Title:                          Leadership development of individuals in management positions   Authors:                    Carl Renér and Peter Simonsson     Institution:                Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics   Program:                   Human Resource Management   Course:                      Business administration – Organization including thesis, 15 credits   Supervisor:               Olle Duhlin (Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics)   Examiner:                 Mikael Lundgren (Linneaus University, School of Business and Economics)   It is widely known that the role of managers may result in stress and a heavy workload. As a result of this negative effects organisations have to counteract and find new solutions and systems to facilitate and assist leaders in their work. A popular method for leadership development has come to show both in research and in practice, especially in recent years, this popular method is known as mentoring. This form of leadership development is often applied in so called mentoring programs. The question remains regarding however mentorship and mentoring programs can affect the participant’s leadership development in a positive way. The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of how mentoring can be used as a tool for leadership development of individuals in managing positions.  To answer this question, a qualitative method was used to gather the data and the empirical data was collected by nine semi-structured interviews with participants in the program. We have used an abductive approach to examine how the programs participants have perceived the program. The study shows that mentorship is a well functioning method for leadership development of individuals in management positions. In our case study the results have shown that mentoring programs can be used as a tool for personal development. We have come to the conclusion that it requires dedicated participants and a structured approach in the execution of such a program.

The dissertation examines the economic and behavioral factors influencing 'sector-switching' in Kazakhstan's health care industry. Sector-switching involves doctors moving from the national to the private system, which is not well established, thereby raising questions about why the switch occurs. It addresses the question: why health care professionals in Kazakhstan switch from the public sector to similar jobs in the private or nonprofit sectors? This study addresses a key issue in public management (sector switching) and also offers insights into the dynamics of the transition from a centralized economy to a market economy. As such, its findings have `real-world' applications beyond the particular case being studied i.e. Kazakhstan. This study is based on two simple claims. First, fundamental to the reforms that characterize transitional economies is effectively moving public sector employees to a nascent private sector. Second, such switches are unique because the risks related to transitioning to the private sector are different in transitional economies than in established market economies. Thus, the study considers: the degree to which economic and behavioral factors interact with different perceptions of sectoral risk, and subsequently shape the decision to move from the public sector to the private sector; in particular in Kazakhstan's health industry. The data supporting this study come from a survey covering approximately 1,000 health care professionals (practicing physicians working in both the public and private health care sectors) from nine regions of Kazakhstan. The data includes information about individual incentives physicians have for switching sections and their perceptions of perceived risks and uncertainties given the economic transition currently underway in Kazakhstan. The findings of the research suggest the strong support for the proposed hypotheses and have revealed some of the dynamics of sector switching behavior and the characteristics of "sector switchers" in Kazakhstan. The results demonstrate that physicians' overall job dissatisfaction, relative salary compared to physicians in a different sector, their risk-taking behavior, the national health care system's deterioration compared to previous years, as well as problems with providing medical services in the country affect physicians in making their decision to change their employment sector.

The main purpose of this work is to review the state property privatization process in Lithuania after regaining its independency and to describe theoretical and practical aspects of the privatization policy. The work aims at evaluating separate privatization stages, disclose their merits and shortcomings. The work provides analysis of privatization- process- related legal acts and impact of state institutions on the way to the market economy and state property privatization.

This research examines the sustainability of private sector participation in urban service delivery in developing countries. The solid waste collection service in Dar es Salaam – Tanzania was used as a case study. Municipalities in Tanzania have not been able to cope with the rapid generation rate of solid waste coupled by the rapid urbanization. This resulted in a relatively large quantity of solid waste remaining poorly managed and uncollected, which left an obvious gap for other stakeholders to participate in service provision. The private sector took the opportunity, in the early 1960s, to fill the gap left by the public sector in service provision. The research found that there are factors affecting the sustainability of the private sector, which include: support from the public sector; capacity from the private sector in terms of collection vehicles and equipment; households’ attitudes and behaviour regarding the privatization of the service; the awareness and participation of households in the service; and involvement of households in decision-making. The research also identified that there is a missing-link between the households, public sector administration and the private sector. The research concludes that, taking into consideration the above factors, the proposed guidelines formulated in this study illustrate ways in which private sector involvement in solid waste collection in urban developing countries will be sustainable.

