The Handbook of Healthcare Management is a comprehensive examination of key management practices for global healthcare organizations, arguing that insight into and implementation of these practices is essential for success and sustainability. Expert contributors analyze both existing methods and new developments in healthcare management, through topics including healthcare marketing and customer service, managing human resources and organizational stakeholders, strategic and business planning, high-reliability organizations, and health informatics. The result is a well-rounded collection of strategies to enhance healthcare quality, with emphasis on factors that promote organizational excellence. This Handbook will be invaluable to students in both master and doctoral healthcare management programs, as well as faculty and health services researchers, practitioners in both private and public sectors, policy-makers, and public administrators. Contributors: A. Beardsley, J.W. Begun, N. Borkowski, B.K. Breland, K. Darr, C. Deschamp, E.W. Ford, M.D. Fottler, L.H. Friedman, J. Gill, P.K. Howse, T.R.Huerta, J.C. Hyde, R. Kemp, D. Malvey, A.S. McAlearney, N. Menachemi, C. Molinari, H. Nguyen, S.J. O'Connor, P.A. Paustian, A. Raffenaud, S. Rahurkar, S. Ruff, C.J. Sampson, D.J. Slovensky, D.G. Smith, P.L. Spath, W.L. Tarver, M. Thygeson, J.M. Trimm, J.G. Van Matre, C.F. Wainwright, J.H. Willig, T. Yeung, T. Zhang

E-government promises efficient communication, streamlined operations, citizen involvement, improved services, and increased transparency. However, despite huge investments in e-government, evidence suggests numerous e-government projects are late, over budget, and inadequate. Managing E-Government Projects: Concepts, Issues, and Best Practices collects the work of some of the best scholars and practitioners in the fields of e-government and project management, who explore how e-government projects can be managed, planned, and executed with effective project management techniques and methodologies. The chapters address theoretical, empirical, and practical concerns, explore factors affecting e-government projects successes and failures, and discuss existing best practices and their implications for local and national governance in developed and developing countries.

Peace operations are the UN's flagship activity. Over the past decade, UN blue helmets have been dispatched to ever more challenging environments from the Congo to Timor to perform an expanding set of tasks. From protecting civilians in the midst of violent conflict to rebuilding state institutions after war, a new range of tasks has transformed the business of the blue helmets into an inherently knowledge-based venture. But all too often, the UN blue helmets, policemen, and other civilian officials have been "flying blind" in their efforts to stabilize countries ravaged by war. The UN realized the need to put knowledge, guidance and doctrine, and reflection on failures and successes at the center of the institution.
Building on an innovative multi-disciplinary framework, The New World of UN Peace Operations provides a first comprehensive account of learning in peacekeeping. Covering the crucial past decade of expansion in peace operations, it zooms into a dozen cases of attempted learning across four crucial domains: police assistance, judicial reform, reintegration of former combatants, and mission integration. Throughout the different cases, the book analyzes the role of key variables as enablers and stumbling blocks for learning: bureaucratic politics, the learning infrastructure, leadership as well as power and interests of member states. Building on five years of research and access to key documents and decision-makers, it presents a vivid portrait of an international bureaucracy struggling to turn itself into a learning organization. Aimed at policy-makers, diplomats, and a wide academic audience (including those working in international relations, peace research, political science, public administration, and organizational sociology), The New World of UN Peace Operations is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the evolution of modern peace operations.

This book explores the theoretical issues, empirical evidence, and normative debates elicited by the concept of multi-level governance (MLG). The concept is a useful descriptor of decision-making processes that involve the simultaneous mobilization of public authorities at different jurisdictional levels as well as that of non-governmental organizations and social movements. It has become increasingly relevant with the weakening of territorial state power and effectiveness and the increase in international interdependencies which serve to undermine conventional governmental processes. This book moves towards the construction of a theory of multi-level governance by defining the analytical contours of this concept, identifying the processes that can uniquely be denoted by it, and discussing the normative issues that are raised by its diffusion, particularly in the European Union.
It is divided into three parts, each meeting a specific challenge--theoretical, empirical, normative. It focuses on three analytical dimensions: multi-level governance as political mobilization (politics), as authoritative decision-making (policy), and as state restructuring (polity). Three policy areas are investigated in vindicating the usefulness of MLG as a theoretical and empirical concept--cohesion, environment, higher education--with particular reference to two member-states: the UK and Germany. Finally, both the input and output legitimacy of multi-level governance decisions and arrangements and its contribution to EU democracy are discussed. As a loosely-coupled policy-making arrangement, MLG is sufficiently structured to secure coordination among public and private actors at different jurisdictional levels, yet sufficiently flexible to avoid "joint decision traps." This balance is obtained at the cost of increasingly blurred boundaries between public and private actors and a change in the established hierarchies between territorial jurisdictions.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. This Advanced Introduction presents a focused narrative about political decision-making based on the work that has defined public choice as a discipline. Randall G. Holcombe emphasizes the theoretical foundations of Public Choice, examining the way that voter preferences are aggregated through democratic decision-making, the way that political exchange leads to the production of public policy, and the way that the constitutional framework within which political activity takes place is designed. He provides a concise discussion of the main models of Public Choice in an engaging manner, giving readers a foundation for understanding the theoretical and empirical work in the field. Each chapter ends with a Notes section that discusses the research on which the chapter is based, with an emphasis on the pioneering work that has shaped the development of Public Choice. Undergraduate and graduate level students in economics, political science and public administration will find this introduction an essential resource for understanding political decision making. Instructors in those fields will find this book a useful and affordable text and an indispensable resource for teaching Public Choice.

