Passion, Protest, or Just Plain Incivility?: Responding to Bad Behaviors in Public Meetings

Bad behavior is not new, but the prevalence of incivility seems a rising tide in the public arena. Passionate outbursts at a public input meeting and planned protest to disrupt meetings are captured with increasing frequency on today’s omnipresent electronic media. The negative invective allowed/encouraged during political campaigns seems to carry over to public input meetings and other places intended for the measured, deliberative processes of governance. In the public forum, sometimes it is easy to discern the planned protest from the passionate outburst; sometimes it is not. When a theater group pretending to be audience members broke into song to object to the demise of the public option in the Health Care Bill at an American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Annual State Issues Conference, the protest was obvious, planned, and refined (Singing Flashmob, 2009). When a Congressman yells “You Lie” at the President during a joint session (Remarks, 2009) or an individual in attendance at a public meeting screams invectives at a County Commissioner, it is more difficult to discern if the vocalization was a passionate utterance of the moment or a planned strategy. Likewise, it is difficult to tell from afar if the behavior is a behavioral trait of an individual or a behavior emboldened by what has been seen on news channels, reality shows, or from others who advocate one’s position. Regardless of its cause, many agree with Innes & Booher’s (2000) conclusions that the legally required ritual of public input meetings isn’t working: The traditional methods of public participation in government decision making simply do not work. They do not achieve genuine participation in planning or decisions; they do not provide significant information to public officials that makes a difference to their actions; they do not satisfy members of the public that they are being heard; they do not improve the decisions that agencies and public officials make; and they don’t represent a broad spectrum of the public. Worse yet, they often antagonize the members of the public who do try to work through these methods. (p. 2) This paper examines why those who manage public meetings and public input processes should be concerned about the apparent growth of citizen incivility. Wang (2001) defines traditional public participation processes as including “public hearings, citizen forums, community or neighborhood meetings, community outreaches, citizen advisory groups, and individual citizen representation. Citizen surveys and focus groups, the Internet, and e-mail are also used” (p. 322). Concerns arise about whether incivility is a passing fancy or a threat to democratic processes and government attempts to foster communication/ accountability. After discussing some concerns about rising incivility, the essay will discuss what might be done during public meetings to moderate uncivil behaviors

The Quality of Relationship with Stakeholders, Performance Risk and Competitive Advantage in the Hotel, Restaurant and Café Market

While emerging markets have become an opportunity for companies in the less populated and saturated markets to expand their business, they also impose challenges for foreign partners’ competitive behavior. To offer the value that would be competitive in emerging markets, companies need to improve the quality of their relationship with business partners. Relationship quality may enhance the probability of continued interchange between companies and their stakeholders, leading to increased attractiveness for the emerging markets’ economy. This research explores antecedents (communication and relationship longevity) of relationship quality with stakeholders (suppliers, customers, and employees) and how the relationship quality with three stakeholders impacts the company’s performance risk and competitive advantage in the Lithuanian hotel, restaurant, and café market. The findings suggest that communication and relationship longevity have a positive effect on relationship quality with all three stakeholders. A higher level of relationship quality with stakeholders has a more positive effect on competitive advantage and a more significant negative effect on performance risk. The study expands the understanding of relationship quality antecedents (communication and relationship longevity) and relationship quality with customers, suppliers, and employees in terms of competitive advantage and performance risk in the less populated and saturated hotel, restaurant, and café market seeking expansion to emerging markets

Culturally Responsive Training for Secondary English Language Teachers

In this quantitative study, I investigated the effectiveness of a training intervention program to positively impact secondary teacher attitudes and perceptions of culturally responsive teaching (CRT). The study is relevant in Alvin Independent School District given the demographic shift resulting in an increase in Hispanic students and students learning English as a second language. The purpose of the study was to investigate teacher attitudes and perceptions of CRT to determine if there was a statistically significant difference according to pre- and post-survey data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the CRT program intervention. The CRT research from Ladson-Billings (1992) and Gay (2000) supported the foundational elements of the CRT training intervention. Using Ginsberg and Wlodkowski’s (2009) motivational framework for CRT, I utilized a survey to measure teacher attitudes and perceptions of CRT. The framework supports the intrinsic motivation to empathize with diverse students, while promoting positive learning outcomes for all. Data from the quasi-experimental design included a pre- and post-survey. Results provided evidence to infer that there was a statistically significant increase in teachers’ perception of CRT and attitude toward CRT after participation in a CRT training intervention. Results of this study indicated potential for change for linguistically and culturally diverse student populations given changes in teacher perception of and attitude toward CRT