Outsourcing State and Local Government Services
Outsourcing State and Local Government Services

Author: John O'Looney

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 1998-11-19

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0313035350

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Should we be doing—or trying to do—everything ourselves, or might it be better to contract some tasks out to others? Could they do them better and cheaper than we can? More and more state and local governments are asking these questions, and while there are many answers on the Federal level, these answers often don't apply lower down the line. Nevertheless, it is evident that contracting out is often the better strategy—but how best to go about it? What are the benefits and what are the hidden risks? Dr. O'Looney's book provides precisely the guidance that state and local managers need: first, how to decide to outsource a government service, then step-by-step how to proceed. Based on extensive interviews and other research, O'Looney takes managers through the intricacies of contract outsourcing and administration, but in doing so he makes clear that he appreciates the importance of government. His book is not an argument for privatization, as so many other books are; rather, it is an affirmation of government and the benefits of its many services. Readers will find theory and advice on the services that are most suitable for contracting out; a listing and review of the components of a high-quality analysis, including the analysis of often overlooked political, organizational, and functional aspects of government; advice on how to go from deciding to outsource to actually designing, implementing, and monitoring a contract in situations that could prove hazardous to the livelihoods of government workers. He also discusses the changes that need to be made in the organizational culture, management, and employee training as a result of the change to a contract-based system of providing services; the considerations in designing work specifications and other critical aspects of the government-vendor relationship, and how ideal contracting processes and ideal contracts can differ according to the nature of the service being contracted. The result is a thorough and highly practical volume for executives and managers in the public sector, and for those who hope to do business with them.

Outsourcing Management Functions for the Acquisition of Federal Facilities
Outsourcing Management Functions for the Acquisition of Federal Facilities

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2001-01-20

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 0309072670

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In this study outsourcing is defined as the organizational practice of contracting for services from an external entity while retaining control over assets and oversight of the services being outsourced. In the 1980s, a number of factors led to a renewed interest in outsourcing. For private sector organizations, outsourcing was identified as a strategic component of business process reengineering-an effort to streamline an organization and increase its profitability. In the public sector, growing concern about the federal budget deficit, the continuing long-term fiscal crisis of some large cities, and other factors accelerated the use of privatization measures (including outsourcing for services) as a means of increasing the efficiency of government.

Local Government Innovation
Local Government Innovation

Author: Robin A. Johnson

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2000-09-30

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0313001146

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Nationally recognized scholars and practitioners examine opportunities in which services traditionally provided by local governments are offered by the private sector though a contract or are transferred to a private business completely. Many large U.S. cities have contracted services for many years. With the movement to rightsize governments in recent years there has been renewed interest by local governments in similar ventures. Privatization, in its many forms, is now seen as a viable alternative to traditional ways of providing public services and can bring substantial benefits to residents. With greater accountability being demanded and pressures on local officials to hold the line on or reduce taxes, efforts to find innovative service delivery methods will probably increase. Cities, such as Atlanta, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, are examples showing that contracts with private businesses can work to benefit all parties. Local officials must move ahead cautiously, and not all attempts at privatization or contracting have succeeded. Some cities, after an evaluation, have decided to provide services with municipal employees. The main issues underlying privatization decisions will be addressed conceptually so that practitioners and academics benefit from a review of the current thinking on the issues. At the same time, exemplary practices and case studies are included so that readers can understand how privatization and managed competition have been implemented in local governments. Special attention is paid to administrative questions that may arise during the implementation process. For example, ways in which cities have worked with employees who fear displacement because of the privatization process are described. The book breaks new ground by including references to recent innovations in public-private partnerships and describing how privatization may evolve in the future.

Government by Contract
Government by Contract

Author: Jody Freeman

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2009-02-28

Total Pages: 550

ISBN-13: 9780674032088

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The dramatic growth of government over the course of the twentieth century since the New Deal prompts concern among libertarians and conservatives and also among those who worry about government’s costs, efficiency, and quality of service. These concerns, combined with rising confidence in private markets, motivate the widespread shift of federal and state government work to private organizations. This shift typically alters only who performs the work, not who pays or is ultimately responsible for it. “Government by contract” now includes military intelligence, environmental monitoring, prison management, and interrogation of terrorism suspects. Outsourcing government work raises questions of accountability. What role should costs, quality, and democratic oversight play in contracting out government work? What tools do citizens and consumers need to evaluate the effectiveness of government contracts? How can the work be structured for optimal performance as well as compliance with public values? Government by Contract explains the phenomenon and scope of government outsourcing and sets an agenda for future research attentive to workforce capacities as well as legal, economic, and political concerns.

