Search results

The aim of this study was to systematically survey the use of various theoretical approaches by OD practitioners. To this end, members of the International Registry of Organization Development Professionals were surveyed. The results were based on questionnaire data from 58 OD
consultants with an average of 17.3 years' experience. The theoretical approaches of Schein, Lewin, Weisbord, Argyris, and Maslow were, in rank order, the most frequently endorsed. The findings indicate that OD practitioners are largely eclectic in orientation and stress both micro and
macro theoretical viewpoints in their consulting work. The implications and limitations of this investigation were noted.

Economics in Action summarizes the insights of economics (microeconomics, development economics, and institutional economics) for development practitioners who work in governmental and non-governmental organizations and civil society activists who do not have formal training in economics

Economics in Action summarizes the insights of economics (microeconomics, development economics, and institutional economics) for development practitioners who work in governmental and non-governmental organizations and civil society activists who do not have formal training in economics

From data collected in a mail survey of 327 urban based economic development practitioners, four dimensions of work satisfaction are proposed. Predictive correlates of these four dimensions–the expectation that practitioners create economic miracles, the rejection of formalistic activity, the sense that practitioners can be effective, and the belief that their bosses are helpful–are introduced. Overall satisfaction is highest in communities in which economic development practitioners feel they have successfully brought about public‐private cooperation. This finding is interpreted in terms of the differences between process and outcome measures in evaluating work satisfaction for administrators responsible for non‐routine activities.

The chief purpose of this handbook is to provide government lawyers with a framework to evaluate the quality of a country's investment legislation (if it exists) and how the legislation relates to its investment policy and investment incentives. More specifically, it deals with creating new and reforming existing investment legislation in developing and transition economies in furtherance of the World Bank Group's (WBG's) mandate to promote private investment - domestic and foreign - in those economies. Handbook appendices contain drafting guidelines and checklist of issues that foreign direct investment (FDI) laws should include and that countries can use when drafting investment legislation. The report is structured as follows: chapter one defines key terms about investment law reform in an effort to clarify terminology and concepts and show how they are related. Chapter two examines how widespread investment codes are and explains their utility and limitations. Chapter three provides recommendations on the structure of investment legislation and the key provisions to be included such as definitions, investors' guarantees, incentives, framework for investment promotion, and transitional provisions. Chapter four discusses the fundamental issue of investor entry, in particular the conditions under which foreign investors can invest including sectoral restrictions, limitations on foreign ownership, authorization and screening, minimum investment, and performance requirements. Chapter five discusses key investor guarantees including fair and equitable treatment, national treatment, most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment, protection against expropriation, guaranteed convertibility and repatriation of profits, and settlement of disputes. Chapter six looks at the issue of investment incentives, (fiscal incentives in particular) and their effectiveness. Chapter seven summarizes key aspects of investment promotion to guide legal drafters, should policymakers want the investment code to set out the basic framework of investment promotion. Chapter eight presents the various phases of investment law reform projects, from the government's request for assistance with legislation to the delivery of a project plan. Chapter nine identifies some of the challenges in preparing an investment code and the support that governments may need until the law is promulgated. Chapter ten discusses the monitoring and evaluation (M and E) of investment law reforms, including the key indicators involved in a desk review and medium- and large-scale projects.

A mail survey was conducted to empirically measure respondents' perceptions of the values, motives, and interventions of today's organization development (OD) practitioners. The survey sample consisted of 1,500 names randomly selected from three different professional organizations. Overall, 416 practitioners (27.7%) returned the questionnaire. Data from each of the three content areas were analyzed through: (a) factor analyses to determine the underlying structure and to generate subscales, and (b) MANCOVAs to assess the degree of differences among various types of respondents (e.g., professional association membership, gender, internal vs. external status) across the respective summary scores. In terms of the values of OD, results indicated that practitioners perceive the field today to be focused more on business effectiveness and productivity issues than on the humanistic concerns and orientation of the past. Although respondents rated interest in social action and helping people as the most important motivators of OD work in the ideal, exercising personal power and reaping the rewards of the consulting relationship were considered to be the more dominant motivators for people in the field today. Regarding interventions, practitioners reported engaging primarily in activities aimed at long-term organizational change, action research methodologies, and management skills training.

Local development practitioners in local government administration play a significant role in the governance of local development. This category of public officials – development officers, managers, strategists, secretaries, etc. – have received some attention in the local development literature. However, the directions in the literature are just as varied as the descriptions of the different aspects of local development governance they are taking part in. That means that the overarching understanding of what local development practitioners actually do is blurred, and is left to detailed case studies with very little or no conceptual ambition. Against this backdrop, the ambition of this article is to grasp what the local development practitioner role consists of at a conceptual level. This article offers a better understanding of what local development practitioner roles in particular consist of and how these roles relate to existing theories of governance and public administration. In order to do so, we first clarify and refine what the literature has stressed about local development practitioners' roles and functions, and cluster the findings into three theoretically separated roles: the coordinator, the creator and the inside lobbyist. Second, we bridge these roles with recent trends in public administration research. Finally, we discuss how this conceptualization informs us about governance modes of local development, as well as 'new and modern' public official roles in local government administration.

AbstractEstablishing development ethics is a rising concern for Korean NGOs with a relatively short history of engaging in international community development. This study explores the ethical challenges faced by Korean development practitioners. This study draws on in-depth interviews with 13 Korean development practitioners experienced in community development projects in Asia and Africa. The exploration of contexts affecting ethical practices suggests the influence of religion, professionalism and boundaries, neo-liberal and managerial culture. The findings of this study highlight the significance of reflective practices for development ethics by illustrating how development practitioners identified and constructed norms and principles through critical encounters with their emotions and challenges in practice. This study's practical implications include drawing attention to emotions as a source of reflection by involving underpinning values and judgement. The importance of reflective practices warrants further exploration of building collective ethics to inform and challenge international community development practices.