United States Information Services EPA/IMSD/88-003
Environmental Protection and Library March 1988
Agency Washington DC 20460
Selected Management Articles:
Managing in the
Public Sector
PEOPLE
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MANAGING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
MARCH 1988
HEADQUARTERS LIBRARY
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND SERVICES DIVISION
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ROOM 2904M/PM-211A
401 M STREET, S.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
(202) 382-5922
-16)
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INTRODUCTION
Managers in public service cope with different issues from their
counterparts in the private sector, including short tenure in
office and intense pressure from lobbyists and special interest
groups. Their managerial competence is challenged by shifting
political priorities, rapid technological change, and evolving
socio-economic conditions. Successful public managers face these
issues with the ability to contribute quickly, effective
communications, and an enthusiasm for new career experiences.
This bibliography, which is divided into three sections, contains
citations to a variety of articles on public managers. The first
section introduces the issues which public managers face. The
second section, "Public Management Styles/Tools", discusses some
of the methods these managers use to resolve problems. The third
section examines the effectiveness of public managers and ways to
reward managerial excellence.
Citations were selected for their relevance to the special
interests of EPA program staff. The articles were published in a
variety of public policy and management journals between 1986 and
1988. A descriptive abstract is included with each citation. The
bibliography was compiled using the AST/Inform, PAIS and
Management Contents online databases from DIALOG.
There is much more information available on other aspects of
public management. An EPA librarian can assist in identifying
other titles for further research. To obtain additional copies of
the bibliography, or copies of any of the articles listed,
contact Mary Hoffman, Head Reference Librarian, EPA Headquarters
Library, 382-5922.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
I. INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 1
II. PUBLIC MANAGEMENT STYLES/TOOLS 5
III. PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION, REWARDS 13
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I. INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
87030418
Put) lie-Sector Management Today: Advanced Differentiation and Early
Institutionalization
Golembiewski, Robert T.
Jrnl of Mgmt v!3n2 PP: 323-338 Summer 1987 CODEN: JOMADO ISSN:
0149-2063 JRNL CODE: JOM
- DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 16 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
Several questions concerning public-sector management (PSM) are
examined. In defining what PSM is, 4 components are identified and the
question of generic versus particularistic PSM is considered. In
considering how to do PSM research, 4 major methodological contenders are
identified. These are associated with: 1. reform movement, 2. empirical or
"straight" science, 3. value or ethical theory, and 4. action theory or
goal-based empirical theories. The complications of PSM research also were
considered. Some of these included resource short-falls, problems with
faculty training and socialization, the still-to-come critical overview of
PSM, and the present politics of scarcity. Finally, future emphasis in PSM
should include a comprehensive review of PSM scope and methods. PSM also
should become the arena for context-free and context-specific integration.
References,
87012322
Teaching the ''Introduction to Public Administration'' Course from a
Generic Perspective: Putting Business and Public Administration
Undergraduates in the Same Classroom
Murin, William J. ; Polczynski, James J.
International Jrnl of Public Administration v9n3 PP: 299-314 Mar 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
An undergraduate course was developed in order to demonstrate that
generic management learning (teaching the major principles of management
unbiased toward any discipline) does not detract from the ability of
students to learn management principles specifically related to their areas
of interest. The subjects were: 1. an experimental group enrolled in a
management principles course designed for public administration and
business majors, and 2. a control group consisting of students enrolled in
a traditional management principles course in one of these fields. Tests
administered to the students showed that the experimental group
outperformed the control group in generic management learning and that
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generic learning had no adverse impact on learning the specific management
principles of either field. Caution in extending the findings to other
curricular areas is advised, although decision making may be another area
in which generic learning may take place. References.
Training for the 21st Century
Schwartz, Robert L.
New Mgmt v4n3 PP: 45-48 Winter 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
Most chief executives continue to apply traditional strategies in spite
of vast changes that are occurring. Corporations that are willing to train
their executives to understand the new social reality will have an
advantage over competitors. The new-age management development classroom
must be as concerned with social values as it is with the traditional
company bottom line. Values constitute the heart of the coming business
epoch, and emergence of higher values will change the nature of executive
training. Executives will have to perceive management and leadership as
partly a public service role in response to a growing tide of social
consciousness.
