Teaching Crisis Management before and after the Pandemic: Personal Reflections

This reflective contribution tells the story of a veteran public sector crisis management (CM) researcher's 35-year journey with educating students and CM practitioners. It offers preliminary insights about how the pandemic experience might -- and should -- induce a significant rethink of how educators conceptualize the nature of crises and the challenges governments and public agencies face in coping with them.

FACTORS PRECEIVED TO INFLUENCE THE PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES WITH MEDIATING EFFECT OF EMPLOYEES SATISFACTION, A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL DEFENCE DIRECTORATE

In developing countries like Pakistan, mostly the public sector departments give not as much of focus on the performance / capacity building as well as the satisfaction of the employees, the research was conducted to know the influence of the factors perceived on the performance of public sector employees by increasing satisfaction and for this purpose the Civil Defence Department was selected. The study was conducted on the mixed method approach in which both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were adopted to know the responses of the employees of the Civil Defence Department regarding research objectives. Questionnaires, both in open ended and close ended format were distributed among 100 employees of the Civil Defence Department as per the availability of the skeleton staff during COVID-19. The hypotheses were equipped to recognize the significance relationship of variables as well as statistical analysis was applied through SPSS to examine the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis. Hence, the result instigated that factors perceived in this study have significance influenced on the performance and satisfaction of the public sector employees.

Digital Transformation: Prior to and Following the Pandemic

COVID-19 has negatively affected business operations and drastically threatened different ongoing organizational changes. Digital transformation has been considered a unique way of improving performance and business operations in the new digital world. However, the immediate shutdown caused by the pandemic and the lack of preparation for implementing digital transformation influenced most industries. This chapter outlines the negative implications of COVID-19 on transferring to digital solutions as well as revealed prospects. In this regard, the outcomes of implementing digital transformation in several sectors are reviewed. Assessing these impacts addresses the benefits and drawbacks associated with digitalized solutions. We highlight the beginning of the year 2020, the announcement of the global pandemic, as an important timeline for evaluating the contributions of published papers. Furthermore, we emphasize that papers published following the epidemic in addition to considering the impacts should be included in future research studies in this field. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Perspectives of human resource practitioners in two urban local authorities in Zimbabwe

Orientation: This study examines the experiences of human resource (HR) practitioners in two urban local authorities (ULAs) in Zimbabwe. Research purpose: The research aimed to understand the human resource management (HRM)-oriented strategies and the extent to which HR practitioners' experiences could enable effective implementation. Motivation for the study: There is a need to understand the challenges HR practitioners in ULAs in Zimbabwe face in delivering effective HRM. Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews with 17 purposively selected HR practitioners. Thematic analysis was used to extract themes from the interviews. Main findings: The findings revealed five themes of HRM challenges in Zimbabwean ULAs, including political interference, resource constraints, bureaucracy and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Human resource management delivery is hindered by stakeholder involvement, performance management gaps, technology gaps and limited interaction with line management. Additionally, traditional HRM approaches committee-focused procedures, and inadequate investment in employee education limit HRM capabilities and procedures. Practical/managerial implications: The study suggests that policymakers and HR practitioners in ULAs in Zimbabwe should pay attention to the identified HRM challenges and proposed solutions to enhance HRM delivery and HR performance. The proposed conceptual model can serve as a guide to overcoming HRM challenges. Contribution/value-add: This study adds to the limited research on public sector HRM in Africa, and stakeholders and HR practitioners can benefit from the conceptual model and recommendations for streamlining HRM procedures in ULAs in Zimbabwe. © 2023. The Authors.

