| 1. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Docent, universitetslektor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Agency Control or Autonomy? : Government Steering of Swedish Government Agencies 2003–2017
- 2021
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Ingår i: International Public Management Journal. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1096-7494 .- 1559-3169. ; 24:3, s. 330-349
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A central claim of the NPM doctrine is that public sector organizations will deliver better quality and improve efficiency if managers are given more autonomy in managerial and operational decisions. At the same time the idea is to keep managers under close control, which has led to the introduction of result-control instruments. This balancing strategy is referred to as the paradox of autonomization. There is, however, still scarce knowledge on whether and how the proposed balancing techniques work. Using a unique database on Swedish government agencies this article aims to mitigate this deficiency (N=1752). A balancing strategy is mainly confirmed, since higher managerial and structural autonomy are balanced with more external results control by government. We show that governments’ attempts at more managerial approaches to public service provision in reality add new ex post controls without reducing the old ones. However, policy and financial autonomy are not balanced by increased results control—these dimensions diminish when controlling for budget size. This study is an answer to a general call for more objective measures for evaluating bureaucratic autonomy
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| 2. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Avkollegialiseringen av svenska lärosäten : En analys av statliga universitet och högskolor
- 2022
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Ingår i: Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift. - Lund : Fahlbeckska stiftelsen. - 0039-0747. ; 124:1, s. 157-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Decollegialization of Higher Education Institutions – an Examination of Public Sector Higher Education Institutions in SwedenThis article surveys current management ideals of higher education institutions (HEIs), and our analytical focus is on the balance between line management and fac-ulty self-governance. We present an empirical study of evolving governance struc-tures including all 31 public sector HEIs in Sweden. The point of departure is the Autonomy Reform of 2011, which resulted in a deregulation of the Higher Education Act and a loss of constitutional support for collegial bodies. To assess the conse-quences of the reform, we have examined collegial bodies and academic leadership posts before and after the reform. Our findings show escalating line management in the appointment of academic leaders, a diluted role for collegial expertise, and a loss of decision-making authority for collegial bodies. Hence, the decollegialization of HEIs in Sweden. Our study contributes to the existing literature with an unusually comprehensive analysis of the consequences of new managerial ideals at the local institutional level.
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| 3. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-
(författare)
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Från granskningssamhälle till tillitsbaserad styrning?
- 2021
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Ingår i: Kungliga Vetenskapssamhällets i Uppsala årsbok 43/2019-2020. - Uppsala : Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala. ; , s. 19-30
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Docent, universitetslektor, 1964-
(författare)
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Förvaltningen
- 2020. - 5
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Ingår i: Svensk författningspolitik. - Lund : Studentlitteratur AB. - 9789144128689 ; , s. 155-172
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 5. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Docent, universitetslektor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Förvaltningspolitikens organisering
- 2020
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Ingår i: Statlig förvaltningspolitik för 2020-talet. - Stockholm : Statskontoret. - 9789188865359 ; , s. 237-265
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 6. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-
(författare)
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Om akademisk frihet
- 2023
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Frågan om akademisk frihet har med rätta blivit alltmer brännande i vår tid. Diskussionen om vad den akademiska friheten innebär, hur den ska säkras och vad som utgör hot mot den är viktig och kräver noggranna överväganden. Denna skrift är ett försök att bringa klarhet i dessa frågor, och också att utgöra ett diskussionsunderlag. Enkelt uttryckt kan vi konstatera att ett fritt kunskapssökande och en fri kunskapsförmedling vid våra lärosäten är nödvändig för utvecklingen av vår värld såväl socialt, kulturellt, ekonomiskt, medicinskt, tekniskt som naturvetenskapligt. I skriften reder författaren ut vad begreppet akademisk frihet innebär, och efter analys av det svenska fallet konstaterar hon sedan att skyddsräckena för den akademiska friheten i Sverige är mycket svaga.
