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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Civil service & public sector
In every part of the world information and technology are changing society and challenging the structures, roles, and management of traditional government institutions. At the same time, universal needs for human and social development, environmental protection, commercial and financial stability, and scientific and technological advancement demand governmental attention. In this complex and changing environment, governments are still expected to provide for the public good through legal and political processes, and public programs and services. Digital transformation, electronic government, government 2.0, and electronic governance are just some of the labels used to characterize the ideas and actions that underlie adaptation, transformation, and reform efforts. This book contributes to the ongoing dialog within the digital government research and practice community by addressing leadership and management challenges through the interplay of five interconnected themes: management, policy, technology, data, and context. These themes are evident in a wide range of topics including policy informatics, smart cities, cross-boundary information sharing, service delivery, and open government, among others. Accordingly, it includes chapters that explore these themes conceptually and empirically and that emphasize the importance of context, the need for cross-boundary thinking and action, a public value approach to performance, and the multi-dimensional capabilities necessary to succeed in a dynamic, multi-stakeholder environment. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal, Public Management Review.
While there is no universally accepted definition of civil servant and civil service, this authoritative and informative Handbook compares and contrasts various approaches to organizing the structure and activities of different civil service systems. The expert contributors consider the historical and theoretical context of public administration and public sector management, applying relevant theories and frameworks to provide a disciplinary perspective. Recurring topics and themes are explored, and international comparisons are made via case studies from Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, and North and South America. Issues addressed in each country study include accountability, structure, processes and institutions, as well as the relationship to the broader political systems in a world becoming aware that it exists within a differentiated polity. The Weberian legacy, joined-up government and the hollowed-out state thesis and the debate between Anglo-American influenced systems versus the Continental European approach to organizing the civil service are also discussed in detail. This systematic comparison of civil service systems and their political and theoretical foundations will prove essential reading for academics and students focusing on public policy and public sector management. Public service professionals will also find this book to be a crucial resource. Contributors include: T.E.D. Anagnosen, P. Barberis, E. Borgonovi, F. Buick, M. Desbouvries, M. Duggett, O.P. Dwivedi, M. Evans, A. Ferraro, J. Halligan, S. Horton, J.-M. Kauzya, M. Kikuchi, A. Massey, D.S. Mishra, A. Nakamura, J. O'Flynn, E. Ongaro, R. Parry, R. Pyper, C. Sadleir
This second volume of The Official History of the British Civil Service explores the radical restructuring of the Civil Service that took place during the Thatcher and Major premierships from 1982 until 1997, after a period of confusion and disagreement about its future direction. The book brings a much-needed historical perspective to the development of the 'new public management', in which the UK was a world-leader, and considers difficult questions about the quality of democratic governance in Britain and the constitutional position of its Civil Service. Based on extensive research using government papers and interviews with leading participants, it concentrates on attempts to reform the Civil Service from the centre. In doing so, it has important lessons to offer all those, both inside and outside the UK, seeking to improve the quality, efficiency and accountability of democratic governance. Particular light is shed on the origins of such current concerns as: The role of special advisers The need for a Prime Minister's Department The search for cost efficiency Accountability to Parliament and its Select Committees Civil Service policy-making capacity and implementation capability. This book will be of much interest to students of British history, government and politics, and public administration.
This edited volume sets out to explore interdisciplinarity issues and strategies in Public Service Interpreting (PSI), focusing on theoretical issues, global practices, and education and training. Unlike other types of interpreting, PSI touches on the most private spheres of human life, making it all the more imperative for the service to move towards professionalization and for ad hoc training methods to be developed within higher institutions of education. PSI is a fast-developing area which will assume an increasingly important role in the spectrum of the language professions in the future. An international, dynamic and interdisciplinary exploration of matters related to PSI in various cultural contexts and different language combinations will provide valuable insights for anyone who wishes to have a better understanding when working as communities of practice. For this purpose, the Editors have collected contributions focusing on training, ethical issues, professional deontology, the role and responsibilities of interpreters, management and policy, as well as problems and strategies in different countries and regions. This collection will be a valuable reference for any student or academic working in interpreting, particularly those focusing on Public Service Interpreting anywhere in the world.
