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1 – 10 of over 4000Nor Ezatie Mukminah Muhammad Zamri, Mahazril ‘Aini Yaacob and Norazah Mohd Suki
The purpose of this study is to examine the key factors that influence the housing preferences of young civil servants in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the key factors that influence the housing preferences of young civil servants in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 400 respondents who fulfilled the eligibility criteria of civil servant working in Malaysia aged between 20 and 40 years, and currently renting a house, or staying with friends, immediate family or relatives. Data were analysed via exploratory factor analysis and Pearson correlation.
Findings
The results reveal that financial capability is the factor that most strongly influences the housing preferences of young civil servants, followed by neighbourhood and location. Young civil servants are highly inclined to consider the monthly repayment amount as the most important issue when deciding to buy a house. Furthermore, they prefer to buy a house in a neighbourhood that ensures high security and protection against crime.
Practical implications
Housing developers should develop affordable housing in suitable neighbourhoods and locations to match homebuyers’ preferences to avoid a mismatch between housing demand and supply, which is obviously one of the greater risks of unsold homes.
Originality/value
Given the lack of focus on this precise research sample (i.e. young civil servants), the study is justified in terms of its originality, as it examines a specific cohort by focussing on the correlations of location, financial capability and neighbourhood with housing preferences of young civil servants in Malaysia. These insights are invaluable, as this group has not been the specific focus of research.
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The purpose of this monograph is to present the first English translation of a unique French colonial report on women living under colonial rule in West Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this monograph is to present the first English translation of a unique French colonial report on women living under colonial rule in West Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The issue begins with a discussion of the contribution this report makes to the history of social development policy in Africa, and how it serves the on‐going critique of colonisation. This is followed by the English translation of the original report held in the National Archives of Senegal. The translation is accompanied by explanatory notes, translator’s comments, a glossary of African and technical terms, and a bibliography.
Findings
The discussion highlights contemporary social development policies and practices which featured in identical or similar forms in French colonial social policy.
Practical implications
As the report demonstrates, access to basic education and improving maternal/infant health care have dominated the social development agenda for women in sub‐Saharan Africa for over a century, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future in the Millennium Development Goals which define the international community’s agenda for social development to 2015. The parallels between colonial and post‐colonial social policies in Africa raise questions about the philosophical and cultural foundations of contemporary social development policy in Africa and the direction policy is following in the 21st century.
Originality/value
Though the discussion adopts a consciously postcolonial perspective, the report that follows presents a consciously colonial view of the “Other”. Given the parallels identified here between contemporary and colonial policy‐making, this can only add to the value of the document in exploring the values that underpin contemporary social development practice.
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Abd Hair Awang, Maslinda Haron, Iskandar Zainuddin Rela and Suhana Saad
Creativity is the core of digital knowledge-based economic growth and competitiveness. Given the fact that public service is a major contributor to the country's governance…
Abstract
Purpose
Creativity is the core of digital knowledge-based economic growth and competitiveness. Given the fact that public service is a major contributor to the country's governance system, creativity among civil servants should be enhanced. Effective leadership in public services is necessary to nurture the creativity of high-quality public services. This study aims to examine the effects of transformational leadership on civil servant's creativity.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted in six selected public service agencies. A total of 214 questionnaires were distributed to civil servant offices, only 82.2 percent (176 questionnaires) were returned. Data were tested using SMART PLS to determine whether the four transformational leadership dimensions, namely, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, individual consideration, and inspirational motivation, exhibit a significant effect on creativity of civil servant officers.
Findings
Findings showed positive effects of the four transformational leadership dimensions on the civil servant's creativity.
Research limitations/implications
With small sample size, this study can still be expanded to all available public services sector in urban and rural area to gain a wider perspective.
Practical implications
This study presents strong managerial implications that can be used by public service to evaluate the consequence of transformational leadership on the creativity of employees, particularly the young civil servants. Through transformational leadership style, public service leaders can foster and improve young civil servants' creativity and share knowledge to achieve high performance.
Originality/value
With genuine verified measurement of transformative leadership and public sector creativity, the path correlation analysis shows that intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, individual consideration, and inspirational motivation have significant direct effects on creativity of the civil servant.
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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between trade unions and young workers in the UK using the Young Members’ Network of the Public and Commercial Services…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between trade unions and young workers in the UK using the Young Members’ Network of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach
Findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 20 full-time officials and 39 lay officials of all ages, the collection and analysis of primary documents and observations at a range of union meetings.
Findings
It is argued that PCS has developed a strong network of young activists and is leading the way in terms of engaging with and representing young workers. However, its success in the future may be limited due to changes to the external environment in which the union is trying to organise.
Research limitations/implications
The research highlights the role of an under researched area of trade union membership. To provide additional insights, further research is needed into the practice of other unions.
Originality/value
This paper provides significant qualitative analysis into this issue which complements the existing quantitative research in this area.
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This paper aims to give an overview of the public management process in France and tries to explain why it is specific as compared to other countries.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to give an overview of the public management process in France and tries to explain why it is specific as compared to other countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based upon a sociological and comparative methodology. It reports the empirical findings of a European survey.
Findings
Management reforms in France are fragmented and do not fit in a general doctrine or a new philosophy of the state. The French managerial reform style is due to the domestication of management tools by Napoleonic structures. Nevertheless, management innovations are used in order to draw new frontiers within public administration between what is the centre and what is the periphery.
Research limitations/implications
The methodology as well as the findings of the paper could be used for a more systematic comparative work in order to understand why and how public management tools fit in national political as well as professional traditions. There is scope for connecting public management research with broader historical and sociological studies of public administration.