Teleworking in the Public Administration: a model for the public sector vis-à-vis the regulation of the private sector

The article analyzes the regulation of teleworking and remote work for the personnel of Public Administrations, regulated by Law 10/2021, of July 9, on remote work. The article highlights the shared and none-shared factors with the regulation of teleworking for workers in the private sector, regulated by Royal Decree-Law 29/2020, of September 29, on urgent measures regarding teleworking in public administrations and human resources in the National Health System for facing the COVID-19 crisis. The Royal Decree-Law only modified the consolidated text of the Law on the Basic Statute of Public Employees, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of October 30 (TREBEP). The comparison of both regulations reveals that public regulation presents a wider scope than the regulation of art. 47 bis TREBEP. © 2022, Fundacion Democracia y Gobierno Local. All rights reserved.

Consolidating Ireland's Indigenous Social Enterprise Sector - A Policy Perspective

The National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland (2019 - 2022) was a watershed moment for social enterprise in Ireland. Ireland has a rich, proud and diverse experience of social economy and social enterprise, yet the policy framework developed comparatively later than in some other EU member states. Since its launch in 2019, the Policy has helped to significantly shape the social enterprise sector in Ireland including through targeted measures and improved coherence across government policy. At the same time, the sector is still in a nascent phase and faces dramatic new challenges associated with the realities of focussing on social impact whilst trading in a competitive market economy traditionally focussed on export-potential, which have been exacerbated by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As this foundational Policy comes to the end of its term, the Government, in partnership with the sector, now faces another significant juncture which will determine how successful social enterprise can be in moving from the margins to the mainstream and contributing to Ireland's economic, social and environmental progress. The current article seeks to clarify the features of Ireland's indigenous social enterprise sector, and offers perspectives on some of the prerequisites for an ambitious and impactful successor policy in 2023 to unlock the potential of the sector to grow in scale and impact.

Evaluation of the Implementation of Business Continuity Management Using COBIT 2019 Framework in Public Sector

The research is based on the global struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, where countries are facing challenges in managing the flow of essential goods, including medical devices, medicines, and consumer goods. In this regard, the Indonesian National Single Window System (SINSW) can play a critical role in managing the import and export of goods required to combat the pandemic. The experience of the pandemic has emphasized the need for SINSW to enhance its capacity to meet demands in normal and emergency situations. Therefore, Lembaga National Single Window (LNSW), a unit of the Ministry of Finance, needs to develop and evaluate its business continuity governance to meet domestic needs and business requirements. To measure the level of business continuity management capability, this study utilizes the COBIT 2019 framework, specifically the DSS (Deliver, Service, Support) 04 domain. The research aims to address the problem of measuring the level of business continuity management capability and providing recommendations for improving LNSW's business continuity governance. Based on the assessment, the DSS04-Managed Continuity process capability value owned by LNSW has only partially achieved level 1 process capability, and further activities and work products are required to fulfill the next level of achievement. The study is expected to contribute to LNSW by providing a mapping of the maturity level of business continuity management and recommendations for improvement based on the evaluation results. By enhancing the level of business continuity management capability, it is anticipated that the quality of public services will improve. Moreover, the author's work paper, which utilizes the COBIT 2019 framework to assess the level of capability, can be utilized by LNSW as a self-assessment tool for regularly evaluating business continuity management and as a reference for future researchers in this field. © 2023, Success Culture Press. All rights reserved.

An opinion paper on requirement for a practitioner's handbook designed for business continuity and resilience in government: a South African context

