Strategic-decision quality in public organizations : an information processing perspective

This study draws on information processing theory to investigate predictors of strategic-decision quality in public organizations. Information processing theory argues that (a) rational planning practices contribute to strategic-decision quality by injecting information into decision-making and (b) decision-makers contribute to strategic-decision quality by exchanging information during decision-making. These assumptions are tested upon fifty-five Flemish pupil guidance centers. Rational planning practices are operationalized as strategic planning, performance measurement and performance management. Information exchange by decision-makers during decision-making is operationalized as procedural justice of the decision-making process. Results suggest that procedural justice, strategic planning and performance management contribute to strategic-decision quality while performance measurement does not

Towards strategic-decision quality in Flemish municipalities: the importance of strategic planning and stakeholder participation

Legislation put forth by the Flemish government mandated Flemish municipalities to adopt strategic planning for their 2014-2019 policy cycle. The government’s assumption is that strategic planning’s approach to decision-making results in strategic-decision quality. Despite this assumption, it remains unclear whether and how strategic planning actually contributes to municipal decision-making. This study elucidates this issue. Drawing on survey data from 271 informants within 89 Flemish municipalities, we find that the systematic dimension of formal strategic planning and the participation of both core and peripheral stakeholders contribute to strategic-decision quality. However, the analytic dimension of formal strategic planning offers no significant contribution

(Re)translation Revisited

Resulting from the wish to meet the (new, altered) requirements of the receiving culture, retranslations are exponents of the historical relativity of translation. According to the so-called retranslation hypothesis, retranslations tend to be more source culture oriented than first translations. First translations, the hypothesis runs, deviate from the original to a higher degree than subsequent, more recent translations, because first translations determine whether or not a text (and its author) is (are) going to be accepted in the target culture. One can come up with several factors that make the retranslation hypothesis, even broadened to re-rewriting hypothesis, plausible (e.g., translators take a critical stance to earlier translations, the target language has developed and target culture norms have become less rigid), but one can ask to what extent the hypothesis is supported by empirical evidence. In the following article some of the results of my study of 52 German and 18 Dutch versions of the children’s classic book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (Nils Holgersson’s Wonderful Journey Through Sweden, Selma Lagerlöf, 1906-1907), published between 1907-1908 and 1999, are discussed with respect to the retranslation hypothesis. It is argued that, though some more recent versions showed consideration for the original, a clash of norms ultimately did not allow the hypothesis to hold good: not allegiance to the original, but literary, pedagogical and economical norms gained the upper hand.The hypothesis clearly does not have a general value. The hypothesis may be valid to some extent, but only if it is not formulated in absolute terms. Within peripheral forms of literature, like children’s literature, as well as within classical literature, less prototypical (re)rewriting has proven to be more than the exception and target norms continue to clash with fidelity to the original source text.Le désir de se conformer aux nécessités nouvelles de la culture d’accueil motive les retraductions, qui manifestent ainsi la relativité des traductions dans l’histoire. Selon l’hypothèse dite, précisément, de retraduction, les retraductions tendent à être plus sourcières que les premières versions. Les premières traductions dévient davantage de l’original que les suivantes, plus récentes, parce qu’elles déterminent si un texte et son auteur vont être acceptés dans la culture cible. Plusieurs facteurs peuvent appuyer cette hypothèse de retraduction, qui serait même étendue à la réécriture (par exemple, les traducteurs critiquent les premières traductions, la langue cible s’est développée et les normes de la culture cible se sont assouplies), mais on peut néanmoins se demander si elle est vérifiée par des données empiriques. Le présent article fait état de résultats issus d’une étude, menée par l’auteure, en rapport avec l’hypothèse de retraduction. Cette étude porte sur 52 traductions en allemand et 18 traductions en hollandais du roman pour enfant bien connu de Selma Lagerlöf, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (1906-1907 ; Le merveilleux voyage de Nils Holgersson en Suède), publiées de 1907-1908 à 1999. Bien que certaines versions récentes montrent un certain respect de l’original, une confrontation de différentes normes mène à une réfutation de l’hypothèse : pas d’allégeance à l’original, mais une suprématie des normes littéraires, pédagogiques et économiques. L’hypothèse, clairement, ne peut être généralisée. Si elle peut se révéler juste dans une certaine mesure, elle ne saurait en tout cas être formulée en termes absolus. Autant dans les formes périphériques de littérature, comme la littérature jeunesse, que dans la littérature classique, les (ré)écritures s’éloignant des formes prototypiques se révèlent être l’exception plutôt que la règle, et les normes de la culture cible continuent de se confronter à la fidélité au texte source original

