scholarly journals Citizen feedback as a tool for continuous improvement in local bodies

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Minelli ◽  
Renato Ruffini
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Data Retrieval ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Normative Issues ◽  
Capital Development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the feedback discourse by exploring how public managers and politicians use complaints from citizens to improve the overall and specific performance of public services. The main research questions are: Can citizen complaints analysis be a useful planning tool in the public sector? What can public managers learn from citizen feedback? Design/methodology/approach Applying an empirical approach (Yin, 2005), the multiple case studies treated in the paper aim to clarify a series of decisions (particularly, why feedback is not used to its maximum potential). The overall design includes a defined set of questions, and the research protocol includes data retrieval, collection and analysis. A new cataloging model is proposed to homogenize the spectrum of analysis. This model is intended to create a parallel between two local bodies different in size, mission, and complexity, but which have front office facilities and are in the same territory and have the same potential target population. Findings In total, 698 complaints and 183 corrective or preventive actions were analyzed. Public managers’ attention seems to focus on technical or normative issues rather than on aspects of public services. This may be explained by the lack of funds for training, the scarce use of relational and human capital development leverage, and the concomitant necessity to guarantee at least the same level of services as provided in previous years, confirming the “Blame the rich and credit the poor” mantra. Originality/value This paper offers a strategic approach to learning from citizen’s feedback that other scholars or practitioners have not yet provided. There are many academic studies on customer feedback as a continuous improvement tool for the private sector, but few for public administration.

Empirical analysis of HPO framework in public sector organizations of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalimullah Kalimullah ◽  
Mohd Anuar Arshad ◽  
Qaiser Khan ◽  
Shahid Khan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Continuous Improvement Process ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Public Sector Organizations

Purpose Building on high-performance organizations (HPO) framework, the purpose of this paper is to hypothesize the direct impact of five factors of HPO framework on public organizations’ performance in Pakistan. This is first research to employ the partial least squares (PLS) method to provide empirical evidence of the predictive power of the framework in public organizations. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study conducted in non-contrived settings thereby keeping researcher interference to a minimum. Data collection was carried out by distributing online questionnaires to 513 employees from three different service-based public organizations in Pakistan. PLS is used to examine the statistical and substantive significance of five factors by employing SmartPLS 3.2.6. Findings This study concludes that the HPO framework has predictive relevance for public organizations’ performance surveyed in this study. Furthermore, three out of the five factors of HPO framework, namely, management quality, workforce quality and long-term orientation have positive relationships, while openness and action orientation (OAO), and continuous improvement process and renewal have a negative relationship with the performance of public sector organizations (PSOs) surveyed in Pakistan. Research limitations/implications The study’s small sample size limits this research, and only quantitative methodology is applied. A significant limitation of this research is that this study relied on a subset of respondents of surveyed organizations and may not representative of the population. Therefore, result should be carefully interpreted as some degree of biasness may be present. Furthermore, findings of the study cannot be generalized to all PSOs of Pakistan. Practical implications The implication for public managers is that the HPO framework has predictive relevance and substantive significance. However, the ideal value of HPO framework will occur when leadership considers HPO factors and struggles persistently to improve performance. The useful implication is that public managers should focus on continuous improvement process and renewal and OAO to meet stakeholders’ satisfaction. Originality/value This study answer two questions, first “is there any significant relationship of five factors of HPO framework with public organizations’ Performance in Pakistan?” and second “what is the predictive relevance level of HPO framework in the Public organizations in Pakistan?” The answers to these research questions will fill the gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence to the existing knowledge on improvement methods, especially the public sector (PS), and contributing insights on the real world working of the five factors of HPO framework in a PS.

Assessing impediments to NPM change

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Steane ◽  
Yvon Dufour ◽  
Donald Gates
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Main Work ◽  
New Public

Purpose – When new public management (NPM) emerged in the mid-1980s, most governments such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada embraced it as a better way to provide public services. A more recent assessment of NPM would conclude that its appeal has faded. The purpose of this paper is to assess the serious impediments to NPM-inspired change. Design/methodology/approach – The literature is diffuse, and therefore its insights have been limited by the lack of synthesis. In this paper the authors set out to synthesize the main work already available. Findings – Change, such as breaking up large public sector hierarchies, or developing internal market-like competition and contracting out public services is indeed disruptive. Such change cannot be achieved without shifting decision-making processes, disrupting existing roles and working relationships and leaving some confusion and uncertainty among staff. Many of the changes feature numerous levels of ill-defined processes, ongoing multi-layered and complex decision making, and no easily agreed or clear path to resolution. Originality/value – The terms “wicked problem” and “disruptive innovation” are increasingly familiar to public managers and policy makers. This paper argues that managing NPM-style change represented yet another wicked problem in managing public organizations. The authors set out to synthesize the main work available, and in so doing, frame the various attributes of NPM-inspired change – five basic parts, five types of uncertainty and five fragmenting forces. The conceptual framework suggests hypotheses as the basis for further research.

