Disasters such as major floods and heat waves are taking an increasing toll on societies. Like other pressing policy issues, they are complex and cut across sectors, jurisdictions, and professional fields. Addressing these problems requires interorganizational collaboration between heterogeneous organizations and thus, interactions between representatives who may have different professional views and identities. Successful collaboration partly hinges on their capacity to integrate perspectives and develop sustainable working relationships despite differences. This thesis aimed to improve our understanding of the role played by professional differences in perspectives and identities in public-sector interorganizational collaboration. Three specific objectives were pursued in a multilevel approach: 1) To document the role of professional diversity for interorganizational collaboration when considered outside of sectoral or jurisdictional differences; 2) To investigate how salient differences in professional identity affect perceptions and reactions following task disagreement; and 3) To investigate the cognitive and relational pathways by which emotions, conflict perceptions, and information processing can predict decision quality and relationship quality following disagreement. Study 1 examined the experience of interorganizational collaboration in disaster management based on qualitative interviews with professional- and executive-level public servants from relevant Canadian federal organizations. Findings suggested that professional diversity was not by itself a salient issue. The most disempowering type of diversity was differences in mandates, especially when combined with differences in expertise or identities. Study 2 examined whether group composition based on professional identity was associated with differential perception of and reaction to disagreement during interorganizational problem solving. It was based on a small sample of experienced senior risk managers involved in a quasi-experimental simulation. In terms of disagreement perception, nonparametric analyses indicated that interprofessional teams reported more disagreement than homogeneous ones even if observed disagreement did not differ. In terms of reaction, disagreement showed consistent negative associations with reported measures of effectiveness, performance, and relationship quality in homogeneous teams. In contrast, these associations were either positive or nonsignificant in interprofessional teams. Study 3 experimentally tested in a disciplinary-defined university sample whether salient group professional composition affected how people perceived and reacted to a scripted task disagreement. Findings indicated that after experiencing the exact same task disagreement, participants in interprofessional teams were significantly more satisfied with their team than those in homogeneous teams. Path analyses supported the two hypothesized pathways linking emotion following disagreement to integrative decision making and satisfaction: a) a cognitive pathway whereby surprise predicted beneficial outcomes through increased reported task conflict and increased information processing and b) a relational pathway whereby negative emotions predicted detrimental outcomes through increased reported relationship conflict and decreased information processing. As a whole, the thesis improves our understanding of the cognitive and relational roles played by professional diversity in interorganizational collaboration. It provides evidence on the beneficial effects of salient diversity for group cohesion in the face of disagreement. It documents intervening cognitive and relational processes predicting performance and relational quality following task disagreement. Finally, it proposes research avenues whereby social psychology can be leveraged to support the adaptation of public-sector organizations to contemporary challenges in public policy.

(anglicky) This thesis deals with benefits and risks of using cloud computing in public sector institutions. The thesis focuses mainly on the usage of public cloud deployment model. The thesis is divided into 4 main chapters. The first chapter presents definition and basic characteristics of cloud computing. The second part consists of PESTL analysis that describes the impact of macro-environmental factors (namely political, economical, social, technological and legal factors) on the use of cloud computing in public sector institutions. The third part presents SWOT analysis of cloud computing and its use in public sector. The fourth chapter presents a case study of the implementation of cloud computing services at The Faculty of Arts of the Charles University. The results of the conducted analysis tend to positive effects of cloud computing use in public sector institutions, presuming a proper risk analysis is done before implementation begins. Klíčová slova (anglicky): Cloud computing, IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, public sector, PESTL, SWOT, virtualisation

School choice dominated discourses within educational policy in the last year; some have even described 2021 as “the year of school choice.” School choice allows public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs. This is often summarized by its advocates as “funding students over systems.” Generally, school choice allows market forces to influence education by providing more competition in the education market. Teachers’ unions have fought against school choice measures for years, but what impact do they have? This undergraduate thesis compares 49 states to determine if the proportion of public school teachers in teachers’ unions in a given state serves as a proxy to measure the impact of unions and to discover whether teachers’ unions influenced whether a state passed new school choice legislation in 2021. By employing a binary logistic regression analysis, the results provide evidence that as the share of public school teachers who are union members increases, a state’s likelihood to pass new school choice legislation increases. This thesis gives a broad view of the impact teachers’ unions have on school choice at the state level, but more research detailing the ways unions leverage these effects and how politicians respond to teachers’ unions in their states would be valuable.

