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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 1 May 1993

Ronald McGill

In January 1989, the Overseas Development Administration (ODA)started a three‐year, institution‐building project for Malawi′s threecity councils. Discusses how it became apparent…

Abstract

In January 1989, the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) started a three‐year, institution‐building project for Malawi′s three city councils. Discusses how it became apparent in Lilongwe that the project′s traditional notions of institution building were limited, and how its concern was for financial and general efficiency, while its environment – the city – was ignored. Examines how the project was, therefore, reinterpreted, and the need was seen to develop strong urban management leadership in the context of a dynamic environment. The process of managing city building, therefore, became central to the council′s institutional capacity. The justification centred on the belief that just because a council may be in financial surplus is no guarantee that it is performing the services or providing the infrastructure which people need. Therefore, institution building could not ignore the environment (the city) in which the institution operated.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1968

Outside the four constituent polytechnic colleges, further education in Liverpool is catered for by some 10 assorted colleges — and one of the few 1944 day‐continuation colleges…

Abstract

Outside the four constituent polytechnic colleges, further education in Liverpool is catered for by some 10 assorted colleges — and one of the few 1944 day‐continuation colleges in the country. Of these, the City Institute is probably the most revered in the history of North‐Western education — but not typical of the pattern. For our purposes three colleges were chosen: the Nautical Catering College, the College of Crafts and Catering, and Riversdale Technical College. Each one being, if not monotechnic, then certainly heavily weighted towards a specific discipline. Two, the Nautical Catering College and Riversdale, reflected the other side of Liverpool's commercial coin — the sea. The Catering College, in the most proper way, was as Scouse as Fritz Spiegle and part of, yet removed from the city.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 10 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2023

Nur Azliani Haniza Che Pak, Suhaiza Ismail and Norhayati Mohd Alwi

The purpose of this paper is to help better understand the translation process of the management control system (MCS) of privatised solid waste management (SWM) towards creating a…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to help better understand the translation process of the management control system (MCS) of privatised solid waste management (SWM) towards creating a stable network.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the actor network theory (ANT), the case of a privatised SWM was studied. Data were collected from all entities involved in the privatisation process of SWM, which include Department A, Corporation X and the private sector concessionaire. Six documents were reviewed, 20 interviews were conducted and two observations were carried out.

Findings

The findings reveal that the control mechanism of SWM is complex, involving the interaction between human and non-human actors. Non-human actors include the key performance indicators (KPIs) and the concessionaire agreement (CA), which are the main control mechanisms towards creating a stable SWM network. Essentially, stability is achieved when the KPIs and CA can influence the activities of both intra- and inter-organisational relationships.

Originality/value

This paper provides a better understanding of the translation process of the MCS that adds to the stability of the network of a privatised SWM from the lens of the ANT.

Details

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1832-5912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 July 2020

Abdullahi Ahmed Umar, Noor Amila Wan Abdullah Zawawi and Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz

The purpose of this study is to explore the skills required by regulatory agencies for effective governance of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts from the perspective of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the skills required by regulatory agencies for effective governance of public-private partnership (PPP) contracts from the perspective of Malaysian regulators. There is a growing literature indicating that there is poor public sector expertise in managing PPP projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study, being an exploratory one, relied on a questionnaire survey of the Malaysian PPP unit (UKAS) and five Malaysian regulatory agencies responsible for regulating service delivery across a number of sectors.

Findings

The results of the exploratory factor analysis returned six factor groupings, indicating that the most important skills are procurement, auditing and forensic accounting, lifecycle costing, sector-specific, negotiation analysis and performance management. It was also found that academic qualifications, profession, years of experience and the regulatory agency had no mediating effect on the rankings.

Practical implications

The findings show that infrastructure regulation training programs should be tailored to reflect regional and country-specific characteristics. This is because a similar study with a globalised set of respondents gave a different result from the current study.

Originality/value

There is a growing trend towards remunicipalisations and contract cancellations globally. This is the very outcome that regulatory agencies were created to prevent. Studies including government reports are increasingly pointing in the direction of poor skills set among public sector staff managing PPPs. This lack of capacity has resulted in poor oversight, which now threatens the sustainability of service provision.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 November 2011

Florence Yean Yng Ling and Wee Tat Ng

Singapore's land transportation is governed by a comprehensive set of rules, regulations, operations and systems to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. The Land Transport…

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Abstract

Purpose

Singapore's land transportation is governed by a comprehensive set of rules, regulations, operations and systems to ensure its effectiveness and efficiency. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is the main agency in charge of road operations. Despite the LTA's best efforts, road related problems still surface every now and then. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how to boost the performance of existing road infrastructure. Using Singapore as a case, the specific research objectives are to: ascertain motorists’ level of satisfaction with the road infrastructure; find out problems faced by motorists when using the road infrastructure; determine factors affecting motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure; and design and test a model to predict motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was conducted on motorists. Through a combination of convenience sampling and snowball sampling, a total of 53 responses were collected. After the survey, interviews were conducted with subject matter experts to understand the current practices and possible solutions to the problems.

