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Book part
Publication date: 28 June 2016

Jan van Helden and Christoph Reichard

An examination of the commonalities and differences between performance management practices in the public and private sector.

Abstract

Purpose

An examination of the commonalities and differences between performance management practices in the public and private sector.

Methodology/approach

A literature review of 100 publications in international academic journals over the last 20 years.

Findings

The chapter develops a framework which links the dimensions of the public/private-distinction (ownership, funding, control and type of goals) to the design and use of performance management systems (PMS). This framework subsequently informs a literature review, which can be summarised as follows: Multi-dimensionality of the PMS is core in both public and private sector organisations, but quite many private sector papers point to a financial focus at the top of the PMS, while public sector organisations show a broad variety of performance indicators, including those on societally relevant goals. In addition, a link between the PMS and strategies can be found in the public and the private sector, but the match between different strategies and PMS design is more elaborated in the private sector. These findings are largely in accordance with our expectations. The review also finds support for the assumption that performance information in public sector organisations is primarily used for external accountability reasons, while internal managerial control is the main purpose in private firms. The use of performance information is quite intensive and mostly functional in both sectors, which does not meet our expectations. Overall, the differences between performance management practices in the public and private sector are less stringent than expected.

Research limitations

Due to limited evidence about the importance of performance-related pay systems and no evidence about targeting in both sectors, a more focused literature review on these issues would be desirable.

Practical implications

Mutual learning between both sectors, for example the public sector can learn from the private sector on how to link strategy to the PMS and the private sector can learn from the public sector about serving a multitude of stakeholders in the PMS.

Originality/value

A comprehensive review of performance management practices in the public and private sector.

Details

Performance Measurement and Management Control: Contemporary Issues
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-915-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2017

Swati Yeravdekar and Abhishek Behl

Management education has assumed phenomenal prominence in India in recent years, with branding being a prime factor used as a yardstick, rather a benchmark or point of reference…

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Abstract

Purpose

Management education has assumed phenomenal prominence in India in recent years, with branding being a prime factor used as a yardstick, rather a benchmark or point of reference, for one institution having an edge over the other. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors leading to branding of management education in India. It proposes two frameworks using Total Interpretive Structural Model (TISM) for public and private sector management colleges. For this purpose, variables are extracted using systematic literature review, which play a crucial role in changing the dynamics of college rankings. The inquiry distinctly examines the nature of relationship between them for public and private colleges offering higher education. The study further proposes strategies for improvement of rankings by discussing the hierarchy and interrelationship among the enablers.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) to ascertain the linkages between the variables, and employs TISM to validate the reasons of association. The model was fabricated by consulting the experts from various spheres closely allied to branding and higher education, including the private agencies and decision makers in the selected colleges. The variables were furthermore structured for classification using Matrice d’Impacts Croises-Multiplication Appliqué an Classment Analysis.

Findings

It was observed that the variables behave differently when studied from the perspective of private sector colleges and public sector colleges; the former have seven levels of arrangement while it is only four for the latter. Quality of Faculty and Research were the key areas of concern for private sector colleges while infrastructure featured as a focal point for those in public sector. It was also evident that the placement of variables and their flow were different. Rankings should thus be premeditated differently for both the sectors and different weights should be assigned to rank the colleges.

Research limitations/implications

The study is confined to branding of management education institutes in India, without considering other important disciplines for generalizing the framework. It is based on literature review followed by ISM, while other approaches such as ethnographic research methods and appreciative inquiry could have been possible alternatives as well.

Practical implications

The paper helps in developing different frameworks for private and public sector institutes, which would assist them to have a homogenous completion within their respective sectors. The study can be used to measure the performance of colleges on various parameters and gives them linking variables to enhance their productivity.

Originality/value

The paper discusses the need for developing a different barometer to measure the performance of private sector and public sector colleges offering higher education.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 24 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 June 2018

Victoria C. Edgar, Matthias Beck and Niamh M. Brennan

The UK private finance initiative (PFI) public policy is heavily criticised. PFI contracts are highly profitable leading to incentives for PFI private-sector companies to support…

5293

Abstract

Purpose

The UK private finance initiative (PFI) public policy is heavily criticised. PFI contracts are highly profitable leading to incentives for PFI private-sector companies to support PFI public policy. This contested nature of PFIs requires legitimation by PFI private-sector companies, by means of impression management, in terms of the attention to and framing of PFI in PFI private-sector company annual reports. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

PFI-related annual report narratives of three UK PFI private-sector companies, over seven years and across two periods of significant change in the development of the PFI public policy, are analysed using manual content analysis.

Findings

Results suggest that PFI private-sector companies use impression management to legitimise during periods of uncertainty for PFI public policy, to alleviate concerns, to provide credibility for the policy and to legitimise the private sector’s own involvement in PFI.

Research limitations/implications

While based on a sizeable database, the research is limited to the study of three PFI private-sector companies.

