The article presents a research carried out in Šiauliai City municipality in 2009, which was aimed at finding out the spread of features of transactional and transformational leadership in the Council of the current period of office (2007-2011) by relating the manifestations of leadership to efficiency of activity when representing the interests of the community. Activity of the members of the Council was assessed by the executive power - the executives of divisions of municipal administration.
The article presents a research carried out in Šiauliai City municipality in 2009, which was aimed at finding out the spread of features of transactional and transformational leadership in the Council of the current period of office (2007-2011) by relating the manifestations of leadership to efficiency of activity when representing the interests of the community. Activity of the members of the Council was assessed by the executive power - the executives of divisions of municipal administration.
In the present paper the relevant object of scientific research that is analysed is the motivation aspect of transformational leadership in good government. Continuous flow changes in the environment surrounding organizations imply the problem of the necessity to have a transformational leader of the organization who is able to cause a change in any area of the organization and influence subordinates, forcing them to change. In the present study the results of the research showed that transformational leadership is a key aspect of the motivational aspect that exists in all traits of a leader, which serves the followers as an acceptable management tool that motivates them to change and to achieve the highest performance. Good governance is facing changes, so the transformational leadership implementation problem is very relevant today.
In the present paper the relevant object of scientific research that is analysed is the motivation aspect of transformational leadership in good government. Continuous flow changes in the environment surrounding organizations imply the problem of the necessity to have a transformational leader of the organization who is able to cause a change in any area of the organization and influence subordinates, forcing them to change. In the present study the results of the research showed that transformational leadership is a key aspect of the motivational aspect that exists in all traits of a leader, which serves the followers as an acceptable management tool that motivates them to change and to achieve the highest performance. Good governance is facing changes, so the transformational leadership implementation problem is very relevant today.
Considering the relevance of local government administrations in bringing governments' presence closer to people in the grassroots, the need for sound leadership features cannot be undermined. This research presents an empirical study carried out in both Siauliai City municipality and Enugu City between 2015 and 2016, which was aimed at examining transformational and transactional leadership features in the local government councils of the two cities aforementioned. The survey research method was employed in gathering the primary data used for the study - through questionnaire administration and expert oral interview. The comparative analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts and graphs. Based on the outcome of the results, the study concludes that transformational leadership features are more pronounced in Siauliai City municipality than in Enugu city. It was also discovered that there are intense leadership tussles in local government councils which experts suggest may lead to blackmails. It was recommended that local government leaders should operate open-door policy regime where there is unrestricted access to information, opportunity for citizens and lower cadre functionaries to make contributions in policy formulation and implementation among others, which are among the features of transformational leadership.
Considering the relevance of local government administrations in bringing governments' presence closer to people in the grassroots, the need for sound leadership features cannot be undermined. This research presents an empirical study carried out in both Siauliai City municipality and Enugu City between 2015 and 2016, which was aimed at examining transformational and transactional leadership features in the local government councils of the two cities aforementioned. The survey research method was employed in gathering the primary data used for the study - through questionnaire administration and expert oral interview. The comparative analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts and graphs. Based on the outcome of the results, the study concludes that transformational leadership features are more pronounced in Siauliai City municipality than in Enugu city. It was also discovered that there are intense leadership tussles in local government councils which experts suggest may lead to blackmails. It was recommended that local government leaders should operate open-door policy regime where there is unrestricted access to information, opportunity for citizens and lower cadre functionaries to make contributions in policy formulation and implementation among others, which are among the features of transformational leadership.
This article aims to explain why modern public education initiatives in Lithuania do not deliver on expected results in spite of sufficient investments and government support. The paper focuses on institutional innovation in vocational education – the creation and management of Sectorial Practical Training Centres. Sectoral Practical Training Centres are primarily the instruments of the initial vocational education policy, seeking to improve and adjust the skills of the current and future workforce to the needs of private and public economy sectors. The article is based on proposition that newly created centres would be less exposed to administrative tradition, and should strive to employ modern management ideas, such as transformational leadership and employee empowerment. However, the empirical investigation revealed that there is a big lack of leadership, and managers rely on old-but-good administrative means. The employees stress that there is no support and feedback from management side; staff members do not see prospects for self-realization as well as for creativity and innovations. At the same time, the employees are keen to take more responsibility and to be more engaged in decision-making processes. The article concludes that one of the biggest obstacles for future organizational development is mismatch between current management practices and employees expectations.
