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Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Civil service & public sector
Little has been said about South Africa's current administrative transformation. This title addresses the changes from a predominantly white bureaucracy to a democratic one, and provides a basic guide to the new public administration system in South Africa. The authors have steered away from a theoretical, unintelligible academic style, and have used simple language and informative diagrams. The title is intended for practitioners, students and laypersons alike.
Among the most intractable problems in the public sector is how to train effective administrators. Nagel and the contributors to this wide-ranging investigation show how worldwide the training problem is, and how critical is the need to solve it. Included here are discussions of, among other issues, how to motivate, reward, promote, and sanction new and experienced hires, and also how to deal with them fairly and productively in other ways. They explore ways to provide training courses in colleges, government agencies, and private sector training facilities, how to teach specific subjects, such as financial administration (including taxation, spending, budgeting), and how to develop and implement public policies that are effective, efficient, and equitable. Interdisciplinary as well as cross-national, the book provides viewpoints from both academics and practitioners - people from political science, public administration, public policy and related disciplines. It also offers a combination of liberal and conservative ideological viewpoints, and reaches into Africa, Asia, East and West Europe, Latin America and North America for its viewpoints. Among the book's features are its stress on the importance of well-trained public administrators, its coverage of the controversial aspects of public administration training, and its success at integrating the substance of public policy with administrative procedures. The result is a major source of information for public administrators and policy makers already in government service and for students in academic programs preparing them for it.
The need for results delivery in private and public sector organisations has increased, with stakeholders putting substantial pressure on organisations to demonstrate good performance in an environment with limited operational resources. In effect, organisations are being expected to deliver better results with fewer resources. By employing the appropriate tools and techniques of monitoring and evaluation, organisations can be better equipped to ensure that "what is planned" becomes "what is achieved". Monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects explains key concepts and practices involved in performance tracking and assessment. Monitoring and evaluation of policies, programmes and projects has drawn from the diverse experiences and expertise of the authors in public and private sector management of organisations, as well as practical insights gained from practitioners and students at various training courses, nationally and internationally. The balance between the more abstract, theoretical underpinnings of the subject and its practical aspects makes it easy to follow and incorporate. Contents include the following: Conceptual models of the policy process; the fundamentals and practical steps of policy monitoring and evaluation; the result-based management approach; tools and techniques for monitoring and evaluation; the use of research of policies, programmes and projects.
Governments of today are under increasing pressure to deliver more and better services within the constraints of limited resources. Employees are central to service delivery and the calibre of those appointed in a public institution is often evident in the quality of services rendered and the number of complaints received. Managing human capital in the public sector encompasses all activities starting from the recruitment of staff to the final termination of services. Managing human capital in the public sector is rooted in theory while using case studies to bring the learning experience closer to a public sector work environment. It supports a problem-based learning approach and prepares graduates to perform duties in a human capital environment with minimal on-the-job training. Contents include the following: Strategic human capital management; Acquisition and assimilation of employees into the workplace; Affirmative action, employment equity and managing diversity; Public sector compensation; Motivating staff; Performance management; Training in the public sector; Career management; Talent and retention management; Employee relations; Managing employee wellness in the workplace. Managing human capital in the public sector is aimed at students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as human capital practitioners in the public sector.
Public Administration in the Global Village offers a global and comparative approach to the study of public administration. It examines the ongoing international changes in the field of public administration; it defines the emerging new world order and the promises and challenges that it holds for public administration; and it stipulates the effects and side effects of these changes on developing countries. The volume seeks to promote a global and comparative perspective on public administration to counter the continuing parochialism and ethnocentrism in the field.
