Business in Metropolis: Local Governance of for-Profit Organisations in Finland

European local governments face strong pressures to privatisation and market-based reforms in the near future to combat economic austerity and demands for efficiency. This article shows how Finnish metropolitan city has been able to organise its for-profit activities in the new competitive landscape which requires balancing between political demands, legal restrictions and economic efficiency. The governance of for-profit activities in metropolitan city shows that there is both demand and room for administrative innovation to accommodate past administrative idiosyncrasies to market environment. In conclusion, local governments need to pay attention to their own role in shaping local competitive landscape.     

The Challenge of Coordination in Central Government Organizations: The Norwegian Case

This paper addresses coordination problems in central government by focusing on the Norwegian case. The main research questions are: What are the experiences of civil servants concerning horizontal and vertical coordination, and internal and external coordination? What is the relative importance of structural, demographic and cultural variables for explaining variations in civil servants’ perception of coordination? The data base is a questionnaire to civil servants in ministries and central agencies in 2006. The main findings are that there are more problems with horizontal coordination than with vertical coordination; that coordination problems are bigger in central agencies than in ministries; and that a low level of mutual trust tends to aggravate coordination problems.     

Measuring Citizen Satisfaction with Aspects of Public Services from a Local Authority and Determining Their Importance: A Case Study

The measurement of service quality is a theme of great importance to service providers, particularly public agencies. Over the years their role has been changing by providing more and more high quality services, away from basic ones. In this paper the service quality of a local government is analyzed through the measurement of customer satisfaction. The analysis, based on a questionnaire survey, identified and classified the most essential factors that make up the customer satisfaction with the services provided by the Demographic Department of Gioia del Colle, a town in southern Italy.

Leadership and institutional change in the public sector: The case of secondary schools in England

Leadership should be viewed as being embedded in a societal context and influenced by (as well as influencing) the institutional environment of organizations. Extant research on leadership, however, has largely neglected the effect of the institutional environment. To redress this imbalance we examine leadership in the context of institutional change in secondary school education in England. Specifically, we examine the co-existence of an emerging, government-prescribed, results-oriented approach to leadership (the new institution) with a more traditional professional value-based approach (the old institution). Our methodological approach utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative analysis suggests that there are no significant performance differences between the two leadership approaches. Furthermore, school context does not appear to influence the leadership style employed. The qualitative analysis enabled us to better interpret these findings and to examine the enactment of leadership. The analysis suggests that although the new regulatory environment has fostered the development of the results-oriented leadership, it has not fully replaced professional value-based leadership. Rather, we found pockets of resistance to the policy-prescribed approach precisely in those areas that were targeted by the policy, namely, in schools with high percentage of socially deprived students. We conclude that a complex relationship exists between leadership and its institutional context.     

Urban Air Quality in North-East England: Exploring the Influences on Local Views and Perceptions

We set out to explore potential influences on public views about urban air quality in two different, but geographically close, districts in North-East England via a postal survey. The neighborhoods surveyed were chosen to contrast material deprivation, proximity to industry, and two districts (Teesside and Sunderland), and the respondents within them were contrasted by their gender, age, and illness status. The strongest influences on views about local air quality were found to be proximity to industry, residence in Teesside, and, to a lesser extent, age and illness status. This suggests that neighborhood characteristics play an important role in shaping public perceptions of air quality.     

Mechanistic Modeling of Emergency Events: Assessing the Impact of Hypothetical Releases of Anthrax

A modular system for source-to-dose-to-effect modeling analysis has been developed based on the modeling environment for total risk studies (MENTOR),^{( 1 )} and applied to study the impacts of hypothetical atmospheric releases of anthrax spores. The system, MENTOR-2E (MENTOR for Emergency Events), provides mechanistically consistent analysis of inhalation exposures for various release scenarios, while allowing consideration of specific susceptible subpopulations (such as the elderly) at the resolution of individual census tracts. The MENTOR-2E application presented here includes atmospheric dispersion modeling, statistically representative samples of individuals along with corresponding activity patterns, and population-based dosimetry modeling that accounts for activity and physiological variability. Two hypothetical release scenarios were simulated: a 100 g release of weaponized B. anthracis over a period of (a) one hour and (b) 10 hours, and the impact of these releases on population in the State of New Jersey was studied. Results were compared with those from simplified modeling of population dynamics (location, activities, etc.), and atmospheric dispersion of anthrax spores. The comparisons showed that in the two release scenarios simulated, each major approximation resulted in an overestimation of the number of probable infections by a factor of 5 to 10; these overestimations can have significant public health implications when preparing for and responding effectively to an actual release. This is in addition to uncertainties in dose-response modeling, which result in an additional factor of 5 to 10 variation in estimated casualties. The MENTOR-2E system has been developed in a modular fashion so that improvements in individual modules can be readily made without impacting the other modules, and provides a first step toward the development of models that can be used in supporting real-time decision making.     

