scholarly journals Modular Interorganizational Network Governance: A Conceptual Framework for Addressing Complex Social Problems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10292
Author(s):  
Srivardhini K. Jha ◽  
E. Richard Gold ◽  
Laurette Dubé
Keyword(s):  
Social Problems ◽  
Network Formation ◽  
Adaptive System ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Interorganizational Network ◽  
Governance Framework ◽  
Solution Design ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

We develop a conceptual governance framework to guide creating and managing a modular interorganizational network to address complex social problems. Drawing on theoretical foundations in modularity and interorganizational networks, we propose that modularizing complex social problems is a dialectic, emergent process that blends a convener-led network formation with a consultative problem definition and solution design. We also posit that social systems are imperfectly modular and need purposefully designed interface governance to integrate the modules. Finally, we advance how leveraging modularity may simultaneously advance the interests of participating actors and deliver societal value. Together, the propositions advance a governance framework for a modular, multi-actor adaptive system suited to tackle the scale, diversity, and dynamics of complex social problems.

scholarly journals Klägerfreundlichkeit als Prinzip des Sozialgerichtsverfahrens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreja Kržič Bogataj
Keyword(s):  
Social Problems ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Theoretical Construct ◽  
Social Law ◽  
Court Proceedings ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

In social law disputes, a multitude of social problems come to light for legal claimants. However, if the plaintiffs cannot enforce their claims in social proceedings due to procedural obstacles, social rights remain merely a theoretical construct. This study addresses the question of how effective legal protection can be guaranteed in social law disputes. It elaborates the theoretical foundations of effective legal protection in social law disputes. By means of a legal comparison between the differently designed social court proceedings in Germany and Slovenia, it systematically examines the extent to which effective legal protection is guaranteed in each case.

Networked improvement communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. LeMahieu ◽  
Alicia Grunow ◽  
Laura Baker ◽  
Lee E. Nordstrum ◽  
Louis M. Gomez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
New Teacher ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public School Systems ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Theoretical Foundations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to delineate an approach to quality assurance in education called networked improvement communities (NICs) that focused on integrating the methodologies of improvement science with few of the networks. Quality improvement, the science and practice of continuously improving programs, practices, processes, products and services within organized social systems, is a still-evolving area in education. This paper is the first of seven elaborating upon different approaches to quality improvement in education[1]. It delineates a new methodology called the NICs model. Developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, the approach is aimed at continuously improving the quality of practices, processes and outcomes in targeted problem areas in education systems. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the historical development, theoretical foundations, core principles and adaptation of key elements of the NICs model for quality improvement in education. A case study specifically examines the problem of fostering new teacher effectiveness and retention in large public school systems in the USA. Findings The six principles underlying the NICs model are as follows: make the work problem-specific and user-centered, focus on variation in performance, see the system that produces outcomes, improve at scale what you can measure, use disciplined inquiry to drive improvement and accelerate learning through networked communities. Originality/value Few theoretical treatments and demonstration cases are currently available that examine the application of common models of quality improvement in education. This paper elaborates on one promising approach. In addition to examining the NICs model, the paper derives added value by allowing comparisons with seven widely used quality improvement approaches treated in this volume.

Problem Definition and the Policy Process: Wicked Problems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W. Head
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Empirical Science ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Inclusive Processes ◽  
Policy And Planning

In the early 1970s, Rittel and Webber asserted that conventional approaches to scientific analysis and rational planning were inadequate for guiding practitioners and researchers who were tackling complex and contested social problems—which they termed “wicked” problems. The full implications of this challenging critique of rational policy planning were not elaborated at that time, but the underlying issues have attracted increasing attention and debate in later decades. Policy analysts, academic researchers, and planning practitioners have continued to grapple with the claim that conventional scientific-technical approaches might be insufficient and even misleading as a basis for understanding and responding to complex social issues. This is paradoxical in the modern era, which has been attracted to notions of evidence-based policymaking, policy evaluation, and performance-based public management. Scholarly discussion has continued to evolve concerning methods for addressing highly contested arenas of policy and planning. One key proposition is that citizens and key stakeholders tend to have conflicting perceptions about the nature of particular social “problems” and will thus have different views about appropriate responses or “solutions.” A related proposition is that these disputes are anchored in differing values and perceptions, which are not able to be adjudicated and settled by empirical science, but require inclusive processes of argumentation and conflict resolution among stakeholders. Hence, several kinds of knowledge—lay and expert, civic and professional—need to be brought together in order to develop transdisciplinary “usable knowledge.” As the research literature produces a richer array of comparative case analyses, it may become feasible to construct a more nuanced understanding of the conditions underlying various kinds of wicked problems in social policy and planning. In the meantime, generalized and indiscriminate use of the term wicked problems is not helpful for delineating the nature of the challenges faced and appropriate remedial actions.