This insider's perspective on the federal workforce demystifies the myth of the underworked and overcompensated employee, examines workers' daily challenges, and considers the future of government work and its workers. Since the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, federal employees-unlike any other segment of the American worker-have dealt with the reality that their workplaces are potential targets. Additionally, this workforce deals with public scrutiny and a prevailing opinion that federal employees are obsolete and inept. This unprecedented study attempts to dispel ill-informed speculation about our nation's civil servants by providing a thorough examination of the differences-and similarities-between the private and federal employment sectors. Himself a 30-year veteran of government work, Anthony Stanford explores the challenges unique to this group, including the impact of political posturing, the bureaucratic red tape preventing progressive change, and the tensions and security concerns stemming from terrorist threats. Chapters cover topics such as the fallacy of the underworked employee, performance measurements that impede performance and threaten the mission of some federal agencies, the obstacles that prevent federal managers from effectively dealing with personnel issues, and strategies for altering the public perception of the federal workforce. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the book allows readers to learn what it is really like to work for the federal government. Examines the claims that federal workers are underworked, overcompensated, and expendable Analyzes comparable pay and benefits between the federal and private sector workforce to dispel rumors of overcompensation Uncovers the truth behind the misconceptions surrounding the work of federal employees and explains how these workers differ from those in private companies or unions Contains contributions from federal career employees, political appointees, and politicians familiar with the operation of the federal workforce Shares nonclassified policy documents and mission statements from across federal agencies to illustrate the daily workings of these offices
Medicaid is the primary means for providing medical care to the nation's indigent and disabled populations. Almost 13 percent of all Americans received some form of medical coverage, such as physician services or long-term care, through Medicaid in the early 1990s. The costs continue to rise dramatically, and state governments have become alarmed by the growing share of their budgets that Medicaid consumes. Daniels and his contributors present the efforts of 16 states to reform their Medicaid programs through a system of managed care--programs that seek to control or manage the use by patients of physicians and other heath care services. They present an overview of the inconsistency and paradox of American health care, pointing to the ways each state's unique political and economic variables give rise to individually stylized approaches to the delivery of Medicaid services. The most comprehensive look at state efforts in Medicaid reform, the book will be an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in the fields of public and health administration, for practitioners, and for policymakers.
In the years between the Indian Mutiny and Independence in 1947 the
Indian Civil Service was the most powerful body of officials in the
English-speaking world. 300,000,000 Indians, a sixth of the human
race, were ruled by 1000 Civilians. With Whitehall 8000 miles away
and the peasantry content with their decisions, they had the
freedom to translate ideas into action. Anglo-lndian Attitudes
explores the use they made of their power by examining the beliefs
of two middle ranking Civilians. It shows, in great detail, how
they put into practice values which they acquired from their
parents, their teachers and contemporary currents of opinion.
The New Energy Paradigm provides an overview of the current energy policy debate, contextualized by the oil shock from 2000, and considers how the trends in international energy markets impact on security of supply and climate change. It includes a discussion of market design, looks at carbon and oil markets, and considers best practice for effective policy design.
A complete, forward-thinking guide to environmental community
relations procedures and program development Complete with mini-case studies revealing important do's and don'ts of community outreach in action, this accessible guide is a vital resource for private and public sector professionals working in environmental and facilities management, community relations, public affairs, and law.
Kempe Ronald Hope provides, for the first time, a clear analysis and synthesis of economics and development administration, as well as an appraisal of the problems associated with the application of these concepts in Third World nations. Combining both theory and practice, and providing concrete examples, Hope begins by detailing the evolution of the concept of development from the inter-war years through the 1950s when the expression Third World first emerged, to the 1970s and the present when wholesale technology transfer and other new approaches emphasizing economic independence began to take precedence. The chapters that follow chart the history of modern development administration focusing on important issues such as the role of the development administrator in the implementation of public policy; the function of the public servant versus that of the politician; bureaucracy in government; and the increasing need for technical personnel to carry out development policies.
Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues constitutes a survey of many of the most important dimensions of managing information technology in the public sector. Written by noted academics and public administration practitioners, this book addresses general policy and administrative issues in this arena as well as the information technology skills needed by public managers.