Civil Service Reform in the States
Civil Service Reform in the States

Author: J. Edward Kellough

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 079148243X

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Civil Service Reform in the States examines the critical importance of civil service systems in modern government and popular efforts to reform those systems. The book provides an up-to-date analysis and assessment of public personnel reforms undertaken by various state governments since 1990 and the extent to which these reforms have been implemented or resisted. With chapters written by nationally recognized experts on civil service and civil service reform, this book will appeal to public policy makers, practitioners, and students alike.

Public Personnel Management
Public Personnel Management

Author: Jared J. Llorens

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-12-14

Total Pages: 571

ISBN-13: 1351984519

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Now in a thoroughly revised 7th edition, Public Personnel Management focuses on the critical issues and common processes in the management of public sector personnel. In keeping with prior editions, the text centers on the core processes within public human resource management: strategic workforce planning, effective recruitment and retention, workforce development, and employee relations. Designed to further address the ways in which expectations for human resource managers have changed and developed in recent years, the 7th edition includes several new features and improvements: Substantially restructured, updated, and additional case studies and student exercises. Coverage of how the field of Public HRM has been influenced by the two most recent national recessions, economic downturns at the state and local level, privatization and contracting trends at all levels of government, the growing presence of millennial employees in the workplace, issues surrounding social media use within the workplace, the evolving goals of social equity and diversity, and the shifting role and influence of labor unions. Discussions of how the growth in information technology capabilities has influenced the major processes within HRM, from workforce analysis through big data analytics to the explosion in automated recruitment, assessment, and instructional technologies. For the first time, the text includes an online Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint slides, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading to make it even easier to assign and use this classic text in the classroom. Providing the most up-to-date and thorough overview of the history and practice of public human resource management for both undergraduate and graduate students, Public Personnel Management, 7e remains the beloved text it ever was, ideal for introductory courses in Public Personnel Management, Public Human Resource Management, and Nonprofit Personnel Management.

The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government
The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government

Author: Donald P. Haider-Markel

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-04-03

Total Pages: 977

ISBN-13: 0191611956

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The Oxford Handbook of State and Local Government is an historic undertaking. It contains a wide range of essays that define the important questions in the field, evaluate where we are in answering them, and set the direction and terms of discourse for future work. The Handbook will have a substantial influence in defining the field for years to come. The chapters critically assess both the key works of state and local politics literature and the ways in which the sub-field has developed. It covers the main areas of study in subnational politics by exploring the central contributions to the comparative study of institutions, behavior, and policy in the American context. Each chapter outlines an agenda for future research.

Collaboration in Government
Collaboration in Government

Author: David E. McNabb

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-11-29

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 1000407594

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This book comprehensively explores the many different forms of collaboration in government, both formal and informal, including strategic alliances, intergovernmental networks, and public-private partnerships. Contemporary US governmental and public organizations are changing to better cope after several decades of pressures to downsize, as well as to deliver new services with declining resources and, in many cases, decaying infrastructure. To meet these challenges, public managers are developing new networks, partnerships, collaborations, alliances and coalitions to deliver government services. Collaboration in Government is designed to help public organizations parse the new and emerging forms of public partnerships and to develop the skills needed to manage them. Each chapter offers examples of how each type has been used in real public organizations, providing the reader with an understanding of how these partnerships may be applied in a variety of contexts, as well as lessons that may be gleaned from the successes (and failures) of these collaborative models. This book will be of interest to public servants who collaborate in their daily work, as well as students of public administration and public policy.

Public Personnel Management
Public Personnel Management

Author: Donald E. Klingner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-07-17

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1317344936

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Distinguished by its coherent values perspective, Public Personnel Management focuses on the conflicts, political processes, and management techniques that provide the context for personnel administration in the public sector. Organized around the four principal personnel functions that must be fulfilled in any complex organization, this book provides a comprehensive exploration of the planning, acquisition, development, and sanctions within public personnel management.