Journal of Management Policy and Practice

Assessing Resources Devoted to Electronic Reporting and Automation Among Central Cancer Registries Meeting National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) Quality Standards

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has emphasized a need for data modernization initiatives (DMIs) to improve the quality and timeliness of cancer surveillance data. To guide such DMI efforts, we need data on the resources required to generate high-quality data. Twenty-one central cancer registries (CCRs) collected data from July 2020 to June 2021. We explored the potential relationship between resources for (1) electronic reporting and automation and (2) the quality of CCR data. We then compared activity-based costs of registries that always (n = 8), sometimes (n = 6), or seldom/never (n = 7) met data quality standards for completeness, timeliness, duplicate rate, and missing values. We found the registries that consistently met data quality standards used more resources on setting up processes to acquire data, training staff, and processing data. Compared to high-quality registries, registries that seldom/never met quality standards spent the most on case finding/data abstraction of non-hospital records. This study provides key findings for resource use, which can guide advancements when implementing electronic reporting and automation to improve CCR operations.

How Government Organizations Can Sustain Remote Work Post COVID-19

Chikwendu Nweke, Leslie Gilliam, Teresa Lao, Ernesto Escobedo — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Government organizations are unprepared to sustain remote work post-COVID-19. Even though COVID-19 seems to be under control, organizations are still struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic and the need to sustain remote work. Challenges include lack of necessary information technology tools, software, technological skills, strategies for remote work, leadership skills, real-time communication, activity planning and program implementation, scheduling meetings, organizing childcare, managing caseloads, fostering team work, and effective supervision. A conceptual framework based on organizational adaptation theory guided this qualitative case study. Since the study was to ascertain how government organizations can sustain remote work post-COVID-19, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 12 government employees in Dallas Texas who worked remotely during COVID-19. Thematic analysis was conducted and. nine themes morphed from the study. The results highlighted the need for employee training and continuous organizational adaptation to the changing business environment.

Reconfiguring the Kazakhstan Pension System: How Can Canadian and OECD Experience Be Helpful?

Almaz Tolymbek , Bakhytgul Utegulova — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

This study examines the current state of Kazakhstan’s public pension system, comparing its performance and asset structure to OECD countries. It highlights structural and regulatory issues within the national pension market that hinder adequate retirement savings for the population. A key concern is the low real rate of return by the national pension fund, potentially jeopardizing its ability to meet future retirement needs amidst rising inflation. The study analyzes the Canadian pension system as a model, showcasing a three-layer structure that fosters diverse sources of pension benefits, ensuring sustainable income for retirees. It recommends considering group (employer-based) and private (individual) registered pension programs, common in developed countries, to generate additional pension income. Supportive legal and tax frameworks are crucial to encourage participation in these programs. Drawing on Canadian and OECD experiences, the study offers suggestions for reconfiguring Kazakhstan’s pension system to enhance its performance and sustainability, ultimately leading to higher pension payouts for future retirees.

Hedging Oil Shocks in Monetary Policy

Daraboth Rith — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

Significant fluctuations in crude oil prices draw attention from policymakers, academics, and practitioners. These fluctuations often arise from global demand changes, supply disruptions, or precautionary motives, prompting critical questions about monetary policy responses. Understanding the interplay between oil shocks and monetary policy requires examining central bank actions and their economic impacts. This study investigates monetary policy responses to oil shocks since the 1990s using Structural Vector Autoregression, Impulse Response Functions, and Variance Decomposition. These methods reveal dynamic relationships between crude oil prices, inflation rates, and monetary policy rates. The findings highlight distinct responses among countries. Major oil importers like the U.S. and China significantly raise policy rates in response to oil shocks, while Japan shows a more modest reaction. Among oil-exporting nations, Saudi Arabia and Canada respond swiftly and substantially, whereas Nigeria adopts an unconventional approach, loosening monetary policy after an oil shock. These variations underscore the complex interactions between oil prices and monetary policy globally.

Destigmatizing Cannabis: A Theoretical Exploration of Shifting Consumption Norms in the U.S. Legal Market

Mine Üçok Hughes, Ekin Pehlivan — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This study explores the destigmatization of stigmatized consumption, focusing on the evolving landscape of legal cannabis in the United States. With global adult-use cannabis sales projected to surpass 33 billion U.S. dollars by 2025, the market's growth is undeniable. Despite its expansion, the legal cannabis market remains intricate and controversial. There has been a steep increase in support for cannabis legalization over the last two decades in the U.S. and around the world. This study combines the “stigma turbine” theoretical framework with normative social behavior and market co-optation theories, proposing a categorization of consumption practices from stigmatized to destigmatized to normalized to normatized. By examining the destigmatization process, this framework offers insights applicable beyond cannabis, aiding scholars in understanding the dynamics of stigmatized behaviors and guiding policymakers and brand managers in navigating evolving perceptions and responses. We offer a few public policy implications that advocate for more research in the cannabis field that would educate consumers and increase awareness.

The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions: Why Regulatory Breaches Take Place

Martijn Sinninghe Damsté — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This study investigates the several factors which can drive professionals into non-compliance. The author has looked at these factors from an economic, game theoretic, decision-theoretic, psychological and conflict management theory point of view. The research reveals that culture, not merely in the sense of compliance culture but also in the sense of company culture, plays a pivotal role. Based on company and compliance culture, governance and the various identified factors inciting compliance or non-compliance, the author distinguishes inclusive and extractive company cultures. In inclusive company cultures, factors encouraging compliance dominate, while in extractive company cultures, this is the case for factors discouraging compliance.

Beyond Quantitative Easing Towards a New Monetary Theory

Carlos Obregón — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

In his article Interest and Prices, originally published in 1898, Wicksell summarized the two goals of monetary policy that today constitute the cornerstones of monetary theory. The first goal is to prevent monetary shocks due to excessive/or insufficient credit in the system, resulting in a conservative view of monetary policy. The second goal is to adequate the level of credit to changes in the real sector of the economy as reflected in changes in the real level of savings or investment. The first goal has been the main emphasis of the Quantitative Theory of Money which supports both Monetarism and Rational Expectations. The second goal was the route taken by Keynes who emphasized the volatility of investment as a main cause of economic instability. This article provides a third route that benefits from the two routes previously mentioned and proposes a new monetary theory.

Bidding to Host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games: Continuing Issues or a Turning Point?

James W. Fairfield-Sonn — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Since 1896, when Athens held the first edition of the Modern-era Summer Olympic Games, one of the distinctive features of these sporting events has always been the willingness of a major urban city to host the events. After three of the five official candidates bidding to host the 2024 version of the Summer Olympic Games withdrew their applications, it raised serious questions about the efficacy of the policies and practices governing the bidding process. An institutional theory perspective is used here to analyze this situation and the organizers’ response. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.