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This article highlights the importance of ethical environment in enhancing organizational performance. It is vital that organizations set ethical standards for their employees alongside providing an environment that fosters trust and commitment, provides leadership, and creates a high quality of workforce to improve organizational performance. To study the impact of ethical environment on organizational performance, we employ elements from André de Waal’s high-performance organization (HPO) framework. Data for this study come from a national survey conducted in four states in the United States, which are classified as at-will employment states: Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Florida. We find evidence that ethical environment plays an important role in determining organizational performance. This is particularly important in the context of at-will employment, where state governments are facing the challenge to maintain employee commitment while improving organizational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas previous public administration studies have focused on middle managers' roles in implementation, this study contributes to the literature by emphasizing middle managers' other roles, specifically, upward roles that concern (a) championing alternatives and (b) synthesizing information. We examine whether middle managers are more involved in synthesizing information than championing alternatives and test multiple levers that increase these roles at the individual, organization, and interorganizational levels. This study finds that job security, connections with stakeholders, and autonomous motivation are among the most important predictors. This study calls for taking a broader perspective on middle managers' contributions to public organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between individual dissimilarity and perceptions of organizational inclusion. Data from a national survey of public agencies conducted in Florida and Texas show that gender dissimilarity is negatively associated with perceptions of inclusion and the negative relationship is more acute for men than for women. In contrast, tenure dissimilarity is positively related to perceptions of inclusion and this positive association is more acute for those with longer tenure than for those with shorter tenure. These results suggest that the effect of dissimilarity on the perception of inclusion depends on both the observability of individual-level characteristics and the status of the demographic group. In particular, dissimilarity along characteristics that are easily observable (such as gender) is more likely to influence perceptions of inclusion and dissimilarity is more influential for higher status groups (such as men or long-tenured employees). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network research increasingly draws attention to capacity affecting outcomes. This study examines network implementation capacity and develops a framework that focuses on three dimensions: financial, managerial, and technical capacity. It also contributes by focusing on the Network Administrator Organization (NAO)-type network. Based on a case study of two large eco-financing networks in China, this study finds positive impacts of network implementation capacity on policy outcomes. It also draws attention to network strategies and their impact on capacity. It identifies the positive effect of efforts to maintain network stability as well as negotiation and participation strategies on network implementation capacity. This study draws attention to implementation capacity as a determinant of network outcomes and suggests that studies in public administration give greater attention to NAO-type networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Governance networks are generally seen as a vehicle for dealing with complex societal issues, and in such networks trust is seen as an important condition that enhances information exchange and learning among actors, thereby improving network performance. In this article, we use survey material collected in three countries—Taiwan, Spain, and the Netherlands—to explore hypotheses about trust enhancing network performance. Empirical analysis shows positive relationships between the level of trust and network performance. We also find that the number of network management strategies has a positive association with both network performance and trust. Our supplemental analysis also shows a positive relationship between the level of trust and output legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using survey data of respondents involved in spatial planning projects in Taiwan, Spain and the Netherlands (n = 678), this article examines the influence of network management strategies and complexities (examined with regard to differences in perception of problems and solutions, and unexpected events) on perceived network performance. This theory-driven, empirical research shows that the effect of network management strategies on perceived performance is stronger than the impact of unexpected events or actors’ differences in perceptions of problems and solutions. We find this result in all the three countries. Our model explains 19.1 per cent of the variance in the perceived network performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Government is the primary financer of conservation services, but conservation financing in government is rarely studied. This study makes two contributions to understanding conservation financing in government. First, it develops a framework to classify and analyse conservation funding. Applying this framework to the data from Florida county governments, this study finds that conservation funding has become more stable and secure. More resources are used for large and long-term capital projects that benefit not only the current generation but also future generations, which reflects the ultimate goal of conservation. Second, this research offers an explanation about why some governments spend more on conservation than others. The results suggest that conservation funding in government is the result of combined forces in environmental pressure of economic activities and budgetary politics. The paper concludes that government should develop a structured conservation funding strategy that includes close monitoring of environmental pressure and proper political and institutional responses to the pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Taiwan's post-democratization, public managers reduced their leadership and initiative-taking, thereby creating concerns about public sector leadership. This article defines the concept of informal 'executive initiative understandings' (EIUs) between political appointees and career executives, and examines how such understandings affect public managers' efforts and agency leadership. Based on an in-person survey of Taiwan central government executives, findings show that: (1) about half of senior career executives agree that they have an informal understanding with appointees' about their initiative-taking; and (2) having an EIU significantly and strongly increases executives' efforts and perceptions of agency innovation. This study also finds (3) that EIUs are associated with executives' public service motivation, perceptions of appointees' competence, and executives and appointees having similar political views. This article concludes with suggestions for increasing executive initiative-taking in public agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some governments implement more sustainability practices than others? Based on a national survey of U.S. cities, this article finds moderate levels of sustainability efforts and capacity in U.S. cities; about one-third of the sustainability practices identified in this article have been implemented. The authors conclude that, first, capacity building is a useful conceptual focus for understanding sustainability implementation in U.S. cities. Capacity building involves developing technical and financial support and increasing managerial execution. Second, sustainability is strongly associated with managerial capacity, which includes establishing sustainability goals, incorporating goals in operations, and developing a supportive infrastructure. Third, getting stakeholders involved furthers the capacity for sustaining sustainability efforts. Citizen involvement is strongly associated with securing financial support for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special districts are increasingly important in the landscape of public organizations and now constitute about 40 percent of all U.S. jurisdictions. Yet little is known about the public value commitments of managers in special districts. This systematic study of senior managers in large special districts finds that support for public values is strong and similar to that of senior managers in cities. This study explores the effect of concomitant commitments to 'businesslike' values on public values and the impact of concomitant commitments on perceived organizational outcomes. Though a positive relationship exists between commitments to public and businesslike values among senior managers, the authors find evidence that both too much and too little commitment to businesslike values has a negative impact on perceived organizational outcomes, which are furthered by strong commitment to public values. This article demonstrates that special districts are a relevant but underresearched area of public administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the forensic science in the U.S., highlighting the National Academy of Science (NAS) Report. It mentions current and relevant shifts in the legal landscape that reflect an awareness of the concerns of the NAS Report and advances in social sciences. It tackles current findings which depict the limitations of eyewitness identification and certain forensic sciences.