PurposeThis paper aims to find a suitable structure for a practitioner's handbook that addresses the structural elements of the business continuity (BC) practice.Design/methodology/approachThe case study using the mixed method, quantitative with a questionnaire and conceptual research approach was what has been chosen. The four steps to the research process are outlined: one, choosing the topic, two, collecting relevant literature, three, identifying specific variables and four, generating a structure. The design brought on by years of experience, should be put into an organised system and handbook that can be reused, without having to reinvent the wheel.FindingsA BC handbook should be as relevant to the executives and management as to their employees. By adopting a BC practice in a government department, state-owned entity, agency or municipality. Assurance will be ascertained for reliable, improved service delivery and reputation with much less interruption. Therefore a handbook with a "cradle to the grave” BC approach should outline, with examples of standards, awareness, policy, BC programme plan, BC structures, business impact and risk analysis, strategy, budgets, scorecards, monitoring and evaluation, recovery and BC plans, together with the audit and an International Standards Organization (ISO) 22301 certification process.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited to literature, questionnaires and identified variables pertaining to BC management (BCM) in the South African Government.Practical implicationsThe implications of the case study is that out of the variables identified and the relevant literature and standards, a structure for a relevant post-COVID-19 government practitioner's handbook could be made available.Social implicationsThe use of a BCM handbook for government would assist in the continuation of services through manmade and natural disasters. The service to the citizen, including but not limited to water, electricity, sanitation, medical and health services, and the food supply chain are just a few areas that can be positively impacted upon by good BCM. By implication the reliance of government structure are treated most in time of disasters as experienced through the two year period of the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThe government departments in South Africa do not have or have not implemented BCM due to the lack of clear guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic however had accelerated the requirement for a top down BCM approach. To ensure that the scope of BCM is not limited, the possibility of having a set handbook for the government practitioner will ensure that service quality remains intact. Such a handbook related to government BCM practice is long outstanding.

COVID-19- A Challenge for Urology Subspecialty in an overwhelmed public sector hospital: A Descriptive Review of Urology Department, Lady Reading Hospital

Background: COVID-19 has brought unprecedented changes in every aspect of life throughout the world including the healthcare delivery system. After a grinding halt in surgical practice due to this pandemic, the conventional protocols needed a thorough overhaul before kick-starting formal services. This study discusses ways and procedure changes adopted at the Urology department to navigate this crisis and extend adequate urological care to patients at the same time. Aim(s): To share our experience of patient management in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method(s): It's a descriptive review article based on patient management protocols and clinical audit in the era of COVID-19 pandemic at the Departmentof Urology, MTI, Lady Reading Hospital from 20th Marchto 20th June 2020. Clinical implication the benefit of this study is how to organize things and continue health care provision in a deadly pandemic. Furthermore, it will set a precedence that how to cope with such a pandemic in the future. Conclusion(s): All surgical patients should be screened for COVID-19, with preference given to PCR tests. All elective surgeries should be put on hold as a result of the limited availability of ventilators, manpower, and hospital beds. Only semi-elective, lifesaving and oncologic surgeries that cannot be delayed should be done with full PPEs provided to every personnel frequenting operating theaters during the procedure. Furthermore, more efforts are needed to lift the infrastructure of hospitals and make them capable to face problems of such proportions in the future.Copyright © 2023 Lahore Medical And Dental College. All rights reserved.

New development: Ethical dilemmas and emotional labour—what can we learn from the shared Covid-19 crisis?

IMPACTThis article will be of value to public officials and managers who are grappling with the ethical questions arising from public sector work and service delivery. This is especially relevant in the context of Covid-19 where new forms of emotional labour are emerging. Procurement officers and politicians are encouraged to consider the possibilities of unethical behaviour and the consequences.

Public sector's misinformation debunking during the public health campaign: a case of Hong Kong.

For a public health campaign to succeed, the public sector is expected to debunk the misinformation transparently and vividly and guide the citizens. The present study focuses on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in Hong Kong, a non-Western society with a developed economy and sufficient vaccine supply but high vaccine hesitancy. Inspired by the Health Belief Model (HBM) and research on source transparency and the use of visuals in the debunking, the present study examines the COVID-19 vaccine misinformation debunking messages published by the official social media and online channels of the public sector of Hong Kong (n = 126) over 18 months (1 November 2020 to 20 April 2022) during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Results showed that the most frequently occurring misinformation themes were misleading claims about the risks and side effects of vaccination, followed by (non-)effectiveness of the vaccines and the (un)-necessity of vaccination. Among the HBM constructs, barriers and benefits of vaccination were mentioned the most, while self-efficacy was the least addressed. Compared with the early stage of the vaccination campaign, an increasing number of posts contained susceptibility, severity or cues to action. Most debunking statements did not disclose any external sources. The public sector actively used illustrations, with affective illustrations outnumbering cognitive ones. Suggestions for improving the quality of misinformation debunking during public health campaigns are discussed.

