Public Administration Commons^™

A Model Of Organizational Learning And Its Application To The Realities Of Public Sector Organizations, Curry Clifford

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines how organizational learning can be implemented in public sector organizations based on a comprehensive literature review. The findings reveal that because organizational learning has largely been used in the private sector and the two sectors are fundamentally different, the challenge is determining how it can be successfully implemented in the public sector.

Determining The Property Value Impact Of Landfills, Okwuchukwu Gerald Uba

Dissertations and Theses

The decline in property value can be due to owner's act or exogenous act from the operation of landfills. Landfill neighbors, especially home owners, perceive landfill operation to pose environmental safety problem such as ground water contamination and methane gas leakage that could affect home value.

Owners of landfills, especially those landfills that accept only dry waste (limited purpose landfill), claim that since their facilities meet the requirements of environmental regulations and the type of waste they accept could not possibly produce methane gas and leachate there is no property value impact of their facilities.

Several studies have shown that …

The Internet As Commons: A Tale Of Enclosure, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The original model of the internet developed as an electronic commons for scientists and academics. It will be only a matter of time before the same rich and powerful information barons who already control such "fourth estate" communication industries as newspaper, magazine and book publishing, television networks and movie production facilities establish their toll-booths on the information superhighway as well. Fortunately, within this electronic ocean of corporate and proprietary feudalism, there may also be room for an archipelago of freistaaten; "free citystates" functioning as autonomous and self-governing islands for the arts, sciences, humanities, social service and community.

Implementing And Managing Change In The Fire Service, Terence Allen

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the potential for strategic planning to act as a tool for anticipating, identifying, and successfully managing change within the fire service based on an analysis of the external change issues that are affecting the fire department as a workplace. The findings reveal that there are many components of the strategic planning process that can assist in the implementation and management of change in the fire service.

Employee Assistance Programs: Suitable Tools For Ontario Boards Of Health, Michael Bragg

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the prevalence of employee assistance programs (EAPs) in Ontario based on a survey of 38 public health units in the province. The findings reveal that only 42 percent of the respondent agencies provide assistance to their employees due to a number of issues associated with the development of these programs, but public health units tend to have a higher level of EAPs in place than the general workforce.

Human Services: The Future Role Of Local Government In Ontario, Stephen Cairns

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the role of local government in the planning, delivery, and management of human services based on a discussion of provincial programs in Ontario. The findings reveal that local government’s role in human services is being eroded due to provincial initiatives and provincial-municipal agreements that assume greater control by the Ontario government in local activities.

Restructuring Local Government In Ottawa-Carleton, George Vadeboncoeur

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the Ontario government’s proposed major changes to the local government of Ottawa-Carleton with respect to the political structure and the distribution of responsibilities. An analysis of three previous studies of regional government in the municipality was conducted. The findings reveal that a two-tier structure of local government is acceptable and the proposed changes would empower the regional government, although some minor changes regarding the delivery of services are required.

An Assessment Of Court-Mandated Treatment Of Batterers In Kentucky, Ron Clatos

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Sociology by Ron Clatos in May of 1993.

Purchase Of Service Contracting In The 1990s: Have Expectations Been Met?, Peter M. Kettner, Lawrence L. Martin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Privatization and purchase of service contracting (POSC) are generally considered to be two of the most important factors that have helped shape the human service system during the 1970s and 1980s (Gilbert, 1983, 1986; Kammerman, 1983; Demone and Gibelman, 1984, 1989; Weddell, 1986; Kettner and Martin, 1985; Termell, 1987; Rein, 1989). Therefore, as we enter the decade of the 1990s, it would seem both appropriate and worthwhile to reflect on the original expectations for privatization and POSC and to assess the extent to which these expectations have been realized.

Characteristics Of Social Welfare Stasis And Change: A Comparison Of The Characteristics Of Two Child Welfare Agencies In The 1920s, Eve P. Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes and compares two child welfare agencies of the 1920's with regard to qualities that influenced or inhibited their ability to change. While one agency gave up its institution in favor of foster home care and mother's pensions; the other continued to provide only institutional care. Four characteristics may account for the difference. They are the organizations' networks; amount of "sunk costs" associated with change; ideologies and interests of organization leadership and the agencies' "boundary spanning" activities. If further studies confirm these, then we may encourage organizational changes so that contemporary agencies may meet emerging client needs.