* The Mental Models construction creates a simple framework that can be easily retrieved from memory and applied to policing problems * Designed to accompany the lessons of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing's curriculum to teach practitioners, researchers, and academics the necessary skills to identify, interpret, integrate, and produce research to inform police policies and practices * Equips readers with multiple models with which to deal with a problem rather than proposing a simplistic strategy
* The Mental Models construction creates a simple framework that can be easily retrieved from memory and applied to policing problems * Designed to accompany the lessons of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing's curriculum to teach practitioners, researchers, and academics the necessary skills to identify, interpret, integrate, and produce research to inform police policies and practices * Equips readers with multiple models with which to deal with a problem rather than proposing a simplistic strategy
The book examines the various aspects of non-financial central public sector enterprises (PSEs) in India, for a period from 1986-87 to 2010-11. The analysis is based on all the key financial ratios; namely, profitability, efficiency, liquidity, leverage and productivity. Liberalization and globalization have caused competition in India and have lowered the profit margins. At the same time, Indian government has reduced subsidies and budgetary support for PSEs to curtail their own fiscal deficit. Strategic and economic reforms were also introduced in PSEs to make their operations commercially profitable so that they are not dependent on the government to meet their financial requirements on the one hand, and have their own earnings to finance their expansion/modernization requirements as well as their social obligations, on the other. To what extent, the PSEs have succeeded in this objective constitutes one major aspect of the present research work. The other equally important aspect examined is financial performance of the PSEs which have opted for disinvestment and have signed memorandum of understanding (MoU)/ self obligations. The Indian Government has desired the central PSEs to be profitable in their operations in post-liberation era of 1990s. For this purpose, two major instruments, namely, disinvestment and MoUs, were introduced. This book examines, in detail, financial performance of PSEs which had opted for disinvestment and have signed MoU. Based on analysis/ findings and literature on the subject, the book contains some concrete suggestions that would prove extremely helpful to Indian Government to further improve their financial performance. "
The author offers insights into the management of public programmes by the Japanese government which has, since the Second World War, achieved a record of remarkable growth economically, socially and educationally, and has also restructured its national prefectural and municipal governments. This development has been led, he argues, not only by Prime Ministers and Ministers of State, but by the leadership of the ministries of national government and the leaders of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party which together constitute the "three rings of power" which rule the country. The author reveals how the inncer circles of the ruling party, the ministers and political leaders overlap in the exercise of power, explains the financial and leadership relationships between national and municipal governments and how national government influences the private sector. He also uses national education and transport systems to illustrate how national government deploys its powers and authorities. Charles Bingman is a former Deputy Associate Director in the US Office of Management and Budget, and Deputy Administrator of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. He has held top executive positi
This book builds on research in translation studies of change in organizations and demonstrates the implications and application of these findings for managing innovation and change. When implementing ideas into practice in order to carry out innovative change, translation is key. From strategic and leadership changes to policy and health management decisions, abstract ideas such as 'LEAN', 'CSR', 'Sustainability', 'Public-Private Partnerships', 'Clinical Pathways' and 'AI' are introduced to improve organizational processes. However, in any company and organization, miscommunication and misinterpretation can lead to these ideas being modified, added to and appropriated in ways that make them unsuccessful. This book presents a case for change ideas in organizations being translated rather than "implemented" and offers a profound understanding of the translation processes needed in order for this to succeed. This vital study is a must-read for researchers, students and practitioners including change agents, general and health care managers, public servants as well as strategic managers and policy decision-makers.
BSW/MSW education funded by Title IV-E of Social Security Act ("Title IV-E Child Welfare Education") is an important incentive to encourage social workers to stay in the child protection field. It aims to demonstrate the training partnership between universities and public child welfare agencies. This book contains essential research results with a focus on the impact of Title IV-E Child Welfare Education to improve worker capacities and case outcomes, as well as on the process and results of social work education in promoting public child welfare work. There are nine chapters written by renowned researchers in public child welfare who applied rigorous quantitative and/or qualitative methodologies to clearly describe measures used, data sources, outcome variables, and implications for education, practice, policy, and research. These evidence-based articles address the following child welfare topics: training partnerships and worker outcomes, effective pedagogy and online education, workplace climate and retention factors, and other topics connecting BSW/MSW education to public child welfare practice. Future child welfare education will need to further expand child welfare knowledge and skills, strengthen worker competencies with a strong commitment to social work values and ethical practice principles, and develop a cohesive supervisory network to build a workforce with positive attitude toward child protection programs. This collection will inform child welfare educators, administrators and legislators regarding the impact of Title IV-E Child Welfare Education on the development of public child welfare and make recommendations to improve the child welfare curriculum in social work education. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Public Child Welfare.