Findings

The most significant problem is water ponding on roads. Traffic redirection due to road works and coordination among government agencies in road opening works also did not achieve significantly good ratings. Two practices are found to directly give rise to higher satisfaction with the road infrastructure: road cleanliness; and efficiency in traffic redirection arising from road works.

Research limitations/implications

Motorists were asked to rate on a ten‐point scale. This may give rise to bias because satisfaction and performance are subjective and not easily quantified.

Practical implications

Motorists’ satisfaction level with the road infrastructure is dependent on cleanliness of roads and efficiency of traffic diversion when there are road works. The implication is that the government should arrange for roads to be regularly cleaned and at the same time educate the public to keep roads clean and enforce laws against those who litter. The time for traffic diversion should be minimized by increasing productivity of road works, so that these can be completed quickly.

Originality/value

The road network is a valuable infrastructural asset of a country. Due to its large scale and complexity, managing road operations is no easy feat. Even though Singapore has a comprehensive set of procedures, rules and regulations to manage this asset, problems and complaints continue to surface. This study has identified the major problems plaguing Singapore's road infrastructure. Furthermore, a model to predict motorists’ satisfaction with the road infrastructure was successfully developed and tested. With this knowledge in mind, the LTA can focus on improving these factors to boost performance of road infrastructure through road maintenance and road works.

Details

Built Environment Project and Asset Management, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-124X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 14 February 2008

Leslie Kern and Gerda R. Wekerle

In the post-industrial economies of large urban centers, redevelopment has become the primary engine of economic growth. Redevelopment projects are designed to encourage…

Abstract

In the post-industrial economies of large urban centers, redevelopment has become the primary engine of economic growth. Redevelopment projects are designed to encourage investment, attract tourism and bring new residents to the city. This form of city building is driven by a neoliberal urban agenda that embraces privatization, and is controlled by the economic interests of private business. In this chapter, we argue that city building under a neoliberal rubric is also a gendered political process, the outcome of which is the redevelopment of urban space in ways that reflect a masculinist and corporatist view of city life. Moreover, both the form of redevelopment and the process itself function to limit public participation in the life and growth of cities, particularly for women and other marginalized groups. In the first section of this chapter, Gendered spaces of redevelopment, we examine how the results of such a process are made manifest in the built form of Canada's largest city, Toronto, with a population of 2.5 million. The city is experiencing a major process of redevelopment and city building that is evident in a massive wave of condominium construction. We suggest that condominium projects, as a particular form of redevelopment, create privatized spaces and encourage privatized services that articulate neatly with a neoliberal urban agenda.

Details

Gender in an Urban World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1477-5

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1999

James Kelly

Exeter is currently the location for two major projects to improve people's involvement in the services they receive and develop civic awareness, promote liaison between the…

Abstract

Exeter is currently the location for two major projects to improve people's involvement in the services they receive and develop civic awareness, promote liaison between the different agencies involved in public services, and carry out fundamental service reviews to produce services people want at a price they want to pay. This article reviews the Best Value Project which involves four principal public agencies in the city. The project has promoted widespread public consultation and the first six radical service reviews are under way. The Better Government for Older People Project has specifically aimed to improve older people's ability to take part in consultation, via a Visioning Day and the setting up of two focus groups to review transport for older people in the city and ways to improve communication with older people by public agencies.

Details

Journal of Integrated Care, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1476-9018

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2017

Piyapong Janmaimool

Waste management behaviours (WMBs) play an important role in minimising metropolitan solid waste generation and reducing the environmental impacts caused by waste disposal. The…

2120

Abstract

Purpose

Waste management behaviours (WMBs) play an important role in minimising metropolitan solid waste generation and reducing the environmental impacts caused by waste disposal. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of social norms, organisational norms and personal norms in explaining individuals’ engagement in WMBs, which include waste avoidance, green purchasing, reusing and recycling and waste disposal.

