Suggests that professional researchers need to act as change agents to convince government officials of the usefulness of performance measurement. Offers guidelines for professional researchers who want to increase the use of performance by governments at all levels. (Contains 53 references.) (JOW)

Performance-oriented program management is needed at all levels of government. Despite concerns about outcome versus impact, validity, reliability, cost, and standards, monitoring of public agency program quality and outcomes is feasible and essential for accountability. (SK)

A study of 1,243 executive directors of public authorities shows that many are career people with diverse educational backgrounds and skills similar to public administration professionals. Results suggest that the strong sense of professional identity among city managers may be a model for public authority managers to consider. (Author)

Summarizes public-sector research related to employee burnout in 34 work settings. Findings fall into three major categories: (1) many variables co-vary with the phases in regular and robust ways; (2) incidences of advanced phases vary in burnout populations; and (3) burnout in the U.S. public sector is not appreciably worse than in business. (JOW)

Pre/post meeting surveys of 181 participants in public land management meetings (51% response) determined that high-quality public participation in public agency meetings affects participants' beliefs in the effectiveness of those agencies. Positive associations were also found with tolerance for differences of opinion. (Contains 28 references.)…

Compares auditing with evaluation research in terms of foci, independence, quality control, and professionalism of program evaluation practitioners. Indicates that if policymakers do not consider what they expect from evaluations and incorporate expectations into requests for evaluations, practitioners will make the decisions for them. (JOW)

Focuses on the integrated use of economic, sociological, social-psychological, and other advanced conceptual models and heuristics in the study of public institutions and management, with the potential to strengthen the field's scholarship and the possibilities for theory-grounded practice. (Author/JOW)

The author proposes an integrated systems approach to managing governmental organizations based on a job task analysis called Job Task Systems Management. Job task analysis is not merely a basis for training development, but also a foundation for all other aspects of the organization's management system. An application example is provided.…

A survey of 525 members of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (MPAs) received 160 responses. In contrast to Herbert's 1974 essay depicting MPAs at the mercy of forces beyond their control, survey responses showed them making impressive gains in upper-level federal management positions and taking a proactive role in dealing with…

Describes the efforts undertaken and lessons learned by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation as it began the transformation of its agency culture in keeping with a total quality management model. Discusses the struggle encountered by the agency in making the personal transformation necessary for the transformation of the…

A survey of nonprofit literature on board governance, volunteer management, and performance measurement shows that study of the nonprofit sector can help inform public management's "big questions": breaking the micromanagement cycle, motivating employees, and measuring performance. Nonprofit studies could enrich public administration curricula.…

Total quality management will not work well in government agencies because of stress on products, not services; on well-defined consumer groups; on inputs/processes, not results; and on preoccupation with quality. An effective revised version emphasizes client feedback, performance monitoring, continuous improvement, and worker participation. (SK)

Of 833 Canadian government officials surveyed, 12% always/often and 16% never receive relevant university research; 53% of research results have rarely or never influenced decisions. Multivariate regression analyses identified these predictors of research use: users' efforts to find and adapt research, organizational context, and researcher-user…

The author recommends an approach to public management studies that teaches how public management affects the quality of citizens' lives. Using examples from the literature on schools, prisons, and armies, he argues that public management studies should attempt to specify what ends given public organizations ought to achieve and how best to…

A framework for evaluating public-private partnership projects in housing and community development organizes nine criteria in three categories: (1) need for partnership (problem magnitude, duplication); (2) process (planning, structure of partnership, management of operations, resource acquisition/management); and (3) outcomes (achievement of…