Originality/value
The paper shows that both political values and work practices have to be taken into account in order to understand why public sector management reforms are easier in some countries even within the Napoleonic tradition.
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Abdulrazaq Kayode Abdulkareem, Abdulrasaq Ajadi Ishola, Muhammed Lawan Bello and Abdulhakeem Adejumo
This study aims to investigate the effects of digital overload on job autonomy and job satisfaction among civil servants in the Nigerian public sector using the job…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of digital overload on job autonomy and job satisfaction among civil servants in the Nigerian public sector using the job demand–resources model.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted among mid-career and senior-level officers in five federal ministries in Nigeria. The collected data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling partial least squares to test the research hypotheses and necessary condition analysis to assess the necessary conditions for high satisfaction among civil servants.
Findings
The study reveals that the use of information and communication technology (ICT) has a significant positive impact on digital overload. Furthermore, digital overload has a significant negative effect on job autonomy and adversely affects job satisfaction. Additionally, job autonomy partially mediates the relationship between digital overload and job satisfaction. Job autonomy and ICT use were found to be necessary conditions for high satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The study acknowledges certain limitations, such as the focus on civil servants in federal ministries in Nigeria and the reliance on self-reported data.
Practical implications
The findings of this study have practical implications for policymakers in the Nigerian civil service. They highlight the importance of reducing digital overload and promoting job autonomy to enhance job satisfaction, as well as to improve the overall performance and efficiency of the public sector.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the detrimental effects of digital overload on civil servants’ job autonomy and satisfaction in the Nigerian public sector. It explores a relatively unexplored aspect of digitalization and emphasizes the need to address the negative implications of digital overload. Additionally, it examines the necessary conditions for high satisfaction among civil servants.
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Saodah Wok and Junaidah Hashim
This paper seeks to examine the perception of young employees on working relationships satisfaction with communicative teamwork, mutual learning, participative decision making…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to examine the perception of young employees on working relationships satisfaction with communicative teamwork, mutual learning, participative decision making, and communicating feedback of the older employees in higher learning institutions in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
A specially‐constructed questionnaire was developed for data collection. A total of 575 employees in five Malaysian universities in the Klang Valley participated in the study.
Finding
Young employees have positive teamwork relationships with the older employees. They learned a lot from the older employees as the older employees are helpful in sharing their experiences in decision making. At the same time, the young employees receive positive feedback from the older employees. However, the older employees hardly compliment the young employees for their achievements.
Research limitations/implications
The current findings provide implications for future organisational and intergenerational research since most communication investigations are Western‐biased.
Practical implications
The findings can help both the older and the young employees have a better understanding of communication at workplace. Each generation is shaped by its experiences, which brings a variety of strengths to the workforce.
Originality/value
This study is unique because it examines an important issue which very little study has been conducted on the issue; the intergenerational communication in organisational setting in Asian perspectives.
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Julian Randall and Stephen Procter
Imposed change at work can present individuals with ambiguous events about which they experience ambivalence in their interpretation of meaning. This paper seeks to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
Imposed change at work can present individuals with ambiguous events about which they experience ambivalence in their interpretation of meaning. This paper seeks to examine the dimensions of ambivalence as defined by Piderit among a group of managers in the public sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a group of 20 Band 11 senior managers responsible for collecting tax and between them covering the UK in a business restructured into a large business group. The authors adopted a qualitative approach involving semi‐structured interviews seeking to uncover individual accounts of imposed change, allowing subjects to reflect on their experience of change and its meaning to them.
Findings
The findings suggested that long‐service civil servants and private sector managers draw on their previous experience to interpret the changes they experience, giving rise to different perceived ambiguity between rhetoric and reality. Each group either comes to terms with ambiguity by interpreting the meaning of change to fit in with their expectancies of change, or, in one case, do not reconcile the change which then becomes a point of resistance.
Practical implications
The case highlights the need for change agents to understand the full complexity of employee attitudes. Not only can a variety of attitudes be identified, but each set of responses can be understood in variety of ways.
Originality/value
The devil in the detail of imposed change offers both researchers and managers of change a significant source of information about likely individual and group responses to imposed change at work. Piderit's framework offers three dimensions of ambivalence which clarify different individual responses to imposed change.
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Comprises a speech given by Sir Robin Butler, Secretary to the Cabinet and head of the Home Civil Service, at a conference held in London in November 1995 to celebrate the…
Abstract
Comprises a speech given by Sir Robin Butler, Secretary to the Cabinet and head of the Home Civil Service, at a conference held in London in November 1995 to celebrate the twenty‐fifth anniversary of the Civil Service College. Draws from the speaker’s own experiences of working in the Civil Service and details the changes leading to the opening of the college in 1970, which provides high quality training and consultancy in management and policy issues, and has gained international recognition. Considers the main themes of the reforms in the management of the Civil Service, not just in the UK, but also in the USA and New Zealand, and highlights the Civil Service’s emphasis on well‐trained, knowledgeable and professional staff.
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This chapter has two major objectives. It discusses the political leadership in Thailand in terms of historical development and examines the role adaptation of Thai elites in…
Abstract
This chapter has two major objectives. It discusses the political leadership in Thailand in terms of historical development and examines the role adaptation of Thai elites in order to respond to different demands from various sectors in the society. The chapter concludes that political leaders have to adjust their roles to cope and to survive. Apart from the old bureaucratic elites, both military and civil, there are also some other stakeholders who have become stronger over time, making more demands on political leaders (and, consequently, on the state apparatus). In reaction to these stakeholders, political leaders have used public administration reforms and initiated public policies to gain more capacity to lead.
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