Perceived Organizational Red Tape and Organizational Performance in Public Services

The claim that perceived organizational red tape hampers public services has become a central theme in public administration research. Surprisingly, however, few scholars have empirically examined the impact of perceived red tape on organizational performance. This article empirically analyzes how perceived organizational red tape among managers and frontline staff relates to objectively measured performance. The data consist of survey responses from teachers and principals at Danish upper secondary schools combined with grade‐level administrative performance data. Based on theories of red tape and motivation crowding, the authors hypothesize that perceived organizational red tape reduces performance within such organizations. The empirical result is a small negative relationship between staff perception of red tape and performance and no relationship between manager‐perceived red tape and performance.     

Regulating Public Services: How Public Managers Respond to External Performance Assessment

Performance management systems have become a key component of contemporary public administration. However, there has been only limited analysis of the social construction of performance by public managers who are subject to them. This article examines the ways in which public managers create, maintain, and disrupt performance management practices. The authors find that managers make external performance assessments perform for themselves by constantly negotiating boundaries in ways that combine bureaucratic and managerial rationales. The authors argue that the ways in which organizational boundaries are constructed are fundamental to understanding the success or failure of performance management systems and the transformation of managerial ways of thinking about performance into a logic of improvement through which contemporary public sector reforms become embedded.     

社区公共服务中的多中心秩序

公民日益增长的公共品（包括公共服务）需求同公共品供给短缺、低效之间的矛盾已成为我国社会的主要矛盾。公共服务短缺和低效已成为社会转型期社会主要矛盾的主要方面，完善社区公共服务则是在社会范围内解决这一矛盾的有效载体和尝试。社区公共服务是指在消费上具有非排他性因而单纯的市场生产者无法收回成本而不得不委托代表公共利益的政府或其他组织提供的服务。但经验的单中心模式被证明存在缺乏效率和敏感性、不计成本、寻租行为等弊端，多中心秩序安排，尤其是引入契约、委托代理机制的多中心秩序安排在提高公共服务绩效、降低成本等方面因比较优势而成为当今社区公共服务提供和生产的首要选择。     

Co‐Production of Public Services in Australia: The Roles of Government Organisations and Co‐Producers

This article adds to the emerging empirical literature on citizen co‐production. Based on a telephone survey of 1000 Australian adults, it replicates a five‐country European study focusing on three policy domains: neighbourhood safety, environment, and health (Loeffler et al. 2008). It shows that individually performed and closely reciprocal activities with high levels of private value are performed the most often, whereas group activities producing mainly public value are the least performed. We found no evidence of a relationship between service satisfaction and co‐production, or between information provision/inclusion/consultation and co‐production, which challenges some of the previous literature on what might motivate citizens to co‐produce. Citizen self‐efficacy has a modest relationship with co‐production levels in each of the three policy domains. These findings have implications for policymakers, and pave the way for future empirical research in this field.     

Competition, Marketisation, Public Services and Public Ethics

The topic I address provides an embarrassment of scope. At the same time, it allows the development of a theme that is worthwhile discussing. When in the public sector is it worthwhile to import private sector concepts, principles and practices and when would the adoption of a private sector model be injurious to the state's constituents? The theme is worthwhile discussing, in part because some of Australia's jurisdictions appear to be adopting what they consider to be private sector practices, without an adequate framework to guide them. Because there is no proper framework, mistakes are made which could have been avoided. There is also some evidence that the public is uneasy about the loss of ‘public’ from the term public services. It would not be in the public’s own interests to resist, for no good reason, the adoption of private sector principles where that would allow more cost-effective services. The topic also allows a discussion on the influence on public sector ethics of the trend to place senior public servants on contracts that can be disposed of without a reason or prospect of appeal.     

The Future of Australian Public Services

It is very rare for the stars in the political firmament to come together at one time so as to create a situation where the two major eastern states and the Commonwealth will be election free, barring accidents, for three years. It is an opportunity which is rarely provided and should be grasped immediately if Australia is to continue on the path of reform and establish an enduring position in the West Pacific Basin region as well as delivering improved living standards to its people.     

