The first serious study analysing Labour's impact on Whitehall. It offers a theoretical engaged, but empirically rich account drawing from an extensive set of primary interview material to examine a 'New Labour' effect on the Civil Service, including its reforms to improve policy delivery and whether it has politicised Whitehall. It concludes by arguing that New Labour's approach to Whitehall have been part of a broader strategy to reconstitute the power of the Westminster Model.

Murray seeks to demonstrate how Eastern philosophy can contribute to the development of Western public administration theory and practice. She views the end of the 20th century as an epoch-making time in which the limitations of modern thought need to be examined. Murray shares the belief held by many public administration scholars that a reconceptualization of the field is in order. She contributes to that end by focusing on individual administrators and the problems they face as they continuously struggle to balance political exigencies and governmental processes in a society that simply does not understand. As caretakers of the public trust, administrators deserve a profession that provides a philosophy of administration designed to guide them in the maturation process that is essential to self-development.

Murray has chosen ideas and characters from the East as a guide to development of a philosophy of administration for individuals committed to public service. Coupled with certain Western teachings, particularly Jungian analytical psychology, this book inquires into the elevation of human thought and action. Murray challenges public administrators to aspire to their profession as to a higher calling. This will be of particular interest to scholars and researchers in public administration, and to administrators as well.

This text examines the impact of public sector reforms and reorganisations on the experiences of the UK public sector's six million workers and those employed in the private sector but providing public services. Chapters bring long-standing topics up-to-date, such as worker representation and reward.

This volume provides information about the structures and composition of the higher civil service and its position in the political structure through a comparative analysis of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark and Sweden. The book explores how higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies in the past 30 years. Changes include the size of the top level of the civil service, the growing social diversity of its ranks and well as the tendency to recruit from outside the civil service. The book also examines how wider social changes, such as the democratization of education, the growth of interest groups, and the increasing importance of the European Union impact on the higher levels of bureaucracy producing similar patterns of change throughout Europe.

Designed for local government managers and administrators, this pioneering work offers a clear and comprehensive guide to the use of strategic planning techniques in the public sector. The author presents a concise overview of the strategic planning process, defines the terms involved, and provides a step-by-step methodology for organizations ready to move into the actual implementation of strategic planning. In addition to differentiating between community-based, corporate, functional, and defined-purpose strategic planning processes, Mercer explains the delineation between strategic and tactical planning and offers practical approaches to overcoming barriers to the use of strategic planning in the public sector arena. Throughout, the author makes extensive use of case studies of strategic planning programs implemented by a variety of local government and public sector organizations.

Mercer begins by describing how strategic planning can be both an effective tool for dealing with change and a technique of organizational development. He goes on to provide detailed instructions on how to prepare to conduct strategic planning, how to determine strategic issues, the importance of a values audit, and how to develop an environmental scan or assessment. Subsequent chapters address determining organizational threats and opportunities, composing the mission statement, defining critical success factors and indicators, planning strategies, and assessing strategic risks and benefits. Finally, the author shows how to perform an internal assessment of ability to actually adopt and carry out strategies, the importance of contingency planning, and how to tie strategic planning to the budget and evaluate the process. The public sector manager experienced with strategic planning techniques can use the guide as a handy reference to particular aspects of the process, while those new to strategic planning will find this an indispensable aid in developing and implementing their own internal strategic planning processes.

This volume presents an alternative perspective on the problem of leadership in organizations. Dr. Charles H. Kime argues that while individuals ultimately take actions we call leadership, structural and non-structural characteristics of the organization influence the ability and inclination of organization members to engage in these actions. Further more, evidence is presented suggesting that these organizational features become assimilated into the normative structure of the organization over time and formal and informal organizational norms shape the ways in which organization members envision their roles, functions and relationships to the organization. Once institutionalized, organizational leadership may be understood as the capacity of the organization to respond to endogenous and exogenous stimuli, which present themselves as challenges, opportunities, and threats to the organization. Drawing upon general systems and complexity and chaos theory, Kime presents organizational leadership as a normative feature of organizations, that can help or hinder their negotiation of a complex, nonlinear environment. Kime tests his formulation on a sample of fire services organizations in the United States. In addition to confirming the viability of organizational leadership as a concept, he explores the empirical relationship of organizational leadership with organizational size, texture, age, labor management process and other variables.

When environmentalists fail to persuade us that there is an imminent threat of environmental disaster, they typically invoke the "precautionary principle" in order to justify their calls for more regulation. This work challenges the claim that the precautionary principle (PP) is an appropriate guide to public policy decisions. The fundamental problem is that it is impossible to prove a negative, so the PP can be used to justify any regulation limiting emissions of any substance. Taken in its extreme form, the PP would end civilisation. In its more practical form, the PP is about taking a hyper-cautious approach to emissions of substances into the environment. This means imposing very strict controls on the licensing of new technologies and cutting back drastically on emissions of substances into the environment. Although not as devastating as Leggett's philosophically dubious proposal, this more practical approach has serious drawbacks The opening brace of papers discusses the dubious philosophical foundations of PP, and consider the consequences of applying it in various policy contexts relating to scientific controversies.

