SpAds: political sherpas bridging minister and civil servant

This paper examines how opinion-shaping political and civil service stakeholders view the role and contribution of Special Political Advisers (SpAds) within the Westminster system of government. The literature only recently paid considered attention to this role, partly due to the recent reforms that spawned the emergence of SpAds, but also because political advisers still only represent a small population within the government community. It is acknowledged that each country’s institutional and administrative traditions greatly influence SpAds’ tasks; arrangements with the UK being no exception. Recognising that SpAds take on the role of “temporary civil servants” whose duties vary according to ministerial direction, the study reported in this paper concludes that SpAds can make an invaluable contribution to policy delivery by acting as a bridge between Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary. The capability to bridge the tensions between ministerial urgency to realise policy goals and civil servant realism to accurately assess the “fracture points” to be overcome in the process of policy delivery is reported as particularly valued by the public official. This paper concludes that the SpAd’s relentless pursuit of the Minister’s agenda is distinctly counterproductive for both Minister and civil servant, but adopting the function of bridging across contrasting interests enhances policy delivery effectiveness

Conceptualising public-private partnerships:a critical appraisal of approaches to meanings and forms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to survey various meanings attached to a public-private partnership (PPP) and related aspects in Western literature, and identify commonalities and differences between them. Additionally, the article intends to critically assess conflicting and overlapping views on contractual and institutional PPPs, their forms and models, and draw insights for transitional economies. Design/methodology/approach – The article contrasts and compares views on PPP meanings, forms and models within Western PPP literature, and also draws comparisons with understanding of partnership aspects in the Russian language sources. The paper examines theories underpinning PPPs, builds connections to PPP advantages and drawbacks, and provides critical assessment of net benefits that PPPs may bring along to the society. Findings – The article concludes that future PPP research in transitional countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia, particularly in the area of organisational and power arrangements in partnerships, may delineate new concepts such as government as a guarantor of a PPP project, social significance of a PPP project, and risk management in a country’s contextual environment. Practical implications – In transitional countries, in which PPPs are in their infancy, clarification of theoretical positions, and identification of commonalities and differences between meanings attached to the PPP terminology may enable better decisions by researchers and practitioners in their selection and further development of partnerships and related concepts. Originality/value – Research in the field of PPPs in transitional countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan is in its infancy. The paper intends to contribute to the body of knowledge about PPPs by providing detailed account and categorisation of their principal meanings, forms, models, underpinning theories, and drawing insights for future research in transitional countries

Towards a UK local government reform Act of 2015: improving public sector performance for 2025

This paper proposes a three tiered governance structure to rebalance local government within the United Kingdom. The introduction of a North of England assembly is proposed to rebalance the North / South divide. An international comparison of U.K. Australian and Canadian public sectors suggests that the U.K lags behind in competitiveness and wellbeing. Calling for equality for all citizens, the paper concludes that a shift in central government policy formulation is needed to enable equitable localisation of political power and improved global competitiveness of the U.K

Achieving gender balance on British boards with the soft-law approach: directors’ perspective

A soft-law approach is followed in the UK for improving gender diversity on boards. This paper explores the causes and solutions of gender homogeneity on British boards by interviewing thirty-three board members of FTSE 350 companies. Results suggest that British boards are homogeneous due to discrimination against women, a lack of confidence among women and a lack of objectivity in nomination processes. While current soft-law approach is the best-suited strategy due to established institutional processes, there is an increasing demand for more intrusive statutory action if the current approach fails to achieve gender parity, soon enough. The paper contributes to Institutional theory, public policy and corporate praxis

The chairperson and CEO roles interaction and responses to strategic tensions

Purpose: This paper utilises Stewart’s model of role as a lenses from which to explore chairperson and CEO role dynamics in addressing strategic paradox and tension. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on 29 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with chairpersons and CEOs of UK-listed companies. Interview data is subjected to role analysis using Stewart’s (1982) Demands-Constraints-Choice (DCC) model of role. Findings (mandatory): Findings indicate that relationship levels of trust, communication and chairperson time, enable strategic tensions to be raised and confronted in the relationship reducing defensiveness. Two distinct approaches to handle strategic tensions are found. The CEO-led approach predominates and rests on less flexible role boundaries, requiring the chairperson to proactively identify strategic tensions and perform an advisory/mentoring role. The shared leadership approach, less prevalent, rests on highly flexible role boundaries where the skills and experience of each incumbent become more relevant, enabling the separation of efforts and integration of strategic tensions in the relationship in a ‘dynamic complementarity of function’. Research limitations: The study only applies to the UK context and is limited to contexts where CEO and chairperson roles are separate. The study draws on individual perceptions of chairperson and CEOs (i.e. not pairs). Practical Implications: The study provides insights to practicing CEOs and chairperson on two distinct ways of working through strategic paradox and tensions. Originality/value: The study adds to the scarce literature at chairperson and CEO roles and strategic paradox and tension