0371184 DATABASE: MC File 75
Fear and ferment: public sector management today, (discussion
of papers and workshops presented at an April 1986
conference of Canadian middle-level public sector managers)
Langford, John W.; Huffman, Kenneth J.
Canadian Public Administration v29 Wntr, 1986, p511(17)
Shifting political priorities, new socio-economic realities, and rapid
technological change in work environments are all contributing to serious
stress for public sector managers. Office automation and other
technological 'fixes' offer the public sector manager the opportunity to
improve productivity and improve service planning and delivery. Fifty-six
workshops and nine plenary sessions at a 1986 Canadian conference of public
sector middle managers addressed concerns such as: restraint and
downsizing; contracting out; information technology as panacea; living with
open government; conflicts of interest, ethical dilemmas, employment
equity; the political rights of public servants; and corporate culture in
government.
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120635 844080
Taking Charge in Washington
Morris, Thomas D.
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, Jul/Aug 1984, p. 24
DOCUMENT TYPE: HER Article
ABSTRACT:
Success in the public sector is making a lasting contribution as a
leader to the mission of an organization and molding the organization and
career staff into an effective team. The odds against success of this kind
are high. The time for breaking in new leaders is only a few days, tenure
in office is short, and the pressure of lobbies and interest groups can be
great.
Three people who have been successful leaders in the public sector are
Robert S. McNamara, who was secretary of defense under President Kennedy;
Elmer B. Staats, who was comptroller general of the U.S. General Accounting
Office from 1966 to 1981; and Joseph A. Califano, who was secretary of
health, education, and welfare under President Carter.
All of them displayed the following attributes in their outstanding
performance: a zest for new career experience and a willingness to learn in
untried environments, the ability to make a contribution to a new endeavor
quickly, effective communication with their departments and Congress and
the public sector contituencies with whom they work, the development of
timely strategies for achievement (including innovative agendas that get
presidential backing, realistic deadlines, and enthusiasm' about the
organization's goals), and an understanding of the importance of developing
the long-range managerial competence of their organization.
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II. PUBLIC MANAGEMENT STYLES/TOOLS
87039631
The Task Force Approach: An Effective Instrument for Public Sector
Managers
Townson, Frank
Optimum (Canada) v!8n2 PP: 63-68 1987 ISSN: 0475-1906 JRNL CODE:
OPT
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 6 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
The use of the task force approach is an increasingly popular management
instrument. This approach brings together a number of people who have
essential and varied skills. A task force is assembled to deal with a
particular issue and so is temporary by design and is best suited to such
projects as those with specific termination dates and single or major
identifiable objectives. The bottom line for task force staff selection is
that the person must be capable of making a positive contribution so a task
force should be composed of people from different organizational levels.
Such additional costs as transportation costs caused by using this approach
are outweighed by such benefits as the strengthening of the knowledge and
expertise of the organization and the improvement of lateral
communications. In implementing a task force approach, each member must be
encouraged to give it complete attention, and normal reporting
relationships should be respected. Also, this approach should be promoted
effectively.
87040836
Preparing Public Service Agencies for Strategic Planning
Posey, Pamela A.; Mclntosh, Barbara; Parke, E. Lauck
International Jrnl of Public Administration vlOnS PP:
1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
421-437 Dec
Several authors have suggested that public sector organizations apply
private sector management techniques, such as strategic planning, in order
to cope with drastic changes that they have experienced in recent years.
One of the most important of these changes is the cutback in federal
funding to public sector organizations. Experience with community-based
public sector organizations (CBO) in New England suggests that strategic
planning efforts often fail, due in part to the differences between public
and private organizations. Public organizations usually are operated in an
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environment that is buffered from free market forces. Moreover, these
organizations ' frequently are not run by people with highly developed
management skills. Thus, when a major environment upheaval occurs, such as
a funding cutback, the agency begins a downward spiral characterized by 3
phases: 1. the' siege mentality, 2. the turf protection response, and 3. the
"send-our-savior" syndrome. While the agency needs to know how it can
manage its own destiny,, strategic planning is effective only while the
agency is healthy. Tables. Diagrams. References.
87031141
The Practice of Managing Organization Development in
Public Sector Organizations: Reassessments, Realities, and Rewards
Stupak, Ronald J.; Moore, Jerry E.
