scholarly journals The challenging role of policy labs in public sector organizations: designing for more responsive systems (or organizations)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Tamami Komatsu ◽  
Mariana Salgado ◽  
Alessandro Deserti ◽  
Francesca Rizzo
2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1402-1411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiju Antony ◽  
Bryan Rodgers ◽  
Elizabeth A. Cudney

Purpose Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as a process excellence has been widely adopted in both manufacturing and service organizations; however, its application in the public sector has not been widely explored. Is LSS still a myth or reality in our public sector organizations? The purpose of this paper is to make an attempt to debate about the use of LSS and its potential applications in the public sector context. Design/methodology/approach The initial approach is to critically evaluate the role of LSS in various public sector contexts, followed by showcasing four case studies from four different public sector settings: higher education, police service, public hospital and local government. Findings LSS methodology can be embraced by all public sector organizations to create efficient and effective processes to provide enhanced customer experience and value at reduced operational costs. Research limitations/implications This paper seeks to contribute to and broaden the limited body of evidence of the applicability of LSS to public sector organizations and identifies areas for further research and review. Practical implications LSS will continue to grow across many public sector organizations in Europe and other parts of the world over the forthcoming years. However, what will eventually determine if LSS is viewed by public sector organizations as just a passing management fad or not largely depends on the leadership and success of its execution. If LSS is deployed in its true sense across the public sector organizations at a global level, the hard cash savings generated can reach several billions. Originality/value The paper yields an immense value to both research scholars and practitioners who are engaged in the introduction of LSS as a business process improvement strategy to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. Moreover, this paper makes an attempt to dispel the myth of LSS which have been quite prevalent in many public sector organizations around us today.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Mohammed Al-Saif ◽  
Ahmed Abdel-Whab

One of e-Government implementation’s most notable advantages is the enhancement of transparency amongst public sector organizations that it brings, possibly caused by the availability of information, the newfound accountability, and the ability to track and monitor transactions within the public sector. With this in mind, the research at hand will centre on the issue of unemployment amongst postgraduates in Saudi Arabia, focusing on reaping the benefits of the centralised, highly efficient e-Government system to control the process of employment within Saudi universities and research centres. In this vein, this research proposes that e-Government (as well as other ICTs) should be tasked with fighting corruption by detailing the specifics and qualifications of the job-seeker in question within the relevant centralised websites. Indeed, such a process would allow for the filtering and selecting process by the employer to be both supervised and audited.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amjad Iqbal ◽  
Iftikhar Ahmad ◽  
Khawaja Fawad Latif

PurposeThis study aims at ascertaining the relationship between servant leadership and employees’ organizational deviant behaviour in public sector organizations of Pakistan. Drawing on social cognitive and social exchange theories, this research also proposes to determine the mediating role of self-efficacy and trust in leader in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachUsing convenience sampling method, three-wave time-lagged data were collected from 204 employees working in secretariats of two federal ministries in Pakistan.FindingsThe results derived from partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis using SmartPLS 3.2.9 software revealed that servant leadership is not negatively related to employee organizational deviant behaviour. Although the findings indicate that servant leadership is positively related to employee self-efficacy and trust in leader, these factors do not mediate the relationship between servant leadership and organizational deviant behaviour.Practical implicationsEmpirical evidence of this research emphasizes the role of servant leadership in fostering employees’ trust and self-efficacy. Additionally, this research suggests that alongside servant leadership, a moral climate and fairness in organizational policies and decisions are also inevitable to prompt employees to feel obligated to reduce undesirable workplace behaviours, particularly in public sector organizations.Originality/valueThis is amongst the earlier studies that investigates the association between servant leadership and organizational deviant behaviour of public sector employees in a developing context and examines the mediating role of trust in leader and self-efficacy simultaneously. Being contradictory to the underlying theories, findings of this research open the debate on effectiveness of servant leadership in public sector organizations of developing countries and expose avenues for future research.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 723-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Ahmed Al-Ali ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Singh ◽  
Moza Al-Nahyan ◽  
Amrik Singh Sohal

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of change leadership on organizational culture and change management practices in public-sector firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also examines the mediating role of organizational culture on the interactions between leadership and change management programmes in the organization. Design/methodology/approach An empirical test of the hypotheses using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to data collected from 210 middle-management respondents of public-sector organizations in the UAE. Findings The findings suggest that change-oriented leadership has a positive and significant direct effect on planned change (ß = 0.20, p < 0.01) and a positive and significant but indirect effect on planned change (ß = 0.279, p < 0.01) and emergent change (ß = 0.262, p < 0.01) change. Furthermore, hierarchical culture was found to positively and significantly impact directly on both planned (ß = 0.480, p < 0.001) and emergent (ß = 0.245, p < 0.01) change management in the UAE public-sector service organizations. Practical implications Based on the study’s findings, the role of the hierarchical culture in effecting change in the UAE public-sector organizations provides new and significant insights into the research literature on organizational culture as regards change management issues and the challenges facing these organizations. Originality/value The study makes a significant original contribution toward knowledge on the management of organizational change in UAE public-sector service organizations. It has practical implications for managers and leaders confronting organizational change management in the UAE.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Xiaoling Sun ◽  
Mingzheng Wu ◽  
Qian Chen

The importance of self-control failure and employee outcomes in public sector organizations in China is increasing. In this study, drawing on ego depletion theory and public service motivation (PSM) literature, we proposed that PSM would serve as a buffer against the detrimental effect of ego depletion on self-control. We used an experimental design to manipulate ego depletion with 95 Chinese public servant participants. Results showed that self-persuasion intervention can increase state PSM, and this contributes to higher self-control performance after an act of self-control. Results also indicated that higher trait PSM significantly correlates with higher self-control performance after ego depletion. Implications for cultivating PSM of employees in public sector organizations in China are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 04 (01) ◽  
pp. 38-46
Author(s):  
Ayesha Akhtar ◽  

The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between passive leadership and its outcomes in public sector organizations, with mediating role of workplace incivility. Data was collected from 245 government sector employees of Pakistan. SPSS was used to analyze data. Mediation analysis was carried out as per Preacher and Hayes (2008) bootstrapping method. Results indicate that both burnout and interpersonal conflict are not the direct outcomes of passive leadership; however, work place incivility is fully mediating the relationship between passive leadership and its outcomes that includes burnout and interpersonal conflict.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Bastida ◽  
Enrico Bracci ◽  
Zahirul Hoque

PurposeThis paper aims at reflecting on the role of accounting and accountability mechanisms in pre-COVID-19 conditions and how it may evolve in “new normal”, post-COVID-19 conditions.Design/methodology/approachMoving from the papers in this special issue, the authors draw on the literature on the social construction and reflective approaches to understand pre- and post-COVID-19 events and the role of accounting therein.FindingsThe “new normal” may exacerbated the difficulty of public sector organizations to manage the uncertainties and risks associated to the new context. While “old” wicked issues remain, such as social inclusion, poverty and corruption, new ones come. The authors speculate on the “new” and “old” roles accounting and accountability can play to support governments.Originality/valueThe paper contributes by setting new research avenues for future studies in a post-COVID-19 era.


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