Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe Australian Industry Capability (AIC) program presents an example of hybridity where national security interests are served through a complex partnership between the Department of Defence, global prime contractors, and small and medium‐sized Australian companies. Through a qualitative interview study of stakeholders in the defence industry by and triangulating findings from publicly available defence industry documents, this study aims to document the decoupling associated with the AIC program. We find that complexity and opacity, stemming from hybridity, create decoupling in the implementation of the AIC program. We also find that a lack of accountability and monitoring contributes to decoupling. We advance the literature on hybridity into the context of multi‐organisational arrangements in a unique industry and identify how decoupling can impede the achievement of policy objectives in the context of complex hybrid arrangements.Points for practitioners
The Australian Industry Capability (AIC) program represents a case of complex hybrid arrangement in public sector management involving the defence industry.
Hybridity of AIC arrangements creates challenges of complexity and opacity, creating conditions that give rise to decoupling. Lack of accountability and monitoring exacerbates these challenges.
Potential for coupling is identified with recommendations provided.

It is increasingly common to test hypotheses combining moderation and mediation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) has been the favored approach to testing mediation hypotheses. However, the biggest challenge to testing moderation hypotheses in SEM was the complexity underlying the modeling of latent variable interactions. We discuss the latent moderated structural equation procedure (LMS) approach to specifying latent variable interactions, which is implemented in Mplus, and offer a simple and accessible way of testing combined moderation and mediation hypotheses using SEM. To do so, we provide sample code for six commonly encountered moderation and mediation cases and relevant equations that can be easily adapted to researchers' data. By articulating the similarities in the two different approaches, discussing the combination of moderation and mediation, we also contribute to the research methods literature.

AbstractWomen constitute the majority of the Australian public sector workforce, but their representation in senior roles is not proportional. Australian public services have gender targets to improve the representation of women in senior roles. Based on previous research, targets are expected to first increase female representation at the target's focal level, such as executive level. Then they should initiate a trickle‐down effect (TDE), increasing female representation at the level immediately below the target's focal level, such as the executive feeder level. However, the TDE observed in a state public service decelerated after a gender target was imposed. We identified whether individual departments had a consistent or inconsistent TDE and conducted 13 semi‐structured interviews with key stakeholders. Too many service‐wide targets with low prioritisation of a gender target, as well as missing and ineffective practices, generated decoupling dynamics. Only departments with gender champions who had visible backing from the Chief Executive were able to keep the gender target coupled with practice to achieve its intended outcomes.Points for practitioners
Gender targets in Australian public services may not be achieving intended outcomes due to decoupling—a response to policies in which the policies are ignored and/or ineffective practices are implemented.
Too many competing targets and limited accountability for achieving a gender target create a potential for decoupling by allowing individuals and groups to ignore or weakly adopt the policy.
Integrated bundles of top‐down (e.g. requiring at least two women on shortlists) and bottom‐up practices (e.g. mentoring) can help avoid decoupling by ensuring women are appointed to senior roles and supported to progress through an organisation.
Chief Executives are key to ensuring a gender target remains coupled with its implementation; Chief Executives must provide visible support to internal champions to make gender targets effective.