State-owned enterprise governance in the Pacific: The application of local values and practices in Samoa and Tonga

<p><b>This research examined how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in two Pacific countries approach their governance roles in a context where concepts of good corporate governance are changing internationally. The research considered whether corporate governance practice can be enhanced by the application of local cultural values and principles, and whether there are lessons learned from these two countries that could be shared more broadly.</b></p> <p>The study explored insights from current and former SOE board chairs, directors, CEOs, senior public officials from the Kingdom of Tonga (Tonga) and the Independent State of Samoa (Samoa), and subject matter experts, who discussed their experiences and insights about approaches to corporate governance. The research also examined the literature on the rationale for the concept of ‘good governance’ which emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century, and corporate governance principles that support SOE models, to provide context for participant responses.</p> <p>Twenty-six interviews were undertaken in Tonga and Samoa between July and September 2019. Twelve participants were interviewed about Tonga’s SOEs, 12 participants were interviewed about Samoa’s SOEs, and two participants were interviewed about both countries’ approaches to SOE governance.</p> <p>The research finds that the principles of good corporate governance are dynamic and responsive, and can be modified to fit local situations. Despite the challenges implementing corporate governance principles, SOE directors and officials from Tonga and Samoa are asking how these tools can be applied in their country and are actively adapting and innovating the corporate governance model to improve local application. There are important assertive signs of ambiculturalism reshaping the good governance narrative with a Pacific flavour.</p>

State-owned enterprise governance in the Pacific: The application of local values and practices in Samoa and Tonga

<p><b>This research examined how state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in two Pacific countries approach their governance roles in a context where concepts of good corporate governance are changing internationally. The research considered whether corporate governance practice can be enhanced by the application of local cultural values and principles, and whether there are lessons learned from these two countries that could be shared more broadly.</b></p> <p>The study explored insights from current and former SOE board chairs, directors, CEOs, senior public officials from the Kingdom of Tonga (Tonga) and the Independent State of Samoa (Samoa), and subject matter experts, who discussed their experiences and insights about approaches to corporate governance. The research also examined the literature on the rationale for the concept of ‘good governance’ which emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century, and corporate governance principles that support SOE models, to provide context for participant responses.</p> <p>Twenty-six interviews were undertaken in Tonga and Samoa between July and September 2019. Twelve participants were interviewed about Tonga’s SOEs, 12 participants were interviewed about Samoa’s SOEs, and two participants were interviewed about both countries’ approaches to SOE governance.</p> <p>The research finds that the principles of good corporate governance are dynamic and responsive, and can be modified to fit local situations. Despite the challenges implementing corporate governance principles, SOE directors and officials from Tonga and Samoa are asking how these tools can be applied in their country and are actively adapting and innovating the corporate governance model to improve local application. There are important assertive signs of ambiculturalism reshaping the good governance narrative with a Pacific flavour.</p>

King IV municipal supplements: the impact on the municipal’s approach to governance

In using King IV municipal supplement as a conceptual framework, this paper critically analyses the King IV supplement implementation and control system within the municipal sector. For the municipality to be trusted and accountable to the public, it needs to implement effective governance processes. The observance of municipal governance implementation framework poses a significant challenge for the municipalities. The prevalence of unsuccessful provision of essential services and unsuccessful audit is an indication of the failure by municipal boards that are charged with the implementation of effective governance practices. It is further indicative of the municipal board not to understanding their governance roles fully. The advent of King IV municipal supplement will give more impetus to the implementation of governance framework and effective control processes. The municipal supplement will serve as a guide to proper governance in the municipality and will push for all municipal stakeholders to be involved in the governance of the municipality. The implementation of the King IV municipal supplement will enable the municipality to fulfil the constitutional mandate and deliver on the essential services. It has also become evident that good governance in the municipality is beneficial for stakeholders as a well-governed organization inspires the confidence of the stakeholders and lowers the cost of its operations. Even though King IV is not law, the governance outcome that it can achieve are laudable. The adoption and implementation King IV code municipal supplements practices will become the criteria by which the required standard of care and appropriate standard of conduct of the council can measured.

Implementation of Good Governance in Komodo National Park Management: A Case Study

This study examines the implementation of good governance at the Komodo National Park to provide a specific, in-depth, complex, and explorative understanding of it. The research methodology used was a descriptive interpretive Yin case study approach. Data were obtained through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results revealed that the Komodo National Park applies the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability, responsibility, independence, and fairness. Study findings also contribute benefits, ideas, and studies, which provide reference for and contribution to the management and stakeholders in conducting governance roles, especially for National Park management. Keywords: good governance, management, national park