In the present study, the attitudinal differences between the public and private school teachers in Albania were investigated. The attitudinal variables were: job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, and one behavioral intention: turnover intention. Data was gathered from totally 429 teachers working in public (N = 254) and private (N = 175) schools in Albania, in high and secondary schools. Of them, 73% were females (N = 315) and 27% were males (N = 114). The sample mean age was found to be 39 and it varied from 22 to 63 years. Results supported only the hypothesis that stated that the private school teachers are more satisfied with their jobs as compared to their colleagues working in the public sector. Although the hypothesis regarding job involvement and organizational commitment were not supported, it was found that there were significant differences between the teachers working in the public and private schools, with respect to these variables. In the last hypothesis, significant difference was expected for the turnover intention between the public and private sector teachers, however this hypothesis was not supported also. The results are discussed along with the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.

<p>Public-private partnerships to provide services are a relatively new policy initiative in Mexico, and have shown contrasting results. This research has endeavored to analyze the possible determinants behind the failure, or the success, of the choice of a specific mode of service provision. By using contracting literature based on transaction costs, and looking specifically at the case of AGSAL, a joint venture established between Saltillo, a northern Mexican city, and INTERAGBAR, a private investor, for the provision of water, this study showed that characteristics of the transaction at stake. More specifically, it showed that specificity of the investments that support a given transaction, the unanticipated changes in circumstances surrounding an exchange, either from physical assets or its ownership rights, and the frequency and duration with which parties engage in the transaction.</p>

Public Private Partnership (PPP) is a well established methodology for procuring public works projects. By incorporating the private sector’s expertise, efficiency, innovation, business sense, risk sharing, financing etc. into public works projects, the quality of public services and facilities can be uplifted. Like many jurisdictions, Hong Kong is also keen to take aboard this methodology which is so familiar but yet so distant. Although they have been one of the first jurisdictions to utilise the private sector in public works projects, their comfortable financial reserves has meant that there has been no urge to push the movement until recently. PPP has become increasingly popular amongst governments. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government is no exception. Some of the more active works departments have commissioned studies to investigate the best ways to deliver these projects, others have even trialed the method themselves. The efficiency Unit of the HKSAR government has also become an active arm in conducting research in this area. Although so, the information that is currently available is still very broad. Building from their works there is a need to develop a best practice framework for implementing PPP projects in Hong Kong by incorporating international experiences. To develop a best practice framework will require thorough investigation into the benefits, difficulties and critical success factor of PPP. PPP should also be compared with other procurement methods. In order to do so it is important to clearly understand the local situation by an analysis of projects conducted to date. Lessons learnt can further be derived from other countries and incorporated to those derived locally. Finally the best conditions in terms of project nature, complexity, types, and scales for adopting PPP should be derived. The aim and objectives of this study were achieved via a comprehensive literature review, in-depth case analyses, interview survey with experts from both Hong Kong and overseas, and finally a large scale data collection was conducted via a questionnaire survey with PPP practitioners. These findings were further triangulated before they were used as the basis to form the best practice framework presented in this thesis. The framework was then further validated by PPP experts to ensure it is comprehensive, objective, reliable and practical. This study has presented a methodology that can be adopted for future studies. It has also updated our knowledge on the development trends of PPP as well as opened up the experiences of other jurisdictions. The findings have shown that the local industry is familiar with “what” should be done in PPP projects but they are unsure of “how” these goals can be achieved. This framework has allowed this further knowledge to be delivered to PPP practitioners. As a result, the development of this framework can help to resolve the current economic crisis by encouraging more developments and business opportunities for the private sector. In addition, the correct projects can be delivered by PPP, the advantages of PPP can be maximised, and the general public can benefit from the private sector’s participation.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (M. S.)--International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Breznitz, Dan; Committee Member: Bowman, Kirk; Committee Member: Taylor, Zak.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Universiẗat, Diss., 2005/2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [338]-369) and index.