The Operator's Manual for the New Administration

Submitted by on Sat, 07/12/2008 - 13:47

The Operator's Manual is a guide of how government works and how to make it work to advance policy goals and objectives. We present, in brief and simple terms, descriptions of the most important tools and levers that executives can use to advance agency goals and the president's agenda. This Manual will help executives understand the terrain of government, become familiar with the terms and lingo used inside agencies, and know how to effectively use the tools of government.

Integrating Performance and Budgets

Submitted by on Fri, 01/19/2007 - 12:55

Governments are under increasing pressure to produce—and to demonstrate—results in terms of their mission. Over the last decade, countries around the world have undertaken reforms with the aim of improving the relevance and effectiveness of public services and the quality of public sector management. Integrating Performance and Budgets showcases attempts by federal and state governments, as well as a mix of developed and developing countries, to introduce performance or results-oriented budgeting and management as a means to support better decision making and accountability.

Competition, Choice, and Incentives in Government Programs

Submitted by on Mon, 06/19/2006 - 00:00

Since the 1980s, the language used around market-based government has muddied its meaning and polarized its proponents and critics, making the topic politicized and controversial. Competition, Choice, and Incentives in Government Programs hopes to reframe competing views of market-based government so it is seen not as an ideology but rather as a fact-based set of approaches for managing government services and programs more efficiently and effectively.

Learning the Ropes: Insights for Political Appointees

Submitted by on Sun, 05/15/2005 - 00:00

Learning the Ropes: Insights for Political Appointees is geared to providing helpful advice to new political appointees on a variety of topics related to the challenge of managing in government. Chapter two by Judith Michaels presents key lessons learned from two surveys of previous political appointees, as well as personal interviews with nearly 50 former political executives from both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Managing for Results 2005

Submitted by on Wed, 12/15/2004 - 00:00

The 'managing for results' movement that began in the early 1990s has now reached adolescence and is creating new challenges for government managers. After spending years creating planning and performance-measuring systems, managers and policy makers now need to focus on how to use performance information to make data-driven decisions. Managing Results for 2005 describes—through a series of case studies—the progress being made in federal, state, and local governments in managing for results.

Human Capital 2004

Submitted by on Sat, 05/15/2004 - 00:00

Governments today face a growing set of challenges around the recruitment, retention, and management of their workforces. In short, the job of government today is straightforward: getting the best from its biggest assets—its people. Getting the most from people and building a workplace that promotes top performance is a huge challenge—one that we call 'human capital management.' Human capital management is increasingly important in an environment where governments are trying to directly improve the performance of their organizations by increasing the 'outputs' of their people.

Collaboration: Using Networks and Partnerships

Submitted by on Mon, 03/15/2004 - 00:00

As government faces more complex problems, and citizens expect more, the way government delivers services and results is changing rapidly. The traditional model of government agencies administering hundreds of programs by themselves is giving way to one-stop services and cross-agency results. This translation implies collaboration—within agencies; among agencies; among levels of governments; and among the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The first part of this book describes what networks and partnerships are.

Transforming Government Supply Chain Management

Submitted by on Sat, 11/15/2003 - 00:00

World-class, commercial supply chain management standards are now exceptionally high. The best organizations measure order-to-receipt time in two days or less, with near perfect probability. This speed is backed up by nimble systems capable of rapidly responding to unexpected contingencies and surge requirements.

New Ways of Doing Business

Submitted by on Tue, 08/12/2003 - 14:51

This book is an invaluable guide to navigating the sometimes controversial changes taking place in the internal operations of government, the delivery of services to citizens, and the delivery of environmental programs. Possibly the most monumental change taking place in our modern government is the lessening allegiance to the old model of in-house, in-departmental performance of tasks.

The Procurement Revolution

Submitted by on Tue, 04/15/2003 - 00:00

The ninth book in the IBM Endowment Series on the Business of Government, The Procurement Revolution continues the tradition of timely and vital information dissemination the series has come to stand for. Focusing on the titular revolutionary changes the government has had and will have to make in its approach to procuring goods and services, this book strives to capture the creativity and energy that can and should be brought to government procurement.

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