Originality/value

The portrayal of public policy in annual report narratives has not been subject to prior research. The research demonstrates how managers of PFI private-sector companies present PFI narratives in support of public policy direction that, in turn, benefits PFI private-sector companies.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2018

Jose Manuel Lasierra

Using selected personal and job-related variables, the purpose of this paper is to analyse job satisfaction among public sector senior managers and employees and then compare both…

Abstract

Purpose

Using selected personal and job-related variables, the purpose of this paper is to analyse job satisfaction among public sector senior managers and employees and then compare both cohorts with private-sector managers and employees.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors apply a General Linear Univariate Model with interactions that allows us to detect the influence of the independent variables based on the baseline reference value.

Findings

Results indicate that public employees differ considerably from employees in the private sector, while public sector managers’ behaviour and preferences are very similar to those of private-sector managers.

Research limitations/implications

One main conclusion is that the management function of senior managers is basically the same, whether they are in the public or private sectors, and, thus, private management techniques, such as new public management (NPM), can be applied to the public sector. The main shortcoming of the study is that a qualitative analysis does not allow us to observe the impact of ethical aspects that could guide value-oriented management.

Practical implications

Difficulties in management by public-sector managers may arise from public employees’ perceptions regarding the application of private management practices.

Social implications

High job-satisfaction ratings by public managers may indicate that, in spite of their lower wages compared to the private sector, there is no reason to conclude that a suboptimal staffing of public managers might occur that would jeopardise public services.

Originality/value

The authors are unaware of precedents that analyse differences between the public and private sectors in comparing employees and senior managers. Uniquely, the authors use a very large sample to draw conclusions. This paper can guide public senior managers who work in public administration.

Propósito

Se analiza la satisfacción laboral de los directivos y de los empleados públicos en contraposición a los directivos y empleados privados a partir de determinadas variables de tipo personal y laboral.

Metodología

Aplicación de un Modelo Lineal General Univariante con Interacciones que nos permiten ver la influencia de las variables independientes a partir del valor base de referencia.

Resultados

Los resultados señalan que los empleados públicos difieren notablemente de los empleados del sector privado mientras que los directivos públicos expresan comportamientos y preferencias muy similares a los directivos del sector privado.

Limitaciones/Implicaciones

La implicación general es que la gestión pública de los directivos no se diferencia mucho de la gestión privada por lo cual es susceptible de aplicar las técnicas de gestión privada como el New Public Management. La limitación fundamental es que el análisis cuantitativo no permite observar la incidencia de aspectos éticos susceptibles de orientar la gestión con valores.

Implicaciones prácticas

Las dificultades en la gestión de los directivos públicos pueden venir de la propia percepción que tienen los empleados públicos de la aplicación de prácticas de gestión privada.

Implicaciones Sociales

La elevada Satisfacción laboral de los directivos públicos señalaría que a pesar de que sus remuneraciones son inferiores a las del sector privado no tiene por qué producirse una dotación subóptima de gestores públicos que pudiera perjudicar los servicios públicos.

Originalidad y valor

No conocemos precedentes de analizar la diferencia entre los sectores público y privado al comparar empleados y directivos. Utilizamos una muestra elevada. El trabajo permite orientar la gestión pública de los directivos públicos.

Article
Publication date: 20 August 2018

Mohamed-Osman Shereif Mahdi Abaker, Omar Ahmad Khalid Al-Titi and Natheer Shawqi Al-Nasr

The purpose of this paper is to report empirical research conducted in Saudi Arabia on the impacts of organizational policies and practices on the diversity management of the…

2188

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to report empirical research conducted in Saudi Arabia on the impacts of organizational policies and practices on the diversity management of the Saudi private sector. To this end, the Saudization policy and views of key respondents have been tested and discussed.

Design/methodology/approach

Primary data were collected through questionnaire surveys from the largest 11 private sector organizations listed on the Saudi Stock Market in the financial/banking, oil and gas, petrochemical, private higher education and private health service sectors. Statistical tools such as means and standard deviations and one-sample t-tests were used for analysis.

Findings

The findings suggest that Saudization, retention, pay with benefits and health insurance policies significantly affect the diversity management in the Saudi private sector. Therefore, there is a need to develop organizational policies that support the existence of foreign employees for private businesses in Saudi Arabia. Considering differences as strengths that can be utilized to enhance performance, a diverse workforce might better be able to serve diverse markets.

Research limitations/implications

Collecting data from a closed environment such as Saudi Arabia is constrained by access difficulties, as well as inadequate literature on relevant diversity issues. However, the convenience sampling method and snowballing approach adopted in this study generated reliable data. As a result, this study has implications for both the multinational corporations operating in Saudi Arabia and Saudi owned companies operating in the West and intending to adopt and implement diversity management initiatives for branches in different countries. As such, further research on the gulf countries’ diversity management issues would be critical.