Within political and administrative sciences generally, trust as a concept is contested, especially in the field of regulatory governance. This groundbreaking book is the first to systematically explore the role and dynamics of trust within regulatory regimes. Conceptualizing, mapping and analyzing trust between regulators, regulatees and citizens, expert contributors systematically review the existing empirical research on the role of trust within these relations. Further chapters offer new empirical material, with in-depth case studies covering different regulatory relations, regulatory issues and geographical areas. After scoping the field of inquiry and significantly adding to it, the book concludes with a proposal for a challenging and encompassing agenda for future research on trust in regulatory governance. Comprehensive and forward thinking, this book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of regulation, sociology, law, political science, public administration and trust. It will also offer a compelling read for practitioners working in the field of regulation. Contributors include: E. Baekkesko, G. Bouckaert, B. Carter, R.W. Mills, L. Naslund, P. Oomsels, D. Reiss, F. Six, K. Tamm Hallstroem, H. van der Voort, H. van Ees, K. Verhoest

How do we incorporate analytical thinking into public policy decisions? Stuart Shapiro confronts this issue in Analysis and Public Policy by looking at various types of analysis, and discussing how they are used in regulatory policy-making in the US. By looking at the successes and failures of incorporating cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, and environmental impact assessment, he draws broader lessons on its use, focusing on the interactions between analysis and political factors, legal structures and bureaucratic organizations as possible areas for reform.Utilizing empirical and qualitative research, Shapiro analyzes four different forms of analysis: cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, environmental impact assessment, and impact analysis. After interviewing nearly fifty individuals who have served in high levels of government, and who have made countless regulatory policy decisions in their careers, Shapiro argues that advocates must become less ambitious and should craft requirements for simpler and clearer analysis. Such analysis, particularly if informed by public participation, can do a great deal to improve government decisions. As this book details the relationship between analysis and institutional factors such as politics, bureaucracy, and law, it is appropriate for a variety of readers, such as scholars of policy, students, scholars of regulation, and congressional and state legislative staff looking to create new analytical requirements.

Over recent years Complexity Science has revealed to us new limits to our possible knowledge and control in social, cultural and economic systems. Instead of supposing that past statistics and patterns will give us predictable outcomes for possible actions, we now know the world is, and will always be, creative and surprising. Continuous structural evolution within such systems may change the mechanisms, descriptors, problems and opportunities, often negating policy aims. We therefore need to redevelop our thinking about interventions, policies and policy making, moving perhaps to a humbler, more learning approach. In this Handbook, leading thinkers in multiple domains set out these new ideas and allow us to understand how these new ideas are changing policymaking and policies in this new era.' - Peter M Allen, Cranfield University, UK'Complexity Theory has come to the fore because the world we live in is complex and many of the issues which confront us cannot be handled by the conventional tools of science, including social science. In public policy and professional practice, we are well aware of wicked issues where simple interventions often make things worse instead of better. The chapters in this excellent Handbook put complexity to work where it matters in informing our thinking and action across governance and public policy.' - David Byrne, Durham University, UK Though its roots in the natural sciences go back to the early 20th century, complexity theory as a scientific framework has developed rapidly from the 1970s onwards. Since the 1990s, it has been increasingly integrated into the social sciences and public policy. The ground-breaking and wide-ranging Handbook on Complexity and Public Policy brings together the latest work from top academics, researchers and policy actors working with complexity and policy from Europe, North America, Brazil and China and organizes it into three clear and cohesive parts: - Theory and Tools - Methods and Modelling for Policy Research and Action - Applying Complexity to Local, National and International Policy. With its distinctive combination of theory, methods and policy applications, comprehensive coverage of the field and state of the art overview, this Handbook is an essential read for students, academics and policy practitioners. Contributors include: S. Astill, U.Bilge, T. Bovaird, P. Cairney, A. Caloffi, T. Carmichael, M. Darking, G. de Roo, B. Edmonds, C. Gershenson, R. Geyer, M. Givel, B. Gray, M. Hadzikadic, P. Haynes, C. Hobbs, M. Howlett, L. Johnson, R. Kenny, K.E. Lehmann, A. Little, Q. Liu, E. Mitleton-Kelly, G. Morcoel, D. Nohrstedt, S. Occelli, J. Price, J. Rayner, C. Ricaurte, G. Room, F. Rossi, M. Russo, F. Semboloni, K. Treadwell Shine, J. Stroud, T. Tenbensel, C. Warren-Adamson, T.E. Webb, A. Wellstead, J. Whitmeyer

