Al tientallen jaren streeft de Nederlandse overheid naar diversiteit binnen haar organisatie. Of het nu gaat om de politie of het onderwijs, de waterschappen of de departementen, nagenoeg... Show more Al tientallen jaren streeft de Nederlandse overheid naar diversiteit binnen haar organisatie. Of het nu gaat om de politie of het onderwijs, de waterschappen of de departementen, nagenoeg alle onderdelen van de publieke sector willen de verschillen benutten om de effectiviteit van de overheid te vergroten. De business case van diversiteit zit dus geworteld in het denken binnen de publieke sector. Vreemd genoeg wordt dit bewustzijn slechts in beperkte mate omgezet in interventies die bijdragen aan een overheid die adequaat maatschappelijke problemen kan oplossen. De uitdaging voor publieke organisaties ligt vooral in het duurzaam verbinden van de overheid met de samenleving. Sturen op verbinden kan het vertrouwen van burgers in de overheid vergroten. Dat kan bijvoorbeeld door zo goed mogelijk in het personeelsbestand een weerspiegeling te creëren van de samenleving. Maar zeker ook door de wisselwerking tussen de overheid en burgers, én binnen de overheid te stimuleren. Bovendien vergroten de juiste business case interventies de binding van medewerkers met de publieke organisaties. Transformationeel leiderschap en een inclusieve organisatiecultuur spelen daarbij een cruciale rol. Dit proefschrift toont aan dat sturen op verbinden de nieuwe route is voor de publieke sector. Show less
Public organizations are responsible for the delivery and provision of public services on which citizens rely. To maintain the quality of or improve these services, public organizations... Show more Public organizations are responsible for the delivery and provision of public services on which citizens rely. To maintain the quality of or improve these services, public organizations must exploit resources from the environment of the organization. To attain a predictable and controllable flow of resources, public managers must interact with a wide array of different organizations and actors in the organization’s environment that are potential sources of support. The main question of this dissertation concerns the conditions under which public managers’ interactions with organizations and actors in the environments of their organizations contribute to organizational performance. The context of this study is Dutch primary education. Specifically, we study the networking activities of Dutch primary school principals. One of the main conclusions of this dissertation is that specific managerial networking activities moderate the negative effect of specific environmental challenges. We find, for example, that the negative effect of red tape on school performance is attenuated by school principals’ networking activities with external organizations, such as local- and national government organizations and interest groups. Insights into the conditions under which specific managerial networking activities are beneficial can help public managers make strategic decisions about which networking activities to prioritize in certain situations. Show less
In this PhD-research, the main question addressed is whether or not conspiracy constructions are boosting hatred against the political system - and if conspiracy constructions could prompt... Show more In this PhD-research, the main question addressed is whether or not conspiracy constructions are boosting hatred against the political system - and if conspiracy constructions could prompt violent actions against politicians, institutions or symbols of the political system. Based on research into digital communities in which conspiracy constructions flourish, the research concludes that conspiracy constructions function as substitute ideologies and substitute religions in a post-political setting. Offering a clear master narrative of 'Us' and 'Them', and making a complex world eligible again, conspiracy constructions function as coded social critiques informing those who feel alienated, neglected and betrayed by the political establishment. However, as conspiracy constructions neglect real social and political opposites, cleavages and antagonisms that divide each society and construct a fictitious homogeneous 'People', the political mobilizing potential of conspiracy constructions is almost absent. Notwithstanding the violent and hateful discourse on social media one should not exaggerate the risks in terms of national security. The popularity of conspiracy constructions and the hateful discourse against the political system signals foremost powerlessness, despair and resentment that finds an outlet on social media. Show less
The thesis examines what factors contribute to perceiving political authorities as legitimate by individuals socialized in different political regimes. Using experimental vignettes and original... Show moreThe thesis examines what factors contribute to perceiving political authorities as legitimate by individuals socialized in different political regimes. Using experimental vignettes and original survey data, the thesis investigates to what extent normative qualities of political authorities play a role in citizens’ evaluations of these authorities. It challenges the claim that citizens in non-democratic regimes have unique or special expectations about political authorities. It does so by comparing the factors influencing perceived legitimacy of governments in different political regimes: two post-Soviet non-democracies (Russia and Ukraine) and old and new democracies in Europe (France, Netherlands, and Poland). The findings in all five countries support the theoretical model of a citizen who is concerned with both her personal material well-being and the fairness of authorities. The factor that had the largest positive effect on perceived legitimacy across countries was distributive justice—fairness in providing goods and services across the individuals in a society. Furthermore, respondents’ beliefs about what makes political authorities legitimate were similar across regimes and suggest that for evaluating legitimacy, the output aspects of governing (e.g. welfare, order, and stability) are less important than the input (e.g. elections, trust, representation) and throughput aspects (e.g. fair procedures,transparency, and integrity of authorities). Show less