As increasing numbers of women enter the workforce, it has become more and more common to find husbands and wives who are both committed to careers in the public sector. This book offers the first detailed analysis of this important new segment of the workforce. Based on extensive surveys, it presents a comprehensive profile of public sector career couples and explores solutions to common problems faced by human resource managers in this field.

The authors first examine dual-career couples as a segment of the workforce, the lifestyles of these couples, and the challenges they face in work and family life. Current management practices in the public sector are carefully considered, with special attention to the recruitment and retention of dual-career couples in the face of prevailing anti-nepotism policies. In addition to providing guidance on legislative issues and judicial policies that affect the employment of dual-career couples, the authors develop a model of interpersonal and management skills for integrating dual-career couples into the workplace. Finally, strategies for resolving policy obstacles are suggested. A valuable tool for human resources professionals, this book will also be of interest in the areas of labor relations, public administration, and policy studies.

This book brings together a selection of June Pallot's most significant work. Written from a country (New Zealand) that led the world in many aspects of its financial management reforms, this work provides thoughtful comment on matters that remain of crucial importance today, especially the constitutional need to carefully monitor and respond to the reform initiatives and motives of executive government. Revisiting accounting issues and developments in the public sector, and reminding readers that the fundamental purpose of government accounting is different from that for the business sector, this book provides a timely reminder of the need for caution when considering the application in the public sector of accounting techniques devised for business purposes. June Pallot's legacy challenges accountants in the public sector to find better ways of addressing "collective decision-making under new governance approaches," proposes ways forward and offers suggestions for future research. This book, prepared by her colleague Susan Newberry, is a tribute to June's work.

Responding to a critical need in government for ways to manage costs better and improve productivity, The author gives practitioners and advanced students of public administration not just the statistical methods they require but also the hands-on skills they need and will use daily. His book introduces cost and management accounting, shows how to use decision-making tools in solid problem-solving situations, and lays out measures to help manage an organization's productivity. Also covered are such topics as cost estimation, benefit-cost analysis, simulation, inventory analysis, network modeling, mathematical programming, game theory, and more. The result is a readable and focused resource that facilitates the reader's grasp of two of the most critical elements in the successful operation of any organization: cost and optimization.

The book is organized in three parts. Part I deals with costs in government and emphasizes cost behavior, cost analysis, and cost accounting. Part II treats basic optimization techniques that are useful in cost management. Included are classical optimization, network analysis, mathematical programming, and games and decisions. In Part III the author deals with special cases in cost and optimization, particularly multivariate analysis, productivity management, and some related topics in general management. The book succeeds in presenting these complex issues clearly and in an accessible manner, and adds examples from public sector experience which will resonate with practitioners and students alike.

This is one of the very first studies by Chinese and Western experts to examine the current picture of public administration in China. Mills and Nagel provide a general background into the nature of public administration in China, specific reforms in government agencies, personnel administration and compensation, and administrative law. Insiders and frequent visitors evaluate the state of public administration today for scholars, students, and practitioners in public administration and political science.

This unique appraisal opens with a general discussion of public administration in China and the teaching of administrative science. The second section defines basic concepts behind China's administration systems, current reforms, constraints on Chinese bureaucracy and coordination, and administrative law. The third section of the book describes efforts underway to promote a better quality of personnel, to appraise performance more fully, and to reevaluate methods of compensation. In conclusion, insiders to China provide current assessments of the situation in China currently in the field of public administration.

Cyberspace is the nervous system of today's advanced economies, linking critical infrastructures across public and private institutions. The authors of this book comprehensively explore the many issues surrounding this unique system, including private sector cyber security investment decisions and implementation strategies, public policy efforts to ensure overall security, and government's role in the process. The authors draw primarily on case-based information and focused survey data to describe and critique the economic strategies and broad technical approaches that private sector organizations adopt to secure their information technology infrastructure. Based on an analysis of these strategies, they propose several public policy responses that go beyond those that have come from recent policy reports. These responses include the construction of a national database of reliable and cost-effective information suitable for benchmarking, and public research and development support for innovations and infrastructures. The authors discuss the goal of such efforts: to shift private investments toward more socially-optimal proactive levels and to develop standards and protocols to ensure a more effective use of cyber security technologies. The first systematic analysis of the economics of cyber security, this insightful book will be of great interest to private and public sector managers and strategists involved in cyber security, as well as academics and researchers in the fields of economics, management, information systems, systems engineering, political science, and public policy.

