Crowdsourcing is a term that was coined in 2006 to describe how the commercial sector was beginning to outsource problems or tasks to the public through an open call for solutions over the internet or social media. This book includes interviews with public and private sector managers who have used crowdsourcing.
The Development of the Public Employment Relationship
Conceived during the turbulent period of the late 1960s when 'rights talk' was ubiquitous, this book helps you strove to understand how the rights of federal civil servants had become so differentiated from those of ordinary citizens.
Public Sector Reform is endemic to public administrations and governmental structures globally. It is driven by a variety of dynamics and these vary according to their specific context: geographical, cultural, social, political, economic and temporal. This four-volume set brings together elements of the classical and modern work in this diverse field in a comprehensive and accessible way; providing an indispensable resource for both academics and practitioners from a social science and business perspective. Through a 4-volume structure, which takes in historical and modern day perspectives whilst maintaining a strong global focus on the subject, the set demonstrates that reform is a constant process and that it has been taking place for a long time; that which we often consider a 'golden age' in terms of Weberian bureaucracies or welfare state hierarchies, was itself a reform that belonged to a specific time and set of places. Volume One: The Historical Perspective of Reform Volume Two: Management and Post New Public Management: Reform in a time of Change Volume Three: Post-Soviet Reform Volume Four: The Developing World and Reform: African, Other Asian and Latin American Pathways
This four-volume set looks at the evolution of ideas around that critical government and business strategic interface, Public Affairs, and how our understanding and conceptualisation of the discipline and topic area has changed as the subject has become rapidly grown and become more important over the past decade with globalisation. Through thematic exploration of the key conceptual and empirical articles to have come out of the field, public affairs is here understood as a discipline and professional practice, taking in: the organisation and structuring of the public affairs function; the characteristics and factors influencing the effectiveness of public affairs; the profile, characteristics and competencies of public affairs practitioners; the value of public affairs; what is understood about 'best practice' in the public affairs context, and its limitations; and the international perspective of public affairs. Skilfully edited and introduced by a leading voice in the field, this major work shines a spotlight on a subject which is increasingly gaining strategic significance across disciplines on the global stage. Volume One: Introduction and definition Volume Two: Strategy Volume Three: Globalization Volume Four: Critical Issues in Public Affairs
The study of public financial management is essential to improving the practice of public management and to our understanding of the politics and organization of public institutions. As a study of the practice of public management, the literature of public financial management closely scrutinizes developing trends and standards in various areas of expertise, such as budgeting, accounting, and taxation. As a study of politics and organization of public institutions, the literature of public financial management examines the salience of financial resources and their management in the allocation and use of political authority. This four-volume set aims to address the sophistication and breadth of issues in this fast-developing area of study, bringing together seminal works on both practice-centric research and research that speaks to broader public management concerns. Above all this major work represents an invaluable resource which can be used to educate readers toward the practice and institutional affects of public financial management.
Human Resource Management (HRM) is of central significance to every nation as they strive to govern well and deliver services effectively. The evolution of HRM in the public sector from personnel administration to more strategic management has transformed mechanistic views of the enterprise to ones that are more organic, interactive and collaborative. This collection provides articles and chapters that address the evolution, current state and potential future of HRM, both in terms of traditional origins and development in public administration and the more contemporary metamorphosis in public management and public policy. The articles are broadly comparative in perspective and include consideration of increasing globalization and inter-dependency among nations and their policies.
Is the public getting a good deal when the government contracts out the delivery of goods and services? Phillip Cooper attempts to get at the heart of this question by exploring what happens when public sector organizations-at the federal, state and local levels-form working relationships with other agencies, communities, non-profit organizations and private firms through contracts. Rather than focus on the ongoing debate over privatization, the book emphasizes the tools managers need to form, operate, terminate or transform these contracts amidst a complex web of intergovernmental relations. Cooper frames the issues of public contract management by showing how managers are caught in between governance by authority and government by contract. By looking at cases ranging from the management of Baltimore schools to the contracting of senior citizen programs in Kansas, he offers practical information to students and practitioners and a theoretical context for their work. At every turn, the author avoids bogging readers down in technical jargon. Instead the book sheds light on a crucial part of any public manager's job with lively case material and no-nonsense guidance for making the most of taxpayer dollars.
Whether it's the Internal Revenue Service or the local police department, every person's life is affected by how public organizations handle information. New technologies are inundating us with data-agencies collect, store, analyze and disseminate information. How organizations manage this information is crucial to their effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability. It is becoming more difficult for public organizations to formulate clear messages. Political pressure from elected officials and public scrutiny make the task of managing communication even more daunting. By helping students see how communication networks must be treated within larger psychological, cultural, and mechanical contexts, Graber presents ways to construct effective channels so information is transmitted to the appropriate audiences, linking policy decisions and feedback from citizens. Blending the best of theory and practice, The Power of Communication helps both students and practitioners turn a flood tide of information into an asset, rather than a menace, to good government.
Corruption always grabs the headlines and the processes of political contention that created the modern state have done much to shape our notions of corruption and good government; yet very old ideas show surprising vitality as we examine the ways citizens understand and react to corruption issues. Corruption issues appeared as a major international policy concern around 1990, after a generation during which they received relatively little emphasis, and since that time the research literature has had unprecedented growth in quantity and quality. This major reference collection collates the best of the research for scholars, policymakers, students, reformers, journalists, and interested citizens, showing us where we have been and where we need to go as the work continues. Further, the collection develops a much-needed comprehensive record of what we have learned from political scientists, economists, and historical and cultural analysts; while all borrow selectively and creatively from each other, they are still engaged in largely separate conversations. Finally, this collection focuses on the whole issue of reform. The past generation's research has both led to new ideas about how to attack corruption, measure its seriousness, and assess the effects of corruption control efforts. The collection is a particularly important toolkit to bring the best of our knowledge to bear upon efforts at control-in effect, to integrate theory and practice-for as in many other policy areas it is entirely possible to do the wrong things for the right reasons.