Factors associated to patients' referral to public or private Covid-19 healthcare centers in Tabriz, Iran.

BACKGROUND: In Iran, tracking of patients and its associated data recording in private healthcare centers are poor, and thus a majority of patients suffering from Covid-19 are treated without any control on the isolation and quarantine processes. The present study aims to investigate the factors contributed to referral to private or public healthcare centers that provide Covid-19 care services. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2022 in Tabriz, Iran. We invited a total of 258 and 202Covid-19 patients from governmental and private healthcare centers, respectively, to participate in the study by convenient sampling method. Applying a self-administered questionnaire, we collected data on the reason of referring to the healthcare centers, patient's waiting time, quality of healthcare services received by the patients, patients' level of satisfaction, accessibility, insurance coverage, perceived severity of the disease, and the level of staff compliance from health protocols. Logistic regression model was used for data analysis by using SPSS-26 software. RESULTS: Adjusted for other variables, higher socio-economic status (AOR (Adjusted Odds Ratio) = 6.64), older age (AOR = 1.02), referral of friends and family members (AOR = 1.52), shorter waiting time (AOR = 1.02) and higher satisfaction (AOR = 1.02) were contributed to referral to private centers. Better accessibility (AOR = 0.98) and wider insurance coverage (AOR = 0.99) were also contributed to referral to governmental centers. CONCLUSION: Providing more appropriate insurance coverage by private healthcare centers, and promoting their level of accessibility seems to promote patients' referral to such centers. Moreover, establishing an accurate system for recording patients' information and follow up in private centers might promote the role of private healthcare centers in managing the overload of patients on healthcare system during such epidemics.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Challenges Faced by Healthcare Professionals in India.

Since the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, a pandemic of such magnitude as the COVID-19 pandemic was yet to be confronted. While the pandemic led to unforeseen challenges globally as well as at the country level, it also brought forth certain perennial issues. This editorial is an attempt to revisit some of the major challenges faced by healthcare professionals in India during the pandemic. Timely interventions by the government of India dealt with several challenges confronted by the healthcare sector. However, issues about working hours, mental health, safety, and security of healthcare professionals also need to be looked into in the future.

Digital Transformation of Public Services as State Transformation: An Overview of the Experience in Turkey During the Pandemic

This paper discusses the contextual aspects of the digital transformation of the Turkish public administration system during the COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that the accelerating process of the digitalization of public services during the pandemic should be understood in connection with the ongoing, broader transformation of the Turkish state into the neoliberal regulatory state that has been ideologically framed as a facilitator of market-led economic development. This argument is based on the "state transformation approach" developed as an alternative analytical tool to address governance outcomes as a manifestation of neoliberally informed shifts in the location of state power, in the groups of actors that exercise state power, and in the ideas used to rationalize the exercise of it.

Lifestyle audits in South Africa – overrated or X-factor?

PurposePresident Cyril Ramaphosa, in his 2018 State of the Nation Address, stated that "Thieves who are stealing public funds should be arrested and prosecuted”, and called for lifestyle audits of public-sector employees. The gross misuse of COVID-19 relief funds by public officials indicated the urgent need to execute these audits as an anti-corruption measure. This paper aims to provide a review of the existing state of affairs with regard to the application of lifestyle audits in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis paper critically analyses the literature available on the current position of South Africa concerning lifestyle audits in the public sector, based on the mandates of some of the anti-corruption agencies that could be responsible for the conducting and processing of such audits.FindingsSouth Africa has only recently seen a framework for applying lifestyle audits, developed by the Department of Public Service and Administration. Although these first steps in developing a standard practice are laudable, the practical process of dealing with misconduct and/or criminal matters remains to be seen. It is recommended that South Africa consider a legislative approach to dealing with unlawfully obtained wealth by either criminalising the act of illicit enrichment (per the United Nations Convention Against Corruption) or creating an Unexplained Wealth Order, as seen, for example, in the UK.Originality/valueSouth Africa is in dire need of addressing corruption in the public sector. Despite lifestyle audits being called for, the lack of proper implementation is negating any positive outcomes. Therefore, alternative solutions should be investigated.

