Examining the political and economic forces that have shaped the civil service system from the Pendleton Act of 1883 through today, the authors explain why, despite efforts to overhaul the federal bureaucracy (most recently by Vice President Al Gore), significant change remains a formidable challenge. Although politicians criticize the unwieldiness of the bureaucracy, this volume shows how they have been largely responsible for its design. The authors examine the development of federal employee interest groups and their negotiations with the president and Congress over hiring policies, salaries and conditions for terminating employment. Using transaction cost analysis and public choice theory, this book aims to provide a new understanding of the growth of the federal bureaucracy and the political and economic obstacles to reforming it.

Highly successful in hardcover, this analysis of both the current status of logistic and its future role in European business is now available in paperback for students of logistic, distribution, strategy and international business.

Logistic in Europe is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. The Single European Market, German unification and reform in eastern Europe have together had a major impact on the continent, with inevitable consequences for logistics. At company level, there is also increasing petition from the newly industrialized countries of the Pacific Rim, not to mention the dismantle of trade barriers within Europe which have so far afforded considerable protection to some European industries.

The two main sections of the book consider demand and supply the market place for logistic services. In analyzing demand, the authors focus on the changing needs on manufacturers and retailers, the two principles users of logistics in advanced economies. On the supply side they examine a number of different kinds of provider of the logistics services, including carriers, freight forwarders and information technology companies. These providers are both responding to the needs on users, and initiating developments of their own. The rise of the mega-carrier is an especially important development, and one chapter is devoted to examining their prospects for success.

This volume reflects on the consequences of the increasingly globalized nature of our world for public sector management. Globalization has triggered rapid growth in trade, global financial transactions and cross-country ownership of economic assets. The implications of these multifaceted processes for the welfare of today's and tomorrow's societies are unclear. What is clear, however, is that an increasing number of problems are too complex to be tackled solely at the level of national states. As a result, the size, functions and modi operandi of the public sector in a globalized world are emerging topics in academia and practice.

This book examines key determinants of private sector development in West Africa, putting special emphasis on government’s cardinal role in fostering and supporting entrepreneurship. Favorable macroeconomic conditions are identified and it is shown that adequate policies that contribute to economic diversification and industrialization are likely to expand the investment base of the economy. The book also examines new business concepts and regional integration initiatives meant to enhance West Africa’s private sector and analyzes the role of finance in promoting development of private firms and the extent to which corruption impedes economic growth. All chapters are highly relevant to West Africa’s current policy challenges and therefore inform the region’s ongoing policy formulation. The empirical evidence supporting the policy recommendations is based on both qualitative field observations and advanced quantitative estimation techniques.

Innovation has become an important focus for governments around the world over the last decade, with greater pressure on governments to do more with less, and expanding community expectations. Some are now calling this 'social innovation' - innovation that is related to creating new services that have value for stakeholders (such as citizens) in terms of the social and political outcomes they produce. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership establishes an analytical framework of innovation capacity based on three dimensions: Structure - national governance and traditions, the local socioeconomic context, and the municipal structure Networks - interpersonal connections inside and outside the organization Leadership - the qualities and capabilities of senior individuals within the organization. Each of these are analysed using data from a comparative EU research project in Copenhagen, Barcelona and Rotterdam. The book provides major new insights on how structures, networks and leadership in city governments shape the social innovation capacity of cities. It provides ground-breaking analyses of how governance structures and local socio-economic challenges, are related to the innovations introduced by these cities. The volume maps and analyses the social networks of the three cities and examines boundary spanning within and outside of the cities. It also examines what leadership qualities are important for innovation. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership combines an original analytical approach with comparative empirical work, to generate a novel perspective on the social innovation capacity of cities and is critical reading for academics, students and policy makers alike in the fields of Public Management, Public Administration, Local Government, Policy, Innovation and Leadership.

