Business Commons^™

Strategy And Structure: Reconceiving The Relationship, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Discussions have drawn attention to the relationship between strategy and structure for much of the last quarter century. Yet, no firm basis has emerged to settle the issue of causal direction or to affirm the relationship's effects on organizational performance. By adding a new dimension to the strategy-structure model, this article attempts to conceptually link long-term performance with (a) the presence of subunits having distinctive competence in strategic planning and (b) the coordination of these differentiated subunits into a discernible micro-structure embedded within the overall organization. This new dimension is explored and developed by use of a case of the …

The Effect Of Government Deficits On Consumption And Interest Rates: A Two Equation Approach, Dean D. Croushore

Economics Faculty Publications

Single-equation estimation of the consumption function often is used in testing the Ricardian equivalence theorem. This approach may be misleading, as effects on interest rates usually are ignored. This paper proposes simultaneous estimation of consumption and investment equations, with the interest rate serving to equilibrate the market. Five existing studies are replicated and subjected to sensitivity tests. The results show that the interest rate is important in the consumption function. The Ricardian equivalence theorem is tested, but the results are mixed.

Wanted: Live-In Teachers, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland all have it--a residency requirement--and so does Providence. Having to live in the city for which you work has been deemed to be an important measure in helping to bring people back into the city, and that was the reason it was included in the 1980 Home Rule Charter."

How To Keep Teachers In R.I., Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Should Providence city employees be forced to live in the city? The Home Rule Charter, adopted five years ago, requires them to do so. The executive secretary of the Providence Teachers' Union states that this requirement should not apply to teachers. But, is dropping the residency requirement the answer to the problem of finding adequate numbers of substitute and full-time teachers?"

Residency And The Charter, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When Providence voters approved a home rule charter in 1980, they took a major step forward in choosing their own destiny, rather than relying on the General Assembly to approve many of their actions. To implement the resulting changes, the date for full compliance of the charter was set at 1983. And since that time, newly hired city workers are required to live in Providence."

Turbulent Transition And Organizational Change: Relating Policy Outcomes To Strategic Administrative Capacities, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

A competitive public economy places greater burden on agencies to cope with uncertainty and change, especially in periods of "turbulent transition." As transition provides new opportunity, we find great variance in the ability of agencies to defend, enlarge or change their public domains. Administrative adroitness seems to be related to both adequate perception concerning change and the capacity to process reliable information, plan innovative programs, and manage conflicting demands. This article looks at critical variables which show promise in explaining how public organizations enlarge their discretion in policy formulation and service delivery during transitional periods. It assesses them empirically using …

Breaking Even: Preface To The Revised Edition, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Breaking Even: Financial Management in Nonprofit Human Services (Temple University Press. 1980) was the first book-length discussion of nonprofit financial management ever published in English. This preface was prepared, along with several new or rewritten chapters and additional changes for a possible revised edition of the book. The publisher decided not to do a second edition and the original first edition continued to sell in its small market niche for 25 years.

Private Human Services In Welfare Society, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper is an effort to propose a moderately optimistic future for the personal care sector of human services. It is proposed that the best available future scenario for personal care services between now and the year 2019 is to concentrate on privatization of service delivery on a small-scale basis. Government, in this model should be limited largely to three roles: 1) source of venture capital; 2) regulation of service delivery; and 3) income maintenance for the poorest populations. In this future, the main burden of personal care services will be carried by the private sector. Dramatic improvements in the …

Strategic Planning Of Seaport Development In A Global Economy: Observations Of An Executive Port Director, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Seaport management is central both to the use of coastal resources and to the needs of a global economy. As a major point of supply-chain activity along the coast and as a source of pollution, ports need to be administered strategically to provide the greatest benefit according to economic and environmental demands. This article is an annotated conversation that provides a practitioner's insight into the management of change along the coastal zone. To address the problem, we probe organization theory for new insight and attempt to apply concepts to practice.

Laity Expectations Of Ministers In The Black Urban Church: A Study Of Political And Social Expectations In The Context Of Ministry To Community And World, James Henry Harris

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The study examined the Black church laity's expectations of the urban minister regarding his involvement in specific social and political issues that confront inhabitants of urban areas. A survey was administered to individuals in Black churches of different protestant denominations in a Southeastern Virginia City in order to determine the degree of the laity's expectations. Specifically, the survey sought answers to the questions: Do Black church laity expect the minister to deal with socio-economic and political problems in urban areas? and, What particular urban problems do the laity expect the minister to offer leadership in facing or solving?

While this …

Future Issues Facing Boston: The Assessing Department, Janet L. Hunkel

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

Taxpayers' opinions of municipal government often focus on the property tax. Taxpayers are stingy, and they are critical as to whether their money is purchasing competent services. For citizens to have faith that government is democratic, taxes must be equitable — everyone must pay their fair share. For government to function efficiently, tax administration must be efficient in order to support city services.

