This study examined the effect of budgetary participation on managerial performance via the mediating variable of organizational commitment in Malaysian local government authorities (LGAs). To test this association, the data is obtained through survey from the 110 middle managers in accounting and finance department in Malaysian LGAs namely as Alor Setar City Council, Johor Baharu City Council, Melacca Historical City Council, Ipoh City Hall, Shah Alam City Council, Petaling Jaya City Council, Kuala Terengganu City Council and Kuala Lumpur City Hall. In the analysis of data, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and t-test analysis were used. The results of survey are consistent with the proposition that the greater the budget participation by LGA public servants, the higher is their organizational commitment which, in turn, leads to higher managerial performance. However, several limitations can be noted in this study. Firstly, this study survey only conducted in the LGAs, thus result may not be generalized to other public organizations. Secondly, it only involves one intervening variable; organizational commitment to explain the budgetary participation, perceived usefulness of MAS, performance measures and managerial performance relationship. Thirdly, the use of respondents' perception to measure the variables has been criticized on the grounds that they are not objective. Finally, a significant for this study is that its finding can have practical relevance in the current management setting in LGAs in Malaysia. It also attempt to provide insights budgetary participation and organization commitment as a practical matter by public managers in LGAs in the use of evaluating and providing incentive for their performance. The findings from this study also can be used in response to such problems in LGAs and its relevance to the Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010 which highlighted the urgency of improving the quality of public service performance as it is a fundamental prerequisite toward achieving the National Mission.

"Social enterprise" refers to operations within the third sector that have as their goals activities related to social policy, especially problems related to social exclusion. Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) is one type of activity that aims to provide jobs or job training programs to the group of people often excluded from the labor market, including youth and people with disabilities.
WISEs are now being strongly supported by governments in the EU as a means of tackling social exclusion. Similarly in the East Asia, WISEs have recently drawing attention from policy makers and activists in same contexts. Although Japan has no systematic law on the social enterprise unlike Korea, some social enterprises are trying to create new law on WISE and expand their activities.
In this presentation after introducing the concept of WISE and the current situation of WISE in Japan, I will focus on the working conditions of workers among the WISE. In Japan there is a discussion about the effectiveness of WISE and TSO (Third sector organization) to tackle the social exclusion. The point of this discussion is whether WISEs just create precarious employments to the workers or not. However, the previous studies of third sector in Japan have not examined workers' working conditions and careers in the relation to social exclusion. 
Therefore, I will examine this point through case study. I will show the working condition, career, and the opinions on their jobs in WISE based on the interviews with employees in the WISE employing people with and without disabilities. From this survey I will try to understand the effectiveness of WISE to the social inclusion

Full paper: Akira Yonezawa_2010_Work Integration Social Enterprise in Japan.pdf

The purpose of this study; Currently, the expectation on social enterprise for confronting social exclusion by policy makers and public is growing in Japan. However the much amount of study for social enterprise, in particular, addressing on the Work Integration Social Enterprise (WISE) have been already conducted in Europe, there is not many articles researched about SE in Japan. In addition to say, there little or no study analyzing on the role of social enterprise in social inclusion about disadvantaged people such as disability people, elders, homeless people, foreigner labors, and low-skilled young workers. Because of the above, this study focus some of developed (meddle-large size) social enterprise on the aspects of the development history, financial base and the way of operation, the prospects for the organization or project to attain the social inclusion of disadvantaged people in the future, and so on. From this study finally, we intend to consider policy implications about supporting WISEs.

Methods; This study is based on semi-structured interviews including some dozen key informant of WISE (i.e. administrator, leader, board member) in Japan. The preliminary interviews were conducted in 2009 to determine the form of the interview questions. All of the interview research was completed from February to July 2010. The subject of our research include not only traditional WISE such as the women's worker cooperatives, the workers cooperatives for day labors, and workshops for disadvantaged people, but also new type of WISE targeting for homeless people, foreigner labors, and low-skilled young workers.

Full paper: Sakurai_2010_How do Social Enterprises Realize an Inclusive Society.pdf