Government publishing in microform in Canada: A survey

This issue of the column continues its survey of microform publishing by international and national agencies. Emphasis in this issue is placed on Canada and its rapidly developing programs for micropublishing. Mrs. Suzanne Dodson, Head of the Government Publications and Microforms Division at the University Library of the University of British Columbia provides an outstanding summary of various activities currently taking place in the various provinces as well as at the national government. We certainly are pleased to have Dodson as guest column editor for this issue.Although there are, indeed, many similarities between Canada and the United States regarding the development of microformatted material, some critical differences exist. Perhaps the most important one being the issue of copyright. In Canada, the existence of Crown Copyright means that the copyright to everything produced by the government automatically belongs to the government and government publications may not be reproduced without the government's permission. Thus, commercial publication of government documents has been somewhat restrained.Nonetheless, excellent commercial publications as well as national publications have been produced and are being developed. These are identified and described in detail by Dodson. Document librarians around the world will profit by a careful review of Dodson's commentary as a means to update their knowledge about micropublishing in Canada. Clearly, the Canadians are “on the move” and Dodson's excellent review suggests a number of ideas and innovations that are of value to anyone concerned with microformatted government publications.     

公众感知行政服务质量模型与评价研究——跨地区、跨公众群体的比较研究

本文在借鉴服务企业成熟的顾客公众感知质量测评研究成果的基础上,开发了公众感知行政服务质量的测评模型.数据分析结果表明,不同于私人企业和公共服务质量的测评,政府机关有独特的公众感知行政服务质量测评维度,分别是便利性、响应性、透明性、守法性、实效性和保证性.同时,本研究分别针对不同地区、不同部门、不同学历和不同调查地点的数据进行了比较研究,发现并分析了不同公众类型在感知行政服务质量方面所存在的差异.     

回收竞争下考虑CSR行为的闭环供应链定价决策及协调

研究考虑企业社会责任(CSR)行为的闭环供应链定价决策及协调问题,分别构建了单个第三方回收及两个第三方回收竞争下的闭环供应链博弈模型,分别从企业与消费者两个视角分析了CSR投入对供应链成员的定价策略及系统总收益的影响,并建立了基于“收益共享”与“回收成本共担”相结合的契约协调模型。研究表明,两个第三方回收商间的适度竞争不仅可以降低产品价格、提升废旧产品回收效率,同时对提高企业的CSR投入水平以及收益水平也起到积极的促进作用。最后,在契约参数的可行性范围内,“收益共享-成本共担”契约在使供应链总收益达到最大的同时,还成功改善了每个成员企业的收益。     

工程质量政府监督多层次利益分配与激励协同机制探究

The implementation of the government supervision of the quality of the project is an international practice. The basic form of government supervision of engineering quality is government supervision on the quality behavior of the engineering main bodies and its results by the competent government department entrusted. Its essence is a dual principal-agent process. The frequent accidents of the engineering quality reflect the loss and failure of the government law enforcement supervision of the engineering quality to some extent. Its root lies in the lack of endogenous power in the law enforcement supervision of the project quality government supervisors in the law enforcement supervision. Therefore, the incentive coordination mechanism of the government supervision based on the multi-level interest distribution is worth explored. In views of the multi-level management system which is formed by the government departments, government quality supervision organizations, quality supervision team (or group) for the government supervision of engineering quality. The benefit distribution function between every party is constructed, and the game model of the multi-level incentive and coordination for the government supervision in engineering quality is built. To solve and deduce from the first stage of the cooperative game and the second stage of the non-cooperative game, the cooperative game can obtain the reward coefficient: . The coordination degree of the best effort can be obtained by the non cooperative game. The result shows that:the coordination degree of government engineering quality supervisor is related to the coordination costs, and had nothing to do with fixed costs. The benefit distribution coefficient not only depends on the efforts of the quality government monitors, but also on the efficiency of other parties' efforts. The quality supervisors of the project will also focus on the coordination with other parties when enhancing their management capabilities to improve the overall performance of project quality government supervision. The strategy of the incentive coordination mechanism for the supervision and cooperation of the project quality government is:the government quality supervision team should set up the supervisory team properly, improve the coordination efficiency and reduce the cost of supervision-coordination to maximize the value of self-motivation. Quality supervision team (or group) should establish the partnership to improve the coordination efficiency for achieving the maximization of their own incentive value.The model and conclusion of incentive synergy mechanism based on multi-level benefit allocation mechanism are researched. It can provide theoretical support and practice reference for the market governance and supervision of general public goods.     

