To keep government operating smoothly, changes in public management policy and strategy usually follow the old rule of change--that it must evolve in a systematic and incremental fashion. But in today's unpredictable world of shrinking budgets, demands for better service, and greater accountability, playing by the old rules just doesn't make sense.
In this book, L. Douglas Kiel presents a framework that addresses the new chaotic reality of public management and the need for responsive change and innovation. By acknowledging the potential for positive change and renewal that can arise from uncertainty and instability, Kiel offers managers a paradigm for transforming government performance.
In easy to understand terms, the author offers an overview of the concepts of chaos theory and the science of complexity and he demonstrates how public administrators can apply these concepts to create a new vision of organizational change. The book presents a range of both traditional and innovative management techniquesshaping organizational cultures, flattening hierarchies, and re-engineering work--and evaluates their capacity to allow organizational systems to respond to change.
Written for public administrators and the faculty and students of public management, this book describes the importance of disorder, instability, and change and examines how new chaos theories are applied to public management. Drawing on data from the author's case studies, the book is filled with charts, graphs, and practical computer spreadsheet exercises designed to give public managers and students of public management hands-on experience to meet the challenges of organizational change.

This title was first published in 2003. Since the 1980s, in Australia and other developed nations, public sector management philosophies and how the public sector is organized have changed dramatically. At the same time, there have been many demands, and several attempts, to preserve and promote ethical behaviour within the public sector - though few go much beyond the publication of a code. Both developments require an understanding of how public organizations operate in this new environment. Organizational and management theory are seen as providing important potential insights into the opportunities and pitfalls for building ethics into the practices, culture and norms of public organizations. This book brings together the experience and research of a range of "reflective practitioners" and "engaged academics" in public sector management, organizational theory, management theory, public sector ethics and law. It addresses what management and organization theory might suggest about the nature of public organizations and the institutionalization of ethics.

Public enterprises remain of fundamental importance in advanced economies, and this volume characterises them as hybrids, influenced by markets and ministries.

Routledge Library Editions: Public Enterprise and Privatization (14 Volume set) presents titles, originally published between 1933 and 1991. The set covers both public enterprise and privatization and the impact they have had in the developed and developing world from the start of the twentieth century through to the early 1990s. Written by key figures in the field, it will be of particular interest to students of business, economics, finance and industry.

Author Biography:
Eileen Milner is a Principal Lecturer in Information Management at the University of North London

New public management is a topical phrase to describe how management techniques from the private sector are now being applied to public services. This book provides a completely up-to-date overview of the main theoretical models of public sector management, and examines the key changes that have occurred as more and more public services are contracted out to private organisations, as the public sector itself grapples with 'internal markets'. Drawing on economics, organisational theory and poliltics, Jan-Erik Lane presents new public management from an analytical perspective. This book uses game theory and empirical studies in order to assess the pros and cons of new public management.

Public administration is commonly assumed to be a young discipline, rooted in law and political science, with little history of its own. Likewise, teaching and scholarship in this field is often career oriented and geared either toward the search for immediately usable knowledge or guidelines and prescriptions for the future. Although most administrative scientists would acknowledge that their field has a history, their time horizon is limited to the recent past. Raadschelders demonstrates that public administration has in fact a long-standing tradition, both in practice and in writing; administration has been an issue ever since human beings recognized the need to organize themselves in order to organize the environment in which they lived. This history, in turn, underlines the need for administrators to be aware of the importance and contemporary impact of past decisions and old traditions. In seeking to go beyond the usual problem-solving and future-oriented studies of public administration, this volume adds greatly to the cognitive richness of this field of research. Indeed, the search for theoretical generalizations will profit from an approach that unravels long-term trends in the development of administration and government.

"Raadschelders approaches public administration history from a dual perspective, as trained historian and professor of public administration.... The volume is appropriately called a aehandbook' in view of its methodical listing of the literature on administrative history, together with summaries of numerous authors' principal theories. The second chapter is an essay on sources in the field, including an extended bibliography.... These parts of the book alone make it useful to scholars in the field.... Raadschelders is helpful in other ways as well. The third and fourth chapters offer a highly sophisticated discussion of methodological problems encountered in writing administrative history, including the issue of perceiving 'stages.' Other chapters discuss leading substantive issues such as the development of bureaucracy and citizenship. The author combines his own history-telling with more bibliographic commentary.

