The impact of coronavirus and quarantine on Australian public sector organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanan AlMazrouei
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Or Practice ◽  
Executive Managers ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has challenged leaders to alter the way they manage their organization's employees, such as requiring them to quarantine, self-isolate or practice social distancing so that they comply with government health directives. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the quarantine on the workplace.Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews containing open-ended questions were conducted with fifty Australian public sector executive managers to gauge the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on their organizations.FindingsThe study reveals the effects that the virus had on the organizations' teamwork as well as individuals' learning. It finds that organizations experienced both positive effects, such as increased creativity and initiative, and negative effects, such as reduced satisfaction with work teams, from the pandemic.Originality/valueThis study also adds to the still-developing body of knowledge regarding the effects of the virus on individuals' levels of work team satisfaction as well as a variety of other factors specific to public sector organizations

The effect of consumers' religiosity on consumer ethics: the mediating role of ethical ideology

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Denni Arli ◽  
Fandy Tjiptono
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Ethics ◽  
Ethical Ideology ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Consumer Ethics Scale ◽  
The Impact

PurposeReligious doctrines generally encourage people to behave ethically. However, in daily life, individuals notice inconsistencies between religious beliefs and behavior, leading them to ask, in the context of commerce, why religious consumers would behave unethically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of consumers' intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity on their ethical behavior. Specifically, the moderating effect of ethical ideology on the relationship between Indonesian consumers' religiosity and their ethics was examined by means of a survey.Design/methodology/approachThe data derived from the questionnaire were complemented by convenience samples of Indonesians living in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) in central Java. The researchers distributed 600 questionnaires in two major shopping malls and several housing areas in the region, of which 467 were completed and returned, for an overall response rate of 77.8%.FindingsThe results indicated that the participants' intrinsic religiosity negatively impacted their ethical beliefs and was mediated by their idealistic ethical ideology. The present study also found that idealism had negative effects on three of the four dimensions of the consumer ethics scale (CES) (actively benefiting, passively benefiting and questionable behavior), while relativism had positive effects on two of the dimensions (passively benefiting and questionable behavior.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of the present study was that the analysis did not distinguish among the religions practiced by the respondents to the questionnaire.Originality/valueThis is one of the first few studies investigating the mediating role of ethical ideology in a religious society. This study contributes to the literature on these issues in theoretical and managerial terms by extending the Hunt-Vitell theory (1986) to the context of consumer ethics.

scholarly journals Fathers experiences of sleeping problems in children with autism

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Ann Potter
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Onset ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sleeping Problems ◽  
Significant Public Health ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of fathers in the management of sleeping problems in children with autism and their perspectives of the impact of these difficulties on family life. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews with 25 UK-based fathers of children with autism were undertaken. Findings Two-thirds of fathers reported that their children experienced severe sleeping problems in the areas of bed-time resistance, sleep onset and night-time waking. Fathers were significantly involved in the management of these difficulties and reported a range of associated deleterious impacts on the family, including significant negative effects on paternal and maternal health, father’s employment, couple relationship and sibling experiences. Research limitations/implications The interview sample cannot be said to be representative of all fathers of children with autism since the backgrounds of those taking part were relatively homogeneous in respect of ethnicity, marital status and level of education. Practical implications Improvements in effective, family-centred provision are urgently needed which employ a co-parenting, gender-differentiated methodology. Social implications Given the severity and frequency of difficulties, sleeping problems in children with autism should be viewed as a significant public health concern. Originality/value This is one of the first studies, qualitative or quantitative, to explore the role and perspectives of fathers of children with autism in the important area of sleep management.

Institutional work and the interplay of stability and change in public budgeting reform: the case of public universities in Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Jalali Aliabadi ◽  
Muhammad Bilal Farooq ◽  
Umesh Sharma ◽  
Dessalegn Getie Mihret
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Public Budgeting ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Setting Process ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand the efforts of key social actors in influencing the reform of Iranian public universities budgeting system, from incremental to performance-based budgeting (PBB), the tensions that arose as competing efforts of institutional change were undertaken, and ultimately the impact of these efforts on the extent to which the Iranian government transitioned to a system of PBB in public universities.Design/methodology/approachData comprises of semi-structured interviews with managers and experts involved in the budget setting process and an analysis of budgetary policy documents, reports and archival material such as legislation. An institutional work lens is employed to interpret the findings.FindingsWhile actors advocating the change were engaged in institutional work directed at disrupting the old budgetary rules by disassociating the rules moral foundations and creating new budgetary rules (through new legislation), universities undertook subtle resistance by engaging in extended evaluation of the new proposed PBB rules thereby maintaining the old budgetary rules. The reforms undertaken to introduce PBB in Iranian universities achieved minimal success whereby incremental budgeting continued to constitute by far a larger percentage of the budget allocation formula for university budgets. This finding illustrates change and continuity in university budgetary systems resulting from institutional work of actors competing to control the basis of resource allocation under the proposed PBB system by proposing contradicting models.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the importance of understanding the interplay of institutional work undertaken by competing social actors as they seek to advance their goals in shaping budgetary reforms in the public-sector. Such an understanding may inform policy makers who intend to introduce major reforms in public-sector budgeting approaches.Originality/valueUnlike prior studies that largely focused on how organization-level budgeting practices responded to changes in public budgeting rules (i.e. at the site of implementation of the rules), this paper highlights how strategies of change and resistance are played out at the site of setting budgetary norms.

