Alternative Service Delivery in Africa: The Case for International Regional Organisations

Alternative service delivery (ASD) is generally confined to the provision opublic services within the boundaries of a single nation state. This paper extends thisconceptualization and practice beyond a single nation state by focusing on services provided by international regional organizations (IROs), which encompass more than a single country. Recognizing that the regional approach may not be suitable under all circumstances, the papertakes a contingency approach and discusses with illustrations the conditions under which the regional or continental approaches may provide superior public services to the wider population. Three examples from the East African Community (EAC), Africa’s riparian river basins, and cross-border illicit trade of conflict minerals in the Great Lakes region are given as illustrative cases. Noting that Africa’s growing aspirations for inclusive development and rapid transformation call for better governance and quality public services, the paper ends by calling for more scholarly work and field experiments on ASD and other models applicable at local, national, regional and continental levels. Publication (PDF): Alternative Service Delivery in Africa: The Case for International Regional Organisations. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312674549_Alternative_Service_Delivery_in_Africa_The_Case_for_International_Regional_Organisations [accessed Apr 4, 2017]

China-Africa Legal and Judiciary Systems: Advancing Mutually Beneficial Economic Relations

This paper provides a comparative longitudinal assessm ent of legal and judicial reforms relevant for China-Africa economic relations. It draws on and exte nds aspects of institutional and organizational the- ory, focusing on the concepts of convergence, alignment, hybridi zation, and institutional voids. Data were obtained from publically available databases from reputable international organizations including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. Results point to areas where China has made progress more than Africa, and areas where serious capacity and pe rformance gaps remain, especially for individual Af- rican countries. The paper provides a brief discussion of the implications for the need to build organiza- tional capacities necessary for strengthening China-A frica economic law and advancing mutually benefi- cial economic relations and concludes by identifying research limitations, and areas for future research

Division 403 Organization, Communication and Management Consultancy Institutional Development of Research Institutions in Developing Countries

We believe that the restructuring of research institutions worldwide has just begun and that the efforts of ISNAR for example or more specifically of IRRI, in the field of agricultural research institutions, should be supported by the view of practitioners and researchers in organizational development to enrich the discussion and the practical relevance of approaches. Moses N. Kiggundu has contributed greatly to structuring the organizational model for research institutions and to work out the parameters to diagnose research institutions in detail. His generic model can be applied to the various sectors and is an excellent approach to encourage research institutions to also use the model as an instrument for self-diagnosing their situation. The model of Moses N. Kiggundu links to research and practical work of Renata Kiefer who has improved the work of a national health research institution in Paraguay by using methods of organizational and personnel development and to the work of Manfred Habi

Task interdependence and job design: Test of a theory

This paper develops the concept of task interdependence and integrates it in the Hackman and Oldham (1976) theory of job design. Two dimensions of initiated task interdependence and received task interdependence are developed as multidimensional concepts, each being made up of the elements of scope, resources, and criticality. A distinction is made between the two psychological states of experienced responsibility for one's own work and personal outcomes, and experienced responsibility for others' (dependents') work and personal outcomes for whom one initiates task interdependence. Autonomy is hypothesized to be related only to experienced responsibility for one's own work outcomes while initiated task interdependence is related to experienced responsibility for others' work outcomes. Initiated interdependence is also hypothesized to be positively related to the affective positive work and personal outcomes, while received task interdependence is negatively related to these variables. New subscales for the measurements of these constructs are developed and reliability and validity coefficients are reported. The substantive results give support to the motivating potential of initiated task interdependence. However, the results do not support the hypotheses associated with received task interdependence. While autonomy was found to be much more strongly related to all the critical psychological states than the Hackman-Oldham theory would predict, job feedback yielded negative results. These findings are discussed by identifying potential areas of future research and extending the concept of interdependence to the wider organizational context

Anti-poverty and progressive social change in Brazil: Lessons for other emerging economies

This article examines Brazil’s experiences with anti-poverty and progressive social change, and spells out possible lessons for emerging economies with similar challenges. It draws on the Bolsa Familia conditional cash transfers (CCT) and the continuous cash benefits programmes and discusses important aspects of programme leadership, management and coordination. After a brief discussion of poverty, it presents a framework synthesizing key success factors for effective and sustaining programme implementation. Brazil does not offer a ‘blueprint’ for other countries to copy; only lessons from experience. Therefore the article concludes by discussing key ongoing challenges and suggests areas for future research, focusing on comparative studies across countries

An Empirical Test of the Theory of Job Design Using Multiple Job Ratings

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Job Diagnostic Survey [JDS] using ratings of the job incumbents, their immediate supervisors, and informed nominated coworkers. It also provides a partial test of the Hackman and Oldham (1976) theory of job design using these multiple job ratings. Results show that previously found psychometric addequacy of the JDS and empirical support of the theory using only job incumbents can be generalized to nonincumbent job ratings. However, the magnitude of the relationships declines as one moves from the incumbents' job ratings

Managing research institutions in developing countries: Test of a model

This article proposes a model for the analysis, management and development of research institutes in developing countries which incorporates four interdependent dimensions: (i) a strategic management dimension concerned with the management of the organisation's internal and external environments and their interrelationships; (ii) a dimension concerned with ‘collaborative institutional arrangements’; (iii) an internal management and supervision dimension; and (iv) a ‘research operations’ dimension. A preliminary corroboration of the model's validity is derived from a review of relevant published literature and summaries of evaluation studies of research institutions in developing countries. Copyrigh

Limitations to the Application of Sociotechnical Systems In Developing Countries

An extensive review of the literature has found that the applications of sociotechnical systems (STS) in developing countries have been spotty and limited in scope. This article discusses the causes of these limitations, including the following: principles of the theory itself and the extent to which they conflict with prevailing conditions and practices in developing countries, the conduct of Western change agents operating in such countries, indigenous managers and other local stakeholders acting as potential change agents, and the quality of the partnerships between Western change agents and their counterparts in developing countries. Although the authorfinds STS theory and interventions epistemologically sound and robust, he notes that their application requires major adjustments both in developing countries and by Western change agents. The author concludes that the success of applications of STS will depend on the capacity of different developing countries to adjust and undertake interventions according to their individual and collective needs and circumstances

The Challenges of Management Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Notwithstanding the growing number of graduates and the rising rate of unemployment among them, there is a scarcity of skilled workers in fields such as science, engineering, auditing and higher-level accounting and management… The quality of education is low and possibly declining… As a result Africa is falling further behind in its stock of higher-level skills and in its ability to manage its economy [1, p. 81]