Demand Versus Supply: Assessing the Capacity of MPA Programs to Satisfy the Growing Need for Professional Management in Local Government

This article addresses concerns expressed by members of the International City/ County Management Association (ICMA) regarding whether the supply of qualified local government managers will keep pace with the future demand for this occupation. The authors developed several important observations, which are based on decades of experience with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) program focused on local government management, plus strategic planning experience in over 100 local governments. First, it is likely that the impending retirement of the Baby Boom generation of city managers will cause some supply shortages of professional managers in specific geographical regions of the country. Second, increases in the number of professionally managed cities creates the probability that some municipalities, due to their lack of associational attractiveness, may experience difficulty in generating sufficient pools of quality applicants. We suggest that MPA programs continue to nurture communication and relationships with local governments that will lead to specific mutual benefits. For instance, MPA programs benefit from the availability of practitioner speakers and student internships and, in turn, local governments benefit from the creation of a pipeline that provides a continual stream of quality applications

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Strategic Compensation: Utilizing Efficiency Wages in the Public Sector to Achieve Desirable Organizational Outcomes

Given that continued pressure will be levied on public sector organizations to provide higher levels of service while maintaining low costs, the importance of considering an organization\u27s relative position in the regional labor market should not be understated. Using efficiency wage theory as a theoretical foundation, this research examines the use of market-clearing wages as a tool for strategic compensation in the public sector. Two separate survey instruments were distributed to municipalities in the Chicago suburban metropolitan area: a salary and fringe benefits survey and a reputational service quality (RSQ) questionnaire. The primary finding of this research indicates that efficiency wage rates are a significant predictor of increased reputational service quality, suggesting that municipal organizations may be able to leverage their reputation as a tool for increasing economic development and attracting more affluent residents to the community

Measuring Public Service Motivation in MPA Students: Does the Construct Influence Student Perceptions Toward the Application of Management Techniques and Role Behavior in the Public Sector?

Paper presented at the International Public Service Motivation Conferenc

City Councils as Small Groups: Toward a Diagnostic Model of Governing Board Behavior

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Link to Program: https://www.mpsanet.org/Portals/65/Conference/Program%20Archive/mpsa-prog08.pdf?ver=2016-08-02-122525-257 This research investigates patterns of small group behavior common to municipal policy boards. Consultative research provides the contextual foundation for much of this research; these data are analyzed through the lens of small group behavior

Challenges in Motivating the Public Sector Employee: Theory and Practice in a Dynamic Environment

Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Conference for Public Administratio

Motivating Public Service Employees in the Era of the New Normal

Public Human Resource Management: Problems and Prospects brings together exemplary contributors who provide concise essays on major contemporary public human resources management issues. Organized into four parts – setting, techniques, issues and prospects – and covering the major process, function and policy issues in the field, the text offers valuable wisdom to students and practitioners alike. With sixteen new and eleven updated chapters authored by the leading figures in the field as well as by up-and-coming new scholars, the new edition works as a primary or supplementary text for courses in human resource management or issues in public administration

Dynamics in Rural Policy Development: The Uniqueness of County Government

The article focuses on the ability of county governments in handling the public problems related to rapid system change. According to the article, increases in the socioeconomic affluence of counties do not stimulate greater countenance among county officials for administrative reorganization. County officials dislike structural mechanisms which centralize authority. Wealthier counties depend less on non-county revenues, but at the same time acquire larger amounts of federal aid than poorer units. Socioeconomic development in municipalities often creates pressures for administrative professionalism. Roads and operating costs constitute the major items in budgets, indicating that poorer counties are distinctly present-oriented in their policy activity. Socioeconomic factors have an impact only on governmental activity. The article suggests that grants-in-aid must be used with some sensitivity. In order to avoid the situation where the rich become richer, and the poor become poorer, this aid might be more valuable if redirected to the very poorest counties