bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
THE DILEMMAS OF INNER CITY POLICY
Authors: SOLESBURY WILLIAM
Published: April 2007

To be successful inner city policy must resolve three dilemmas: what is the nature of the problem? how can it be tackled? why should it command political attention? Cognitively there are four schools of thought – expressed in the metaphors of the city as machine, as community, as market place and battleground. The economic perspective now dominates thinking. Operationally the need, in achieving the inescapable mixed strategies, is to strengthen the capacities of business, government and not‐for‐profit agencies and to bind them more effectively to joint action that serves their separate interests. Leverage and joint ventures are key concepts here. Politically inner city policy is shaped by concerns with welfare, development and public disorder. Its electoral bias is particularly problematic. Resolution of these dilemmas is most likely through the assertion of development objectives, the demonstration of effective joint action and the exploitation of the unique diversity of urban places and people.
PAYING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT: CHARGING FOR SERVICES
Authors: BAILEY STEPHEN JAMES
Published: April 2007

The latest Green Paper on reform of local government finance was published in January 1986. It represents an attempt to achieve local accountability which the present system is regarded as having failed to achieve. Increased use of fees and charges is seen as ‘an even more direct way of ensuring that local people can see what they are getting for what they are paying’ and, at the same time, ‘has benefits in terms of efficiency as well as accountability’. This article critically appraises just what is meant by ‘realistic charging policies’, ‘efficient use of resources’ and ‘effective pricing policies’. Realistic pricing policies are then outlined based on radical improvements in the nature and quality of information available to local authorities. The danger of a blinkered approach to increased use of charging is stressed and factors to be considered when reviewing charging are discussed.
THE PRINCIPLE OF VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT
Authors: GOODIN ROBERT E.
Published: April 2007

There may be many perfectly good reasons, of a purely pragmatic sort, for policy‐making by voluntary agreement between regulators and those whose conduct is to be regulated. Pragmatism aside, however, policy‐makers characteristically claim that that strategy is also morally superior to legislative compulsion. That claim is incorrect. Voluntary agreement, as it is presently procured, does nothing to enhance the moral legitimacy of the policies thereby promulgated. Anything a government is morally entitled to do with voluntary agreement of that sort, it would be morally equally entitled to do without it.
OFFICER‐MEMBER RELATIONS IN COUNTY‐LEVEL POLICY‐MAKING FOR RURAL AREAS: THE CASE OF THE GLQUCESTERSHIRE STRUCTURE PLAN
Authors: CLOKE PAUL , LITTLE JO
Published: April 2007

Studies of rural planning have only recently begun to focus on concepts of policy‐making and implementation which have been developed in urban and regional contexts. Although recognizing the need for inter‐organizational frameworks, this paper investigates one particular factor in policy‐making – officer‐member relations – as illustrated in the structure plan‐making process of Gloucestershire County Council. Through a partnership between senior officers who were able to orchestrate decision‐making, and elite members who provided political support for technical policy justifications, a form of directed policy consensus was reached. The consensus in this particular structure plan was marked by the prominence of a political‐bureaucratic goal to provide policy‐responses to rural problems. This theme was diluted, however, when the plan moved from the local to the central arena of power.
COMPETITIVE TENDERING IN THE NHS: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS' OF THE EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF HC(83)18
Authors: MILNE ROBIN G.
Published: April 2007

Economic theory identifies circumstances where in‐house production can be expected to be more efficient, in terms of the cost of production, than purchase from outside contractors. However, this efficiency advantage can also expect to be dissipated when in‐house producers face no competition. The introduction of competitive tendering does not invalidate the case for in‐house production; but significant cost savings can still be expected.

An in‐depth analysis is made of six contracts put out to tender in the three hotel‐type services. Markets for contracts were created, and open competition commonly brought about savings of one‐third to two‐thirds. Part of the cost saving was often achieved through a rationalization of services. Economic theory does not predict this result; but NHS management used the opportunities to introduce changes. Wage rates were usually cut and earnings fell by still more. Staff resignations and redundancies were common.
THE COSTS AND RETURNS OF THE PRIVATIZATION OF NATIONALIZED INDUSTRIES
Authors: BUCKLAND ROGER
Published: April 2007

The sale of public sector industry has become a central plank of UK public policy. This paper concentrates upon the most contentious area of the opportunity cost of share sales. The nature of these costs is related to the revealed objectives of the policy, and the extent to which they differ from expected costs is identified. The nature of the benefits forecast for privatization is explod and questions posed concerning the balance of costs and benefits in current policy. Particular attention is paid to the distribution of returns on the share issues in privatized businesses and parallels are drawn with issues in the private sector.
THE FUTURE OF POLICE AUTHORITIES: MEMBERS VIEWS
Authors: MORGAN ROD , SWIFT PAUL
Published: April 2007