Implications of Applying the Green Infrastructure Concept in Landscape Planning for Ecosystem Services in Peri-Urban Areas: An Expert Survey and Case Study

This paper investigates how planning experts understand the potential of integrating the concept of green infrastructure in planning practice in Germany. It develops a systematic approach for green infrastructure planning at the landscape scale. Research methods include a web-based survey among German planning experts and geographic information system analysis in the case study region of Hannover. Survey results suggest that the green infrastructure concept is not yet well known in planning practice, and that the potential benefits for planning lie primarily in communication purposes. An approach is developed here that sets priorities for green infrastructure development based on its potentials for creating synergies in the provision of ecosystem services.     

Innovation and Improvement in the Delivery of Public Services: The Use of Quality Management Within Local Government in Canada

Local government in Canada has been subject to considerable change in the 1990s. In response, a number of mechanisms have been adopted to improve performance and respond to citizen and customer demands. One particular mechanism quality management, has received considerable continuing support. This article documents the level of use of quality management within local government in Canada, discusses some of the key challenges of introducing this type of program, and, outlines some elements of success of those programs in public management.     

A fair evaluation of certain stage in a two-stage structure: revisiting the typical two-stage DEA approaches

The efficiency of decision processes with a two-stage structure has been studied by some modified versions of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology, such as the relational or centralized model, and the non-cooperative model. After revisiting the rationale of the centralized model provided by the literature, we find that some unfairness exist in its efficiency evaluation of certain stage. This unfairness leads to the usual underestimation of the overall efficiency by the centralized model. Furthermore, because the independent DEA model for one stage ignores its relation and coordination with the other stage and the two-stage system, externalities between these members may arise and lead to the seeming contradiction in efficiencies derived by independent DEA models for the stages and the black box system. Therefore, we argue that the efficiency of certain stage in the context of a two-stage structure should be reevaluated instead of simply using the independent DEA model. A sequence of leader-follower procedures, with data adjustment on intermediates, is proposed to eliminate the externalities and to ensure a fair evaluation. We find that, after this data adjustment, the reevaluation of the second stage for a given Decision Making Unit (DMU) yields the same result as obtained by the standard DEA model regarding the two-stage as a black box. Moreover, some explicit relations are established between the black box model, the centralized model, and the non-cooperative model. Two typical examples taken from the literature illustrate our main results. Our findings also imply that more emphasis should be placed on the game theoretic DEA approach to model the efficiency evaluation of two-stage processes.     

Understanding Local Policy Elites’ Perceptions on the Benefits and Risks Associated with High‐Voltage Power Line Installations in the State of Arkansas

Recently, a controversial policy debate has arisen concerning the installation of high‐voltage power lines in northwest Arkansas. While proponents argue that such an installation is inevitable to efficiently and reliably support the identified electric load in the region, opponents claim that the lines will degrade the natural environment and hamper the tourism‐based local economy in affected regions, notably in Ozark Mountain areas. Of particular interest is to understand how local policy elites perceive the benefits and risks associated with such divisive proposals, which is critical for comprehending the formation and changes of related government policies. Based upon the dual process theory of judgment, this study systematically investigates the triadic relationships between (a) more profound personal value predispositions, (b) affects and feelings, and (c) perceived benefits and risks related to the proposed installation of high‐voltage power lines among local policy elites in the state of Arkansas. In doing so, we analyze original data collected from a statewide Internet survey of 420 local leaders and key policymakers about their opinions on the related issues, while considering other factors claimed by previous literature to influence risk perceptions, including trust, knowledge level, and demographic characteristics. Analytical results suggest that grid‐group cultural predispositions, as deeply held core values within local policy elites’ individual belief systems, both directly and indirectly—through affective feelings—shape perceived utility associated with the installation of high‐voltage power lines. We conclude this article by suggesting some practical considerations for better designing policy addressing controversial issues of this nature.     

