This study will analyze the efficacy of the Governors' Formal Power Indices as predictors of budget outcomes in the states. Governors have had a history of weakness in the American states that has only recently been reversed. In 1965, political scientist Joseph Schlessinger devised a method for measuring these formal powers. Other political scientists, Dometrius and Beyle, have created variations of his method. / The appropriations process is the most important policy-making process in any government. This study will measure the ability of the governors to influence the appropriations process and determine if that influence is related to any of the indices of formal powers. / Thirty states have responded to requests for detailed information on their Governor's Recommended Budget and Legislative Appropriations in three periods: late 1970s, early 1980s, and most recent. The percentage of the governor's recommendations that were appropriated is computed for each of five program areas and total appropriations. These six items are the dependent variables. The independent variables are the indices of Governors' Formal Powers reported above. / Three major conclusions emerge from this research. First, the various state legislatures have become more powerful vis-a-vis the governors over the time of this study. Second, the formal gubernatorial powers do not influence the ability of the Governor to have budgetary successes. Third, the influence of the gubernatorial powers is more evident in program areas where the Governor has exhibited personal interest. / Other findings include the determination that the four indices vary in their predictive and statistical power. The components of the indices also vary in their ability to explain budget outcomes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-11, Section: A, page: 3897. / Major Professor: Thomas R. Dye. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

Purpose of the study. The purpose was to determine the applicability of time-series models to revenue forecasting in Florida cities. / Procedure. Revenue data for were collected for five fiscal years (60 months) in twelve cities. Participating budget officials were interviewed to obtain information regarding forecasting expertise. / Data for Fiscal Years 1982 through 1985 were fit with seven time-series models ranging in complexity from the moving average to Box-Jenkins, in order to obtain forecasts for Fiscal Year 1986. / Mean Absolute Percentage Error and Mean Percentage Error of the techniques tested were compared using one and two way analysis of variance and nonparametric analogs. / Findings. At the annual horizon, the judgmental-naive forecasts of the local officials were generally more accurate than those arrived at with the models utilized in the study. Consistent with findings in the 1982 M-Competition of time-series models, no one model consistently outperformed any other in terms of accuracy or bias. However, curve fitting was significantly less accurate than the other models tested. / Interviews indicated a paucity of knowledge of forecasting methods on the part of local officials. Revenue forecasts were made primarily on an annual basis. Local officials engaged in intentional underforecasting of revenue to protect themselves against potential revenue shortfalls. / Conclusions. Data analysis and interviews produced the following conclusions: (1) At the annual forecast horizon, the currently utilized naive-judgmental forecasting methods generally outperformed the methods tested in terms of bias and accuracy. (2) Aggregation of sources improved the forecast accuracy of the models tested. (3) Large general fund balances in the communities studied minimized the need for improved forecast accuracy. (4) Lack of methodological expertise on the part of local officials may preclude implementation of the models tested. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3865. / Major Professor: Gloria A. Grizzle. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

This research examines a question of importance to government administration: does the application of different organizational control structures and processes result in different levels of organizational performance? / U.S. distributors of electric energy were the locus of the study. Three discernible patterns of organizational control have emerged to regulate the performance of these distributors: (1) Public Service Commission controls, (2) controls embodied in contracts to purchase electric energy from the national government, and (3) controls embodied in financing arrangements with the Rural Electrification Administration. This operational arena provides an opportunity to observe the effect of the application of the different control structures and processes on organizational performance. / Individual distributors were scored on their relative efficiency utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis, a method which does not rely on the pricing system or on unified measures of inputs or outputs to provide a measure of relative efficiency. Mean relative efficiency scores were compared across the various control systems. Additionally, a regression model which includes controls for environmental factors and control system interactions was used to enhance the analysis of mean relative efficiency scores. / The findings imply that organizational performance does vary with the choice of organizational control structure and process. And, it is suggested that organizational performance may be associated with the level of bureaucratization found in the control system. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-12, Section: A, page: 4274. / Major Professor: Gloria A. Grizzle. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-07, Section: A, page: 4220. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1979.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 37-12, Section: A, page: 7959. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1976.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 40-02, Section: A, page: 1067. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 35-09, Section: A, page: 6226. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1974.

This study dealt with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Saudi Arabia and the changes encountered by these organizations: recentralization by imposing civil service rules and regulations, exemption from civil service rules, and privatization. Data were collected through library research and personal interviews conducted in Saudi Arabia with key officials of SOEs in Saudi Arabia. / Recentralization of SOEs is an action taken by the government to impose greater control over SOEs, whether financial or administrative. In the Saudi case, the reasons for recentralization were to reduce the multiplicity of personnel systems, to unify all government employees under one personnel system, and to reduce abuse of the flexibility and autonomy granted to SOEs by their officials. / Exemption of SOEs is an action taken by the government to release these institutions from financial or administrative restrictions. The Saudi experience shows that exemption occurs because those SOEs are self-supporting and operate commercial activities. / Privatization is the transfer of ownership of an SOE from the government to the private sector. Ten general methods of privatization were identified, one of which is divestment of SOEs. Four methods of divestment as well as various processes for divestment were discussed. For Saudi Arabia, the major reasons for privatization of SOEs were to attract the Saudi investor to local investments and to shift part of the government's responsibility to the private sector. / It was concluded that political, economic, and administrative forces influenced the movement of SOEs from one status to another. The changes in SOEs can also be explained by technical rationality, differences in organizational culture, and the interest, conflict and power concept. / New classifications for SOEs were recommended as well as methods to improve their performance. Exemption was recommended only for those SOEs which generate revenues, are engaged in activities of a business nature, and have national importance. Future privatization will depend on evaluation of current privatization efforts. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: A, page: 0616. / Major Professor: Richard Chackerian. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

In unstable, changing environments we have seen that organizations become more interdependent and seek to form interorganizational relationships. This is especially so in public sector and non-profit agencies where financial and human resources are becoming more scarce and unpredictable. With the present bureaucratic structure of organization being adverse to change, the interorganizational network provides an alternative which is more conducive to learning and thus more responsive to change. / In an attempt to develop such an alternative system in Florida state government, the authors used an action research approach to design and implement a network of participants from six agencies seeking to improve individual and organizational performance. As action researchers, each of the authors engaged in three complementary roles (researcher, trainer, and facilitator of action). / The program of research and development lasted for six months and involved 30 participants engaged in a network development process which sought to develop a viable parallel structure to the participating agencies. This occurred in three distinct phases: (1) The identification phase in which agency and individual participants were determined and learning needs were assessed; (2) the action learning phase in which participants were engaged in three cycles of training and on-the-job action learning with each cycle representing a different focus (individual effectiveness, group effectiveness, and organizational effectiveness); and (3) the evaluation and planning phase in which the network program was evaluated along several dimensions and data were used for program modifications and the establishment of an agenda for further development. / The findings from the project have shown considerable personal growth and improved effectiveness for the program participants as measured by pre and post-test results on standardized instruments, interviews, and observations. Additionally, from network interaction analysis, interviews, and program records we have evidence that a viable network has emerged with the potential for improving performance in the agencies and the state government as a whole. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-03, Section: A, page: 0619. / Major Professor: Frank P. Sherwood. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / The present paper is an analytical study in which an attempt is made to evaluate the Japanese administration on Korea through a comparison with the concept and philosophy of democratic administrative institutions which prevail in the United States and an assessment of the extent to which the Japanese administrative system did meet the needs of the Korean people, thereby determining what elements of the two administrative systems may prove most valuable in the future development of Korean public administration. One assumption must be made for the purpose, namely, that democratic institutions are best adapted to the needs of the Korean people at this time.