The figure of the neutral bureaucrat is endangered by the new challenges of New Public Management. The heightened attention on performance information and goal prioritization characterizing NPM...Show moreThe figure of the neutral bureaucrat is endangered by the new challenges of New Public Management. The heightened attention on performance information and goal prioritization characterizing NPM collides with political preferences and aspirations. The dissertation explores how political interferences influence the prioritization of goals in Dutch local governments. The research expects that the presence of conflicting goals will foster reprioritization considerations during bureaucratic performance evaluation. Through an experimental approach, combining the Experimental Vignette Method and semi-structured interviews, the research finds that political interference leads to goal reprioritization. The employment of thematic coding and subsequent analysis detects guiding explanations cascading from political interference, reinforcing the institutional constraints within the bureaucratic domain. Finally, the dissertation identifies theoretical and methodological limitations and provides practical implications for policymaking and suggestions for the reduction of institutional constraints in bureaucratic evaluation.Show less
The behavioral theory of the firm lacks a comprehensive understanding of issue prioritization, particularly when multiple issues are performing below aspiration levels, or resources are limited....Show moreThe behavioral theory of the firm lacks a comprehensive understanding of issue prioritization, particularly when multiple issues are performing below aspiration levels, or resources are limited. This study investigates the prioritization of eGovernment initiatives, considering budget constraints and the emphasis on historical versus social aspiration levels. Two theoretical expectations were developed: 1) the prioritization of historical versus social aspiration levels, and 2) the prioritization of eGovernment initiatives under budget constraints. Semi-structured interviews with 9 public officials from the Directorate-General for Economic Activities in Portugal were conducted to assess the expectations. The thematic analysis revealed that public officials do not change the priorities of eGovernment initiatives based on budget constraints and predominantly prioritize social aspirations over historical ones. This study highlights the importance of pragmatism driven by necessity alongside creativity. The findings have implications for issue prioritization, performance feedback, cutback management, and public administration literature in general. Future research should expand the study to include coercive aspiration levels, less salient issues, different countries, and different public organizations. Additionally, preferences and public sector motivation can be included as moderators, and employing a mixed-methods approach could be beneficial.Show less
With the rapid development of China's economy, municipal solid waste (MSW) is also increasing rapidly day by day, and the management of MSW has become a more prominent problem in the process of...Show moreWith the rapid development of China's economy, municipal solid waste (MSW) is also increasing rapidly day by day, and the management of MSW has become a more prominent problem in the process of urbanization. How to reduce the generation of garbage, ensure the provision of high-quality services in processing, and realize the reduction, harmlessness and recycling of garbage has become a hot spot of social concern. Public-private partnership (PPP) serves as a bridge connecting the public sector and the private sector. While alleviating the government’s financial burden on the project, it also incorporates the private sector into the public sector and improves the operational efficiency of MSW management projects with the help of the market. Solving the problem of municipal solid waste disposal in the form of public-private partnerships has become a common way all over the world. In China, the form of public-private partnership has set off an upsurge in the field of municipal solid waste treatment as an innovative means in recent years. However, due to the late development and lack of experience, there are still a series of problems in the current PPP mode of MSW management in China. This paper analyzes the current PPP model of MSW management in China and researches the factors that affect its success or failure, which has certain significance for the long-term development of the PPP model. This study takes the PPP MSW project in Wuhan, China as a case study. In order to achieve the purpose of the research, a successful MSW PPP project of Chongqing Tongxin MSW project is added as a comparative case. The main research method is a comparative case study by interviewing project leaders. Two interviews will be conducted. The first interviewee is the person in charge of the MSW project in Chongqing, who is the head of the China region of the private enterprise WTT (Waste Treatment and technologies). The second interviewee is the person in charge of the government's Wuhan MSW project. Thematic analysis will be used to analyze my interview data. Through interviews, data collection, and thematic analysis, six codes most relevant to the research questions were screened out, (1) The level of local economic development of the project, (2) Resident acceptance, (3) Government regulatory ability and experience, (4) Government Administrative risk, (5) Government financial tolerance and risk control ability, (6) Strengths of private enterprise. Then compare the success and failure factors of the PPP model application in Chongqing and Wuhan. Because of the deficiencies in the current PPP mode of MSW in China, the establishment of relevant industry and legal systems is proposed from the four perspectives of the government, private sector, residents, and waste disposal methods. Some opinions and relevant suggestions are put forward for the sustainable development of the MSW management industry.Show less
This research presents the possible facilitators and obstacles regarding the implementation of a policy chronic care model to aid mental health treatment (a Non-Communicable Disease) in Aruba. To...Show moreThis research presents the possible facilitators and obstacles regarding the implementation of a policy chronic care model to aid mental health treatment (a Non-Communicable Disease) in Aruba. To analyze the facilitators and obstacles, a main research question was formulated, namely, ‘What are the obstacles and facilitators of the implementation of a policy Chronic Care Model to help the treatment of mental health (a Non-Communicable Disease) in Aruba?’. To provide an answer to the research question, semi-structured interviews were conducted with professionals in the field in Aruba. Afterwards, results were presented, and conclusions were made. Conclusively, the factors that affect the intended policy implementation in Aruba are, internal and external facilitators and obstacles which include, the mobilization of resources and actions, (un)clear tasks, roles, and responsibilities, availability of resources, (in)adequate theoretical validity, (lack of) availability of resources, (lack of) collaboration, (lack of) involvement, and participation, (lack of) monitoring and evaluation, (lack of) communication, considerate/negligence of contextual factors, inadequate knowledge, skills, and expertise, and lack of continuous support. Lastly, the emergent themes facilitators and obstacles which also affect the intended policy implementation in Aruba are, politics, (lack of) awareness of mental health, and (in)adequate mental health treatment. Keywords: NCDs, mental health, policy implementation, policy process, ArubaShow less
During crises, urban movements emerge as a symptom of deprivation experienced by citizens. Although the literature on urban movements has analysed many aspects of this phenomenon, the existing...Show moreDuring crises, urban movements emerge as a symptom of deprivation experienced by citizens. Although the literature on urban movements has analysed many aspects of this phenomenon, the existing literature fails to provide the perspective of those who are often targeted by urban movements: civil servants. This thesis aims to explore the factors associated with local civil servants’ responsiveness. Specifically, it investigates whether urban movement type, the organisational culture of the municipality, social identification with movements, and the role conception of civil servants are associated with responsiveness. To do this, this thesis conducts a qualitative multiple case study and analyses data from interviews with civil servants from various municipalities in the Netherlands, where there is currently a housing crisis accompanied by urban movements. The results of the thematic analysis of the interviews have shown that civil servants are more responsive to advocatory movements, rather than spontaneous or adversarial movements. The results also show that an adaptable organisational culture is positively associated with responsiveness by civil servants, as opposed to a ‘mission’ culture where the focus is on long-term policy-making. Furthermore, the results show that individual considerations of civil servants, namely social identification and role conception, are not necessarily associated with responsiveness.Show less
