Milan Jan Půček

Shortfall of Strategic Governance and Strategic Management in the Czech Republic

Abstract The article analyses the problems of strategic governance and strategic management of the Czechoslovak Government, as well as the Government of the Czech Republic in the years 1989-2016. It seeks the causes and factors that have caused the low levels of strategic governance and strategic management at the level of the ministries of the Czech Republic. It examines the problem from genetic and historical perspective, and from the organizational and human capacity to exercise strategic governance. The study is based on two pieces of empirical research within the ministries of the Czech Republic. It identifies the main cause of failure of strategic governance and strategic management at the level of the central government of the Czech Republic. These include, in particular, the persistent distrust of the ideas of strategic governance and strategic management held by the right-wing governments and the generally low capacity of governments of the Czech Republic to engage in strategic governance. The organizational structure of the central state administration lacks the strategic units that generate ideas for supporting strategic governance. The empirical research of the ministries of the Czech Republic also revealed that policy workers in Czech ministries dedicate a large proportion of their work time to operational and administrative activities at the expense of analytical and strategic activities. The changes require implementation of reforms within the public administration, which (among other things) will eliminate the existing causes and inhibiting factors regarding the lack of strategic governance in the Czech Republic.

Economies of Scale – Empirical Evidence from the Czech Republic

In accordance to the principle of decentralization, local governments play important role in the economy and public administration since 1990 in the Czech Republic. The country belongs to countries with the most territorial fragmentation of municipalities (with Slovakia, Hungary or Austria). In this context, there is the relationship between economic performance and the size of a municipality very often discussed and thus the problem of existence of economies of scale in current high territorial fragmentation of municipalities. The issue becomes very relevant in the present time after global financial crisis which has had a significant impact on local governments in the conditions of the Czech Republic. The paper analyzes the dependence of the per capita costs on choosing public service of local government and the size of municipality in terms of number of inhabitants. Based on the results authors try to determine the optimal size of municipality.

New trends in the strategic management of museums in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT This article analyses the current state of strategic management in museums in the Czech Republic, especially in relation to modern management methods which have their theoretical foundations in the theory of New Public Management. Reforms in the spirit of New Public Management greatly influenced the establishment of the public sector in the Czech Republic. The result is a description of the current state of strategic management in museums, galleries, and monuments, which identifies the weaknesses and best practices via case studies. One part of this result is the design for optimal performance indicators for this segment, including a discussion of their appropriate use. The results have shown that the implementation of these instruments can be beneficial for individual institutions in cultural heritage, but it is necessary to precisely define the performance indicators to respect the specifics of the evidence as well as the heterogeneity of the individual institutions.

The Evaluation of the Role of the Office for Protection of Competition of the Czech Republic in Regulating Public Procurement

Abstract Our study offers additional insight into the Office for Protection of Competition. It examines the Office for Protection of Competition in terms of an input-process-output model, defines the inputs needed for its activities and examines the outputs of its control activities. It also identifies external factors (in the environment) that affect the performance and behavior of the Office for Protection of Competition and have an impact on inspection activities. The theoretical background as well as assumptions are then subjected to empirical scrutiny. Theoretical conclusions and recommendations for more effective control of public contracts are drawn from the conclusions which are established.

Benchmarking in Czech higher education: the case of schools of economics

This article describes the use of benchmarking in universities in the Czech Republic and academics’ experiences with it. It is based on research conducted among academics from economics schools in Czech public and private universities. The results identified several issues regarding the utilisation and understanding of benchmarking in the Czech educational environment. The survey results have also been compared with existing theories regarding the use of benchmarking in higher education as well as with the research results of other authors. Recommendations for public policy are based on an econometric analysis of global benchmarking initiatives.

Devolution in the Czech and Slovak institutions of cultural heritage

ABSTRACT This paper presents a comparative study of the impact of devolution on institutions in the area of cultural heritage in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Both states had formed a previous federation. After the break-up of the federation, public administration reforms with different trajectories took place in each state. In the Czech Republic, part of the museums was transferred from the authority of the ministries to the regions. This process, however, has had different trajectory in Slovakia. In this article, we compare the efficiency of Czech museums of a regional character with regional museums in Slovakia where the devolution did not occur. For comparison, we have utilized input-based envelopment data analysis. Our results suggest that institutions which have undergone the above-described form of devolution have lower performance than other institutions.

