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Publications

2007

Fritzen, Scott. Crafting performance measurement systems to reduce corruption vulnerabilities in complex, multistakeholder organizations: The Case of the World Bank. Measuring Business Excellence 11(4): 23-32. Download Article
Abstract

Purpose – The paper explores an emerging challenge for large public-sector bureaucracies: developing information and performance measurement systems that support anti-corruption efforts.
Design – An analytical framework linking functions and contexts of performance measurement to anti-corruption requirements is presented. The framework is used to explore a case study of the World Bank’s ongoing efforts to strengthen anti-corruption information systems in Indonesia.
Findings – A range of organizations are increasingly turning to performance measurement systems to fulfill several functions related to organizational integrity: to hold organization’s accountable for reaching publicly stated standards of fiduciary responsibility and corruption control; to identify vulnerable operational points in multi-faceted public enterprises; and to facilitate organizational learning regarding ‘what works’. Yet corruption is difficult to measure, and corruption vulnerabilities often arise from informal practices, insufficient incentives for enforcement or adherence to standards, and managerial blindspots. Enhanced information systems need to be coupled with effective and multi-directional accountability arrangements in order for performance measurement to contribute effectively to corruption control.
Practical implications – Improved information systems and a reassessment of managerial incentives and attitudes are both essential in order to reduce organizational vulnerability to corruption and to the public backlash that follows in the wake of corruption scandals.
Originality/value – Focus on an emerging area of performance management likely to gain increasing visibility as large bureaucracies attempt to institutionalize public commitments to high anti-corruption standards

Fritzen, Scott. Linking context and strategy in donor support for decentralization: A diagnostic framework.. Public Administration and Development 27: 13-25. Download Article
Abstract

International donors, long-standing supporters of decentralization reforms in developing countries, often face the challenge of aligning program assistance to the great variety of country governance settings in which many operate. This paper presents a framework for assessing the implications of governance and institutional context for a range of programming challenges, with particular reference to the challenge of decentralized programming. The framework has three conceptual steps. Country governance and institutional change environments are first described in terms of how enabling governance capacities are for decentralized programming, and how rapid and predictable the rate of institutional change is. Second, these environmental considerations are associated with overall assistance modalities of donors, in areas such as the type of partners sought and interventions selected. Third, a range of options concerning the aims, scope and extent of decentralizing programming are reviewed and linked to the diagnostic framework above. The framework is broadly derived from organizational contingency theory, which it is argued has been relatively neglected in the study of development administration due to a preponderance of analysis based on single-case studies.

2006

Brecher, C. & Brill, J. Public Authorities in New York State.. Citizens Budget Commission, April . View Report
Abstract

Public authorities play a major role in delivering public services. They supplement direct government agencies in three ways:

• Provide a business-like organizational structure for public services that are financed primarily by user fees and whose capital investments are self-financed through bonds supported by user fees.
• Provide a stewardship for major capital assets and make long-run investment decisions with some isolation from pressures of the electoral cycle.
• Provide a mechanism for taking advantage of federal tax benefits for economic development and other purposes that otherwise would be treated as private activities.

Authorities are intended to strike a balance between political accountability and political independence. Unlike heads of direct government agencies, governing boards of authorities are expected to be more independent of those who appoint them, to make difficult and unpopular decisions outside the arena of elected politics, and to be accountable to the public indirectly through reporting, transparency in decision-making and long-run performance. New York State makes extensive use of public authorities.

 

 

Foldy, E.G. Dueling Schemata: Dialectical Sensemaking About Gender. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science Vol. 42, No. 3, 350-372.
Abstract

Recent scholarship has shown that, despite the broad representation of women in the workplace, gender inequities in organizations remain widespread. Because gender schema â€embedded ways of thinking about men and women†contribute to this phenomenon, addressing such mental models should be a part of gender equity initiatives. This article provides data that suggest that some individuals hold within themselves quite contradictory schemas of men and of women. It then illustrates how individuals can use these internal inconsistencies to push through superficial understandings of gender to more complex ones. By facilitating this learning process in training and other kinds of organizational events, change agents can strengthen organizational efforts to achieve gender equity.

