The Adoption of IS/IT Evaluation Methodologies in Australian Public Sector Organizations

2011 ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
Chad Lin ◽  
Yu-An Huang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
It Investment ◽  
It Investments ◽  
The Public ◽  
Investment Evaluation ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Benefits Realization ◽  
Realization Process

Information systems/information technology (IS/IT) represents substantial financial investment for many organizations (Lin, Huang, & Tseng, 2007; Standing, Guilfoyle, Lin, & Love, 2006). However, IS/IT managers have found it increasingly difficult to justify rising IS/IT expenditures (Lin & Pervan, 2003; Serafeimidis, & Smithson, 2003) and are often under immense pressure to find a way to measure the contribution of their organizations’ IS/IT investments to business performance, as well as to find reliable ways to ensure that the business benefits from IS/IT investments are actually realized (Luftman, Kempaiah, & Nash, 2006). This problem has become more complex as the nature of IS/IT investments and the benefits they can deliver have changed rapidly (Murphy & Simon, 2002). Furthermore, evaluation of these IS/IT investments is an extremely complicated process, and it is often avoided or dealt with ineffectively, especially in the public sector (Cilek, Fanko, Koch, Mild, & Taudes, 2004). Given the complexity of the decisions and the large expenditure involved, a better understanding of the basis and practice of IS/IT investment and evaluation in the public sector organizations is essential. The difficulties of evaluation and benefits realization processes are often the determining factors in the application of any formal methodology, and must be addressed if the processes are to be understood (Counihan, Finnegan, & Sammon, 2002; Love, Irani, Standing, Lin, & Burn, 2005). bacKground The IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization process is a complex but critical function in both private and public organizations. The need to justify expenditure, to assess the effectiveness of a project, and to ensure that expected benefits are eventually delivered are crucial elements in the IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization process. The main purpose of IS/IT evaluation is an important factor in determining how the process should be carried out. However, the IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization process itself is an extremely complicated and difficult process, and is not often carried out by both private and public organizations.

scholarly journals IT Evaluation Issues in Australian Public-Sector Organizations

2008 ◽  
pp. 711-721
Author(s):  
Chad Lin
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
It Investment ◽  
It Projects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Investment Evaluation ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
It Project ◽  
Set Up

Public-sector organizations are one of the top spenders in information technology (IBM, 2006). According to an IDC report, global public-sector IT spending will exceed $138 billion in 2006, representing 12.2% of overall IT spending (IBM). In the United States, public-sector IT spending is likely to grow to $92 billion in 2010 from $71 billion in 2005 (Pulliam, 2005). Despite the huge and growing IT spending by public-sector organizations, the resulting benefits from these IT spending are still not clearly understood (Gunasekaran, 2005). This is often due to the poor IT investment evaluation process implemented by these public-sector organizations (Hall, 1998). In other words, there is a lack of understanding of the impact of the proper IT investment evaluation processes of IT projects in the public-sector organizations. The IT investment evaluation is an ongoing process that seeks to identify best practice and use it as a basis for evaluating public-sector IT project performance in order to set up clear goals and identify areas for improvement (Gunasekaran, 2005). For example, without undertaking proper IT investment evaluation processes, organizations are at the risk of failing to establish clear IT project goals and design. Therefore, research in the public-sector organizations is becoming critical, especially in how these organizations evaluate their IT projects and ensure that benefits expected from these projects are eventually delivered.

Talent Management in the Public Sector

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Boselie ◽  
Marian Thunnissen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Talent Management ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Key Issues

Private and public sector organizations are confronted with intensifying competition for talent. Talent management in the public sector, however, is an underexplored field of research. The aim of this chapter is to define talent management in the public sector context by putting it in a public sector human resources management framework and linking it to public sector developments and tendencies. Thus, we apply a multidisciplinary approach to talent management, using insights from human resource management, public administration, and public management. First, we describe relevant public sector characteristics and developments. Then, we define talent management in the public sector context based on what is already know from previous research and the literature, and we discuss key issues, dualities, and tensions regarding talent management in the public sector. Finally, we suggest a future agenda for talent-management research in public sector contexts and present some implications for practitioners.

scholarly journals Nepotism and Favouritism in Polish and Lithuanian Organizations: The Context of Organisational Microclimate

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolita Vveinhardt ◽  
Włodzimierz Sroka
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Factor Loading ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
The Public ◽  
Closed Type ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Survey Validity

