Property Tax: A Primer and a Modest Proposal for Maine

Property taxation has been viewed for years as the perfect “dragon to be slain” and by most “as both bad and doomed.” In spite of being one of the most commonly questioned and scrutinized issues by voters and politicians, property taxation survives as the primary revenue source for local governments. Maine\u27s experience is an example of this continuing debate. The 2005 reform attempt by the Legislature known as LD 1 is the most recent example. Municipal over-dependence on the property tax, rising property values, unfunded state mandates, loss of federal revenues, and increased spending has significantly increased the percentage of Maine taxpayers\u27 personal income needed to pay the tax, raising Maine\u27s property tax burden to one of the highest in the nation. In spite of a general consensus that Maine must ameliorate its property tax burden and provide significant relief to those for which the tax is most burdensome, the means to that end is not obvious or simple, but still needs to be pursued. This Article provides a context for the discussion that frequently demonstrates a lack of understanding of the tax\u27s historic base, evolution, and its many-faceted aspects. This is an opportunity to step back and view the whole of the tax, which so many believe is in need of reform. There are a variety of legal limitations, reform alternatives, and experiences that need to be understood for reform discussions to be successful. In this Article, and in conjunction with explaining the alternatives for property tax relief, the authors have made some modest proposals for additional property tax reform in Maine to go beyond Governor John Baldacci\u27s and the 122nd Legislature\u27s efforts in the January 2005 enactment of LD 1. Some of these proposals are simple and practical; others are not. These proposals and others need to be considered for the welfare of Maine taxpayers and the state\u27s future. All proposals must be considered in the context of the history of the property tax and its legal limitations

Theory of Expert Leadership (TEL) in Psychiatry

Objective Leaders’ technical competence – ‘expert knowledge’ – has been shown in many settings to be associated with better organizational performance. In universities, for example, there is longitudinal evidence that research-focused scholars make the best leaders; results from a hospital study show that doctors instead of professional managers are most closely associated with the best performing institutions. To explain these patterns, and raise hypotheses, a theory of expert leadership (TEL) has been developed that might explain these patterns. In this paper the framework for expert leadership is applied to psychiatry. Conclusions The theory of expert leadership (TEL) proposes that psychiatric leaders, as opposed to nonexpert managers, improve organizational performance through several channels. First, experts’ knowledge influences organizational strategy. Second, having been ‘one of them’, a psychiatrist understands how to create the optimal work environment for psychiatric teams, through appropriate goal-setting, evaluation and support. These factors are positively associated with workers’ wellbeing and performance. Third, exceptional psychiatrist-leaders are likely to set high standards for hiring. Fourth, leaders’ credibility extends their influence among core workers, and also signals organizational priorities to stakeholders. Finally, a necessary prerequisite of TEL is that expert leaders have direct executive power inclusive of budgetary and strategic oversight

How to stay in pole position: hire a boss who has worked on the floor

If you had to make a guess about who will win the Japanese Grand Prix, how might you choose? In data spanning the entire 60 year history of Formula 1 Championships, my co-author, Ganna Pogrebna, and I have found that it has a lot to do with leadership. F1 teams that are led by former drivers or mechanics outperform those who are led by either managers or qualified engineers. We also find that when a team leader has 10 years of competitive driving experience, instead of zero years, there is a 16 per cent higher chance of their team performing well in a Grand Prix race. That is a big effect. Our research reveals that the best leaders are those who have previously ‘walked-the-walk’ – individuals who are experts in the core business of their organization. I will return to this later. The first not able point about this study is that it shows that leaders matter

Hospital performance and clinical leadership: New evidence from Iran

Purpose: There is growing interest in the potential need for clinical involvement in leadership and managementof hospitals. Most studies of clinical leadership use US and European data. This paper contributes the first evidence for the country of Iran. It examines three different forms of hospital system: public, private and social security organisation, and these include teaching and non-teaching hospitals. This study adds to a small but growing literature that examines the possible value of ‘expert’ clinical leaders. Method: This study uses data from 72 general hospitals in the city of Tehran. The data were collected for years 2015 and 2016. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used in this study to assess hospital performance. Hospitals’ chief operating officers are divided into two groups: clinicians (the majority of whom are physicians) and non-medically trained managers. Findings: The average performance scores for hospitals with clinical managers and non-clinically trained managers areequal to 96.68±5.50 and 89.78±7.20 respectively (P <0.001). Performance is thus higher under clinical managers. Outcome differences are observed in each of the three types of ownership, and in teaching and non-teaching hospitals. The advantage in performance-score varies, when comparing the clinically led institutions and managerially led institutions, by between 5 and 10 points on a 0-100 scale. These differences remain after regression-equation adjustment for other influences. Practical implications: Succession planning and targeted leadership development is made more efficient with greater awareness about the kinds of leaders and managers that enhance organizational performance

The future of clinical leadership: evidence for physician leadership and the educational pathway for new leaders

Until recently, the title ‘physician leader’ was rarely heard particularly in the UK. But that is changing. Doctors are being drawn into leadership and management more systematically. New educational opportunities are being tailored to the specific needs of doctors. The change towards physician leadership is being driven by research showing that leaders who are experts in the core business, such as doctors, are associated with improved organisational performance. This article summarises that evidence and then reviews what we have learnt about how best to train future physician leaders

Lack of Diversity in Leadership: Could Selective Randomness Break the Deadlock?

The proportion of women and ethnic minorities in senior management remains indefensibly low. Radical ideas are therefore needed. This paper proposes one. It is to use a form of selective randomness -- random selection from among a pool of pre-chosen and qualified candidates -- as a new HRM tool. We argue this in two parts – an equity case and an efficiency case. First, selective randomness would ensure greater equity between the sexes and races over time; offer ‘rejection insurance’ to candidates wary of discrimination, and thereby mitigate the fear of failure; and encourage women and non-whites to enter tournaments. Second, we consider also the criterion of efficiency. The standard of candidates going into management would be raised; homophily would be reduced, thus improving diversity of people and ideas, and reducing the ‘chosen one’ factor. By using Jensen’s inequality from applied mathematics, we provide the first demonstration that random selection could act to improve organizational efficiency by raising the chance of an extraordinary manager being hired