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| 7. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Professional ambitions and organizational inertia : Analyzing the professionalization projects of the Swedish Military and Police
- 2022
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This paper focuses on the professionalization project of the Swedish military and police and the interplay between profession and organization. Previous literature has suggested that the relationship between professions and organizations are crucial for understanding matters such as organizational change and the development of professional work. Against this background, we start with the assumption that the relationship between professions and organizations is an important variable also for the development and evolvement of professionalization undertakings. We start by mapping ambitions and concrete measures, undertaken from the 1990s onwards, to professionalize these two forces. Following the understanding of professionalization as the scientification of work, we study changes in officer education as well as ambitions to increase the linkage between research and the conduct of professional work. We thereafter analyze to what extent the receiving end has adopted to the input side of these reforms, by studying the importance of scientification when it comes to what knowledge base officers rely on when conducting work; the linkage between scientification and admission, promotion and the status of officers as teachers or researchers. We conclude that there is no immediate correlation between efforts to reform these professional groups and their impact on the organization. Despite similar ambitions by the state, the Swedish military and police have responded differently. We further conclude that for externally initiated professionalization reforms to have an effect, they cannot solely target the professional groups, but also the organization.
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| 8. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Svenska lärosäten : organisering, finansiering, positionering
- 2022
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Ingår i: Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift. - Lund : Fahlbeckska stiftelsen. - 0039-0747. ; 124:1, s. 5-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Våren 2021 tog riksdagen ställning till den elfte forskningspolitiska propositionen i ordningen, Forskning, frihet, framtid – kunskap och innovation för Sverige (prop. 2020/21:60). Bara genom att studera forskningspropositionernas rubriker kan man enkelt avläsa vilka primära mål sittande regering har med sin forskningspolitik. Förra gången det begav sig stod samverkan högst på agendan. På propositionens 167 sidor nämndes ”samverkan” hela 224 gånger, medan en konkurrent som ”frihet” i stort lyste med sin frånvaro och enbart nämndes sex gånger (prop. 2016/17:50). I den nu aktuella forskningspropositionen har emellertid ”frihet” getts en mer framträdande roll än någonsin tidigare – vilket även framgår av rubriken – och omnämns hela 141 gånger (”samverkan” är dock mer än dubbelt så vanligt) (prop. 2020/21:60). Skälet till att frihetsfrågan fått en så framträdande roll denna gång är förstås de förslag om att föra in akademisk frihet i högskolelagen som Styr- och resursutredningen presenterat i sitt betänkande (”Struten”, se SOU 2019:6). Men hur ska vi förstå denna politiska strävan efter att stärka den akademiska friheten? I detta specialnummer tar vi ett bredare grepp om hur högskolepolitiken utvecklats över tid, och frågar oss vad som utmärker denna frihet. Vem är det som ska ges frihet? Hur ser balansen mellan formell och reell frihet ut? Vad utmärker dem som skänks frihet – oftast lärosätena – och hur skiljer de sig åt?
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| 9. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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The Decollegialization of Higher Education Institutions in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy. - : Routledge. - 2002-0317. ; 9:2, s. 126-143
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article surveys current management ideals of higher education institutions, and our analytical focus is on the balance between line management and faculty self-governance. It presents an empirical study of evolving governance structures including all 31 public sector higher education institutions in Sweden. The point of departure is the Autonomy Reform of 2011, which resulted in a deregulation of the Higher Education Act, and a loss of constitutional support for collegial bodies. To assess the consequences of the reform, we have examined collegial bodies and academic leadership posts before the reform (2010) and after (2020). Our findings show escalating line management in the appointment of academic leaders, a diluted role for collegial expertise, and a loss of decision-making authority for collegial bodies. What we observe is the decollegialization of higher education institutions. Our study contributes to the existing literature with an unusually comprehensive and fine-grained analysis of the consequences of new managerial ideals at the local institutional level.