Part of the argument about police accountability concerns the role of police authorities, their membership and powers. The Conservative, Alliance and Labour Parties have developed policies which are broadly retentionist – leave things as they are – reformist – change the membership – and radical – empower police authorities to determine policy. The evidence suggests that police authority members' views, though broadly consistent with their party policies nationally, differ in some important respects. Conservatives are increasingly unhappy about the statutory co‐option of magistrates. Alliance members appear not to favour an increase in the proportion of nonelected members. And many Labour councillors entertain doubts about the control model.
TRANSITION OR TRANSFORMATION? ‐ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY UNDER THATCHER
Authors: BLOWERS ANDREW
Published: April 2007

The degree of fundamental change or continuity in environmental policy under the Thatcher governments since 1979 is explored in terms of three functional areas of policy‐making. The impact of Thatcherite ideology has been strongest in the development function. Deregulation has weakened the role of strategic land use planning. A strong central state allied to a free market has enabled primacy to be given to the promotion of private sector development. Compromise has been characteristic of the conservation function where the Government has had to arbitrate between its farming and rural preservationist constituencies at a time when the rural economy has shifted from an emphasis on food production to the problem of surplus. International concerns about transboundary pollution and EEC environmental directives have constrained the Government's freedom of action in the ecological function of policy. Overall, environmental policy shows a mixture of transformation where ideology is strong and pragmatism where political and structural constraints ensure the longer term continuity of policy.
MANAGERIAL STRATEGIES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Authors: GREENWOOD ROYSTON
Published: April 2007

The organizational arrangements of local authorities are known to vary. Explanations of the variation observed have usually been set within the contingency theory perspective. The present paper utilizes a different approach, examining how far structural variations are a consequence of differences in strategic style. The concept of strategic style is discussed and applied to data from English local authorities. Results indicate that strategic style does influence local authority structural arrangements.
BRITISH FARCE, FRENCH DRAMA AND TALES OF TWO CITIES: REORGANIZATIONS OF PARIS AND LONDON GOVERNMENTS 1957–86
Authors: O'LEARY BRENDAN
Published: April 2007

Comparing the evidence of London and Paris reorganizations in the last three decades confirms that political interventions are often autonomous of administrative or class logic. Reorganizations are not mere registers of the subterranean workings of socio‐economic forces. However, the reorganizations show that these political interventions are not autonomous from the characteristics of their respective political systems.
TRANSFORMING NEW ZEALAND'S PUBLIC SECTOR: LABOUR'S QUEST FOR IMPROVED EFFICIENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Authors: BOSTON JONATHAN
Published: April 2007

Since its election in July 1984 the fourth Labour government in New Zealand has embarked upon the most radical and systematic reorganization of the state sector since the creation of a unified, non‐partisan, career‐oriented service in 1912. The reforms include the commercialization of many of the goods and services provided by state agencies, the turning of public trading enterprises into corporations, major administrative changes and the overhauling of state pay‐fixing arrangements. This article examines the theoretical assumptions underpinning Labour's strategy and assesses the extent to which the new arrangements are likely to achieve their intended purpose of improving the efficiency, flexibility and accountability of the public sector.
THE ROLE OF THE PRIME MINISTER'S POLICY UNIT
Authors: WILLETTS DAVID
Published: April 2007

The Prime Minister's Policy Unit, also known as the Number 10 Policy Unit, comprises a team of about eight advisers each responsible for briefing her in a major area of policy (ecluding such issues as foreign policy and security). Together with three secretaries they occupy a set of rooms straddling 10 and 11 Downing Street (a modest encroachment on the Chancellor's residence of such long standing that it appears not to be resented).
THE THATCHER GOVERNMENT, THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE, AND THE ‘NEW CML SERVICE’
Authors: FRY GEOFFREY K.
Published: April 2007

The Thatcher era has been a traumatic one for the career Civil Service, so much so that one leading civil servant has suggested that the order of change is such that a ‘new Civil Service’ is emerging. This paper examines, first, interpretations of what has happened to the Civil Service under the Thatcher government; next, it reviews the developments relating to the economy programme and the Financial Management Initiative; then it considers the current state of the Civil Service pay and promotion system; finally, it concludes that thus far at least, essentially, the ‘old Civil Service’ has survived.
JUDICIAL REVIEW: A WAY OF CONTROLLING GOVERNMENT?
Authors: FELDMAN DAVID
Published: April 2007

Recent concern among administrators about the effect of judicial review on their work is exaggerated. The cases show that judges are aware of the pitfalls of too much judicial intervention. Judges do not control government. To understand their role, we must distinguish three different judicial techniques (here called directing, limiting and structuring) which are usually conflated under the title of ‘control’. In doing their jobs, judges generate principles to guide administrative procedures and judge their legality. That can make a useful contribution to structuring administrative decision‐making, but only if the civil service is as sensitive to the potential value of judicial review as judges are to its possible dangers.
ISRAEL'S AUDITOR AS POLICY‐MAKER
Authors: SHARKANSKY IRA
Published: April 2007

