The Public Manager articles from June 1998

The Public Manager archives from June 1998

Ten thousand commandments: toward accountability and disclosure in the regulatory state.(Mini-Forum: Regulatory Reform)
June 22, 1998... Hidden costs of regulation appear in the form of state and local taxes and higher prices for goods and services. When the federal government decides to spend money on a program, it has three choices. Two appear in the federal budget: Uncle...

Congress must stop regulation without representation.(Mini-Forum: Regulatory Reform)
June 22, 1998... Some responsibility for burden of regulation attributed to Congress, which needs to take back its role in the regulatory process. Too often Washington forgets that federal regulations have real consequences for real Americans. Take, for...

Modernizing government regulation.(Mini-Forum: Regulatory Reform)
June 22, 1998... Regulations affect every aspect of American life today. Two experts in the regulatory field examine the effects of regulations and offer a rationale to ensuring that regulations are reasonable and rational Some people believe that federal...

Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license. (techniques in successful public administration)
June 22, 1998... Creativity, innovation, and communication are vital elements to successful public administration. This article suggests methods for stimulating these elements in the federal sector. The marketplace has changed drastically, and so has the size...

Positive reinforcement improves organizational performance.
June 22, 1998... FEIAA's Executive Forum presented a theory that improved workforce performance will result not from management fads but from the precise application of the laws that govern human behavior. The theme of the Federal Executive Institute Alumni...

Results management: learning can do it.
June 22, 1998... When carefully chosen and applied to meet authentic needs, results management tools and techniques do yield unprecedented results - sooner rather than later. Good management requires that managers focus on, and are held accountable for...

Federal outsourcing - part II: four myths that affect the future of outsourcing by federal agencies.
June 22, 1998... This is Part II of a two-part discussion establishing a strategic context for federal outsourcing. Part I (Spring 1998) looked at how outsourcing is defined. Part II discusses four myths that affect the future of outsourcing by federal...

QFD: a tool to sharpen measurement. (quality function deployment)
June 22, 1998... GPRA implementation requires appropriate measurement tools. QDF can ensure that quality is designed into products and services from the start. One of the effects of GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act) has been that managers in the...

Proposition 209: the death knell for affirmative action?
June 22, 1998... Just as Proposition 13 launched the anti-tax movement of the 1980s, and Proposition 187 brought the issue of immigrant rights to the forefront of the national agenda. Proposition 209 has demanded a reexamination of equal opportunity policies....

New executive competencies for leading change. (includes related article on new executive core qualifications)
June 22, 1998... New standards for the Senior Executive Service introduced to keep pace with the changing demands facing the federal government's senior managers. The Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) are the standard of what we, as a government, believe...

New partnerships: federal managers and the human resources office.
June 22, 1998... Line managers believe they are accountable for human resource management in their organizations but frequently feel they aren't getting all the help they need from the HR office. In December 1997, the Center for Human Resources Management...

Civil Service suicide: six ideas to preserve the system are developed.
June 22, 1998... A major concern outside the beltway, and probably inside the beltway as well, is the state of the civil service system. Specifically, my colleagues share a concern about the quality of our overall workforce. It is generally considered that the...

New to the federal government? What you need to know to survive.
June 22, 1998... Three former presidential management interns offer a short primer in Survival 101 for new federal employees. The first few weeks working in the maze that is the federal government may leave you with your head spinning from all the acronyms...

The Washington Monument syndrome. (comparing the democratic systems of Europe and the US)
June 22, 1998... One of the purposes of this feature is to enlighten practitioners in the field of public administration from the words of their fellow toilers. This is the essence upon which this journal was founded. A way in which to do this is to compare and...

Reinventing service at the IRS: report of the Customer Service Task Force, 1998. (Internal Revenue Service)(Views You Can Use: New Ideas for Management)
June 22, 1998... The Congress recently passed legislation authorizing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make major structural and system changes in the way it operates. Vice President Gore has already held a news conference announcing the administration's...

Benchmarking best practices: lessons from baseball.(Views You Can Use: New Ideas for Management)
June 22, 1998... Benchmarking has become very fashionable in the federal sector. Every facet of performance can be measured and stacked up against something. Surprisingly, baseball records provide an excellent example of how to benchmark. Comparisons are...

Benchmarking made easy: benchmarking Websites.(Views You Can Use: New Ideas for Management)
June 22, 1998... Modern technology - from smart toasters to computers - has made life easier for everyone. The practice of benchmarking is no exception. Now, it is possible to benchmark one's activities, programs, and results without leaving the comfort and...