Public and private sector workforces in the U.S. look very different today than they did even 25 years ago. The changes are having a significant effect on how organizations manage their workforces. The old styles of managing heterogeneous workforces are proving to be ineffectual, and so management strategies aimed at embracing diversity and inclusion are essential. These strategies can have positive implications for worker satisfaction, morale and - ultimately - the delivery of public services to the American people. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces, Second Edition examines demographic changes to the U.S. labor force and workplace and the ways in which government employers are managing the diverse populations that now fill public sector jobs. Addressing specific management strategies and initiatives relied on by public sector employers, as well as the implications of effectively managing variegated workforces for the overall governance of American society, this book demonstrates the importance of ensuring that programs to promote inclusiveness and diversity that appear on paper are carried through to practice through implementation. The book begins with a review of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action and the extent to which EEO and AA are still relied upon in the workplace. It then examines law and other public policy issues surrounding EEO, AA and diversity management. The remainder of the book focuses on the core of managing diversity in the public sector, exploring the initiatives, strategies, and programs that government employers either do or might rely on to ensure that the demographic mosaic embodied by their workforces is prepared to meet the needs and interests of the American citizenry of the 21st century. Data are provided on the demographics of the federal, state and local government workforces. Separate chapters address each of the following aspects of diversity: race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ employment, physical ability, and the intersection of these constructs. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces, Second Edition will be of interest to students of public administration and public personnel management, and it is essential reading for all those involved in managing public organizations.
Public and private sector workforces in the U.S. look very different today than they did even 25 years ago. The changes are having a significant effect on how organizations manage their workforces. The old styles of managing heterogeneous workforces are proving to be ineffectual, and so management strategies aimed at embracing diversity and inclusion are essential. These strategies can have positive implications for worker satisfaction, morale and - ultimately - the delivery of public services to the American people. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces, Second Edition examines demographic changes to the U.S. labor force and workplace and the ways in which government employers are managing the diverse populations that now fill public sector jobs. Addressing specific management strategies and initiatives relied on by public sector employers, as well as the implications of effectively managing variegated workforces for the overall governance of American society, this book demonstrates the importance of ensuring that programs to promote inclusiveness and diversity that appear on paper are carried through to practice through implementation. The book begins with a review of equal employment opportunity and affirmative action and the extent to which EEO and AA are still relied upon in the workplace. It then examines law and other public policy issues surrounding EEO, AA and diversity management. The remainder of the book focuses on the core of managing diversity in the public sector, exploring the initiatives, strategies, and programs that government employers either do or might rely on to ensure that the demographic mosaic embodied by their workforces is prepared to meet the needs and interests of the American citizenry of the 21st century. Data are provided on the demographics of the federal, state and local government workforces. Separate chapters address each of the following aspects of diversity: race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ employment, physical ability, and the intersection of these constructs. Managing Diversity in Public Sector Workforces, Second Edition will be of interest to students of public administration and public personnel management, and it is essential reading for all those involved in managing public organizations.
To stay ahead of the competition, the public sector has to ensure an effective talent management strategy to attract, develop and retain talents. Effective talent management is about aligning the organisation's approach to talent with the strategic aims and purpose of the organisation. This book adopts a comparative country analysis, which takes into account the institutional emphasis, organisational configuration and unique characteristics of the public sector. Against the backdrop of three major stages of administrative development, i.e., the colonial, postcolonial and modern periods, this book unpacks how the talent schemes have been shaped by the reforms, experiences, cross-country knowledge transfers and evolved over time responding to globalisation and digitalisation in Southeast Asia. This book will be of great interest to scholars and public managers working on public administration and civil service reforms in Asia towards developing a contextualised understanding of talent management and leadership development in the region.
Crowdsourcing is a term that was coined in 2006 to describe how the commercial sector was beginning to outsource problems or tasks to the public through an open call for solutions over the internet or social media. Crowdsourcing works to generate new ideas or develop innovative solutions to problems by drawing on the wisdom of the many rather than the few. US local government experimented with rudimentary crowdsourcing strategies as early as 1989, but in the last few years local, state, and federal government have increasingly turned to crowdsourcing to enhance citizen participation in problem solving, setting priorities, and decision making. While crowdsourcing in the public sector holds much promise and is part of a larger movement toward more citizen participation in democratic government, many challenges, especially legal and ethical issues, need to be addressed to successfully adapt it for use in the public sector. Daren C. Brabham has been at the forefront of the academic study of crowdsourcing. This book includes extensive interviews with public and private sector managers who have used crowdsourcing. Brabham concludes with a list of the top ten best practices for public managers.
