Altruists or egoists? retention in stipended service

This study examines stipended volunteers—those volunteers who engage freely in a helping activity within a formal organizational structure but receive some type of remuneration for their services. Based on a sample of AmeriCorps members from three states, we identify several motivational, demographic, and individual factors that affect retention of stipended volunteers. We conclude that retention depends more on instrumental career-related factors than on altruistic motivation or meaningfulness of the service. © 1998 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Cost structure of contracting out: transaction cost theory

정부의 효율적인 운영에 대한 정치적 압력과 재정적인 제약이 커짐에 따라 그 동안 정부가 독점적으로 수행하였던 공공재의 생산과 공급 등 정부 고유기능의 수행에 있어 시장의 효율성을 활용하기 위한 것으로 점차 민간위탁의 활용도가 커져가는 추세이다. 본 연구에서는 정부의 직접생산을 대신하여 선택되는 민간위탁의 비용 구조를 파악하는 것을 주된 목적으로 한다. 특히, 민간위탁 활용시 발생하는 비용구조를 파악하기 위하여 민간위탁시 발생하는 주요 비용과 각 비용을 결정하는 세부 비용 요인들의 파악 및 이들 간의 관계를 거래비용이론의 시각에서 이론적으로 검토하고 있다. 민간위탁시 발생하는 주요 비용으로는 생산비용, 탐색 및 협상비용 그리고 기회주의적 행동비용을 주로 검토하고 있으며 이들을 결정하는 요인으로 업무의 복잡성, 경합성 및 자본의 특정성을 중심으로 논의하고 있다. 민간위탁과 관련된 비용 구조의 파악은 정책수단으로서 민간위탁이 갖고 있는 속성을 보다 정확하게 파악할 수 있도록 하여 비용절감을 통한 효율성 제고 수단으로 민간위탁의 올바른 선택을 돕는 기준을 제시할 수 있을 것이다. Contracting out has been a popular choice for the government to respond to the political pressure for efficient government and to overcome the fiscal constraints. By using contracting out, government exercises less power over the production of public good and uses more market competition. This study investigates the cost structure of contracting out by looking at the costs involved in contracting out using transaction cost theory. Production cost, search and negotiation cost and cost of opportunistic behavior are major costs that the government should pay when using contracting out. The magnitude of these costs is determined by complexity, contestability and asset specificity. Better understanding of the cost structure of contracting out will help us to make an informed decision on when to use contracting out.이 논문은 2007년 정부(교육인적자원부)의 재원으로 한국학술진흥재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임(KRF-2007-321-B00185)

Stipended volunteers: Their goals, experiences, satisfaction, and likelihood of future service

Goal setting theory predicts that the initial needs, interests, and aspirations that volunteers bring to organizations are guiding forces in their work behaviors. Other theorists argue that environmental constraints and conditioned responses to positive or negative reinforcement of earlier behaviors are better predictors of subsequent behaviors than initial goals. In this study, the relationship of initial goals to subsequent service outcomes, satisfaction, and intention to volunteer was empirically investigated. Among a sample of 362 AmeriCorps members, the goals that stipended volunteers brought to their service were found to influence outcomes related to those goals 1 year later. Self-esteem was an important moderator of the relationship between goals and outcomes. The overall match of goal importance to goal achievement predicted both satisfaction and likelihood of future volunteering. The results have implications for research on volunteers and volunteer management

Are Computers Boosting Productivity? A Test of the Paradox in State Governments

An issue that has long nagged scholars who study the effects of information technology (IT) investments is the so-called productivity paradox. Investments in IT have promised productivity improvements, but the benefits often have not materialized. This research explicitly studies many of the explanations for null findings in previous research in a rarely studied context, state governments. The research employs several novel features - including innovative measures of productivity and the technology itself - and a formal measure of information technology management structure. IT investments by state governments have positive and significant effects on the measure of productivity, gross state product. Organizations that use chief information officer structures to manage the technology reap greater rewards from their investments. We conclude that research that eliminates shortcomings of previous studies is likely to find performance improvements from IT investments

Inside a Swiss Army Knife: An Assessment of AmeriCorps

This study reviews the goals and achievements of AmeriCorps, the national service program championed by President Clinton and approved by Congress in 1993. We identify five AmeriCorps goals: satisfying unmet social needs, developing corps members, enhancing the civic ethic, reinvigorating lethargic bureaucracies, and bridging race and class. The evidence of AmeriCorps' effectiveness is not definitive. Self-reports from recipient programs, selective cost-benefit analyses, and some survey evidence indicate some positive results. More fine-grained survey and field research raise questions about AmeriCorps' overall effects. Much more research is needed before policy makers and citizens can determine AmeriCorps' productivity