A Preliminary Study Of A Job Analytic Inventory Derived From A Behavioral Consistency Method For Assessing Intrinsic Motivation, William John Banis

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The research question for this study asked if the Job Specifications Inventory (JSI) had acceptable internal reliability and an ability to differentiate among occupational groups. The JSI was designed to have subject matter experts rate the importance of skill, content, context, relationship and work focus requirements of jobs or occupations. The JSI used a taxonomy of 268 behavioral elements derived from the content analyses of satisfying achievements reported by a large, diverse clientele. A clinical-type behavioral consistency method was used to extract performance dimensions from clients' achievements to build the taxonomy. The achievement-based taxonomy was seen as potentially enhancing productivity …

A Multiple Case Study Of Selected Individuals Who Facilitate The Successful Adoption Of Environmental Public Policy, John H. Austin

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the personal and professional characteristics of successful individuals who have had a positive influence on the development of public policy concerning the environment. Additionally, which characteristics are most likely to enhance success and determine which of these characteristics might contribute to efforts toward developing public environmental policy in the future were investigated. The purpose was accomplished through the design and implementation of a multiple case study utilizing a qualitative research methodology. The sample for this study included six public servants who were identified as actively involved in affecting the development of public …

The Implementation Of Neighborhood Conservation Projects In Portsmouth, Virginia, 1960-1990, Robert Brooke Albertson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The study describes and analyzes the implementation of federally-funded neighborhood conservation programs in two of Portsmouth, Virginia's oldest urban neighborhoods by addressing four research questions: (1) To what extent is there variation in the implementation of neighborhood conservation projects in differing neighborhood settings? What are the factors that account for such differences? (2) To what extent are the neighborhood conservation projects distributive or regulatory programs, and what forms of conflict and/or cooperation result from this? (3) What is the intergovernmental context of neighborhood conservation projects, and how does this affect the nature of bargaining and negotiation among governmental units? and …

A Study To Determine What Factors Influence Employee Sick Leave Usage In The Riverside County Department Of Mental Health Administration, Sally Aguilar Beavan

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Telecommuting, Is It Part Of The Future For The Upland Police Department?, Rodney John Lines

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Leadership In Local Government Computer Service Organizations Within The State Of California, Robert Benjamin Beavan

Theses Digitization Project

Situational leadership -- Management coaching -- Leadership principles.

Eligibility Worker Recruitment, Testing And Trainee Retention: Ten Counties Experience, Carol L. Anselmi

Theses Digitization Project

Testing methods (basic abilities test, biographical inventory, oral interviews, in-basket test), minimum qualifications--Outreach programs--Welfare workers--Eligibility workers--Alameda, Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties.

Gang-Related Crimes And The Associated Financial Costs For The Cities Of San Jacinto, Perris, Hemet, Moreno Valley, And Riverside, Jacqueline Renee Van Sickle

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

The Municipal Role In Child Care – Ontario, Karen Chan

MPA Major Research Papers

This paper examines the municipal role in child care based on interviews, surveys, workshops, conferences, and focus groups with officials from Ontario municipalities. The findings reveal that the planning and development of human services is shared between the provincial and municipal levels of government but provincial legislation regarding child care must include the appropriate allocation of responsibility to the municipal level in order to ensure that the service is institutionalized.

Effective Communication In The Intranational Workplace: Models For Public Sector Managers And Theorists, John F. Kikoski

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

This article discusses theoretical models for effective interpersonal communication in the intranational workplace for public sector managers in the U.S. Effective communication is complete when the message has been understood. A message has been understood when it has been both clearly sent and received. Effective communication is a requisite to every step in the organizational process--from the mutual recognition and understanding of a topic or problem that triggered the communication in the first place to its final resolution. The second classical model of interpersonal communication was published by David Berlo. Berlo elaborated upon the Shannon-Weaver model. He recognized that interpersonal …

Export Marketing Development Program Selection, Albert Phillip Bianchi Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an arrangement of export development programs which could be utilized by state agencies to best serve the economic and social policy goals of states.

Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed in conducting this research. Descriptive information was gathered from surveys of state export development agencies. A Delphi methodology was used to gain consensus from public managers about program goals and program effectiveness.

The research demonstrates that there are primary goals which states pursue, such as employment generation and providing exporter assistance, for which certain export promotion activities are considered …

The Diffusion Of Public Defenders In Virginia: A Study In Organization Adaption And The Relationships Between Values, Decisionmaking Processes, And Organizational Output, Cyril Woodvil Miller, Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Research into indigent defense issues has shown that the growth in the use of public defenders has been accompanied by increased bureaucratization and has paralleled the expansion of the right to counsel and the "due process revolution." The goal of this research is the development and testing of a model of organization adaptation which explains for public defender offices in Virginia the evolution of multiple and contradictory organizational goals, the means by which they balance conflicting values and goals, and the effect of resulting decision making processes on organizational output. The basic research question addressed is the relationship between values, …

The Influence Of Cohesive Groups On The Ethical Behavior Of Public Employees: An Analysis Of An Urban University, Patricia Bellin Strait

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

Ethics problems permeate all aspects of public agencies. This is especially true in urban areas where public workers have frequent interactions with large numbers of civilians. The results of unethical behavior often have very tangible effects with perhaps the most serious consequences being the deterioration of public services and the destruction of public trust.

This dissertation explores Milton Fisk's Group Ethics Theory which states that ethical behavior varies according to cohesive group membership. In order to investigate Fisk's theory, an ex post facto study was performed within a single urban university. The primary independent variable was group membership. Data was …