This article aims to explain why modern public education initiatives in Lithuania do not deliver on expected results in spite of sufficient investments and government support. The paper focuses on institutional innovation in vocational education – the creation and management of Sectorial Practical Training Centres. Sectoral Practical Training Centres are primarily the instruments of the initial vocational education policy, seeking to improve and adjust the skills of the current and future workforce to the needs of private and public economy sectors. The article is based on proposition that newly created centres would be less exposed to administrative tradition, and should strive to employ modern management ideas, such as transformational leadership and employee empowerment. However, the empirical investigation revealed that there is a big lack of leadership, and managers rely on old-but-good administrative means. The employees stress that there is no support and feedback from management side; staff members do not see prospects for self-realization as well as for creativity and innovations. At the same time, the employees are keen to take more responsibility and to be more engaged in decision-making processes. The article concludes that one of the biggest obstacles for future organizational development is mismatch between current management practices and employees expectations.
Leadership in education is a reform of the education system that boosts creativity, promotes innovation and solidarity in pursuit of a common objective. A great emphasis on leadership in general education schools is placed not only in Western European countries but also Lithuania. Although one has to admit that here this phenomenon had not been investigated conclusively. Seeing that signs of innovation and leadership can already be perceived in general education schools, various theories and practices of leadership are still being researched and tested. In order to reach concrete and clear results, it is reasonable to analyse and underline the features of leadership in general education school through already available results on the prevailing directions. This communication, therefore, provides an overview of types of leadership (transformative, distributed and servant) in general education school and search for specific features of it. The aim – to set the direction of leadership in general education school. The object – leadership in general education school. The tasks: 1. Examine the scientific literature and documents on leadership in general education school and identify the main theoretical leadership directions. 2. Set the direction of leadership in the general education school of Lithuania. 3. Formulate recommendations on the development of leadership in a general education school of Lithuania. Methods: 1. The analysis of scientific literature and analysis of the national legislation with respect to the features of leadership. 2. Comparative analysis. 3. Quantitative analysis. Theoretical research showed that the leadership direction itself dominates in the basic legal acts governing the education system. Based on the analysis of the documents, it can be concluded, that transformative and distributed leaderships are the most pronounced in the general education school. They are characterized through collaboration and initiation and deployment of innovations. Empirical research showed that the prevailing directions of leadership are all: transformation, distributed and servant leadership.
Leadership in education is a reform of the education system that boosts creativity, promotes innovation and solidarity in pursuit of a common objective. A great emphasis on leadership in general education schools is placed not only in Western European countries but also Lithuania. Although one has to admit that here this phenomenon had not been investigated conclusively. Seeing that signs of innovation and leadership can already be perceived in general education schools, various theories and practices of leadership are still being researched and tested. In order to reach concrete and clear results, it is reasonable to analyse and underline the features of leadership in general education school through already available results on the prevailing directions. This communication, therefore, provides an overview of types of leadership (transformative, distributed and servant) in general education school and search for specific features of it. The aim – to set the direction of leadership in general education school. The object – leadership in general education school. The tasks: 1. Examine the scientific literature and documents on leadership in general education school and identify the main theoretical leadership directions. 2. Set the direction of leadership in the general education school of Lithuania. 3. Formulate recommendations on the development of leadership in a general education school of Lithuania. Methods: 1. The analysis of scientific literature and analysis of the national legislation with respect to the features of leadership. 2. Comparative analysis. 3. Quantitative analysis. Theoretical research showed that the leadership direction itself dominates in the basic legal acts governing the education system. Based on the analysis of the documents, it can be concluded, that transformative and distributed leaderships are the most pronounced in the general education school. They are characterized through collaboration and initiation and deployment of innovations. Empirical research showed that the prevailing directions of leadership are all: transformation, distributed and servant leadership.