Supreme audit institutions claim to avoid directly criticizing government policy. However, their assertions do not reflect reality. Israel's State Comptroller is explicit in criticizing government policy, and suggesting other policies in their place. The US General Accounting Office, the UK National Audit Office, and the Philippines Commission on Audit also criticize policy, but with styles that are more subtle and indirect than the Israeli auditor's. A review of the responses to Israel's audit reports reveals the extent of policy influence and the constraints that limit the auditor's role as a policy‐maker.
CONSUMERISM, DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL DEMOCRACY
Authors: HAMBLETON ROBIN
Published: April 2007

Three broad options for public service reform are attracting considerable interest within British local government and the National Health Service – consumerism, decentralization and the extension of local democracy. This article examines each of these options in some detail. While each avenue offers a number of exciting possibilities for change each also conceals a confusion of different hopes and aspirations. It is essential to develop a much sharper analysis of what is on offer and of the underlying driving forces for change. Some proposals are essentially managerial, some are clearly political, others combine managerial and political change. There is a major risk that many authorities will attempt to implement some or all of these new ideas without thinking through the implications.
CONSUMERISM AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR: HOW WELL DOES THE COAT FIT?
Authors: POTTER JENNY
Published: April 2007

Consumerism attempts to redress the imbalance of power that exists between those who produce goods and services, and those for whom they are provided. To achieve this end, five basic principles have been evolved which seek to improve consumers' access, choice, information, redress and representation. The article examines the relevance of these principles to services provided by local government and the health service. Its conclusion – that they are useful but not necessarily enough – is perhaps surprising, given the author's concern to place consumers' interests centre stage in discussions about what public services are for, and how they should be run. The article then considers whether the messages of consumerism are reaching their mark, and finally points to those issues which managers of public services – both politicians and professionals – must face if consumerism is to leave a legacy of real value.
CAN THE BRITISH VOTER BE TRUSTED? THE LOCAL REFERENDUM AND TAX REFORM
Authors: LEE EUGENE C.
Published: April 2007

This paper begins with an examination of the period, during 1981, when the then Secretary of State for the Environment proposed a local referendum mechanism that would be triggered whenever a local authority attempted to increase its rates above a ceiling fixed by central government. This episode is then used as a basis for a broader examination of the possible applications of local referenda within the context of political systems that are dominantly based on notions of representative democracy. American experience is drawn upon to support the proposal that, in carefully defined circumstances, local referenda could constitute useful additions to the existing mechanisms of central–local relations.
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS IN PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES
Authors: SENEVIRATNE MARY , CRACKNELL SARAH
Published: April 2007

This article summarizes the findings of a recent research project investigating complaints handling in local government. It discusses the results of a survey of half the local authorities in England, to discover their complaints handling practices. The article also summarizes the results of a more limited survey of local authority consumers; this aimed to discover their attitude to and experience of complaining, and the level of awareness of their local authority's procedure. Finally there is a discussion about the desirability of formalized complaints procedures and the form they might take.
THE JOINT‐DECISION TRAP: LESSONS FROM GERMAN FEDERALISM AND EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Authors: SCHARPF FRITZ W.
Published: April 2007

Compared to early expectations, the process of European integration has resulted in a paradox: frustration without disintegration and resilience without progress. The article attempts to develop an institutional explanation for this paradox by exploring the similarities between joint decision making (‘Politikverflechtung’) in German federalism and decision making in the European Community. In both cases, it is argued, the fact that member governments are directly participating in central decisions, and that there is ade factorequirement of unanimous decisions, will systematically generate sub‐optimal policy outcomes unless a ‘problem‐solving’ (as opposed to a ‘bargaining’) style of decision making can be maintained. In fact, the ‘bargaining’ style has prevailed in both cases. The resulting pathologies of public policy have, however, not resulted either in successful strategies for the further Europeanization of policy responsibilities or in the disintegration of unsatisfactory joint‐decision systems. This ‘joint‐decision trap’ is explained by reference to the utility functions of member governments for whom present institutional arrangements, in spite of their sub‐optimal policy output, seem to represent ‘local optima’ when compared to either greater centralization or disintegration.
MARKETS OR POLITICS? THE DETERMINANTS OF LABOUR RELATIONS IN A NATIONALIZED INDUSTRY
Authors: PENDLETON ANDREW
Published: April 2007

