Advancing Public Management

Public management involves leading, coordinating, and stimulating public agencies and programs to deliver excellent performance. Research and practice of public management have developed rapidly in recent years, drawing on the fields of public policy, public administration, and business management. In carrying out their crucial roles in shaping what government delivers, public managers today must confront daunting challenges imposed by shifting policy agendas, constrained financial resources combined with with constant public demands for a rich array of public services, and increasing interdependence among public, private, and third-sector institutions and actors. At the same time, these challenges and other developments offer exciting opportunities for improving knowledge and practice in public management, for the benefit of everyone. In this volume, leading scholars contribute advances in the theory, methods, and practice in this burgeoning field. The selections address four key topics:-The nature and impact of public management;-Creative new methods for public management research;-Reform, reinvention, innovation, and change;-New models and frameworks for understanding and improving public management

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. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this Advanced Introduction, Christopher Pollitt starts a penetrating account of the theories, methods and possible trajectories of the study of public management, also examining the academic community itself, and its relationship to the world of practice. There is no more authoritative – or lively – text of such scope and focus. This is a stimulating analysis by a leading international scholar. It includes: · a global overview · a critical and authoritative analysis of the current state of the field · the location of academic research firmly in the real world context of austerity, climate and demographic change, and technological transformation · an examination of the relationship between academic study and the practice of public management · a look inside the ‘ivory tower’, at the forces changing the way the subject is studied and practised This truly unique work will be of particular interest to graduate students, advanced scholars, lecturers and trainers in public administration, public management, government, public policy, political science and development administration. Middle level and senior practitioners in public administration and public management will also find this an invaluable and sophisticated introduction.

For public administration to keep pace with the fast-changing social, economic and political scenario, there have been simultaneous efforts to develop it as a discipline and a profession. The developed and the developing countries are keen to develop the theory, practice and philosophy of public administration to suit their specific needs. In the present book on advanced public administration, the subject has been discussed in all its aspects in seven sections covering 38 chapters. The chapters are supplemented with case studies and data based upon the research conducted in the field of public administration. The book would be of use to students, teachers, researchers in public administration, civil servants and political elite. For public administration to keep pace with the fast-changing social, economic and political scenario, there have been simultaneous efforts to develop it as a discipline and a profession. The developed and the developing countries are keen to develop the theory, practice and philosophy of public administration to suit their specific needs. In the present book on advanced public administration, the subject has been discussed in all its aspects in seven sections covering 38 chapters. The chapters are supplemented with case studies and data based upon the research conducted in the field of public administration. The book would be of use to students, teachers, researchers in public administration, civil servants and political elite.

Now in paperback in an Enlarged Edition, this volume explores the lessons of one of the most comprehensive attempts to improve public management. Metcalfe and Richards describe and assess Thatcher's Efficiency Strategy as an exercise in improving public management. They explain how the strategy has gone about improving administrative performance by increasing cost-consciousness in the use of resources and creating flexibility for managing change. They analyze major themes such as: decentralization, information systems and budgets as management tools, organization design, and the management of interdepartmental relations.

In the debate over how best to manage public administration and welfare institutions, there exists a great tension between calls to control and calls to generate change. Public Management in Transition takes on this tension, providing an overview of important pathways for implementing innovation in public organization and, through it, the management of governments. Following an analysis of large-scale societal changes, chapters explore the effects these changes have on central public administrations, individual welfare institutions, the management of individuals themselves (both as employees and citizens), and finally how these effects might foment transformations of the form of the state. With text boxes highlighting examples, key concepts, and reflection points from the fields of education, health care, social work, ecology, foreign aid, and political science, Public Management in Transition will appeal to academics, practitioners, and students across a range of disciplines.

Governments across the world are pursuing reform in an effort to improve public services. But have these reforms actually led to improvements in services? Evaluating Public Management Reforms develops a framework for a theory-based evaluation of reforms, and then uses this framework to assess the impact of new arrangements for public service delivery in the UK. This book: * identifies the conceptual and practical problems of finding clear criteria for evaluating reforms * focuses on the shifts in public management towards markets and competition, towards the publication of performance indicators, and from larger to smaller organizations * considers what impact these reforms have had on the efficiency, responsiveness and equity of services * comprehensively reviews the evidence on the effects of reform on health care, housing and education * discusses the implications for public sector management.

Through a series of case studies and selected special topics, Public Sector Enterprise Risk Management presents examples from leading Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs on overcoming bureaucratic obstacles, developing a positive risk culture, and making ERM a valuable part of day-to-day management. Specifically designed to help government risk managers, with concepts and approaches to help them advance risk management beyond the basics, the book: Provides a balanced mix of concepts, instruction and examples; Addresses topics that go beyond the basics of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program design and implementation; Includes insights from leading practitioners and other senior officials. Many government organizations can refer to the growing body of materials that provide examples of ERM processes and procedures. Far fewer reference materials and examples exist to help organizations develop a risk-mature organizational culture that is critical to the long-term success and strategic value that ERM represents to government organizations. Public Sector Enterprise Risk Management begins to fill that void and is intended to help public sector risk managers overcome barriers that inhibit ERM from becoming an active contributor to major decisions that top officials must make.

This book explores innovations in public management, including establishing a corporate vision, strategizing an organization and change management. Chapters provide a valuable frame of reference for the 21st-century manager of public services by assessing the renewal of existing practices such as strategic costing, performance management, digitization and procurement and innovations in management practices, including branding, Lean Management, resilience and risk management. The book suggests that, as the management of public services is imbued with financial, social, economic and political uncertainties, management needs to be flexible and responsive to new ideas and practices to fulfil its purpose. This book ultimately supports the reflective manager, those who think about their job and are open to new ideas on how their job can be done better, by revisiting existing practices and examining innovations in public management. Enriched with real-life cases and thought-provoking discussion questions, this is the ideal textbook for reflective, open-minded advanced students of public management and actual, or aspiring, reflective managers in public services.

Research in public administration and public management has distinctive features that influence the choices and application of research methods. Periods of change and upheaval in the public sector provide ample opportunities and cases for research, but the standard methodologies for researching in the social sciences can be difficult to follow in the complex world of the public sector. In a dynamic political environment, the focus lies on solving social problems whilst also using methodological principles needed for doing scientifically sound research. Research Methods in Public Administration and Public Management represents a comprehensive guide to doing and using research in public management and administration. It is impressively succinct but covering a wide variety of research strategies including among others: action research, hypotheses, sampling, case selection, questionnaires, interviewing, desk research, prescription and research ethics. This textbook does not bog the nascent researcher down in the theory but does provide numerous international examples and practical exercises to illuminate the research journey. Sandra Van Thiel guides us through the theory, operationalization and research design process before explaining the tools required to carry-out impactful research. This concise textbook will be core reading for those studying research methods and/or carrying out research on public management and administration.

How policymakers should guide, manage, and oversee public bureaucracies is a question that lies at the heart of contemporary debates about government and public administration. This text calls for public management to become a vibrant field of public policy.