Public Service Performance: Perspectives on Measurement and Management

by Edited by George A. Boyne , Kenneth J. Meier , Laurence J. O'Toole, Jr. , Richard M. Walker

• ISBN13: 9780521859912
• ISBN10: 0521859913
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-01-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The performance of governments around the globe is constantly in the spotlight, whether as a celebration or indictment of their activities. Providing evidence on strategies to improve the performance of public agencies is therefore essential to the practice of public management. This important contribution to the debate explores issues of measurement, research methodology, and management influences on performance. It focuses on three key questions: What approaches should be adopted to measure the performance of public agencies? What aspects of management influence the performance of public agencies? As the world globalizes, what are the key international issues in performance measurement and management? In examining these questions, the contributors debate both methodological and technical issues regarding the measurement of performance in public organizations, and provide empirical analyses of the determinants of performance. The book concludes with groundbreaking work on the international dimensions of these issues.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Subjective and objective measures of organizational performance: an empirical exploration

All measures of performance are subjective: more evidence on US federal agencies

A qualitative evaluation of public sector organizations: assessing organizational performance in healthcare

Quantitative approaches towards assessing organizational performance

Consequences of goal ambiguity in public organizations

Performance control and public organizations

Bureaucratic red tape and organizational performance: testing the moderating role of culture and political support

All that glitters is not gold: disaggregating networks and the impact on performance

Network evolution and performance under public contracting for mental health services

The design and management of performance-based contracts for public welfare services

Outsourcing government information technology services: an Australian case study

International comparisons of output and productivity in public service provision: a review

Public management and government performance: an international review

What drives global e-government? An exploratory assessment of existing e-government performance measures

Public management and organizational performance: an agenda for research

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