The property tax is a complex, difficult tax to administer; it is vulnerable to misuse. However, there have been recent, dramatic changes to the tax laws. Municipal government in Massachusetts now has the political and legal wherewithall …

Future Issues Facing Boston: Financing Of The City's Operating And Capital Construction Program, J. Chester Johnson

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

This paper reviews the important factors affecting the current status of debt finance and debt management by the City of Boston, including the City's significant credit problems and the financing implications. While significant challenges to Boston's finance and debt management have recently been met in part through a combination of fiscal austerity measures and altered operating and financing approaches, there are important new debt financing challenges facing Boston in 1984 and beyond.

Boston's Fiscal Future: Prognosis And Policy Options For 1984 To 1986, Joseph S. Slavet, Raymond G. Torto

John M. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies Publications

The finances of the City of Boston have been variously affected throughout its long history by regional and national economic cycles, by legal constraints and changes in the state-local tax system and by inter-municipal resource and expenditure disparities.

In more recent years, however, a series of tremors converged to propel Boston's seemingly chronic fiscal problem to the crisis stage. As inflation climbed to unprecedented double-digit levels, an overwhelming majority of the state's populace supported specific limits on property taxes, the primary source of municipal revenue. As a result, Boston was forced to reduce property tax levies by $144 million during …

Regulating Video Arcades Is No Game, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Improvement on Washington Street is needed. The Providence Board of Licenses is about to determine if the Saturn's Rings video arcade on Washington street should have its license renewed. The issue is as critical as it is controversial."

Business And Public Administration, Clair D. Rowe

UND Departmental Histories

This departmental history was written on the occasion of the UND Centennial in 1983.

The Stimulus Of City Success Stories, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"When George Voinovich, mayor of this city, spoke to the 300 persons gathered from all parts of this country to discuss successes in cities, he had the undivided attention of the audience. After all, this was the man who brought the city back from the brink of bankruptcy and has now given it clear direction and a solid financial base."

Job Satisfaction And Attitudes Toward Collective Negotiations By Fire And Police Personnel, E. Gayle Nowell

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Providence Needs An Effective 'Land Bank' Policy, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Recent disclosures on the purchase of vacant lots in Providence by certain city officals have raised two serious questions, only one of which has been addressed."

Energy Conservation For Cities And States, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"During this winter season the 68 percent increase in the price of fuel oil has made us painfully aware of our dependance on foreign oil."

Role For Business Leaders In A Cleaner Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent sales promotion by the Providence Intown Merchants Association proved quite successful. Five-cent bus rides and bargain sales generated considerable business, especially on Saturday, normally a quiet day for retail sales in the downtown. This well illustrates what is possible when salesmanship and cooperation among downtown merchants are used to full advantage."

Stimulus For R.I. Housing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was the single largest bond issue in the state and one of the largest in the nation. The Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (HMFC) has sold $163 million of tax-free bonds, $142 million of which will be made available at below market interest rates to persons with annual incomes up to $30,000, to buy homes in Rhode Island. This will have a sizable impact on the local real estate market and increase housing opportunities for many prospective home buyers."

A Development & Testing Project On A New Proposed Method To Produce Technical Documentation For Use In Training & Work Performance By The United States Army, Charles Burleson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the development, evaluation, and testing of a technical manual produced by the new United States Army Improved Technical Documentation and Training concept. The concept involved a complete systems analysis of the hardware being considered prior to the actual writing of the manual. The manuals were validated and verified by actual soldiers performing maintenance tasks using only the manuals.

A comparison of the new manual with the old manual was Performed using untrained and trained soldiers.

Conclusions formulated were that the new manual seemed to be a great improvement over the old manual …

A Role Analysis Of Police Chiefs In Contemporary Departments, Thomas Wolf

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Matrix Analysis And Social Planning, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This study is a follow-up to an earlier (1971) proposal for the application of Input-output analysis to social planning in human services (Repository item #753), and predates current models of human services as part of the nonprofit, or third sector. The manuscript details a study of financial inputs and service outputs in human services in the United Way system of Knoxville TN, noting a variety of quantitative ratios and measures of the human services delivery system, and assessing some of the strengths and weaknesses of the matrix approach.

Job Satisfaction Of Police Officers In Second Class Cities In Kentucky, Joan Robertson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The purpose of this study is to attempt to find out how the police officers in the second-class cities in Kentucky view their work. Questions asked concern relationships with the public, their supervisors, and co-workers; opinions of recent court rulings affecting their work; and their sentiments about salaries and plans to continue in police work. After assessing the job satisfaction of the officers, the results were correlated with other studies and recommendations are made directed toward increasing the officers' motivation and effectiveness in performing their duties.

A Matrix Model Of The Public Social Welfare System For The Aged In The U.S.: A Research Proposal, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The creation or adaptation of planning tools will in all probability be an integral feature of the future development of social planning practice. One tool that offers a great deal of potential utility if it can be adapted to the constraints of the social planning milieu is matrix analysis utilizing input-output matrices. The specific focus of the proposed study is on the public welfare system of theaged in the United States. The fundamental hypothesis of the proposed matrix model proposed here is that the general overall characteristic most representative of the system of public social welfare for the aged is …

Introducing The Hon. H.D. Evans, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE new Minister for Lands, Agriculture and Immigration the Hon. Hywell David Evans (46) brings to bis work a background of country experience.

State Regulation Of Labor Relations, Deane Chalmers Carson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.