Office Bullying in the Philippines and the Need for Public Policy

There is an urgent need to solve the problem of workplace bullying in both private and government sectors. Bullying at work creates serious negative consequences to the victims and the organization affecting their productivity. The magnitude of the problem necessitates state intervention to correct market and government failures. This policy paper studies office bullying and the need to legislate to realize efficient and effective allocation of government and private resources. It is guided by the Constitutional mandate that maintenance of peace, harmony, health and safety at work is an inherent duty of the State because of its inherent power to issue orders and command obedience to mitigate its effects. Using Cost Benefit Analysis, Institutional Analysis to policy making, and Rational-Decision making as tools for analysis, crafting and passing upon a statute is the most feasible means to address the problem of workplace bullying. The need to legislate a national policy on workplace bullying is necessary to mitigate its negative consequences both to employees and organizational productivity. Office bullying as a public issue also requires strict monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of similar or related laws may also address the problems cause by the same destructive behaviors but are inadequately explored in many researches.

EVOLUTION OF COHESION POLICY. MISSION AND GOVERNANCE

Cohesion policy is the major investment vehicle and the most reforming EU budgetary chapter. Its landmark reforms mark key integration processes in the European Union. The present policy paper provides reflections of the dynamics of the main development trends in cohesion policy as determined by global phenomena, namely the economic and financial crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic. They severely hit the entire EU, inevitably also affecting cohesion policy. The article shows that governance and the mission of cohesion policy has been adjusted to their aftermaths. Reforms introduced new measures and reinforced policy’s centralized European profile. Thus, evolution of cohesion policy is an illustration of its transformation from the merely redistributive tool with limited budgetary resources into the full-fledged development policy aimed at safeguarding that EU’s visions and goals will be pursued. The paper concludes that a new architecture poses the major challenge for cohesion policy after 2020 as its responsibilities and ever tightening governance continues while its budgets shrinks.

Performance comparison of state-owned enterprises versus private firms in selected emerging Asian countries

PurposeThis policy paper compares the performance of state-owned enterprise (SOEs) versus private firms in selected emerging economies in Asia, focusing on a number of performance indicators. The indicators are internationally recognized quality innovation, product and/or service innovation, financing of operations, dealing with government regulations and labor performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there has been no such comparative study for these indicators between SOEs and private firms and across countries. Most studies of SOEs have been national case studies. As such, they give us little knowledge of how a country compares with other countries at similar stages of economic development. A cross-country comparative analysis can help us identify broader trends and patterns.Design/methodology/approach The authors compare and discuss the performance of SOEs versus private firms in a number of emerging Asian countries, namely China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. To do so, the authors use data from the 2018 World Bank Enterprise Survey (which is the latest available) for the period 2012–2015. The authors focus on a number of key performance indicators, namely internationally recognized quality innovation, product and/or service innovation, financing of operations, dealing with government regulations and labor performance.Findings The comparative analysis uncovers some interesting differences between the two types of firms. For example, somewhat surprisingly, SOEs tend to innovate more than private firms. However, the single most significant pattern the authors find is that in middle-income Asia both types of firms face formidable challenges with respect to doing business – e.g. scarcity of relevant training programs for employees. Therefore, the priority of policymakers must be to improve the overall business environment for all firms, regardless of their ownership structure.Research limitations/implicationsThe nature of this paper is a policy paper. This is because the data used in this study is survey data, conducted every four–five years (or more) for each country in the study and available for very few countries. As the data are not available for a continuous period of time, The authors could not conduct empirical research for this topic and thus made it a policy paper that presents a comparison across Asian countries as case studies.Originality/valueThe five selected Asian countries are interesting case studies for a comparative analysis since they are middle-income countries where SOEs play a significant role in the economy. Furthermore, state ownership is an important institutional dimension in emerging markets, and strong ties with the government can influence the performance of SOEs through various market and non-market channels. Despite the potential importance of the research theme, there is very little existing research on cross-country comparisons of the performance of SOEs vis-à-vis private firms. This could be explained by scarce data availability. With this in mind, the study attempts to shed some light on SOEs' performance and add to the rather limited literature.