Beginning with the decade of the nineties, the idea of strategic management of government and nonprofit organizations burst upon the scene. Traditionally, governments have been thought of as being unchanging, resistant to change, or at the most, changing by reaction to pressure. Strategic management suggests both the idea of adaptation to change forces as well as defining mission and concerting future organizational design and behavior accordingly, perhaps even changing the environment. Work force management is an important dimension of this new approach. Both direct and indirect compensation of this work force to achieve an array of possible objectives is a critical aspect of work force management. The strategic approach to public organizations is also concerned more than ever with obtaining optimal performance, however it may be defined. Compensation, as a subset, is very much part of this quest for organizational performance and performance improvement. Thus, there is a linkage of subparts, each with many potential alternatives: organizational mission/objectives, compensation objectives, compensation system design, and the role of pay in obtaining desired type and levels of performance. This design chain is the focus of this book.
Why has the United States established a new technology transfer regime, and how does it actually perform? Lee and his contributors see it as a set of new game rules in which government, industry, and the academic community are allowed--authorized, in fact--to interact and collaborate toward the goal of successful technological innovation. Their book--thus far unique in its field--reports on the empirical research that examines how various independent components of the system interact and collaborate. In doing so the authors provide data and information on which policy assumptions are valid and which aren't, which rules are helpful and which are hindrances, and how the various players in this game assess its future. The result is an important contribution to the literature that explores the interface of business, government, and society--essential reading not only for academics, but also for corporate management concerned with business strategy and policy. Lee and the contributors point out that as technologies grow in complexity, companies often target their internal resources on core competencies and utilize outside sources for supporting knowledge or technology. As universities step into the marketplace, trying to make money through aggressive commercialization of their intellectual property, they face conflict of interest problems within their walls, as well as complex and often unfathomable intellectual property negotiations with the corporations with whom they deal. Their third major point is that with declining R&D budgets but increasingly tough competition, American faculty members are troubled by the collision of two powerful but not necessarily complementary motives: the need for external funding for research and the need to preserve academic freedom and intellectual autonomy. How these issues and problems are dealt with is carefully and readably explored in this volume, which will contribute significantly to the ongoing debate.
The traditional understandings that structure the relationships between public servants and the wider political system are said to have undergone considerable change. But what are these formalized and implicit understandings? What are the key dimensions of such bargains? In what conditions do bargains rise and fall? And has there been a universal and uniform change in these bargains? The Politics of Public Service Bargains develops a distinct perspective to answer these questions. It develops a unique analytical perspective to account for diverse bargains within systems of executive government. Drawing on comparative experiences from different state traditions, this study examines ideas and contemporary developments along three key dimensions of any Public Service Bargain - reward, competency and loyalty and responsibility. The Politics of Public Service Bargains points to diverse and differentiated developments across national systems of executive government and suggests how different 'bargains' are prone to cheating by their constituent parties. This study explores the context in which managerial bargains - widely seen to be at the heart of contemporary administrative reform movements - are likely to catch on and considers how cheating is likely to destabilize such bargains.
Sims and the contributors to this challenging new volume maintain that public sector organizations must radically reinvent themselves, if they are to survive and succeed in their missions: to provide quality service to their clients at a cost taxpayers can afford (or are willing to pay). They offer a firsthand look at how change occurs at all levels of government, and from this and other experiences they lay out strategies and tools that others in government can use quickly and with good results in their own public organizations. However, Sims and his panel of experts also note that not everything in organizational change will produce positive benefits; some results will be negative, and these too must be understood and dealt with. By compiling the viewpoints, advice, experiences, recommendations of public managers themselves, plus consultants, academics, and citizens who benefit from government (and are often its harshest critics), Sims gives readers a solid, realistic insight into the problems of today's public agencies, and workable advice on how to solve them. "Accountability and Radical Change in Public Organizations" examines the current government and reinvention initiative occurring in public organizations at the local, county, state, federal and international levels. The book highlights the importance of understanding that change in government will continue to be a way of life for public managers, thus requiring an ongoing analysis of those forces driving change and the need to increase our understanding of why certain change efforts work and others fail miserably in government. The contributors to this volume emphasize that while reinvention, accountability, and change are serious initiatives that public managers must confront they must take caution and learn from each others' experiences.
