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Introduces a series of articles which deals with voluntary and community organizations in Europe.

This paper explores the link between voluntary associations and socioeconomic development in Swedish municipalities. According to previous research in the field of social capital, the causal flow goes from having many associations to a high level of socioeconomic development. It has been argued, however, that the causal flow from the level of socioeconomic development to the level of social capital is so weak that it can be ignored. This paper tests a simple simultaneous equation model in order to test whether the causal flows from socioeconomic development to social capital and the inverse are simultaneous. The study is carried out at an aggregated level (the municipalities) that corresponds to the lowest administrative level in Sweden. The results indicate that the socioeconomic development cannot be ignored and that there is a simultaneous relationship. Moreover, the empirical findings indicate that the relationship is negative between the variables expressing socioeconomic development and associational density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As voluntary and community organizations in the UK (VCOs) expand their role in the provision of public services, they are under increasing pressure from governmental funders to improve their management and organizational systems - to “build their capacity.” This paper considers the theoretical and practical challenges posed by the idea of “capacity building.” It also looks at the challenges for VCOs of meeting the capacity building agenda while simultaneously retaining organizational distinctiveness and independence. Action research is proposed as a means to meet the challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations of public officials have been an important element of public professionalism in the United States since the reform era. This paper examines the ways in which associations of public officials are helping to redefine public professionalism. The focus on the paper is on the promotion of professionalism by association activities, the sense of professional identity fostered by association involvement, and the ways in which associations integrate issues of policy, management, and professional expertise to contribute to the development of true public professionalism. The paper examines ways that professional/specialist and political/generalist associations are converging on issue of policy, strategic thinking, and role effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International City and County Management Association, (ICMA), ensures that members who engage in misconduct are identified and sanctioned. Dozens of public sanctions have been issued over the past 20 years, and this paper considers the substance of these penalties. The article identifies the processes used to ensure compliance with its code of ethics. We report the types of ethical violations ICMA has discovered through these processes. A more systematic way of recording what is occurring is necessary if strategies are to be devised to help current and upcoming public administrators avoid similar violations. Finally, we ask public administrators who have been sanctioned by ICMA to explain how and why the ethics violations occurred and the impact of the public censure on their personal lives and careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new concept of social responsibility is strongly linked to the idea of the social enterprise as a living system, that is, a system capable of regenerating itself by producing “knowledge” and “trust” resources. Nevertheless, these resources can only spring from a tight relationship with the reference environment in which the enterprise operates. This paper aims at making some first considerations on the relationship between social responsibility and the environment, and upon how the environment may develop in symbiosis with the “living company.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizens, practitioners and academicians involved in local government have for decades debated the best structure for local public organizations; at the polar ends of this debate are those advocating rational administration and those advocating political responsiveness. The conventional wisdom equates rational administration with reformed structures like the council-manager plan and political responsiveness with structures which have an elected chief executive officer. The debate is unresolvable within this value-driven framework, and these ideological positions do not seem to be helping in the design of governmental structures which "work" in a practical and meaningful way. The paper argues for a "functional" model of local government structure based on how much citizens and administrators can know and oversee with competence. The analysis leads to a significant rethinking of the role of governing bodies, administrators, and the general management position in American local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This symposium addresses the question “Has public administration grown up?” as a provocative vehicle for free-ranging inquiry into the state of the field. Its articles originated from a panel of the same name held at the 2003 national conference of the American Society for Public Administration. The authors, each of whom make a quite different response, consist of the panel's original five members plus four participants from the audience who later contributed their ideas in written form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While governments have adopted employee empowerment practices around the world, they are also concerned with and wish to reduce barriers to innovation in the public sector. Using the 2012 Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)’s “the State of the Service data,” this article examines the association between four empowerment practices and perceived barriers to innovation. The results reveal that a unit increase in granting power to employees has a very large effect on reducing perceived barriers to innovation, suggesting for policy makers that granting power to employees is a crucial practice which can reduce perceived barriers to innovation. Additionally, while providing information is positively associated with perceived barriers to innovation, offering rewards and providing access to knowledge and skills are negatively associated with perceived barriers to innovation. This article discusses the implications of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The perceived benefits to users and beneficiaries of voluntary organizations delivering public sector services have been well documented and include the engagement with parts of society that the state cannot reach, personalized service delivery, and improved services. There is a lack of clarity, however, as to whether these perceived benefits are being realized. This article presents the experiences of voluntary sector organizations involved in public sector commissioning. The research suggests that the public sector is limiting the voluntary sector's engagement in service design and performance monitoring. These findings raise questions about the role of the voluntary sector in public service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the public management literature by exploring the critical challenges that underpin the construction of robust information and knowledge management strategies in networked settings. The ability of the network to sustain itself, thrive, and