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PurposeThe Netherlands' national government (Rijksoverheid) is an example of a large public organization that strives to recruit and retain employees from different cultural groups, and aims to reap the benefits of workplace diversity. Research has shown that a major predictor of the effectiveness of diversity policy and interventions is the diversity perspective of employees, i.e. which outcomes they associate with cultural diversity in their work environment.Design/methodology/approachThe present study compares public servants' diversity perspectives in two similar independent samples, from 2008 (n = 1,617) and 2018 (n = 2,024), using the Benefits and Threats of Diversity Scale (BTDS; Hofhuis et al., 2015).FindingsResults show that in 2018, employees of the Netherlands' national government perceived more benefits of diversity for gaining insight about and access to different groups within society. Additionally, contributions of cultural diversity to creativity and innovation within teams are reported significantly more often in 2018 than in 2008.Originality/valueThe findings may be of interest to diversity scholars, since data on changes in cultural diversity perspectives across time are rare, and the paper provides a unique comparison of measurements at two time points, one decade apart, within the same organization.

We introduce a themed collection of articles examining how the public sector has responded to, and been impacted by, the COVID-19 crisis. Although the pandemic has affected the roles, functions, economies, governance and structures of public sectors, this themed collection focuses on public sector employment relations. Authors examine significant areas which have been subject to accelerated change stemming from the pandemic. Building on decades of public sector reform, these changes impact public sector enterprise bargaining, terms and conditions of employment, working arrangements and practices, and the relationship between public servants and their employer. The articles in this collection provide important insights into the longer-term influences of the COVID-19 pandemic for public sector workforces. The collection also raises questions around whether the positive lessons from this crisis can be sustained to help manage serious crises in the future, or whether the public sector will slip back into a state of unpreparedness. JEL Codes: J45, J5, J81

In this chapter, the authors show two case studies of the use of social media in municipal governments: Lerma, a small municipality with a significant growth, and Metepec, an important municipality of the State of México. The purpose of this chapter is to provide empirical evidence of how social media improves government to citizen relationship and promotes e-participation in municipal governments. The results are based on semi-structured interviews applied to public servants and a survey to evaluate e-government services by citizens. So, the citizen perception is contrasted with public servants' interviews. Citizens consider that electronic procedures and services implemented by their municipalities do not generate value. The efforts of governments should focus on avoiding corruption, making governments transparent, opening data, and properly managing the privacy of information.

The main aim of this chapter is to describe the organizational and methodological foundations of professional education for public servants using modern educational methods. Its scientific novelty is in the description of teaching a foreign language to students of specialities in public administration. It has a character of theoretical representation of the existing methods of teaching a foreign language to students specializing in public administration in Ukraine. It is concluded that foreign language teaching in the process of training public servants is not a key subject, but it does not solve the problem of the need to master it. In this connection, teachers have to highlight certain aspects in the methodology so that professional training coincides with the native language. It is necessary to pay attention to the general language training, and only then introduce professional vocabulary. The relevance of this research is to share an existing experience with colleagues from other countries.

