This study has delved into the nuanced dynamics of active representation within the context of gender and individual bureaucratic behavior. It employed a qualitative cross-sectional observational...Show moreThis study has delved into the nuanced dynamics of active representation within the context of gender and individual bureaucratic behavior. It employed a qualitative cross-sectional observational case study among local officials in the municipality of Amsterdam, using semi- structured interviews to investigate two key research questions: "How does active representation manifest itself?" and "Does gender affect active representation at the level of individual bureaucrats?" To address these questions, Lim's (2006) concepts of direct and indirect sources of substantive effects of passive representation are used as a framework for the analysis on active representation. It appeared that gender slightly affects the behaviour among civil servants when representing clients of the same gender.Show less
The effect of bureaucratic representation on organisational performance has for decades been a subject of interest for scholars. Many scholars have debated the merits and effects of passive and...Show moreThe effect of bureaucratic representation on organisational performance has for decades been a subject of interest for scholars. Many scholars have debated the merits and effects of passive and active representation. Drawing on the literature, this thesis aims to add to existing research by focusing on the influence of bureaucratic representation on student performance in Dutch secondary schools. It will focus specifically on the dimension of gender and aims to research whether the gender of a teacher has an effect on the performance of students of the same gender. The study includes two moderator variables. Both the stratification of management and the gender division of the entire educational staff could have an effect on the relationship between teachers and student performance. This study was conducted using a Large-N design that includes all Dutch secondary schools. Data on Dutch secondary schools, collected by the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, was used to perform a multilevel regression analysis to test the hypotheses. This study reveals that only the moderator variable ‘number of educational staff’ has an impact on the relationship between teachers and student performance. There was no support for the other hypotheses.Show less
There is a wide range of literature regarding the relationship between managerial networking and performance. The majority of scholars have demonstrated that managerial networking has a positive...Show moreThere is a wide range of literature regarding the relationship between managerial networking and performance. The majority of scholars have demonstrated that managerial networking has a positive direct impact on organisational performance. However, within this large body of studies, the exact results vary widely. According to Johns (2006) and O’Toole and Meier (2014) an explanation for these differences in outcomes can be sought within the many aspects of contextual variation. This quantitative survey research recognises the importance of including context in research on the managerial networking - performance relationship and includes key context variables as formulated in The Public Management Context Matrix by O’Toole and Meier (2014). The aim of this study is to test to what extent managerial networking is related to organisational performance and to investigate if this relation is moderated by factors from the political, environmental, and internal context. This study specifically addresses the Dutch central government, the Rijksoverheid. A quantitative study was conducted to test the relationships between the variables. The study controlled for gender, age, and highest level of completed education. The study shows there is a weak, positive correlation between managerial networking and performance. Furthermore, the results show the relationship between managerial networking and organisational performance is not moderated by political proximity, environmental complexity, goal ambiguity, and discretion.Show less
Existing research has shown that managerial networking can positively affect organizational performance. Moreover, it has pointed out contextual variables, concerned with the characteristics of an...Show moreExisting research has shown that managerial networking can positively affect organizational performance. Moreover, it has pointed out contextual variables, concerned with the characteristics of an organization (or its environment) as a whole, that may impact this relationship. However, individual characteristics of public managers have been overlooked. This study examines the moderating effect of public managers’ job-related attitudes – specifically work autonomy, work engagement, and work commitment – on the relationship between managerial networking and organizational performance. Given the positive effects of job-related attitudes according to the existing literature, I argued that these three variables can strengthen the positive effect of managerial networking on performance. The study is conducted in the research context of Dutch primary education, investigating the networking behavior of school principals. Using a preexisting data set of 862 school principals, obtained through a survey sent to all primary schools in the Netherlands in 2013, I tested my hypotheses through multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that in this research context, only work commitment significantly strengthened the relationship between managerial networking and school performance. To obtain a more comprehensive picture of the exact working of the proposed effects in this study, I recommend that future research includes additional variables in the analysis, such as other performance indicators, and internal management, and performs longitudinal research.Show less
The present thesis seeks to answer the question how, and to what extent, environmental constraints affect the networking behaviours of public managers. For this, the effects of two different...Show moreThe present thesis seeks to answer the question how, and to what extent, environmental constraints affect the networking behaviours of public managers. For this, the effects of two different environmental constraints on the networking orientations of internally and externally oriented management behaviours are investigated. Namely, perceived levels of red tape from the institutional environment, and perceived crises from the task environment. This research was conducted by using a large-N study of school principals in Dutch public primary schools. It was hypothesised that externally oriented management behaviours would increase when crises were experienced, and decrease when high levels of red tape were experienced. Conversely, it was hypothesised that internally oriented management behaviours would decrease when crises were experienced, and increase when high levels of red tape were experienced. Because these behaviours were expected to put a strain on management behaviours, it was predicted that opportunity costs would arise when environmental constraints were experienced. These opportunity costs were expected to be stronger when crises were experienced, than when red tape was experienced. Results show that externally oriented management behaviours increase when crises or levels of red tape are experienced. In addition, internally oriented behaviours increase when crises are experienced by the school principals. No support was found for opportunity costs under these environmental constraints.Show less
Aim: The lack of empirical evidence to support the interaction between theories on transformational leadership, goal clarity, job performance and employee motivation makes it necessary to obtain...Show moreAim: The lack of empirical evidence to support the interaction between theories on transformational leadership, goal clarity, job performance and employee motivation makes it necessary to obtain this. The dataset is used to get more insight into these interactions in the field of educational settings. Methods: Data was collected through two surveys, a self-perceived leadership survey, and an employee-perceived leadership survey. The first was distributed to school principals only, who in turn were asked to distribute the employee-perceived survey to at least five of their direct employees (N = 208). To test the hypotheses, multivariate linear regression analyses and a moderated mediation regression analysis were conducted. Results: H1, H2 and H3 are accepted, as the linear regression analyses prove there is a statistically significant correlation. Employee motivation does have a mediating effect and partly explains the indirect effect between goal clarity and job performance. Transformational leadership does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between goal clarity and employee motivation. Also, there is no significant moderated mediation effect for the proposed model. H4 and H5 are thus rejected. Conclusion: The analysis confirms the indirect effect of employee motivation in the relation between goal clarity and job performance. Goal clarity provides employees with a clear and specific goal. Knowing the expected tasks increases motivation and therefore their job performance. According to the moderated mediation regression analysis, there is no significant moderated mediation in our proposed conceptual model. Transformational leaders do not have the expected positive effect on employee motivation. The results are in contrast with the theory on transformational leadership, as it is argued that transformational leaders have a motivating and enriching effect on employees through their abilities to support, communicating the organization's mission, and stimulating (Bass & Riggio, 2006).Show less