Social Sequence Analysis

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Stark ◽  
Balázs Vedres
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Sequence Analysis ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Network Formation ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Interorganizational Network ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter poses a new agenda for the field of economic development, asking whether and how foreign investment is integrated into the local networks of host economies. It first presents the basic contours of this case: the Hungarian economy after the collapse of state socialism, the subsequent emergence of interenterprise networks, the demise of state ownership, and the rise of foreign investment. After describing the data collection involved, the chapter charts the changing proportions of the Hungarian economy that are foreign or domestic, and networked or isolated. To identify the microprocesses of interorganizational network formation that explain the macrostructural outcomes, the chapter turns to modeling that makes sequences of network positions the unit of analysis. Finally, this chapter explores the patterns of firms' personnel ties to political parties and then presents findings that demonstrate the relationship between the network sequence pathways, firms' political ties, and levels of foreign investment.

scholarly journals Loneliness among older people as a social problem: the perspectives of medicine, religion and economy

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1559-1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
WERNER SCHIRMER ◽  
DIMITRIS MICHAILAKIS
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Systems Medicine ◽  
Communicative Acts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
Constructionist Approach

ABSTRACTThis article offers a theoretical framework for studying loneliness among older people from a social problems perspective. The framework combines the constructionist approach to social problems (Spector and Kitsuse) and systems theory (Luhmann). Based on the first approach, we understand the social problem of loneliness among older people to be the result of claims-making activities by different key actors. These activities are guided by underlying moralities, causalities and solutions. With the second approach, we can explain how social problems are framed differently within different social systems. The proposed framework is primarily aimed at researchers studying social (in contrast to bio-medical or psychological) aspects of loneliness among older people. It helps not only to guide research designs in order to address conflicting perspectives, rationalities and interests but also to enable researchers to grasp fully how ‘loneliness among older people’ is attributed (potentially shifting) meanings through communicative acts by influential stakeholders in the ‘social problems industry‘. Combining constructionism and Luhmann's theory also helps to interpret and explain concrete claims-making concerning loneliness as a social problem. The argument in this article is illustrated via three different social systems: medicine, religion and economy. Loneliness among older people appears to be something different from each of these perspectives: as a matter of health and illness, of spirituality, and of incentives and commodities, respectively.

Building a Cross-Sectoral Interorganizational Network to Advance Nonprofits: NGO Incubators as Relationship Brokers in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aimei Yang ◽  
Pauline Hope Cheong
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Network Formation ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Information Support ◽  
Interorganizational Network ◽  
Organizational Network ◽  
Alliance Networks ◽  
As Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

In light of the recent rise of Chinese nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and the significant roles that they are playing to advance nonprofit and voluntary activities, this article explores the network dynamics of emerging NGOs in China, known as NGO incubators. NGO incubators were birthed to provide services to civil society actors, including capacity-building training, fundraising, information support, and network formation guidance. This study examines the evolution of the organizational network of the largest Chinese NGO incubator over its 6-year formative period and provides fresh empirical evidence to illustrate how NGO incubators can powerfully bridge structural holes and build cross-sectoral alliance networks in a nascent civil society. Theoretical and practical implications for NGO development are discussed.

scholarly journals How can employment relations in global value networks be managed towards social responsibility?

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 1640-1665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Helfen ◽  
Elke Schüßler ◽  
Jörg Sydow
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Network Management ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Interorganizational Network ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Value Networks ◽  
Management Perspective

Ensuring social responsibility is a continued challenge in value creation processes that are globally dispersed among multiple organizations. We use the literature on interorganizational network management to shed new light on the question of how employment relations can be managed more responsibly in global value networks (GVNs). In contrast to the structure-oriented global value chain perspective, a network management perspective highlights the practices by which employment relations can be addressed in the context of plural forms of network governance. Using examples of GVNs in the automotive and garment industries, we illustrate how the network management practices of selecting, allocating, regulating and evaluating can enable lead firms and suppliers to effectively deal with social responsibility challenges on the level of whole networks. We also discuss how network management practices can handle field-level and firm-level constraints for the management of multi-employer relations in GVNs.

scholarly journals Outsourcing and Networking: Similar Trends in Local State-NPO Cooperation in Germany and China

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Levy ◽  
Anja Ketels
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Local State ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Provision Of Services

AbstractThis paper presents results of a German-Chinese comparative research project on the provision of services by non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the field of migration. It argues that NPOs and local governments deploy similar strategies in their joint attempt to tackle social problems, regardless of their political backgrounds. From a top-down perspective German and Chinese local governments show similar outsourcing modes, while from a bottom-up perspective NPOs show similar practices of network governance.

Social Logistics: а Tool for Social Problems Solving

Upravlenie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-67
Author(s):  
Филиппов ◽  
E. Filippov
Keyword(s):  
Social Psychology ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Effective Functioning ◽  
Public Nature

Social, socio-economic, socio-mechanistic systems and social processes, and problems formulated by them as a new area of practical application for rules, principles and laws formed in classical logistics’ as the science branch have been considered in this paper. The existence of social and public nature problems, manageable with the use of logistics has been shown. Social logistics application examples have been given. A concept of social logistics as a set of actions that ensures the effective functioning of social systems (as a complex of social phenomena, processes, entities) with logistics principles application has been introduced. A distinction between the concepts of social and socially-oriented logistics has been given. A foundation for scientific research at the intersection of logistics, sociology and social psychology, where logistics is a tool for solving problems formulated by social interaction, has been laid. Problems and issues requiring further study and research have been specified.

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