The extent of work being contracted out in government and the type of work being contracted out is growing in magnitude. Government agencies wrestle with the effect this has on government operations as the daily work of many government employees is changing from that of actually conducting government work to overseeing government contractors who are now providing goods and services for government. In effect, many government employees are becoming contract managers. However, most studies of government contracting sidestep or ignore the role of individual employees in ensuring the success of contractual relationships with the private sector. Scholars in public policy are calling attention to the need to look at theories from organizational change research and apply them to the context of changing government organizations. Furthermore, organizational change theorists stress the importance of studying individuals within organizations that are undergoing transformations. Heeding this advice, this dissertation research uses the theory of readiness for organizational change from organizational change literature to develop a readiness for contracting construct to study how individual government employees respond to increasing contracting out in government. The readiness for contracting construct builds on current debates about government contracting by encompassing perceptions on the extent to which government contracting is needed and the concept of management capacity as two dimensions of the readiness for contracting construct. This study explores the relationship between readiness for contracting in the context of contracting out in government and 11 career path, involvement, and competence factors identified in the literature that may influence an individual s readiness. The results of multiple regression analysis show that an individual s readiness for contracting is positively predicted by an individual s perceptions of personal impact, information about contracting out, and management support. Results of this research support the need for more attention to be given to individual government employees in the context of government contracting from both a theoretical and pragmatic perspective.

This project examines the determinants of political responsiveness to bureaucratic performance. A large literature exists that has examined how bureaucratic agencies are responsive to political institutions. While policy theory contends that the reverse is also true – that is, political institutions engage in political assessment of policies – there is little empirical literature examining this important question. Indeed, research in public administration suggests that political responsiveness only occurs following massive bureaucratic failure or policy crises. Using data from Texas public school districts, this dissertation explores the role of policy salience in determining the likelihood of political responsiveness to bureaucratic outputs and outcomes. The findings suggest that issue salience is the key determinant of political involvement in administration. Furthermore, this project incorporates the concepts of descriptive and substantive representation in examining these questions. The results indicate that policy salience depends on the composition of the interests of political institutions. Furthermore, race and ethnicity work to shape those preferences and, in turn, condition what policy makers deem as salient. The findings suggest that descriptively unrepresentative political institutions are less likely to be responsive to the needs of those who are not represented (e.g. Latino students). Thus, representation is central to political responsiveness when the policy outputs or outcomes in question are not universally salient. Finally, this project examines whether political institutions can influence policy outcomes, and, more importantly, what factors – environmental, organizational, managerial – either facilitate or constrain the political influence of elected officials. The findings suggest that goal and preference alignment between political institutions and bureaucratic agencies is critical in enhancing political influence – a finding that is commonly argued in formal models of political control, but rarely tested empirically. This research also finds that bureaucratic power or independence can work to hinder political influence of policy outputs.

The enactment of the 1998 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Reform Act resulted directly from perceived lapses in the federal taxation administration, which was publicly highlighted in Congressional hearings. Congress reacted by fundamentally altering the IRSs implementation of the Internal Revenue Code (for the first time since 1952). The Joint Committee on Taxation noted that the overall objective of the 1998 IRS Reform Act was to have a well-run IRS [which] is critical to the operation of our tax system. From a public administration paradigm, the IRS moved from a traditional tax management methodology to a New Public Management (NPM) methodology. Traditional tax management focused on efficiency and effectiveness typically measured by tax collections per dollar spent. NPM focuses on performance based activities emphasizing the responsiveness to the needs of taxpayers. Ultimately, the IRSs core function remains the annual collection of nearly $2 trillion in taxes. The effects of the 1998 IRS Reform Act on the IRSs administration were assessed within the context of this paradigm shift in management. Partial replication of the IRSs 1990 Taxpayer Opinion Survey showed taxpayers perceptions of the IRS have not improved. In fact, the IRSs receipt of top quality service evaluations universally decreased. Analysis of selected enforcement/compliance data showed that the number of IRS auditors is inversely related to the annual tax gap. The data of this dissertation, however, indicated that the 1998 IRS Reform Act resulted in better taxpayer compliance. Examination of the IRSs personnel data shows that IRS executives have not received private pay parity, and the IRS strategically misrepresented §1203 employee termination violations in 2003.

