Government at work
Subtitle: best practices and model programs
By: Marc Holzer, Kathe Callahan.
Contributors: Callahan, Kathe.
Publisher: Sage Publications
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Thousand Oaks
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
Subjects: Government productivity -- United States.
Description: This book presents persuasive arguments in support of public service and those who work within it. The authors argue that some services are only appropriate to government control: public safety, highways, armed and emergency services, parks, and public schools. Other services are operated/undertaken by government in response to problems that society and the private sector have failed to solve: housing, transportation, clean air and water, and so on.

In both instances, the public sector requires complex problem-solving processes - never simple solutions - and, despite the negative images of (bumbling) bureaucrats imprinted on the public consciousness, Government at Work shows how public servants do difficult jobs well. Marc Holzer and Kathe Callahan compile evidence that creativity, productivity, and excellence are not strangers to, but often characteristic of, government programs.

The public sector's innovative problem-solving should be exploited in the attack on complex problems as they emerge in our society.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Government as problem solver; title: Management for quality; title: Human resource management; title: Adapting technology; title: Building partnerships; title: Measurement for performance; title: Comprehensive improvement; title: Conclusion : an effective public sector.