This article examines ‘market’ and ‘political’ explanations for the nature of nationalized industry labour relations, using British Rail as a case study. The market perspective suggests that market insulation generated ‘cosy’ industrial relations since it allowed managers to acquiesce in restrictive practices. More robust labour management recently is the result of greater exposure to market forces. This explanation is rejected because BR was exposed to competitive pressures before the Thatcher era, and because there is no simple relationship between market forces and managerial actions. Instead political uncertainty is the primary determinant of the state of industrial relations. In the 1970s British Rail management and unions formed a ‘tacit alliance’ to limit the potential damage of government interventions. This alliance has broken down in the 1980s not primarily because of market pressures but because government interventions have become more explicitly concerned with industrial relations.
ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS AND PERFORMANCE: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR TESTING PUBLIC CHOICE THEORIES
Authors: DUNSIRE ANDREW , HARTLEY KEITH , PARKER DAVID , DIMITRIOU BASIL
Published: April 2007

Popular belief is that ownership change (from public to private) brings about improved performance. But (i) ownership displays a spectrum, not an either/or; (ii) degree of competition is conceptually and often actually independent of ownership; and (iii) so is change‐of‐ownership's assumed instruments for improving performance, change in managerial incentive structures and reporting structures. The article surveys the relevant theories, popular and scholarly, and develops models for testing the relationships between status change (ownership) and performance (indices of productivity, profitability etc.), and between status change and internal organizational change (indices of reorganization and of linkage), in a small number of British organizations which underwent change in recent decades. Preliminary results of one or two analyses illustrate the methods and the possibilities.
CITY RULES OK? POLICY COMMUNITY, POLICY NETWORK AND TAKEOVER BIDS
Authors: WRIGHT MAURICE
Published: April 2007

This paper uses the concepts of policy community and policy network to analyse the particular set of industrial policy issues related to the conduct of takeover and merger bids. Within the general context of the law, the regulatory climate is governed by the principle of voluntary self‐regulation, which since 1968 has been partly articulated in a written code whose rules are interpreted and enforced by a non‐statutory body, the City Takeover Panel. The panel is one of several ‘insider’ organizations identified and categorized in terms of policy community. Relationships between it and other ‘insiders’ in the policy processes are analysed in terms of policy network and ‘rules of the game’. It is argued that the stability of that network is increasingly threatened by the environmental turbulence provoked by the Guinness affair and the passage of the 1986 Financial Services Act.
THE LIMITS OF CHANGE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
Authors: COYLE ANGELA
Published: April 2007

Women make up the majority of local government employees in Great Britain but are not, however, evenly represented throughout the employment structure. Rather, women are overwhelmingly concentrated in low paid, low status and often part‐time jobs, and are under‐represented as decision makers, either as managers or elected council members. The situation of black and ethnic minority women is one of even greater marginalization. From 1982–7 over 200 local authorities adopted equal opportunity (EO) policies, both for employment practice and service delivery, the aims of which included redressing this inequitable situation for women. The achievements of these EO policies have proved to be very limited. Most have been introduced with few resources and little managerial or political support and without mechanisms for implementation or management accountability. EO reforms have been contained within the existing relationships and structures of local authorities when by definition, successful EO policies will upset the status quo. Nevertheless important lessons have been learned from this first pioneering phase of EO policy development.
ADMINISTRATIVE REORGANIZATION AND POLICY CHANGE: THE CASE OF HER MAJESTY'S INSPECTORATE OF POLLUTION
Authors: O'RIORDAN TIMOTHY , WEALE ALBERT
Published: April 2007

Environmental protection nowadays is a major issue of policy and administration. It is well recognized that an effective approach to pollution control requires it to be integrated, but UK governments have been slow to respond to this need. The creation of a new unified pollution inspectorate in England and Wales must be set in the context of a general transition in British pollution control practice, where the incorporation of more formal procedures is taking place within a tradition of emitter self‐policing, client‐regulator mutual respect, and regulatory adaptability. This article examines the circumstances that led to the formation of the new pollution inspectorate and considers the challenges that it faces.
THE SOCIAL FUND AS AN EXERCISE IN RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Authors: WALKER ROBERT , LAWTON DOROTHY
Published: April 2007

The social fund is the latest attempt to cope with the exceptional needs sometimes experienced by people in receipt of social assistance. It is also the first occasion when resource allocation decisions have been located centre‐stage in a policy area that, hitherto, has been primarily demand‐led. The social fund, which is eventually to be cash‐limited, is allocated between over 400 Department of Social Security (dss; formerly Department of Health and Social Security, dhss) local offices. The article describes how the 1988/9 budget was fixed and allocated between local offices, considers some of the problems that policymakers faced when devising the allocation criteria and examines the territorial redistribution inherent in the chosen strategy and which may or may not have been intended.
1992: THE ILLUSION OF CHANGE
Authors: CAMPBELL JIM , PEPPER CATHERINE , BARNES IAN
Published: April 2007