What do organizational leaders need from lean graduate programming

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Flumerfelt ◽  
Anabela Carvalho Alves ◽  
Celina Pinto Leão ◽  
Dennis L. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Quantitative Information ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Learner Outcomes ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Organizational Needs

Purpose This paper aims to assess the needs for a lean continuous improvement professional certificate and/or lean leadership cognate for a Doctorate of Education in leadership focused in three main research questions: “What do organizational leaders need from a Lean graduate programming?”; “What are the preferable methods of delivery for Lean teaching/learning?” and “What are the main learner outcomes and do how these impact organizational and continuous improvement outcomes?” Design/methodology/approach A survey to 37 organizational leaders in a North-American state was conducted via telephone and email that were returned to the researcher. The survey was designed to target a solid cross-section of organizational decision makers in regard to the need for and type of lean training desired, if at all, for employees. Using a mixed methods approach, the survey was designed to collect both qualitative and quantitative information. Findings Respondents indicated that lean continuous improvement thinking and lean process-project management were most the desirable content options. The method of delivery was not as clear with on-ground and online relying on job-embedded, project-based methods as most desirable approaches. Learner outcomes of mastery of lean content along with the ability to impact organizational and continuous improvement outcomes were favored. Originality/value Lean leadership education is valued learning by organizational leaders. As so, higher education institutions must be aware of matching better organizational needs with learning experiences. This paper presents a survey that intended to do this in an original way.

Key drivers for public value creation enhancing the adoption of electronic public services by citizens

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 546-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen M. Gross Lopes ◽  
Marie Anne Macadar ◽  
Edimara Mezzomo Luciano
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
State Government ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Public Value ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Smart Technologies

Purpose The relationship between citizens and government has been gradually changing from government centered to citizen centered. These changes can be understood from the public value perspective, which is a promising way to foster the use of electronic services (e-services) by citizens. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how key drivers for public value creation can enhance adopting electronic public services by citizens. The use of e-services as a basis for applying smart technologies is also discussed. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative study based on both a systematic literature review and a case study of an e-service provided by a Brazilian state government. Findings The study identifies that creating public value happens only after adopting e-services and that public value can be perceived directly by those who use the service or indirectly by the observation of people who have adopted it. A two-dimensional framework showing the direct and indirect factors that drive public value creation is proposed based on the data collection and literature review. Research limitations/implications The proposed conceptual framework remains untested and the data collection in the Brazilian context might be a limitation. Other studies could gather data based on the collective uses of e-services. Originality/value The framework can be used in other studies concerning public value creation. Public managers might consider its drivers when planning e-services as a way to link them to social, political and collective issues in addition to smart technologies.

scholarly journals Smart communities inside local governments: a pie in the sky?

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fania Valeria Michelucci ◽  
Alberto De Marco
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Smart Community ◽  
Smart Communities

Purpose Via embracing the idea that one who directly experiences a problem is keener to develop more innovative solutions, local governments have started to engage smart communities in the innovation of public services’ delivery. Even if the meaning of “smart community” generally refers to the community participation in the innovation of public services for urban living, local governments have predominantly stimulated the participation of their citizens. But innovative ideas can potentially spring out also from the insiders. The purpose of this paper is to find the managerial and technological issues that public managers have to consider when planning an internal smart community initiative. Design/methodology/approach For this purpose, the authors analyse the case study of the Municipality of Turin that developed a participatory smart community project named Innova.TO, through the theoretical lens of sensemaking (Weick, 1979; Weick et al., 2005). Findings Results show that there are three main aspects to be considered when implementing smart community initiatives in local governments. Originality/value Even if there is the potential, the engagement of public employees in a smart community of innovators is not straightforward, and several complexities may challenge its success. Moreover, real-life examples and empirical studies are still episodic. As a consequence, if it is concretely possible to build a smart community of innovators inside a local government still remains a question, to which this paper aims to respond.

Family entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Ratten ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Leo-Paul Dana ◽  
Frank Hoy ◽  
Joao Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Family Businesses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Internationalization Strategies ◽  
Entrepreneurial Knowledge ◽  
Emerging Themes ◽  
Family Entrepreneurship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of family entrepreneurship and internationalization strategies by discussing the papers in this special journal issue. Design/methodology/approach The main research areas related to family business are discussed in terms of socioemotional wealth and societal trends. A review of the literature is conducted to highlight the emerging themes affecting the decision of family businesses to internationalize. Findings The paper stresses how it is important to have an entrepreneurial approach to internationalization of family businesses. Research limitations/implications As more family businesses are born globals, it is important to focus on the positive aspects of internationalization, including emerging markets and gaining important entrepreneurial knowledge. Practical implications Family businesses need to be more innovative and risk-taking in their approach to internationalization as it helps them build their reputation and increase performance. Originality/value As there are limited studies about family entrepreneurship and internationalization in terms of a broad view of family, this paper takes an inclusive approach to the changing nature of how a family is defined in today’s global society.