Most academic systems and structures, as they exist today, are based on models which were designed centuries ago, at a time when men exclusively predominated in universities. There is certain scepticism towards what can be achieved, though. A continuing evident gap is apparent between principles, rhetoric and reality. In 2010, women were pursuing upper secondary and higher education more actively than men, but, evidently, women remain more strongly underrepresented among researchers than among highly qualified professionals in traditionally maledominated scientific and professional fields. This could point towards a situation where the organisational culture mounts resistance against the integration of women. Briefly, they require but often lack conceptual frameworks. The purpose of this study was to examine how institutional culture promoted or impeded the implementation of one of the EU flagship initiatives 'Implementing structural change in research organizations/universities' in Lithuania, which should be designed to improve the institutional culture for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a conceptual framework and methodology was developed for designing institutional transformational change at STEM faculties of University to sustain the practice of gender equality. In the second stage, the design of the Model Institutional Transformational Change was attempted to be conceptualized in order to achieve change on institutional, departmental and individual levels.
During the last decade, many countries have embarked on a transformational transition into the knowledge economy. Given the increased positive influence that this economy has on the political, economic and sociocultural spheres of a globalised society, the unevenness between technologically advanced and developing countries have become more pronounced. The current rise in the global brain drain, especially in technologically challenged countries, has significantly affected the competitiveness of those countries in terms of attracting a talented workforce to their shores. This syndrome has become a significant challenge for the Baltic States, with the mass emigration of skilled professionals. Although the governments in the Baltics have embarked on nation branding strategies to differentiate and market their states on a global basis, these are more geared towards stimulating exports and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) from multinationals and other private investors. Nation branding can improve a country's global standing, image and reputation, ultimately influencing the amount of tourism and capital investment, as well as attracting a talented workforce. However, it is apparent that in the Baltic States, proactive measures such as nation "rebranding" are still needed to retain a talented workforce for longer in the region.
During the last decade, many countries have embarked on a transformational transition into the knowledge economy. Given the increased positive influence that this economy has on the political, economic and sociocultural spheres of a globalised society, the unevenness between technologically advanced and developing countries have become more pronounced. The current rise in the global brain drain, especially in technologically challenged countries, has significantly affected the competitiveness of those countries in terms of attracting a talented workforce to their shores. This syndrome has become a significant challenge for the Baltic States, with the mass emigration of skilled professionals. Although the governments in the Baltics have embarked on nation branding strategies to differentiate and market their states on a global basis, these are more geared towards stimulating exports and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) from multinationals and other private investors. Nation branding can improve a country's global standing, image and reputation, ultimately influencing the amount of tourism and capital investment, as well as attracting a talented workforce. However, it is apparent that in the Baltic States, proactive measures such as nation "rebranding" are still needed to retain a talented workforce for longer in the region.
Lithuania has a fragmented advisory system, with a total of 213 advisory bodies working at the central level of government in 2017. Ad hoc advisory bodies have low average lifespans, while the permanent advisory bodies usually have small administrative capacities. The Sunset Commissions were an exception because they advised Lithuanian governments for more than ten years – having been active since 1999 – and operated within a well-developed institutional framework. They provided recommendations on how to improve the efficiency and quality of public management for five Lithuanian governments until 2016 when Skvernelis's government decided to discontinue its activities. There was almost no systematic monitoring of the extent to which the recommendations were carried out. Therefore, it is important to analyze the impact of the Sunset Commissions' recommendations on public management policy in Lithuania. By combining the advisory systems and public policy process literature, the article identifies the main factors that may affect the successful use of advice: the compatibility of recommendations with the dominant political ideas, the composition of an advisory body, the government's expectations toward its purpose, economic conditions, the support of the parliamentary majority and the political attention to its recommendations and the role of the changing leaders during public management reforms. Our empirical study – which was based on desk research, an analysis of administrative information, interviews and a survey of the Commissions' members – consisted of two main stages. First, we assessed the impact of the Sunset Commissions on public management policy. Second, we determined the causal configurations underpinning the adoption and implementation of the recommendations set out by this advisory body. The results of our assessment reveals a good deal of variation in the use of the Commissions' recommendations. The 1999–2000 and 2009 Commissions were the most successful in terms of the recommendations adopted and implemented. The lifespan of these Sunset Commissions was marked by economic downturns that opened "windows of opportunity" for major reforms. These advisory bodies are also characterized by high performance indicators. In contrast, the advisory bodies that worked during 2006–2008 and 2013–2016 received less political attention in the Lithuanian government in the context of economic growth, which made implementation more difficult. Overall, our assessment suggests that a more active performance of the advisory body is not sufficient to explain the level of adoption and implementation of its recommendations, as the political and economic conditions significantly shape the use of advice. The second part of the empirical study allowed us to determine the main causal configurations that explain the adoption and implementation of the recommendations suggested by the Sunset Commissions. The most important condition for successful adoption is the compatibility of advice: in other words, the more the given advice corresponds to a particular government's priorities, the more successful the use of recommendation becomes. In addition, the uptake of recommendations is more frequent during economic downturns as well as when prime ministers exercise transformational leadership during the reform process. Meanwhile, the composition of the advisory body, the expectations of the government toward its performance and the leadership exercised by the heads of the commissions are less important. The conditions for the successful implementation of recommendations are slightly different. Although transformational leadership maintains its importance during the implementation phase, the exercise of transactional leadership can also lead to an incremental change if policy implementation is pursued adequately at the administrative level. To conclude, our research reveals that the Sunset Commissions had a substantial impact on Lithuanian public management policy. Even though the effectiveness of the advisory body varied during the rule of the Lithuanian governments, a majority of the Commissions' members agreed that its work should be continued. The research also allows us to offer practical recommendations for the further performance of the Sunset Commissions. The main suggestions include, but are not limited to, strengthening the mandate of the Commission, enhancing administrative discipline during the execution of the recommendations and allo inancial resources for supporting the performance of the Commission.