The Politics of Activism and Biculturalism: the emergence of bicultural consultancies in New Zealand

<p>In what many commentators have characterised as a contradictory trajectory, a number of people involved in radical anti-state activism, which defined New Zealand from the late 1960s to the 1980s, became consultants on biculturalism for government agencies by the late 1980s. These consultants ran seminars for Pākehā public servants on the history and contemporary impact of Māori oppression under colonialism; Māori language, culture, and protocol; and the proposed future of the Crown-Māori relationship. This thesis uses genealogy and case study methodology to track the emergence of bicultural consultancies, their ideology and techniques, and their role in Māori policy reform beginning in the late 1980s. It aims to reveal the connections and disjunctions between the goals of anti-state activists active from the late 1960s to the 1980s, and the bicultural consultancies which emerged by the late 1980s. Māori anti-racist and anti-state activists and their Pākehā allies skilfully leveraged the state by invoking the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi to call for a new partnership between Māori and the state, a partnership that by the 1980s was officially termed biculturalism. The public sector, which was identified as institutionally racist by activists, was an important focus of this activism. Activists demanded that Pākehā-dominated government departments be reformed to better reflect and serve Māori. The state’s response to these demands, beginning in earnest with the 1988 policy paper Te Urupare Rangapu and additionally sustained by the precepts of so-called ‘bicultural’ or ‘Treaty’ issues, created the demand for consultants to assist with reforming Māori policy making and delivery, and by extension, those public servants that would be responsible for the success of these reforms. While bicultural consultants were still working with anti-racist ideas and frameworks, the ascendancy of bicultural and Treaty discourses by the end of the 1980s somewhat obfuscated the ontologies of race and institutional racism in their work.</p>

The Politics of Activism and Biculturalism: the emergence of bicultural consultancies in New Zealand

<p>In what many commentators have characterised as a contradictory trajectory, a number of people involved in radical anti-state activism, which defined New Zealand from the late 1960s to the 1980s, became consultants on biculturalism for government agencies by the late 1980s. These consultants ran seminars for Pākehā public servants on the history and contemporary impact of Māori oppression under colonialism; Māori language, culture, and protocol; and the proposed future of the Crown-Māori relationship. This thesis uses genealogy and case study methodology to track the emergence of bicultural consultancies, their ideology and techniques, and their role in Māori policy reform beginning in the late 1980s. It aims to reveal the connections and disjunctions between the goals of anti-state activists active from the late 1960s to the 1980s, and the bicultural consultancies which emerged by the late 1980s. Māori anti-racist and anti-state activists and their Pākehā allies skilfully leveraged the state by invoking the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi to call for a new partnership between Māori and the state, a partnership that by the 1980s was officially termed biculturalism. The public sector, which was identified as institutionally racist by activists, was an important focus of this activism. Activists demanded that Pākehā-dominated government departments be reformed to better reflect and serve Māori. The state’s response to these demands, beginning in earnest with the 1988 policy paper Te Urupare Rangapu and additionally sustained by the precepts of so-called ‘bicultural’ or ‘Treaty’ issues, created the demand for consultants to assist with reforming Māori policy making and delivery, and by extension, those public servants that would be responsible for the success of these reforms. While bicultural consultants were still working with anti-racist ideas and frameworks, the ascendancy of bicultural and Treaty discourses by the end of the 1980s somewhat obfuscated the ontologies of race and institutional racism in their work.</p>

‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ The Place and Wellbeing of Young People in Azerbaijan’s Drug Policy

This policy paper bridges interdisciplinary research to analyze the effects of drug policy in Azerbaijan on the provision of social care and treatment for young people who use illicit drugs. Drawing on Carol Bacchi’s critical policy analysis method – ‘what’s the problem represented to be’ – the paper focuses on what the state’s drug policy enables and/or impedes in the implementation of better protection and care for young people aged between 14 and 17. To do this, two texts are selected for the analysis to explore representations and social construction of youth through various problematizations in policy legislations. The analysis suggests that drug policy in Azerbaijan is formulated to further cultural and political purposes to maintain a community-based immunity to drugs, rather than psycho-social and medical interventions or individual engagement with young people’s wellbeing.

