9. MANAGEMENT CONTROL REFORM IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: CONTRASTING THE USA AND ITALY

Author(s):  
Lawrence R. Jones ◽  
Riccardo Mussari
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-495
Author(s):  
Nuraddeen Abubakar Nuhu ◽  
Kevin Baird ◽  
Ranjith Appuhami

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of organisational dynamic capabilities (strategic flexibility and employee empowerment) in mediating the relationship between management control systems (MCSs), in particular the interactive and diagnostic approaches to using controls, with organisational change and performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected based on a mail survey of public sector organisations in Australia and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The findings indicate that strategic flexibility and employee empowerment mediate the association between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational performance, and strategic flexibility mediates the relationship between the interactive approach to MCSs with organisational change. Practical implications The study’s findings inform public sector practitioners as to how to enact change within and enhance the performance of public sector organisations. Specifically, managers are advised to focus on the use of interactive controls and the development of two dynamic organisational capabilities, strategic flexibility and employee empowerment. Originality/value The study provides an initial empirical insight into the relation between controls and dynamic capabilities and their role in enacting change and performance within the public sector. The findings suggest that the achievement of new public management ideals is reliant upon the organisational environment, with change and performance facilitated by the interactive use of controls and strategic flexibility and employee empowerment.


Author(s):  
Olga Murova ◽  
Aman Khan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the efficiency of public investments and their impact on economic growth in the USA using panel data. Results of the study show highly significant and positive relationships between gross state product (GSP) and expenditures on education, transportation, health, welfare, and public safety (police and fire), and negative but significant relationships between output and employment in health care and public safety services. Inefficiencies in the study are measured using per capita tax revenue and time. Tax revenue has a very minimal positive and significant effect on efficiency, while time inversely relates to efficiency. Design/methodology/approach The present study uses SFA to investigate the efficiency of government expenditures in five service sectors – education, transportation, health, welfare, and public safety (police and fire), using recent data and economic trends. The study hypothesizes that changes in the current levels of expenditures in the public sector have a significant impact on the aggregate economy, as measured by GSP. The study uses GSP as the dependent (output) variable, and government expenditure on the five service sectors as the independent (input) variables. Findings Analysis of efficiency for individual states for all 21 years produced interesting results. Overall, the technical efficiency of the public sector was quite high. The average TE score across all years and all states was 0.878. This suggests that public sector operates at a relatively high efficiency level. Originality/value The current SFA model followed Battese and Coelli approach of estimating efficiency of public sectors in each state of the USA. It allowed estimation of policy impact on the overall efficiency. It was applied to macroeconomic panel data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-147
Author(s):  
Zbysław Dobrowolski ◽  
Tomasz Szejner

Abstract Objective: The phenomenon of ethnocentrism in the public sector has not been well recognized. The study was aimed at initiating an effort to fill the research gap by introducing the concept of “public ethnocentrism” and presenting empirical evidence from a preliminary test of the concept. Methodology: while analysing and seeking full contextual understanding of the public ethnocentrism the ethnographic public representative’s observation and open-ended interviews have been chosen. Study of public ethnocentrism in Poland have been supplemented by interviews with 11 representatives of public sector from the USA, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Tanzania, Namibia and Mexico. Findings: Studies have shown a scale of willingness to use an ethnocentric attitude when making decisions in a public organization. It was found that public ethnocentrism restricts innovation by disrupting public choice. Value Added: Two new research questions are identified. Recommendations: There is a need to create an Ethnocentrism Perception Index (EPI). The tendency for ethnocentric behaviour should be taken into accounts when determining whether formal and informal institutions are conducive to running a business in a given country.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (86(142)) ◽  
pp. 53-74
Author(s):  
Kazimiera Winiarska

The purpose of this article is to assess the realisation of goals of management control in public sector entities in Poland. To make the assessment, the authors formulated questions intended to confirm the knowledge of management control goals in practice. At the same time the questions interpreted the scope of realisation of individual goals of management control. The research method used was a questionnaire survey conducted in cities, towns and counties in Poland. The addresses were obtained from the Association of Polish Cities and the Association of Polish Counties. In total, 572 questionnaires were sent out of which 289 completed forms were sent back, which constitutes a 50-percent return. The respondents were allowed to fill the questionnaire on paper or online. The question-naires were distributed with the help of the Main Board of the Accountants Association in Poland. It appears from the gathered data that the concept of management control is accepted in the public sector and the goals are being realised. However, it was proposed to broaden the interpretation of risk management methods by means of a detailed instruction prepared by the Ministry of Finance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Propheter