Assessing social vulnerability and identifying spatial hotspots of flood risk to inform socially just flood management policy

This study presents the first nationwide spatial assessment of flood risk to identify social vulnerability and flood exposure hotspots that support policies aimed at protecting high-risk populations and geographical regions of Canada. The study used a national-scale flood hazard dataset (pluvial, fluvial, and coastal) to estimate a 1-in-100-year flood exposure of all residential properties across 5721 census tracts. Residential flood exposure data were spatially integrated with a census-based multidimensional social vulnerability index (SoVI) that included demographic, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic indicators influencing vulnerability. Using Bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (BiLISA) cluster maps, the study identified geographic concentration of flood risk hotspots where high vulnerability coincided with high flood exposure. The results revealed considerable spatial variations in tract-level social vulnerability and flood exposure. Flood risk hotspots belonged to 410 census tracts, 21 census metropolitan areas, and eight provinces comprising about 1.7 million of the total population and 51% of half-a-million residential properties in Canada. Results identify populations and the geographic regions near the core and dense urban areas predominantly occupying those hotspots. Recognizing priority locations is critically important for government interventions and risk mitigation initiatives considering socio-physical aspects of vulnerability to flooding. Findings reinforce a better understanding of geographic flood-disadvantaged neighborhoods across Canada, where interventions are required to target preparedness, response, and recovery resources that foster socially just flood management strategies.     

The application of dynamic programming in United Kingdom companies

Dynamic Programming (or DP as it is commonly known) is a mathematical programming method which would appear to be a very powerful technique for use in management decision problems. A great number of theoretical texts have been written on the mathematics of DP and a few articles have been published on the more practical aspects, but DP has remained very much on the theoretical shelf as far as practising management has been concerned. This paper gives the results of a survey carried out at the beginning of 1972 and is intended to provide some insight into the use of DP in real management problems in U.K. companies and to show what sort of problems are apparently restricting its use. The findings demonstrate that several firms have used DP in various applications with considerable success. There are also some enlightening comments on the difficulties involved, and on the future potential of DP in industry.     

Effective Public Administration for a Mid-Sized Space Power: Comparison of Canada and the United States

The development of space technologies is tied to economic and national interests. Historically, space technology development has been dominated by government agencies. There are key difference between the public administration models implemented by Canada and the United States due to the vast differences in resources. Topics examined in this article include legislative acts, organizational structure, contractor relations, breadth of research, national prestige, policy setting, and the economic activity generated by public space programs. In contrast to the United States, Canada has emphasized development of industrial, rather than in-house, capabilities and has focused on developing niche expertise to achieve national objectives.     

服务质量管理研究的回顾与现状探析

服务经济时代,服务质量管理是服务运作和服务营销的重要研究问题之一。通过对服务质量形成机制、评价及管理三个领域文献的搜集与整理发现,此类研究可归纳为由两个条件和两部分内容组成的服务质量管理模型:Gronroos的顾客感知服务质量和PZB的五差距等差距模型反映了服务质量的核心形成机制,顾客特征及心理因素是其重要影响因素;SERVQUAL作为典型的服务质量测量表,常被与模糊数学、DEMATEL法综合运用于服务质量评价与改进;服务质量管理包括以服务接触相关要素管理为主的功能质量管理和以服务质量系统改进为主的技术质量管理。此外,网络环境下,服务质量具有特殊的形成机制,决定了其评价与管理的新特点。当前,在服务科学框架下进行服务质量管理研究渐成趋势,未来研究可结合网络特征和新兴服务业,关注服务质量动态特征及科学评价方法,展开行业或城市层面的服务质量管理研究。     

Just in time,total quality management,and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance

In recent years, numerous approaches have been proposed to improve operations performance. Three in particular, just in time, supply chain management, and quality management, have received considerable attention. While the three are sometimes viewed and implemented as if they were independent and distinct, they can also be used as three prongs of an integrated operations strategy. This study empirically examines the extent to which just in time, supply chain management, and quality management are correlated, and how they impact business performance. Results demonstrate that at both strategic and operational levels, linkages exist between how just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management are viewed by organizations as part of their operations strategy. Results also indicate that a commitment to quality and an understanding of supply chain dynamics have the greatest effect on performance.     