Despite all the recent publicity surrounding the benefits of a ‘Europe without frontiers’ it would be wrong to assume that the attainment of this goal is a foregone conclusion. The 1992 deadline is a political expedient designed to create the impression that European economic integration is an irreversible process. However, the reality is that there is still a long way to go before Europe is truly ‘open for business’. Barriers to trade will remain despite the enthusiasm of the Commission for radical change, because it is the member states who finally decide on the shape of new initiatives. In order to achieve agreement compromises have to be made, and this reduces the impact of reforms. The measures taken to complete that internal market of the EC can become exercises in harmonization rather than significant reforms which offer direct benefits to business. This article is concerned with one such exercise in harmonization, the introduction of the Single Administrative Document (sad).
DECISION AND ORGANIZATION – PROCESSES OF STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING AND THEIR EXPLANATION
Authors: HICKSON DAVID J. , BUTLER RICHARD J. , CRAY DAVID , MALLORY GEOFFREY R. , WILSON DAVID C.
Published: April 2007

Strategic decisions shape the course taken by an organization, whether it be in the public sector or the private sector. An analysis is reported of 150 cases of the making of such decisions in both publicly and privately owned organizations. Three types of decision‐making process are identified, sporadic, fluid, and constricted. Differences due to the nature of the subject matter under decision, and to the nature of the organization, are examined. Differences in the propensity to sporadic decision‐making processes in the administration of publicly owned organizations are described.
REGULATORY REFORM IN BRITAIN: THE CHANGING FACE OF SELF‐REGULATION
Authors: BAGGOTT ROB
Published: April 2007

Self‐regulation has been at the centre of a number of public and academic debates in Britain in recent years. This article enquires into the nature of self‐regulation and attempts to improve our understanding of it in a number of ways: by attempting to define self‐regulation; by assessing certain trends and developments in self‐regulatory systems; by trying to explain these trends and developments; and by outlining the implications of self‐regulation for policy making and public accountability. The main conclusion reached is that, from a public administration perspective at least, concern should not centre upon whether or not self‐regulation is increasing or decreasing. Instead, the main focus should be upon the ability of such systems to respond to pressures for reform and provide effective regulation within a broad framework of public accountability.
HORMONES, HEIFERS AND HIGH POLITICS – BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Authors: PETERSON JOHN
Published: April 2007

The recent ec ban on imports of hormone‐treated beef and the central place of agricultural régime liberalization in the Uruguay round of GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) negotiations have combined to make agricultural reform a matter of ‘high politics’ in international trade. But debates on medium‐term reform of the Common Agricultural Policy fail to consider the impact of future developments in biotechnology, which threaten to overwhelm the ec's ability to cope with agricultural surplus. Meanwhile, the ec has begun to accelerate its efforts to promote Europe's competitiveness in global biotechnology markets through new collaborative research programmes. The clash of interests between the ec's agricultural and technology policy communities has produced contradictory policies and new obstacles toward the critical goal of reforming the cap. The ec's efforts to promote biotechnology must be reconciled with biotechnology's future impacts on European agriculture through more rigorous technology assessment and reform of agricultural policy‐making mechanisms.
CORE EXECUTIVE STUDIES IN BRITAIN
Authors: DUNLEAVY PATRICK , RHODES R. A. W.
Published: April 2007

Discussions of core executive operations in Britain have focused on a limited controversy about whether monocratic control is exercised by the premier or whether more collegial decision making persists in Cabinet. An extended typology of institutionalist views is examined, including the prime ministerial clique interpretation, models of ministerial government, segmented decision making, and bureaucratic coordination. This restricted debate reflects normative anxieties about Britain's unbalanced constitution, party‐structured legislature and an inadequate rational policy process inside the executive. New directions for core executive research are examined, including the analysis of decisional studies, more disaggregated and differentiated accounts of the core executive, coalition politics in the core executive, and the analysis of leadership influences.
STRONG STATE OR WEAK STATE IN FOREIGN POLICY? THE CONTRADICTIONS OF CONSERVATIVE LIBERALISM, 1979–1987
Authors: WALLACE WILLIAM , WALLACE HELEN
Published: April 2007

According to the system of natural liberty, the sovereign has only three duties to attend to; …first, the duty of protecting the society from the violence and invasion of other independent societies…

Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations
PRIME MINISTERS AND THE COMMONS: PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOUR, 1868 TO 1987
Authors: DUNLEAVY PATRICK , JONES G. W. , O'LEARY BRENDAN
Published: April 2007

Since 1868 nineteen Prime Ministers have answered parliamentary questions, made statements, given major speeches, and intervened in debates in the House of Commons. This article presents a comparative and quantitative analysis of PMS' behaviour patterns on these four dimensions. Key findings include: the importance of 1940 as the critical break between a traditional and a modem form of parliamentary activity, in which Prime Ministers make fewer contributions to Commons proceedings altogether, fewer speeches and far fewer interventions in debates than in the pre‐1940 period, but more statements; the emergence of question time as the absolutely dominant form of prime ministerial activity in the Commons, especially from the mid‐1970s onwards; and the distinctiveness of Thatcher's minimalist Commons activity, when set against other post‐1940 PMs.
IN DEFENCE OF LUTHER GULICK'S‘NOTES ON THE THEORY OF ORGANIZATION
Authors: HAMMOND THOMAS H.
Published: April 2007

