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In a significant, but iconoclastic, approach to Public Administration Marshall Dimock introduced many sprawling concepts, approaches, and arguments to modern organization theory. Dimock, a contemporary of Herbert A. Simon, challenged traditional wisdom with his gradual deflection away from conventional organization and administrative theories. Contrary to Simon's opinions, Dimock linked Public Administration back to classical thought, and rejected the modernistsʼn definition of progress and the growth/decay explanations for organization development.

Marshall Dimock offers students of organizational theory a potpourri of concepts, approaches and arguments. His career began in the founding era of American public administration during President Roosevelt’s new deal administration. He initially supported the administrative state, but became disillusioned with problems inherent in large bureaucratic organizations. Dimock eventually embraced pre‐modern approaches to organization that relied upon strong leadership and personal ethics. He was particularly opposed to behavioural approaches to organization because they relied on management techniques rather than individual integrity. With the pre‐modern approach, Dimock swam against the current of modern organizational theory which depicted modern organization as an inherently powerful, superior institutional form. His latter works argued that organizations must conform to nature and that they wither if they do not take the natural qualities of people into account.

Scepticism about organizations has become an integral part of the field organizational theory. This article aspires to develop through historical analysis a taxonomy of organizational scepticism. Though scepticism of all types have generic traits, there are three distinct types of scepticism: premodern, modern and postmodern scepticism. Premodern scepticism attacks the modern organizational by stressing concepts grounded in nature and tradition. Modern sceptics attack the optimism of managerialism about organizations. Postmodern sceptics stress that technological developments, economic self interest, and irrationality will be the eventual undoing of modern organization. Organizational scepticism is now so pervasive that it should be treated as an integral part of the field.

Provides an historical study of the intellectual thought of Leonard Dupee White. Contends that L.D. White is one of the major theorists and practitioners in public administration and is generally ignored. White taught, researched, studied and discovered theoretical concepts and practical methods that are still useful today. Examines the major themes found in White’s writings by chronologically progressing through his works and the major activities of his life. Brings to the forefront a portion of public administrations’ neglected intellectual heritage and makes it useful for the present.

This paper explores the relevance of Adam Smith’s invisible hand and the remainder of his legacy for public management. The paper’s central claim is that, by approaching Adam Smith and his legacy, public managers can assist themselves to do what they should do - examine their latent assumptions. The first of three challenges in approaching Adam Smith’s ideas is to get Smith right, because he has been widely misunderstood. The second is to question Smith’s account of conceptual space; it is desirable to go beyond him. The third challenge is to explore in specific terms the potential for public management of an understanding of Smith and his legacy

The paper reports on findings of research into the institutional and individual influences on engaging in professional development (PD), reflecting on how PD might be made available in ways which could support quality in e‐learning.

The paper presents findings of a research project exploring factors influencing engagement in e‐learning PD within New Zealand tertiary education institutions. The research comprised an online survey of 408 individuals in three polytechnics and two universities and 40 qualitative interviews ascertaining beliefs, experiences and practices of staff regarding e‐learning PD.

The survey and interviews suggest there are numerous factors which both help and hinder quality of engagement in e‐learning PD. Most PD engaged in by staff is informal. Engagement in formal PD is influenced by organisational structure, co‐ordination, poorly developed and/or implemented e‐learning policy, differences in managerial support, and individual beliefs and time allocation.

The research is conducted in a small number of tertiary institutions and may not be applicable to private or work‐based training organisations.

Understanding impacts and influences on individual uptake and experiences of PD provides insights into the sorts of institutional practices and policies likely to improve quality in e‐learning and in e‐learning PD.

By focussing on staff experiences, this paper provides important insights into practical considerations informing the development of e‐learning quality enhancement and assurance strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to outline concepts that can build an ethical society.

The paper examines selected literature on citizenship through the lens of theory building‐blocks. It identifies the role of leadership in society and its importance in developing society into an ethical one.

The paper distinguishes between a ruler, which is defined socially as a hierarchical position, and a leader, which describes a personal quality and is embedded in psychology. Leadership is a developmental process, which is based on the type of choice a leader makes, which implies that two good options are always available from which to select. Nevertheless, one should make choices in accordance with his worldview, looking for affiliation (i.e. the Theta worldview), or looking for achievement (i.e. the Lambda worldview). Consequently, the choices leaders make for societal activities have to fit their own worldview. Pursuing the fit between one's worldview and planned societal or citizenship activities ensures that society continuously improves its ethical behaviour. The paper concludes with examining the meaning of citizenship and the state in modern times.

Being a theory‐based exploration, the paper does not provide empirical examples of how this theory might be applied in practice.

The paper fills a gap in explaining why current theories could not provide an ethical theory of citizenship. It follows by distinguishing between the definitions of a ruler and a leader. In addition, it questions the viewing of a state as a long‐term entity.

This paper aims to use Q methodology to investigate Millennial perceptions toward private label or national brand apparel.

Q methodology was chosen to identify factors, which correspond to patterns of perceptions prevalent among Millennials. Participants were supplied with 14 statements that they sorted into two Q sorts – One representing perceptions of private label and the other representing perceptions of national brands. The Q sorts were completed through Qualtrics and participants answered open-ended questions on the placement of each statement within each Q sort.

Two factors emerged on private labels, highlighting patterns in price consciousness and uniqueness (acknowledged as patterns surrounding the desire for particular apparel characteristics). Three factors arose for national brand apparel, emphasizing the need for national brands to provide consumers with product security, quality and uniqueness (as identified through the unpreferred qualities national brands typically exhibit).

This study illustrates the various viewpoints retailers must consider when marketing apparel to a specific target demographic. In addition, a single perception (uniqueness) was found to connect motivations, which led to the development of a model for future inquiry.

Despite complete Q sorts and qualitative statements, participants' unfamiliarity with Q methodology and the sorting action of statements could be considered a limitation. The use of MTurk is also considered a limitation owing to the anonymity and possible deception of the workforce.

Private label brand personality growth has many retailers expanding their brand portfolios. Based on the findings of this study, specific opportunities are highlighted for the expansion and marketing of private labels and brand labels based on specific perceptions of a broad Millennial cohort.

While a relationship between accountability and ethics has long been assumed and debated in Public Administration, the nature of that relationship has not been examined or clearly articulated. This article makes such an effort by positing four major forms of accountability (answerability, blameworthiness, liability and attributability) and focusing on the ethical strategies developed in response to each of these forms

Generation Z will be the leading consumer group in the future. Using convenience stores, the study provides an in-depth analysis on Gen Z’s current experience and future expectations from retail stores. The study further highlights the differences between Gen Z’s perception of convenience stores across three different regions – the USA, South Korea and Japan.

This study conducted a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 Gen Z participants from the USA (12), South Korea (11) and Japan (13). All interviews were first coded based on a preselected list of themes and were further coded with new themes that emerged from exploratory coding.

Each regional cohort varied in terms of how they experienced and what they expected from convenience stores. US participants showed negative or utilitarian attitudes toward convenience stores, whereas South Korean participants had a positive, personal attachment to them. In comparison, Japanese participants had a relatively neutral attitude. However, all three groups showed a common preference for smart technology and health concerns surrounding convenience store foods.

Convenience store chains should consider the cultural nuances when designing future services. The chains should further strive to remove the health concerns about the foods provided at the stores and design smart technologies that enhance user experience.

The present study broadens the knowledge in this budding consumer segment where current research is limited. It further sheds light on the variance among Gen Zers across different cultural contexts.