<p> This position paper explores whether the current model of governance of public education is antiquated and in need of change. At present, the issue has not been included in any discussions regarding public education reform. Local boards of education are becoming obsolete due to federal and state mandates. School reform efforts have ignored the local governance factor, instead focusing on state-implemented curricula tied to federal funding. The literature shows us that local school boards focus on administrative issues and micromanagement which, along with such distractions as nepotism and &ldquo;unholy alliances&rdquo; with unions, indicates a need for change. However, the democratic foundation of our government makes it hard for legislators to implement a change that would be perceived as an attack on these basic principles. This position paper puts forth suggestions to these and other concerns related to local public education governance.</p>

<p> In an era of continuing economic uncertainty public sector organizations face unprecedented challenges in resourcing increasingly complex missions. To meet these challenges public sector managers must look for innovative ways to resource essential missions and define public sector outcomes. The use of collaboration to create public value represents one way to provide effective and efficient service in this environment. </p><p> This study informs the subject of <i>collaboration</i> as a mechanism for creating public value by considering these concepts as a practical matter against actual events or programs involving the California Highway Patrol, a large State police agency with multiple missions and complex inter-agency relationships. The results of the study demonstrate a correlation between the strength of the collaborative effort and the results obtained, as well as the effect of circumstances on results. In identifying a common formula for evaluating these concepts, other public programs can be evaluated based on these contexts.</p>

<p> This qualitative phenomenological study using Moustakas&rsquo;s (1994) modified van Kaam methodology explored eight work participation specialists&rsquo; (WPS) experiences of barriers to customer services for their physiological functioning in Central Maryland&rsquo;s DSS region. The data were collected through face-to-face audio-recorded interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo (10). The Administration at this Social Service Agency was the primary theme in this study, which resulted in three subthemes including leadership, management, and policy.</p>

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Technology Degree in Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2014. / This study reports on the design of a framework for measuring e-government readiness. Particular attention is paid to providing a measurement framework that is feasible for municipalities and supports their efforts to utilize e-government for the benefit of the society and the economy. The evaluation of e-government readiness for municipalities can provide a useful barometer to measure the critical needs of citizens. In addition, it can be useful for improving the effectiveness of government services and could assist information communication technology industry to access information for implementing efficient infrastructures to support the delivery of e-services. The model of e-government readiness measurement as reported in this dissertation is based on heterogeneous factors of supporting e-services, individual citizens, technological infrastructure, government and supporting industry. The readiness measurement process utilized data obtained from a survey of 219 government employees from 4 municipalities in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The partial least square method was used to determine the relationship between the measured factors. The study results revealed the measurement factors to be significant determinants of municipality e-government readiness with an overall goodness of fit performance of 0.81 and predictive power of 0.68. In addition, a response based segmentation approach of finite mixture partial least squares is applied to uncover unobserved heterogeneity in government employees. The study findings show that the main difference characterising the two uncovered segments of population heterogeneity lies in the internet accessibility using computers. The impact of government readiness and technology readiness on predicting e-government readiness is stronger for the first segment than for the second segment. The segment specific analysis clearly shows that the impact of factors that influence the readiness of e-government can differ vastly, depending on the background of participants. The study findings generally provide a foundation for policymakers and technology practitioners who are interested in propagating e-government readiness awareness across the country. In addition, factors that determine the e-government readiness could provide new insights for future studies on e-municipality service improvement evaluations.

<p> This dissertation contains three essays on state and local economic development incentives. The primary mission of state and local governments is to reduce unemployment and bolster tax revenues. One way in which governments accomplish these goals is by using economic development subsidies and policies at their disposal. States statutorily authorize a range of economic development incentives (e.g. tax abatements, tax increment financing, enterprise zones, etc.). Local governments are empowered to take advantage of this authorization and use these tools to attract firms and people as a means to grow their own economies. However, not all state governments authorize every type of economic development incentive. Additionally, local governments do not utilize each type of economic development incentive, even when authorized to do so by the state. What determines the usage of these policies at the local level has been the subject of much research; however, this literature has failed to account for state-level authorization. Therefore, what is known about the &ldquo;determinants&rdquo; of economic development incentive utilization at the local level is theoretically and empirically flawed. The first essay addresses this issue by restricting the analyses to only those local governments that have statutory authorization to make use of these incentives, and compares these findings to the full set of cases with and without state authorization as is characteristics of the previous literature. Differences in magnitudes and significance levels are highlighted.</p><p> Increasingly governments are interested in determining the economic impact of their policies. The second essay uses difference-in-differences and triple differences models to evaluate the employment, payroll, and establishment effects of state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) in metropolitan areas that span more than one state where one side of the border has an EITC and the other does not. Given that states decide whether, when, and at what level to authorize these credits, this variation across states allow for a test of the impact of these policies on local economic outcomes.</p><p> While a good deal is known about why state and local governments use economic development policies, and how to evaluate these policies, little is known about the factors that contribute to the abandonment of economic development policies at state and local levels of government. Essay three explores the characteristics and context for policy abandonment of economic development policies at both levels of government. Using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), and regression-based models, this essay estimates the impact that political, economic, and social factors have on the abandonment of these policies. Additional research within local governments highlights the relative importance of each of factor in determining the propensity for policy abandonment.</p>