Arguing that society has pursued short-run approaches to decision-making that in the long term are counterproductive, On Systemic Balance presents a multidimensional and interdisciplinary alternative to problem solving. The usual method of dealing with problems such as housing shortages and environmental protection is a narrow, simplistic, quick, and intrusive solution. This type of solution ultimately ignores the many interrelationships within a system. The long term effect is imbalance and destabilization. The author reinforces his argument with economic and environmental examples. He then introduces alternative approaches to decision making and applies them to several settings. By stressing slow incremental intrusions, regard for interrelationships, and longer term balance, the author suggests that we might redefine problems more appropriately, develop less harmful and more enduring solutions, and provide a more stable environment.

Goldberg maintains that we cannot truly predict the consequences of our actions, particularly large-scale actions taken over a short period of time. He presents his argument first by equipping the reader with a set of multidisciplinary tools and second by demonstrating the poor results of our present decision-making style. He then introduces an alternative approach which borrows from biology, economics, management, and anthropology and applies it to three distinct settings.

Under pressure from both the Federal government and private citizens, local and state governments are restructuring their services, including the areas of education, highway, and transportation. While the federal government wants to reassign responsibilities to local governments, voters want greater efficiency and lower taxes via privatization. This edited collection considers these pressures, the responses from state and local governments, and specific experiments in privatizing local services.

The book's opening chapter presents an overview of the changing landscape, while the following chapters consider possibilities in both education and highway services. In education, interdistrict school choice and state-local structures are considered. Highway services are seen in federal-state and state-private relationships. Reporting on a variety of experiments, each chapter illustrates a type of service or arrangement for restructuring governmental services.

This text evaluates the validity of a key proposition of public choice theory: that competition is associated with superior performance by governmental organizations. Three forms of competition in local government are identified: competition between local authorities; competition between councils and private contractors; and competition between parties for political power. The extent and consequences of competition are assessed in both the UK and USA. The analysis is used to draw conclusions on the effects of competition and the validity of public choice theory.

This multiauthor reference handbook gives a detailed, objective picture of the evolution, structure, and processes of public administration in representative Third World countries. Written by an international group of specialists with first-hand knowledge of the subject, it presents empirical studies of developing nations in Asia, the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the West Indies, and Latin America. The resulting data are shaped by the editor into a theoretical framework delineating the complex relationships of state, bureaucracy, and class in the Third World.

SubramaniaM's introduction provides a critical overview of development literature in the field. Each case study begins with an historical introduction and discusses the political, executive, and the administrative structures and processes. Among the specific topics covered are public enterprises, administrative departments, personnel, financial administration, and regional and local administrative units. The majority of the systems studied are affected by the unregulated power of public enterprises, the persistence of colonial legacies, and the elitism of the bureaucracy. The concluding section relates these common elements to the sociohistorical characteristics of the middle-class groups that dominate both politics and public administration. Offering new research findings and a useful theoretical synthesis, this study will promote a clearer understanding of the internal political processes of Third World nations and be of compelling interest to specialists and students concerned with Third World political economy, comparative government, and international political economy.

This contributed volume explores the management of intergovernmental relations--policies and networks. The book is a response to the growing need for concrete information on the development and use of different strategies for managing in the intergovernmental system. Such strategies became increasingly important during the Reagan years, especially with that administration's penchant for public-private partnerships. This study assembles some of the most respected experts in the field who outline the strategies and management skills needed to build and maintain intergovernmental networks essential to the implementation of complex public programs.

This contributed volume explores the management of intergovernmental relations--policies and networks. The book is a response to the growing need for concrete information on the development and use of different strategies for managing in the intergovernmental system. Such strategies became increasingly important during the Reagan years, especially with that administration's penchant for public-private partnerships. This study assembles some of the most respected experts in the field, who outline the strategies and management skills needed to build and maintain intergovernmental networks essential to the implementation of complex public programs. From a theoretical vantage point, it introduces several innovative concepts and models that will enhance the reader's ability to understand strategic behavior and management in intergovernmental settings. Public, health, and hospital administrators, public sector management professionals, as well as students and scholars of urban studies, business, and nonprofit studies will find invaluable insight in this detailed study.

Four major themes run through the book, reflecting a new step in the development of the literature relating to strategies and networking: a shift in emphasis from intergovernmental relations to intergovernmental management; the view of networks as a separate and distinct level of analysis requiring revised terminology, concepts, and emphasis; a revised view of strategic management for use in the public sector that moves away from a rational-logical approach; an emphasis on the individual and the importance of behavioral processes. Included here are the ideas of the importance of leadership as a facilitator, and the role of the strategic vision of the leader.