Problem setting. The Institute of Honorary Consul is intended to carry out its activities in order to expand the relations between States in a variety of spheres, as well as to establish, strengthen and maintain ties in the cultural, economic, political spheres. In view of this, we consider the Institute of Honorable Consul an important link in shaping relations between states, because in the process of globalization, this institute becomes more and more popular. However, we cannot but note the existing number of problems associated with the abuse of the Institute of Honorary Consulations and Immunities, therefore this topic needs further research and definition of ways to avoid such violations by representatives of the Institute of Honorary Consulations in Ukraine. Analysis of recent researches and publications. Problems of consular law Explore a number of scientists whose work is the information foundation of this work. In particular, this works Matyash I.B., Sandrovsky K.K., Blushchenko I.P., Krivachikova Y.S., Gumenyuk B.I., Polonyuk N.V., Timchenko L.D. and other. Target of research is to analyze the legal status of the Honorary Consul, to determine the privileges and immunities of the Honorary Consul, to note the volume of privileges and immunities that abuse honorary consuls and provide recommendations to avoid such violations. Article’s main body. This article exposes legal frameworks of functioning of institute of the honoured consul in Ukraine. A historical division into periods of becoming of institute of the honoured consulate is in-process remembered in Ukraine from the moment of founding the Hetman state. Determination of concept is in-process given the honoured consular public servant(honoured consul) according to Viennese Convention “About the consular relations” of 1963 and Order of foreign of Ukraine Ministry “About claim of Statute about the honoured(nonpermanent) consular public servants of the foreign states in Ukraine and consular establishments that is headed such public servants”. Authors light up the process of engaging in the candidate of position of the honoured consul of the foreign state in Ukraine, that includes: idea of query about a consent to setting in Ukraine of the honoured consul of the foreign state, grant of certificate about his person to Ministry of external matters of Ukraine(farther MFA of Ukraine), report of MFA of Ukraine of the accreditor state about made decision by the message of verbal note, delivery of patent the accreditor state about assigning for position, acceptance of patent of MFA of Ukraine, confession of legal status, receipt of exequatur and certification for confirmation of status of the honoured consul. In the article certain requirements are to the candidate on employment of position of the honoured consul in Ukraine, and also his privilege and імунітети, to that belong: right on establishment of free diplomatic зносин; right freely to move and travel for territories of Ukraine; inviolability of consular archive of the honoured consulate is at terms certain Order of MFA of 2007; In the article marked, that privileges and імунітети it it is been the subject of international relations by considerably narrower, than public servants of consulate : they do not have immunity from an arrest and subpoenaing, however to the honoured consul must belong with corresponding respect. By authors the row of legal problems of functioning of institute of the honoured consulate was certain at Ukraine, to that it was taken: abuse of privileges and імунітетами in part of right on carrying on commercial activity next to consular, that it can be used for the receipt of illegal benefit; inviolability of apartments – gives an opportunity to grow into a shield from searches for all building; to practise upon a right on the use of car with diplomatic numbers; to use diplomatic mail and consular suitcase not on purpose Conclusions and prospects for the development. As a result of a significant distribution of the institute of honorary consuls and despite limited, but rather significant privileges and immunities, honorary consuls may successfully implement their business interests. Examples of possible illegal use of the benefits provided in accordance with the legislation are given above. Therefore, in our opinion, in our opinion, it is expedient to exercise control over the movement of these persons and their activities from the BOW of the rights and accomplishments through the use of modern technical methods – the use of GPRS navigation, etc. And in order to facilitate the load on law enforcement agencies to create a Council of Honorary Consulations under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. And more clearly regulate the legal status of honorary consuls, since recently the tendency to expand the circle of their functional duties and powers. In particular, to provide a separation of business from consular activities to minimize cases of abuse of certificates by its privileges and immunity.

In the present article the author discusses government employers of public servants on the example of certain acts. The aim of the present article is indication of government employers of public servants of Border Guard, Prison Service, Agency for Internal Security, Intelligence Agency, Marshal Service, Customs Service and Secret Service.

Leadership and social influence have been hotly debated as among the top 21st-century skills. Previous research on leadership and social influence has focused mostly on leadership traits and characteristics, while little research has examined the social influence process by which public servants become effective leaders. The purpose of this paper is to develop an initial review from a public service perspective to outline the skill that contributes to the development as a future-ready human skill by public servants. This conceptual paper relies on prior research and existing theory to focus on the developmental processes that lead to acquiring the leadership and social influence skill as future-ready human skills. Additionally, leadership and social influence skills could contribute to particular behaviours to the effectiveness of good governance practices. Based on the literature review, it is assumed that there is a positive relationship between leadership and social influence and the effectiveness of good governance practices. Most importantly, this paper addresses how the skill is unique and most realistically developed in a public organisation.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced large sections of the workforce to work from home, the uptake of working from home in the public sector had been limited and subject to the discretion or ‘allowance decisions’ of individual managers. Allowance decisions are influenced by factors at the organisational, group and individual levels. This research examines managers’ allowance decisions on working from home at each of these levels. It compares two qualitative datasets: one exploring managerial attitudes to working from home in 2018 and another dataset collected in mid-2020, as Australia transitioned out of the initial pandemic lockdown. The findings suggest a change in the factors influencing managers’ allowance decisions. We have identified a new factor at the organisational level, in the form of local organisational criteria. At the group level, previous concerns about employee productivity largely vanished, and managers experienced an epiphany that working from home could be productive. At the individual level, a new form of managerial discretion emerged as managers attempted to reassert authority over employees working remotely. These levels intersect, and we conclude that allowance decisions are fluid and not made solely by managers but are the result of the interactions between the organisational, group and individual levels. JEL Codes J81, J32

The objective of the investigation was to examine the content and specific characteristics of the ethical conduct of public officials in Ukraine and the world. To achieve the objective, the authors used the following methods: epistemological, comparative-legal, structural-functional, analytical, informative-analytical. Among the results of the article, it was possible to consider the ethical conduct of public servants in a broad and narrow sense. In the same way, the main requirements of the legislation that regulate the conduct of public servants have been analyzed and the conditions that standardize in detail the legal relationships in the field of professional activity of public servants, their relationships with each other and with citizens. Finally, everything allows us to conclude that a Code of Ethics for public servants establishes common rules of conduct for them and determines responsibility for their violation. To be effective, this regulatory legal act must also include the following obligations for public servants: requirements for the performance of official functions; requirements for advanced training; requirements for relationships with colleagues, managers, and subordinates; norms of communication with citizens and norms to resolve conflicting interests.