Health Insurance for India's Missing Middle

Policy paper on increasing health insurance coverage for India's missing middle population

Presentation of the 5Ds in Energy Policy: A Policy Paper to Show How Germany Can Regain Its Role as a Pioneer in Energy Policy

The widely recognised Energiewende, (“energy transition”) in Germany has lost its original momentum. We therefore address the question of how the transition process to a new energy system can be reignited. To do so, we developed the “5Ds approach”, which lays the groundwork for a process analysis and the identification of important catalysts and barriers. Focusing on the five major fields required for the energy transition, we analyse the effects of: (1) Decarbonisation: How can efficiency and renewable energies be expanded successfully? (2) Digitalisation: Which digital solutions facilitate this conversion and would be suitable as sustainable business models? (3) Decentralisation: How can potential decentralised energy and efficiency opportunities be developed? (4) Democratisation: How can participation be strengthened in order to foster acceptance (and prevent “yellow vest” protests, etc.)? (5) Diversification of service: Which services can make significant contributions in the context of flexible power generation, demand-side management, storage and grids? Our paper comes to the conclusion that German policy efforts in the “5D” fields have been implemented very differently. Particularly with regard to democratisation, the opportunities for genuine participation among the different social actors must be further strengthened to get the Energiewende back on track. New market models are needed to meet the challenges of the energy transition and to increase the performance of “5D” through economic incentives.

Policy Paper Jalur Peningkatan Mutu Madrasah di Jawa Tengah: Problem dan Solusi

Upaya peningkatkan mutu madrasah telah dilakukan dengan berbagai cara. Salah satunya dilakukan oleh Direktorat KSKK, yakni merumuskan tagline madrasah mandiri berprestasi (2021). Semua program dan kegiatan tersebut diarahkan dalam kerangka peningkatan mutu madrasah. Mutu madrasah menyangkut dua hal: mutu standar dan mutu persepsi. Dalam konteks madrasah /sekolah, mutu standar menyangkut akreditasi lembaga. Madrasah bermutu adalah madrasah yang memiliki nilai akreditasi tinggi. Sementara mutu persepsi menyangkut animo masyarakat terhadap madrasah. Mutu persepsi ditunjukkan dengan adanya seleksi dalam penerimaan siswa baru dan jumlah murid yang banyak. Untuk memperolah dua mutu tersebut, tentu madrasah harus menunjukkan performa yang baik, pengelolaan yang baik, serta mampu menunjukkan berbagai prestasi. Beberapa problem umum yang dialami madrasah di Jawa Tengah menyangkut lima hal pokok: (1) Madrasah milik masyarakat, (2) Ekonomi menengah ke bawah, (3) Akreditasi madrasah, (4) Kualitas pembelajaran dan (5) Fungsi ganda madrasah. Alternatif solusi yang ditawarkan adalah (1) penegrian madrasah, (2) penguatan wakaf untuk pendidikan, (3) peningkatan akreditasi madrasah, (4) Penyebarluasan quality madrasah for all, serta (5) keseimbangan fungsi pendidikan dan dakwah. Peningkatan mutu madrasah bermuara pada peningkatan prestasi madrasah. Prestasi madrasah dapat tercapai dengan menghadirkan semangat juang (ruhul jihad) dari keluarga madrasah, khususnya kepala madasah dan guru. Selain motivasi akhirat melalui ruhul jihad, upaya peningkatan mutu madrasah dilakukan melalui jalur duniawi yakni peningkatan kualifikasi dan kompetensi guru dan kepala madrasah secara berkelanjutan.