This collection of essays seeks to improve decision making among public administrators who operate organizations in an increasingly complex and interdependent world. Contributors with different expertise examine the theories and experience of public management in an effort to find ways to deal more effectively with the complex programs, policies, and problems confronting academecians and professionals in all the social and behavioral sciences. This entirely new analysis builds upon the thinking of two Minnowbrook conferences that have studied basic theory and decision making in public administration. An introduction looks back toward these conferences, and an epilogue looks ahead. The first part of the work finds a new multiversalist paradigm by studying the implications of interconnectedness for public managers. The second part of the book analyzes the reality and other challenges to the emergence of new public administration practice. Interconnectness, democracy, and epistemology is the subject of the third part of this study of major new directions in the field. A lengthy bibliography completes the overview that the book offers.
Sir Henry Taylor's classic treatise The Statesman, originally published in 1836, is the first modern book to be devoted to the subject of public administration. It has been read and studied by generations for its keen insights into the relationship between public administrators and elected officials in a democracy. It has also been appreciated for its wit. The present volume is the first twentieth-century edition to be based on the revised and expanded text that Taylor published in 1878 as part of his Collected Works. It is also the first edition to be fully annotated. The lengthy editors' introduction to this volume emphasizes the relevance of Taylor's thought to the fundamental issues of public administration in the contemporary United States. The editors demonstrate the superiority of Taylor's understanding of the relationship between politics and administration to the widely accepted model of that relation that derives from the thought of Woodrow Wilson. Above all, they argue, Taylor's insights merit our attention because they indicate how a properly organized civil service can be a locus of statesmanship in a democracy, fulfilling the intentions of the authors of the American Constitution in a contemporary context that differs significantly from what the Founders themselves anticipated.
Designed as a text for upper-level undergraduate-and graduate-level courses in public administration, public management, public policy, organizational behavior, this book looks at how people work effectively in public organizations. Written entirely by experienced practitioners, the text is unique in that it addresses throughout both the practical concerns of the working administrator and those of the theorist. By using their own on-the-job experiences as illustrative samples, the contributors clearly demonstrate how theory can improve practice and how practice can be used to generate theories. Following an introductory chapter by the editor on the role of practitioners in the intellectual development of public administration, the text is divided into four sections. Part One, on the individual in public organizations, covers the ways in which managers learn and teach, presents an alternative contemplative paradigm of organizational behavior, and explores the role of the heroic individual in public administration. Part Two focuses on other people and public organizations, examining such issues as organizational learning, internal evaluation in organizations, organizational pathologies, and controlling conflict. Turning to the question of structure and public organizations, the contributors address ways in which organizational structure can be influenced, describe a learning model of organization, identify archetypes in organizations, and analyze the structure of power in public organizations. The final section looks at the management and leadership skills necessary to be successful in public administration.