During the last decade, interoperability has emerged as a vivid research area in electronic business and electronic governance, promising a significant increase in productivity and efficiency of information systems, enterprises and administrations. Interoperability in Digital Public Services and Administration: Bridging E-Government and E-Business provides the latest research findings such as theoretical foundations, principles, methodologies, architectures, technical frameworks, international policy, standardization and case studies for the achievement of interoperability within the provision of digital services, from administration and businesses toward the user citizens and enterprises.

This book discusses Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and their potential to protect and maintain critical infrastructure in a variety of global governmental settings. Critical infrastructure is defined as essential services that underpin and support the backbone of a nation's economy, security, and health. These services include the power used by homes and businesses, drinking water, transportation, stores and shops, and communications. As governmental budgets dwindle, the maintenance of critical infrastructure and the delivery of its related services are often strained. PPPs have the potential to fill the void between government accounting and capital budgeting. This volume provides a survey of PPPs in critical infrastructure, combining theory and case studies to provide a comprehensive view of possible applications. Written by a diverse group of international experts, the chapters detail PPPs across industries such as transportation, social infrastructure, healthcare, emergency services, and water across municipalities from the US to New Zealand to Hong Kong. Chapters discuss objectives and legal requirements associated with PPPs, the potential advantages and limitations of PPPs, and provide guidance as to how to structure a successful PPP for infrastructure investment. This book is of interest to researchers studying public administration, public finance, and infrastructure as well as practitioners and decision makers interested in instituting PPPs in their communities.

The information revolution has increased the pressure on governments to utilize technology to increase efficiency, transparency, and access. Cases on Public Information Management and E-Government Adoption provides real world examples of the successes and pitfalls faced by public sector organizations. The process of adopting technology is full of complicated social, practical, administrative, cultural, and legal pitfalls and opportunities. In order to ensure that any organization achieves the greatest advantages from their technological advances, these issues must be addressed and learning from the empirical studies present in this reference is the first step.

The contents include a chapter on Conversion and the following. In Act Two, we have, "Words Before Blows" by Sammie Byron, Brutus; "Most Noble Brother, You Have Done Me Wrong" by DeMond Bush, Mark Antony; and, "Have You Not Love Enough to Bear with Me?" by Ron Brown, Cassius. In Intermission, we have Othello: Unplugged at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex. In Act Three, we have The Luckett Symposium on Shakespeare and Race: Titus Andronicus, Merchant of Venice, and Othello; "George Bush Doesn't Care about Black People": Agnes Wilcox's Julius Caesar at Northeast Correctional Center. In Act Four, we have "Romans, Countrymen, Lovers!" The Shakespeare Behind Bars Tour at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women; "Unsex Me Here": Playing the Lady at Luckett; and, Rapshrew: Jean Trounstine and the Framingham Women's Prison. In Act Five, we have: A Visit with Warden Larry Chandler; Desdemona Speaks: Mike Smith on the Outside; and, Shakespeare in Solitary: "To Revenge or to Forgive?": Laura Bates' Hamlet and Othello at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. The contents also include an epilogue.

This major new text on the theory and practice of public management moves away from descriptive accounts of its evolution to provide a systematic treatment of the key paradigms of public management today. It examines their competing outlooks, values, tools and assumptions and - using a wide range of examples from different areas of management around the world - their implications for practice. The text sets out three contrasting 'logics' for management - performance, professionalism and politics - and shows how public managers act on the interplay between these for effective results. Relating all three logics to a wide range of diverse contexts - from police services to healthcare, social services to educational providers - the text shows how managers can simultaneously perform to a high standard, act professionally through their work, and cope with internal and external politics. Incorporating the latest theories and practices, this comprehensive book will appeal to readers around the world wanting to understand, and contribute to, public management today.

China has undergone a remarkable transition over the past thirty years from a centrally-planned economy to a more market oriented one. The transformation of business in China has been correspondingly evident. This book gives an interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution of business development in China and the 'marketization' of industry during this period within a complex framework of legal, political, and economic reform aims.
The book includes twelve original business case studies to provide industry-specific analysis of the overarching macroeconomic and legal developments. It examines both domestic enterprise reform in China and the evolving treatment of foreign firms in the context of both corporate laws and economic policies, and how business is likely to evolve as economic and legal reforms rapidly increase during the twenty-first century, notably with regard to China's increasing global integration.