Embracing supply base complexity: the contingency role of strategic purchasing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melek Akın Ateş ◽  
Huriye Memiş
Keyword(s):  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Purchasing ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

PurposeThis paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data were collected from 209 firms listed in the Capital Top 500 Firms of Turkey. Measurement properties were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the conceptual model was tested via hierarchical regression analysis. A supplementary analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted to provide further insights on the survey findings.FindingsRegarding structural SBC, the results suggest that horizontal complexity and supplier interaction improve purchasing performance, but only in firms with high strategic purchasing. By contrast, spatial complexity reduces purchasing performance in firms with high strategic purchasing, while supplier differentiation does not have any effect. Regarding dynamic SBC, the results show that both delivery complexity and supplier instability reduce purchasing performance when firms have low strategic purchasing. Interviews further suggest that firms with high strategic purchasing leverage the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of SBC by having a long-term focus, considering multiple performance criteria and adopting advanced purchasing practices.Practical implicationsIn contrast to what is widely posited in the existing literature, the nuanced findings of this study reveal that complexity is not always detrimental. The results suggest that practitioners should aim for high levels of strategic purchasing to suppress the negative effects of SBC while leveraging its benefits.Originality/valueBy investigating the contingency role of strategic purchasing, this study provides novel insights into the under-investigated issue of how to best “manage” SBC.

From welfare to wealth creation

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Divya Verma Gakhar ◽  
Abhijit Phukon
Keyword(s):  
Citation Analysis ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review several influential empirical studies that examine the performance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The paper undertakes a citation analysis of journals, authors and titles in the area of privatization and firm performance in general, and assesses the impact of privatization on the performance of SOEs in particular. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is based on a systematic and structured review of over 100 papers published in economics, public management, business strategy and related social sciences. The systematic review is based on citation analysis of journals, authors and titles. The journal and author citation counts were tabulated by leveraging the databases of SCImago Journal Rankings and Google Scholar and filtered it to find out the most highly cited journals and authors. The structured review is based on the framing opinion with respect to major findings, variables selected, measurement techniques and statistical tools applied by different researchers. The impact is measured through coding a value “P” in case of positive effects, “N” in case of negative effects and “NT” in case the study found both positive and negative effects. Findings The citation analysis reveals that American Economic Review, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies and Journal of Finance as the top-cited journals, and Megginson and Netter (3,468), Megginson et al. (1,737), Djankov and Murrell (1,356), Boardman and Vining (1,320), Balsam et al. (1,094) and DeWenter and Malatesta (1,018) as the top-cited authors in this particular research field. While majority research studies have revealed a significant improvement in the performance of SOEs in the post-privatization period, few studies have reserved their impact as neutral or even negative in some respects. Originality/value Given that economic transitions, corporate governance, and performance of SOEs have attracted a great attention from public management and business strategy scholars in recent years, this paper aims to summarize a large number of empirical studies that examine the performance of SOEs. The paper would be useful to future researchers especially the beginners and early career researchers in terms of its current trends, selection of variables, measurement techniques and statistical tools applied.

Corporate portfolio management in the public sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-340
Author(s):  
Saša Baškarada ◽  
Brian Hanlon
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAlthough corporate portfolio management (CPM) has been a popular tool for strategic management of multi-business portfolios in the private sector since the late 1960s, it has received limited attention in the public sector. Accordingly, empirical research on the use of CMP in government organizations is virtually non-existent. The purpose of this paper is to partially fill that gap in the literature by highlighting and discussing some of the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CPM.Design/methodology/approachRather than deductively proposing and testing narrowly specified hypotheses, this study aims to answer a broad research question, namely: What are the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CMP? Hence, the study adopts the qualitative interpretive research paradigm. The findings are based on empirical research conducted in a large Australian publicly funded research organization. Potential application of CPM was iteratively and incrementally explored with a reference group comprising 15 middle management representatives and several members of the senior leadership group over the course of one year.FindingsAssessment criteria traditionally used in CPM (e.g. growth potential and market share) are generally not applicable in public sector organizations. This paper suggests that government organizations should instead consider past performance and future potential of individual business units, which may be operationalized via capability (a function of human capital and associated resources/infrastructure) and delivery (a function of the demand for, and the impact of, relevant business units). The paper also highlights the importance of organization-wide consultation, evidence-based decision making, and contestability.Originality/valueFrom a practical perspective, the paper may assist public sector organizations with adapting and applying CPM. From a theoretical perspective, the paper highlights an important and relatively neglected research problem, and suggests several avenues for future research.

