Comparing public and private sector organizations: Cash investment practices.

摘要

There is a theoretical debate concerning the differences between public and private sector organizations. This debate between the proponents and opponents of the argument that public and private sector organizations are alike has sprung up two opposing schools of thoughts.More than a few scholars, professionals, and administrators have argued that public sector organizations and private sector organizations are inherently different. Others contend that a careful consideration of public and private sector organizations will reveal that similarities outweigh differences. Yet, despite the abundance of literature on the subject of public and private sector differences and similarities, the matter has not been conclusively resolved.This study introduces empirical evidence into the theoretical debate on public and private sector dichotomy. The aim of the study is to look into a basic financial function, such as cash management, which is practiced in both public and private sector organizations, and determine whether there exist some distinctive features in cash management practices that indicate that public and private sector organizations operate differently. This study provides the findings accumulated in a survey of cash investment managers in both public and private sectors. Contingency tables were used as a method of organizing and analyzing categorical data. The chi-square, which is most commonly reported for nonparametric statistical model, is also presented.The results indicate that public sector cash managers are less sensitive to market pressures, are more sensitive to politics, laws and regulations in cash investment decisions as compared to private sector cash managers. The results also indicate that public sector managers are more risk averse and assess risk differently than their counterpart in the private sector.