Performance management model: A systems-based approach to public service qualityJohn Isaac Mwita
2000 International Journal of Public Sector Management
doi: 10.1108/09513550010334461
The delivery of public services in developing countries is over-centralised. One of the reasons for this is the presence of centralised decision-making apparatus, which distances power from communities. The centralised decision making reduces accountability among public sector employees and is a good recipe for undesirable decisions and mismanagement of performance and resources at the expense of public service quality. The quality of public sector management in developing countries lags behind those of the developed countries due to the ills caused by over-centralisation. Hence, the public services in developing countries are a drain on the wealth-producing part of their economy. Reviews the underlying literature and theoretical framework of performance management (PM) as a systems-based model for cultivating the "achievement culture" in public sector organisations (PSOs). It looks at how the various practical econometric and managerial techniques can integrate with the PM model in an attempt to excel the philosophy of new public management. The paper concludes by looking at the "new" role of management accounting systems in meeting "information needs" of modern public sector managers, as a potential area for further research. The paper proposes that the adoption of the PM model is a universal remedy for improving service quality in PSOs in developing countries.
Contracting in ten English local authorities: preferences and practicesJohn Darwin; Joanne Duberley; Phil Johnson
2000 International Journal of Public Sector Management
doi: 10.1108/09513550010334470
During the 1990s the contract has become a key feature in the restructuring of the UK public sector. Currently available literature demonstrates an awareness that the implementation of contracting must entail new forms of management control and organizational structure which involve new patterns of intra- and extra-organizational relationships. However, there is little consideration of the nature of the relationships which are developing between contractors and clients nor the factors that influence those behavioural processes. This paper reports on research funded by ESRC into contracts in ten local authorities in the UK. Analysis was undertaken to identify the nature of the contracts and the factors which both clients and contractors felt had led them to develop a particular type of relationship. This is followed by an exploration of the literature on partnerships, summarising the implications for the nature of the relationship between the client and contractor, based in particular on the distinction between transactional and relational contracting. It is shown that "textbook" approaches provide a useful heuristic, but do not reflect the subtleties of the interactions which develop during contracts. The overall implications are then considered, and related to theories of fair process and trust. The practical implications for public sector contracting (in particular best value) and for partnership activity are then outlined.
Applying ethical principles to the decision to build the Red Hill Creek ExpresswayRuth B. McKay
2000 International Journal of Public Sector Management
doi: 10.1108/09513550010334489
When making decisions about budget expenditures, governments often confront stakeholders with dramatically opposing positions. These stakeholders attempt, through lobbying, to impress on politicians a preferred decision. Frequently forgotten in the process are issues of ethics. The bitter divide of a community over a funding decision would be improved if politicians incorporated the ethical principles of differing values, equal consideration, equitable participation, distributive justice and emphasis on non-quantifiable factors into the decision process. These five principles are examined in this paper through the evaluation of the decision to build the Red Hill Creek Expressway in the region of Hamilton-Wentworth in Ontario, Canada. The region's failure to consider these fundamental principles in their decision-making process is highlighted by examples from this case.
Relationship-based services marketing: The case of the new primary care groups in the National Health Service (UK)Tony Conway; Stephen Willcocks
2000 International Journal of Public Sector Management
doi: 10.1108/09513550010334498
This conceptually-focused paper looks at particular changes implemented in the UK National Health Service. The specific context is the creation of a new organisational form: the primary care group, which brings together general practitioners and other primary care staff in a given locality. The paper attempts to examine the consequences, for the development of these groups, of the shift from competition (in the internal market) to relationships based on collaboration and partnership. The broad policy objectives envisage much greater emphasis on working in partnership, participating in strategy and planning (via new health improvement programmes), developing joint working, and promoting the integration of service delivery. A relationship marketing perspective is explored as one way of conceptualising the development of new relationships between primary care groups, health authorities, local authorities, trusts and other agencies and the paper suggests that relationship marketing offers a way of facilitating policy change.
Barriers to the efficient and effective use of information technologyPeter Middleton
2000 International Journal of Public Sector Management
doi: 10.1108/09513550010334506
Examines the efficiency and effectiveness of a prescriptive systems development methodology in practice. The UK Government's mandatory structured systems analysis and design method (SSADM) was examined to determine its value to software projects. The evidence was collected from interviews with 17 project managers, discussions with participants on three large SSADM projects and from observing 90 end users in training. The conclusions are that prescriptive information systems methodologies are unlikely to cope well with strategic uncertainty, user communication or staff development. The recommendations are to focus more on soft organisational issues and to use approaches tailored to each project.