Business Commons^™

Interest-Based Bargaining: Changing Employer-Employee Relations At Youngstown State University, Patrick W. Carlton

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

This study is based upon interviews conducted with over two dozen individuals centrally involved with the collective bargaining movement at Youngstown State University of Ohio. (YSU) The experiences and memories of several participants extend back to the 1960’s, at which time they were newly appointed faculty members. Within the group are several retired persons who spoke from the comfortable position of relative political invulnerability. Others were at the time of their interviews actively engaged in university teaching and administration. Initial interviews concerning the newly-established Interest-based bargaining process took place within eight months of the negotiatory events, well before the “ravages …

Unleashing Innovation In Public Agencies, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Nurturing continuous innovation and renewal in public agencies is not only important but critical to successful public management in an environment of change. Innovation is a tool for transforming the entire culture of organizations and there is a growing recognition that fostering a culture of innovation is critical to success. It is even as important as mapping out competitive strategies, maintaining good profit margins in revenue areas or meeting statutory requirements. There are fifteen types of teams and individuals that fuel innovation inside organizations: five outsiders and ten insiders. By developing and supporting some of these innovation personalities that often …

Strategic Recovery Requires Leadership, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

As public managers work toward a successful recovery post-midyear elections, we all must deal with system-wide problems arising from the recession. This requires first recognizing that the crisis continues and must be addressed not just by increasing revenue but by fixing system-wide structural and operational issues.

To do so involves developing the skills required in a recovery, identifying the causes of the crisis so that future crises can be better managed and concentrating on the key areas of leadership expertise needed to effectively communicate and deliver better outcomes.

Making The Most Of Opportunities During A Recession, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The best public managers know that conventional thinking won’t get them through tough times and that a recession is a rich opportunity to reinvent their organization and to lay the groundwork for future successes. Good times are when managers experience their greatest success. But bad times provide the greatest opportunities to rethink how the organization will persist through the inevitable up and down economic cycles so as to be successful in the future. Smart managers today that I have engaged regarding this process say that they plan for both the good and bad times by continually focusing on six processes: …

Strategic Management Of Three Critical Levels Of Risk, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The financial crisis that erupted in 2007 revealed a major gap in the management systems of government and business. For the most part, governments focused on revenue growth, productivity, cost control and quality. There were many interrelated factors involved with the failures but two in particular stand out in my mind: a failure to explicitly account for risk when formulating organizational strategies and a failure to monitor and manage the risks that they had identified and assumed. Organizations face many different types of risk but often they can be categorized into three types based upon their predictability, controllability and management. …

Strategic Management In A Networked World, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article provides guidelines to an effective approach of managing employees in the U.S. These include the ability to both detect a problem and to effectively respond to it. It is also considered important when strategies are adopted, where a collaborative action among network partners can be promoted. The author also stresses the importance of valuing and nurturing organizational learning and development.

Motivated To Serve: An Empirical Examination Of Motivation And Consequences In The Public And Nonprofit Organizations, Sung Min Park, Jessica Word

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

This article draws upon a sample of nonprofit and state government managers to examine the role that service motivation plays in both sectors. The research addressed three main questions: 1) what are the main motivational types and constructs of managers in the public and nonprofit sectors? 2) what differences exist between these sectors in terms of level of motivation? And 3) what are the long-term and short-term consequences of different types of motivation? Our findings suggest that in many ways public and nonprofit managers are similar in terms of the importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. Public and nonprofit managers …

Managing In A Time Of Crisis, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Some managers shine during a major crisis, while others don’t. As a strategic manager, one must follow a comprehensive protocol that includes the implementation of teams, systems and tools to respond to a crisis. It also requires having an action plan in place to react quickly, manage rumors and respond to victims and stakeholders sincerely while recovering from the crises’ impact. It starts with being willing to ask and answer important questions like: What is the worst that could happen? It then requires addressing how to plan for and avert crises by securing the workplace and the proper management of …

Las Vegas: The Perils Of Deception Fueled Growth, William J. Smith, Ahmad Safi

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

There are two types of deception – the deception of others and self-deception. Las Vegas thrives on both. Many would be aware of the importance of the first type of deception for the health of the Las Vegas economy, as they would for Macau, Monte Carlo, etc. Without the symbol of wealth to achieve elite global tourism status, and the ‘moth to the flame’ illusion of the likelihood of visitors to get ‘lucky’ and win great wealth, there would be no Las Vegas as it is known today. There is no other major reason to come to the city. There …

Chronic Disease, Homeland Security, And Sailing To Where There Be Dragons, David M. Hassenzahl

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The five papers in this special issue share the perspective that attitudes toward risk are strongly shaped by social context, and that understanding context can help us understand how risk decisions are made, and thereby how to make them better.

