More than Writing on a Wall: Evaluating the Role that Codes of Ethics Play in Securing Accountability of Public Sector Decision-Makers

For the past 15 years, governments in the developed, Western world have been contracting out, or outsourcing, services as a key part of publicsector reforms. Outsourcing has been argued to lead to cost savings, improved discipline, better services, access to scarce skills, and the capacity for managers to focus more time on the core business of their organizations (Domberger, 1998). Government outsourcing initiatives have encompassed a range of services, but given the large sums of money invested in IT assets, the outsourcing of IT services (IT outsourcing, or ITO) has been a major initiative for many agencies. Lacity and Willcocks (1998, p. 3) defined ITO as “handing over to a third party [the] management of IS/IT assets, resources and/or activities for required results.” For public-sector outsourcing, this handover is usually made by way of a competitive tender. Case studies have reported ITO successes and failures (e.g., Currie & Willcocks, 1998; Rouse & Corbitt, 2003; Willcocks & Currie, 1997; Lacity and Willcocks, 2001; Willcocks & Kern, 1998), but much of the evidence presented to public-sector decision makers to justify this reform is anecdotal and unsystematic, and when investigated in depth, does not necessarily support widespread conclusions.

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Blockchain en el sector público, una perspectiva internacional

RVGP 18 - Pertsonak eta Antolakunde Publikoak kudeatzeko Euskal Aldizkaria / Revista Vasca de Gestión de Personas y Organizaciones Públicas ◽

10.47623/ivap-rvgp.16.2019.02 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 16-34

Author(s):

Magdalena CORDERO VALDAVIDA

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Use Case ◽

The European Union ◽

The Public ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

European Court ◽

Sector Decision ◽

Internet Revolution

Laburpena: Eraldaketa digitalak, besteren artean Interneten iraultzarekin sustatu denak, arriskuarekin zerikusia duten automatizazio- eta efizientzia-aukera berriak eskaintzen ditu; segurtasunaren eta elkarreragingarritasunaren ingurukoak, adibidez. Bloke-katearen (blockchain) teknologia disruptiboa eta berritzailea da, eta sektore publikoko arduradunen arreta atzeman du, zerbitzu berriak sortzeko eta daudenak hobetzen laguntzeko gaitasuna baitu, gardentasuna areagotzearekin eta herritarren konfiantzari eustearekin bat. Artikulu honetan, teknologia horren sarrera egiten da, teknologia horrek sektore publikoan dituen ezarpenak azaltzen dira, Europar Batasunaren ekimenak kontatzen dira, eta Europako Kontuen Auzitegiaren adibide zehatz bat aurkezten da. Resumen: La transformación digital, impulsada entre otras cosas por la revolución de internet, ofrece nuevas oportunidades de automatización y eficiencia que van unidas a riesgos, como la seguridad, o la interoperabilidad. La tecnología de cadena de bloques (blockchain), de naturaleza disruptiva e innovadora, ha captado la atención de los responsables del sector público por su capacidad de generar nuevos servicios, y de contribuir a mejorar los existentes, aumentando la transparencia y manteniendo la confianza de los ciudadanos. Este artículo introduce la tecnología, describe sus aplicaciones en el sector público, relata las iniciativas de la Unión Europea y presenta un ejemplo concreto del Tribunal de Cuentas Europeo. Abstract: The digital transformation, driven by, amongst other things, the Internet revolution, offers new opportunities for automation and efficiency that go together with risks such as security and interoperability. The disruptive and innovative nature of Blockchain technology has not been overlooked by the public sector decision-makers for its ability to generate new services and to contribute to improving existing ones, increasing security, transparency and maintaining the confidence of citizens. This article introduces the technology, describes its applications in the public sector, explains the initiatives at the European Union level and presents a use case of the European Court of Auditors.

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An Overview of IT Outsourcing in Public-Sector Agencies

IT Outsourcing ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-770-6.ch016 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 276-285

Author(s):

Anne Rouse

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Case Studies ◽

Cost Savings ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Third Party ◽

It Outsourcing ◽

Western World ◽

It Services ◽

The Core ◽

Sector Decision

For the past 15 years, governments in the developed, Western world have been contracting out, or outsourcing, services as a key part of publicsector reforms. Outsourcing has been argued to lead to cost savings, improved discipline, better services, access to scarce skills, and the capacity for managers to focus more time on the core business of their organizations (Domberger, 1998). Government outsourcing initiatives have encompassed a range of services, but given the large sums of money invested in IT assets, the outsourcing of IT services (IT outsourcing, or ITO) has been a major initiative for many agencies. Lacity and Willcocks (1998, p. 3) defined ITO as “handing over to a third party [the] management of IS/IT assets, resources and/or activities for required results.” For public-sector outsourcing, this handover is usually made by way of a competitive tender. Case studies have reported ITO successes and failures (e.g., Currie & Willcocks, 1998; Rouse & Corbitt, 2003; Willcocks & Currie, 1997; Lacity and Willcocks, 2001; Willcocks & Kern, 1998), but much of the evidence presented to public-sector decision makers to justify this reform is anecdotal and unsystematic, and when investigated in depth, does not necessarily support widespread conclusions.

