During the late 1980s, government agencies in many countries commenced the implementation of public sector management reforms in an effort to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Many of these reforms arose as a result of demands placed on governments for improved use of public funds. These reforms, which have been wide ranging, have involved important improvements in the methods in which public sector agencies collect and report information related to accountability, particularly in the area of performance measurement. This study seeks to add to the literature on public sector accountability and performance measurement by undertaking a comparative cross-country study involving Australia and Malaysia, a developed and a developing country. Each of these countries have adopted, in varying degrees, reforms to their public sector reporting mechanisms as a result of major demands for changes to public sector funding, accountability and reporting methods. Within the study, a multiple theory approach is undertaken which uses aspects of both agency theory and institutional theory to provide a more informed understanding of the impact specific influential parties have on the level of disclosure and dissemination of accountability related information. This study examines the impact of agency and institutional related variables on the extent and frequency of the disclosure and dissemination of performance measurement information by Australian and Malaysian government departments. / The major sources of data for this study comprise firstly, an analysis of the 2003/2004 annual reports of Australian and Malaysian government departments, secondly semi-structured interviews with senior finance officers of selected government departments and thirdly, a questionnaire survey forwarded to senior finance officers of all government departments in Australia and Malaysia. The findings of the content analysis and interviews concerning performance indicator disclosure by Australian Federal government departments show that cost and effectiveness performance indicators are the most disclosed indicator. For Malaysian Federal government departments, results and quantity performance indicators are the most disclosed indicators. For Australia, performance dissemination happens most often on a monthly basis whilst for Malaysia this occurs more regularly on an annual basis. In relation to performance indicator dissemination, Australian government departments are making increased use of the web to disseminate performance indicators whilst the main method of dissemination for Malaysia is their availability upon request. The major questionnaire was prepared using the annual report content analysis and interviews as a base and it was sent to the senior financer officers of all Australian and Malaysian Government Departments. The questionnaire resulted in a 37.1% response rate for Australia and a 21.7% response rate for Malaysian departments. The questionnaire was used as the base to test the influence of agency theory-related variables and institutional theory-related variables and culture on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. / The results of the agency theory-related variables rejected the hypothesised influence of oversight bodies on performance indicator disclosure and dissemination for both Australian and Malaysian government departments. The relevant size of government departments was also rejected as being an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, for Australian government departments, a significant influence for frequency of size of government departments of performance indicator dissemination was found to exist. The citizenry was found to have no significant influence on performance indicator disclosure by both countries. However, in the case of Malaysia, the citizenry were found to have an influence on the level of performance indicator dissemination. The results of the institutional theory related variables provided evidence that none of the variables have an influence on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination in both countries. Finally, the results for culture showed there is a level of influence of culture on the frequency of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. Overall the results of this study indicate both some differences and similarities between Australia and Malaysia government departments in the disclosure and dissemination of performance indicators. There is evidence in this study to indicate that in Australia, both efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators are being disclosed more often in the annual reports of government departments. However, the results for Malaysia show a considerably lower level of disclosure of efficiency and effectiveness performance indicators in government departments' annual reports than in Australia. / Therefore the contrasts between the mail survey results and interview results provide for some future research that could expand the interview survey to include a larger sample to see if the Sofas perceptions are the same or different in regards to performance indicator disclosure and dissemination. The dual paradigm (agency and institutional) modeling of the determinants of performance indicator disclosure and dissemination have provided important findings from the perspectives of both the variables and the countries on which this study was based. The important findings of this study are that accountability and managerially have had differing emphases in Australia as compared to Malaysia, and that there are varying levels of disclosure, dissemination and use of performance measurement information between both individual government departments and the countries in which they reside. A range of future research possibilities are generated by this study. These possibilities range from extending the context of the hypotheses to encompass other government entities, other countries and other forms of performance measurement.