For the public sector, which is globally the largest employer of people and repository of information, managing information and knowledge is an extremely problematic area to address. The essence of both resources is that they are intangible, their impact and value cannot be measured through traditional accounting methods, yet they are also, paradoxically, where the greatest value and potential for improvement is located. In this book Eileen Milner introduces the reader to the concepts of information and knowledge and explores a variety of tools and techniques which may be usefully adopted in actively managing and developing these resources. Wherever possible real-life public sector case studies and examples are used to illustrate good practice, as well as some of the pitfalls of poor application. Down-to-earth and taking into account the critically important characteristics unique to public services, this will be an illuminating text both for managers and policy makers already working in the public sector and for those considering doing so.

New public management is a topical phrase to describe how management techniques from the private sector are now being applied to public services. This book provides a completely up-to-date overview of the main theoretical models of public sector management, and examines the key changes that have occurred as more and more public services are contracted out to private organisations, as the public sector itself grapples with 'internal markets'. Drawing on economics, organisational theory and poliltics, Jan-Erik Lane presents new public management from an analytical perspective. This book uses game theory and empirical studies in order to assess the pros and cons of new public management.

Cost control and cost planning are an integral part of quantity surveying and construction management courses.
This new book on building design uses programmed learning to demonstrate the ideas of cost control and cost planning, from first principles through practice. Worked examples are used throughout the concise and easily accessible text.

Provides an analysis of the restructuring of public service employment relations in six European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and the UK. Each of the chapters on national systems is written by leading experts in the field and is organized around a set of themes and policy issues. These include: the impact of fiscal crises, and increasing macro-economic integration within the European Union, on the scope and organization of public services; changes in the patterns and status of public service employment; the shift from centralized administration to new models of devolved management; changes in the organization and policies of public service trade unions; reforms in the structure, process and outcome of collective bargaining; patterns of conflict and co-operation between unions, managers and the state.

Provides an analysis of the restructuring of public service employment relations in six European countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark and the UK. Each of the chapters on national systems is written by leading experts in the field and is organized around a set of themes and policy issues. These include: the impact of fiscal crises, and increasing macro-economic integration within the European Union, on the scope and organization of public services; changes in the patterns and status of public service employment; the shift from centralized administration to new models of devolved management; changes in the organization and policies of public service trade unions; reforms in the structure, process and outcome of collective bargaining; patterns of conflict and co-operation between unions, managers and the state.

Russ Linden's Workbook for Seamless Government is a must read... Linden artfully weaves together practical details about how to implement change with candid commentary about our humanness...The Workbook is a virtual do-it-yourself kit full of handy instruments and insights, tools and techniques.
?Barbara Dyer, senior partner, The Public's Work

From the author of Seamless Government?this hands-on workbook helps public sector managers and teams put reform ideas into action. Broader in scope than other programs, this workbook deals with the human side of change in addition to the methods and tools of change. Linden focuses on the actual implementation of ideas as well as design, structure and process. The workbook includes worksheets for each part of the process, brainstorming tools for unleashing creativity and overcoming obstacles, flow charts to illustrate the path of information, and examples of successful government agency reform projects.

Russell M. Linden is president of Russ Linden & Associates, a management consulting firm that focuses on public sector innovations. He is the author of Seamless Government (Jossey-Bass, 1994).

This major text for students of public sector management combines well-developed management theory with research from a range of countries including Germany, Holland, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK. The comparative focus highlights common problems and common factors in successful management across these countries.

The author integrates three traditionally separate concepts in public sector management, arguing for the development of a different kind of management than that appropriate for private enterprise: The notion of differential information between providers and clients in service deliveryThe notion of a core public serviceThe notion of professionalism in service deliveryThroughout, the text focuses on how theory can be applied to management issues and practice, drawing on the direct reports and experiences of managers wherever possible and employing case studies with self-assessment questions to further understanding.

Public services managers who are concerned to improve their management practice or students who are seeking to understand how the particular characteristics of core public services management shape management practice, will particularly welcome this text.

The Labour Government has introduced legislation to place a new duty of Best Value on local authorities, and abolish compulsory competitive tendering. This work identifies the differences between the two systems and evaluates the development of the new regime, using case studies.

Participation Beyond the Ballot Box is a welcome addition to the literature on democracy and the role of civil society. It demonstrates that new mechanisms being introduced in Western Europe can and do offer the potential to significantly strengthen the democratic process.