International Jrnl of Public Administration vlOn2 PP: 131-153 Sep
1987 CODEN: IJPADR ISSN: 0190-0692 JRNL CODE: UP
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 23 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
The relevance of organization development (OD) to public sector
organizations is examined in an effort to determine: 1. the extent to which
OD is relevant to public sector management, 2. the salient differences
between private and public sector organizations that affect the use and
effectiveness of OD, 3. the strategies that can accommodate those
differences, 4. the way in which OD can be effectively managed in the
public sector, 5. the modifications necessary to enhance OD's future
relevance to the public sector, and 6. the possible impacts of the Reagan
Administration cutback philosophy for OD in the public sector. The analysis
indicates that OD can be effectively managed in public organizations if: 1.
the public sector manager understands the values and technologies of OD, 2.
the OD consultant comprehends the unique nature of the public sector
environment, and 3. the manager and the OD consultant set modest goals,
accept unexpected setbacks, and address manageable issues. References.
87026688
Implementing Quality Circles in State Government
Denhardt, Robert B.; Pyle, James; Bluedorn, Allen C.
Public Administration Review v47n4 PP: 304-309 Jul/Aug 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
Quality circles are small groups of people who do similar or connected
work and who meet regularly to identify, analyze, and solve work-process
problems. Their success in the private sector has prompted many
public-sector managers to adopt the technique. Recent studies of quality
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circle programs suggest that such efforts are more likely to become
institutionalized if they are results driven and compatible with the
organization's culture. The Missouri state government attempted to follow
this guideline when it designed its quality circle program, initiated
during 1982. The Missouri program: 1. incorporates the use of rewards for
participation, 2. has established a solid base of participant and
managerial support, and 3. is directed toward results. The key to reaching
a fully institutionalized condition, as the Missouri program did in 1987,
is the extent to which the work cultures of the departments in which
circles operate continue to become compatible with the circle technique.
References.
87026596
Decisions — Decisions: Six Design Principles for Public Sector
Labor-Management Cooperation and Participative Systems
Mazany, Terry
Quality Circles Jrnl 'v!0n2 PP: 32-35 Jun 1987 ISSN: 0740-2287
JRNL CODE: QCJ
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 4 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFOPJXI
There are 6 design principles that govern the development of joint
participative management systems: 1. The system must be designed by those
who will operate it. 2. The self-design process and the system designed
must be a whole, linking together all relevant interests. 3. Each
stakeholder group must be able to select its own representatives in a
democratic manner. 4. The participative system must empower participants to
effect change and make decisions. 5. All distinctions based on inequality
must be removed. 6. The participative system must be integrated and
consistent with other institutional structures that shape work behavior.
These principles provide a framework for decision points that should be
addressed early in the design process. With a jointly developed design,
public and private organizations can bring about significant change quickly
with less resistance.
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0370550 DATABASE: MC File 75
An examination of the influence of middle-level managers in formulating
and implementing strategic decisions.
Schilit, Warren Keith
Journal of Management Studies v24 May, 1987, p271(23)
The upward influence of middle-level managers (MLMs) on strategic
planning and decision-making is examined. It was found that: (1) upward
influence activity was more prevalent in low risk-return types of strategic
decisions than in high risk-return decisions; (2) upward influence activity
was more prevalent during the implementation of strategic decisions than
during the formulation of such decisions; (3) managers most often used
rational arguments in their influence attempts; (4) managers were more
likely to be successful than unsuccessful in influencing their superiors in
strategic decisions; (5) managers most often attributed their success in
influencing their superiors to internal causes and their failures to
external causes; (6) managers from private sector organizations exerted
influence in both high risk and low risk strategic decisions more
frequently than did managers from public sector organizations; and (7) the
number of years working with the superior was the best predictor of
successful interactions and of risky decisions. Some insight into the
development of widespread strategic thinking in an organization is
provided. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)
87011485
Improving the Prospects for Plan Acceptance in Public
Organi zations
Mushkat, Miron
Long Range Planning (UK) v20nl PP: 52-66 Feb 1987 CODEN: LRPJA4
ISSN: 0024-6301 JRNL CODE: LRP
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 15 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
Public-sector planners recently have been urged to ''think
organizationally.'' Management science can help determine what form this
thinking should take within a complex institutional setting. Churchman and
Schainblatt's (1965) model provides a useful basis for smoothing the
relationship between the public-sector planner and the operating manager.