The phenomena of ‘nepotism’ and ‘favouritism’ are frequently observed in contemporary business, being usually associated with corruption in the public sector and the abuse of public resources. The phenomena, however, have an international scale and no country and sector of the economy are free of them. Given these facts, our paper identifies the attitude of Lithuanian and Polish employees to it in the context of revealing the organizational microclimate. Our analysis is done in relation to three basic aspects: a) Sector (public vs. private), b) gender (male vs. female) and c) five different age groups. Our research sample involved 337 respondents (Poland-PL, N = 164 and Lithuania-LT, N = 173) representing public (PL and LT, N = 119) and private (PL and LT, N = 218) sector organizations. A closed-type questionnaire was used in the survey. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by its high psychometric characteristics. Several research methods, including factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman–Brown, factor loading and total item correlation were used in our study. The results show that there are both similarities as well as differences between the organizations analysed. As far as the private vs. public sector is concerned, in Poland, manifestation of nepotism in principal does not differ in private and public organizations, unlike in Lithuanian organizations, where a worse situation is recorded in public sector organizations. In turn, comparing employees’ attitudes by their gender, it was identified that there were more similarities than differences between Poland and Lithuania in four subcategories. Finally, comparing employees’ attitudes by their age, it was identified that the least number of statistically significant differences was identified in two age groups: 18–24 years old and over 51.

Empirical analysis of HPO framework in public sector organizations of Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalimullah Kalimullah ◽  
Mohd Anuar Arshad ◽  
Qaiser Khan ◽  
Shahid Khan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Continuous Improvement Process ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Public Sector Organizations

Purpose Building on high-performance organizations (HPO) framework, the purpose of this paper is to hypothesize the direct impact of five factors of HPO framework on public organizations’ performance in Pakistan. This is first research to employ the partial least squares (PLS) method to provide empirical evidence of the predictive power of the framework in public organizations. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study conducted in non-contrived settings thereby keeping researcher interference to a minimum. Data collection was carried out by distributing online questionnaires to 513 employees from three different service-based public organizations in Pakistan. PLS is used to examine the statistical and substantive significance of five factors by employing SmartPLS 3.2.6. Findings This study concludes that the HPO framework has predictive relevance for public organizations’ performance surveyed in this study. Furthermore, three out of the five factors of HPO framework, namely, management quality, workforce quality and long-term orientation have positive relationships, while openness and action orientation (OAO), and continuous improvement process and renewal have a negative relationship with the performance of public sector organizations (PSOs) surveyed in Pakistan. Research limitations/implications The study’s small sample size limits this research, and only quantitative methodology is applied. A significant limitation of this research is that this study relied on a subset of respondents of surveyed organizations and may not representative of the population. Therefore, result should be carefully interpreted as some degree of biasness may be present. Furthermore, findings of the study cannot be generalized to all PSOs of Pakistan. Practical implications The implication for public managers is that the HPO framework has predictive relevance and substantive significance. However, the ideal value of HPO framework will occur when leadership considers HPO factors and struggles persistently to improve performance. The useful implication is that public managers should focus on continuous improvement process and renewal and OAO to meet stakeholders’ satisfaction. Originality/value This study answer two questions, first “is there any significant relationship of five factors of HPO framework with public organizations’ Performance in Pakistan?” and second “what is the predictive relevance level of HPO framework in the Public organizations in Pakistan?” The answers to these research questions will fill the gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence to the existing knowledge on improvement methods, especially the public sector (PS), and contributing insights on the real world working of the five factors of HPO framework in a PS.

Defining Workforce Diversity in Public Sector Organizations

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Carrell ◽  
Everett E. Mann
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Workforce Diversity ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Department Of Labor ◽  
Diversity Programs ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Federal Organization ◽  
Policies And Programs

Workforce diversity has been increasingly discussed and debated within the public sector. The concept received national attention following two reports issued in the late 1980's by the U.S. Department of Labor. The term “workforce diversity”, however, did not appear in either report and has not been specifically defined by any appropriate federal organization. In practice, it has developed a number of definitions and meanings. The purpose of this research was to determine how public sector administrators define this new concept and to what extent diversity policies and programs have actually been implemented within public organizations. The findings indicate the extent to which workforce diversity has been implemented in public organizations, the nature of diversity programs, and the reported positive and negative effects of existing programs.