Organizational Credibility Counts, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

As economic stressors increase and voting participation decreases, it is important for public administrators to find ways to minimize the negative consequences of distrust in government and to rebuild credibility by making the necessary changes to organizational culture, improving business practices, working with the media to build new more positive relationships, and by accentuating the good news about progress made. Events like Hurricane Katrina tragically teach us how long lasting one negative event can truly be because it is truly a disaster not only for those directly affected but also for those indirectly involved due to its negative affect on …

Strategic Management Of Crises, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article discusses the duties and responsibilities of managers in assessing workplace threats. Managers should care when someone causes harm in the workplace. It is a duty of the managers to warn through a collaborative discussion about the advantages or drawbacks in a small group meeting. It is also an obligation of managers to act when an employee indicates that he or she is being harassed or threatened.

Strategically Managing Resources And Revenue, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The author reflects on the use of strategic management in the success of the United States Postal Service. She states that the U.S. Postal Service has used the breakthrough productivity scheme to reduce mail-processing costs and address retail locations and bulk-mail areas. She believes that the service is committed in gaining sustained success through the scheme and in serving its customers effectively.

Strategic Management In Action, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article discusses the significance of a strategic management in achieving an organization's future initiatives in the U.S. In order for the strategic management process to work, relevant criteria must first be used to make decision and then a consistent management process needs to be agreed. Strategic actions are programs outside an organization's operational activities that are meant to help the organization achieve its strategy.

Managing With Foresight And Insight, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article shares the author's views on managing with foresight. According to her, strategically managing with foresight has always required with informed understanding. She stresses that one of the most effective disciplines for learning from experience is After Action Review (AAR). She expresses that AARs are examples of tools for foresight because it seeks to learn more from what have happened and apply the learning to an organization's understanding of the future.

Housing In The Nation’S Micropolitan Areas: A First Look, Robert E. Lang, Karen A. Danielsen

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Micropolitan area is a newly defined unit of analysis for examining housing affordability. Before the creation of micropolitan areas in 2003, U.S. counties were categorized as either metropolitan or nonmetropolitan. The category of micropolitan area allows for a more detailed analysis of housing affordability conditions in areas with populations less than metropolitan areas but more than nonmetropolitan areas. Variables examined in this analysis of micropolitan areas include demographic and housing characteristics. A policy section highlights how the findings from this analysis may be applied to micropolitan geography.

Managing With Foresight And Insight, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

As we begin the New Year, it is important to look at the trends that need to be considered in the future and how or if these driving forces will define what strategic management means in 2008. It is also important to understand that looking to the past alone for guidance may skew our view of present facts even when those facts are supported by sound data. Strategic managers make sense out of what is going on around them and what is possible in the future by looking and listening to forecasts for the future, to what is critical for …

Managing Through Strategic Agendas, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The author discusses the development of the Balanced Scorecard and strategic agendas on solving social and economic problems by the government. She stated reasons why organizations or countries choose to establish strategic agendas, such as it helps develop a vision, serves as a framework for monitoring government and nonprofit performance, and develops political platform. She concluded that its establishment is vital to success in developing countries and in the federal system of government.

Putting A Face On Organizational Innovation, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article discusses the author's view on the importance of fostering continuous innovation and renewal in public agencies for the success in public management. The author shares that she has come to understand that there are 15 types of teams and individuals that feed innovation inside organizations, outsiders and insiders. She said that by developing such innovation personalities, public managers have the chance to support new concepts in improving processes.

Making The Message Matter, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article provides tips on how to make effective communication in business and political office. According to the author, speakers should be sincere and consistent in delivering their messages to ensure that the public has grasped the given information. It also mentions the need to use sound and texture to make the message more memorable and inspiring.

Communication Counts, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The author discusses the necessity of communications in a business setting. She cited the implementation of Plain Talk by the Annie E. Cassey Foundation which proves the fact that policy works best when decision makers, community residents and citizen customers communicate effectively. She also revealed that to surely achieve success in the business, it is suggested to never underestimate the emotional power of human nature and build a sense of community through continual communication.

Managing Conflict To Build Consensus, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The article discusses views on dealing with conflict to build consensus in strategic management. Fostering conflict to improve decision making while building consensus so essential to effective implementation demands the stimulation of debate, keeping conflict constructive, ascertaining that the process is fair and legitimate and being able to reach closure.