论公共服务的社区化——以昆明市盘龙区劝学社区为例

公共服务社区化已成为世界性的选择。社区成为全球政府实现治道变革的平台,它能提高公共服务的供给效率,有利于形成政府与公民“双赢”的局面。目前我国公共服务社区化中存在的问题是:“行政化倾向、市场化倾向、搭便车和不规范行为等。公共服务社区供给的改革应包括:对社区供给的繁复的公共服务进行科学定位、加强社区自治组织架构的建设、与政府合作、建立社区公共财政体制、探索多中心集体选择的激励机制和提升社区能力。     

Parliament Scrutiny of Government Performance in Australia

This article examines how the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia seeks to hold responsible ministers directly and senior public servants indirectly accountable for the performance of departments and programs on the basis of published performance data and inquiries conducted by parliamentary committees. From the perspective of an outsider, the scrutiny process in the Australian parliament, although not without its problems, is more systematic and substantive than is the case in other parliamentary systems such as Canada. Creating a more meaningful dialogue in the Australian parliament on performance issues will depend more on changes to the intersecting cultures of the legislature, government and the public service than on organisational and procedural reforms to any of those institutions.     

A Knowledge‐Based Approach to Public Value Management: A Case Study of Change Implementation in Disability Services in Western Australia

This paper provides a knowledge‐based perspective to understanding public value management (PVM). As distinct from other approaches to public administration, PVM focuses on collaborative capacity building for the creation of public value. To develop the notion of PVM further, we explore the role of a knowledge‐based strategy in a case study of change implementation in 18 disability service organisations in Western Australia. Our findings show important inter‐relationships between knowledge management strategy, adopting a person‐centred approach to service provision, and sustainability of change implementation. We discuss the implications of the study for disability sector change management and for the further exploration of the strategic role of knowledge management capabilities in the study and practice of PVM in public sector administration. The paper explores the relationship between an organisation's knowledge capture and sharing systems and processes and its ability to implement change in a way that generates long‐term benefits for both public sector employees (e.g., engaging with key stakeholders to generate innovative solutions for serving client needs) and clients (i.e., increased well‐being through better service design and support).     

德国公共服务的市场化（下）

实际案例下面给出了两种不同的市场化方法。第一个案例涉及到一个著名的基准项目 ,这是一个非市场竞争的例子。第二个案例谈到了德国部分地方当局有关“市场检验”的实例。Bertelsmann绩效评估比较项目从 2 0世纪 90年代开始 ,Bertelsmann基金会开始在德国地方当局中加强绩效比较工作 (详细内容参见Adamaschek和Banner,1 997;Adamaschek ,1 998)。基金会支持制定一种特殊的基准方法 ,许多市政当局积极配合 ,搜集和比较绩效数据 ,帮助参与的团体从比较结果中汲取经验。整个项目开始的时候有 7个中等规模的城市参加 ,主要关注于诸如居民登记…     

官僚式外包:政府购买公共服务中利益相关者的行动逻辑及其对绩效的影响

"官僚式外包"是目前我国推进政府购买公共服务中出现的一种异化现象,既消解了社会组织作为基本公共服务生产主体的能动积极性,也抑制了公众作为基本公共服务享有主体的积极参与。通过对政府购买公共服务中利益相关者的行动逻辑以及对绩效的影响机理透析发现,不仅社会组织与公众被政府行动逻辑裹挟,还改变了政府购买的项目决策、合同过程、绩效控制机制等关键环节,导致官僚目标对公众需求的忽略与替代,行政权力越界甚至挤占了社会的空间,严重抑制了政府购买的绩效。只有缓解官僚目标与公众偏好之间的冲突、加强行政权力规制与社会组织培育,才能不断改进政府购买基本公共服务的绩效。     

Collaboration and Integrated Services in the NSW Public Sector

The paper discusses some of the findings of a review of whole-of-government activities in the NSW public sector conducted for the NSW Premier's Department. Some major sources of the difficulties people encounter in whole-of-government initiatives are identified, together with some factors essential for success. Since there is no one 'right' model for whole-of-government activity, criteria are proposed for identifying the most appropriate whole-of-government response to different types of problem. In conclusion the paper summarises some key benefits and achievements of a growing whole-of-government ethos in the NSW public sector, and some possible strategies for further strengthening whole-of-government approaches.     