隐藏招标人偏好的政府工程多属性招投标分析

采用Harsanyi引入虚拟局中人的方法,将隐藏招标人偏好的政府工程多属性不完全博弈转换为一个完全但不完美信息博弈,在求出博弈模型的精炼贝叶斯纳什均衡解的基础上,分析招、投标双方的博弈策略。结果发现：投标人是否参与隐藏招标人偏好的政府工程投标,取决于其对招标人偏好的判断,其预期招标人的质量和工期偏好系数的概率值越大,期望收益就越大,投标积极性越高;招标人的招标剩余效用以及投标人的收益与投标质量和工期呈U形关系;招标人可以有意识地释放其偏好信息,以刺激投标人从而增加招标的剩余效用。这些结论的应用有助于改进政府工程招标程序设计,规范政府工程招投标行为。     

A cross-national comparison of public project benefits management practices – the effectiveness of benefits management frameworks in application

Abstract

Benefits are the principal reason why an organization may seek to enact change through programmes and projects. The discipline of identification, definition, planning, tracking and realization of benefits is recognized to be instrumental in achieving organizational strategy. In this study, we describe the results of a cross-national comparison of public sector benefits management (BM) practices in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. It explores ‘BM practices in action’, considering to what extent ‘espoused’ or ‘mandated’ frameworks are actually practised and perceived by their users. Employing qualitative analysis, semi-structured interview data were analysed from 46 participants with experience in sponsoring, managing and/or reviewing government projects. The results expose considerable variation in the adoption and standardization of BM frameworks from inter and intragovernmental perspectives. We evidence a strong focus on benefits identification across the data set, specifically at the outset (the business case stage seeking project approval) and observe deterioration in focus as the project or programme progresses through the authorization (or assurance) approval gates towards close-out and operations. The results further emphasize the prominence of political interest, leadership buy-in, a benefits-driven culture and a transparent benefits reporting mechanism in the implementation of ‘effective’ BM frameworks.     

中国农村公共支出及其绩效分析——基于农民收入增长和城乡收入差距的经验研究

本文运用1978～2004年的数据,采用多变量回归和Granger因果检验方法对农村公共支出、农民收入增长以及城乡收入差距之间的关系进行实证研究。结果显示,国家财政的农村支出对农民收入增长起到了一定的促进作用,但由于公共支出的管理、运用效率低下,其作用在统计上并不十分显著;从支出结构看,与农业生产直接相关的生产性支出和基本建设支出占比过高,而农业科研和社会福利等方面的支出过低,而且,由于政府重视程度不够和目标偏差,使得政府公共支出在降低城乡收入差距上的作用不甚明显,从而限制了政府增进社会福利功能的发挥,进而不利于公平增长的实现。在此基础上,本文进一步讨论了如何改变农村公共支出结构以及如何将公共支出政策与农村金融政策相结合等问题。     

Developments in Brazilian food safety policy

Brazil is an important case study of food safety policies because it is the eighth largest economy in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product. Analysis of the policy and quality management initiatives of the Brazilian government shows that recent activities are more strongly oriented toward assuring access to international markets than to assuring the safety of food sold in domestic markets. This orientation has important implications for agribusiness firms operating in Brazil. Consumer awareness and consumer protection activities are increasing within the Brazilian economy, often with government support. However, developments in Brazil's food safety policy are likely to continue to emphasize quality assurance for the export market.     

Quality in K-12 education: Parameters for world class achievement

It is widely believed by the American public that quality education is an unattainable goal in American elementary and secondary schools. A recent survey of twelfth grade students in the thirteen leading developed countries showed that American students ranked thirteenth. Another recent survey concluded that 25 million of our citizens are functionally illiterate and that an additional 25 million have to update their skills and/or knowledge to remain competitive in today's marketplace. The federal government and some state governments have finally recognized the relatively poor condition of our present educational system and have set initiatives to corect the educational crisis that exists. The authors describe former President Bush's “America 2000: An Educational Strategy” and President Clinton's “GOALS 2000: Educate America”, both of which have desirable goals but lack an approach for reaching the target and fail to specify any type of accountability for non-achievement. The authors then compare the American education system to an industrial or service organization and attempt to define the “customer”. Once the “customer” is identified, Deming's principles for management are shown to apply to education as well as to manufacturing and other service organizations. In developing this paper, the authors focus on:

1. government, initiatives to improve the educational environment,
2. the views of leading experts on the applicability of total quality management concepts to education, and
3. the strides that have been made toward educational quality improvement by some schools.

