scholarly journals Public Processes are Open for Play

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Mendes ◽  
Tadeu Classe ◽  
Sean Siqueira ◽  
Geraldo Xexéo
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Process Models ◽  
The Public ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Potential Tool

As public services become digital and online, both the need to design digital public services closer to citizens? expectations and to provide ways to improve their participation and engagement increases. To participate and co-design, citizens must understand how the public service is delivered, but understanding service provision is challenging for non-technical subjects. This paper argues that games can promote transparency of public service processes and citizens? understanding of them. We designed games related to three distinct public service delivery scenarios using Play Your Process (PYP), a method which translates business process models into game design artifacts. We also investigate players? ability to understand the process designed into these games through evaluation settings based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, using questionnaires and interviews. Results show that these games can help citizens understand the process execution aspects, with at least 95% confidence through statistical analysis. This research is innovative by showing an approach to systematically design serious games describing public processes as a potential tool for citizen-government transparency and understanding of public process delivery, particularly in Brazil.

scholarly journals Fostering public accountability in South Africa: A reflection on challenges and successes

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pandelani H. Munzhedzi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current State ◽  
Public Service Provision ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government

Accountability and oversight are constitutional requirements in all the spheres of government in the Republic of South Africa and their foundation is in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. All spheres of government are charged with the constitutional mandate of providing public services. The level of responsibility and public services provision also goes with the level of capacity of a particular sphere. However, most of the direct and visible services that the public receives are at the local sphere of government. As such, enormous resources are channelled towards this sphere of government so that the said public services could be provided. It is imperative that the three spheres of government account for the huge expenditures during the public service provision processes. The parliaments of national and provincial governments exercise oversight and accountability over their executives and administrations through the Public Accounts Committees, while the local sphere of government relies on the Municipal Public Accounts Committees. This article is theoretical in nature, and it seeks to explore the current state of public accountability in South Africa and to evaluate possible measures so as to enhance public accountability. The article argues that the current public accountability mechanisms are not efficient and effective. It is recommended that these mechanisms ought to be enhanced by inter alia capacitating the legislative bodies at national, provincial and local spheres of the government.

scholarly journals Who Is in Charge? The Provision of Informal Personal Resources at the Street Level

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Einat Lavee
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Personal Resources ◽  
The Public ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Informal Service

Abstract Street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) nowadays provide services under conditions of increased demand for public services coupled with scarcer financial resources. The literature that focuses on how workers adapt to this situation mainly examines their provision of formal resources as part of their job. What researchers have not systematically examined is the delivery of informal personal resources (IFRs) by street-level workers to clients. Understanding the provision of IFRs is particularly important when “no one is fully in charge” of public services. Drawing on 214 in-depth qualitative interviews with SLBs who provide education, health, and welfare services in the public sector in Israel, we found a remarkable range of IFRs they provided to clients. We also found that four main factors influencing the provision of IFRs: lack of formal resources; professional commitment; managerial encouragement; and a work environment whose values combine old and new approaches to public service. The findings contribute to the public administration literature by exposing how public service function in a somewhat vague reality, and they contribute to the SLB literature by highlighting the unrecognized component of informal service provision.

scholarly journals The Dangers of Fiscal Decentralization and Public Service Delivery: a Review of Arguments

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Arends
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Service Provision

Abstract The prevailing belief is that local governments, which are closer to their citizens, can deliver public goods much more efficiently than a central government can. Yet skeptics argue that fiscal decentralization can be dangerous. The underlying motivation of this article is to review the basic rationale behind decentralizing public services from the perspective of three main controversies emerging from the literature on decentralization: (in)efficient, (un)equal, and (un)accountable service provision at the local level. For illustrative purposes, this review focuses on two complex and socially important sectors, health and education. The overall conclusion is that the dangers of decentralization are highly relevant to local public service provision, although there is evidence supporting both the decentralization-enthusiastic and the decentralization-skeptical views. When decentralizing public services, reformers should know the specificities of the public service, the local context, and the effects of the design of fiscal relations like the backs of their hands. If things go wrong, recentralization should be an option.