The mutual understanding propagated through the model, though, is
idealistic, as it fails to address the need for persuasion throughout the
problem-solving process. Experience indicates that there are other factors,
in addition to cognitive style, that determine managerial response in the
public-sector planning context. Participative model-building is not a
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mechanism likely to be widely embraced by public organizations. Public
planners thus will need to resort to persuasion in their relationships with
operating managers. Given the importance of the assumptions underlying the
model, the investment in effort required for identifying forms of
persuasion consistent with the concept of mutual understanding is highly
desirable. Tables. Charts. References.
87010349
Time and Public Administration
Gulick, Luther
Public Administration Review v47nl PP: 115-119 Jan/Feb 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
The importance of time has been neglected in public administration and
politics. In management, there are 5 basic elements of time: 1. time as an
input (as a resource used by management), 2. time as an output (as a
resource saved), 3. time as the flow of events (interrelated or in
sequence, provided by design, or mandated by nature), 4. time as a gap
between 2 or more significant events or processes, and 5. timing as
management policy (taking advantage of changes or varying starting times).
Time is the 4th dimension of everything and is embedded in cultural and
religious patterns. The Western world acts like time goes straight ahead,
but fundamental developments can be depicted more accurately as cycles
spiraling through history. For management, the present (an imaginary point
or line in time) is the end of gathering new information and the time for
making a decision. Technological and economic progress should be integrated
in time with social structures and human values. References.
88003284
The Role of Management Science in Policy Analysis
McGowan, Robert P.
Public Productivity Review n44 PP: 55-64 Winter 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
While public managers attempt to make key decisions based upon the best
interests of the public as a whole, they are often criticized by groups
that feel such decisions are capricious and arbitrary. Many public managers
are turning to management science methods and techniques as a possible
recourse. Management science consists of several key principles, some of
which include: 1. systematic approach to problem solving, 2. mathematical
model building, 3. utilization and quantification of mathematical and
statistical procedures, and 4. attempts at rational decisions under varying
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degrees of uncertainty. Management science has enjoyed moderate success in
the public sector, although its potential has not been realized fully.
Resource constraints and lack of support from top leadership have been
inhibiting factors in the success of management science in the public
sector. Increased training and education, as well as a greater willingness
of administrators to quantify data, are facilitating the use of management
science. Tables. References.
87011332
Eliminating Barriers to Productive Management in Public-Sector
Organizations: The Canadian Experience at Senior Levels
Brodtrick, Otto
Public Administration Qtrly v!0n3 PP: 294-309 Fall 1986 ISSN:
0734-9149 JRNL CODE: SRP
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 16 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
A 2-year study to investigate barriers and constraints that
public-sector managers confront in their daily work was begun in 1981.
Results were published in 1983 as part of the annual Report of the Auditor
General of Canada to the House of Commons entitled ''Constraints to
Productive Management in the Public Sector. ' ' Over 200 senior public
service and corporate officials were interviewed on an individual,
confidential basis about their experiences and views of management problems
plus solutions in their areas of responsibility. The main findings were: l.
Political priorities have a substantial impact on productive management. 2.
Management feels unduly constrained by administrative procedures that limit
managerial authority. 3. There are few incentives and rewards to productive
management. Suggested solutions include: 1. making productive management a
key priority, 2. reducing disincentives, 3. emphasizing the development of
managers, and 4. supporting experiments to improve productive management.
References.
0362450 DATABASE: MC File 75
Making better use of public resources.
Wills, Gordon
Management Decision v24 May, 1986, p28(4)
Accountants cut costs whenever they deem it economically feasible, with
little regard to the effect of the cuts on users, and marketers often make
sales the organization does not want. It is important for the
organization's overall health that marketers and accountants work together,
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each drawing on their areas of strength, the former their understanding of
customer behavior, and the latter their ability to cut costs. These
principles are being applied in the management of public resources to
provide more effective use of public funds by identifying the users of the
resources and by targeting public services at specific 'markets.' Examples
of public service organizations carrying out such plans are provided.
0371212 DATABASE: MC File 75
TaJcing care of business: the public official as entrepreneur.
(Fear and Ferment: Public Sector Management Today)
Horsey, Michael
Canadian Public Administration v29 Wntr, 1986, p681(5)
Risks need to be identified and taken in public sector management, even
though the public sector does not reward success or punish failure
adequately. Risk-taking is an essential element in achieving results.