The absurdity of bureaucracy offers a humorous ethnographic account of policy implementation set in contemporary Danish bureaucracy. Taking the reader deep into the hallways of governmental administration and municipal caseworkers' offices, the book sets out to explore what characterizes policy implementation as a mode of human agency. Using the notions of absurdity and sense-making as lenses through which to explore the dynamic relationship between a policy and its effects, the book reclaims 'implementation studies' for the qualitative sciences and emphasizes the existential dilemma that any policymaker and implementer must confront. Following step-by-step the planning and implementation of the randomized controlled trial, Active - Back Sooner, the book sets out to show that 'going wrong' is not a question of implementation failure but is in fact the only way in which implementation may happen. -- .
Sustainable Public Management explores key issues in public sector sustainable management that span from Nation/State to local government. It highlights state-of-the art articulations of public-private partnerships, public engagement, inter-organizational networks, sustainability policy, strategy, standard setting, and reporting. Sustainable management is an important topic across organizational forms in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors because of the its practice is tied to some of the most pressing environmental and social problems that exist in the world. The public sector is especially important due to its scale and scope across the globe, the tangible impacts that public service delivery can make in resource efficiency and effectiveness, and in directly tackling critical sustainable development goals. This book will be of great value to scholars, students, and policymakers interested in Public Administration and Management, Sustainable Management and Development. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Public Management Review.
The Conservative's privatisation programme was one of the most ambitious aspects of their attempt to redraft the political and economic map of the United Kingdom. Originally published in 1988, this book explores the processes of privatisation from a variety of standpoints. Its contributors include academics, enterprise executives and government officials, many of whom had been closely involved in the programme. Fiscal, legal and social aspects of privatisation are explored but the book treats the subject as more than an immediate political issue and takes the opportunity to discuss the success - or otherwise - of public enterprise and to explore the implication of the UK experience for other countries which have an interest in privatisation.
Originally published in 1971, when nationalized industries employed about 7 per cent of the national labour force, created about 10 per cent of the gross domestic product and had annual investment programmes which were equal to those of all private manufacturing put together. Even this understates the scope of public enterprise at the time, since there were many other organizations, ranging from the BBC to the Public Trustee, which were semi-autonomous public enterprises, but not nationalized industries. Moreover, the public enterprise sector continued to grow, even under Conservative governments, and there were many reasons for thinking that no government would succeed in reversing this trend, for it was felt unlikely that, as government became more complex, it would disgorge many new activities which would be given a semi-autonomous, that is, public enterprise status. The author, drawing on personal experience, shows that the facts of ministerial and parliamentary control were very different from what the public and Parliament thought at the time. He describes the very great practical independence of the Boards and also how much Ministers had come to rely on persuasion (which not only can impose serious waste of time and money on both Boards and Government but is also inefficient). Ministers have least power where the aims of public enterprise are social rather than commercial. If there were no changes, the growth of public enterprise to achieve social purposes would mean an important decline in the power of Parliament and Ministers. This book explores solutions to this problem and concludes that the government must build up a cadre and capacity for financial control which at the time were lacking to it.
Public enterprises have played a central part in the development of all mixed economies in the post-war period, but they are now in a crisis phase. Privatisation has pushed back the level of public enterprise almost throughout the world. Where public enterprises remain, they are being brought under significant reforms. Originally published in 1991, this book presents a comprehensive critique of public enterprise, analysing why its performance has fallen far short of expectations. Part one is concerned with the establishment of public enterprises: the case for them, the circumstances in which they emerged, the extra enterprise objectives attached to them, and the decisions on their investment feasibility and capital structure. Part two looks at the working of public enterprises: the state of their financial performance, the peculiarities of pricing, the determination of targets which they should meet, the continuous monitoring and evaluation of their operations. Macro concerns are the focus of Part three. Among the issues addressed are the level of indirect taxation and subsidisation implicit in the pricing structures of public enterprises, the links between public enterprise and the public exchequer and the implications of their operations for distributional equity. In Part four the extent to which privatisation can solve the problems of public enterprise is discussed. The book ends with some broad conclusions on the future of public enterprise. Throughout, the approach is analytical, but the arguments are supported by extensive examples from both developed and developing economies.
Originally published in 1959, the author has observed at first hand the workings of public enterprise in Britain. He has coupled objectivity with an acute sense of economic perception and has produced a clear and ordered study of the workings of nationalization in industry at the time. His book does not contain an argument on whether nationalization is desirable or not. On the assumption that there is nationalization he attempts to discuss certain important problems raised by it in the fields of management, pricing, resource allocation and public control. He hopes that a discussion of this nature will contribute towards ensuring the most satisfactory results from nationalization.