This article reviews a debate in public administration which occurred some 40 years ago between two giants of public administration, Luther Gulick and Herbert Simon. Simon is generally considered to have ‘won’ the debate in the 1940s and 195Os, and there is good reason to think that this ‘victory’ turned the field of public administration in a direction very different from where it had been headed previously. The paper makes two arguments. The first argument is that a close examination of the key articles – Gulicks ‘Notes on the Theory of Organization’ (1937) and Simon's The Proverbs of Administration' (1946) – shows that Gulicks essay was not nearly as vulnerable to Simon's criticisms as has commonly been assumed. In general, Gulicks arguments are richer and far more subtle than Simon recognized. The second argument has a more current focus: had Gulicks approach been pursued in the ways Gulick suggested, there is reason to think we would know considerably more about the design of organizational structures than we currently do.
THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE: BUDGETARY CONTROL IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
Authors: LEVY ROGER
Published: April 2007

The problems of budgetary control in the EC have been assuming ever greater political importance recently. Yet behind the facade of concern is a lack of knowledge of the extent of the problem, and a seeming inability to take effective action to deal with some of the best known aspects of it. It is argued here that the achievement of budgetary control is particularly difficult in the context of the EC for a variety of reasons. Using a simple cyclical model of budgetary control, the constraints can be grouped into four main categories – conceptual, structural, operational and political. These are examined in turn drawing specific examples from community documentation. Finally, certain avenues for reform are suggested which may be implemented in the future.
CENTRAL GRANTS AND LOCAL POLICY VARIATION
Authors: BOYNE GEORGE A.
Published: April 2007

This paper estimates the impact of central grants on local spending decisions in England in the 19%. The analysis is based on a more explicit conceptual framework and a more appropriate methodology than conventionally used to measure grant effects in ‘output’ studies' of local policy variation. A set of six hypotheses is derived from political and economic theories of grant impact. The relationship between grants and expenditure change is estimated through a TSLS (Two Stage Least Squares) regression model. The main empirical results are that grants are an important constraint on spending decisions and that different types of grants have different effects: lump sum grants are substitutive and matching grants are stimulative. The evidence also indicates that spending is influenced by party politics, service needs and the local tax base.
THE UNITARY STATE AS A SYSTEM OF CO‐GOVERNANCE: THE CASE OF THE NETHERLANDS
Authors: TOONEN THEO A. J.
Published: April 2007

The original institutional design of Dutch administration and intergovernmental relations is commonly referred to as the ‘decentralized unitary state’. However, the views of traditional administrative theorists have been misrepresented. Hierarchy, uniformity and the separation and delimitation of layers of government are not, as often alleged, the theoretical underpinnings of the Dutch unitary state. Rather, classical theory emphasized interdependence, diversity and the dynamic interaction of relatively independent layers of government. This image suggests that Dutch administration does not need a greater separation of layers of government but better means for regulating conflict. It also suggests that the unitary state comes in several guises and cannot be equated with a monocentric system of government.
LOCAL ENTERPRISE BOARDS: THE SHORT HISTORY OF A RADICAL INITIATIVE
Authors: COCHRANE ALLAN , CLARKE ALAN
Published: April 2007

Local enterprise boards were first developed as radical initiatives For economic intervention in the early 1980s. Despite the closeness of their dates of birth, however, and the apparent similarity of the organizational forms (and titles) which they adopted, the differences between the boards were as significant as their shared features. The ambitions of each of the five first‐wave boards were quite distinct. Some were more radical than others: some were concerned to challenge the market, whilst others were more concerned to work with it. But the experience of market‐based intervention through the last decade as well as the legislative and financial constraints imposed by central government have encouraged a degree of convergence, particularly as grander ambitions have been modified. Partnership with the private sector (including the financial sector) became increasingly important for all of them, to the extent that legislation to restrict the operation of local authority based companies of this sort seems misplaced, at least if it is intended to undermine local socialism. The enterprise boards now seem to offer a better model for the involvement of business in regional and local government, than they do as trojan horses for the local authority left.
DECISION MAKING REVISITED
Authors: CHAPMAN RICHARD A.
Published: April 2007