This study uses information gleaned from a sample of 102 public sector project managers to assess the interrelationships among project manager roles, responsibilities, and competencies in the planning and implementation stages of the project life cycle. The results of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that project managers use different subsets of their skills to influence outcomes at these two stages of the project. For example, while the project manager's organizational and technical skills tend to have some influence during the project planning stage, managerial, leadership and people skills appear to have more influence during the project implementation stage. Implications of these and our other findings for the practice of project management in public sector organizations are discussed.

This applied research project draws the practical experience of the authors, projects sponsored by their respective institutions of higher learning and efforts of an alliance of technology-based organisations. In addition, some basic concepts, tools and philosophies which are well-established in previous applied research are utilised. With this in mind, the objective of this paper is to shed some practical light on the role and process of traditional and strategic innovation. To achieve this goal, the authors draw on a series of conceptual frameworks and practical guidelines. These frameworks capitalise on the open system nature of today's dynamic organisations. Although the approach presented in this study applies to large businesses as well as small- to medium-sized firms, especially it is helpful to small- to medium-sized technology-based businesses as they attempt to manage the rapid growth in their demand through innovation and innovative strategies.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the management of public-sector projects in Portugal paying particular attention to the extent to which total quality management (TQM) principles are being utilized in such projects. Design/methodology/approach: Based on an extensive review of the literature, nine propositions are advanced about the interrelationships among seven factors that were identified, in a previous study, as having some influence on the management process in the planning and implementation of public-sector projects in Portugal. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate these propositions using data obtained from 211 respondents to a survey of project managers from municipalities across Portugal. Findings: The results of the structural equation model indicate that the TQM components working in tandem with project-management-specific variables provide a systematic means of managing the planning and implementation stages of projects, with technical items being critical in the planning stage and softer management items becoming important in the implementation stage. Research limitations/implications: Readers should be careful not to generalize the findings in a global context or for private sector projects. However, researchers are encouraged to extend this study by including other planning and implementation variables with a view to discerning what particular characteristics of a project make it more amenable to TQM solutions. Practical implications: The findings are presented to show how the key components of TQM, customer focus, employee involvement and continuous involvement, can be applied during the planning and implementation stages of projects. Originality/value: The sample size of 211 is representative of the underlying population of project managers in municipalities across Portugal and is comparatively large in relation to other empirical project management studies from Portugal, lending credence to the generalizability of these finding to public-sector projects in Portugal.

Allt fler familjer lever med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar. Tidigare forskning visar på att många föräldrar till barn med neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning upplever en hög stressnivå i vardagen på grund av diagnosen / diagnoserna. Detta kan leda till att föräldrar utvecklar tillstånd som depression, utmattningssyndrom och liknande problematik. Författarna till denna uppsats har haft ett intresse av att se vidare på den viktiga roll familjen har för att skapa en hög livskvalitet för personer med funktionsnedsättning. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka ideella föreningars företrädares erfarenheter av det stöd som finns tillgängligt från den offentliga sektorn till medlemmarna i deras förening. Eftersom författarna har valt att intervjua ideella föreningars företrädare har det varit möjligt att uppnå en bred kunskap om ämnet då föreningarna når ut till personer med funktionsnedsättningar och deras släktingar. Syftet med denna uppsats var också att ta upp frågor om huruvida ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt tillämpas i insatser riktade mot personer med funktionsnedsättning och deras familjer. Den teoretiska ramen för denna studie är baserad på Goffmans stigmatiska teori samt Hochschilds teori om emotionellt arbete. / An exceeding amount of families today are affected by neuropsychiatric disabilities. Previous research shows that many parents of children with neuropsychiatric disabilities experience a high stress level in everyday life due to the diagnosis / diagnoses. This can result in that parents develop conditions such as depression, chronic fatigue syndrome and similar problems. The authors of this study had an interest to look further into the important role the family has in creating a high quality of life for individuals with disability. The aim of this study was to investigate non- profit associate representatives experience of the support available from the public sector to the members of their organization. Since the authors have chosen to interview non-profit associate representatives, it has been possible to achieve a broad knowledge of the subject as the associations target people with disabilities and their relatives. The purpose of this study was also to raise questions concerning if a holistic approach is applied in interventions aimed at individuals with disability and their families. The theoretical framework for this study is based on Goffmans stigma theory as well as Hochschild's theory on emotional work.