Lithuania has a fragmented advisory system, with a total of 213 advisory bodies working at the central level of government in 2017. Ad hoc advisory bodies have low average lifespans, while the permanent advisory bodies usually have small administrative capacities. The Sunset Commissions were an exception because they advised Lithuanian governments for more than ten years – having been active since 1999 – and operated within a well-developed institutional framework. They provided recommendations on how to improve the efficiency and quality of public management for five Lithuanian governments until 2016 when Skvernelis's government decided to discontinue its activities. There was almost no systematic monitoring of the extent to which the recommendations were carried out. Therefore, it is important to analyze the impact of the Sunset Commissions' recommendations on public management policy in Lithuania. By combining the advisory systems and public policy process literature, the article identifies the main factors that may affect the successful use of advice: the compatibility of recommendations with the dominant political ideas, the composition of an advisory body, the government's expectations toward its purpose, economic conditions, the support of the parliamentary majority and the political attention to its recommendations and the role of the changing leaders during public management reforms. Our empirical study – which was based on desk research, an analysis of administrative information, interviews and a survey of the Commissions' members – consisted of two main stages. First, we assessed the impact of the Sunset Commissions on public management policy. Second, we determined the causal configurations underpinning the adoption and implementation of the recommendations set out by this advisory body. The results of our assessment reveals a good deal of variation in the use of the Commissions' recommendations. The 1999–2000 and 2009 Commissions were the most successful in terms of the recommendations adopted and implemented. The lifespan of these Sunset Commissions was marked by economic downturns that opened "windows of opportunity" for major reforms. These advisory bodies are also characterized by high performance indicators. In contrast, the advisory bodies that worked during 2006–2008 and 2013–2016 received less political attention in the Lithuanian government in the context of economic growth, which made implementation more difficult. Overall, our assessment suggests that a more active performance of the advisory body is not sufficient to explain the level of adoption and implementation of its recommendations, as the political and economic conditions significantly shape the use of advice. The second part of the empirical study allowed us to determine the main causal configurations that explain the adoption and implementation of the recommendations suggested by the Sunset Commissions. The most important condition for successful adoption is the compatibility of advice: in other words, the more the given advice corresponds to a particular government's priorities, the more successful the use of recommendation becomes. In addition, the uptake of recommendations is more frequent during economic downturns as well as when prime ministers exercise transformational leadership during the reform process. Meanwhile, the composition of the advisory body, the expectations of the government toward its performance and the leadership exercised by the heads of the commissions are less important. The conditions for the successful implementation of recommendations are slightly different. Although transformational leadership maintains its importance during the implementation phase, the exercise of transactional leadership can also lead to an incremental change if policy implementation is pursued adequately at the administrative level. To conclude, our research reveals that the Sunset Commissions had a substantial impact on Lithuanian public management policy. Even though the effectiveness of the advisory body varied during the rule of the Lithuanian governments, a majority of the Commissions' members agreed that its work should be continued. The research also allows us to offer practical recommendations for the further performance of the Sunset Commissions. The main suggestions include, but are not limited to, strengthening the mandate of the Commission, enhancing administrative discipline during the execution of the recommendations and allo inancial resources for supporting the performance of the Commission.