Decision Making is a case study of the decision to raise the Bank Rate by 2 per cent (to 7 per cent) on 19 September 1957. Following the decision there were rumours that there had been improper disclosure of information before the official announcement. There was newspaper speculation and Questions were asked in the House of Commons. Later, a Tribunal of Inquiry was set up which found that there had been no improper disclosure but which revealed much not previously known about the way the Treasury and the Bank of England worked, both separately and together. This article reconsiders selected aspects of the original study in the light of files recently released in the Public Record Office and of other publications since the book was published. It includes comments about the availability of files, open government, and the study of public administration in the United Kingdom.
IRELAND, NORTHERN IRELAND AND 1992: THE BARRIERS TO TECHNOCRATIC ANTI‐PARTITIONISM
Authors: LYNE THOMAS
Published: April 2007

This article examines the likely effects of 1992 on the relationship between the Republic and Northern Ireland. In particular, it seeks to assess the strategy of undermining partition through economic integration. After looking at the positions of the advocates of such a strategy and of its opponents, the difficulties in the way of the successful pursuit of such a policy are examined. These are: the extent to which the Single European Act will be made fully operative; the economic limits on cross‐border cooperation; the administrative and governmental difficulties of pursuing cross‐border cooperation; and the degree to which the political and cultural foundations of partition are independent of the economy. The article concludes with the argument that these barriers are such that a reliance on the pressures generated by the Single European Act and on a purely technocratic strategy of cross‐border cooperation will not be sufficient to alter the constitutional relationship between the Republic and Northern Ireland.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE TEMPLE? MANAGERS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE PUBLIC SERVICES
Authors: POLLITT CHRISTOPHER
Published: April 2007

Quality’ is now high on the policy agenda for many of our major public services. This article raises the question of what are the respective roles in securing quality of, on the one hand, professional service deliverers and, on the other, managers. It reviews a range of possible roles for managers and concludes that some of these are likely to be illegitimate and ineffective. Even the more appropriate roles will, however, often prove difficult to establish in practice. The article concludes with an examination of some possible key design features for successful relationships between managers and professional service deliverers. These are examined against the background of specific changes currently underway in the health care and education sectors.
THE POLICE SERVICE AFTER THE WAR: STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
Authors: PARKER K. A. L.
Published: April 2007

The police service is now the subject of intense political and considerable academic interest. But 40 years ago neither of these factors applied. Jenifer Hart's book (1951) still gives the best picture of the service in the immediate post‐war years, with the additional authority of her previous service in the Home Office, but it has long been out of print. There is no other detailed description of the police as it was then, although it is dealt with as part of a much larger picture in Critchley (1967) and in Stead (1985). The object of this article is to look at what was done ‐ or left undone ‐ in those post‐war years, before the opportunity is lost of enhancing the records (such as they are) from personal experience, with emphasis on matters of current concern. This is an administrative study, and no attempt is made to deal with police operations or with changes in the law affecting police practice. Nor does it deal with the police in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: A PARTICIPATORY CHALLENGE TO ELITIST BRITISH GOVERNMENT
Authors: TANT A. P.
Published: April 2007

The proponents of freedom of information have, since the 1970s, sponsored successive Private Members bills seeking to liberalize Section Two of the Official Secrets Act. Until recently they have had no success. Indeed, the latest Official Secrets Act, which replaces Section Two, represents, in large part, further government determination to control information. Yet some limited success has recently been achieved, for example, in the areas of local government, personal files and environmental safety. This article seeks to explain both the successes and failures of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, and assess prospects for the future. First, the durability of official secrecy is considered, through demonstrating its consistency with governmental and representational principles upon which British government stands. Those underlying freedom of information on the other hand, are in conflict with the British political tradition. The progress of certain ‘limited bills furthered by the campaign is then followed. By distinguishing between qualitatively different aspects of freedom of information and British government, the price extracted by government for legislative success can be seen to demonstrate that ‘freedom of information’ is compatible with ‘low politics’, but ‘open government’ conflicts fundamentally with the ‘high politics’ concerns of British government.
MANAGING FINANCIAL STRINGENCY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Authors: GILL JOHN , FRAME PHILIP
Published: April 2007

This article contributes to the debate about the most effective ways to manage the effects of financial stringency in the public sector. It tentatively draws ideas for further research from three action research studies conducted longitudinally over several years in different contexts and sectors and at different organization levels within the public sector. Our contribution focuses on the management of the early stages of stringency. We conclude that in stringent times, particularly in the short‐term, intra‐organizational conflict is likely to increase; organizational climates to become more cautious and reactive; and management to become more centralized, controlling and to take what is termed the efficiency rather than the effectiveness option. To these factors is added the resistance to change inherent in professional bureaucracies. Managers in public sector organizations experiencing harsher environments need to be helped to plan strategically for implementation in the particular context in which they find themselves.
A PUBLIC MANAGEMENT FOR ALL SEASONS?
Authors: HOOD CHRISTOPHER
Published: April 2007