This study has three major purposes: to describe systematically the practice of librarianship in Australian Commonwealth Government departments and agencies from the perspective of librarians employed in that environment; to relate the characteristics of government librarianship to librarians' perceptions of and attitudes to their work; and to assess the extent to which the work of Commonwealth Government librarians needs to be redesigned to improve the level of job satisfaction they experience. A subsidiary purpose is to test the job characteristics theory of work motivation on a population of librarians. Information was gathered by a survey questionnaire on a range of variables relating to librarians and their perceptions of different aspects of their jobs. The primary instrument for gathering data on perceptions was the complete form of the Job Diagnostic Survey. The population under investigation comprised those Commonwealth Government department and agency librarians employed on a full-time, permanent basis under the Public Service Act 1922. and located in Canberra. Because the population was small but diverse, it was decided to survey the total population rather than a random or stratified sample. One hundred and eight usable responses were received which represented a response rate of 83 percent. The results of the survey were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Frequency distributions and Pearson's Product-Moment Correlations were calculated to determine the percentage of respondents who selected each option and the strength of relationships between pairs of variables. The study found that Commonwealth Government department and agency librarians in Australia are highly satisfied with their work generally, and with the environment in which it is performed. None of the null hypotheses relating to Commonwealth Government librarians and job satisfaction were rejected. All but one of the null hypotheses retating to the application of the job characteristics model to Commonwealth Government librarians are rejected. The study concludes by identifying issues and areas for further research in public sector librarianship.

The present study attempted to measure the overlap of tasks being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in special libraries located in Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities in the ACT. Overlap was also measured between the two groups in libraries with six or more staff, since size of library could have affected the results; and between graduates (those employees with university or college of advanced education degrees or graduate diplomas in library and information science), and nongraduates (those without such qualifications). To measure the overlap, a task list questionnaire was devised based on task lists utilised in other research studies or which had been the outcome of professional workshops. Work level guidelines and position classification standards developed by pertinent Australian employing authorities and the Library Association of Australia were also used. Results suggested that there may be considerable overlap in work being performed by Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three in the nominated libraries. Of the eight functional areas of library work into which the task list questionnaire was divided, only two areas, Reference, and Current Awareness and User Services, resulted in proportions of the groups tested being assigned the tasks in significantly different proportions. For the six other functional areas, representing 125 of the 160 tasks Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three performed the same tasks in similar proportions. Testing for size of library and qualifications of respondents made very little difference to these results. Conclusions drawn from the present study are limited because the questionnaire ignored the level of importance and the time occupied in completing these tasks. Other constraints occurred in relation to conclusions which could be made. The questionnaire methodology as utilised by the present study is more likely to evoke responses to what is there; and it does not identify what should be done or how well tasks are performed. The study is limited to special libraries within Commonwealth Government Departments and Statutory Authorities and is confined to three levels of staff only, Librarians Class One and Library Technicians Grades Two and Three. Despite these limitations, it seems clear that the levels of staff included in the present study are often assigned tasks on the basis of what tasks have to be done, rather than with regard to matching level of task to level of position within the boundaries of the work level guidelines; and this situation is also true of the larger libraries with six or more staff. These results have implications for those involved in educating professional librarians and library technicians, for the interpretation given by the profession to the meaning of professionalism and for staff relations between librarians and library technicians. Debate by the profession concerning the roles of librarians and library technicians is an issue demanding urgent attention.

<p>In this study, I explored the experiences of gender and power relations among a group of black women holding leadership positions in six government departments in the Western Cape. South Africa is in a process of transition and, to create a departure from the past, key objectives focus around the transformation of gender disparities and the eradication of racism and other forms of inequality and discrimination in all spheres of this society. There are many methods utilized to increase the number of women in leadership positions in the private and public sectors. However, there is a lack of research regarding the social environment for women once they have entered into these structures (Angevine, 2006). This study made use of a feminist qualitative methodology which guided the research. Six semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted in order to carry out an in-depth exploration of participants&rsquo / experiences. After the participants had given consent, the interviews were audio-recorded, then transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed in accordance with qualitative thematic analysis. All standard ethical considerations to protect the participants and the researcher were taken into account and practised throughout the research. The findings show evidence that black African women leaders in government departments have internalized learnt subservient characteristics / and that this serves to undermine their authority as leaders. Specifically, larger social power relations and traditional forms of authority undermine their capacity to express authority in work environments. They also experience both subtle and blatant racist and sexist prejudice in the form of stereotypes and hostility in the workplace. A minority of women managers actively oppose the gendered notions that undermine their leadership. Ultimately, black African women managers are not accepted or supported as legitimate leaders in the workplace. Women leaders are perceived to be incapable of performing effectively as leaders because of gender and racial stereotypes that serve as hindrances to their expression of leadership. The study found that some participants conform to the socially constructed notion of maintaining a work-life balance and this poses a challenge for such leaders. Those who are married attempt to balance career and life by maximizing on their management of their time. A number of women had made the personal decision to remain single in order to focus explicitly on their careers.</p>

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1983.

Thesis (M.S. in Contract Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Ron B. Tucker, Peter J. Proko. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-90). Also available online.

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

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