Identifying Corruption Risk: A Comparison of Bulgaria and the Czech Republic

Abstract The article focuses on risk assessment of individual and systematic corruption at the municipal level in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. For this purpose, it uses the method of Corruption Risk FMEA, which is based on the classic Fault Mode and Effect Analysis used mainly in production. The model views corruption as an individual action, the application of which revealed significant differences in corruption risk which were detrimental in Bulgaria. The causes of these differences can be seen in the normative attitude of the public towards corruption, the insufficient involvement of the general public, and also the lack in range of controls. Improving the current situation can be achieved in two ways. The “low road” means increasing controls, for example, audits (in particular) and performance benchmarking, and applying them at the appropriate time. The “high road” means utilizing soft instruments and a change in the normative approach of the public towards corruption.

An Empirical Analysis of Post-contractual Behaviour Regarding Public Contracts for Construction Work in the Czech Republic

The article analyses the post-contractual behaviour of actors dealing with public tenders on a sample of 200 randomly selected public works contracts. In this sample, we examined public contracts awarded in 2013, for which it was possible to trace information regarding the final price. Using an econometric model, we have tried to find the factors which have a statistically significant effect on the ratio between the final price paid and the tendered price. The results were compared with similar studies compiled from the conditions in Slovakia. The model shows that the number of offers constitutes a statistically significant indicator of the price. Conversely, factors with negative impact were identified as being the difference between the estimated price and the real tendered price, as well as the use of subcontractors.

Do the data on municipal expenditures in the Czech Republic imply incorrectness in their management

DO THE DATA ON MUNICIPAL EXPENDITURES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC IMPLY INCORRECTNESS IN THEIR MANAGEMENT? Milan Půček, Michal Plaček, František Ochrana Limited public resources confront public administration bodies with the question of how to handle them in an economically rational manner. Audit of public expenditures necessitates an ongoing creation and modifi cation of an effective control system. Such a system is made up by subsystems of a formal (accounting and documentation) and economic control, responsible for monitoring the effi ciency, effectiveness and economy of managing public expenditures. Signifi cance of such interconnection rests in the fact that the formal control may signal possible improper management of public expenditures. This may become a stimulus for the economic control subsystem to verify the effectiveness, effi ciency and economy of outlaid expenditures. For identifi cation purposes related to potential accounting and record-keeping incorrectnesses in the management of public expenditures is proposed adoption of Benford’s Law (Benford’s test). Benford’s test is applied on municipal expenditure data for the year 2012. Data represent sums of public expenditures in the structure of the statement of budgetary execution and control specifi ed by the Regulation of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic No. 323/2002 Coll. For the data analysis there were used statistical methods, hypothesis testing, linear regressions and comparisons. Although the empirical analysis points at a limited use of Benford’s test in the conditions of municipal expenditures in the Czech Republic (mainly due to the instability of results and unavailability of suitable data), the analysis showed that Benford’s test can be adopted as a supporting tool, suitable for building into the control system of public expenditures. It is one of the ways to increase the effectiveness of a complex control of public expenditures.

Reasons for the Infectiveness of the Czech State Bureaucracy: Myths and Reality☆

Abstract When evaluating the level of bureaucracy and efficiency of the government of the Czech Republic, both are seen to lag behind more developed Western countries. Causes of this condition are seen by many as being the advanced age of officials, their lack of education and the profound influence of politicians on the performance of the bureaucracy. The analysis is based on our own research of the ministerial staff as conducted in 2013 (N = 1,351). All 14 ministries of the Czech Republic were invited to participate. No similar empirical analysis of the Czech Republics ministerial staff had yet been undertaken. This is also one of the epistemological reasons why myths prevail among the general public about staff of ministries. The analysis shows that ministerial officials are, in fact, a predominately university-educated, and the vast majority of them are not under political pressure. The overall median age of employees in all ministries is 42 years old.