Kuno Schedler

Customer orientation in electronic government: Motives and effects

Electronic government is attested to have the potential to shape public administrations to be more customer oriented. In order to be customer oriented, municipalities need knowledge about customer needs. Which municipalities explore customer needs and what do they change is investigated using data of a nationwide survey about e-government in Switzerland. Results show big differences in exploring customer needs between municipalities. General characteristics of municipalities and support of administrative leaders and politicians can partly explain these differences. Customer orientation shows effects on the availability of usability features on Web sites and on the selection of topics, to which municipalities provide forms or transactions online.

LOCAL AND REGIONAL PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REFORMS IN SWITZERLAND

Public management reforms at the local (community) and regional (canton) level in Switzerland almost all embrace elements of the new public management. In addition, in Switzerland, the merging of small communities as well as new developments such as electronic government are becoming apparent. The new public management model has been adapted for Swiss needs according to the perception of decision makers on problems that require solution in a Swiss context. NPM has developed, therefore, into rather different models in practice, aimed at the solution of these diverse problems. Foreign examples, such as the Dutch Tilburg Model and the German Neues Steuerungsmodell, played a major role at the start of this process, but have continuously lost their influence as actual models to be emulated. The most outstanding peculiarities of the Swiss reforms are an early and subsequent outcome focus together with the strong influence of direct democracy.

Exploring the Interrelations Between Electronic Government and the New Public Management

This paper explores how electronic government (e-government) can be understood in the context of business administration. Our focus is on nontechnical issues: we concentrate on the analysis of organizational, cultural and managerial aspects, in order to approach the possible development of egovernment and its implications on the public sector at different state levels. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between the Public Management – particularly in the form of the New Public Management (NPM) – and egovernment. Based on the outcomes of the analysis mentioned above, an attempt is made to identify the greatest problems that governments will have to face with respect to the introduction of e-government, and what kind of – if any – contribution the disciplines of business administration and NPM can make to resolve these problems. In order to achieve these goals, we set up a conceptual framework for e-government from the perspective of NPM and analyze its components. Our conclusion is that e-government can be interpreted as a reform element that supports the idea behind the NPM and, with its technological equipment, eases modernization as a whole.

Quality in public management: the customer perspective

Abstract This article presents reflections on the transposition of the private-sector concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the public sector. We search for answers to the following questions: · At what levels of the public sector is the concept of TQM operative? · How must the concept of TQM be interpreted for its transposition to the public sector? · What are the connections between the conventional quality-assurance control principles of public management and TQM? TQM intends to exercise influence on organizational action. Action by the state and, in this specific case, by public management requires legitimization. For this reason, the notion of legitimization must be analyzed more closely, and the operative levels of TQM must be placed in their respective contexts. Legitimization may be considered to have three layers: basic legitimization is a product of the social contract and refers to the state and its structures in general terms; institutional legitimization relates to public management as an institution, and to its outward manifestations; and individual legitimization is the product of specific contacts between management and its customers. It is on this individual level that most changes are sought by New Public Management.

Political versus managerial use of cost and performance accounting

This article explains why it is impossible to use cost and performance accounting in public administration purely as an instrument for internal management. The authors report on a survey in Switzerland which highlighted the different expectations that politicians and managers have for cost and performance accounting. The authors warn that politicians and managers need to be aware of the conflicts arising from their different information needs. New cost and performance accounting systems need to be designed to satisfy both groups.

Strategies for Introducing Organizational Innovation to Public Service Organizations

As social systems, organizations need to ensure connectivity between established and deviant communication streams to accomplish organizational innovation. This article explores elements and systemic strategies of connectivity formation for the introduction of an organizational innovation such as the concept of crowd innovation in the public sector. For public administrations, crowd innovation represents an organizational innovation since it implies broad participation and the integration of external ideas, and thus often opposes prevalent organizational structures. Our findings contribute to the knowledge on systemic innovation management and suggest that public managers can enhance connectivity formation by addressing semantics, routines, practices, roles, and redundancies.

E-Government: What Countries Do and Why: A European Perspective

Abstract This primarily descriptive contribution focuses on seven European countries. A heuristic e-government model is presented, which serves as a reference frame for structuring the information available from individual countries. In this examination, we assume that the differences between countries also have their roots in the motivational situation of the relevant political entities, as well as in the problem perception of the various governments. We have subjected the strategies communicated by the national government which results in a “motive barometer” for the soft factors behind e-government.

Performance Measurement in a Direct Democratic Environment: Local Government Reforms in Switzerland

Current international development in public management is characterized by a rare unanimity among countries. Trends in public administration, business administration, applied economics, and public law indicate a stronger emphasis on performance and a weakening of input-oriented analysis and steering. At the foundation of this development is performance measurement (PM). However, the political and administrative circumstance of its implementation differ widely. The following article deals with the implications of Swiss direct democracy for new approaches to public management and, specifically, performance measurement.

1. ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT REFORM AND STRATEGY

This book is organized into five sections. The first four sections are devoted to investigation of the seven different strategies to achieve public management reform delineated in this book. The seven strategies are: (1) increased accountability; (2) decentralization and delegation of authority and responsibility for decision making and management; (3) application of information technology to improve management and responsiveness of governments to citizens; (4) developing and improving management control systems in the public sector; (5) measures to reduce corruption in government, business and society; (6) development and use of performance indicators in public organizations; and (7) integration of performance measurement and management in public organizations. The chapters in each of the five sections address the need for and application of strategy, impediments to implementation, and use cases to support their analysis and conclusions.

Public Management und Public Governance

Public Governance ist ein schillernder Begriff, der in der Literatur sehr unterschiedlich verwendet wird. Es bedarf daher einer Klarung, wie ich ihn im Folgenden einsetzen werde. Ich grenze ihn dabei von zwei verwandten Begriffen ab: vom Government sowie vom Public Management. Government wird hier verstanden als die politisch-hierarchische Fuhrung offentlicher Institutionen. Public Management wird verstanden als die Gestaltung, Lenkung und Entwicklung offentlicher Institutionen und deren Leistungserbringungsprozesse. Public Governance schlieslich wird verstanden als die Organisation der Willensbildung zu, Entscheidungsfindung uber und Erfullung von offentlichen Aufgaben. Der Begriff der Organisation ist dabei in zweifacher Hinsicht zu verstehen: als Strukturen und Institutionen (eine statische Perspektive) sowie als (Zusammen)arbeitsformen und -prozesse (eine dynamische Perspektive), die beide zu einer bestimmten Ausgestaltung der Ressourcenverfugbarkeit fuhren (→ Organisationstheorien). Offentliche Aufgaben sind gesellschaftliche Bereiche, in denen der Staat durch eigene oder ausgeloste Aktionen eine bestimmte Versorgung gewahrleisten muss. Sie werden in politischen Prozessen definiert.