Competencies for effective public middle managers

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 421-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iman Sudirman ◽  
Joko Siswanto ◽  
Joe Monang ◽  
Atya Nur Aisha
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Behavioral Event

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate a set of competencies that characterizes effective public middle managers.Design/methodology/approachA total of 20 middle managers from several public agencies were interviewed in person using the behavioral event interview technique. In all, 80 stories were deductively coded based on the existing National Civil Service Agency’s managerial competency dictionary and inductively examined through a thematic analysis to discover new themes.FindingsThis study’s findings suggest that communication, organizing, information seeking, analytical thinking and planning competencies are common competencies, but essential for effective public middle managers. Conversely, achievement orientation, leadership, directiveness, persuasiveness and innovation are competencies that characterize effective public middle managers and distinguish them from average performers. In addition, some other new competencies inductively obtained using a thematic analysis are also important for effective public managers: adherence to laws and regulations, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and technical competencies (technology management, human resource management and financial management).Research limitations/implicationsThe research was undertaken using 20 samples divided into superior and average performers; thus, it is limited to developing competency levels to new competencies.Originality/valueThis study identifies the competencies necessary for effective middle managers within the public sector context. Conducting behavioral event interviews with two distinct groups provides empirically unique behavioral evidence of competencies that characterize effective public middle managers and enables to discover new competencies.

The competency of public managers

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-40
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Purpose The purpose of this study is identifying the competencies that are characteristic of effective middle managers. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered in personal interviews, using the behavioral event interview technique, from the responses of 20 middle manages working for several public agencies in West Java Province, Indonesia. 12 were previously rated on work performance as superior and 8 were rated as average. 80 stories were obtained and examined in two ways – deductively coded using the National Civil Service Agency’s managerial competency dictionary and inductively to identify new themes through thematic analysis. Findings Competencies which may distinguish superior from average performers are achievement orientation, leadership, directiveness, persuasiveness and innovation. Competencies frequently cited in the stories of both average and superior performers are oral communication, organizing, information seeking, analytical thinking and planning; new competencies identified in thematic analysis which lead to effective management were adherence to laws and regulations, multi-stakeholder collaboration and technical competencies which includes human resource management, technology management and financial management. Practical implications For organizations to improve the performance of middle managers they should focus on the on the development of those competencies which distinguish superior from average middle managers and identification of these traits in the recruitment and promoting of employees. Originality/value This paper has an original approach as it fills a research gap in competency modeling for the middle management level in a public sector context.

scholarly journals Patching security governance: an empirical view of emergent governance mechanisms for cybersecurity

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 429-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel van Eeten
Keyword(s):  
Property Rights ◽  
National Security ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Governance Mechanisms ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Security Governance ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Purpose The issue of cybersecurity has been cast as the focal point of a fight between two conflicting governance models: the nation-state model of national security and the global governance model of multi-stakeholder collaboration, as seen in forums like IGF, IETF, ICANN, etc. There is a strange disconnect, however, between this supposed fight and the actual control over cybersecurity “on the ground”. This paper aims to reconnect discourse and control via a property rights approach, where control is located first and foremost in ownership. Design/methodology/approach This paper first conceptualizes current governance mechanisms through ownership and property rights. These concepts locate control over internet resources. They also help us understand ongoing shifts in control. Such shifts in governance are actually happening, security governance is being patched left and right, but these arrangements bear little resemblance to either the national security model of states or the global model of multi-stakeholder collaboration. With the conceptualization in hand, the paper then presents case studies of governance that have emerged around specific security externalities. Findings While not all mechanisms are equally effective, in each of the studied areas, the author found evidence of private actors partially internalizing the externalities, mostly on a voluntary basis and through network governance mechanisms. No one thinks that this is enough, but it is a starting point. Future research is needed to identify how these mechanisms can be extended or supplemented to further improve the governance of cybersecurity. Originality/value This paper bridges together the disconnected research communities on governance and (technical) cybersecurity.

Competency models and culture

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 27-29
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Competency Models ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Behavioral Event Interview ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Behavioral Event

Purpose – Compares the competencies of managers, working for the same organization, in the UK and Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach – Deploys a comparative analysis of managers using a behavioral event interviewing (BEI) technique. Findings – Concludes that both cultures were highly achievement focused. Notes, however, several marked differences in other behaviors which appear to be cultural in nature. Finds that UK managers demonstrated more interpersonal awareness, and concern for impact, whereas Taiwanese managers were more likely to demonstrate critical information seeking behavior. Research limitations/implications – Warns that interviews in some instances failed to uncover data, with the consequent implications for the use of generic behavioral event interviews internationally. Practical implications – Suggests the idea of organizations’ employing generic “international” competency models and behavioral event interview techniques is problematic. Originality/value – Demonstrates the problems with international competency models through unique access to an organization’s competency model and to managers in two locations.

scholarly journals Operations managers’ individual competencies for mass customization