Kaplan S.A., Calman N.S., Golub M., Ruddock C. & Billings J. Fostering Organizational Change Through a Community-Based Initiative. Health Promotion Practice 2006; 7:1-10.
Abstract

Program funders and managers are increasingly interested in fostering changes in the policies, practices, and procedures of organizations participating in community-based initiatives. But little is know about what factors contribute to the institutionalization of change. In this study, we assess whether the organizational members of the Bronx Health REACH Coalition have begun to change their functioning and role with regard to their clients, their staff, and in the broader community, apart from their implementation of the funded programs for which they are responsible. The study identifies factors that seemed to contribute to or hinder such institutional change, and suggests several strategies for coalitions and funders that are seeking to promote and sustain organizational change.

Light, P.C. The Tides of Reform Revisited: Making Government Word, 1945-2002. Public Administration Review 2006, Vol. 66, No. 1, pp. 6-19.
Abstract

The past six decades have witnessed acceleration in both the number and variety of major administrative reform statutes enacted by Congress. This increase can be explained partly by the increased involvement of Congress, a parallel decrease in activity and resistance by the presidency, and heightened public distrust toward government. At least part of the variation in the tides or philosophies of reform involves a "field of dreams" effect in which the creation of new governmental structure during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s generated increased interest in process reforms. However, part of the acceleration and variety of reform appears to be related to the lack of hard evidence of what actually works in improving government performance. Measured by federal employees' perceptions of organizational performance, what matters most is not whether organizations were reformed in the past, but whether organizations need reform in the future and can provide essential resources for achieving their mission.

2005

Moss, M. The Redevelopment of Lower Manhattan: The Role of the City. The Contentious City: The Politics of Recovery in New York City edited by John Mollenkopf. Sage Foundation, .
Abstract

The attack on the World Trade Center reinforced a process of change in lower Manhattan that had been under way for at least the past fifty years. The public and private responses to the destruction wrought on September 11 have provided the funds, organizational capacity, and public commitment to do what a previous generation of municipal planners tried to accomplish, with only partial success: creating a mixed residential and office community in what was once New York City's dominant financial and business district. Federal aid to rebuild lower Manhattan has been the catalyst for modernizing and expanding its mass transit systems and facilities, providing low-cost financing for converting obsolete office buildings into housing, improving pedestrian movement, investing public funds in parks and cultural institutions, and subsidizing the creation of new public schools. This chapter examines the key public and private organizations that have shaped this redevelopment and the implications for the future of lower Manhattan and for office development in the rest of New York City.

2004

Light, P.C. The Spiral of Nonprofit Excellence. Nonprofit Quarterly, Winter, .
Abstract

This article is adapted from a new book by Paul Light entitled Sustaining Nonprofit Performance: The Case for Capacity Building and the Evidence to Support It, published in 2004 by the Brookings Institution Press.

Imagine a nonprofit's life as a journey up and down a development spiral. All organizations would start with a simple idea for some new program or service and then move up the spiral toward greater and greater impact, progressing through five landings, or stops, along the climb: (1) the organic phase of life, in which they struggle to create a presence in their environment; (2) the enterprising phase, in which they seek to expand their size and scope; (3) the intentional phase, in which they become focused more tightly on what they do best; (4) the robust phase, in which they strengthen their organizational infrastructure to hedge against the unexpected; and (5) the reflective phase, in which they address longer-term issues of succession and legacy.