The Law Officer's Pocket Manual is a handy, pocket-sized, spiral-bound manual that highlights basic legal rules for quick reference and offers examples showing how those rules are applied. The manual provides concise guidance based on U.S. Supreme Court rulings on constitutional law issues and other legal developments, covering arrest, search, surveillance, and other routine as well as sensitive areas of law enforcement. It includes more than 100 examples drawn from leading cases to provide guidance on how to act in a wide variety of situations. The 2023 edition is completely updated to reflect recent court decisions. This book helps you keep track of everything in a readable and easy-to-carry format. Routledge offers tiered discounts on bulk orders of 5 or more copies: For more information, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/collections/16268
Policing, environmental protection, and tax administration have much more in common than practitioners in these areas often recognize. Their cultures and traditions have, for the past few decades, incorporated a classic enforcement mentality, based on the underlying assumption that a ruthless and efficient investigative and enforcement capability would produce compliance through the mechanisms of deterrence. In these fields, and perhaps in many other enforcement or compliance oriented professions, Sparrow believes the traditional enforcement approach is under stress. There are too many violators, too many laws to be enforced, and not enough resources to get the job done. In this book, Sparrow draws out remarkable parallels in the ways these professions are adapting to meet their current challenges, as they reject their traditional reliance on retrospective, case-by-case, after-the-fact enforcement. Rather than perpetuating their dependence on processes, procedures, and coverage, these professions are each developing new capacities for analyzing important patterns of noncompliance, prioritizing risks, and designing intelligent interventions using a much broader range of tools. Sparrow extracts the essence of the transformations underway, explores the critical implications for information management, and lays out the issues that need resolution before the emerging compliance strategies can reach maturity. This book is required reading for all those concerned with either the theory or the practice of the compliance side of government.
This text is a must for all aspiring or serving policy supervisors. It sincerely deals with a problem that has perplexed police union representatives and could go a long way toward easing labor/management confrontations regarding marginal police performance. "Robert B. Kliesmet, General President, International Union of Police Associations, AFL-CIO" "Burnout in Blue: Managing The Marginal Police Performer" is an important contribution to professional law enforcement. Today, as never before, the volume of crime and the limited resources allocated to provide police services places tremendous demands on our law enforcemtn agecies. This already difficult situation is compounded further by police employees who perform at a marginal level, thus diminishing the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization. The information provided in this book is well researched, insightful, and practical in terms of its application to productive and successful police operations. It is must reading' for every police supervisor and manager. "Jerald R. Vaugh, Executive Director, International Association of Chiefs of Police" "Burnout in Blue" confronts the problem of poor police performance and shows police supervisors how to identify and deal effectively with marginal, unresponsive subordinates. Few if any books in the field offer such concrete, practical guidelines for improved police performance.
The aim of this publication is to equip managers with insight into the functioning of public management and administration within the dynamic southern African context.
In recent years a set of radical new approaches to public policy, drawing on discursive analysis and participatory deliberative practices, have come to challenge the dominant technocratic, empiricist models in policy analysis. In his major new book Frank Fischer brings together these various new approaches for the first time and critically examines them. The book will be required reading for anyone studying, researching, or formulating public policy.
Should we be doing--or trying to do--everything ourselves, or might it be better to contract some tasks out to others? Could they do them better and cheaper than we can? More and more state and local governments are asking these questions, and while there are many answers on the Federal level, these answers often don't apply lower down the line. Nevertheless, it is evident that contracting out is often the better strategy--but how best to go about it? What are the benefits and what are the hidden risks? Dr. O'Looney's book provides precisely the guidance that state and local managers need: first, how to decide to outsource a government service, then step-by-step how to proceed. Based on extensive interviews and other research, O'Looney takes managers through the intricacies of contract outsourcing and administration, but in doing so he makes clear that he appreciates the importance of government. His book is not an argument for privatization, as so many other books are; rather, it is an affirmation of government and the benefits of its many services. Readers will find theory and advice on the services that are most suitable for contracting out; a listing and review of the components of a high-quality analysis, including the analysis of often overlooked political, organizational, and functional aspects of government; advice on how to go from deciding to outsource to actually designing, implementing, and monitoring a contract in situations that could prove hazardous to the livelihoods of government workers. He also discusses the changes that need to be made in the organizational culture, management, and employee training as a result of the change to a contract-based system of providing services; the considerations in designing work specifications and other critical aspects of the government-vendor relationship, and how ideal contracting processes and ideal contracts can differ according to the nature of the service being contracted. The result is a thorough and highly practical volume for executives and managers in the public sector, and for those who hope to do business with them. |
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