This thesis explores the professional discretion in relation to national inspections by focussing on the Swedish national school inspection (SNSI) and how the inspections made can affect the professional discretion. During the last decades the Swedish welfare sector has gone through a remarkable shift towards using new public management (NPM) reforms, implementing market solutions with the aim to increase cost efficiency and quality. These reforms have caused a huge impact on the education system in Sweden, such as the privatisation of schools and shifting responsibility from the state to the local municipalities. The development of the NPM has also increased the auditing in order to assure that welfare service produces high quality services, where national inspection has been an increasingly popular method of auditing. Extensive research studying the relationship between auditing and de-professionalization is available and many argue that auditing decrease the professional discretion. Despite the research, there is an empirical gap to how national inspection affects professional discretion. This is surprising as national inspections at least theoretically should be able to both undermine and support professional discretion. The controlling inspection type can from this view be argued to undermine professional influence by using top-down steering not considering professional knowledge and experience. The supporting inspection type uses more bottom-up strategies in dialogue with the professions and can theoretically thus be seen as more supporting of professionalism. The aim of this thesis is to initiate the bridging of this gap by analysing the SNSI different inspection types in relation to professional discretion. The results of the study suggest that the SNSI uses two controlling type of inspections as well as one new supporting type of inspection. The supporting inspection type is found to undermine professional discretion, while the two different controlling inspections both support and undermine the professional discretion depending on how the inspection is conducted. This gives evidence to how a supporting inspection type actually can undermine professional discretion more than the controlling inspection types.

La Gendarmerie nationale est une institution militaire française qui œuvre dans le domaine de la sécurité. Opérant dans les espaces ruraux et suburbains, elle a historiquement adopté une configuration particulière centrée sur la disponibilité des forces et un déploiement élargi sur le territoire. Poussée par des logiques de rationalisation issues de la nouvelle gestion publique et par des mouvements internes de contestation sociale, l’institution s’est engagée depuis la fin du XXème siècle dans un processus de transformation qui influence en profondeur la gestion de ses personnels. On observe alors une modification des règles du jeu sur lesquelles se base l’exercice du commandement. La condition du gendarme intègre de nouveaux droits jusqu’alors refusés ou fortement restreints par le statut militaire, et les marges de manoeuvre traditionnellement admises, basées sur la soumission sans réserve aux modes de la discipline et de la disponibilité, sont relativisées. Dans ce contexte, l'étude s’est intéressée à la pratique quotidienne des officiers en position de commandement, ainsi qu’à la manière dont ceux-ci abordent les transformations contemporaines de leur institution. Construite à la manière d’une enquête de terrain ethnographique, la démarche de recherche a permis une analyse en détail du travail de ces « chefs » au travers d’un répertoire de rôles. Ces rôles ont été envisagés comme des moyens d’agir sur le collectif, et décryptés au sein d’une grille de lecture stratégique. L’étude a ainsi pu mettre en évidence le choix qui est fait par certains officiers d’adopter une posture de soutien en lieu et place de la posture d’autorité traditionnelle dans le monde militaire / The Gendarmerie nationale is a military institution and one of the two French national police forces, with responsibilities regarding population security in rural and suburban areas. Due to public management reforms and several social movements, this institution is currently experiencing important changes in people management. As a result, the set of game rules that applies to command itself is subject to modifications. The gendarme condition – meaning the entire scale of rights, obligations and missions attached to the position – is evolving and traditional postures, based on disciplinary attitudes and availability standards, are weackened. This study focuses on the day-to-day work of officers in command positions and how these chiefs handle their new situation. Based on an ethnographic approach, the research process analyzes chief-work throught a set of roles, which are discused as means for action in a strategy-based approach. It shows how certain officers in command position choose to reshape the way they make use of their roles, adopting a support based posture rather than a more traditional authority based posture

Gauging the quality of the relationship between federal managers and employees and its impact on organizational performance excellence is a continuing problem for the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM). President Barack Obama's President's Management Agenda mandated several actions- to respond to the problem. Part of the mandate was to use data from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) to gauge the relationship between management and employees and overall performance. The FEVS is a tool that measures employees' perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions that characterize successful organizations are present in their agencies. The research question for the study was whether differences exist between the employees of higher and lower performing federal agencies as measured by the Engagement Index of the FEVS. The samples were controlled for sex, age, and education. Secondary- data obtained from the OPM 2014 FEVS were obtained for the research.- This quantitative study involved a nonexperimental, correlational, and descriptive research design. Multiple regression analysis determined differences among the dependent variables as portrayed within the high- and low-performing agencies. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic variables. Analysis results of the 2014 FEVS report determined that no difference existed between employees- (n- = 258) from higher and lower performing agencies as measured by the FEVS. The study contributes to positive social change by enabling agencies to determine where managerial changes are necessary for agency performance. Longitudinal studies using the FEVS can contribute to future improvements in federal agencies performance improvements.