The aim of this study was to explore employees attitudes within the social serviceand non-profit organizations, regarding difficulties and possibilities in a potentialcollaboration between these two sectors concerning individuals with gamblingproblems. The empirical material is based on qualitative methods, thus semistructured interviews were performed with social workers working with individualswith gambling problems in the social service and in one non-profit organization ina city in Sweden. When analyzing the empirical data we applied three theories;Danermark’s collaboration theory, Hasensfeld’s theories about Human ServiceOrganization, Scott’s and Abrahamson & Andersen’s systems theory. The mainresult indicates that difficulties in a collaboration are due to lack of insight into eachothers organizations, different organizational structures and conditions, and also animbalance in the interdependence relationship among the two organizations.Additionally, the study shows possibilities when it comes to exchange ofknowledge and operating as a complement with one and other when supporting thetarget group.

This study sought to examine strategic entrepreneurship and issues surrounding this type of activity in a public sector context. The concept of strategic entrepreneurship has received increasing attention in recent years; however, limited studies have focused on strategic entrepreneurship as a distinct construct in public sector context. Consequently, the objective of this study was to address the question of “What is the nature and scope of strategic entrepreneurship in the context of South Africa’s SOEs” through examination of theory and practice. The research question is addressed by first developing a revised framework of strategic entrepreneurship from literature on entrepreneurship, strategy, and public sector context. This revised framework is then examined on activity which is entrepreneurial and strategic within four SOEs operating South Africa as at 2011. Transcripts from a series of interviews, and publicly available documents are analysed thematically. The study identified additional supporting and external factors of strategic entrepreneurship which form a revised conceptual framework of strategic entrepreneurship. The study showed core, supporting, and the external environment elements of strategic entrepreneurship contribute to the increased level of entrepreneurial activity in the public sector context, in particular state-owned enterprises. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters (Information Science) in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of Zululand, 2017 / This study investigates the different medical records management regimes within public and private hospitals in the Umhlathuze Area, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The study made a comparison and examined whether the current management practices support service delivery in the context of the Batho Pele principles. In doing this, the study reviewed extensive literature on records management standards and theories, legislative framework of medical records in order to establish the extent of the level of compliance to the set regulatory framework in the management of medical records in South Africa. It also assessed the depth of the integration of ICTs in the management of medical records in South Africa. The targeted study sample in both the public and private hospital was 193. Of these, only 180 responded and this represented a respondent‟s rate of 93.5%. The study was largely a quantitative research. The study adopted a survey research design and used multiple forms of data collection techniques such as structured questionnaires, observations and document review. Quantitative data collected was analysed to obtain some descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed using content analysis to derive particular themes pertinent to the study. The two sets of results were compared and contrasted to produce a single interpretation and then conclusions were drawn. The study findings established that the records management practices in both hospitals were not well entrenched thus undermining quality health service delivery. This was evidenced by lack of awareness and existence of the records management policies and procedures manual; lack of adherence records management standard; lack of security measures, with rampant cases of missing files, folios and torn folders; delays in access and use of records; lack of an elaborate electronic records management programme and low levels of skill and training opportunities in records management. The use of paper records is still dominant in the public hospital; while the electronic medical record system was in place in the private hospital with some degree of success even though implementation challenges continue to exist. The integration of ICTs in the management of medical records was more evident in the private hospital while the public hospital continues to be underfunded undermining the current capacity for effective medical records management. The role of accurate, reliable and trustworthy medical records in the ii | P a g e context of quality health service delivery in accordance with Batho Pele principle in both hospitals remains problematic. In order to enhance the role of medical records for quality service delivery, the study recommended that a regulatory framework for records management should be developed and implemented in both hospitals. It is also recommended that more technical and human resource capacity is required in the public hospital to help speed up the services to its user while the private hospitals need to entrench their evolving capabilities in medical records management. The study further recommends that training around records management should be provided to all staff that deal with medical records management in both hospitals.