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.

" Case Studies in Public Services Management examines key issues such as managing networks, measuring performance, changing culture, implementing strategy and strategic change. In addressing the key contemporary issues in public services management the cases cover a range of functions including education, health, community care, welfare benefits and policing.

The public sector is one of the largest employers in the UK. Employees working in the NHS, local government, education, the police and fire services also represent a large and growing body of students taking business degree courses at universities.
This book also looks at the issue of employee relations in the public services. Starting from a legal, economic and financial context, Corby and White outline the main developments in the public sectors, decentralisation, contracting out, fragmentation and the growth of individualism in the employment contract.
The contributors then develop and analyse the themes which are currently affecting public sector employees - pay, equal opportunities, competitive tendering, flexibilities, quality and the position of trade unions.
This is a stimulating, up-to-date and intellectually rigourous text which will be essential reading for students of public policy, public sector management, human resource management, employee and industrial relations. The thematic approach will compliment many alternative texts which are more descriptive and focused on individual services.

In the 1990s, considerable changes in the political and social world have impacted on the character of both public and private organizations. At a time of increased uncertainty and insecurity in these organizations, new ways of managing and being managed have emerged. Recognising that organizational life is part reflective and determined by dominant social discourses, factors of gender will inevitably be central to the dynamics of organizational change. This book addresses theoretical ideas and mythologies in the examination of gendered organizations. The need to examine men in relation to family, law and society in general is growing, and this book extends this interrogation to work and organizational life. It will be of interest to students in management studies, public sector management and those involoved in public policy making as well as students and academics within gender studies and sociology.

Through its budgetary, managerial and regulatory review mandates, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the US can function as an "enforcer" with a significant impact on public policy and its implementation. This is a study of the OMB and its significant role within the American government.

Almost a fifth of all employees work in the public sector. Employees working in the civil service, NHS, local government, education, the police and fire services also represent a large and growing body of students taking degree courses at universities. Exploring this important and rapidly changing area, this book outlines the main developments in the public sector since 1979, including topical issues such as the rise of new public management, decentralisation and contracting out. Themes which currently affect public sector employees are examined, including:

* decentralization
* contracting out
* fragmentation and the growth of individualism in the employment contract.

This stimulating, up-to-date and intellectually rigorous text is thematic, rather than sector specific, and reflects the way this subject is taught in a range of courses. It will complement alternative texts in this area and will be a valuable resource for students of public policy, public sector management, human resource management, employee and industrial relations.

This book provides a succinct overview of the development of the civil service since the Second World War. Adopting a broad, historical approach, it assesses the changes in organization, structure and management of the Whitehall machine, alongside the continuities in the policy and practice of public administration. Kevin Theakston draws on the full range of recent scholarship, documents in the Public Record Office, and the many postwar official investigations and reports to provide a balanced analysis of the key themes and issues. The book will be welcomed by all interested in the development of public policy and administrations, and post-war British politics in general.

Widespread sexual harassment in the public sector makes implementing sexual harassment policy a decidedly necessary task. In this book, the authors focus on the implementation of policy in public sector organizations using an analysis of case studies and survey data. The authors identify four major challenges to implementing sexual harassment policies and examine each starting with a description and concluding with specific recommendations for overcoming the challenges in policy making.

First published in 1998, this volume examines how super-optimum decisions involve finding alternatives to controversies whereby Conservatives, Liberals, or other major groups can all come out ahead of their best initial expectations simultaneously. This book is organised in terms of concepts, methods, causes, process, substance, and the policy studies profession. Concepts clarify that policy evaluation traditionally involves: (1) Goals to be achieved; (2) Alternatives available for achieving them; (3) Relations between goals and alternatives; (4) Drawing a conclusion as to the best alternative in light of the goals, alternatives, and relations; and (5) Analysing how the conclusion would change if there were changes in the goals, alternatives, or relations. Super-optimizing also involves five related steps, but with the following improvements: (1) Goals are designed as conservative, liberal, or neutral; (2) Alternatives get the same designations; (3) Relations are simplified to indicate which alternatives are relatively high or low on each goal; (4) The conclusion involves arriving at an alternative that does better on Goal A than Alternative A, and simultaneously better on Goal B than Alternative B; and (5) The fifth step involves analysing the super-optimum or win-win alternative in terms of its feasibility as to the economic, technological, psychological, political, administrative, and legal matters.