Academically and professionally qualified Black women who immigrated to Sweden from the United States and the continent of Africa encounter barriers that may hinder their career opportunities. The unstable labor market position of foreigners required efforts by the Swedish government to address the problem. Little is known about the unique and specific challenges that qualified Black immigrant women experience when integrating into the Swedish labor market with foreign qualifications and professional experience. Guided by Durkheim's social integration theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate the lived experiences of Black immigrant women as they integrated into the Swedish labor market with foreign education and professional experience. Using a Facebook group and an organization promoting Black women in Europe, data were collected through 9 semistructured, open-ended interviews with Black immigrant women who lived in Sweden for at least 7 years. Data were then coded and analyzed using Moustakas' framework. Using thematic analysis produced the following themes: reevaluation of labor market policy and Swedish language, networking, and discrimination. Results from this research provide a framework for the Swedish government, public, and private organizations to direct future research, enhance labor market integration opportunities for academically and professionally qualified Black women and other immigrants, and inform the public about current debates and propositions for modifications to labor integration policies.

While communities in the United States are already experiencing the effects of climate change, scientists project that sea level rise, increased precipitation, and record-breaking extreme weather events will devastate vulnerable regions in the following decades. The absence of federal strategies for climate change adaptation leaves state and city governments with broad discretion to undertake climate change adaptation measures. Yet cities may be unable to adapt to climate change without external assistance, particularly in states where the state leadership has not recognized the need to provide political and financial support to local governments. Collaboration allows cities to pool resources and work across boundaries to ameliorate significant problems such as climate change. Scholars of public administration have extensively researched collaboration. However, we still know little about what factors facilitate horizontal collaboration and why and how collaborative governance may lead to improved policy outputs and outcomes. Using the case of sea level rise preparedness in US cities, this dissertation contributes to better understanding of horizontal collaboration and its effects on public service provision. The analysis draws on quantitative data from surveys, administered to US municipal governments, and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with city officials. This research has several principal findings. First, organizational propensity to collaborate on sea level rise preparedness is driven by leadership that recognizes the value and need for collaboration, and internal organizational characteristics. Second, horizontal collaboration helps cities advance plans for sea level rise adaptation, particularly when partnering with institutions of higher learning and businesses. Third, the findings show that collaboration with other municipalities and businesses is a positive contributing factor toward better preparedness for sea level rise in US cities. By shedding more light on horizontal collaboration as a tool to help cities adapt to changes in climate, the study contributes to two bodies of literature, including research on climate change policy and collaborative governance. The study also provides a number of recommendations to local policy makers and public administrators on how to facilitate horizontal collaboration to utilize local resources in public problem-solving.

Regeringens styrning av sin förvaltning är en fråga som över tid varit i fokus för den förvaltningspolitiska forskningen. Uppsatsen har för avsikt att närmare undersöka en eventuell variation i regeringens styrning av Polisen under 2012-2018 genom att studera politiska dokument; förordning med instruktion, regleringsbrev och tillkommande regeringsbeslut. 2015 ombildades Polisen där regeringen valde en fortsatt styrning med ny ledningsform, enrådsmyndighet. Med grund i det teoretiska ramverket med fokus på New Public Management och governance undersöks även på vilket sätt styrningen kan sättas i relation till den valda ledningsformen och om det går att iaktta en förflyttning mot en mindre detaljerad styrning under den period regeringen har valt att styra Polismyndigheten genom enrådsmyndighet. Undersökningen präglas av en textanalytisk metod där genomförandet med utgångspunkt i analysverktyget kombineras dels med en kvantitativ utformning dels med en mer fördjupad kvalitativ inriktning. Med grund i empirin och den valda teorin visar undersökningen att regeringens styrning av Polisen under 2012-2018 i större utsträckning speglar en rik variation än kontinuitet över tid och att det därför inte går att iaktta några varaktiga tendenser. Vidare går det inte utläsa några styrningstendenser som specifikt kan återknytas till regeringens val av ledningsform, vare sig för Rikspolisstyrelsen eller för Polismyndigheten. Avslutningsvis genererar undersökningen även slutsatsen att det inte går iaktta en förflyttning mot en mindre detaljerad styrning under den period regeringen har valt att styra Polismyndigheten genom ledningsformen en-rådsmyndighet. I sammanhanget bör särskild uppmärksamhet riktas mot den utmaning som finns att tolka detaljeringsgraden, det vill säga styrningens precision, och den avslutande slutsatsen bör därför iakttas med viss försiktighet.