Behavioural public policies, or nudges, have become increasingly popular in recent years, with governments keen to use light-touch interventions to improve the success of their public policies. In this unique book, Peter John explores nudges, their successes and limitations, and sets out a bold manifesto for the future of behavioural public policy. This book traces the beginnings of nudge in behavioural economics and tracks the adoption of its core ideas by policy-makers, providing examples of successful applications. By considering the question ?how far to nudge??, John reviews why it is crucial for governments to address citizen behaviours, and reviews the criticisms of nudge and its ethical limitations. Looking to its future, this book proposes the adoption of a radical version of nudge, nudge plus, involving increased feedback and more engagement with citizens. How Far to Nudge? will be a vital text for students of behavioural public policy and policy analysis, as well as for anyone looking for an introduction to nudge policy and an explanation for its growth in popularity.

Collective decision making seems a straightforward matter: people come together and decide. But why is it that today's winners can turn into tomorrow's losers? Why can't you always get what you want? How does the interaction between the decision makers influence the outcome? And are opportunists better off than stubborn decision makers? This book takes a refreshing look at collective decision making by using models of evolutionary biology and naturalistic decision making to analyse real-world cases. These cases include the rise and fall of the Dutch high-speed railway project and the unexpected effects of introducing public-private partnerships to connect the new Thai national airport to Bangkok. Gerrits and Marks successfully guide the reader towards an in-depth understanding through rich empirical research and uncover the beautiful complexity of collective decision making. Understanding Collective Decision Making will be of great interest to academics working in public administration, political science and evolutionary theory. Public managers will also find this book helpful to understand why and how collective decisions are formed.

The definitive and jaw-dropping account of Liz Truss's calamitous 49 days in office by the Sunday Times bestselling author of Johnson at 10.

The shortest-serving prime minister in history. The first former leader to lose their seat since 1935. An inside look at how it all went so wrong.

Liz Truss's disastrous premiership was the shortest and most chaotic in British history. In the space of just 49 days, Truss witnessed the death of the longest-reigning monarch, attempted to remould the economy, triggered a collapse in the value of Sterling and was forced on a series of embarrassing U-turns that ultimately led to her resignation. The aftershocks of her time in office are still felt today. How did she blow her opportunity so spectacularly?

Based on exclusive interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, and focusing on the critical steps that led to her demise, this gripping behind-the-scenes work of contemporary history gives the definitive account of Truss's premiership.

Most people have a bias toward seeing the world as they would like it to be. It might be best for some purposes, however, to know the world as it actually is. "Unlimited Progress: The Grand Delusion of the Modern World" can help in that quest. One of the most misleading ideas permeating the modern world is the concept that progress can be almost unlimited. Most of this book focuses on modern science and how it underlies and influences almost all of our general views about what the world is like. Americans have become hooked on progress. Much of this addiction has developed because of the great advances of modern science and related technology. Author Dennis Knight Heffner, M.D., has a broad-based perspective on science, developed over half a century, that will help you understand that there are limits to progress. Being aware of them can help you make important choices affecting your life- especially political choices.

In 1989, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) published the milestone volume Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore, edited by Kernial Singh Sandhu and Paul Wheatley, which delved into a wide variety of issues that were integral to the growth of modern Singapore. The world that Singapore faced in 1989 has changed irrevocably. Meanwhile, within Singapore, the city-state has seen two prime ministerial transitions and the installation of third generation leaders who have articulated their vision for the twenty-first century. This new volume serves to update and review public policies from the early 1990s onwards. It gathers prominent thinkers and scholars on Singapore to examine issues of leadership and policy; economic restructuring; societal transformation; foreign relations and national identity. It seeks to outline the impending challenges of the twenty-first centuey, and to demonstrate a clear trajectory of intellectual analysis of contemporary Singapore for students and scholars alike.

Holistic in approach, this Handbook's international range of leading scholars present complementary perspectives, both theoretical and empirically pertinent, to explore recent developments in the field of local and regional governance. With a fresh outlook on the field, this Handbook builds significantly upon the existing literature to clarify the scope of the discipline, as well as providing tools, information, and research questions to better understand and further explore the field. Chapters provide theoretical and empirical context to current debates on local and regional governance and offer competing analytical lenses for studying the field. Topics explored include the intersecting roles, limits, opportunities, and influence of actors, democracy, place, scale, and networks, with examinations of social cohesion, intermunicipal decentralization, and emerging technologies. Particularly close attention is paid to relationships, as the Handbook introduces to the analysis the ways that actors, tiers of government, institutions and multiple jurisdictions exchange resources, coordinate action and produce decisions with collective impact in local and regional governance. Interdisciplinary and international in scope, this Handbook will be an invigorating read for students and scholars looking to better understand contemporary policy, politics and subnational governance at local and regional levels.