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a number of promises typically made by owners of professional sports franchises in the USA that are also typically ignored or underevaluated by public bureaus and their elected principals using the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York as a case study. Ex post subsidy outcomes are evaluated against ex ante subsidy promises in order to draw lessons that can inform and improve subsidy debates elsewhere. Design/methodology/approach The case study adopts a pre-post strategy drawing on data from multiple sources over a period of up to ten years in order to triangulate the narrative and build credibility. The franchise owner’s ex ante promises and financial projections were obtained from various media including newspaper, video and interviews between December 2003, when the arena was publicly announced, and September 2012, when the arena opened. Data on ex post outputs were obtained from financial documents and government records covering periods from September 2011 through June 2016. Findings The franchise owner is found to have exaggerated the arena’s financial condition, under-delivered on its employment promises, and exaggerated the scope and timeliness of ancillary real estate development. Only promises of event frequency and attendance levels, measures of the public’s demand for the facility, have been met during the first three years. Research limitations/implications Because the evaluation is a case study, causal conclusions cannot be drawn and some aspects of the Barclays Center context may not be applicable in other jurisdictions or subsidy debates. In addition, the case study does not evaluate an exhaustive list of the promises franchise owners make. Practical implications Franchise owners have a financial incentive to overpromise public benefits, since subsidy levels are tied to what the public is perceived to receive in return. This case study demonstrates that the public sector should not take owners’ promises and projections of public benefits at face value. Moreover, the case study reveals that the public sector should put more effort into ensuring ex post policy and data transparency in order to facilitate benefit-cost analyses of such subsidies. Originality/value The data required to evaluate promises, other than economic development ones, made by franchise owners are not systematically collected across state and local governments in the USA, making large-n studies impossible. Case studies are underutilized approaches in this area of public affairs, and this paper illustrates their usefulness. By focusing on a single facility, an evaluation of the franchise owner’s less acknowledged and arguably more important promises about the facility and its local impact is possible.


Author(s):  
May Chien Chin ◽  
Sheamini Sivasampu ◽  
Nilmini Wijemunige ◽  
Ravindra P Rannan-Eliya ◽  
Rifat Atun

Abstract In Malaysia, first-contact, primary care is provided by parallel public and private sectors, which are completely separate in organization, financing and governance. As the country considers new approaches to financing, including using public schemes to pay for private care, it is crucial to examine the quality of clinical care in the two sectors to make informed decisions on public policy. This study intends to measure and compare the quality of clinical care between public and private primary care services in Malaysia and, to the extent possible, assess quality with the developed economies that Malaysia aspires to join. We carried out a retrospective analysis of the National Medical Care Survey 2014, a nationally representative survey of doctor–patient encounters in Malaysia. We assessed clinical quality for 27 587 patient encounters using data on 66 internationally validated quality indicators. Aggregate scores were constructed, and comparisons made between the public and private sectors. Overall, patients received the recommended care just over half the time (56.5%). The public sector performed better than the private sector, especially in the treatment of acute conditions, chronic conditions and in prescribing practices. Both sectors performed poorly in the indicators that are most resource intensive, suggesting that resource constraints limit overall quality. A comparison with 2003 data from the USA, suggests that performance in Malaysia was similar to that a decade earlier in the USA for common indicators. The public sector showed better performance in clinical care than the private sector, contrary to common perceptions in Malaysia and despite providing worse consumer quality. The overall quality of outpatient clinical care in Malaysia appears comparable to other developed countries, yet there are gaps in quality, such as in the management of hypertension, which should be tackled to improve overall health outcomes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dumay ◽  
James Guthrie ◽  
Pina Puntillo

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a structured literature review of the public sector intellectual capital (IC) literature. It is, in part, motivated by a recent review of the IC literature by Guthrie et al. (2012, p. 74), who found that the public sector is one of the least addressed areas of IC research. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a structured literature review of public sector IC articles that is as up to date as possible. The authors use and update the dataset from Guthrie et al. (2012) to include another five plus years of data, including seven articles appearing in this special issue. Findings – The public sector IC has a primary research focus on central government and central government agencies, education (especially universities), Europe (especially Italy and Spain) and empirical research using case studies mainly investigating management control and strategy. It appears public sector IC researchers are firmly entrenched in performative third-stage research, investigating “how” IC works in organisations rather than offering normative solutions. Research limitations/implications – Three areas offered as a way of forwarding public sector IC research. First, there is a need to expand public sector IC research from beyond the confines of education (university) research. There is also an opportunity for a study to synthesise the findings. Second, there is also a need for more longitudinal research in public sector IC because IC is not an event, but a journey. Third, there is an opportunity for researchers to undertake empirical research with organisations to develop and test IC frameworks and models in specific public sector contexts. Practical implications – The authors call for researchers to consider helping public sector practitioners implement IC frameworks and models through interventionist research. In keeping with the performative third-stage IC research agenda, interventionist research makes it possible for academic researchers to act as a catalyst for implementing IC frameworks and models in practice. Originality/value – This paper is a must read for IC researchers wanting to embark on public sector research. The paper outlines how public sector IC research has developed, offers critique and outlines future opportunities for research that has potential impact, rather than concentrating on already well-researched contexts.


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