Creativity management is a management practice that jump-starts the innovation process by encouraging officials to act and respond with increased creativity and initiative. This article describes recent practices of a major metropolitan city, Seoul Metropolitan Government (the world's eighth-largest city), to increase initiative through modification of existing reward, management, and training systems. Detailed descriptions are provided. Results of a multimethod study show that during a two-year period, employees and managers proposed 62,666 ideas, of which 13 percent were selected for implementation. Survey results among 1,194 managers and employees also show that the percentage of officials who now view their divisions as innovative doubled in a two-year period, from 16 percent to 33 percent, thus providing further evidence of jump-starting innovation. Creativity management is presented as an effective approach for encouraging new ideas and solutions and broadening innovation practices in public organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses perceptions of managerial emotional intelligence in local government, as well as the practices and polices affecting it. Though few cities offer training programs for managers that are called “emotional intelligence,” many cities engage in activities that target or address EI skills. This study finds improvement opportunities for managers to become better attuned to the feelings of others and themselves, to better know their own strengths and weaknesses, to better deal with their negative emotions and increase their adaptability, and to improve their communication and relationship skills. Feedback and mentoring processes are directly associated with increased perceptions of EI, while other practices such as training, selection and policy development are only indirectly associated with perceptions of EI. This study contributes to the knowledge base by increasing awareness about managerial EI skills, and providing specific examples of practices to further managerial EI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how senior local government managers take work breaks and how doing so is associated with perceptions of performance. Three purposes of taking a break are studied: (a) to reflect on prior work, (b) to restore oneself physically and mentally, and (c) to take care of personal, nonwork needs. On average, managers take a few breaks every week, lasting about 15 min each. Only about 45% of managers agree or strongly agree that break-taking helps them to reduce stress, clear their mind, make them feel reenergized, or otherwise improve their perceived effectiveness. About one third of managers often think about work while taking a break, which is not associated with positive break outcomes. Positive outcomes are strongly associated with minimizing external distractions, such as asking not to be interrupted, removing oneself from the workspace by taking walks or doing exercise, and focusing the mind on nonwork matters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many obstetric patients receiving epidural analgesia are encouraged to ambulate. This current study was designed to determine the potential for maximizing the time to first epidural supplement when adding clonidine to a 0.625 mg·ml−1 bupivacaine continuous epidural infusion following epidural fentanyl bolus in early labor for patients allowed to ambulate. Maternal and fetal effects secondary to clonidine were also evaluated. Sixty-eight laboring primigravid women received a 3-ml epidural test dose of lidocaine with epinephrine, followed by a fentanyl 100-µg bolus (in a 10 ml-volume). The patients then received a 0.625 mg·ml−1 bupivacaine continuous epidural infusion, either with or without clonidine (5 µg·ml−1), at a rate of 10 ml·h−1. Pain scores and side effects were recorded for each patient. The overall quality of analgesia was similar in both groups. The mean duration prior to request for additional analgesia was significantly longer in the clonidine group (269 ± 160 min), compared to the control group (164 ± 64 min). No patient in either group experienced any detectable motor block; one patient (clonidine group) complained of mild thigh numbness and was not allowed to ambulate. While mean blood pressure was approximately 6 mmHg lower in the clonidine group at 1, 1.5, and 3.5 h, this was not clinically significant. No adverse effects on maternal heart rate or fetal heart rate were noted. In early laboring patients, addition of clonidine prolongs the analgesia duration of a 0.625 mg·ml−1 bupivacaine continuous epidural infusion following 100 µg epidural fentanyl (after a lidocaine-epinephrine test dose) without a clinically significant increase in side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how cities help social entrepreneurship—the activity of private individuals and organizations taking initiative to address social challenges in their communities. Based on a national survey and in-depth interviews among jurisdictions with populations over 50,000, the authors find that municipalities help social entrepreneurs by increasing awareness of social problems, and by helping them to acquire resources, coordinate with other organizations, and implement programs. Nearly three-quarters of cities provide active or moderate support, which is positively associated with the perceived effectiveness of nonprofit organizations in their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the responsibilities of the managing editor of the journal "Public Performance & Management Review." Appointment of Evan Berman as the new managing editor of the journal; Achievements and awards of Bob Cunningham, the outgoing managing editor of the journal; Plan of Berman to maintain and improve the quality of manuscript the journal published.