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| 10. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-
(författare)
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The institutional set-up behind the Swedish response to the Covid-19 pandemic
- 2021
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The challenges that the COVID-19-pandemic have meant to the Swedish public administration is not unique. However, the path of less restrictive measures to curb the spread of infection have resulted in an agitated debate domestically, and also attracted international attention. At the center of this debate is the significance of the Swedish administrative model which holds an organizational divide between government ministries and central government agencies, and which also prohibits ministerial rule. The aim of this paper is to explore whether the comparatively high degree of independence of Swedish government agencies has given the Swedish Public Health Agency too much room for maneuver. This addresses the fundamental question of the boundaries between politics and expert knowledge. Moreover, the (lack of) reach of the Swedish government in a highly decentralized unitary state – where health care and elderly care is the responsibility of the regional and the local level – will also be addressed.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
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| 13. |
- Ahlbäck Öberg, Shirin, Professor, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
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Ökad kontroll och ökad byråkratisering : En kartläggning av statens styrning av universitet och högskolor
- 2024
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I denna rapport kartlägger vi den ökade kontrollen och ökade byråkratiseringen av framförallt de statliga lärosätena i Sverige under åren 1993–2023. Vi har analyserat utvecklingen av högskoleförfattningarna, regleringsbreven riktade mot universitet och högskolor (gemensamma och individuella) och relevanta sektorsmyndigheters, samt de generella författningar som träffar lärosätena antingen i egenskap av statliga myndigheter eller genom en mer generell räckvidd även bortom myndigheterna.Vår undersökning visar att det framförallt är generell lagstiftning kopplad till olika politiska målsättningar – tillsammans med staplandet av politiska mål i högskoleförfattningarna – som sammantaget resulterar i en orimlig administrativ börda för lärosätena. Den målträngsel som vi åskådliggör vittnar om en oförmåga hos lagstiftaren att prioritera. Även om en del av den generella lagstiftningen i någon mån varit aktuell redan vid undersökningsperiodens början så har den politiska ambitionsnivån på de flesta områden höjts avsevärt under senare år. Ytterst sällan åtföljs de stegrade ambitionerna av tillförda resurser, utan de nya eller ”förtydligade” uppgifterna ska istället i nästan samtliga fall utföras inom befintliga ekonomiska ramar. Vi menar att det är anmärkningsvärt att fler och fler byråkratidrivande regelverk införs utan att man vid något tillfälle diskuterar hur detta kommer att påverka lärosätenas möjligheter att bedriva kärnverksamheten.
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| 14. |
- Ledberg, Sofia, et al.
(författare)
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Managerialism and the Military : Consequences for the Swedish Armed Forces
- 2022
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Ingår i: Armed forces and society. - : Sage Publications. - 0095-327X .- 1556-0848. ; 48:4, s. 892-916
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article analyzes civil–military relations and the issue of civilian control through the lens of new managerialism. It illustrates that the means and mechanisms applied by governments to govern the military actually shape its organization and affect its functions in ways not always acknowledged in the civil–military debate. We start by illustrating the gradual introduction of management reforms to the Swedish Armed Forces and the growing focus on audit and evaluation. The article thereafter analyzes the consequences of these managerialist trends for the most central installation of the armed forces–its headquarters. It further exemplifies how such trends affect the work of professionals at the military units. In conclusion, managerialist reforms have not only changed the structure of the organization and the relationship between core and support functions but have also placed limits on the influence of professional judgment.
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| 15. |
- Wockelberg, Helena, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Agency Autonomy and Organizational Interaction
- 2022
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Ingår i: Public Organization Review. - : Springer Nature. - 1566-7170 .- 1573-7098. ; 22:4, s. 1045-1062
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research contributes to the ongoing debate on the relationship between agency autonomy and organizational interaction. A comparative design that includes agency managers in Norway and Sweden describing organizational interaction, the measures used and their perceived quality, is applied. Based on observed significant country-related effects, a main conclusion is that strong formal and organizational safeguards of agency autonomy appear to produce positive views on organizational interaction. The unusually strong and clear boundaries that underpin the autonomy of Swedish central government agencies lowers the risks of interacting with others, protecting both turf and mandate.
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| 16. |
- Wockelberg, Helena, 1970-, et al.
(författare)
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Explaining the Dynamics of Management by Objectives and Results Post-NPM : The Case of the Swedish National Executive
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration. - Göteborg : School of Public Administration. - 2001-7405 .- 2001-7413. ; 25:2, s. 43-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research concludes that the Swedish institution of Management by Objectives and Results (MBOR) has changed as a result of a top-down reform. The aim of the reform,which was to reduce the number of requests for performance information that thegovernment makes to the central government agencies, has been successfully implemented. In analysing the national government’s requests for performance information from 182 central government agencies (N=1752), this study confirms earlier claims of MBOR de-escalation. De-escalation is explained by stakeholder learning andthe new policy that re-interprets performance management in terms that fit the ideals of New Public Governance. This research concludes that the size of an agency’s budget hasa positive effect on the total number of requests and the government’s interest inquantitative performance indicators. Agency tasks that are relatively easy to measure andcount have a significant positive effect on the number of government requests. Task ismore important than budget size when governments decide what mix of indicators torequest from a specific agency. In this respect, the Swedish government adjusts its requests for information to the agencies’ tasks. The results from this study contribute to the ongoing debate on the application of performance management in a post-New Public Management setting.
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