Public Sector Performance: Management, Motivation, And Measurement

Confronted with rising citizen discontent, the Reinventing Government movement, and new technological challenges, public organizations everywhere are seeking means of improving their performance. Their quest is not new, rather, the concern with improving the performance of government organizations has existed since the Scientific Management Movement.Public Sector Performancebrings together in a single volume the classic, enduring principles and processes that have defined the field of public sector performance, as written in the words of leading practitioners and scholars. Taken as a whole, this volume provides a performance compass for today's public managers, helping them to reconstruct the public's confidence in, and support of, government.Defined here as managing public organizations for outcomes, performance is examined in all its varied dimensions: organizing work, managing workers, measuring performance, and overcoming resistance to performance-enhancing innovations. The selected articles are interesting, thought provoking, and instructive. They are classics in that they have been widely cited in the scholarly literature and have enduring value to public managers who seek to understand the many dimensions of performance. The book is organized into three sections: Performance Foundations, Performance Strategies, and Performance Measurement. Excerpts from additional selected articles feature special topics and wisdom from performance experts.

Richard C. Kearney is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at East Carolina University. He has served as director of the Institute of Public and Urban Affairs and master of the public affairs program at the University of Connecticut, and was a faculty member at the University of South Carolina and the University of Northern Iowa. Evan Berman is a faculty member in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. He has previously taught at the University of Miami, and has served as a policy analyst for the National Science Foundation. Richard C. Kearney is professor and chair of the Department of Political Science at East Carolina University. He has served as director of the Institute of Public and Urban Affairs and master of the public affairs program at the University of Connecticut, and was a faculty member at the University of South Carolina and the University of Northern Iowa. Evan Berman is a faculty member in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Central Florida. He has previously taught at the University of Miami, and has served as a policy analyst for the National Science Foundation.