Rational planning and politicians' attitudes to spending and reform: replication and extension of a survey experiment

The rational planning cycle of formulating strategic goals and using performance information to assess implementation is assumed to assist decision-making by politicians. Empirical evidence for this assumption is, however, scarce. Our study replicates Nielsen and Baekgaard’s (2015) experiment on the relation between performance information and politicians’ attitudes to spending and reform and extends this experiment by investigating the role of strategic goals. Based on a randomized survey experiment with 1.484 Flemish city councilors and an analysis of 225 municipal strategic plans, we found that information on low and high performance as well as strategic goals directly impact decision-making by politicians

Fulfillment of administrative and professional obligations of hospitals and mission motivation of physicians

Background: To be successful, hospitals must increasingly collaborate with their medical staff. One strategic tool that plays an important role is the mission statement of hospitals. The goal of this research was to study the relationship between the fulfillment of administrative and professional obligations of hospitals on physicians' motivation to contribute to the mission of the hospital. Furthermore the mediating role of the physicians' emotional attachment to the hospital and moderation effect of the exchange with the head physicians were considered. Methods: Self-employed physicians of six hospitals participated in a survey. Descriptive analyses and linear regression were used to analyse the data. Results: The results indicate that affective commitment mediated the relationship between psychological contract fulfillment and mission statement motivation. In addition, the quality of exchange with the Chief Medical Officer moderated the relationship between the fulfillment of administrative obligations and affective commitment positively. Conclusion: This study extends our understanding of social exchange processes and mission statement motivation of physicians. We showed that when physicians perceive a high level of fulfillment of their psychological contract they are more committed and more motivated to contribute to the mission statement. A high quality relationship between physician and Chief Medical Officer can enhance this reciprocity dynamic

Establishing a mission-based culture : analyzing the relation between intra-organizational socialization agents, mission valence, public service motivation, goal clarity and work impact

This study contributes to our understanding of how organizations can craft a mission-based culture by examining the relationship between mission valence, PSM, goal clarity, and work impact. More specifically, the study assesses how value-laden communication with multiple intra-organizational socialization referents is related with the cited variables. The developed hypotheses are tested using structural equation modelling and a sample of 585 non-managerial employees employed by a public welfare organization. The findings confirm the claim that position in an organizational hierarchy is not likely to influence the analyzed relationships. The magnitude of the relationships, however, diverges. In contrast to previous research, the study results indicate that, in the case of lower-level employees, PSM is the most powerful predictor of mission valence. Furthermore, the results indicate that exposure to organizational values via interaction with internal socialization agents is positively related with their perceived importance. The results thus not only confirm the relevance of incorporating the institutional setting when analyzing mission valence, but also provide further proof for an institutional theory of PSM by highlighting that different organizational socialization agents could play a distinctive role in crafting PSM and a mission-based culture

Nutrient removal from UASB effluent in agro-industries

Phosphorus and nitrogen are important elements, making a major contribution to agricultural and industrial development, but their release to natural water bodies are the main causes of eutrophication. Anaerobic digestion yields effluents rich in ammonium and phosphate and poor in biodegradable organic carbon, thereby making them less suitable for conventional biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal. In addition, the demand for fertilizers is increasing, energy prices are rising and global phosphate reserves are declining. This requires both changes in wastewater treatment technologies and implementation of new processes. In this contribution the combination of an ureolytic MAP (magnesium ammonium phosphate) precipitation and autotrophic nitrogen removal is described on the anaerobic effluent of a potato processing company to obtain a more sustainable and cheaper method than conventional wastewater treatment processes. The results obtained during this experiment (6 weeks period) show that it is possible to recover phosphate as struvite and remove nitrogen with the autotrophic nitrogen process from wastewater after anaerobic digestion coming from a potato processing company. However further research is necessary to obtain stable results during several months, especially for the nitrite:ammonium ratio produced by the partial nitritation reactor

What motivates politicians to use strategic plans as a decision-making tool? Insights from the theory of planned behaviour

Although in many public organizations politicians sitting in governing boards are responsible for ratifying the organization’s strategic plan and monitoring its implementation, empirical insights on the determinants of politicians’ strategic plan use are lacking. Therefore, we build on the theory of planned behaviour to analyse (1) how politicians’ beliefs regarding the usefulness of strategic planning, the pressure to use strategic plans, and their self-efficacy in using strategic plans effectively are formed, and (2) how these beliefs impact intended and actual strategic plan use. Longitudinal data from 249 councillors (153 Flemish local authorities) provides support for the developed psychological-cognitive model