The Double Darkness of Digitalization: Shaping Digital-ready Legislation to Reshape the Conditions for Public-sector Digitalization

2021 ◽  
pp. 016224392199971
Author(s):  
Ursula Plesner ◽  
Lise Justesen
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Policy Tools ◽  
Case Processing ◽  
Collaborative Process ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Simple Rules ◽  
Political Decisions

In recent years, policymakers have begun to problematize how legislation stands in the way of the digitalization of the public sector. We are witnessing the emergence of a new phenomenon, digital-ready legislation, which implies that, whenever possible, new legislation should build on simple rules and unambiguous terminology to reduce the need for professional (human) discretion and allow for the extended use of automated case processing in public-sector organizations. Digital-ready legislation has potentially wide-ranging consequences because it creates the conditions for how public organizations are digitalized. The processes, practices, choices, and responsibilities for drafting digital-ready legislation, however, are not well-described or debated. Digital-ready legislation is a dormant issue. This paper develops the notion of the “double darkness” of digitalization to account for this. Based on a qualitative study, the paper investigates how digital-ready legislation as a sociotechnical arrangement is shaped by policy tools and by a complex, collaborative process where responsibility for legislation is fragmented. It argues that although the policy tools are aimed at making actors responsible for digitalization and creating clarity about the process, actors seem to be reluctant to take on the responsibility for making political decisions related to digitalization.

A Public Sector Case Study on Evaluating and Managing the Benefits of IS/IT

2003 ◽  
pp. 97-121
Author(s):  
Chad Lin ◽  
Graham Pervan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
Text Data ◽  
It Investments ◽  
Investment Evaluation ◽  
Benefits Realization ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Developed World

The issue of expected and actual benefits realized from IS/IT investments has generated a significant amount of debate in the IS/IT literature among researchers, academics, and practitioners. This is as true in Australia as it is in the rest of the developed world. Thus, a detailed program of research into the current Australian practice and processes of IS/IT investment evaluation and benefits realization was initiated. As part of this research program, an in-depth case study of these practices and processes in a large government agency, with a mix of insourced and outsourced IS/IT activities, was conducted. A number of issues emerged from the analysis of the text data. Key issues are presented below in some detail.

Transforming Public Organizations with Strategic Management and Strategic Leadership

1993 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul C. Nutt ◽  
Robert W. Backoff
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Strategic Management ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Strategic Leadership ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Strategic Leaders ◽  
Key Questions

This article suggests how to transform public sector organizations using strategic management and strategic leadership. We summarize the theory and process of strategic management and strategic leadership and suggest propositions that identify key questions in using these processes for the transformational change of public organizations. The propositions consider the unique needs posed by the public sector, the way transformational or radical change must be carried out in and for this type of organization, and how a transformation will redirect and channel the energies of strategic leaders in the future.

Building Relationships with Stakeholders - as a Key Success Factor in Public Sector Organizations

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-61
Author(s):  
Maria Kotas
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Main Tool ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Success Factor ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Key Success Factor

Success factors are all sources which ensure an organization's prosperity. These are mainly factors which produce a competitive position on the market. The differences between the private and public sector have a major impact on identifying and categorizing key success factors. The purpose of this article is to analyze relationship building with stakeholders as a key success factor in public sector organizations. The main tool used by the author of this article was subject-based literature. In terms of the public sector, the process of building relationships with stakeholders is complex due to the complexity and diversity of groups involved in the sector. Despite these, it needs precise exploration because it is one of the main success factors for public sector organizations. The literature review is supplemented by sample results of empirical research conducted by the author. 

scholarly journals Reputation and financial reporting in Finnish public organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Rautiainen ◽  
Vilma Luoma-aho
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Tangible Assets ◽  
Public Sector Organizations

PurposeThis article analyzes the links between financial reports and reputation in the context of Finnish public sector organizations. In general, the paper discusses the accounting treatment of intangible and tangible assets and the quality and relevance of public sector financial reporting.Design/methodology/approachFor data, we combine three data sets: financial statement information of eight anonymous Finnish public organizations, the results of a reputation survey among their key stakeholders (N = 914) and a sample of the social media sentiment around the organizations.FindingsOur findings suggest that a decrease in spending and, surprisingly in the nonprofit sector, an increase in the surplus, indicate better perceived financial performance. An increase in surplus is positively linked with the reputational factors, for example, trust. However, disclosing excessive amounts of information, for example, in financial reporting seems to contribute to negative discussions on social media.Practical implicationsWe highlight the importance of managing intangibles, including those not recognized in the balance sheet, such as reputation. We present three propositions with potential managerial relevance.Originality/valueDespite the considerable amount of financial information disclosed by public sector organizations, few studies have analyzed its relevance or connection to reputation. This first-of-a-kind paper combines intangible and tangible assets by analyzing how financial data and intangible reputation are linked in the public sector accounting context. Six reputational factors were discovered, and financial performance was found to correlate with trust in the public sector.

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