Workplace Bullying Policy in the Australian Public Sector: Why Has Gender Been Ignored? (journal article)
By Jacquie Hutchinson and Joan Eveline
from Australian Journal of Public Administration Vol 69 Iss 1 2010, pp. 47 - 60
"This article examines the question of gender-neutral workplace bullying policy in the Australian context. It draws on the international workplace bullying literature and interview data gathered from policy actors located in Australian public service administrations, including managers, policy implementors and employee advocates. Our findings show that both the literature and the policy actors tend to present workplace bullying as a product of individualised behaviour, overlooking the nuances and dimensions of organisational power relations that include gender. As part of this tendency, policy actors insisted that workplace bullying be represented as gender-neutral. Our analysis reveals two key factors underpinning the defence and dissemination of workplace bullying as a gender-neutral problem: the tendency to individualistic remedies in public sector policies; and the idea among policy actors that if workplace bullying was portrayed as needing gender analysis, its current support as an important organisational issue would dissolve."

Strategic Human Resource Practices: Introducing Alternatives for Organizational Performance Improvement in the Public Sector (journal article)
By Jungin Kim
from Public Administration Review Vol 70 Iss 1 2010, pp. 38 - 49
"Can public sector organizations increase productivity through competition in spite of inherent limitations, such as budget constraints? This study addresses that question by examining the impact of four factors that contribute to employees' expectations regarding competitive work environments on organizational performance in terms of overall quality of work and client satisfaction. The four factors measured include rewards for merit such as salary and benefits, opportunities, organizational rules, and the capacity to deal with risks as perceived by employees. Using data on public and nonprofit sector employees, expectations for merit rewards were positively related to employees' perception of organizational performance when the conditions of performance-based organizational rules and risk-taking behaviors were also satisfied. Moreover, employees' perceptions of organizational performance tended to increase when they felt that organizational rules were oriented toward performance plus organizational members and top leaders exhibited greater risk-taking behaviors. However, no correlation was evident between employees' expectations of opportunities and perceived organizational performance."

Are There Still Differences Between the Roles of Private and Public Sector Managers? (journal article)
By Cline Desmarais and Emmanuel Abord de Chatillon
from Public Management Review Vol 12 Iss 1 Jan 2010, pp. 127 - 149
"In France, the differences between public and private organizations seem to have been reduced by the ubiquity of some management tools and approaches, and, at the same time, highlighted by the political environment, stereotypes, and negative perceptions of French public management. Given this confusion, systematic empirical studies are needed to determine the degree of convergence, if any, between management in the public and private sectors. The present study analyzed a survey of 908 managers, in order to determine whether differences in managerial practices still exist. Our results show that some differences do persist, although they are relatively small."

Crunch time : using and abusing Keynes to fight the twin crises of our era [book]

Author: Tony Kevin

"Australia today faces an existential challenge: how to manage simultaneously our two greatest national crises - the local effects of the global recession and global climate disruption. ... Argues that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is dealing with these twin crises inadequately, especially by comparison with how US President Barack Obama is tackling the same policy challenges in his nation." - page 1.

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What Keeps You Awake at Night: Top Ten Challenges Facing Public Managers (journal article)
by Jonathan Breul and John Kamensky
from Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard Kennedy School, 9 Nov 2009
"David Letterman is not the only one with a Top Ten list! We’ve put one together as well, based on what we’ve heard from a wide range of government leaders and public policy academics. Our list is a snapshot of significant management issues facing public executives. We call it the “what keeps you awake at night” list."

How countries compete : strategy, structure, and government in the global economy [book]

Author: Richard H. K. Vietor

"Shows how governments both set the direction and create the climate for a nation's economic development and profitable private enterprise ... Separate chapters highlight important countries - including China, India, Japan, Singapore, and the United States, as well as Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Italy - and reveal the unique social, economic, cultural and historical forces that determine a countries trajectory." - cover.

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Introductory economics for decision makers [book]

Authors: Paul Frijters, Uwe Dulleck and Benno Torgler.

An introductory textbooks explaining economic concepts and how they shapes Australian policy. Topics covered include: Market failures and the role of government, Taxation, the Australian labour market, Economics and the environment, and Regulation and privatisation.

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Government Outsourcing: Public Contracting with Private Monopoly (journal article)
By Emmanuelle Auriol and Pierre M. Picard
from The Economic Journal Vol 119 Iss 540 2009, pp. 1464-1493
"The article studies the impact of the government budget constraint on the regulation of natural monopolies in adverse selection contexts. The government maximises total surplus but incurs some cost of public funds à la Laffont and Tirole (1993). Government outsourcing is proposed as an alternative to regulation in which firms freely enter the market and choose their prices and output levels. However the government can contract ex post with the private firms. This ex post contracting set-up allows more flexibility than regulation where governments commit to both investment and operation cash-flows. This is especially relevant in case of high technological uncertainties."
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Writing for Results (article)
By Patricia Hoyle.
from Management Today September 2009
To keep misunderstandings in business to a minimum; clear, concise written communications are essential.

Total public sector output and productivity: presents latest estimates for public service productivity between 1998 and 2007 (article)
by Fraser Munroe, Mike Phelps
from Economic & Labour Market Review, vol 3, no 8, pp 45-55.
"Public services account for over 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Almost everyone is a potential user of public services such as the NHS or schools. Taxpayers, as the main funders of public services, also have a legitimate concern about what we are getting for our money. One important aspect of this, though not the only aspect, is productivity: the quantity of output that is produced divided by the quantity of input used. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published periodic assessments of the productivity performance of key public services. This article presents estimates for all public services collectively for the first time since the 2003 ONS article Understanding Government Output and Productivity (Pritchard, 2003). "

The Private Finance Initiative (journal article)
By Anthony Wall and Ciaran Connolly
from Public Management Review Vol 11 Issue 5 Sept 2009, pp. 707 - 724
"This article considers the development of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and contends that it is now deeply embedded and intertwined in policies to renew and modernize the United Kingdom's public services. After briefly reviewing prior research based upon the themes proposed by Broadbent and Laughlin (1999), this article suggests a new research agenda to reflect how the PFI has matured and developed in recent years."

