Innovation in the Public Sector in the Start-up Nation:Challenges of Technology,Bureaucracy,and Digital Divide

Innovation provides opportunities to all countries,as advancement in technology and globalization of economic markets encourage global competition and increase the role of governments in gaining a strategic competitive advantage while boosting economic growth and productivity.According to the OECD,innovation can make a difference in addressing developmental challenges and providing catalyst for countries to accelerate business processes and practices that improve public service efficiency.The public sector plays a significant role in modern economies and innovation is a necessary condition for improving government services to the public and creating a competitive economy.Israel is known as the“start-up nation”,but innovation policies and strategies relating to the public sector are less developed than those of business innovation due to lack of innovation culture,digital divide,and bureaucracy.The research examines innovation in the public sector in Israel compared to other OECD countries.It is argued that despite the enormous influence of high-tech and start-ups on the economy and gross of national product,the flourishing technology sector has not contributed to other sectors of the economy and the performance of the public service lags behind the private sector in terms of innovation and efficiency.The research concludes that implementing Israel’s success in business innovation into the public sector requires long-run strategic investments and public policies to increase the supply and quality of human capital and infrastructure.The goal should be to narrow digital divide with other developed countries and advance the technological capabilities and productivity of the public service.

Type 2 Diabetes—Hard to Select a Healthy Choice

Introduction: The use of foods containing high levels of sugar is increasing all the time. This is a risk factor for increased incidence of type 2 diabetes. There are few studies that have investigated the availability of low-sugar müsli products in grocery stores. Purpose: The study aims to identify which types of müsli contain high respectively low levels of sugar, and which brands are involved. Methods: The material consists of both qualitative interviews and observations from five grocery stores: City Gross, Hemköp, Ica Maxi, Stora Coop and Willy’s in Helsingborg, Sweden. The qualitative interviews had a semi-structured character and were recorded. The interviews took approx. 20 minutes and a textual analysis was conducted of the results. Data from observation was analyzed based on brand, nutritional composition and flavors, and also, where low sugar products were placed on store shelves. Results: The grocery stores provided together brands from AXA, Coop, Finax, Frebaco, Garant, ICA, Risenta, Saltå Kvarn och Urtekram, in total 24 müsli products. Of these products, 19 were high in sugar. The observation reveals that müsli products with high sugar content (17 - 29 g per 100 g müsli) are more prominently displayed than those with low sugar content. From the interviews with the store managers, it became clear that it would be valuable to highlight healthy müsli products on the shelves. However, central bureaucracy puts obstacles to such measures. Discussion: The study emphasizes the need for increased visibility of low-sugar products and proposes solutions such as negotiating with responsible person at the head office in Stockholm. Several reviews have shown that if the grocery store raises the prices of unhealthy food, the consumer is willing to purchase healthier müsli and other products. Conclusion: This study shows the need for grocery stores to upgrade healthy müsli products along with advertising to be able to influence customer’s shopping habits. Also, further research is needed how type 2 diabetes is affected by high intakes of food products with high sugar content.

Women Empowerment in the Arab Region： Between the Anvil of Illiteracy and the Hammer of Passive Representative Bureaucracy

This paper emphasizes on enacting comprehensive mainstreaming institutional mechanisms to promote the role of women in socio-economic development in the Arab region. Sustainable development could never take place unless both the government and civil society are committed towards women empowerment and gender parity to achieve gender mainstreaming. However, cultural legacy, with its socioeconomic and political dimensions, is envisaged as the most challenging impediment. There are three critical areas of concern of substantive nature, which are high rates of women illiteracy, passive representative bureaucracy, as a result of underrepresentation at decision-making levels, as well as gender disparity. To investigate women empowerment challenges in the region, the study first presents the multifaceted hurdle of cultural legacy and identifies the relevant social, economic and political challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective. Thereafter, it looks at two inseparable issues facing women in the Arab region, illiteracy and underrepresentation at decision-making levels. The study, then, indicates the pressing need for policy changes to fill up the massive gender gap existing in the majority of Arab States, where not only a description of gender disparity profile of the Arab region is presented but also a comparative outlook vis-a-vis global trends is highlighted. Finally, the research identifies the indispensible roles of both the government and civil society to address key challenges in synchrony. It does not only call for placing women empowerment among the top priorities on the agenda of policy-makers in setting development plans, but also reiterates the significant role of civil society institutions in the areas of illiteracy eradication, civic education, and women fights advocacy. In this context, a framework of recommended policy actions is presented in an attempt to set effective women empowerment mechanisms to achieve gender mainstreaming and hence contribute to sustainable development.

