M. Ernita Joaquin

Of alternating waves and shifting shores: the configuration of reform values in the US federal bureaucracy

Scholars have noted that United States federal government reforms come in waves (Barley and Kunda, 1992; Kettl, 2002; Light, 1998), often accompanied by values that alternate between rational and normative conceptions of public administration and service. The idea of alternation also suggests the importance of time in gauging the effect of new reforms when previous reforms have accumulated from the past (see Pollitt, 2008). Time is a necessary variable in implementing reforms; time is crucial to know if reform values have taken hold. Extending Paul Light’s (1998) reform waves metaphor, we investigate here whether two predominant management philosophies have influenced and reconfigured the shoreline of values found among federal agencies over a particular period of time. Using empirical methods, we examine how the values of New Public Management and its humanist (post-NPM) counterpart have settled and taken hold among US federal agencies. We followed three lines of inquiry: determining the existence of reform values in the bureaucracy, examining the prevalence of different sets of values, and investigating whether ‘crowding out’ of values occurred, that is, whether there was a detectable shift in the distribution of values as a new wave came on top of others. Our analysis yields evidence for the predominance of certain NPM and post-NPM values and indicates that bureaucracy concurrently holds what may be regarded as competing values side-by-side. Implications for research and future reforms are suggested in the final section of the article. Points for practitioners Practicing public administration requires constantly navigating reform pressures that espouse different, sometimes opposing, value sets. NPM and post-NPM reforms differed in their emphasis on applying rationalistic and humanistic values to the work of government. Based on federal workforce surveys, NPM values appeared ascendant from the reinvention period till the end of the Bush administration, when a more humanist outlook began to emerge. Bureaucratic values are dynamic and change could go faster with network structures. Following previous research, this study suggests that a ‘layering’ of reform occurs; the strongest values are held intact even as newer philosophies of organization and management are introduced. Results suggest that government professionals can adhere to differing values, but further study is required to see how those values actually influence their work.

Policy Typology and Performance Measurement: Results from the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)

This article examines the relationship between policy typology and Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) scores. Using the typology originally developed by Theodore Lowi, we analyze whether programs implementing certain types of policies systematically received lower PART scores and thus were at an inherent disadvantage in the PART assessment. When programs are categorized using the Lowi typology, our results indicate that programs that implemented redistributive policies had, on average, lower PART scores than programs that implemented constituent, distributive, or regulatory policies. As a result, our analysis reveals a potential weakness in the PART assessment process and suggests that future performance assessments may need to better recognize the evaluative challenges associated with measuring performance in redistributive programs.

The Accountability-Performance Link

An accelerated competitive sourcing program (A-76) was one of the most contentious federal management-reform initiatives attempted in the past decade. A-76 mandated that government workers compete against other potential providers to cut costs. Observable agency reactions ranged from nonimplementation to proposing policy alternatives, which raised the issue of bureaucratic accountability. These actions are examined from the accountability-performance framework developed by Melvin Dubnick. Distilling the mechanisms that led to varying levels of performance in A-76 may enhance our perspective of reform, particularly of initiatives that demand higher performance in a resource-scarce environment.

Hybrid Course Design: Promoting Student Engagement and Success

Abstract Instructors of hybrid courses confront several challenges in designing effective, engaging, and meaningful learning experiences for students. This article examines how elements of course design help meet students’ perceptions and expectations about hybrid courses and how students’ engagement in course activities is related to their overall performance in those courses. Using data from student surveys, instructor journals, and course activities, our study suggests that successful hybrid course design rests in establishing high levels of presence and requires substantial advance planning. Our recommendations can help guide faculty who are considering introducing hybrid courses into their curricula.

Accountability, Learning, and Response Amid Fiscal Crisis

A national financial collapse can engender a heightened gubernatorial sense of accountability, leadership, and learning. An attempt at theory building on this theme uses governors’ 2009 speeches as an historical artifact and policy document recording the kind of rhetoric they employed during the “Great Recession.” A quantitative analysis reveals correlations between gubernatorial characteristics and rhetoric. A qualitative approach yields gubernatorial constructs of accountability, leadership, and learning at a time of crisis. The results offer a foundation for further theory building using cross-sectional and longitudinal data.