Setting up of Bad Bank – A New Era Begins

During Covid 19 pandemic, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) experience the high and increasing level of gross non performing assets. This is as high as 14 per cent which is matter of concern to all stakeholders. Consequently, these banks to witness high provisioning, low capital base and dismal credit growth. To arrest the trends in stressed assets, existing recovery channels including Insolvency Bankruptcy Code have not produced the desired results. Hence, the Government has recently taken a bold decision to set up a Bad Bank and provide the sovereign guarantee to security receipts issued by the Bad Bank upon purchase of stressed assets from PSBs. The Bad Bank aims at buying stressed assets, restructure them successfully and, thereafter, to sell the same to investors which would facilitate the PSBs to clean their balance sheet and strengthen the capital base. While there is enough business potential for the Bad Bank in the near future, its success will depend on purchase price of assets transferred, expertise in management of distressed assets, business model and presence of a conducive environment to operate. It is hoped that, during the post pandemic, the Bad Bank would prove to be the best option for revival of stressed assets and enable PSBs to lend optimally for productive purposes. Towards this end, before the Bad Bank starts functioning, there is a dire need to create awareness of the same by understanding its background, organization structure, business model and emerging challenges.

The Teacher as Union Member and Professional Educator: The Continuing Challenge of Bread and Butter and Professionalism

Teachers are central to education;they stand at the crossroads of education. It is chiefly through their efforts that the goals of education are achieved or thwarted. Susan Moore Johnson, Harvard Graduate School Professor of Education, sagely wrote just over 30 years ago, "Who Teaches Matters” (Teachers at work: Achieving success in our schools. Basic Books, New York, 1990, p. xii). Eric Hanushek concurs writing, "First, teachers are very important;no other measured aspect of schools is nearly as important in determining student achievement” (The economic value of higher teacher quality. National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research, Calder The Urban Institute, Washington, DC, 2010, p. 3). The COVID-19 pandemic with its shutdown of many schools brought to the forefront the importance of teachers interacting with their students in classroom settings. Try as the teachers may, their virtual presence was a questionable substitute for the personal dynamics created by teachers with their students. Teachers consider themselves to be professionals, providing a fundamental service, and seek to present themselves to the public as professionals. Juxtaposed to the critical importance of the teacher is the fact that public school teachers are part of a heavily unionized workforce. For some, there is a challenge between being a professional educator and being a member of a union. Dana Goldstein, in The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession, asked, "Could unionized teachers fight for their own interests as workers for the educational interests of the city's children? Or were those two priorities at odds?" (The teacher wars: a history of America's most embattled profession. Doubleday, New York, 2014, p. 74). Essentially, is unionization organized in a way that supports the professionalism of teachers? DeMitchell and Cobb, in their study of unions and teacher professionalism, ask, "[Are] teacher unionism and collective bargaining compatible with teacher perceptions of professionalism?" (West's Educ Law Reporter 212:1-20, 2006, p. 19). This chapter explores the challenges of unions and teachers in developing and sustaining the union, which balances the traditional and legitimate responsibility that unions owe to the educators they represent while supporting the professional responsibility of the teachers to act in the best interests of their students. The discussion will begin with an exploration of professionalism - what does it mean to be a professional. Next, the rise of teacher unionization and the divergent paths of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers in relation to professionalism and unionization will be discussed. The organizing principle of the emerging state collective bargaining laws formats public sector laws consistent with the industrial union model of private sector unionization and the impact of industrial unionism on teachers and teaching. The chapter concludes with a review of DeMitchell and Cobb's research on the tangled fit of being both a union member and a professional educator. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Randomized regulation: the impact of minimum quality standards on health markets