Investigating the role of social media on mental health

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassan Ebrahimpour Sadagheyani ◽  
Farin Tatari
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image Dissatisfaction ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Today with the internet expansion, social media has also been identified as a factor in evolutions. Social media is the title used to refer to the set of sites and tools that have been born and developed in the space created by modern media such as communication networks, the internet and mobile phones. The effects of emerging phenomena, such as social media on human health, especially mental health, are important. As the effects of social media on users mental health is unclear, and the evidence in this field is contradictory, this study aims to determine the role of social media on mental health. Design/methodology/approach The current study was a review conducted in 2020. According to keywords, an extensive search was conducted on Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Magiran and SID databases. In total, 501 articles were obtained. The articles were screened in three stages. Finally, out of 501 evaluated articles, 50 cases were carefully assessed and included in the study. Findings The findings showed that social media has negative and positive effects on mental health. Negative effects included anxiety, depression, loneliness, poor sleep quality, poor mental health indicators, thoughts of self-harm and suicide, increased levels of psychological distress, cyber bullying, body image dissatisfaction, fear of missing out and decreased life satisfaction. Positive effects included accessing other people’s health experiences and expert health information, managing depression, emotional support and community building, expanding and strengthening offline networks and interactions, self-expression and self-identity, establish and maintain relationships. Originality/value The impact of social media on mental health can be considered as a double-edged sword. The important thing is to be able to reduce the negative effects of social media on mental health and turn it into an opportunity by implementing appropriate strategies and actions and to increase and strengthen the positive effects.

Innovation in public organizations: do government reforms matter?

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 731-749
Author(s):  
Imane Hijal-Moghrabi ◽  
Meghna Sabharwal ◽  
Kannan Ramanathan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Senior Management ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of New Public Management (NPM) reforms/practices on innovation in public sector organizations. Although much is written on NPM, the assumption that NPM reforms stimulate organizational innovation has not been empirically tested. The present study is an attempt to bridge this research gap.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on open-systems approach, institutional theory, and innovation research, this study argues that organizational innovation occurs in response to stimuli in the external (environmental factors) and internal environment (organizational factors), considering NPM reforms/practices as a proxy for external or environmental factors. Organizational factors include formal structural complexity, senior management support and job security. The study tests this model using data from a national survey conducted in five states in the US.FindingsThe study provides empirical insights into our understanding of the factors that drive innovation in public sector organizations. The study finds that although environmental factors are as significant as organizational factors in driving innovation in the public sector, senior management support remains the most important predictor of innovation.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils an identified need to study the effect of NPM reforms and practices on innovation in public organizational settings.

scholarly journals Green training for sustainable procurement? Insights from the Brazilian public sector

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Gomes Aragão ◽  
Charbel Jose Chiappetta Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Sustainable Supply Chain ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainable Procurement ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Human resources practices, particularly regarding environmental training, play a key role in the dissemination of sustainable supply chain practices, especially sustainable procurement. Both environmental training and sustainable procurement can prompt environmental maturity (EM) among organizations. However, little is known about the relationship between environmental training and the adoption of sustainable procurement in public sector organizations of emerging economies, such as Brazil. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between environmental training and the adoption of sustainable procurement in three Brazilian public/state universities. Design/methodology/approach This research is qualitative and includes an exploratory study based on in-depth interviews with experts from the procurement section of Brazilian public universities. A methodological framework is proposed to analyze the results. The main questions that guided this study were: is there a relationship between the environmental-training initiatives and the adoption of sustainable procurement? Does this relationship, whether positive or negative, improve the maturity of environmental sustainability? And what is the future outlook for this issue in the context of public universities in Brazil? Findings According to the results’ analysis, the impact of sustainable procurement practices among the public organizations analyzed was almost void. The environmental training produced limited accomplishments, although respondents viewed it as a source of potential improvement, which indicates a co-evolution of sustainable procurement, environmental training and EM. In the cases analyzed, an alignment was identified among the levels of sustainable procurement and environmental training adoption. Research limitations/implications It was identified that the lacks of training and support from senior management, environmental culture, great bureaucracy and economic factors were considered barriers and difficulties to implementing environmental procurement practices. These barriers deserve further study. Originality/value There is a lack of research on the relationship between environmental training and the adoption of sustainable procurement in emerging economies and in public sector organizations.

How to enhance the impact of training on service quality?

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 514-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rahim Zumrah
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Transfer Of Training ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance role of transfer of training as a mediator in the relationship between training and service quality. Design/methodology/approach – The data of this study were collected from three sources: the employees of public sector organizations in Malaysia who participated in a Basic Financial Management training program, their supervisors and their colleagues through surveys. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – The findings reveal that transfer of training mediated the relationship between training and service quality. Research limitations/implications – The finding illustrate that management in public sector need to ensure that their employees apply the new learned knowledge and skills at the workplace following the training to maximize the return of training investment. Originality/value – This study extends the literature by providing empirical evidence that transfer of training has a mediating effects on the relationship between training and employee service quality in the context of public sector organizations in Malaysia, a non-Western context that located in Southeast Asia.

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