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1025-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Trentin ◽  
Tatiana Somià ◽  
Enrico Sandrin ◽  
Cipriano Forza
Keyword(s):  
Mass Customization ◽  
Operations Management ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Managerial Competencies ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Manufacturing Organization ◽  
Efficiency Orientation

Purpose The development of mass-customization capability (MCC) is crucial for a growing number of manufacturing firms nowadays and presents great challenges, especially in the area of operations management. The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into which individual competencies (ICs) of an operations manager (OM) are important to the MCC of the manufacturing organization the OM works for. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study was designed, involving eight machinery manufacturers in one European country, to collect data on their MCC and on the ICs of their OMs. Empirical case data were triangulated with analytical conceptual arguments grounded in the existing literature. Findings The study provides empirical evidence of, and logical explanations for, the fact that OMs working in high-MCC manufacturing organizations use the ICs of negotiation, information seeking, efficiency orientation, analytical thinking and pattern recognition significantly more often than OMs employed by low-MCC organizations. Research limitations/implications Future research could replicate this study in other industries and countries, as well as for other managerial roles. Practical implications The study provides indications for OM selection and training in companies that are pursuing a mass-customization strategy. Originality/value While the literature on technological and organization-level enablers of MCC has grown considerably, the understanding of its individual-level enablers is still limited and concerns mostly the workforce. This is the first study that relies not on practitioners’ opinions, but on data regarding manufacturers’ MCC and their managers’ ICs to shed light on which managerial competencies are important to a manufacturer’s MCC.

scholarly journals The Multi-Stakeholder’s Role in an Integrated Mentoring Model for SMEs in the Creative Economy Sector

SAGE Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402096360
Author(s):  
Slamet Rosyadi ◽  
Ayusia Sabhita Kusuma ◽  
Elpeni Fitrah ◽  
Agus Haryanto ◽  
Wiwiek Adawiyah
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Creative Economy ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Entrepreneurial Spirit ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Mentoring Model

This study aims to formulate an integrated mentoring model by involving multi-stakeholder collaboration for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the creative economy sector. More specifically, this study tries to identify the mentoring aspects required by SMEs in the creative economy sector and to formulate a mentoring strategy that fits their actual needs by involving multi-stakeholders. The background for the study is the lack of attention toward mentoring issues for SMEs in Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. This qualitative research approach is conducted with a case study using SMEs’ creative economy in Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Indonesia. The data are collected by in-depth interviews and focused group discussions with creative economy actors. We analyze 25 informants representing three main subsectors of the creative economy, namely, culinary, fashion, and craft, creative economy activist and local government agency. A qualitative data analysis was made, and the results show that an integrated mentoring model comprises substantial aspects, namely, (a) marketing development, (b) business permit and legal business entity, (c) social media and information technology, (d) financial management and intellectual property protection, and (e) internationalization of market and entrepreneurship development. For more effective mentoring, the stakeholder’s participation is imperative. This article shows that the coordinated role and capacity of stakeholders may encourage flows of current experience, knowledge, and entrepreneurial spirit into the SMEs’ creative economy. Therefore, the findings of this study contribute to an understanding of multi-stakeholder involvement for SMEs in the creative economy sector through an integrated mentoring approach.

scholarly journals Collaboration as an enabler for circular economy: a case study of a developing country

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti L. Mishra ◽  
Kudzai Dominic Chiwenga ◽  
Khaoula Ali
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to advance the knowledge of Circular Business Models (BMs) over linear models by focusing on new dynamics which are unique to developing countries and have mostly been overlooked by contemporary literature; and second, to bring to the fore aspects of human-sphere which are currently under-researched in the circular economy (CE) domain. Therefore, the research explores how collaboration can facilitate the transition of a developing country’s economy through the creation of value from circular BMs and human-sphere.Design/methodology/approachTo fulfill the research objectives, the authors apply natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory to an in-depth case study. The authors draw the data from semi-structured interviews and observations in North African manufacturing companies.FindingsIt was found that multi-stakeholder collaboration is pertinent in implementing CE, especially in developing countries. Collaboration between companies, focusing on CE BMs, with other companies/SMEs could lead to technology transfer and organizational learning necessary for resource efficiency (RE) and clean technology (CT) – the basis for CE. The authors propose a model for collaboration as an enabler for CE.Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis found multi-stakeholder collaboration to be an important antecedent to CE implementation in a developing country context. Furthermore, the authors found multinational companies who implement CE BMs generate a beneficial symbiotic relationship with local businesses. These benefits mainly revolve around technology transfer and organizational learning which is necessary for RE and CT – the basis for CE. Therefore, to advance knowledge and practice in this area, the authors propose a model for collaboration as an enabler for CE.Practical implicationsThe authors argue for the importance of collaboration in advancing CE practices which can yield tangible benefits for developing economies.Originality/valueThis paper helps address the lack of theory driven research in CE. The paper is a pioneer in this research field as it proposes a theoretical framework for collaboration in CE drawing on from NRBV.