A comprehensive guide to public sector collaboration with private and nonprofit organizations for better service delivery Governing Cross-Sector Collaboration tackles the issues inherent in partnerships with nongovernmental actors for public service delivery, highlighting the choices available and the accompanying challenges and opportunities that arise. Based on research, interviews with public, private and nonprofit sector leaders, and considerable analysis of organizations involved in public-private-nonprofit collaborations, the book provides insight into cross-sector collaboration at the global, federal, state, and local levels. Through an examination of the primary modes of cross-sector collaboration, including collaborative contracting, partnerships, networks, and independent public services providers, the book presents a clear case for how public managers can assess the trade-offs and use these options to improve public service delivery. Nonprofit organizations, businesses, and third-party contractors are increasingly partnering with government to deliver public services. Recognizing the types of collaborative approaches, and their potential to solve public policy problems is quickly becoming a major task for public managers, with new methods and techniques constantly emerging. Governing Cross-Sector Collaboration provides specific examples and a framework for public managers to make strategic choices about how to engage private and nonprofit actors in delivering public goods and services while ensuring the public interest. The book provides effective methods for choosing, designing, governing, and evaluating networks, partnerships, and independent public-services providers, with in-depth discussion encompassing: * Analysis and engagement of cross-sector organizations * Fostering democratic accountability in the public interest * Collaborative approaches (including contracts, networks and partnerships) and the issues associated with each type of arrangement * Leadership and organizational learning in cross-sector collaboration Included case studies illustrate effective application of the concepts and methods described, providing both practicing public and nonprofit managers and public policy/administration students with insight into these emerging strategic alliances. The first comprehensive guide to public governance collaborations, Governing Cross-Sector Collaboration is an important and timely contribution to the field of public management.

This revised and expanded edition of a benchmark collection compares how civil services around the world have adapted to cope with managing public services in the 21st century. The volume provides insights into multi-level governance, juridification and issues of efficiency and responsiveness as well as exploring the impact of fiscal austerity.

Public services touch the majority of people in advanced and developing economies on a daily basis: children require schooling, the elderly need personal care and assistance, rubbish needs collecting, water must be safe to drink and the streets need policing. In short, there is practically no area of our lives that isn't touched in some way by public services. As such, knowledge about strategies to improve their performance is central to the good of society. In this book, a group of leading scholars examine some of the most pressing issues in public administration, political science and public policy by undertaking a systematic review of the research literature on public management and the performance of public agencies. It is an important resource for public management researchers, policy-makers and practitioners who wish to understand the state of the field and the challenges that lie ahead.

The Global Urban Competitiveness Report - 2010 is an empirical study of the competitiveness of 500 cities around the world This one-of-a-kind resource draws on a wealth of data sources, all of which are described and assessed Using a sophisticated methodology and a team of 100 researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Science, the book not only ranks these cities but also presents a wealth of information with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of each city in relation to each other The book includes a full discussion of the factors that create urban competitiveness, what sorts or categories of cities are most competitive, and comments on the policies and initiatives that are adopted by the most competitive cities.Scholars and researchers in the areas of urban economics, planning, geography, and regional economics will find the information invaluable, as will local authorities, decision-makers, and economic planners in cities throughout the world.

* Addresses a gap in the current strategy textbook offering by combining theoretical grounding with tools for practical implementation, applied specifically to public sector strategic management * Clear step-by-step approach rich with international case studies and real-life examples, as well as a substantial offering of complementary online resources * Suitable for both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Public Sector Strategy and Strategic Management, as well as practitioners and consultants working within public sector organisations * Supports readers in understanding strategic management and its basic concepts, whilst contextualising thoroughly to the public sector and taking the reader further into more up-to-date evaluations and analysis within strategic management than the current textbook offering

New Perspectives in Policing: Stress, Public Perception and Leadership' is a new collection of articles that represent the very highest level of scholarship focussing on the management and practice of Policing. Drawn together from one of the leading journals in the field, Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, these articles examine the evolving nature of Policing policy, practice and management in an era of ever increasing demands for efficiency, transparency and accountability. The collection assesses the impact of public perception, stress, and leadership, presenting detailed analyses and new conceptual frameworks.Providing international perspectives, the articles include case studies on: - US public perceptions towards police forces;- the impact of stress and gender on Swedish officers; - Chinese college student's perception of police, and - an analysis of complaints of police misconduct. This book provides policy makers, academics and senior police officers with an essential and convenient analyses and examination of some of the most important factors impacting policing and law enforcement today.