Design/methodology/approach

The metropolitan city of Bangkok, Thailand was selected as a case study – it faces waste management problems caused by a massive increase in waste over the past decade. This study distributed questionnaires to 193 public and private officers residing in the city of Bangkok. Path analyses and a multiple regression analysis were performed to test the effect of each norm and the association of various norms on individuals’ engagement in WMBs.

Findings

The results revealed that organisational norms had the strongest effect (both direct and indirect) on WMBs. Personal norms also had a direct effect on WMBs. In contrast, social norms did not directly influence WMBs; however, they did have an indirect effect on WMBs through organisational norms.

Practical implications

This study suggests that the role of organisational norms should be heavily emphasised in promoting the WMBs of public and private officers.

Originality/value

This study found that the role of organisational norms is the most significant factor influencing WMBs in workplaces. In addition, both provincial and subjective environmental norms in organisations significantly affect WMBs. They should be enhanced in order to promote WMBs in organisations.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 May 2013

Gerald Caiden

Official corruption has always plagued the conduct of public affairs and taxed every generation to keep it within reasonable bounds. Concerned governments have tried to apply…

Abstract

Purpose

Official corruption has always plagued the conduct of public affairs and taxed every generation to keep it within reasonable bounds. Concerned governments have tried to apply whatever available remedies came to hand with varying success. Yet whenever one of corruption's many manifestations seemed to diminish, so another would demand attention. Combating it was and remains a tireless affair requiring continual vigilance and experimentation. This paper seeks to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper studies the history of official corruption and efforts to combat it.

Findings

This checkered history of anti‐corruption efforts shows how the repertoire of techniques expands and how the corrupt evade their application. This everlasting battle of wits depends much on how seriously people and governments take the challenge of corruption, the nature of how public power is exercised, the triumph in governance of self‐interest over the general public interest, the level of personal integrity particularly at the apex of society, and fortune in selection of right targets. Nothing succeeds like success which, given institutional and human weaknesses in local cultures, is so difficult to achieve.

Originality/value

The paper provides an original study of the history of official corruption, efforts to fight it and the problems that are encountered.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Abstract

Subject Area

Marketing Management, Consumer Behavior.

Study Level

This case is suitable to be used in advanced undergraduate and MBA/MSc level.

Case Overview

This case illustrates the challenges related to creating awareness toward green environment in Malaysia. It revolves around the issues pertaining food losses and waste along the supply chain from farms to table. Food losses and waste are of the important manifestations of the inefficiencies that plague our food systems. Statistics by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that around 1.3 billion tons of food is lost and wasted every year in the world. In Malaysia, the estimated food loss is around 400,000 tons in 2015 and is increasing every year. The amount of food loss could feed around 370,000 people in a year. It is recognized that household and individual behaviors have a great impact on the environment. The individual and household behavior contributed to ecological imbalance. Personal consumption and behavior create large-scale problems such as climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and natural resources depletion. Green behavior relates to activities that minimizes harm to the environment. These include minimizing energy use, utilizing efficient technologies, and reducing food waste and food loss. There is increasing policy interest on managing green behavior to ensure sustainable living and environment in Malaysia. Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MOA) aims to embark a Green Initiative that focuses on the management of food loss and food waste. The Minister has directed The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) to lead the project. The Director General of MARDI requested Dr Ain Hanim, the director of Corporate Communication Centre to come out with a proposal. This proposal will be discussed at the management meeting at the middle of March, so that the Director General could present it at the Ministry’s management meeting. Taking account the whole picture, Dr Ain Hanim is now contemplating whether to propose a strategic planning that focuses on either (1) to run nationwide awareness campaign on food loss and waste (FLW), (2) to conduct impactful studies on current Malaysian Save Food (MYSaveFood) awareness campaign, or (3) to implement new policies on reducing FLW, food rescue, and food safety. Different strategy requires different amount of budget and also creates different level of impacts. She is in dilemma on which options should be the best for Malaysia.

Expected Learning Outcomes

The objective of this case is as follows:

  • to introduce students about the MySaveFood awareness programs in order to develop their understanding about the need for saving foods;

  • to expose students to the green concepts such as food loss and food waste; and

  • to train students on identifying factors and strategies that can lead to find a solution in regard to implement green activities.

to introduce students about the MySaveFood awareness programs in order to develop their understanding about the need for saving foods;

to expose students to the green concepts such as food loss and food waste; and

to train students on identifying factors and strategies that can lead to find a solution in regard to implement green activities.

Details

Green Behavior and Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-684-2

Keywords

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