Dealing with strategic tensions on the board: the role of the chair in fostering engagement and debate

This chapter presents the findings of a study of the chairs and CEOs of large UK listed companies, exploring the chair’s role in harnessing the capabilities of the board in order to deal with strategic tensions. The study draws on 30 in-depth exploratory interviews with chairs and CEOs and finds that chairs have a wide range of choices at their disposal in pursuit of the surfacing and handling of strategic tensions by the board. These choices include setting the tone, the policy and practice of engagement between non-executives and the business, and between the board and the CEO. It is essential for the chair to take a proactive approach and ensure that tension-generating topics are part of the agenda and that all board members, formal or not, are encouraged to attend committee work. Engagement is insufficient if it is not followed by appropriate debate. Chairs manage board dynamics and participants’ contributions during meetings, ensuring, by means of regular summarising and concluding, that tensions are confronted and discussed by all members and that a shared direction is agreed. Through such practice, chairs establish the degree of board involvement in strategy, aiming for an involvement that is both challenging and supportive of the executive and which is best described as interactive strategising. Boards of directors regularly face difficult, strategic-tension-generating issues, and this study offers fresh insight into the chair’s critical role as leader

Managerial Discretion: Exploring the Black Box of Demographic Research

The strategic leadership research stream is dominated by the predominantly instrumental approach of the upper echelons research stream. In recent years this research stream has been criticized for failing to develop from an exploration of whether relationships exist between managers’ background characteristics, their strategic choices and firm performances to an exploration of how managers’ characteristics influence outcomes. In this paper we build on the existing work in the stream by suggesting a way forward through the development of discretion as a pivotal concept in the exploration of the black box of demographic research. Specifically we separate the concepts of perceived, enacted, and actual discretion and locate them in a theoretical framework that sets an agenda for future research. Key words choice, cognition, demographics, discretion, leadership, upper echelon

Improving corporate governance with functional diversity on FTSE 350 boards: directors' perspective

Purpose: Boards presently are considered the most critical component in improving corporate governance (CG). Board diversity is increasingly being recommended as a tool for enhancing firm performance. Academic research and regulatory action regarding board diversity are focused mainly on the gender and ethnic composition of boards. However, the perspective of board members on board diversity and its impact is mostly missing. Moreover, while Strategic Leadership perspective suggests that a broader set of upper echelon’s characteristics may shape their actions, empirical evidence investigating the impact of less-explored attributes of diversity is almost non-existent. While the research on the input–output relationship between board diversity and firm performance remains equivocal, an intervening relationship between board diversity and board effectiveness needs to be understood. This article addresses these limitations and explores the subject from board members’ perspectives. Design: The article presents the findings of qualitative, exploratory research conducted by interviewing 42 board members of FTSE 350 companies. The data is analysed thematically. Findings: The findings of the research suggest that board members of FTSE 350 companies consider the diversity of functional experience to be a critical requirement for boards’ role-effectiveness. Functionally diverse boards manage external dependencies more effectively and challenge assumptions of the executive more efficiently, thus improving CG. The findings significantly contribute to the literature on board diversity, as well as to Strategic Leadership theory and other applicable theories. The research is conducted with a relatively small but elite and difficult to approach set of 42 board members of FTSE 350 companies. Practical implications: The article makes a unique and significant contribution to praxis by presenting the perspective of practitioners of CG – board members. The findings may encourage board nomination committees to seek board diversity beyond the gender and ethnic characteristics of directors. The findings may also be relevant for policy formulation, as they indicate that functionally diverse boards have improved effectiveness in a range of board roles. Originality/value: The article makes an original and unique contribution to Strategic Leadership theory by strengthening the argument of the theory. The article goes beyond the widely researched attributes of gender and ethnicity on boards and explores the impact of a less well researched characteristic of directors – their functional experience. Moreover, the article opens the ‘black box’ of CG – boards – and presents the perspectives of board members. The findings indicate that board members in FTSE 350 boards define board diversity more broadly as compared to how academics and regulatory agencies often do. The article presents a clear business case for board diversity, subject to the term’s broader definition