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1 – 6 of 6Luiz Henrique Alonso de Andrade and Elias Pekkola
This research addresses the professional logics of street-level managers (SLMs) and bureaucrats (SLBs) working in the Brazilian National Social Security Agency (INSS) through…
Abstract
Purpose
This research addresses the professional logics of street-level managers (SLMs) and bureaucrats (SLBs) working in the Brazilian National Social Security Agency (INSS) through their perceptions of distributive justice and discretion. Since SLMs have the authority to influence SLBs' actions, we investigate whether these two groups hold similar viewpoints.
Design/methodology/approach
We integrate the administrative data and survey responses (n = 678) with earlier thematic content analysis (n = 350) in three stages: mean-testing, regression analyses and complementary qualitative analysis, integrated through a mixed-methods matrix.
Findings
Whilst no significant differences emerge in distributive justice ideas between groups, SLMs demand wider benefit-granting discretion, praising professionalism whilst adopting managerial posture and jargon.
Research limitations/implications
The study adds to the theoretical discussions concerning SLM’s influence on SLB’s decision-making, suggesting that other factors outweigh it. The finding concerning the managers’ demand for wider discretion asks for further in-depth approaches.
Practical implications
Findings supply valuable insights for policymakers and managers steering administrative reforms, by questioning whether some roles SLMs play are limited to symbolic levels. Further, SLBs’ heterogenous formations might be more relevant to policy divergence than managerial influence and perhaps an underutilised source of innovation.
Originality/value
By approaching street-level management professional logics within a Global South welfare state through a mixed-methods approach, this study offers a holistic understanding of complex dynamics, providing novel insights for public sector management.
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Jason Martin, Per-Erik Ellström, Andreas Wallo and Mattias Elg
This paper aims to further our understanding of policy–practice gaps in organizations from an organizational learning perspective. The authors conceptualize and analyze…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to further our understanding of policy–practice gaps in organizations from an organizational learning perspective. The authors conceptualize and analyze policy–practice gaps in terms of what they label the dual challenge of organizational learning, i.e. the organizational tasks of both adapting ongoing practices to prescribed policy demands and adapting the policy itself to the needs of practice. Specifically, the authors address how this dual challenge can be understood in terms of organizational learning and how an organization can be managed to successfully resolve the dual learning challenge and, thereby, bridge policy–practice gaps in organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on existing literature to explore the gap between policy and practice. Through a synthesis of theories and an illustrative practical example, this paper highlights key conceptual underpinnings.
Findings
In the analysis of the dual challenge of organizational learning, this study provides a conceptual framework that emphasizes the important role of tensions and contradictions between policy and practice and their role as drivers of organizational learning. To bridge policy–practice gaps in organizations, this paper proposes five key principles that aim to resolve the dual challenge and accommodate both deployment and discovery in organizations.
Research limitations/implications
Because this is a conceptual study, empirical research is called for to explore further and test the findings and conclusions of the study. Several avenues of possible future research are proposed.
Originality/value
This paper primarily contributes by introducing and elaborating on a conceptual framework that offers novel perspectives on the dual challenges of facilitating both discovery and deployment processes within organizations.
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Chang Yang, Yuanjie Bao and Zixu Zhang
Based on person-job fit and self-determination theory, this paper examined the effects of (in)congruence between autonomy expectation and perceived autonomy on proactive…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on person-job fit and self-determination theory, this paper examined the effects of (in)congruence between autonomy expectation and perceived autonomy on proactive behaviour, and the moderating role of humble leadership in this relationship among Chinese public employees.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a two-wave survey, and the research model was tested using polynomial regression and response surface methodology.
Findings
Results suggested that employees' proactive behaviour will be highest when autonomy congruence was achieved, while autonomy incongruence led to different levels of proactive behaviour based on the specific situations. Furthermore, the moderating effect of humble leadership was proved such that it accentuated the positive influence of autonomy congruence on proactive behaviour.
Practical implications
Managers should be fully aware of the benefits and importance of person-job fit and strive to reduce autonomy incongruence. Meanwhile, humble leadership should be considered in the context of granting autonomy to boost proactivity.
Originality/value
This paper re-emphasises the importance of autonomy by utilising a congruence perspective to understand the effects of autonomy on proactive behaviour. Meanwhile, it incorporates an important boundary condition, humble leadership, on the effects of autonomy congruence and thus offers a more nuanced understanding. Further, this paper not only highlights the significance of underexplored concepts among public employees, but also extends autonomy (in)congruence study to a new context and culture.
