Clifford P. McCue

Professional service acquisition in public sector procurement

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to use a case‐based approach to develop an improved understanding of the conditions under which municipal purchasing departments can be meaningfully involved in acquisition processes for consulting services.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected at five Canadian municipalities and involved a detailed examination of ten cases where the supply function demonstrated meaningful involvement in the acquisition process.Findings – Findings, along with organizational behavior literature on trust, were used to develop a conceptual model and tentative measurement scales that may be used to test the validity of the theory developed.Originality/value – This work addresses the problem of low public sector purchasing department involvement in these important purchase decisions and some significant gaps in the public procurement literature.

Public purchasing: who’s minding the store?

The public sector purchasing function continues to face growing pressures to reform current purchasing processes. Yet, little is known about the abilities of purchasing professionals to adapt to this rapidly changing environment. This article identifies the critical job duties and work responsibilities of government purchasing buyers and officers in an attempt to determine if they currently posses the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully adapt to increased pressures for reform.

Centralized vs. decentralized purchasing: current trends in governmental procurement practices

Today most public sector purchasing processes are in transition. In the face of growing uneasiness by elected officials, service delivery managers, and citizens about rule-driven processes, inefficient systems, and poor management of resources, purchasing professionals are being challenged to develop new dynamic, adaptable structures. In this article, the current state of decentralization is examined and the roles of purchasing professionals in the purchasing process are presented. Specifically, this research attempts to answer the following questions: What changes have governments implemented in policy making, organization structure, personnel recruitment and training, expenditure authorization levels, review and oversight as they decentralize purchasing authority? And, what are the projected trends that will impact the success or failure of the decentralization issues over the next decade?

THE IMPLICATIONS OF A MUDDLED DEFINITION OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

At all levels of government, inconsistencies exist regarding the terminology and the body of knowledge used to understand public procurement. Perspectives on what public procurement is, or should be, ranges from routine ordering to sophisticated analysis of government spending. Definitional ambiguities have hampered attempts to define the field and unify its focus. This exploratory article examines the implications of the muddled nature of public procurement that has led to debate and uncertainty about the proper role of public procurement practitioners. To address these limitations, three dimensions of all public procurement systems are identified, and a general definition is proposed for describing the field and its institutionalized practices.

Traditional and family-friendly benefits practices in local governments: Results from a national survey

Traditional and family-friendly benefits are an essential and costly component of the compensation and human resources management system. This research effort surveyed 427 local governments regarding their benefits practices. The results indicate that local governments provide a competitive traditional benefits package (health, pension, etc.) but provide few family-friendly benefits (child care, elder care, etc.). Municipal governments provide greater breadth and depth of benefits coverage than county governments. The provision of family-friendly benefits is positively associated with the number of needs assessment strategies, the dummy variable for municipal government, the number of structural solutions implemented, state management of selected benefits and the provision of part-time benefits.

Lean thinking and its implications for public procurement: moving forward with assessment and implementation

Over the last several decades, lean thinking has been credited with several advancements in the practices of private sector organizations. Only recently have researchers begun to report on lean thinking as it applies to the public sector. For public procurement research, the concept remains largely unexamined. This research used the extant literature to identify preconditions that are required to successfully deploy lean thinking principles, tools, and techniques. Salient preconditions were organized into key categories. These categories provided the basis for a framework designed to assess public procurementʼs ability to adopt lean thinking, and aid in its implementation within this public sector environment. Questions suggested to guide future research, along with an approach intended to facilitate this work, are also presented.

Will gasb 34 induce changes in local government forecasting practice? a preliminary investigation

Certain of GASB Statement 34’s requirements might on their face induce an upgrading of local sector forecasting capacity as well as a reduction of tolerated forecast error. Results from our national survey of local and county finance officers suggest that respondents with graduate degrees who work in offices with forecasting software may respond to GASB 34 implementation in a manner consistent with this expectation. Others are unlikely to view the standard as a cue to enhance their forecast capacity at this early stage of rollout. Our results also suggest that the norm of revenue underforecasting is deep-seated and that survey results understate its magnitude. These results are a baseline; further experience with the GASB 34 may alter practitioner perception of need and lead to deployment of more advanced forecasting methodology and heightened expectations of forecast accuracy.

The Risk‐Return Paradox in Local Government Investing

This study contrasts expected utility theory in the form of modern portfolio theory (MPT) with a descriptive psychological analysis in the form of prospect theory. For local government investment managers, the assumptions underlying MPT are violated in the manner predicted by prospect theory. Findings confirm the notion that local government investment managers are risk-averse when facing an investment gain and risk-seeking when facing an investment loss. Although a number of researchers have appealed to prospect theory to explain firm and industry risk patterns, the utility of prospect theory in public sector organizations is questioned. This study finds that irrespective of their personal disposition toward risk, local government chief investment officers defer to a compelling public interest when making investment decisions for their organization.

Administrative Innovation among Ohio Local Government Finance Officers

This study centers on a mailed survey of Ohio local government finance officers that recorded a 43% response rate. It seeks to determine the extent to which the represented jurisdictions have adopted innovative administrative management tools and techniques, to identify possible determinants of adoption, and to explore potential outcomes of adoption. The authors conducted a longitudinal analysis to provide for the identification of potential outcomes. they found that Ohio local governments have been less innovative than jurisdictions surveyed in national surveys and that smaller local governments in Ohio tend to be more innovative than larger governments. The authors were unable to identify determinants of adoption or to construct a model of adoption. The article concludes that the adoption of administrative innovations appears to be an idiosyncratic process. Adoption does not appear to lead to greater satisfaction with the quality of the services provided by the respondents jurisdiction or with the overall efficiency of the service delivery system. However, the adoption of administrative innovations appears to be positively related to fund balances in future years—that is, innovation appears to pay off.

Immigration and Its Impact on American Cities.

Preface Examining the Impact of Immigration on City Government Documenting Immigration Immigrant Decisions: Using a Field Survey Using the Experts: A Delphi Survey Effects of Immigration on Municipal Revenue and Expenditures: Estimates and Implications Immigration Forecasts Immigration and Municipal Services: Interpreting Projected Impacts Appendix A: Field Survey Instrument Appendix B: Delphi Survey (First Round) Appendix C: Delphi Survey (Second Round) Bibliography Index