Presidential Policy Initiatives and Agency Compliance Organizational Adaptation to A‐76

Adding to a long line of bureaucratic reforms, the Bush administration launched an invigorated competitive sourcing policy known as A‐76. In the A‐76 process, government commercial activities were subjected to regular cost comparisons with other potential providers, especially from the private sector, and awarded to the most efficient provider. Many agencies had trouble complying with the policy without hurting organizational interests. This article examines the bureaucracy’s reaction to this important presidential initiative. The authors find that agency responses to this initiative fell along a continuum and that bureaucratic power was exercised in complex ways as agencies adapted to competition and greater hollowing out.

Exploring the Topography of Performance and Effectiveness of U.S. Federal Agencies

We have a proliferation of tools to evaluate federal agencies’ performance and effectiveness. This article explores how effectiveness and performance values are distributed across government agencies based on three well-known assessment instruments used during the Bush administration: the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Management Scorecard, the Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART), and the Best Places to Work (BPTW) survey. A cluster analysis of the scores from these assessment tools allows us to examine the topography of the agencies in terms of the relationship between the tools and the context of performance, namely, the type of mission carried out by the agencies. Depending on the policy mission type, some agencies fare better in some assessment measures than others. By comparing scores from PART and OMB Scorecard with the BPTW survey, we also find a complex picture when leadership-driven performance metrics are compared with the results of an employee-based assessment of organizational effectiveness.

Perceptions of performance in US financial regulatory programs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the accuracy of program performance measurement in US financial regulatory programs.Design/methodology/approach – This research uses the US Governments Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) system of output and outcome data collection, performance data from financial regulatory programs were examined to determine: if PART data revealed any degradation in external financial conditions or internal regulatory performance prior to the Great Recession of 2008, and whether output performance influenced outcome performance.Findings – The results indicate that outcome measures did “capture” some deterioration in the performance of the financial industry before the Great Recession, but these measures were arguably not influenced by program outputs. This represents a potentially problematic use of performance measures in that programs used outcome measures which were not controlled by programmatic actions.Originality/value – This project adds to a growing body of l...

Pedagogical Design Factors That Enhance Learning in Hybrid Courses: A Contribution to Design-Based Instructional Theory

Abstract Our study develops a conceptual framework that integrates the theory of transactional distance with the community of inquiry framework. With data from six pilot hybrid courses in San Francisco State University’s Master of Public Administration program, we apply the Blended Learning Distance Mediation (BLDM) framework to explore how technologically enhanced activities mediate transactional distance. The results support the theory of transactional distance and add insights about how technologically enhanced activities can create active learning environments that promote student success and satisfaction in hybrid courses. Low structure along with high levels of dialogue and learner autonomy helped promote student satisfaction. We conclude that the BLDM framework holds promise for design-based instructional theory development and merits systematic empirical testing. In the meantime, we provide practical implications for its use by instructors and program directors interested in hybrid pedagogy.

Seats at the Table: Actors and Decision Variables in Implementing the Affordable Care Act in California

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) forced the California Major Risk Medical Insurance Board to make a decision on modifying their existing high-risk pool program or establishing a new one to meet the requirements of the federal law. The Boards deliberation minutes provide the data for this study to explore decision making from the combined theories of garbage cans and and joint fact-finding. The Board was confronted with a choice opportunity containing a number of problems, potential solu- tions, and actors. Their deliberation approach was a collaborative process guided by technical analysts. The paper uses this scenario to investigate associ- ations between decision actors and decision themes derived from the literature, with the aid of correlation and correspondence analyses. Significant associa- tions involving analysts, board members and interest group representatives are found. Implications for decision-making and further studies are described at the conclusion.