Privatization and local government reform in Germany: A slow train

The paper investigates the recent trends in privatization by local government organizations in Germany. It comes to the conclusion that the privatization policy has been two-directional: on the one hand, municipalities have reduced their economic activities, mainly by different forms of contracting out; on the other hand, they have expanded them into profitable fields. In many cases they have preferred a phantom privatization: government bodies have only been transferred into a private-law establishment. The paper examines the barriers to privatization and provides a strategy to overcome them.

Audit report on the City of Murray, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2009

Audit report on the City of Murray, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 200

Developing strong social enterprises : a documentary approach

Social enterprises are diverse in their mission, business structures and industry orientations. Like all businesses, social enterprises face a range of strategic and operational challenges and utilize a range of strategies to access resources in support of their venture. This exploratory study examined the strategic management issues faced by Australian social enterprises and the ways in which they respond to these. The research was based on a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with 11 representatives of eight social enterprises based in Victoria and Queensland. The sample included mature social enterprises and those within two years of start-up. In addition to the research report, the outputs of the project include a series of six short documentaries, which are available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/SocialEnterpriseQUT#p/u. The research reported on here suggests that social enterprises are sophisticated in utilizing processes of network bricolage (Baker et al. 2003) to mobilize resources in support of their goals. Access to network resources can be both enabling and constraining as social enterprises mature. In terms of the use of formal business planning strategies, all participating social enterprises had utilized these either at the outset or the point of maturation of their business operations. These planning activities were used to support internal operations, to provide a mechanism for managing collective entrepreneurship, and to communicate to external stakeholders about the legitimacy and performance of the social enterprises. Further research is required to assess the impacts of such planning activities, and the ways in which they are used over time. Business structures and governance arrangements varied amongst participating enterprises according to: mission and values; capital needs; and the experiences and culture of founding organizations and individuals. In different ways, participants indicated that business structures and governance arrangements are important ways of conferring legitimacy on social enterprise, by signifying responsible business practice and strong social purpose to both external and internal stakeholders. Almost all participants in the study described ongoing tensions in balancing social purpose and business objectives. It is not clear, however, whether these tensions were problematic (in the sense of eroding mission or business opportunities) or productive (in the sense of strengthening mission and business practices through iterative processes of reflection and action). Longitudinal research on the ways in which social enterprises negotiate mission fulfillment and business sustainability would enhance our knowledge in this area. Finally, despite growing emphasis on measuring social impact amongst institutions, including governments and philanthropy, that influence the operating environment of social enterprise, relatively little priority was placed on this activity. The participants in our study noted the complexities of effectively measuring social impact, as well as the operational difficulties of undertaking such measurement within the day to day realities of running small to medium businesses. It is clear that impact measurement remains a vexed issue for a number of our respondents. This study suggests that both the value and practicality of social impact measurement require further debate and critically informed evidence, if impact measurement is to benefit social enterprises and the communities they serve

Public Private Partnership Policy Implementation in Refused Derived Fuel Waste Management

The purpose of this study was to analyze the implementation of the Public Private Partnership policy in managing Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) waste between the Cilacap Regency Government and PT. Solusi Bangun Indonesia, to find out the roles of actors in the implementation of the Public Private Partnership policy for RDF waste management in Cilacap Regency from various collaboration model negotiations, as well as to create an ideal and recommended Public Private Partnership implementation model in implementing RDF waste management policies in Cilacap Regency so that it is more optimal. The research method used in this research is quantitative research. The data needed are transcripts from interviews and observation notes as well as secondary data in the form of documents from the Environmental Service, data from UPT TPA Jeruklegi, DANIDA ESP3, Waste Assessment and other related data. The result of the implementation of this research is to draw the conclusion that the implementation of the RDF waste management policy was not timely and there were many dynamic problems in its implementation

Search Engines Giving You Garbage? Put A Corc In It, Implementing The Cooperative Online Resource Catalog

This paper presents an implementation strategy for adding Internet resources to a library online catalog using OCLC\u27s Cooperative Online Resource Catalog (CORC). Areas of consideration include deciding which electronic resources to include in the online catalog and how to select them. The value and importance of pathfinders in creating electronic bibliographies and the role of library staff in updating them is introduced. Using an electronic suggestion form as a means of Internet resource collection development is another innovative method of enriching library collections. Education and training for cataloging staff on Dublin Core elements is also needed. Attention should be paid to the needs of distance learners in providing access to Internet resources. The significance of evaluating the appropriateness of Internet resources for library collections is emphasized

JOINT PUBLIC VENTURES COST ALLOCATION: ALTERNATIVE AND CONSEQUENCES

An in depth discussion of the nature, structure and financing of intergovernmental arrangements in the production of public services. Includes economic justification, methods of allocating costs and examples of joint ventures.Public Economics,

ENTRY MODE DECISION MAKING PROCESS

Decision making is the important process in formulating the entry mode strategies. The main objective of this study is to explore the entry mode decision making process a firm entering in to new market. This study explains the entry mode decision making of the case company. In the theoretical part of this study firstly the strategic decision making is discussed. The next part of the theoretical part explains the various modes in strategic decision making. Furthermore the theoretical part discusses about the decision making in the context of entry mode and as well as in the context of entry mode choice approaches. The later part of the theory explores the stages that are involved in the entry mode decision making process. At final the theoretical part explains the importance of emerging markets. The empirical part of the study is done through the face to face interview with the case company. Moreover, the case company’s annual reports, publications and the internet pages were also used in the empirical part of the study. The empirical results of the study explains three stages in the entry decision making process of the case company which are market and need identification, entry mode data collection and decision making stage. It is revealed from the results that the case company’s decision making process is based on avoidance mode.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Public private partnerships: Can small municipalities participate?

This paper will attempt to explain in detail how Osgoode Township located in the city of Ottawa developed public-private partnerships to enhance economic viability.  It will explain why this alternative was chosen, describe the two partnerships now in place, how they work, and their principal strengths and weaknesses.  From the lessons learned the paper will then provide a policy framework for those communities wishing to consider pursuing similar partnerships as a method to sustain economic well-being and to provide innovative solutions to the business of local government in the future.Keywords: public private partnership, policy, municipal government, Township of Osgood

Trade in environmental services: opportunities and constraints

The environmental services sector has been growing rapidly during the last two decades. Moreover, privatization and increasing outward-orientation of environmental services during the 1990s has made this sector an important service sector for negotiations under the new round of GATS.This study explores the nature and structure of the environmental services sector, both globally and in India, with particular focus on recent trends such as privatization and foreign investment in this sector. It also discusses issues of classification and definition which have occupied centre stage in the multilateral negotiations in this sector. The study assesses the implications of liberalizing environmental services in India, taking into account the country's strengths, weaknesses, and interests in this sector. Based on this assessment, it suggests a negotiating strategy for India in environmental services in the ongoing GATS 2000 negotiations. Given the special features of this sector, the study also suggests domestic reforms and regulations to ensure equity and sustainability along with economic efficiency in the provision of environmental services in India.