Determinant Factors of Satisfaction with Public Services in Spain

The concept of marketing has evolved significantly, as have its applications in various sectors, including services. Diverse opinions have been expressed for and against the use of marketing techniques in public administration. In this paper, we present a conceptual and methodological review of the main contributions made by marketing to the public sector, measuring variables and related concepts that determine public satisfaction with public services. These elements, termed key drivers of opinion, were measured by reference to the information provided by the Spanish Sociological Research Centre (CIS), and provide an alternative way to display and analyse the data of interest, through perception models and figures using multivariate factor analysis. In this study, the components or factors containing the main drivers of opinion were found to be, on the one hand, commitment to efficient service, and on the other, user convenience.     

德国公共服务的市场化（上）

市场和竞争在德国现代化进程中的的角色尽管德国具有国家主义的深厚传统 ,但是在很长一段时间内 ,市场也在向公民提供公共利益的服务中扮演重要的角色。政府和市场息息相关 :1 )德国的公共行政有一套完善的公共采购体制 (ｐｕｂｌｉｃｐｒｏｃｕｒｅｍｅｎｔｓｙｓｔｅｍ)。公共投标宣布需要什么样的物品和服务 ,并通过特定的采购机构来购买物品。在很多部门中 ,国家是经济市场上物品和服务的重要需求方。然而 ,采购也严格限制在那些被认为“可市场化的”物品和服务 ,例如道路的养护、建筑服务、办公用品的供应等等。2 )在德国 ,许多公共服…     

The Politics of Choice and Competition in Public Services

The politics of choice and competition in public services are complex. Only public service users seem basically to want choice. Providers prefer alternative models of service delivery especially those that rely upon trust. Social democrats prefer voice and trust; conservatives want choice and competition to be exercised in the context of a full private market. Yet, so long as they are properly designed, policies aimed at promoting choice and competition can serve the interests of all these groups better than the alternatives.     

Performance Management in the Public Sector

There has been a great deal of work undertaken on employee performance management with the Australian Public Service (APS) over the last 4 years. The objective has been to focus upon achieving high performance rather than merely preventing poor performance. This refocus was adopted to reflect the increasing complexity of the work, a rise in the need for knowledge work, and escalations in the speed and frequency of change; all this within a context requiring a reduction in costs while still meeting the growing expectations of the public and government. This pair of papers reflects on where employee performance management has got to as a result of the work. Dr. Damian West from the Australian Public Service Commission identifies the continuing importance of effective employee performance management to the APS and public sectors more widely. He highlights the progress that has been made so far, demonstrating the importance of implementation of the process. He suggests that, now that a framework for assessing the potential for employee performance management processes has been established, accountability of the system implementation and adoption will become paramount. Professor Deborah Blackman, whilst echoing the real progress that has been made, suggests that for real improvement in performance management outcomes there needs to be a fundamental shift in thinking; not in terms of the processes or of ensuring compliance, but rather that organizations undertaking performance management need to be much clear as to the strategic direction such a process is going to support. She suggests that there has been too much emphasis on having a system and not enough on determining what such a system is for. When the papers are combined, it can be seen that much progress has been made in terms of the reorientation towards high performance and how to support organizations to work towards this. The next step, for there to be real outcome improvements, is for organizations to be more overt in determining what high performance will look like in their context, then clarifying that to all those involved in developing performance management so that accountabilities at all levels can be agreed, supported, and effective.