We report results from the first randomization of a regulatory reform in the health sector. The reform established minimum quality standards for patient safety, an issue that has become increasingly salient following the Ebola and COVID-19 epidemics. In our experiment, all 1348 health facilities in three Kenyan counties were classified into 273 markets, and the markets were then randomly allocated to treatment and control groups. Government inspectors visited health facilities and, depending on the results of their inspection, recommended closure or a timeline for improvements. The intervention increased compliance with patient safety measures in both public and private facilities (more so in the latter) and reallocated patients from private to public facilities without increasing out-of-pocket payments or decreasing facility use. In treated markets, improvements were equally marked throughout the quality distribution, consistent with a simple model of vertical differentiation in oligopolies. Our paper thus establishes the use of experimental techniques to study regulatory reforms and, in doing so, shows that minimum standards can improve quality across the board without adversely affecting utilization.

Covid19 Impact OnTwelve Sectors Of The Indian Economy

This study aims to investigate the reaction of COVID-19 cases (confirmed, deaths, recovered, & active) on twelve sectors of Indian economy by using sectoral indices of national stock exchange. Daily frequency of COVID-19 case categories was obtained from Worldometer from January 30, 2020 to June 30, 2020 and dataset of daily closing prices of twelve sectoral indices (auto, banks, financial services, fast moving consumer goods, information technology, media, metal, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, public sector banks, private banks, realty sector) was obtained from national stock exchange web portal for the same period as of COVID-19. In this study, the ordinary least square regression was used to study the significance of COVID-19 cases (confirmed, deaths, recovered, & active) on twelve sectoral indices. Empirical evidence suggested no significant impact of COVID-19 cases on daily returns of twelve major sectors represented by sectoral indices except in the case of pharmaceutical sector, where daily growth in number of deaths is impacting daily returns on pharmaceutical sectoral index in a positive way. The twelve sectoral indices went into a downward spiral at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic, but as government and central bank introduced various policy measures, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sectoral indices faded away.Copyright © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.

Antecedents and consequences of telecommuting on public organizations in Iran: the case of west Azerbaijan province

PurposeTelecommuting can reduce traffic congestion, energy consumption, prevalence and a death toll of COVID-19 among employees due to less transportation and fewer physical contacts among employees, on the one hand, and efficiently develop their use of information and communications technology, on the other hand. In this regard, the present study aims to explore antecedents and consequences of telecommuting in public organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a descriptive survey method to collect data. The statistical population includes all employees of government organizations in West Azerbaijan province in 2020, which according to the collected information, their number is equal to 63,079 employees. Based on Cochran's formula, a sample size of 686 people was obtained;stratified random sampling was used to select sampling. The process of calculating the sample volume was such that after referring to the preliminary sample and processing the collected data, the variance of the given answers was approximately 0.446. After obtaining the variance of the data, assuming a maximum acceptable error of 5% and a significance level of 0.05, the Cochran's formula calculated the sample size to be 686 people. In order to collect and measure data for the study, a standard questionnaire and the collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsFindings indicate that there is no meaningful relationship between the employees' physical job conditions or the quality of their life with telecommuting and that telecommuting does not have a significant effect on their life. However, job burnout, training and telecommuting experience have a significant positive effect on telecommuting, which in turn has a positive and significant effect on job security, job flexibility, organizational performance and overall productivity of employees.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is a cross-sectional study, and its data have been collected in a certain period of time, while longitudinal research can provide a richer result. Future research can benefit from the impact of employee isolation and telecommuter organizational commitment.Originality/valueThis study hopes to contribute to the increase of the scientific knowledge in the telecommuting field and to allow organizations to rethink the telecommuting strategies to optimize resources and costs and to improve the organization's productivity without harming the quality of life and well-being of their workers.