The Governance of Global Labor Migration: Literature Review

This paper focuses on the past 10 years of major scholarship on the governance of external labor migration. It also centers on migration that is voluntary and regular, recognizing that rules governing lowskilled migration are often formed to control irregular migration [5]. Scholars of migrant labor identify four major categories: low-skilled temporary (e. g. seasonal workers, service workers), low-skilled permanent (e. g. industrial workers), high-skilled temporary (e. g. student workers, corporate assignees, “expats”), and high-skilled permanent (e. g. medical personnel, technology specialists). Discussion on the layers of labor migration governance may give the impression that all initiatives are government-based. However, as some authors mention [12; 30; 17], non-state entities play key governance roles. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are the most influential non-state actors. In light of the incoherence of governance in the area of regular labor migration, there is no shortage of knowledge gaps. A preliminary review of contemporary scholarly literature, suggests that case studies to identify best practices in multilateral schemes and public-private partnerships within the regional “layer” of governance, may be a particularly fruitful focus for scholarly research. This conclusion is based on sources that describe immigration politics and policy at the national level as inherently unstable and less likely to yield insights into balancing short vs. long-term economic interests or into the protection of migrant’s rights [24; 29]. The slow pace and relative ineffectiveness of efforts at the global level suggests that scholars may find targeting this “layer” of limited value, particularly if they wish to form actionable, forward-looking policy recommendations.

Factors Affecting Women´s Involvement in the Governance of Family Firms

The chapter analyzes female involvement in medium-sized family businesses in Central Italy. The empirical analysis focuses on 233 firms over the period 2007-2014, to understand how female representation in corporate governance has evolved in recent years, and to pinpoint the factors tending to encourage/discourage female involvement in the board of directors. A descriptive analysis was conducted, enabling a fuller understanding of how female involvement in governance roles has evolved over the years. A regression analysis was performed to determine if and how specific governance characteristics – such as family ownership and generational stage – may have a bearing on the female presence on the board. The results confirm that female representation is favorably influenced by a strong family presence in the ownership of the business, while family firms under first-generation control exert a negative influence on female involvement.

Mapping clinical governance to practitioner roles and responsibilities

PurposeWhile clinical governance is assumed to be part of organisational structures and policies, implementation of clinical governance in practice (the praxis) can be markedly different. This paper draws on insights from hospital clinicians, managers and governors on how they interpret the term “clinical governance”. The influence of best-practice and roles and responsibilities on their interpretations is considered.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with hospital clinicians, managers and governors from two large academic hospitals in Ireland. The analytical lens for the research is practice theory. Interview transcripts are analysed for practitioners' spoken keywords/terms to explore how practitioners interpret the term “clinical governance”. The practice of clinical governance is mapped to front line, management and governance roles and responsibilities.FindingsThe research finds that interpretation of clinical governance in praxis is quite different from best-practice definitions. Practitioner roles and responsibilities held influence practitioners' interpretation.Originality/valueThe research examines interpretations of clinical governance in praxis by clinicians, managers and governors and highlights the adverse consequence of the absence of clear mapping of roles and responsibilities to clinical, management and governance practice.

Strengthening Collaborative Governance in Efforts to Reduce The Mortality Rate of Mother and Baby

This research aims to learn the role of each government agency and community involved in the policy program for reducing maternal and infant mortality rate in Jember district. Then hope to come up with recommendations for strengthening the role of stakeholders in an effort to realize good governance. Given that in 2012, Jember district was listed as the district with the highest IMR and MMR in East Java. One of the collaborative policy programs launched to reduce the high IMR and MMR in Jember Regency is the Copy of Decision of Jember Regent Number: 188.45 / 101.1 / 012/2015 About Perinatal Maternal Audit Team of Jember Regency Year 2015. The descriptive qualitative research method used (before the C19 pandemic) was in-depth interviews, three FGDs with stakeholders. Data analysis by Spreadly analysis (taxonomic analysis, component analysis and cultural themes). The results showed that the ego-centricity of each government institution was still very prominent, and community participation was still mobilizing. Thus, efforts to strengthen collaborative governance roles are needed through the role of leading actors who are strongly committed to directing, controlling and monitoring policy programs that have been made.

EXPRESS: Mobilizing the Temporary Organization: The Governance Roles of Selection and Pricing

Many marketing transactions between buyers and suppliers involve short-term collaborations or so-called temporary organizations. Such organizations have considerable value-creation potential, but also face challenges, as evidenced by their mixed performance records. One particular challenge involves relationship governance, and in this respect, temporary organizations represent a conundrum: On the one hand, they pose significant governance problems, due to the need to manage numerous independent specialists under time constraints. At the same time, temporary organizations lack the inherent governance properties of other organizational forms like permanent organizations. The authors conduct an empirical study of 429 business-to-business (B2B) construction projects designed to answer two specific questions: First, how are particular selection and pricing strategies deployed in response to monitoring and coordination problems? Second, does the joint alignment between the two mechanisms and their respective attributes help mitigate cost overruns? We follow up our formal hypotheses tests with a series of in-depth interviews to explore and to gain insight into the validity of our key constructs, explanatory mechanisms, and outcomes. Managerially, the authors answer the long-standing question of how to mobilize a temporary organization. Theoretically, they develop an augmented “discriminating alignment” heuristic for relationship management involving multiple governance mechanisms and attributes.