Bureaucracy： Max Weber’s Concept and Its Application to Pakistan

To investigate Max Weber’s concept of bureaucracy and its relevance to Pakistan’s civil service, this study explains the system of governance followed in different nations, its function, and bureaucratic formulations in the well-managed and administered state. The paper analyzes reasons for the poor performance of Pakistani public service provision. International development doctrines pertaining to governance are based on accountable to the governments and effective bureaucracy. This study explores the formation of the Pakistani state and civil service and its role in the implementation of government policies. Irrespective of the system of governance followed across different nations, the presence, and functioning of a bureaucratic set-up is crucial to manage and administer the state. However, in Pakistan there has been an egregious failure of the bureaucratic set-up to achieve this vision. This study explores the reasons why based on Weberian sociological theory affirming that the main characteristic of bureaucracy is espirit de corps, doing things for the good of the institution （i.e., civil service） even if goes against the public interest. This study analyzes such orientation in the context of a major developing state, Pakistan. The essential principal function of bureaucracy is to honestly and sincerely implement the government policies on behalf of the people. The government provides representation of the national interest, mainly when democratically elected, while the bureaucracy provides skills and know-how; the latter is liable to the former, but often not directly to the public. Thus, bureaucrats are usually known as “civil servants”, who provide continuity in governance and daily life, despite the vagaries of changes in government. This is a qualitative research entirely based on literature survey from library data collected from books and articles.

Organisational climate from view point of motivation in district hospital, India

Organisational Climate (OC) has been an important topic of research in Organisational Development. There are several frameworks and approaches to study OC. One such framework focuses on the effect of OC on motivation. Although studying OC from viewpoint of motivetion is an important one, there is very limited research in Indian public health system on assessing OC from the view point of motivation. The present study uses a comprehensive framework that focuses on assessing OC from the view point of motivation in a government district hospital. The overall objective of the study was to assess the OC of a District Hospital (DH) from the view point of motivation. A total of 66 staff (all from the same district hospital) participated in the study that included 12 Class I doctor specialists;14 Class II doctors and 40 Class III staff The data was collected using a validated instrument called Motivational Analysis of Climate (MAO-C). The instrument included six needs or motives and twelve dimensions of organisational climate that were ranked by individuals according to their perception. Based on the ranks, final scores were calculated that reflected the dominant climate (highest score for a particular motive) and backup climates (second highest score for a particular motive). Also a combination of the two motives, dominant and back up motives or climates indicated a particular OC. According to the study, the dominant climate in the organisation was that for Dependency motive while the backup climate for the organisation was for Control motive. According to the literature, both Dependency and Control motives are dysfunctional climates. A high dependency motive indicates that the overall organisational climate is characterized by no initiatives by the people and the employees always look for approval from their seniors;assistance of others in developing oneself;a need to check with others who are more knowledgeable. Similarly high score for control motive indicates that order is maintained in organisation;indicates display of personal power;a desire to stay informed and an urge to monitor events and to take corrective action when needed. When the two motives are combined, the study indicates a dependency-control climate profile which means that the organisational practices are similar to government offices, where subordinates have no say in decision making and they have to follow the established rules of the organisation. Such organisations have clearly laid communication channels controlled from higher authority indicating typical characteristics of a beaurocratic organisation.

2020年冬季中国公共管理研究佳作评介

This article introduces four of the latest,high-quality papers published in China’s top journals.The first article is an in-depth discussion of"government as a platform"contributing to an emerging and timely discussion of digital government in the public management literature.By employing the theory of"loose coupling"from organizational institutionalism,the second study introduces a new theoretical concept,that is,a"security zone for achievement"to synthesize the seemingly contradictory propositions derived from credit claiming and blame avoidance,based on a city’s trajectory in a Smart City project.The third paper proposes a theoretical alternative,prioritizing the Party committee’s assigned tasks,to supplement the existing explanations of local governance in China as applied to water treatment in provincial China.Such a mechanism is different from the campaign-style governance model because the Party committee plays a key role in providing substantial institutional incentives.The final paper conceptualizes institutional frictions in the Chinese context and explains different spending patterns across functional expenditures at the provincial level,suggesting a local leader’s tenure may influence target selections for punctuated expenditures.The paper concludes with a brief summary.

Hero as Pariah: Trotsky’s Struggle Against Stalinism

Leon Trotsky's contribution to the Marxist position in philosophy and his role in the Russian Revolution of October 1917 had been politically maneuvered,tampered with,fabricated and covered by a muck heap of Stalinist slander.By Stalinism,I am referring to the narrative which was born from the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet Union,after the failure of working class to consolidate and capture state power in Hungary,Germany,Italy and other western countries which was materially in an advanced position than early 20th Century Russia.It was also the political ideology which was born as a result of civil far,famine,pandemic and the invasion of the newly formed Russian worker's state by more than fifteen foreign countries with colonial objectives.Trotsky's role in creating the Red Army,which was a different to that of a standing army and supporters of Trotsky in the Left Opposition were not only vilified and charged with false accusations but violently purged.In this paper I have highlighted how Stalinism marked a revolution against the revolution of 1917 and how Trotsky continuously struggled against the bureaucratic despotism over the working class in post 1917 Russia.

Different Focalizations of Catch-22

Studies about Catch-22 have been numerous,but the study of the novel’s narrative device is scarcely found.Thus,the narrative device of Catch-22 is analyzed in terms of focalization,one of Gernard Genette's narrative theories.The analysis exposes the hypocrisy and meaninglessness of the bureaucratic behaviors and policies and simultaneously emphasizes bureaucracy’s devastative and corrosive effect on people.