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Mohamed Mousa, Rami Ayoubi and Vesa Puhakka
This paper aims to answer the question: To what extent should neurodiverse students experience improved access to public universities in Egypt and why?
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to answer the question: To what extent should neurodiverse students experience improved access to public universities in Egypt and why?
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic qualitative research method was used with data collected through semi-structured interviews with 44 educators in four universities in Egypt. A thematic approach was implemented to analyze the collected data.
Findings
The addressed educators believe that greater representation of neurodiverse students in their schools should be a priority for the following four reasons: first, neurodiverse students represent a promising new market segment schools could benefit from; second, recruiting more neurodiverse students represents a chance for schools and faculties to prove the social role they can undertake; third, schools can benefit from the unique skills many neurodiverse students have, particularly in mathematical and computational skills; and fourth, the greater the representation of neurodiverse students, the more research projects and funding opportunities educators can obtain.
Originality/value
This paper contributes by filling a gap in diversity management, higher education and human resources management in which empirical studies on the representation of neurodiverse individuals in public universities have been limited so far.
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Nurshahirah Abd Majid, Mohd Mohid Rahmat and Kamran Ahmed
This study aims to examine the ability of independent directors to discipline related-party transactions (RPTs) among listed companies in Malaysia. Firms typically appoint…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the ability of independent directors to discipline related-party transactions (RPTs) among listed companies in Malaysia. Firms typically appoint independent directors individually, not as a group. However, board members are commonly viewed collectively as a group, and evidence of the abilities of individual directors is scarce.
Design/methodology/approach
The attributes of individual independent directors include accounting literacy, length of service, audit committee membership and active participation in board and audit committee meetings. The unit of analysis is the individual independent director. The final sample consists of 1,552 observations in 2017, and RPTs are categorized as either efficient or conflicting.
Findings
The study finds that the tenure of individual independent directors and active participation in board meetings affect the firm’s engagement in RPTs. However, the financial literacy, audit committee membership and attendance of independent directors at audit committee meetings do not affect the firm’s engagement in RPTs, either efficient or conflicting. Overall, this result offers limited support for the upper-echelon theory concerning the attributes of individual independent directors and RPTs.
Research limitations/implications
This study uses cross-sectional observations for 2017, which predates the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study ignores the impact of restrictions in community mobility during the pandemic on the independent director’s ability to monitor the corporation. This circumstance may have implications for practice and merit further research.
Practical implications
The findings provide information for board nominating committees, regulators and policymakers that the capability of individual independent directors to fulfill their responsibilities is limited. The firm’s nominating committee must be very selective in nominating and appointing independent directors with appropriate competencies. Investors should choose companies that have reappointed the same independent directors for an extended period, as they may benefit from the experience in protecting investors’ interests.
Originality/value
This paper contributes novel evidence to upper-echelon theory literature on the association between independent directors and RPT types from the perspective of individual independent directors.
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Sigrid Betzelt, Ingo Bode and Sarina Parschick
Regarding how the public regulation of human services is perceived within welfare organizations and how the latter cope with it, the role of emotions (as mediators between…
Abstract
Purpose
Regarding how the public regulation of human services is perceived within welfare organizations and how the latter cope with it, the role of emotions (as mediators between structure and agency) proves highly relevant while often being hidden beneath the surface. This article shows how a specific approach to such regulation – here: managerialism – may impact on “emotional regimes” at the organizational and individual level, affecting the attainment of organizational goals and workers' health.
Design/methodology/approach
The article primarily draws on multiple qualitative case studies across two welfare sectors (four organizations) in Germany (continuing education/active inclusion; long-term care). The study research was conducted between 2020 and 2022 and based on 36 interviews with caseworkers and managers, focus group interviews and expert dialogues at industry level.
Findings
The results suggest that the managerialist regulation of welfare services breeds complex and ambiguous emotional regimes. Business-like management techniques elicit various emotions, affecting the motivational basis of human service work. While the experience of hard challenges may raise positive feelings, coping patterns often put strain on organizations and staff alike. In the short run, related emotional regimes tend to make service delivery proceed smoothly, yet in the long run they may have corrosive effects and problematic repercussions on macro-level developments.
Originality/value
The study highlights the role of emotions in publicly regulated human service settings by intermingling macro- and micro-level processes and thereby broadens the perspective of welfare state research as it reveals the impact of (managerialist) regulation on the dynamic organizational chemistry of such settings.
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