Public sector managers can learn by observing recent private sector
developments such as increasing management flexibility and moves away from
vertical hierarchies. Vertical integration is giving way to disaggregation
as the North American economy becomes increasingly dominated by the service
sector, allowing companies to rely on contractually-bound networks for
manufacturing, marketing, and distribution functions. An entrepreneurial
approach can help make public sector management more effective by fostering
critical analysis of government programs, networking, and creative
problem-solving.
0348016
Managing retrenchment in a public service organization.
Robinson, Ivan
Canadian Public Administration v28 Wint, 1985, p513(18)
The experience of managing a regional planning commission during
Alberta's economic down turn provides insights into managing retrenchment
in a public service organization. General principles include: scan the
environment, acknowledge reality, foster political support, renew
commitment to productivity, review corporate strategy, target reductions,
reduce slowly, seek alternatives to staff reductions, balance nationality
and fairness, and communicate. Management alternatives to coping with
external, environmental change are discussed as being strategic or
operational. A strategic alternative should increase the organization's
credibility and visibility, thereby garnering political support for the
organization. The experience of managing a regional planning commission
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during Alberta's economic down turn provides insights into managing
retrenchment in a public service organization. General principles include:
scan the environment, acknowledge reality, foster political support, renew
commitment to productivity, review corporate strategy, target reductions,
reduce slowly, seek alternatives to staff reductions, balance nationality
and fairness, and communicate. Management alternatives to coping with
external, environmental change are discussed as being strategic or
operational. A strategic alternative should increase the organization's
credibility and visibility, thereby garnering political support for the
organization.
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III. PERFORMANCE. EVALUATION. REWARDS
Does Your Organization Have the Right Climate for Merit?
Wisdom, Barry; Patzig, Dennis
Public Personnel Mgmt v!6n2 PP: 127-133 Summer 1987 CODEN: PPMNCX
ISSN: 0091-0260 JRNL CODE: PPM
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 7 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
An attempt was made to examine the effectiveness of merit systems in
general and to investigate problems in public- and private-sector merit
systems by analyzing several relevant sections from the National Survey of
Supervisory Management Practices. Private-sector respondents were limited
to those working for profit-seeking firms and accounted for 4,948
respondents. Some 363 public-sector managers responded. The study indicated
that a vast majority of firms, both in the public and private sectors, have
a formal system of performance appraisal or a merit rating program in
effect. However, private-sector respondents perceived the merit systems to
be significantly more effective with regard to the motivation of
performance improvement. This suggests that the public-sector respondents
have not developed the expectations that are crucial to merit success.
Suggestions for fostering merit success include: 1. encouraging
participative goal setting, 2. sharing relevant budget information with
employees, and 3. rewarding meritorious performance. Tables. Charts.
References.
0374210 DATABASE: MC File 75
Evaluating public sector programs.
Leung, Hok Lin
Journal of General Management vl2 Summ, 1987, p46(14)
A method is presented to help decision-makers evaluate public sector
programs. The method is intended for decision-makers who do not have the
resources to undertake extensive program evaluations, but who still want to
set the standards for evaluating the program and communicate with the
specialists involved. The method, called the S-CAD approach, allows for
subjective perceptions on the part of those involved in the program. Tests
for revealing the internal logic of public sector programs are also
discussed.
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87017533
Productivity in the Public Sector: A Discussion of the Issues
Nordstrom, Rodney R.; Lewinsohn, Thomas; Hall, R. Vance
Public Personnel Mgmt v!6nl PP: 1-7 Spring 1987
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
In a discussion of critical issues concerning productivity in the public
sector, Thomas Lewinsohn, director of personnel for Kansas City, Missouri,
argues that the public sector's product is generally not comparable to
private sector operations. He states that productivity initiatives have
failed due to the lack of profit line that can be easily identified with
individual managers. Rodney Nordstrom, assistant professor of management at
Indiana State University, disagrees. He argues that a ''profit line'' can
and should be developed for employees, individual managers, divisions, and
departments in the public sector. He concludes that there is little or no
difference in viewing productivity issues in the public and private
sectors. Other issues, including output measures, outside consultants,
incentive programs, and the structure of government, are discussed.
References.