achieve its objectives depends on the success that the network has in organizing and coordinating its constituent organizations. The network's collaborative information and knowledge management strategy is critical to the functioning of the network and the achievement of objectives. A robust information and knowledge management strategy will bring organizations in the network together, help them share resources, collaborate on efforts, and further their objectives in a holistic manner. An inadequate information and knowledge management strategy might lead to disconnects in organizations due to lack of information sharing, poor collaborative knowledge generation, lack of coordination, leading to a fragmented network. Drawing on a multi-year, multi-method, and multi-organization study of the United States Intelligence Community (USIC), the article puts forth a comprehensive framework to examine information and knowledge management challenges within the USIC, as well as other public sector organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public sector reform in both developed and developing countries has now become a routine matter of public policy—reform is almost continuous, if not always successful. While the role of international transfer agents such as the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in promoting reforms has often been noted, there has been no comprehensive mapping of the global network on public sector reform. This article makes a first attempt to map the close to 100 organizations that make up a loose global network around public administration and governance. It then provides a brief history of the evolution of the network, and the key events that encouraged a substantial degree of coherence among its members. It examines the practices and tools that are specific to this global public policy network, and concludes with some observations on policy transfer models. The article shows that in trying to understand the dynamics of public administration reform, we need to pay greater attention to this network, its members, and its influence over national policy priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The involvement of faith-based organizations in public matters may be motivated by compassion, by a desire for political power, or perhaps by some other purpose. This article argues that it is appropriate for organizations with pronounced religious perspectives to play roles in the delivery of public services and in informing public-decision making. We also argue that such involvement has considerable potential for controversy and, under certain circumstances, can have an adverse impact on a pluralistic democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the development of a coalition of nonprofit membership organizations from the viewpoint of sense-making theory. The author argues that sense-making presents a useful framework for the entrepreneur to address gaps in understanding between coalition members. The case of a statewide health plan of public employees reveals the role of cultural differences between management and employee organizations in forming a statewide partnership to maintain a large health insurance risk pool. The results of initial sense-making of various health insurance issues by both management and employee organizations are contrasted with the common, constructed meaning on these issues that can arise from mutual communication. The author concludes that an understanding of the process of organizational sense-making offers the coalition-builder practical utility in considering the design and operations of a new organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discourse of urban redevelopment and revitalization has changed remarkably over the past decade. With a decade of national economic growth leading to success in the professional services, tourism and convention markets, new life has been breathed into many city centers. This has led to a new theoretical focus on whether these gains could also be realized in city neighborhoods. A history of declining public resources brought on by the brutal confluence of de-industrialization and federal disinvestment left many neighborhood commercial areas at a loss in their competition with newly formed suburban retail developments. Moreover, surging crime rates and under-managed public space—which led to rising fear levels among urban space users—merely exacerbated this downward trend. This article examines the use of business improvement districts in inner city commercial areas. While much of the academic and popular press literature on BIDs has addressed their use in downtowns, their use is growing in smaller, neighborhood commercial and retail strips. While some neighborhood BIDs have a substantial history of service delivery and planning, most are recent entries onto the urban management landscape. After an analysis of neighborhood BIDs in major US cities, this article examines the commercial development policy of one city, Philadelphia. It then addresses the use of a neighborhood BID in one of Philadelphia's more hardscrabble commercial areas, Frankford. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term “third sector” is increasingly used, but it is also increasingly difficult to define. It is characterized by fragmentation, fuzziness, and constant change. Furthermore, the bordering domains of community, market, and state are equally difficult to define and are becoming more blurred. One may have to accept that hybridity and change are permanent features of the organizations and arrangements involved. They could be classified not with reference to the structural characteristics of abstract domains but on the basis of how they cope with conditions of hybridity and change. The search for a valid empirical definition of the third sector, however modestly ambitious, must focus on the fringes of the domain where the “hard cases” can be found—the phenomena that are most difficult to identify and therefore most likely to reveal what is essential to the different domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert Michels stated that all democratic organizations sooner or later end up as ruled by the few. But are there certain dilemmas forcing organizations more or less easily into the oligarchic path? In the interview material from six small voluntary associations such dilemmas were identified. Dilemmas seemed to arise regarding representativeness and competence among leaders, handling of external forces, interpretation of goals, and maintaining commitment. Some of the dilemmas were implicit, some were more explicitly acknowledged. It is concluded that the “iron law of oligarchy” is avoidable, if the organization becomes aware of these dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The predilection to use gender as a basis for pay and organization hierarchical level decisions has emerged as a significant topic in management literature. Related issues are the theories of information dependency and gender segregation. This article discusses the theoretical foundations of information dependency theory confirming the importance of subordinates' control of resources, including performance capabilities. Insights gained through this study may provide business professionals with the ability to recognize and avoid the use of gender as a basis for pay and hierarchical level within both the organizational and managerial contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pi Alpha Alpha (PAA) is the national academic honor society for public administration. This study presents the results of a comprehensive