欧洲跨国公司在华投资企业的环境管理及其影响

本文以问卷调查与调研结果为依据,对欧洲跨国公司在中国的环境管理实践进行了较为深入的研究。作者认为,跨国公司的跨国界环境管理体系具有非强制性与指导性,而且就某个跨国公司而言,各地子公司的环境管理目标还因各子公司所在行业与地区的特点而异。在环境管理战略方面,多数跨国公司倾向于选择分散化或当地化的管理模式来适应不同的环境管理制度与环境标准,而不是国际一体化的环境管理模式。作者还认为,中国的环境管理体制与总部的环境管理政策决定着子公司的环境管理行为与环境表现。     

不确定性在团队授权与新产品开发业绩关系中的作用

一个最新的理论研究表明授权的作用取决于环境中不确定性的程度。在对212个新产品开发项目的定量研究中,发现了团队授权与创新速度之间显著性相关关系。对由技术新颖性和技术动态性这两个不同因素引起的技术不确定性作了区分。结果发现,团队授权和创新速度之间的关系被技术动态性所调节,而技术新颖性则不能。通过进一步的研究发现,在不确定性较低的情况下,无论来源于技术新颖性或技术动态性,团队授权和创新速度均呈U形函数关系。这说明在不确定性较低的情况下,要么完全授权,要么完全不授权或高层介入,都有利于提高创新速度。与之形成对应,在不确定性高的情况下,团队授权和创新速度之间的关系受技术新颖性和技术动态性的影响是不同的。当技术新颖性高时,团队授权和创新速度之间呈线性关系,而当技术动态性高时,二者呈反U形函数关系。对于后者,极高程度的团队授权并不加快创新速度。这些结果说明,应该根据研发项目的不确定性的不同来源与水平选择不同的团队授权策略。这些发现或许也表明,技术动态性比技术新颖性对不确定性有更重要的影响。     

Understanding the Determinants of Service Channel Preference in the Early Stages of Adoption: A Social Cognitive Perspective on Online Brokerage Services*

In today's increasingly technology‐mediated world, individuals are often confronted with a decision of whether to obtain services through online, self‐service technologies or traditional, nontechnological alternatives. Understanding the mechanisms by which consumers choose among these competing service channels represents an important concern for organizations, consumers, and Web site designers. This study develops a research model based on Social Cognitive Theory to explain and predict service channel preferences that arise in the early stages of adoption, before a consumer conducts business using a particular channel. The model is subsequently tested in the brokerage services context, using observations obtained via survey. Given the growing popularity of online investing combined with the challenging prospect of making optimal decisions in an inherently risky environment, the context offers insights of practical and theoretical importance. The results suggest that task‐specific self‐efficacy beliefs serve as the activating mechanism kicking off a chain of psychological events that entice consumers to favor a particular service channel. Higher levels of self‐efficacy induce individuals to prefer the online approach. In addition to its direct effect on preference for the online service channel, higher levels of self‐efficacy influence one's propensity to take risks and expectations of performance‐oriented rewards, which, in turn, sway consumers to favor the online service channel. Furthermore, self‐efficacy and perceptions concerning the credibility of online information interact to affect service channel preference. Consumers are more likely to prefer the online service channel when they view themselves as capable and perceive online sources to be credible. Implications for theory and practice are discussed in light of the findings.     

The Current State of Women Print Journalists: An Analysis of the Status and Careers of Females in Newspapers Sports Departments

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the current state of women journalists within the sports departments at newspapers across the United States. This investigation involved a determination of their demographic make-up, job status within the sports department, rationale for entering the field, and advice for younger women preparing to follow in their footsteps. The findings suggest that although the large majority of women have faced discrimination in the sport media, they believe improvements have been made towards equity. The majority of respondents noted that they were happy with the assignments they had been given. Subjects did, however, feel that they were assigned to cover females more than their male counterparts, and some responses regarding dissatisfaction with their positions was also noted.     