First published in 1951, the essays in this volume were the result of the extensive use in public administration of economists and other academic specialists in the field of social studies during the Second World War. Apart from the introduction by Sir Richard Hopkins, the contributions to this volume were restricted to economists and other university teachers who had come into the Government's service during the war and had returned to their pre-war occupations subsequently. The essays thus offer unique accounts of wartime administration in Great Britain from contributors who had direct personal involvement in the Civil Service.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been widely derided as a failed state, unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens. But while state infrastructure continues to decay, many essential services continue to be provided at the local level, often through grassroots initiatives. So while, for example, state funding for education is almost non-existent, average school enrolment remains well above average for Sub-Saharan Africa. This book addresses this paradox, bringing together key scholars working on public services in the DRC to elucidate the evolving nature of governance in developing countries. Its contributions encompass a wide range of public services, including education, justice, transport, and health. Taking stock of what functions and why, it contributes to the debate on public services in the context of 'real' or 'hybrid' governance beyond the state: does the state still have a function, or is it no longer useful and relevant? Crucially, how does international aid help or complicate this picture? Rich in empirical detail, the contributors provide a valuable work for students and scholars interested in the role played by non-state actors in organizing statehood - a role too often neglected in debates on post-conflict reconstruction.

Based on new field research, this book assesses the current state of governance and public sector reforms in eleven Asian countries and jurisdictions, especially in the wake of the recent regional financial crisis that seriously affected some of them. It analyses reform efforts comparatively against a backdrop of governance problems, and seeks to establish whether these efforts represent a substantive shift in attitudes towards reform or whether they serve simply to reinforce existing practices. The authors explore a number of important themes that are central to governance and public sector reform issues. These include the role of the state, the success or failure of organizational reforms, corruption, the applicability of the new public management model in the Asian context, and the governance values and reform models promoted by regional and international agencies.

When researching, teaching or working with information systems in the public sector, one is left with few or often no textbooks that provide useful case studies or surveys on the implementation and effects of integrating information technologies in the organizations' operations. This is surprising since in most first world countries the public sector consumes a substantial part of the gross national product. Even more astonishing is the vast amount of financial and organizational resources that are spent developing and implementing various information systems. We decided to write this book to provide information for those studying information systems at business schools, information and computer departments at collegesl universities, and for those working hands-on with EDI and data networking in public administration. Thus, our primary target groups for this book are professionals, training (MA-courses), computer science, MBA, MP A, and political science. EDI has been seen as a means to wire the various policy areas in the public sector. Those included are not limited strictly to the public organizations, but extend to their trade partners. Also, government has sought ways to stimulate the usage of ED I in the private sector beyond those transactions involving direct communication with the public sector. In this book, we have contributors from eight countries and a total of 14 chapters reporting on issues of importance when developing and implementing EDI, when government wants to stimulate the diffusion of EDI in society, and when organizations want to address the impact of their investments in ED .

With the resources of both governments and traditional philanthropy barely growing or in decline, yet the problems of poverty, ill-health, and environmental degradation ballooning daily, new models for financing social and environmental objectives are urgently needed. Fortunately, a revolution is underway in the instruments and institutions available to meet this need. Loans, loan guarantees, private equity, barter arrangements, social stock exchanges, bonds, social secondary markets, and investment funds are just some of the actors and tools occupying the new frontiers of philanthropy and social investment. Together they hold the promise of leveraging for social and environmental purposes not just the billions of dollars of charitable grants but the hundreds of billions, indeed trillions, of dollars of private investment capital.
While the changes under way are inspiring, they remain largely uncharted. This concise introduction to the topic, and its companion volume, provide the first comprehensive and accessible roadmap to these important advances. In the process, these works will better equip investors, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, business executives, government officials, and students the world over to capture the opportunities that these developments hold out to them and to our world.

In an attempt to instil trust in their performance, credibility, integrity, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and good governance, many public organizations are in effect viewing tax-paying citizens as consumers. Little research exists to explore synergies between the market economy, public administration reformation, and their complex bilateral effects. This book takes a timely look at the heightened need for public administration reform as a result of the economic challenges currently faced by nations across the globe. In particular it explores the roles of eGovernment and a citizen-centric focus in this transformation. Public Administration Reform examines several commonly-held assumptions about public administration: the public sector is slow and bureaucratic; government employees are frequently disengaged; and government agencies are sometimes wasteful. eGovernment is proposed as a key tool in the improvement of both public services and reputations of public organizations.