survey of PAA Chapter advisors focusing on inductee characteristics, induction requirements, chapter activities, chapter officers, and suggestions for improving PAA chapter effectiveness. NASPAA sponsored the survey and provided relevant logistical support. The results indicate that PAA is meeting its major objectives, but several areas require attention including enhancing the activity mix, improving recruitment practices for chapter officers, and a dedicated means for disseminating information on chapter activities through a newsletter and a chapter directory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is based on the premise that organizations are in dire need of transformational leaders who will imbue them with the values and practices necessary to survive and grow in the 21st century. Unfortunately, our educational system is not doing very much to prepare our students to successfully perform this transformational role. We suggest that the reason for this deficiency lies in the fact that too many faculty practice traditional bureaucratic pedagogies which neither models nor develops the values and skills students need to become transformational leaders. Furthermore, the extensive use of these practices serves to limit student involvement in the teaching-learning process and decreases student motivation to perform high quality work. Therefore, this article will discuss how faculty can model transformational leadership by empowering their students. We have found that this approach creates stimulating classes which increase student feelings of ownership, self-efficacy, and motivation. Moreover this experience helps prepare students to be the transformational leaders our world so desperately needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Workforce Diversity" and "Managing Diversity' are multifaceted constructs. Workforce diversity is the resultant of three component forces of change: demographic projections, active representation, and workplace values. The significance of managing diversity not only rests on the understanding of these forces but also on the strategies designed to affect them. The orientation and preference of practicing administrators are important indicators for the choice of strategies and their institutionalization. Survey data on state and urban administrators reveal that a majority remain unfamiliar with workforce diversity and their support for diversity management strategies also remains weak. Within their pattern of support, empowerment strategies that focus on professional development seem to be the preferred means of diversity management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are various methods of designing organizations to adjust to the needs of the circumstances, clients and administrators. The literature on organizations highlighted various aspects as it developed and the emphasis shifted over time. Different approaches were tried in two cases in Hong Kong where organizations were designed to deal with specific problems of corruption and organized crime. While the social approach appeared to be more sensitive to the needs of the target group, the institutional approach emerged as a more effective option. In designing organizations, it is necessary to consider the social and psychological aspects, but the nature of structure, stability of environment and regularity of procedures have a profound impact on the effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing new agenda economic development issues, China like other developing states is forced to coordinate policies regionally. As need for decentralization "downward" stretches to include delegation "outward," Beijing must find its best response to the new trend. Four tests reveal no reason for China to stay aloof from simple Membership in Pacific-Asian regional organizations. Three tests reveal no problem with China taking an Activist role in such regional organizations. Three final tests reveal potential costs China would pay for seeking a regional Leadership role, especially before Beijing's post-succession direction is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning in the 1920s a group of theorists made a significant departure from Progressive administrative theory. These Post-Progressives argued that organizations must be more than efficient producers; they must be institutions within which individuals can develop their creative potential. Toward this end, they emphasized a unified science of organizations and leadership. In so doing, the Post-Progressives believed that they were extending the course of modernity itself. The abandonment of the Post-Progressive synthesis between efficiency and human oriented organizations risks not only the viability of modern organizations but the course of modernity as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing evidence from the history of the comparable worth movement, I argue that (1) the State-citizen shaping process is one in which States shape citizens and movements and citizens and movements shape States; (2) States are not always successful in shaping movements because movements require a certain level of both stakes and consciousness on the part of potential members; (3) States are more effective at influencing whether a movement will win than they are at actually producing social movements; and (4) the costs and benefits associated with the various institutional channels impact heavily upon a movement, particularly upon its organization and its alliances. These theoretical propositions provide clues as to why the comparable worth movement has been able to persist at the state and local level despite Federal opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that after the end of World War II the businessmen of Fargo, North Dakota organized the Greater Fargo Association and got the voters to adopt the brief, two-page state law called the City Manager Plan of city government. The new government became effective from May 13, 1947. Although Fargo had a city manager for a short time, the city government had reverted to the commission form before the author was appointed. Charles A. Dawson, an independent insurance executive, was serving as fire and police commissioner and mayor, E.E. Simonson, a banker, was finance commissioner, Fred C. Hagen, a department store shoe manager, was water commissioner, and the other departments were assigned to William H. Toussaint, a former county agent now active in farm loans and insurance, and to Leo C. O'Brien, a Western Union Telegraph Company manager and an active member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce.

Organizations can survive, let alone progress, only if they carry out meaningful transactions with society at large. This process requires they differentiate their "organizational being" to respond to clientele needs and/or user demands. The inherent problem is that these differentiated structures may become segmented into tightly closed systems, being in effect organizations within organization characterized by self-serving vested interests. Expediency becomes the operating rule. Segmentation is common to all societies, but it is especially prevalent in situations of decline. Advanced in this discussion is that the segmentation process may be accelerated and consolidated by in-house training and education, and especially by those of a public management character. A plea is made for universities to become more actively engaged in (a) the preparation and placement of "quality" educated persons and (b) the search/development of new public organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]