Mapping public value processes

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Alford ◽  
Sophie Yates
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Process Mapping ◽  
Public Value ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Comprehensive Framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to the analytic toolkit of public sector practitioners by outlining a framework called Public Value Process Mapping (PVPM). This approach is designed to be more comprehensive than extant frameworks in either the private or public sectors, encapsulating multiple dimensions of productive processes. Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the public administration and management literature to identify the major frameworks for visualising complex systems or processes, and a series of dimensions against which they can be compared. It then puts forward a more comprehensive framework – PVPM – and demonstrates its possible use with the example of Indigenous child nutrition in remote Australia. The benefits and limitations of the technique are then considered. Findings – First, extant process mapping frameworks each have some but not all of the features necessary to encompass certain dimensions of generic or public sector processes, such as: service-dominant logic; external as well internal providers; public and private value; and state coercive power. Second, PVPM can encompass the various dimensions more comprehensively, enabling visualisation of both the big picture and the fine detail of public value-creating processes. Third, PVPM has benefits – such as helping unearth opportunities or culprits affecting processes – as well as limitations – such as demonstrating causation and delineating the boundaries of maps. Practical implications – PVPM has a number of uses for policy analysts and public managers: it keeps the focus on outcomes; it can unearth a variety of processes and actors, some of them not immediately obvious; it can help to identify key processes and actors; it can help to identify the “real” culprits behind negative outcomes; and it highlights situations where multiple causes are at work. Originality/value – This approach, which draws on a number of precursors but constitutes a novel technique in the public sector context, enables the identification and to some extent the comprehension of a broader range of causal factors and actors. This heightens the possibility of imagining innovative solutions to difficult public policy issues, and alternative ways of delivering public services.

Exploring climate finance for tourism adaptation development: an overview

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Vieira do Nascimento
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
English Language ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Climate Finance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Research Fields ◽  
New Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the links between climate finance and tourism adaptation development. Besides increasing adaptation and mitigation efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, climate change remains a major challenge in the twenty-first century and beyond especially for tourism which is highly climate sensitive. Hence, it is necessary for tourism to adapt to survive. The aim of the study is to provide a systematic overview of the topic to offer a foundation for better understanding different ways of integrating climate finance initiatives with tourism. Design/methodology/approach The research focused on the top-ranked, peer reviewed journals of each of the two selected research fields. To address this topic, an in-depth systematic literature review in the fields of climate change finance and tourism adaptation development was conducted. Furthermore, because it is a relatively new research topic, conference proceedings were also explored. To guarantee wide coverage of the literature, a query of the following scholarly databases was considered: Elsevier, ScienceDirect and Web of Science. Findings Based on the analyses of the literature available on the topic, the paper highlights the main research trends and conclusions. It is argued that there is imbalance of knowledge on climate change finance as it relates to tourism. To date, there have been relatively few published articles on this topic in the context of tourism. Based on the findings, promising areas for future research were identified, and in particular for small island communities and recommendations for future research are outlined. Research limitations/implications The paper is limited by the scope of the literature review accessed by the researcher. The results of this review may vary according to the databases used. Originality/value Currently, there is no extensive review of articles on climate finance and tourism adaptation. This paper aims at reviewing climate finance studies published in English language to explore knowledge gaps in tourism adaptation. Sets of themes being advanced are also highlighted. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Why are companies still struggling to reach higher continuous improvement maturity levels? Empirical evidence from high performance companies

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Jurburg ◽  
Elisabeth Viles ◽  
Carmen Jaca ◽  
Martin Tanco
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Measurement System ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Northern Spain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Performing

Purpose – Continuous improvement (CI) is regarded as a powerful approach to achieve business excellence. However, the implementation is not simple as it involves managing a considerable amount of tangible and intangible factors throughout the whole organization. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap by presenting first-hand information about how companies really implement and organize their CI processes. Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on semi-structured interviews in ten high performing companies in the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain well known for its business quality. The objective was to analyze the state of their CI processes, putting special focus on how the organizational structure integrates with the CI processes and what are the characteristics of the corresponding measurement system. Findings – The study shows a lack of company-wide focus on CI, little written evidence of previous improvement activities, unclear improvement process owner, and poor use of adequate measurement systems to monitor CI. Practical implications – Managers should understand that is not enough to guarantee their own commitment and provide the structure, since in order to become learning organization, a different holistic approach towards the CI process must be adopted. Originality/value – While most previous work on this field have focused primarily on how to implement different techniques in order to achieve better productive performance, this study presents empirical research from a more holistic approach, assessing the characteristics affecting CI by considering strategy, structure, and the measurement system.

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