Networks have been described in terms of metaphors, governance arrangements and structural or institutional arrangements. These different perspectives of networks come out of a variety of disciplines, including political science, public administration, urban affairs, social welfare, public management and organizational/sociological research. This wealth of research, while contributing to a deeper understanding of networks, presents a dilemma which is addressed by this book. That is the question of whether there is a theory of public networks that informs networks in their various forms, and is there a need for a new theory of networks? More importantly, is network research still relevant to practice? Does network theory improve the process of governance? Are different terms and/or approaches actually the same or different? What do these different approaches mean to theory? This book deeply explores and integrates existing network theory and related theories from a number of perspectives, levels and jurisdictions to develop a framework to guide network design, governance and management. The book focuses on the important issue of network performance, looking at networks as bounded and consciously arranged; the actors who participate in them design the relationships among a bounded set of individual organizations to purse common objectives. Finally, the chapters tease out the variety of governance modes or regimes that intersect with network governance. This book offers a comprehensive, integrative, interdisciplinary approach that enables specialists, practitioners and administrators across a wide array of interests and fields to formulate and work on problems using a common language, analytical framework and theoretical basis.

A typical image of the making and administration of policy suggests that it takes place on an incremental basis, involving public servants, their ministers and, to a more limited extent, a variety of interest groups. Yet, much policy making is based on similar policy developed in other jurisdictions and in the major international organizations such as the WTO and the OECD. In other words, significant aspects of nationally developed policies are copied from elsewhere in what is described as a process of policy transfer and learning. Hence, studies of policy transfer have pointed to a distinct limitation in most existing theoretical and empirical explanations as to how policy is made and implemented through their neglect of the role of policy transfer and learning. Moreover, policy transfer is not only a concern of academics, but a growing concern for governments. The latter are concerned to improve the performance of their policy and several have placed a greater, more systematic focus on policy transfer as a means to increasing performance. This book presents a variety of cases from differing national and international contexts that enable a valuable, comparative analysis that is absent from most literature currently available and that suggest a number of exciting research directions with implications for policy making, transference and implementation in the future.

In almost every liberal democratic society, an issue that is a topic of constant and passionate public discussion is how much that country's ministers, legislators, senior civil servants, and senior judges should be paid. Nor is this surprising; the issue has considerable voyeuristic appeal, particular democratic significance, and important ramifications for the functioning of the public sector as a whole. However, like most political debates, these discussions tend to be messy, fragmented, and full of unverified assertions and spurious appeals to populist sentiment. It is hardly surprising that those discussions rarely succeed in putting the matter to rest. Paying Our High Public Officials examines the political discourse concerning this question in 17 liberal democracies (Canada, the United States, Mexico, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Poland, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand). Based on many hundreds of parliamentary debates, newspaper articles, speeches, as well as reports by think tanks and high commissions of state, the book identifies seven central arguments that occur in all these societies, translates them into the language of analytical philosophy, and then rigorously evaluates them. This approach contributes to a better understanding of this controversy and may result in better-justified and more legitimate conclusions concerning which policy to adopt.

Grappling with ethical issues is a daily challenge for those working in organizations that deliver public services. Such services are delivered through an often bewildering range of agencies and amidst this constant change, there are fears that a public service ethos, a tradition of working in the public interest, becomes blurred. Using extensive vignettes and case studies, Ethics and Management in the Public Sector illuminates the practical decisions made by public officials. The book takes a universal approach to ethics reflecting the world-wide impact of public service reforms and also includes discussions on how these reforms impact traditional vales and principles of public services. This easy-to-use textbook is a definitive guide for postgraduate students of public sector ethics, as well as students of public management and administration more generally.

Since the first edition was published in 1997, "Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations" has become the go-to reference for public and nonprofit human resources professionals. Now in its fourth edition, the text has been significantly revised and updated to include information that reflects changes in the field due to the economic crisis, changes in federal employment laws, how shifting demographics affect human resources management, the increased use of technology in human resources management practices, how social media has become embedded in the workplace, and new approaches to HRM policy and practice.