Basic public services and the restructuring of the public finance system in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangjian Xu ◽  
Yan Wu
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Finance System ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Service Provision

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the financing and provision of basic public services in China. The main issue addressed is how to reform the public finance system to achieve quality and fairness in the provision of basic public services. Design/methodology/approach Based on an historical analysis of the functional transformation of the public finance system in China and on an empirical analysis of the current public finance system and the public service provision system, a comprehensive understanding was gained about the relationship between the financing and provision of basic public services. Findings The paper argues that there is a close relationship between the provision of basic public services and the functional changes made to the public finance system. Based on a systematic retrospective study of the Chinese Government’s efforts to improve basic public services over the last three decades, this paper offers policy suggestions on further public finance restructuring that would support better service provision. Originality/value By analyzing issues in the public service provision system, this paper contributes to the debate about the efficiency improvement made to governmental functions in China.

On Westminster

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. W. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Area Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Parliamentary Government ◽  
British Commonwealth

This chapter is not an example of comparative politics but of area studies, a field that is descriptive, cultural, historical, and contextual, seeking to analyse a country or region. The chosen area is the dominion countries of the British Commonwealth. The chosen method is the textual analysis of primary sources: speeches, writings, evidence to inquiries, and interviews by heads of the public services. This chapter analyses how the heads of the public services articulate the traditions of ‘constitutional bureaucracy’ found in Westminster systems of parliamentary government and selectively draw on past understandings to understand present-day changes. It describes traditions under challenge that reshape reforms as reforms reshape them. In each case, it is not a question of ‘in with the new, out with the old’, but of ‘in with the new alongside key components of the old’. The myths and legends of yore remain germane to the modern public service.

ISO 9001 and the public service: an investigation of the effect of the QMS on the quality of public service organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Armando López-Lemus
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The State ◽  
Iso 9001 ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence exerted by a quality management system (QMS) under ISO 9001: 2015 on the quality of public services organizations in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, for which a sample of 461 public servants from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was obtained. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed through the statistical software Amos v.21. For the analysis of the data, software SPSS v.21 was used. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM (χ2 = 720.09, df = 320, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.926 and RMSEA = 0.05) which, therefore, proved to be acceptable. Findings According to the results obtained through the SEM model, the QMS under ISO 9001: 2015 is positively and significantly influenced tangible aspects (β1 = 0.79, p < 0.01), reliability (β2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), related to response quality (β3 = 0.93, p < 0.01), guarantees (β4 = 0.91, p < 0.01) and empathy (β5 = 0.88, p < 0.01) of the quality related to public services in Mexico. The study’s key contribution is that it discovered that implementing a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard has an impact on the quality of public services, with the most influential quality of response. Similarly, the assurance and dependability of service quality turned out to be important in providing public service quality. Research limitations/implications In this paper, the QMS was only evaluated as a variable that intervenes in the process of obtaining quality in public service under the ISO 9001 standard in its 2015 version. In this regard, the results’ trustworthiness is limited to the extent that the findings may be generalized in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico’s public service. As a result, the scientific community is left primarily focused on service quality to promote new future research. Practical implications The ISO 9001: 2015 standard’s QMS is one of the tools for success in both the commercial and government sectors. However, there are practical limitations, which focus on the time during which managers exercise their vision in the public sector: first, the dynamics that managers play in public policy; second, the length of time they have served in public office; and third, the interest of directors of public institutions to improve the quality of service provided by the government. Other practical consequences concern organizational culture and identity, public servant commitment, senior management or secretaries of government, as well as work and training. Originality/value The findings of this paper are important and valuable because they foster knowledge generation in the public sector through the ISO 9000 quality area. A model that permits the adoption and implementation of a QMS based on the ISO 9001: 2015 standard in public organizations that seek to provide quality in their services offered to the user is also presented to the literature. Similarly, the paper is important because there is currently insufficient research focusing on the variables examined in the context of public service in Mexico.

Perceptions towards the quality of public services in Romania. Poor outcomes of public administration reforms?