A case study describing the benefits which have resulted from implementation of a total quality system at an inner-city suburban New York City K-12 school is then presented.     

The 1996 Research Assessment Exercise for Business and Management

A substantial component of government funding for university research in the UK is now based upon an evaluation of the quality of research being conducted in each university, on a subject by subject basis. This paper describes the processes involved in the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) for business and management studies. It is argued that the strength of the current process lies in the peer review of the quality of research outputs. In addition, some of the issues needing to be resolved in undertaking such an exercise are described and evaluated. Finally, based on the authors' exposure to the full range of management research currently being conducted in the UK, some suggestions are made regarding future research directions.     

An empirical study of quality management practices in the petroleum industry

The purpose of this paper is to empirically study quality management practices in the petroleum industry in Iran. A reliable and valid survey instrument has been used for data gathering from managers in the petroleum industry in Iran. The instrument has been developed based on the criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), which consists of 13 dimensions of quality management. Correlation analysis has been used to test for a relationship between the quality management constructs and quality results (internal quality results and/or external quality results). Most of the linkages within the Baldrige criteria were supported, which indicates the universal applicability of the Baldrige Award criteria. The result of the correlation analysis indicates that top management support is the major driver for quality management implementation which is significantly correlated with most of the quality management constructs. Furthermore, the results indicated that employee training and employee involvement are significantly correlated with internal (operational) quality results. Customer orientation and supplier quality are not significantly correlated with external quality results (business performance).     

Canada

Unless otherwise stated, priced publications of the federal government are available from Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Supply and Services Canada, Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A 0S9. Orders from outside Canada are charged the higher of two prices to cover postage. Prepay to the Receiver General for Canada. Unless otherwise stated, priced publications of the Ontario provincial government are available from Publications Centre, Ministry of Government Services, 880 Bay Street, 5th floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 1N8. Prepay to the Treasurer of Ontario.     

Canada

Unless otherwise stated, priced publications of the federal government are available from Publishing Centre, Printing and Publishing, Supply and Services, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS9. Orders from outside Canada are charged the higher of two prices to cover postage. Prepay to the Receiver General for Canada.Unless otherwise stated, priced publications of the Ontario provincial government are available from Publications Centre, Ministry of Government Services, 880 Bay Street, 5th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 1N8. Prepay to the Treasurer of Ontario.Unless otherwise stated, priced publications of the Quebec provincial government are available from L'E´diteur officiel du Que´bec, 1283, boul. Charest ouest, Que´bec, Canada, G1N 2C9. Prepay to Ministre des Finances du Que´bec.     

Installing a computerized planning system in Ghana

As part of a World Bank funded project to rehabilitate the export industries of a West African country, a study was undertaken into the methods of corporate planning and the systems of reporting management information for the government owned organization responsible for the distribution and marketing of the country's main agricultural export. Although many of the familiar problems were faced in attempting to introduce modern management techniques into a Third World country, considerable success in implementation was achieved by using a microcomputer with modern business software. Local staff were trained in the use of the modelling software and management information reports were prepared in graphical format to highlight the results for top management.     

Sustaining the Benefits of a Quality Initiative through Cooperative Values: A Longitudinal Study

Although research has shown that organizational cultural values influence the success of quality initiatives, how and when cultural values are influential is unclear. This longitudinal study asserts that quality management should be viewed from a dynamic perspective to better understand the role of cooperative cultural values in a quality initiative. We use a multilevel model of quality management, and develop time‐oriented hypotheses using a sociotechnical systems perspective to examine the role of cooperative values. Our analysis uses longitudinal data from over 30 U.S. federal government agencies, collected during an enterprise‐wide quality initiative. We find that, over time, the influence of organization‐level quality practices diminishes, but the influence of cooperative values increases; workgroup‐level quality practices remain consistently important. Our findings reveal the unexplored influences of cooperative values to sustain the benefits of quality management.