stellt Themen aus aktuellen Forschungsbereichen des Instituts vor.

This dissertation analyzes the effects of Latino immigration on the representation of Latinos and African-Americans on school boards and attempts to explain under what conditions Latino immigrants provoke opposition among whites. I consider two measures of representation based on representative bureaucracy—the membership of Latinos and African-Americans on school boards and bias in the responsiveness of white school board members toward these two groups. Whites as the major racial group in the U.S. have been the subject of much intergroup relations research focusing on competition for scarce resources, perceived threat and group biases (e.g., Evans and Giles, 1986; Giles and Evans, 1985, 1986; Esses, Jackson and Armstrong, 1998), and I also focus on their racial behaviors as voters in school board elections and as school board members. I consider Latino immigration in this research because emerging evidence suggests that Latino immigration poses a growing threat to whites, leading them to shift their support from Latinos to a countervailing group, such as African-Americans (e.g., Meier and Stewart, 1991; Rocha, 2007). It is likely that the reactions of whites to Latino immigration are conditioned by their preexisting racial attitudes, so this dissertation also tests competing theories of community racial climate—group threat and group contact. I expect that racial tensions within a community should moderate the influence of Latino immigration on these two forms of Latino and African-American representation. Overall, this dissertation expands the study of representative bureaucracy by combining past research on community racial climates with conditions influencing minority representation.

Prior studies have documented the expanded role of 311 non-emergency systems in public participation, public management and performance management in local governments. Three-one-one began as a simple telephone-based system for requesting non-emergency services and now plays an important role in local governments. Yet, there are very few insights into the impact of 311 systems on their public users, even as local governments increasingly turn to 311 as a public engagement tool, using it to facilitate citizen-initiated contacts. This dissertation explores two research questions. First, how has 311 technology affected citizen behavior? Second, has the introduction of a 311 system produced a more equitable pattern of participation in the administrative process by changing the profile of citizens who contact local government? This dissertation finds that the three cities in the case studies (Denver, Minneapolis and Kansas City) faced several challenges during implementation, including managing the internal culture change associated with introducing 311 into local government. It also finds some evidence of higher contacting rates and increased equity associated with 311 use. These findings have two main policy implications. First, they highlight the importance of designing a variety of participation options to ensure that participation is open to various cross-sections of the population and to equalize access to government across venues. Second, more consideration needs to be given to the design features of an implementation plan for an innovation such as 311, ensuring a clear link between the features and specific desired outcomes, given the unique conditions of the implementation context.

Special Activity Generators have been a policy popular with governments across the country seeking to revitalize lethargic downtowns. Sports facilities, a widespread form of Special Activity Generators, have been shown to be incapable of generating regional economic benefits, but are able to generate urban redevelopment. While sports facilities are well studied by academics, minor league stadiums have not been the focus of significant research despite the larger number of such projects. My dissertation uses a sequential explanatory mixed methodology to answer whether minor league baseball stadiums are successful as Special Activity Generators. I first use a quantitative analysis of sixteen stadiums built around the year 2000 which finds a significant effect of the stadium on nearby neighborhoods in comparison to the rest of the city. However, that growth is created by concentrating redevelopment, not creating unique activity. Two case studies clarify that the stadiums were critical to the observed redevelopment efforts, but also that there is a need for thorough planning and collocated amenities prior to construction in order to maximize the results from the public investment.

The central research question is the extent to which gifted programming affects student academic outcomes of gifted as compared to not-gifted students and how this differs by race/ethnicity and/or poverty status. Since the identification of elementary school students as gifted is not random, propensity score matching is used to remove this bias in the estimates of the effects. A matched sample of North Carolina middle school students based on individual level data of both gifted and not-gifted students of varied racial/ethnic groups and income levels is used for this analysis. This enables a comparison of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade student achievement to determine the extent to which participating in gifted programming differentiates effects by race/ethnicity and poverty status. I show the additional test score gain, if any, from being in gifted programming compared to students not participating in gifted programs. Variations in gifted program effects across race/ethnicity and income are assessed. This research adds empirical evidence to the more qualitatively focused gifted debate by analyzing differences in student outcomes between gifted and not-gifted students in North Carolina. Since black and lower income students are less likely to participate in gifted programs, they disproportionately encounter less experienced teachers, lower expectations, and fewer resources. The extent to which these additional learning supports translate to differences in student outcomes are analyzed.

From Policy to Practice: Implementation of Georgia’s Medicaid Family Planning Waiver Program Sarah C. Blake, MA 282 pages Directed by Dr. John Thomas The purpose of this research was to examine the implementation of Georgia’s Medicaid family planning program, known as Planning for Healthy Babies® or P4HB®. This program is the first such program to provide both family planning services and inter-pregnancy care services through a Medicaid expansion to low-income, uninsured women. An evaluative case study design was employed using mixed methods. These methods incorporated process measures to study the implementation of P4HB® and to assess whether P4HB® was implemented as planned We incorporated theory from the policy implementation and health care access literatures to understand what served as facilitators or barriers to successful implementation. Findings suggest that despite precise goals and objectives, formal guidance about the program did not incorporate clear implementation planning. Many stakeholders, including advocates, providers, and representatives from implementing agencies felt left out of the implementation process and did not feel invested in the program. Considerable confusion existed among eligible clients and providers about the nature and scope of the P4HB® program. This lack of awareness and understanding about P4HB® likely contributed to the program’s low enrollment and participation in the first year of its implementation. As many states prepare to expand their Medicaid programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), this study provides important lessons for policy planning and implementation.