Spies and Postmen:Communications Liaisons and the Evolution of the Qing Bureaucracy

This article introduces the “communications liaison”(titang guan)——an official category little acknowledged in past scholarship on the late imperial Chinese state.Communications liaisons stationed at garrisons and administrative seats compiled intelligence and news reports for supervising officials in distant locations.In Beijing,capital liaisons compiled documents into court gazettes and supervised the distribution of documents,seals of office,and imperial gifts to the provinces.Besides these responsibilities,capital liaisons acquired reputations for following personal and patronage agendas that undermined the integrity of the bureaucratic state.Longstanding financial and administrative in consistencies within the Qing bureaucracy induced liaisons to misbehave.Still,characterizations of liaison malfeasance transformed over the course of the dynasty due to institutional developments including the implementation of new communications systems,the standardization of provincial administrations,and the expansion of office sales.Whereas liaisons in the early and mid-Qing periods were parties to political exchanges among the bureaucratic elite,by the dynasty's waning years,liaisons provided services for the larger population of bureaucratic personnel.The liaisons' transfbnnation from spies into postmen,as seen through the eyes of official critics,offers an opportunity to evaluate the impact of major changes in the Qing bureaucracy upon some of its least known officeholders.

From Democracy to Bureaucracy： The Baojia in Nationalist Thought and Practice, 1927-1949

In the 1939 New County Reforms, the Nationalist government made the baojia system the lowest level of self-government in the country. This decision was the result of more than ten years of discussion among Nationalist administrators and writers who were searching for a tutelary system to train the people in their political rights in preparation for constitutional rule. In the 1920s and 1930s, Nationalist writers claimed to be following Sun Zhongshan＇s （Sun Yat-sen） philosophy by reinventing the baojia as a form of democracy. Harkening back to a reimagined national past, they ＂discovered＂ that the imperial baojia was not a system of local control, but a traditional model of bureaucratically-designed local self-government. Nationalist writers dovetailed this new baojia with Sun Zhongshan＇s philosophy in order to rationalize its position as the foundation of the Three Principles of the People State. Once philosophically legitimized, Nationalist writers endorsed the baojia as a top-down bureaucratic system that would transform the political, social, and economic life of the country; it would become the core political unit of their state-making and nation-building projects. In so doing, the baojia came to represent the Nationalists＇ deeply-held belief in the power of human agency to create state institutions capable of entirely remaking society and transforming the nation.

Li Feng,Bureaucracy and the State in Early China:Governing the Western Zhou

The field of Early China studies is sometimes faulted for being arcane.But here for once is a book that addresses an issue of obvious relevance to our world:the roots of Chinese bureaucracy.Li Feng plumbs the bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou period for information on govemment officeholders and their activities,and he presents a complex and largely plausible reconstruction of the operation of the royal administration.

The effect of top managers'years of experience on innovation

Managers'characteristics have been identified to have an influence on how they perceive innovation.This study examines the role of top managers'experience and how it influences their propensity to innovate.It employs a logit model to analyze data from the World Bank's Enterprise Surveys,primarily from small-and medium-sized enterprises in Russia.We justify the positive effect of managers'years of experience as an influential factor of enterprises'innovativeness in developing countries.The results show that top managers'years of experience directly affect innovation.

Global Fordism in 1950s Urban China

This article highlights the striking similarity of underlying social forms on both sides of the 1950s Cold War divide. Urban China in the early People＇s Republic is interpreted as a variant of Fordism, a coherent social system that assumed hegemony across the globe in the postwar period. Under Fordism, bureaucratic mediation of a rationalized production process was brought together with a new regime of inclusive and homogeneous work and culture, all of which supported a vision of national unity and industrial development. Such an understanding may prove useful in working through difficulties in theorizing this period and in pursuing new directions for research.

Method, Logic, and the Debate about Western Zhou Government： A Reply to Lothar von Falkenhausen

In response to Lothar von Falkenhausen＇s contention that the Western Zhou government was hopelessly stuck in a kinship structure that operated in accordance with the order of aristocratic lineages, the present paper offers new theoretical grounds as well as new inscriptional evidence showing that the Western Zhou government was a bureaucracy invented precisely to allow the Zhou king to overcome or manipulate the restrictions imposed by a kinship structure, in order to achieve actual political and administrative goals. This is the central debate in the study of the Western Zhou government as the fountainhead of the long-standing Chinese political culture and institutions. To refute the ill-conceived ＂anthropological model＂ of the Western Zhou government, the paper carefully examines the logical confusions, the wrong methodological choice, and the misinformation about contemporaneous bronze inscriptions as well as about current archaeology exhibited in Falkenhausen＇s review, thus reconfirming bases for a correct understanding of the Western Zhou government already offered in Bureaucracy and the State in Early China （Cambridge 2008）. Furthermore, the paper discusses intellectual norms in book reviews in the West and China and offers new insights into the date of the Ling group of vessels, a central problem in the dating of Western Zhou bronzes. The paper provides an important cornerstone for future constructive studies of the Western Zhou government and the issue of bureaucracy in Chinese history.