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-285
Author(s):  
Claudia Petrescu ◽  
Flavis Mihalache
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Administration Reform

Public services represent an important dimension of quality of society, as they create the contextual conditions for people to further their quality of life. Romanian public administration reform has brought about a constant institutional transformation, which has influenced both the specific features and the quality of the services. This article aims to analyse trends regarding the perceived quality of public services in Romania, in European comparative perspective, using the data of the European Quality of Life Survey (2003–2016). The article aims to understand the low satisfaction with public services in Romania against the background of the public service reform measures taken by government in this period. The article describes the context of Romanian public administration and public service reform, the most important public policy measures adopted and the most important challenges. The lack of vision in the public service reform, the partial introduction of reform elements, the permanent and, sometimes, conflicting changes are issues that may have influenced the way in which the population perceives the quality of public services. The decentralisation process of public services and the insufficient allocation of public funds for delivering such services at local level might have an impact on their quality and quantity perceived by the population. Keywords: public services; public administration reform; citizens’ satisfaction; New Public Management; New Weberianism.

scholarly journals Toward a public service management: past, present, and future directions

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 998-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Hodgkinson ◽  
Claire Hannibal ◽  
Byron W. Keating ◽  
Rosamund Chester Buxton ◽  
Nicola Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Service Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Management Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public

Purpose In providing a fine-grained analysis of public service management, the purpose of this paper is to make an important contribution to furthering research in service management, a body of literature that has tended to regard public services as homogenous or to neglect the context altogether. Design/methodology/approach Integrating public management and service management literatures, the past and present of public service management are discussed. Future directions for the field are outlined drawing on a service-dominant approach that has the potential to transform public services. Invited commentaries augment the review. Findings The review presents the Public Service Network Framework to capture the public value network in its abstraction and conceptualizes how value is created in public services. The study identifies current shortcomings in the field and offers a series of directions for future research where service management theory can contribute greatly. Research limitations/implications The review encourages service management research to examine the dynamic, diverse, and complex nature of public services and to recognize the importance of this context. The review calls for an interdisciplinary public service management community to develop, and to assist public managers in leveraging service logic. Originality/value The review positions service research in the public sector, makes explicit the role of complex networks in value creation, argues for wider engagement with public service management, and offers future research directions to advance public service management research.

scholarly journals Rembug Pelayanan Publik (RPM) Sebagai Aktualisasi Pelayanan Publik Berlandaskan Demokrasi Pancasila

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Nuriyanto Nuriyanto
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Public Bureaucracy ◽  
Human Quality ◽  
Set Up

Dynamic development of society, they want the public bureaucracy to be able  to provide the public services more professional, effective, simple, transparent, open, timely, responsive and adaptive. With excellent public service, to build a human quality in the sense  of  increasing  the  capacity  of  individuals  and  communities  to determine actively its own future. Actualization of democratic precepts in the public services delivery in Indonesia starting point on the importance of community participation ranging from formulating criteria for the services, how the delivery   of the services, arranging each engagement, public complaints mechanism set up   by the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the public services in order to co-together build a commitment to create quality of the public services. It’s all been contained in the Law 25 of 2009 on Public Services, certainly it has been based on the precepts of the democracy of Pancasila. Rembug of the public services as an actualization of the public services based on the democracy of Pancasila.

scholarly journals Corporate succession practices: A public sector perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-446
Author(s):  
Nomalinge Amelia Pita ◽  
Chengedzai Mafini ◽  
Manilall Dhurup
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Intentions To Leave ◽  
The Public

In today’s globally competitive and modern environments, organisational future plans often fail due to the lack of succession planning. Literature has shown that in most public services, very little is done to transfer employee skills before they leave the organisation, which largely is attributed to the lack of proper corporate succession planning. This study examined the association between corporate succession planning practices, internal succession barriers and intentions to leave within a public service in South Africa. The study was inspired by the absence of documented evidence of corporate succession planning initiatives, the barriers to succession planning and turnover intentions of employees in the public sector in the South African context. The study is located within a quantitative research paradigm in which a three-section structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 243 public service employees. Two factors; namely, replacement planning and employee development/grooming were extracted using exploratory factor analysis. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed that corporate succession planning practices and internal succession barriers are negatively related to intentions to leave in the public service. Regression analysis showed that replacement planning and employee grooming are predictors of intention to quit. The results of the study are significant in that they facilitate the development as well as the effective implementation of succession planning initiatives that enable public services to improve human resource practices and counter any existing barriers to internal succession.

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