Seven secrets for negotiating with government : how to deal with local, state, national, or foreign governments--and come out ahead [book]

Author: Jeswald W. Salacuse

"Provides expert guidance to allow individuals, companies, and organizations to succeed at the very special task of negotiating with governments. ... addresses the key challenges involved - from influencing bureaucracies to counter - balancing the apparently overwhelming power on the government side of the negotiating table." - cover.

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State of Change: Global Turmoil and Government Reinvention (journal article)
By Giselle Datz
from Public Administration Review Vol 69 Issue 4, pp. 660 - 667.
"The current global credit crisis is unfolding in a context in which new dynamics in the engagement of the public sector and the market are taking shape. This article explores some of these dynamics, especially the reemergence of (re)nationalization initiatives, as well as the growing use of private methodologies for asset management on the part of some governments, which behave as both financial market players and domestic economic stabilizers. Hence, the article discusses the return of the state as a traditional "public leviathan" involved in financial regulation, as well as the work of sovereign wealth funds. The author concludes that at the heart of capitalism's endurance lies this diversity of public responses, which ultimately reveal governments' adaptable agendas and heterogeneous tasks."

Government in Your Business (journal article)
By Robert B Reich
from Harvard Business Review Vol 87 Iss 7/8 Jul/Aug 2009, pp. 94 - 99
"For the foreseeable future, governments will take a keen interest in how executives manage. In the U.S., industries and sectors representing more than a third of the nation's economy -- including financial services, automobiles, health care, and telecom -- are being reshaped. But don't expect a return of old-style regulation, which would stifle innovation. Government will coax businesses rather than curb them by offering incentives for desirable conduct. Private-sector managers will need to develop a new mind-set and skill set so they can partner with government rather than fend it off. Change has actually been on the horizon for years. It's the culmination of several long-term trends, such as a deepening distrust of business, greater ties between the interests of business and society, and decreasing regulatory control across national borders. Over time, economies worldwide will settle on versions of the system that's beginning to emerge in the United States. Governments will make use of taxes and tax credits to promote wanted behavior, such as investing in renewable energy or hiring veterans, and to discourage unwanted behavior, like emitting excess carbon. They will also take a more active role in coordinating public and private interests through rules on how businesses and individuals are compensated."

The solution to the ‘investment’ vs ‘cuts’ debate in Local Government (article) by Tom Shakespeare
from eGov Monitor, Monday 6 July 2009
"Local Government should be the first major institutional investor to stimulate the emergence and growth for a large scale social and environmental investment market. There is a huge demand for increased support and growth of the social and environmental market, and given its mutual aims, local government is the best-placed industry to reconnect markets and morals. These are the conclusions of our recent Localis report entitled ‘More for your Money’."

Government Ownership: why this time it should work (blog)
Source: McKinsey Quarterly 29 June 2009
"It's understandable that taxpayers and corporate executives would be anxious about the substantial stakes that the governments in the United Kingdom and the United States have taken in private companies in recent months. After all, political interference in state-owned enterprises in other countries has significantly hampered their profitability. Yet in this essay, Simon Wong, an independent advisor and adjunct professor of law at the Northwestern University School of Law, lays out five reasons for optimism this time around. "
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The changing role of finance in government and the public sector (free registration required)
by John Berriman, Mike Cowan and Steve Clark
from PriceWaterhouse Coopers
"Part of a wider global research project on the future of finance in the public sector and examines the trends, issues and changing environment faced by finance directors across the UK public sector. The findings demonstrate that finance in the sector is at a crossroads and faces significant challenges. The current economic climate means that now more than ever finance must speak up – and be listened to. However, a place at the top table will only be earned when finance is seen not simply as a scorekeeper but as a business partner, adding value across government and the public sector."

Improving Performance at State-Owned Enterprises
from McKinsey Quarterly
"State-owned enterprises have always struggled to match the private sector’s performance standards. That problem has become more acute now that many governments have been forced to deal with the current economic crisis by acquiring assets from private companies. Still, some state-owned companies in emerging markets have borrowed lessons from the private sector to improve their performance significantly. This article draws on those lessons to examine three strong and helpful measures--establishing a clear mandate, focusing on financial impact, and managing talent.
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The People factor : strengthening America by investing in public service [book]

Authors: Linda Bilmes & W. Scott Gould

Facing its greatest domestic challenges since the Great Depression, America is waking up to the realization that government is still important. In their new book, The People Factor: Strengthening America by Investing in Public Service, Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes and IBM Vice President W. Scott Gould argue that the country cannot prosper without a strong, highly functioning federal work force to manage the government. The authors call for an investment of $10 billion to improve recruiting, training and management of the federal workforce predicting that investment will yield $300-$600 billion in productivity gains. Packed with cost and performance data as well as new research on what motivates applicants for government jobs, these former government executives provide a compelling business case for investing in the civil service so that it may better serve the nation. A must read for policy makers, civil servants and citizens who demand more from government.

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The benefits of being good (journal article)
by Beverley Head
from Information Age, April 2009
"The ICT sector loves its TLAs (three-letter acronyms) and is learning to live with the GFC (global financial crisis). Now it’s getting to grips with CSR (corporate social responsibility)."