Written by Joan E. Pynes--a noted expert in public administration--this authoritative work shows how strategic human resources management is essential for managing change in an increasingly complex environment. The bookIncludes new material on workplace violence and employee disciplineReviews updates on the legal environment of HRMContains suggestions for managing a diverse workforceOffers a wealth of revised tables and exhibitsUpdates the most recent developments in collective bargaining in the public and nonprofit sectorsOutlines the most current approaches to recruitment and selectionPresents an overview of recent information on compensation and benefitsGives an update of the technological advances used for strategic human resources managementProvides examples of HRM policies from other countries

The book also includes an enhanced instructor's guide with examination questions, PowerPoint(R) slides, experiential exercises, and video vignettes that are coordinated with chapters in the book.

The complexity of governments today makes the accountability desired by citizens difficult to achieve. Written to address performance policies within state and national governments, Government Performance and Results: An Evaluation of GPRA's First Decade summarizes lessons learned from a 10-year research project that evaluated performance reports produced by federal agencies under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The results of this project can help answer a wide variety of questions in political economy and public administration, such as: What factors make performance reports relevant and informative? Has the quality of information disclosed to the public improved? Why do some agencies produce better reports than others? Has GPRA led to greater availability and use of performance information by federal managers? Has GPRA led to greater use of performance information in budget decisions? What steps would make federal management and budget decisions more performance oriented? The book documents the current state of the art in federal performance reporting, measures the extent of improvement, compares federal performance reports with those produced by state governments and other nations, and suggests how GPRA has affected management of federal agencies and resource allocation by policymakers. It also identifies obstacles that must be overcome if GPRA is to deliver on the promise of performance budgeting. The authors chronicle the improvements observed in federal performance reporting through the lens of the Mercatus Center's annual Performance Report Scorecard. As budget shortfalls and new debt burdens increase interest in public management and budgeting techniques that allow governments to do more with less, this is an appropriate time to take stock of what GPRA has accomplished and what remains to be done. By comparing best performance reporting practices in the US federal government with those in states and other countries, this book speeds the diffusion of useful knowledge at a critical time.

Packed with international case examples and clearly delineating principles as they apply to public sector organizations, Lean for the Public Sector: The Pursuit of Perfection in Government Services demonstrates that Lean in the public sector is neither rocket science nor a typical profit-driven improvement program. The book begins with coverage of the basic philosophy of Lean before detailing specific methods for improving processes in the public sector. It addresses concerns specific to the public sector environment and considers the role of the citizen, not only as customer, but as a voter, taxpayer, and community participant. The author provides a clear explanation of methods such as 5S, kaizen, standardization techniques, and Value Stream Mapping shaped to Lean Government. His approach provides a reality-based view of value-added services and waste in the public sector. Written specifically to address the application of Lean practices in government and the public sector, this how-to workbook gives you the wherewithal to combat the 'We don't make widgets' mentality. Providing the tools to manage the entire Lean transformation process, the book helps you immediately integrate the Lean way of thinking and its tools into your improvement program.

A comprehensive guide to future-proofing public sector communication and increasing citizen satisfaction How to communicate with the citizens of the future? Why does public sector communication often fail? Public Sector Communication combines practical examples from around the world with the latest theoretical insights to show how communication can help bridge gaps that exist between public sector organizations and the individual citizens they serve. The authors--two experts in the field with experience from the public sector--explain how public entities, be they cities, governments, foundations, agencies, authorities, municipalities, regulators, military, or government monopolies and state owned businesses can build their intangible assets to future-proof themselves in a volatile environment. The book examines how the recent digitalization has increased citizen expectations and why one-way communication leaves public sector organizations fragile. To explain how to make public sector communication antifragile, the authors map contributions from a wide variety of fields combined with illustrative examples from around the world. The authors propose a research-based framework of different intangible assets that can directly improve communication in the public sector. This important resource: Helps explain the sector-specific conditions and why communication is often challenging in the public sector Summarizes all relevant literature on the topic across disciplines and includes the most popular management ideals of the recent decades Explores how public sector organizations can increase citizen satisfaction with effective communication Presents new approaches to both the study and practice of communication in the public sector Provides international examples of successful public sector communication Offers realistic guides to building intangible assets in practice Written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, as well as public managers and leaders, Public Sector Communication offers an illustrative, research-based guide to improving communication and engaging citizens of today and the future.