Commonality, conflict, and absorptive capacity

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1904-1916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rafique ◽  
Shafqat Hameed ◽  
Mujtaba Hassan Agha
Keyword(s):  
Absorptive Capacity ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Analysis Approach ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Knowledge Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive ◽  
Complex Knowledge ◽  
Role Specificity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the roles of middle managers (MM) in the knowledge-intensive environment as perceived by the employees, MM and principal decision makers (DM) in the context of the absorptive capacity process. Design/methodology/approach In this qualitative study, the data were collected from pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan by using purposive sampling and the results were analyzed based on the thematic analysis approach. Findings The results show that employees and principal DM have a strong agreement between them regarding the roles of MM; however, MM have contrasted views. Some of the roles were agreed to by all the respondents. Research limitations/implications This study has focused on the roles of MM (common and conflicting) in knowledge-intensive pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan. The results of other studies on the roles of MM in the context of traditional and hybrid organizations may differ from this study. Practical implications The results of this study show the importance of role specificity of MM for the smooth absorptive capacity process. While dealing with complex knowledge structures in pharmaceutical companies, this study gives strong input to HR mangers and consultants and practitioners as they continuously handle complex knowledge process activities. Originality/value The study has explored the specific roles of MM by using the thematic analysis approach.

Uncovering the impediments to successful built heritage management using stakeholder analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asma Bashir ◽  
Vikas Sawhney
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Stakeholder Analysis ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Heritage Management ◽  
Stakeholder Collaboration ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Built Heritage ◽  
Attribute Analysis ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Stakeholder Interactions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand various organizational and operational impediments to successful built heritage management at a regional level from the perspective of stakeholder theory.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory study was conducted in Jammu city of India wherein total of 16 interviews using a semi-structured questionnaire were done with officials (N = 6), organization members (N = 7), local organization heads (N = 3) and 30 local residents. Thematic analysis and stakeholder analysis were used to identify themes and examine the relationships between stakeholders.FindingsSix themes were derived from thematic analysis. The results from stakeholder attribute analysis and studying stakeholder interactions show that lack of trust, skewed power relation and lack of communication among stakeholders are some of the factors that hinder successful heritage management at the Mubarak Mandi heritage complex. The study emphasizes the dimension of “authenticity” be added to existing discourse of heritage management in India ensuring commoditization does not override authenticity and integrity of heritage site.Originality/valueThe results of this study are useful in understanding challenges of heritage management in India at regional level. Using stakeholder analysis the study adds a managerial perspective to the existing heritage management discourse in India by providing empirical insights into developing stakeholder collaboration.

scholarly journals User-driven efforts in creating knowledge graph information system

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Stanislava Gardasevic
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
The Body ◽  
Knowledge Graph ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Study Objective ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that involved students of an interdisciplinary PhD program. The study objective was to gather requirements to create a knowledge graph information system. The purpose of this study was to determine information-seeking practices and information needs of this community, to inform the functionalities of a proposed system, intended to help students with relevant resource discovery and decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study design included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the community, followed by a website usability study with the same student participants. Findings Two main information-seeking styles are recognized and reported through user personas of international and domestic (USA) students. The findings show that the useful information resides within the community and not so much on the program website. Students rely on peer communication, although they report lack of opportunities to connect. Students’ information needs and information seeking are dependent on their progress through the program, as well as their motivation and the projected timeline. Practical implications Considering the current information needs and practices, a knowledge graph hosting both information on social networks and the knowledge produced by the activities of the community members would be useful. By recording data on their activities (for example, collaboration with professors and coursework), students would reveal further useful system functionalities and facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge. Originality/value Aside from the practical value of this research that is directly influencing the design of a system, it contributes to the body of knowledge on interdisciplinary PhD programs.

What makes the difference? Employee social media brand engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1459-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherese Y. Duncan ◽  
Raeesah Chohan ◽  
João José Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brand Equity ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Word Use ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Analytical Thinking ◽  
Industry Competition ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Business To Business

Purpose This paper aims to explore, using the employee lens of business-to-business firms, word use through brand engagement and social media interaction to understand the difference between employees who rate their employer brands highly on social media and those who don't. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a textual content analysis of posts published on the social media job evaluation site glassdoor.com. LIWC software package was used to analyze 30 of the top 200 business-to-business brands listed on Brandwatch using four variables, namely, analytical thinking, clout, authenticity and emotional tone. Findings The results show that employees who rate their employer’s brand low use significantly more words, are significantly less analytic and write with significantly more clout because they focus more on others than themselves. Employees who rate their employer’s brand highly, write with significantly more authenticity, exhibit a significantly higher tone and display far more positive emotions in their reviews. Practical implications Brand managers should treat social media data disseminated by individual stakeholders, like the variables used in this study (tone, word count, frequency), as a valuable tool for brand insight on their industry, competition and their own brand equity, now and especially over time. Originality/value This study provides acknowledgement that social media is a significant source of marketing intelligence that may improve brand equity by better understanding and managing brand engagement.

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