Thesis (D.P.A.)--University of Georgia, 2002. / Directed by Jerome S. Legge. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-220).

The aim of the study is to gain an understanding regarding the implementation of New Public Management in the public sector’s human service organizations. New Public Management (NPM) originates from the private sector and began at the early 1980s to permeate the public sector. NPM had a huge breaktrough and currently form many organizational bases and structures in the public sector. The implementation of NPM in public organizations has resulted in various problems. Old structures were demolished to be replaced by new structures, which resulted in a change of circumstances for everyone involved in the organization.   The study has a qualitative approach and was designed as a case study. To obtain empirical material I used semi-structured interviews. I analyzed the empirical material using New Public Management, which is included in the new institutional theory. The result made it visible that public reforms are inevitable. Organizations are dependent on its environment and as the environment change the organization must change with it to survive. The result also showcased the conflict, affected by the reform, in which difficulties with leadership, communication, employees’ involvement and adaptability arose. Preventing these negative effects requires an organization that is structured in a way that advocates change and reforms.

At previous conferences in the subject field of web-based teaching and learning a number of presenters emphasised the importance of training to users of WebCT, as well as the unsuccessful implementation of WebCT tools and applications due to insufficient training. To address this important and basic step of successful use of WebCT, third year Public Management students at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) received intensive training to make use of particular WebCT applications comfortably. The focus, pertaining to WebCT activities in the subject Public Human Resource Management, is primarily on on-line assignments and e-tivities, as well as the use of quizzes for self-assessment. The WebCT training subsequently focuses primarily on the use of the assignment and quiz tools in WebCT, additional to the use of general tools such as the bulletin board and calendar. The paper will outline and explore the various steps and applications, used to enhance WebCT training to these students. Special measures were implemented to accommodate a large group of students (200). Furthermore, the perceived usefulness and value of a Camtasia Studio training DVD, compared to face-to-face training in the Electronic Research Centres (ERCs), will be explored. This article aims to focus on the end results and success in terms of the experiences and perceptions of the students, as well as skills obtained by the provision of intensive training for the use of particular WebCTtools. It will determine by exploring a number of training strategies and approaches for "Creative training strategy can make a difference, this article uses interesting empirical data to illustrate the use of student training as a key success factor in the implementation of WebCt in teachning and learning environments.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

In 2014, the Swedish leisure-time centres after school became widely criticized on several occasions by school authorities. The cause for its criticism was a reflection of leisure time-centres with lots of untrained staff and a lack of pedagogical aspirations. The conclusion of the criticism was that these leisure-time centres do not fulfil their potential. However, these assessments has only to a limited extent become a part of the public educational discourse in Sweden. This discourse has mainly focused on the decreasing results in the Swedish school, which has caught the attention in the media and ended up on the political agenda. The flaws in the leisure-time centres have been far more overlooked and its function has been unclear. This study explores representations of the leisure-time centres and its missions and aims. It also examines how after-school teachers and their skills, duties and attributes are represented. This has been done by studying descriptions of the leisure-time centres in three different municipalities and 154 recruitment ads for after-school teachers. The results of these data collections shows a dominant cooperative discourse, where many of the leisure-time centres and the after-school teachers most important tasks and assignments is more to be found in school activities rather than at the leisure-time centres. The conclusion of the study is that the leisure-time centres have lost its value-based core and instead its function has been integrated as a resource center in school to make sure that the aims for school is to be achieved. That has transformed the after-school teacher into a flexible employee, which constantly has to be prepared for and have a positive approach to new circumstances.

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No description available.