Strategic Partnerships In Public Service, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Presents the process to a successful strategic partnership in public service. Importance of trust between the partners; Definition of mission, goals and objectives in the partnership; Establishment of relationship boundaries.

Community Acceptance Of Affordable Housing, C. Theodore Koebel, Robert E. Lang, Karen A. Danielsen

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Despite historically low interest rates, organizations across the nation have become increasingly concerned about the impacts of regulatory constraints and anti-growth sentiments on the availability and cost of housing. This concern is by no means limited to a few “high cost” areas like Boston and San Francisco. It can also be found in Iowa City, where new single-family houses were recently selling from $150,000 to $375,000 (prices readily considered affordable in many larger metropolitan areas) and even in rural areas where spill-over growth and “drive to qualify” solve the commuter’s affordability problem while creating unforeseen affordability problems for the rural …

Converting Low-Level Mixed Waste Into Transuranic Waste For Geologic Disposal At Wipp: A Cost Analysis, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

The Department of Energy (DOE) has approximately 43,000 cubic meters of mixed-low-level waste (MLLW) with alpha emitting concentrations of 10 to 100 nanocuries per gram (nCi/g) generated from the nations defense programs requiring radioactive waste disposal [1]. DOE has decided to commingle MLLW containers with transuranic (TRU) waste containers in larger containers such that the average concentration in the larger container would qualify as TRU waste for deep geologic disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Since Congress has exempted the WIPP mixed TRU waste from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) [2] requirement to treat the waste …

Evaluation Of The Hud Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity (Echo) Program, C Theodore Koebel, Julia Beamish, Karen A. Danielsen, Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

ECHO housing was introduced in the United States in the 1980s based on a program started in Australia in 1975. An ECHO unit is a small house in which an elderly person resides and which is placed near the home of a host (either relatives or close friends of the elderly person). The purpose of this arrangement is to make it convenient and efficient for the occupants of the host family dwelling to provide assistance to the elderly person residing in the smaller ECHO house.

Although ECHO housing provides a means for keeping an elderly resident close to family and …

A Monte Carlo Analysis Of Hedonic Models Using Traditional And Spatial Approaches, Helen R. Neill, David M. Hassenzahl, Djeto D. Assane

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Hedonic regression analysis of single family homes typically includes structural variables, locational variables and neighborhood quality characteristics. When nearby properties are related, Dubin (1988) reports that error terms are spatially autocorrelated. Estimation methods for these spatially autocorrelated error terms or hereafter, spatial approaches, include maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and kriging techniques such as kriged maximum likelihood estimation (KMLE). Unfortunately these spatial methods require massive computer resources and are limited to significantly fewer observations than traditional ordinary least squares (OLS). This paper investigates the combination of spatial approaches and Monte Carlo analysis, a method that approximates large data sets. A question …

Perspectives On Radioactive Waste Disposal: A Consideration Of Economic Efficiency And Intergenerational Equity, Helen R. Neill, Robert H. Neill

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

There are both internal and external pressures on the U.S. Department of Energy to reduce the estimated costs of isolating radioactive waste, $19 billion for transuranic waste at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and $57 billion for high level waste at Yucca Mountain. The question arises whether economic analyses would add to the decision-making process to reduce costs yet maintain the same level of radiological protection. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of using cost-benefit analysis (CBA), a tool used to measure economic efficiency as an input for these decisions. Using a comparative research approach, we find that CBA …

Target Marketing Can Help Attract City Residents, Robert E. Lang, James W. Hughes, Karen A. Danielsen

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

While suburban growth continues, city living is regaining popularity. It is common knowledge that urban neighborhoods often attract young, single professionals, but a more precise identification of potential city dwellers could help cities understand and develop their comparative advantages. Now, perhaps more than ever, cities need to know which people want to live in them and how their vision of urban life may be accommodated by public policy.

A common concern expressed among urban mayors is that the quality of their city services, especially schools, stacks up poorly against that of most suburbs. Improving public education is often cited as …

What Does Smart Growth Mean For Housing?, Karen A. Danielsen, Robert E. Lang, William Fulton

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Publications

Barely noticed amid the returns from the 1998 midterm elections was a quiet revolution that goes to the heart of how and where Americans live. While most news accounts focused on the high-profile candidate elections, voters across the nation-in Democratic and Republican areas alike-approved more than 160 state and local ballot measures intended to preserve open space and limit urban sprawl.

The coalition forming around the idea of limiting sprawl includes environmentalists, farmers, big-city mayors, and some developers. But perhaps most important, the so-called "smart growth" movement also includes many suburban voters who are fed up with growth. For example, …