JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Year:2019 | Volume:11 | Issue:3 |Papers Count:7

Objective: Citizens’ awareness and participation play a significant role in the improvement of public affairs’ administration and the quality of governmental decisions and policies. The present research aims to explore and theorize the citizens’ participation in the budgeting process. Methods: 18 theoreticians and researchers in the fields of political sciences, social sciences and public administration participated in this grounded-theory based qualitative research. They were selected based on the purposive and snowball sampling methods. Results: The results of the data analysis showed that political awareness of citizens includes cyber political awareness, political empowerment of citizens, knowledge of using cyber networks, familiarity with political tools, citizens’ awareness of political presence on cyber networks, citizens’ cyber activities in parties, and debating on cyber social networks. Furthermore, political/local awareness of citizens includes citizen’ s awareness of local priorities, citizens’ awareness of local expenditure, citizens’ awareness of local problems, and knowledge about local investment that are all emerged within the framework of citizens’ cyber participation. Moreover, political participation of citizens involves their budget participation and political/cyber participation. Conclusion: Owing to the necessity of social interactions of citizens on the cyberspaces, local and indigenous social networks should be developed in Iran in order to reinforce the interactions among the citizens and such networks should be supported by the relevant practitioners and organizations accordingly.

Objective: From the perspective of governance, the concept of “ policy network” focuses on inter-organizational relations, structures, processes, and interactions that policy-making process takes place through them. In public policy literature, this approach to policy networks is based on studying governance through policy networks. This article, provides a comprehensive classification of the features of this type of governance using meta-synthesis method. The purpose of this paper is to identify and classify governance features through policy networks. Methods: In this study, 468 related articles and researches conducted between 1970 and 2018 were selected from the Web of Science citation index. Finally, 55 articles were evaluated for the purpose of the study using the meta-synthesis method and selection criteria. This research is qualitative and is conducted within the interpretive paradigm with the aim of exploring the features of governance through policy networks. This is an applied research in terms of purpose. It is also a cross-sectional study in terms of data collection. Results: The features of this kind of governance (Governance trough Policy Networks) can be divided into four general categories of "promoting coordination, coherence and integration", "strengthening communications, building trust and increasing participation", "policy learning improvement", and "facilitating policy implementation". Conclusion: It is concluded that the researchers have conducted more studies regarding the two aspects of "promoting coordination, coherence and integration", "strengthening communications, building trust and increasing participation". Considering the importance of policy learning and policy implementation issues, future research can pay more attention to the two dimensions of "policy learning improvement", and "facilitating policy implementation". And finally, the findings of this study can be used to apply new approaches for improving governance in various policy areas.

Objective: Capturing policies can be defined as the result or the process by which public decisions over laws, regulations or policies are consistently or repeatedly directed away from the public interest and towards the interests of a narrow interest group or person, by the intent and action of this group or person. The purpose of this study is to present a framework to explain the public policies capture. Methods: In this research, two methods of qualitative analysis including thematic analysis and interpretive structural modeling have been used. In the thematic analysis section of the research, all the existing contents on the public policies capture have been analyzed and carefully reviewed. In order to implement interpretive structural modeling, the views of 12 experts were received in the form of a questionnaire and the research was based on them. Results: In the first step, using theme analysis method, the thematic network of the public policies capture with 157 basic themes, 43 organizing themes and 7 global themes were extracted. In the second step, using interpretive structural modeling and paired communication, the relationships between the general themes were identified and general themes prioritized within six levels. Conclusion: The ultimate model represents the levels of the framework of public policies capture including the factors affecting the policies capture, the substrate of policies capture, the policies capture tools, the policies capture actors, the intervening conditions in the policies capture, consequences of policies capture and preventive strategies to policies capture.