This article discusses: the doctrinal content of the group of ideas known as ‘new public management’(NPM); the intellectual provenance of those ideas; explanations for their apparent persuasiveness in the 1980 s; and criticisms which have been made of the new doctrines. Particular attention is paid to the claim that NPM offers an all‐purpose key to better provision of public services. This article argues that NFM has been most commonly criticized in terms of a claimed contradiction between ‘equity’ and ‘efficiency’ values, but that any critique which is to survive NPM's claim to ‘infinite reprogrammability’ must be couched in terms of possible conflicts between administrative values. The conclusion is that the ESRC'S Management in Government’ research initiative has been more valuable in helping to identify rather than to definitively answer, the key conceptual questions raised by NPM.
ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS A PERFORMANCE: SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
Authors: DUNSIRE ANDREW , HARTLEY KEITH , PARKER DAVID
Published: April 2007

Hypotheses derived from the public choice and other literatures on the relationship between ownership and performance were tested on ten UK organizations which had undergone status change, within the public sector or between the public and private sectors, in the last twenty years. Results on tests of performance in productivity, employment, and financial ratios against change in status, competition and internal management failed in most cases to support the thesis that change in ownership improves enterprise performance, even in its more sophisticated form where ownership change is assumed to be accompanied by increased competition and improved managerial incentives.
THE MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE IN WHITEHALL: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE FMI
Authors: GRAY ANDREW , JENKINS BILL , FLYNN ANDREW , RUTHERFORD BRIAN
Published: April 2007

The Conservative government announced the Financial Management Initiative in 1982. This article is based on research into the genesis, development and impact of the FMI. The findings suggest that the FMI has contributed significantly to the institutionalization of resource management in general and cost awareness in particular. Implementation has been influenced, however, by the differentiation of departmental tasks and contexts, the inevitable tension between management and politics, and the difficulty of meeting the conditions for the successful engineering of cultural change.
GENERAL MANAGEMENT IN THE NHS: THE INITIAL IMPACT 1983–88
Authors: POLLITT CHRISTOPHER , HARRISON STEPHEN , HUNTER DAVID J. , MARNOCH GORDON
Published: April 2007

The Griffiths report of 1983 resulted in radical changes (to which the label ‘general management’ has been applied) to the formalities of organization and management in the national health service. We report the findings of a major study (involving more than 300 interviews) of the impact of these changes up to 1988. Although general management has been widely accepted in the service, and seems to have resulted in some improvements to management processes, there has been no substantial change in organizational culture. We conclude that the impact of the Griffiths model of management has been limited in comparison with the continued influence of medical autonomy and financial limitations.
LEARNING TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE: THE USE OF INDICATORS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Authors: CARTER NEIL
Published: April 2007

Performance indicators (PIS) are central to the Thatcher Administration's strategy for reforming the management of government. This paper reports on research into the development and use of PIS in government departments, public agencies and private businesses in the 1980s. This comparative approach shows that the problems of performance assessment and the methods adopted for the design of PI systems, cut across the public/private divide but are related to the specific characteristics of organizations and their environment. The paper further analyses various dimensions of PI systems ‐ notably, the measurement of quality and consumer satisfaction ‐ and examines their implementation and evolution. The lifecycle of PIS suggests a possible prescriptive theory: the ‘mature’ PI model seems to be characterized by being designer‐built, parsimonious and timely. The drive towards the development of PI systems, it is concluded, is likely to intensify in the 1990s, in response to the Next Steps initiative and as instruments for the regulation of privatized monopolies.
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE IN LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A WARM EMBRACE OR AN ARTFUL SIDESTEP?
Authors: BOVAIRD TONY , GREGORY DAVID , MARTIN STEPHEN
Published: April 2007

This article examines the extent to which changing approaches to performance management have had an impact on a range of agencies responsible for local economic development programmes in Britain. It explores the possibility that the effectiveness of public programmes could be more sharply highlighted and incorporated in the performance review of organizations. It demonstrates that major improvements have occurred but that overall the planning and management of local economic development remains largely incremental. While the FMI (Financial Management Initiative) has led to greater understanding of the extent to which corporate and programme accountability can be achieved in public agencies, it is not clear that sufficient momentum has been achieved for future changes to be self‐generating. Further progress in performance management continues to be dependent on strong external pressures to publicize, probe and reward demonstrable improvements in public sector performance.
THE NEW ‘EVALUATI STATE’
Authors: HENKEL MARY
Published: April 2007

This article is based on a comparative study of three forms of evaluation used by government, the Audit Commission, consultants and the Social Services Inspectorate. The paper argues that these evaluative bodies strengthened the authority of government in the 1980s and supported the shift from a professional to a managerial culture in government. Their contribution to those changes can be linked to the kinds of knowledge they used and the positivist assumptions about knowledge that reasserted themselves in evaluation and in government in the 1980s. However, the research also provides further support for the critics of positivism. The distinction between fact and value and between technical expertise and political argument often broke down in evaluative practice.