0365624 DATABASE: MC File 75
Dealing with unacceptable conduct at work: an integrated
approach.
Cameron, Dan
Business Quarterly v51 March, 1987, p60(7)
One of the problems faced by organizations is the increasing direction
given by arbitrators that management must respond to non-culpable
misconduct with a non-disciplinary response. Another problem is the very
gradual emergence of arbitral norms in evaluating management's response to
such behavior. The Public Service Commission of Saskatchewan has
effectively dealt with these developments by implementing three programs,
Corrective Discipline, Employee Assistance, and Performance Improvement,
which deal with both culpable and non-culpable misconduct. Of equal
significance is that these programs are integrated with each other and with
the ongoing process of performance management throughout government . Dan
Cameron, a labor relations consultant with the Employee Relations Division
of the Commission, explains these programs. (Reprinted by permission of the
publisher.)
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123365 872120
Knowing When to Pull the Plug
Staw, Barry M. - Univ. of California, Berkeley Schools of Business
Administration ; Ross, Jerry - Carnegie-Mellon Univ.
Graduate School of Industrial Administration
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW, Mar/Apr 1987, p. 68
DOCUMENT TYPE: HER Article
ABSTRACT:
Managers often take projects well past the point at which they should
drop them. To see if they have come to this point, they must look closely
at themselves and recognize which of the influences they may be under. Some
influences are psychological - they've been rewarded in the past for
sticking to their guns, so why shouldn't the same thing happen this time?
Some are social - no one likes a loser. And some are structural - important
members of the organization are publicly committed to the project
The rest of the job belongs to top management. Its course is to rethink
what behavior it rewards and how it staffs projects and to ensure that its
information systems report the real odds.
87012307
The ''Hadacol*' of the Eighties: Paying Senior Public Managers for
Performance
Sherwood, Frank; Wechsler, Barton
Review of Public Personnel Administration v7nl . PP: 27-41 Fall 1986
ISSN: 0734-371X JRNL CODE: RPP
DOC TYPE: Journal Paper LANGUAGE: English LENGTH: 15 Pages
AVAILABILITY: ABI/INFORM
The concept of merit pay for public managers is analogized by Hadacol, a
once popular patent medicine that actually did little to cure ailments.
Performance appraisals, which form the basis of the government merit pay
plans, have proved difficult to implement. Bonus programs, intended to
encourage excellence in performance, have instead resulted in the
demoralization of lower ranks of employees and the belief that bonuses are
not awarded fairly. In addition, the tendency to use bonus monies to
compensate employees for financial sacrifices and to recognize the burdens
of major responsibility have resulted in confusion over the purpose of the
bonus program. Surveys of government executives revealed that an
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overwhelming majority feel that merit pay plans have not been
cost-effective. A review of successful executive programs found that
public-sector managers work primarily for such reasons as program
commitment, as opposed to financial rewards, and that merit pay plans may
not be the appropriate method of compensation. References.
0354741 DATABASE: MC File 75
Evaluating performance in governmental organizations.
Bowlin, William F.
Government Accountants Journal v35 Summ, 1986, p50(8)
Assessing the performance of a government agency is particularly
difficult since it is not subject to the laws of the market. Methods
commonly used, such as the historical unit cost per activity, are not
useful when an overall agency evaluation is needed. The sources of
efficiency or waste are not identified, and it is not possible to use an
optimizing principle on the accomplishment of an activity or a program. A
solution that appears to be well suited for government or non-profit
auditing is the Data Development Analysis (DEA). DEA can provide
administrators with the means to identify trends, organizational stability
and seasonal behavior.
0371187 DATABASE: MC File 75
Incentives and rewards in the public sector. (Fear and
Ferment: Public Sector Management Today)
Kee, Herbert W.
Canadian Public Administration v29 Wntr, 1986, p545(4)
Prospects for public sector pay incentives are poor because of cultural
barriers against performance measurement. Performance incentives for public
sector employees may be easier to apply at senior management levels than at
lower levels, since measures related to macro-level performance are more
readily obtainable than micro-level performance measures. Public sector
incentives would not be as likely to be paid as frequently as in the
private sector. Lump-sum incentive payments contingent on annual
performance would be easier to make than to reward performance only on the
basis of salary. Award of incentives tends to be based on judgment, which
requires development of improved performance standards, better performance
management processes, and better education in performance management.
5,
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