Objective: Compensation for sensitive political careers has always been a topic of discussion for academicians, policymakers and social activists. The subject of this article is the assumption that the parameters affecting the compensation of such services are based on an equality-based or equity-based approach and are the result of the risks or responsibilities underlying within the organizational positions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of political sensitivity on the compensation of senior managers in Iranian state ministries with the mediating role of political networking and the moderating role of institutional pressure. Methods: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and correlational descriptive in terms of data collection. In this study, 471 senior managers of 18 state ministries were considered as the statistical population at the level of Deputy Minister or Chief of General Staff and then 234 senior managers were selected based on simple stratified sampling method using Cochran formula. Results: Political sensitivity has a significant direct impact on compensation for senior managers' services. It is also proved effective indirectly and through the mediating variable of political networking in which sensitive political office holders manage stakeholders and participate in power and coalition network which will finally affect their service compensation. However, the institutional pressure resulted from social norms moderates the relationship between political sensitivity and compensation. Conclusion: Political sensitivity is one of the most important factors affecting the compensation of senior managers that affect the compensation of senior managers either directly or through political networking and forced, imitative and normative institutional pressures. Research results in the areas of political sensitivity, institutional pressures, and political networking develop theoretical innovations and help managers, institutions, and executive parties understand how political sensitivity affects senior managers' compensation emphasizing political networking and institutional pressure.

Objective: Policies are often evaluated based on their goals, but public program evaluation studies indicate that evaluation of the goal itself is important, even more than reaching the goals. The Scriven "goal-free evaluation" approach is the root of such primary focus on goal evaluation. One of the important policies of each country is its agricultural policy, and wheat is considered as the most important basic product in Iran. The aim of this paper is to conduct a goal-free evaluation of wheat policy based on social, economic, and political values and conditions in Iran. Methods: The research data were collected through interviews and reviewing the literature. The data were then analyzed based on the context evaluation method in the comprehensive evaluation approach (CIPP) and utilizing the deductive theoretical thematic analysis method. Results: A hierarchy of objectives of wheat policy goals is presented using the meansend diagram. By using objectives tree diagram, it is possible to analyze alternative strategies for self-sufficiency. By identifying the needs of farmers and people, the underlying context components of wheat policy are analyzed in terms of issues, assets, and opportunities. Conclusion: The results indicated a kind of displacement of goals in key wheat programs, a pause at the specific level of the means– end chain (i. e. stopping wheat imports), and staying away from moving towards higher values and goals, and limiting the scope of goals to increase wheat production. The link between the consequences of weakness in accuracy, depth, and breadth of goals in such programs with other issues such as lack of management and shortage of water resources, are causes of questioning the overall policy orientation of wheat in the country. This research innovation is applying one of the classic evaluation model for evaluating an important real policy in Iran and presenting its efficiency.

Objective: The present study aims at understanding and designing a Model of organizational ideology to identify its underlying components. This can provide the managers with a good configuration of Missionary-oriented organization framework. Methods: In order to achieve this goal, in the qualitative stage, while reviewing the subject literature through Thematic Analysis approach, the effective criteria were also identified using MAXQDA software. In the next step, the identified factors were categorized into new dimensions of classification using the Fuzzy-TISM modeling approach and the levels of the components and the relationships among them wrer determined. Results: The analysis of the data led to the formation of fourteen organizing themes and three inclusive themes such as cultural components, behavioral components, and structural components. Conclusion: Finally, it was concluded that when organizational ideology becomes stronger, it can create a specific organizational structure called a Missionary-oriented organization; on the basis that the cultural components are at the lowest level and affect the behavioral components and ultimately the structural components. Therefore, the organizing values and norms and assimilation are at the lowest levels among the cultural components and they affect all the other themes. These elements are key players in organizational ideology that should be considered by Missionary-oriented organizations.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the nature and application of the sensemaking concept. Applying this framework to analyze human resource management issues can drastically enhance the extant knowledge of those issues and increase the effectiveness of HR practices. However, almost no research has been done-inside Iran-on human resource management and sensemaking. Methods: Conceptual analysis is the primary research approach for this paper. Suddaby conceptual analysis methodology forms the basis of our analyses. According to this model, we can clarify the meaning of the concepts through conducting four operations on concepts,: defining the concept, demarcating the concept against other related concepts, specifying the scope conditions of the concept and finally illustrating the logical coherence of the concept. Results: The main findings of this study include clarifying the nature of sensemaking, comparing it to similar concepts such as sensegiving, interpretation and action, specifying its place, time and value scope and illustrating its logical consistency by applying it to the ‘ strength of HR systems’ theory. Conclusion: Sensemaking perspective constitutes a conceptual basis for doing innovative research on HR related areas such as human resources change projects, recruitment and selection, employee socialization, sensemakig competence and sensegiving competence. Applying sensemaking perspective on these areas could enhance the existing understanding of such concepts.