Originality/value

The current study is a first survey-based research endeavor on the topic of diversity management in the Saudi context. The findings contribute to the limited knowledge base on middle eastern countries, thus presenting new empirical evidence on the organizational policies and practices of Saudization, retention, pay and benefits and health insurance policies. The study of the Saudi case, thus adds value to the existing knowledge on diversity management.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 October 2013

Albert P.C. Chan and Ernest Effah Ameyaw

The past few years have seen some private sector involvement in urban and small-town water provision in Ghana, as the government strives to improve access to water supply services…

Abstract

Purpose

The past few years have seen some private sector involvement in urban and small-town water provision in Ghana, as the government strives to improve access to water supply services for its citizens in line with millennium development goals. Since 1995, both central and local governments have entered into various forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) contracts. The paper aims to examine challenges and investment needs of Ghanaian water supply sector that necessitated private sector involvement; trends, and factors that constrain the development and implementation of projects with private sector involvement in the sector.

Design/methodology/approach

A research approach integrating multi-stage critical review of relevant related literature and case studies is adopted in this paper. The study is further informed by the authors' experience in the sector and knowledge of PPPs. Analysis of data from different sources, using both approaches, provides both historical and contemporary approach to water management practice in Ghana.

Findings

The paper reveals that the Ghanaian water supply sector mirrors the classic challenges of public sector utilities in developing countries. Under-investment by government is the major cause of the ill-performance of the sector, necessitating private sector involvement. Management contract has emerged as a popular form of water supply PPP in Ghana. Further, optimal risk allocation has not been widely adopted in these contracts, and not yet been given much attention by practitioners and researchers in the literature of water management in Ghana.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful insights into the constraints of the water supply sector, development and implementation challenges of PPPs in the sector, and prompts a need for more research on risk allocation in water supply PPP contracts.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 11 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2017

Robert Osei-Kyei and Albert P.C. Chan

This paper aims to explore the perceptual differences on the factors that contribute to the successful management of public-private partnership (PPP) projects at the operational…

2379

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the perceptual differences on the factors that contribute to the successful management of public-private partnership (PPP) projects at the operational stage among stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

An international questionnaire survey was conducted with purposively sampled PPP experts from the private, public and academic sectors. Survey responses were analyzed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W), mean score ranking analysis, Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney U test.

Findings

The research findings show that each stakeholder group considers an efficient and well-structured payment mechanism as the most important operational management critical success factor (CSF). Moreover, the public sector considers open and constant communication among stakeholders as the second most important CSF, whereas the private and academic sectors consider effective operational risk management and well-structured legal dispute resolution mechanism, respectively. Further analysis using non-parametric tests (i.e. Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U statistics) reveal significant differences in the importance of three operational management CSFs – “open and constant communication among stakeholders”, “effective changes of shareholdings in private consortium” and “stable macroeconomic indicators”.

Research limitations/implications

The generalizability of the research findings is limited considering the low sample size and non-participation of users/general public in the study. Hence, it is recommended that future research should be conducted in a specific country using both face-to-face and email questionnaire distribution approaches. This would likely increase the response rate and facilitate the inclusion of the general public/users.

Originality/value

The results of this study highlight and provide significant insights into how different PPP stakeholders perceive the critical conditions that are required to ensure the operational efficiency of PPP projects. This would, therefore, enable a better cooperation and collective effort from all stakeholders towards achieving the overall project success. In addition, the study offers new and additional CSFs which would enhance the comprehensiveness of the existing list of CSFs for the general implementation of PPP projects.

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2000

Jonathan C. Morris

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and…

31480

Abstract

Looks at the 2000 Employment Research Unit Annual Conference held at the University of Cardiff in Wales on 6/7 September 2000. Spotlights the 76 or so presentations within and shows that these are in many, differing, areas across management research from: retail finance; precarious jobs and decisions; methodological lessons from feminism; call centre experience and disability discrimination. These and all points east and west are covered and laid out in a simple, abstract style, including, where applicable, references, endnotes and bibliography in an easy‐to‐follow manner. Summarizes each paper and also gives conclusions where needed, in a comfortable modern format.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 23 no. 9/10/11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

Wang Lan

As China is transforming from a planned economy a market‐oriented economy, private enterprise plays a prominent role in China's economy today. This paper introduces the status of…

4288

Abstract

As China is transforming from a planned economy a market‐oriented economy, private enterprise plays a prominent role in China's economy today. This paper introduces the status of private enterprise and focuses on its records management. By explaining the changes in China's policy towards the private sector, it deals mainly with practice in both archive administration and the records management of private companies. Government archives administration changed along with national policy from serving only the public sector to serving both public and private sectors evenly. For the private sector, archival consciousness is the key element in its fledging stage of records management. The paper also analyzes the characteristics of private companies that are different from state‐owned ones and the advantages and disadvantages of records management, and predicts some aspects of its development.

Details

Records Management Journal, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-5698

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2001

K.G.B. Bakewell

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18;…

18596

Abstract

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

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