汇率对FDI的影响： 基于实物期权的理论分析与中国的实证

基于外商直接投资的期权特性,本文运用实物期权理论就汇率对外商直接投资之间的关系进行建模,理论上证明人民币汇率水平、汇率预期和汇率波动对中国吸收外商直接投资存在的影响.在此基础上运用中国的数据对模型得出的结论进行了实证分析,考虑到2005年人民币汇率形成机制的改革对汇率水平及汇率预期有很大影响,本文将样本分为汇改前和汇改后两段.分段样本的实证研究表明,2005年汇改前人民币汇率的预期一直是影响中国FDI的主要因素,但人民币实际有效汇率及其波动性对FDI的影响不显著;2005年汇改后,人民币汇率预期对FDI的影响变得更大,人民币实际有效汇率对FDI的影响变得显著,但人民币实际有效汇率的波动性对中国FDI的影响仍不显著.基于此,本文提出了相应的政策建议.     

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Norovirus Transmission in Food Establishments: Evaluating the Impact of Intervention Strategies and Food Employee Behavior on the Risk Associated with Norovirus in Foods

We developed a quantitative risk assessment model using a discrete event framework to quantify and study the risk associated with norovirus transmission to consumers through food contaminated by infected food employees in a retail food setting. This study focused on the impact of ill food workers experiencing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting and potential control measures for the transmission of norovirus to foods. The model examined the behavior of food employees regarding exclusion from work while ill and after symptom resolution and preventive measures limiting food contamination during preparation. The mean numbers of infected customers estimated for 21 scenarios were compared to the estimate for a baseline scenario representing current practices. Results show that prevention strategies examined could not prevent norovirus transmission to food when a symptomatic employee was present in the food establishment. Compliance with exclusion from work of symptomatic food employees is thus critical, with an estimated range of 75–226% of the baseline mean for full to no compliance, respectively. Results also suggest that efficient handwashing, handwashing frequency associated with gloving compliance, and elimination of contact between hands, faucets, and door handles in restrooms reduced the mean number of infected customers to 58%, 62%, and 75% of the baseline, respectively. This study provides quantitative data to evaluate the relative efficacy of policy and practices at retail to reduce norovirus illnesses and provides new insights into the interactions and interplay of prevention strategies and compliance in reducing transmission of foodborne norovirus.     

风险环境下企业信息系统项目控制对绩效的影响机制研究:基于项目经理和用户代表的双重视角

虽然当前项目管理水平不断提高,但是企业信息系统项目实施的成功率仍然不容乐观。项目干系人缺乏准确的相互认知和角色定位,以及风险与控制的关系无法有效处理是导致项目绩效偏低的重要原因。为了从不同视角探索风险和控制对企业信息系统项目绩效的共同作用,通过对65位项目经理和63位用户代表所经历的128个项目的调查,利用结构方程模型进行实证分析,并采用层次回归分析技术进行检验。实证结果表明,正式控制和非正式控制对信息系统项目绩效都具有积极的影响,但是项目经理认为正式控制具有更加重要的作用,而用户代表认为非正式控制的作用更为显著。此外,项目经理和用户代表均认为组织风险和技术风险会减弱正式和非正式控制对绩效的有效作用。因此在控制方式的选择和组合上不仅要基于项目自身的特点,而且要基于干系人的角色。同时,信息系统项目绩效并非单纯由成功或失败因素所决定,而是取决于两类因素的均衡程度。研究结论为信息系统项目的风险控制提供了全新的理论依据和决策支持。     

制度环境、公司治理对企业竞争优势的影响研究——基于中国上市公司的经验证据

如何通过外部制度和内部制度的安排延续企业的竞争优势,是制度变迁背景下中国企业面临的核心问题.本文以2002年-2005年的中国上市公司为样本,基于国内地区差距,实证分析了制度环境和公司治理时企业竞争优势的影响.回归结果发现,政府支持市场化程度、经济法律环境水平、股权集中度、股权竞争度、董事会独立性、专业委员会设置程度以及股东参与决策程度与企业竞争优势显著正相关.研究结果表明,好的制度环境与有效的公司治理能提高企业的竞争优势;企业持续竞争优势的源泉应包含以政府为主体的宏观层次的制度竞争和以企业为主体的微观层次的公司治理竞争.