New Public Management (NPM) has been one of the dominant paradigms in public management since the 1980s. Its various elements have been adopted by many countries around the world in their public sector reforms. This research examines the most influential models of NPM and draws out the recurring elements among them. These elements are then employed to build the theoretical framework of how NPM may be related to the reforms in higher education sectors in two countries with highly contrasting contexts: the United Kingdom and China. The UK is an industrialized country that has been one of the pioneers in implementing NPM reforms in its public sector; whilst China, being a socialist country where its public sector has long been under the tight control of the government, is among the developing countries as one of the "late adopters" of NPM techniques in its public management reforms. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which NPM reforms in these two countries shared any commonalities and divergences. Multiple cases studies are adopted as the main research method. Four universities are chosen: two in the UK and two in China. A comparative analysis of issues relating to the application of NPM techniques in the reforms in these two countries is provided. The NPM elements adopted during the reform processes in the four case studies are analyzed respectively according to the theoretical framework. The conditions under which various NPM elements have been introduced during the reforms are examined and the extent to which they have been applied in the higher education sector in both countries is explored. Results indicate that there has been a translation of NPM techniques from its original country (the UK) to the Chinese socio-economical and political environment. It has been found that although some of the NPM elements such as delayering and devolution of power are shared by both countries, divergences still exist in many aspects of their organizational changes. Meanwhile, the elite and non-elite group of universities in both countries have chosen different pathways in their reforms, which I have significant impacts on the outcomes. The implications of these case studies for future research on public sector management are discussed in the conclusion.

Since the eighties there has been a concerted effort to reform the public sector in order to, amongst other things, improve their performance and service delivery to the public. Large scale and capital intensive projects are required, especially within Oman a developing country, for ensuring development and improved service for the citizen. The planning, implementation and maintenance of these initiatives rests on public sector institutions. The role and effectiveness of senior managers play a significant part in the overall success of their organisations and the development of their nations. The main concern of this research is to explore and identifying the behavioural influences which contribute to the increased effectiveness of the senior managers of the Muscat Municipality, Oman. This research utilises a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addressing the leadership effectiveness in Oman, it utilises and contextualises Analoui’s (2002) model of eight parameters for effectiveness as a basis to explore the awareness, perceptions, skills, organisational criteria, motivation, degree of demands and constraints, choices and opportunities, and dominant leadership philosophy for effectiveness. Based on the above, suggestions have been made to improve the content and context of senior managers’ work to increase their effectiveness in Oman. This first time study contributes to the present knowledge and understanding of the subject by contextualising the concept of ‘Managerial Effectiveness’ in Oman’s public sector. It concludes that better understanding of the subject requires attention being paid to the identified parameters of senior managers’ effectiveness. Moreover, consideration should be given to the influences and impact of the above parameters on personal, organisational and external contexts in Oman. These will lead to improved performance and organisational effectiveness as the whole

This research examined the challenges, decisions, issues, and dilemmas facing the International Community (IC) in attempting to re-establish and rebuild public administration and other government institutions in a country that continues to suffer from instability and remains at high risk of further conflict. The research looks specifically at a subset of Public Administration Reform (PAR): Civil Service and Administrative Reform (CSAR). The research concludes that CSAR in a Fragile and Conflict Affected State (FCAS) such as Afghanistan is clearly a ‘wicked problem’ requiring innovative, iterative and adaptive responses by the IC over an extended time period. However, the IC treats CSAR in Afghanistan as a ‘tame’ problem simply framed in terms of ‘we are coming to build your capacity’, resulting in slow progress on public sector reform overall and little understanding of the relationship with overarching statebuilding and stabilisation objectives. Despite the acknowledgement of the importance of CSAR, IC support has fallen dramatically in recent years. The current approach to supporting CSAR in Afghanistan is therefore almost guaranteed to fail. The research calls for a new approach to PAR in these types of cases, one that recognises the severe limits to progress utilising existing approaches and structures rooted in Western notions of good government. A new approach goes beyond the overwhelming focus on capacity development; emphasises the importance of understanding what space exists for reform; recognises the need to pragmatically confront trade- offs between the competing objectives of reconciling stabilisation imperatives with wider considerations of ‘good governance’; and poses an alternative expanded framework for considering public administration, legitimacy, authority and representation in the government of an FCAS, partly as an organising framework but also as an aid to understanding the complexity of interrelated systems prevalent in an FCAS. The research also concludes that a great deal more independent academic research is required to understand how to make progress in Public Sector Reform (PSR), stabilisation and longer-term development that will help prevent countries slipping back into conflict.

<p> The role of public school superintendent is complex, challenging, political, and sometimes volatile. A shortage of candidates has plagued California during the past 10 years, due to high turnover rates resulting from the fallout of the NCLB punitive reform measures, increasing baby boomer retirements, and a reluctance of district leaders to step up to this demanding position. This top leadership role is unlike any other in K-12 education, due to the responsibilities with outside constituents and the advisory relationship with the school board. The purpose of this qualitative study was to document and explore the experiences of California public school superintendents who participated in leadership or executive coaching as a form of professional development and support while serving in this position. Data was collected through interviews with superintendents who agreed to participate. These interviews were transcribed and coded through the lens of the eight AASA Professional Standards for the Superintendency. This study sought to determine the efficacy of coaching as a support tool for superintendents with respect to their ability to lead in their positions. The coded results of the interviews were focused on the eight standards that included: 1) Strategic Leadership and District Culture, 2) Policy and Governance, 3) Communications, 4) Leadership and Organizational Management and School Finance, 5) Curriculum Planning ad Development, 6) Instructional Management, 7) Staff Evaluation and Personnel Management, 8) Values and Ethics. The qualitative components of the study were gathered through purposive sampling. Email invitations to participate were sent to targeted superintendents in seven counties in California. Analysis of the data revealed that superintendents who participated in leadership or executive coaching received a blended model of coaching which included mentoring and coaching strategies. All of the superintendents in this study received support in more than one of the eight areas of the AASA Professional Standards for the Superintendency. The study revealed that coaching supported superintendents in all of the eight standard areas. Retired superintendents provided all of the coaching support, except in one case. Every superintendent had a positive experience with coaching support.</p>

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