"Strategic Planning for Public Service and Non-Profit Organizations" is the 12th volume in the "Best of Long Range Planning Series", and focuses on strategic planning for public and non-profit purposes such as government, public agencies and non-profit or voluntary organizations.;The book also addresses how strategic planning differs from other kinds of planning and how strategic planning for public and non-profit purposes can be tailored to fit differing circumstances.

This volume analyzes changing work and employment in British public services. In doing so, it begins by critically engaging with debates around the ideological, regulatory and social drivers of change, and their impact on workforce composition, service ethos, equality, and the role of trade unions. It then analyzes employment relationships within fluid organisational boundaries, tackling the key issues of partnership and trust, pay and rewards and employment security. The concluding section reflects on public service productivity and its comparative context.

Fully updated edition of the bestselling book in healthcare operations. Practical case studies are used throughout to provide invaluable resources for training students and practitioners in healthcare. An ideal resource for students of healthcare management at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It can also be used by practitioners. The book translates complex operational models for busy practising healthcare professionals so that the methods can be easily applied to a workplace scenario.

Many changes are taking place in the public sector across Europe as emphasis is being placed on the efficient use of resources, the way that public organisations are managed and their relationship with clients and customers. Post-bureaucratic structures are being introduced and a more managerialist culture is being established. A new type of public servant is emerging - the public manager. This book consists of three theoretical chapters and nine case studies of public managers, which examine these changes amongst member states of the European Union. The concluding chapter identifies common trends and explains similarities and differences in terms of the constitutional, political, cultural and economic contexts.

Well-traveled throughout China and well-published on its political, cultural, and business aspects, the editors of this unusual new book and their contributing authors give a systematic analysis of public sector management--as it is now and as it is emerging--in a country of massive size, now in retreat from a centrally planned economy. Many features of the new reforms parallel the movement toward new public management in the West. Functions have been transferred away from China's public sector, including the government, and into the private sector, and many of the managerial tools common in the private sector have been introduced into the public sector. The book thus analyzes the logic, mechanisms, and designs of new public management in China. It examines context-bound issues, in the light of the legacies of massive state intervention, the transition away from centralized planning, the structure of the Leninist party-state, and Chinese bureaucratic culture. Finally it discusses and illustrates events in a variety of policy areas, and in doing so, draws upon unique interviews and field studies developed personally by each contributor. The result is an important insight into China and how its public sector operates, one that will have special value for professionals in international development, finance, banking, government, economics, politics, and for their academic colleagues as well.

Regardless of where we live, the management of the public sector impacts on our lives. Hence, we all have an interest, one way or another, in the achievement of efficiency and productivity improvements in the activities of the public sector. For a government agency that provides a public service, striving for unreasonable benchmark targets for efficiency may lead to a deterioration of service quality, along with an increase in stress and job dissatisfaction for public sector employees. Slack performance targets may lead to gross inefficiency, poor quality of service, and low self-esteem for employees. In the case of regulation, inappropriate policies can lead to unprecedented disasters. Examples include the decimation of fish stocks through mismanagement of fisheries, and power blackouts through inappropriate restrictions on electricity generators and distributors. Efficient taxation policies minimise the tax bill for citizens. In all of these cases, efficient management is required, although it is often unclear how to assess this efficiency. In this volume, several authors consider various aspects and contexts of performance measurement. Hence, this volume represents a unique collection of advances in efficiency assessment for the public sector by leading researchers in the field. Efficiency in the Public Sector is divided into two sections. The first is titled "Issues in Public Sector Efficiency Evaluation" and comprises of chapters 1-4. The second section is titled "Efficiency Analysis in the Public Sector - Advances in Theory and Practice." This division is somewhat arbitrary, in the sense there are significant overlapping themes in both sections. However, it serves to separate chapters that can be characterised as dealing with broader issues (Section I), from chapters that can be characterised as focusing on specific theoretical problems and empirical cases (Section II).

Transport policy has dramatically changed over the last ten years with major regulatory reforms and privatisation of transport enterprises. Part 1 presents an authoritative statement of the theoretical arguments for and against regulatory reform, the changing political scene in North America and the different mechanisms that can be used to return state-owned monopolies to the private sector. Part 2 presents the empirical evidence on ten years of airline deregulation in the United States and this review is matched by an assessment of the different situation in Europe where national governments are under pressure to follow the same path.

Defining planning as an inherent aspect of human life, Branch presents conclusions reached from 20 previous volumes dealing with different aspects and applications of planning, as well as from actual professional planning experiences. He shows how planning has been a directive force during human evolution and an intrinsic element in human reactions, actions, and activities.

Focusing on the existing situation in the United States, he examines the major difficulties confronting the country with respect to planning: problems of communication, poor legislative performance, educational deficiencies, and cultural materialism. Branch presents the fullest explanation available in the literature today of planning and its place in society, and he concludes with an examination of the potentialities and limitations of existing planning in America and its relation to human behavior.