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INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE OF PUBLIC SECTOR DECISION MAKERS: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN THE CONTEXT OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL IN INDONESIA

Journal of Indonesian Economy and Business ◽

10.22146/jieb.9956 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Icuk Rangga Bawono ◽

Abdul Halim ◽

Beverley R. Lord

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Local Government ◽

Experimental Research ◽

House Of Representatives ◽

Budget Allocation ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Government Hospital ◽

Experimental Task ◽

Sector Performance ◽

Sector Decision

This research aimed to test the previous result of experimental research on decision making by Dilla and Steinbart (2005), and to internalize the result in the context of a local government hospital in Indonesia. The subjects in this experiment were 80 members of the House of Representatives in the Cilacap, Brebes and Purbalingga regions in Indonesia. They were asked to evaluate the performance of a fictitious local government hospital and decide whether or notto increase its budget allocation for the coming year. Half of the subjects were given instruction in the performance measures applicable to hospitals; the other half proceeded straight to the experimental task. The first group were labelled “knowledgeable users”; the latter group were classified as “unknowledgeable”.The results of this experiment using real decision makers showed that the knowledgeable group tended to use the unique information given to them to measure performance and make budget allocation plans, whereas the unknowledgeable group used common measures. These results are consistent with Lipe and Salterio (2000), Dilla and Steinbart (2005) and Bawono etal. (2012), indicating that students may be reliable surrogates for real decision makers.Keywords: accountability, public sector, performance measurement, budget allocation plan, knowledgeable and unknowledgeable, decision makers

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Public Sector Decision Framework for Airport Development: The Case of Incheon International Airport in South Korea

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2687907 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Soh Young In ◽

Luiza A. S. Casemiro ◽

M. Julie Kim

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

South Korea ◽

Decision Framework ◽

International Airport ◽

Sector Decision

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SMARTIES Project: The Survey of Needs for Municipalities and Trainers for Smart Cities

Challenges ◽

10.3390/challe12010013 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 13

Author(s):

George Xydis ◽

Luca Pagliaricci ◽

Živilė Paužaitė ◽

Vygintas Grinis ◽

Gyula Sallai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Prior Experience ◽

Environmental Awareness ◽

General Concept ◽

Decision Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Low Level ◽

The Subject

In an aim to contribute to already existing knowledge upon the subject of smart cities and the public sector’s wider knowledge in Europe, this study investigates the perception by the municipalities and the wider public sector, responsible for implementing smart solutions in the environment. The understanding of the concept of smart cities/villages by municipalities is on a low level due to the fact that the problem is too wide, not well described, solutions even wider, accompanied by the lack of experts able to offer comprehensive solutions to municipalities. The study presents factors according to the current municipalities’ knowledge (environmental awareness, knowledge and prior experience) and the existing market, of whether these factors can be said that affect the acceptance of smart cities. The public is already aware of the smart cities as a general concept, however, the study sheds light upon the established knowledge that the decision makers have in five countries, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania, and Denmark.

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Framing Information Technology Governance in the Public Sector: Opportunities and Challenges

International Journal of Electronic Government Research ◽

10.4018/ijegr.2015100105 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 89-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Khalifa Al-Farsi ◽

Ramzi EL Haddadeh

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Information Technology ◽

Public Sector ◽

It Governance ◽

Decision Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Technology Governance ◽

Support Organizations ◽

Information Technology Governance ◽

Decision Making Processes

Information technology governance is considered one of the innovative practices that can provide support for decision-makers. Interestingly, it has become increasingly a de facto for organizations in seeking to optimise their performance. In principle, information technology governance has emerged to support organizations in the integration of information technology (IT) infrastructures and the delivery of high-quality services. On the other hand, decision-making processes in public sector organisations can be multi-faceted and complex, and decision makers play an important role in implementing technology in the public sector. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on current opportunities and challenges that IT governance is experiencing in the context of public sector services. In this respect, this paper examines the factors influencing the decision-making process to fully appreciate IT governance. Furthermore, this study focuses on combining institutional and individual perspectives to explain how individuals can take decisions in response to institutional influences.

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Ethical climate, corporate social responsibility and organizational performance: evidence from the UAE public sector

Social Responsibility Journal ◽

10.1108/srj-01-2017-0002 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 737-752 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Sherine Farouk ◽

Fauzia Jabeen

Keyword(s):

Corporate Social Responsibility ◽

Public Sector ◽

Organizational Performance ◽

United Arab Emirates ◽

Ethical Climate ◽

Codes Of Ethics ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

Public Sector Employees ◽

Corporate Social

PurposeResearch about ethical governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the United Arab Emirates is still in its infancy. This study aims to explore the public sector employee’s perception toward ethical climate, codes of ethics and CSR and its impact on organizational performance. This research sheds light on the link between formalized ethical procedures and employee responses including CSR, organizational engagement and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 426 middle-level public sector employees in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings of this study suggest that an ethical climate is an important organizational component, and that the incorporation of effective codes of ethics and CSR initiatives is desired. Perceptions of public sector employees are positively influenced by the organization’s ethical climate and CSR activities, which in turn affect organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides managerial insights for improving the ethical climate and CSR within the public sector context in the United Arab Emirates.Practical implicationsThe study offers implications for public sector employers and points out that public sector employers should formulate policies to boost the ethics and CSR environment at workplace to attain competitive advantage.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by being one of the first to study organizational ethical climate and CSR within a Middle Eastern public sector context and offers implications for theory and practice.

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