<p>In this essay I examine how a municipal- and an independent upper secondary school compare to the ideal types the Company and the Political organization and how that affects the school practise as it’s described in policy documents. The conclusions are that the municipal school on a number of variables correlate to the ideal type the Political organization. At the same time the school reforms of the 1990s are considered as an intention to “companylize” the municipal school and a number of tendencies how that have affected the municipal school are shown. None the less the municipal school are to a great extent still targeted at general goals, a hallmark of the Political organization. The independent school is close to its ideal type the Company and are clearly focusing limited goals with survival and expansion as superior goals.</p> / <p>I uppsatsen undersöks hur en kommunal och en fristående gymnasieskola förhåller sig till idealtyperna Företaget och den Politiska organisationen i de dokument som styr verksamheten. Slutsatserna är bland annat att den kommunala skolan på ett antal punkter befinner sig nära sin idealtyp den Politiska organisationen. Samtidigt lyfts 90-talets skolreformer fram som ett försök att företagisera den kommunala skolan och ett antal tendenser till hur detta har påverkat den kommunala skolan påvisas. Fortfarande präglas dock den kommunala skolan av att man från politiskt håll styrs mot mål som är generella, något som utmärker den Politiska organisationen. Den fristående skolan befinner sig å sin sida nära sin idealtyp Företaget och fokuserar på tydligt avgränsade mål med överlevnad och expansion som överordnade mål.</p>

<p>The concept of quality is difficult to identify clearly. Many attempts to define quality havebeen made, but the resulting definition remains vague.The quality concept (in the artistic sense) has since 1974 played a leading role in Swedishcultural policy. In the spring of 2009, a publication, named “Kulturutredningen” waspublished. This report suggested a number of changes for the Swedish cultural policy. One ofthe changes suggested is an altering of the quality concept which could lead to a lessimportant role, for the quality concept, in Swedish culture policy. This would also have aneffect on how the Swedish government distributes subsidies to the cultural sector.The purpose of this thesis is to identify how The Swedish Art Council and the County Councilin Stockholm deal with the problematic aspects of quality and how they define it. Ininterviews, the handling officers in the area of dance and theatre, has described their views onquality and how they use it in their work with distributing subsidies to the cultural sector.Through these interviews we have noted similarities as well as differences. One of thedifferences that we discovered is that the Swedish Art Council, contrary to the CountyCouncil in Stockholm, always uses an external group of people, working in the cultural sector(for example as directors or choreographers), to help them decide who will receive subsidies.Nevertheless, both the County Council of Stockholm and the Swedish Art Council havealmost identical views on the definition of quality. That is: the definition has to be individualand is therefore subjective.We have also discovered signs of the New Public Management movement appearing in theorganisations. For example, in work of the Arts Council these signs were found in the designof the Art Councils application for subsidy.</p>

<p>This thesis is a case study of changes within public administration. The purpose is to describe and discuss changes inspired by New Public Management within public administration. These changes will also be studied a bit further in order to find out whether they have been effected by any form of path dependency.</p><p>In order to fulfil the purpose of the thesis I intend to formulate my main question as follows:</p><p>• Does path dependency effect the possibility for changes within public administration?</p><p>To be able to answer my main question and fulfil the purpose of the thesis I have chosen to study the county planning commission in Trollhättan. Here I have selected a few changes concerning the possibility to handle various permissions in an efficient way. To examine whether these changes have been effected by any path dependency, a number of interviews were undertaken with representatives from the administration of my case.</p><p>After analysing these interviews the answer to my main question is, yes. The change process has all together been effected by path dependency, which has delayed the implementation and in some sense also worsened the possibility of in an effective way handling various permissions in the county commission.</p>

<p>Reformprogrammet New Public Management (NPM) har sedan 1980-talet påverkat den offentliga sektorn. Förespråkarna för NPM hävdar att skattebetalarnas pengar ska nyttjas effektivt och de offentliga verksamheterna ska styras med hjälp av idéer från den privata sektorn. Dock upplevs den offentliga sektorn ofta som ineffektiv. Konkurrensutsättning samt offentlig upphandling har blivit ett sätt att lösa ineffektivitetsproblemet och den offentliga sektorn upphandlar varje år tjänster och varor för 500 miljarder kronor. Stockholms Handelskammare har dock hävdat att den offentliga upphandlingen ofta fungerar dåligt. Mot bakgrund av detta ansåg vi att det var intressant att göra en fallstudie av en offentlig upphandling. Vårt syfte var att, genom personliga intervjuer med upphandlarna, konkurrensverket samt enkätundersökningar med anbudsgivarna, undersöka och utvärdera upphandlingsprocessen av företagshälsovården i Uppsala Kommun. Detta då det fanns frågetecken bland en av anbudsgivarna om hur upphandlingen hade gått till. Som bisyfte hade vi att förklara de bakomliggande motiven för privatiseringen av företagshälsovården. Våra frågeställningar berörde hur upphandlarna bedömde och utvärderade anbuden samt om upphandlarna hade kunnat göra något annorlunda för att få mer kvalitet för skattebetalarnas pengar. Resultatet visade på att upphandlarna kunde ha gjort en bättre förundersökning. En bättre förundersökning hade kunnat leda till ett tydligare förfrågningsunderlag som i sin tur hade kunnat underlätta för anbudsgivarna att framställa konkurrenskraftiga anbud. Upphandlarna nyttjade sig av ren kvalitetskonkurrens, men hade med fördel kunnat nyttja sig av en annan utvärderingsmodell för att uppnå samma kvalitet, eller högre, till ett lägre pris. Det uppkom även dolda kostnader som upphandlarna inte hade räknat med från början. Vidare framkom det att beslutet om konkurrensutsättning berodde mer på politiska åsikter än att Kommunhälsan var ekonomiskt ineffektiv.</p>