Originally published in 1986, this volume brings together papers on the organisational structure of select public enterprises from nine countries, developed and developing. They are set in different forms, work in different sectors and have diverse experiences, often on similar issues. The papers are written by top executives of the respective enterprises and, therefore, contain an authentic presentation of the problems and processes of organisation. The editor has included, at the beginning, an analytical review on certain fundamental aspects of organisational structure which, for the purpose of this volume, has been conceived in wide terms. Every one of these aspects is not exactly covered by every empirical paper. At the end he has provided a comparative review, trying to keep to a minimum repetition of material from the papers.
Networks and other collaborations are central to the public sector's ability to respond to their diverse responsibilities, from international development and regional governance, to policy development and service provision. Great strides have been made toward understanding their formation, governance and management, but more opportunities to explore methodologies and measures is required to ensure they are properly understood. This volume showcases an array of selected research methods and analytics tools currently used by scholars and practitioners in network and collaboration research, as well as emerging styles of empirical investigation. Although it cannot attempt to capture all technical details for each one, this book provides a unique catalogue of compelling methods for researchers and practitioners, which are illustrated extensively with applications in the public and non-profit sector. By bringing together leading and upcoming scholars in network research, the book will be of enormous assistance in guiding students and scholars in public management to study collaboration and networks empirically by demonstrating the core research approaches and tools for investigating and evaluating these crucially important arrangements.
The literature on gender and professions shows that professional careers continue to be impacted by gender - albeit with important differences among professions and countries. Much less researched is the issue of the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work. Gender, Age and Inequality in the Professions explores men's and women's experiences of professional work and careers through an intersectional lens by focusing on the intersection of gender and age. The chapters explore different professions - including Medicine, Nursing, Law, Academia, Information Technology and Engineering - in different Western countries, in the present and over time. Through original research, and critical re-analysis of existing research, each of the chapters explores the significance of gender and age-cohort or generation to professional work, with particular attention to professionals just entering professional careers, those building professional careers, and comparisons of men and women in professions across generational cohorts. The book contributes to literature on inequalities in the professions by demonstrating the ways in which gender and age converge to confer privilege and produce disadvantage, and the ways in which gender inequality is reproduced, and disrupted, through the activities of professionals on the job. The book constitutes a departure point for future research in terms of theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on how gendered and age-related processes are produced and reproduced in particular organisational, professional and socio-cultural contexts. To enhance generational understanding, relationships and collaboration in educational institutions, organisations and professions, the book ends with a section on policy recommendations for educators, professionals, professional organisations as well as policy- and decision-makers. This book will also appeal to students and researchers in the fields of Sociology, Gender Studies, Organisational and Management Studies, Law, Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology as well as related disciplines.
Steep socioeconomic hierarchy in post-industrial Western society threatens public health because of the physiological consequences of material and psychosocial insecurities and deprivations. Following on from their previous books, the authors continue their exploration of the geography of early mortality from age-related chronic conditions, of risk behaviors and their health outcomes, and of infant and child mortality, all due to rigid hierarchy. They divide the 50 states into those that gave their electoral college votes to Trump and those that gave theirs to Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and compare the two sets for socioeconomic and public health profiles. They deliberately apply only simple standard statistical methods in the public health analyses: t-test, Mann-Whitney test, bivariate regression, and backward stepwise multivariate regression. The book assumes familiarity with basic statistics. The authors argue that the unequal power relations that result in eroding public health in the nation and, in particular, in the Trump-voting states, largely cascade from the collapse of American industry, and they analyze the Cold War roots of that collapse. In two largely independent chapters on economics, they explore both the suppression of countervailing forces, such as organized labor, and the diversion of technical resources to the military as essential foundations to the population-level suffering that expressed itself in the 2016 presidential election. This interdisciplinary book has several primary audiences: creators of public policies, such as legislators and governmental staff, public health professionals and social epidemiologists, economists, labor union professionals, civil rights advocates, political scientists, historians, and students of these disciplines from public health through the social sciences.
The History of the United States Civil Service: From the Postwar Years to the Twenty-First Century provides a broad, comprehensive overview of the US civil service in the postwar period and examines the reforms and changes throughout that time. The author situates the history of the civil service into a wider context, considering political, social and cultural changes that occurred and have been influential in the history of American government. The book analyzes the development of administrative reorganizations, administrative reforms, personnel policy and political thought on public administration. It also underlines continuity and changes in the structures, organization, and personnel management of the federal civil service, and the evolution of the role of presidential control over federal bureaucracy. Taking an essential, but often neglected organization as its focus, the text offers a rich, historical analysis of an important institution in American politics. This book will be of interest to teachers and students of American political history and the history of government, as well as more specifically, the Presidency, Public Administration, and Administrative Law. |
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