 

2002

Ospina, S., Diaz, W. & O'Sullivan, J. Negotiating Accountability: Managerial Lessons from Identity-Based Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, March, Vol 31, No. 1, pp. 5-31.
Abstract

This article explores the emerging conceptualization of accountability in nonprofit organizations. This definition broadens traditional concerns with finances, internal controls, and regulatory compliance. The authors explore how the top-level managers of 4 identity-based nonprofit organizations (IBNPs) faced accountability and responsiveness challenges to accomplish their mission. The organization-community link was the core relationship in their accountability environment, helping the IBNP managers achieve what the literature calls "negotiated accountability." The managers favored organizational mechanisms to sustain this relationship in the midst of the accountability demands they experienced daily. Communication with the primary constituency tended to drive the organization's priorities and programs, helped managers find legitimate negotiation tools with other stakeholders, and helped develop a broader notion of accountability. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for other nonprofit organizations and propose questions to further clarify the concepts of broad accountability, negotiated accountability, and the link between accountability and responsiveness in nonprofits.

1982

Zimmerman, R. T. Formation of New Organizations to Manage Risk . Policy Studies Review, 1982, Vol. 1 Issue 4, p736-747, 12p.
Abstract

Examines ways in which organizations adapt to changing risk assessments in the U.S. through the development of organizational forms during times of crisis. Emergence of institutional conflict in setting risk standards; Organization adaptation to high risk environments; Patterns for the formation of organizations; Differences and conflicts among administrative agencies involved in risk management.

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Podcasts

October 29, 2007
Advocacy and Social Change Series: Lessons from Organizing
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September 27, 2011
Leadership and Management Education in the Context of Nepal's Community, Organizational and National Development
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Videos

Events

Past EventsDate
Salesforce Workshop: Gain Some Hardcore Skillz!04/04/2013
Advancing Relational Leadership Research and Practice02/25/2013
6th Annual Hannah Engle Memorial Lecture: "Jewish Peoplehood in a Time of Personal Autonomy"04/26/2012
Doctoral Research Colloquium - Spring 2012: Research Colloquium - Carol Heimer03/29/2012
Doctoral Research Colloquium - Spring 2012: Research Colloquium - Martha Feldman03/22/2012
Capstone Client Breakfast10/18/2011
Leadership and Management Education in the Context of Nepal's Community, Organizational and National Development09/27/2011
Driving Social Change: Paul Light Book Launch03/03/2011
WMLO's Conversations with a Professor Series: Research Dinner02/10/2011
Connecting Across Differences: Cross-Race and Cross-Cultural Dialogues for Social Change12/09/2010
Conflict Security and Development Series Fall 2010: Violence and Democracy in Contemporary Latin America10/21/2010
Collaborations that Work09/28/2010
Welcome Kick-Off of the Wagner Management and Leadership Organization09/22/2010
RCLA Learning Series: RCLA Learning Session: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media Tools to Enhance Their Social Justice Impact Day 307/29/2010
RCLA Learning Series: RCLA Learning Session: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media Tools to Enhance Their Social Justice Impact Day 207/28/2010
RCLA Learning Series: RCLA Learning Session: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media Tools to Enhance Their Social Justice Impact Day 107/27/2010
Indigenous Rights in the Amazon: Fostering a conversation with the Amazon to the United Nations04/21/2010
IPSA Off-the-Record with Robertson Work04/19/2010
RCLA Leadership Learning Circle on Principles and Patterns of Best Practice for Leadership Development02/09/2010
A Conversation on Governance: A Multi-Industry Discussion on Best Practices for Organizational Leadership06/23/2009
THIS EVENT IS AT CAPACITY - The 13th Annual Kovner/Behrman Health Forum: "Changing the Culture of Large Organizations"03/31/2009
The Changing Jewish Community: Changing identity and needs and how Jewish organizations are adapting03/25/2009
Friends of Wagner and Dean’s Circle Reception03/11/2009
Doing More With Less: Can Jewish and Other Nonprofits Create Improvement Opportunities out of Economic Crisis?03/04/2009
Race: "Can We Talk?": What a productive race dialogue looks like...10/11/2008
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Courses

NbrCourse Title
P11.2131 Organizational and Managerial Development