William B. Eimicke

The future of e-government: a project of potential trends and issues

The purpose of this paper is to project the trends and issues that will arise over the next decade as e-government develops and matures. When government acts to innovate and implement new ideas and technologies, issues arise that are common to all organizations, such as the costs and benefits of adopting new technologies, and the effect of technologies on productivity and customer service. This project will include a projection of the effect of e-government on customer service and productivity. However, government differs from private and nonprofit organizations in important ways, due to politics and media scrutiny. For that reason issues other than productivity and customer service must be analyzed. This project explores and projects potential uses of the Web for: government-to-government interaction; procurement; citizen participation including public comment, instant random sample surveying, and even voting; education; and lobbying and interest group interaction with government.

Trends in 20th Century United States Government Ethics

As the twentieth century comes to a close, ethics is returning to the public sector reform agenda. Just as it was at the turn of this century the current focus is on the administrative branch of government. Then, as now, scandals involving elected officials prompted the reform initiatives. However, today there is far less consensus on the most appropriate elements of the reform agenda, perhaps reflecting a century of less than successful ethically-driven reforms.

Ethics and the Public Administrator

This article provides an overview and analysis of the practical problems of developing and implementing a code of ethics for public administrators. The article addresses three key issues: (1) What are public ethics and where do they come from? (2) What are the central ethical issues facing public administrators? and (3) Are there practical tools and guidelines to assist public servants to be both ethical and effective public managers? The article concludes with a plea for consideration of ethical issues, and it presents five general ethical principles for public administrators.

The Overregulated Civil Service

best people, reward top performers and terminate those who are unwilling or unable to do their jobs. Specifically, our research was directed at identifying methods to increase agency flexibility in hiring and deployment of personnel, simplify compensation, promotion and reward procedures and making it easier to fire poor performers. Based on our research and interviews with a variety of civil service participants and experts, we concluded that the New York City civil service system needs drastic reform in the areas

Professionalism and Participation: Compatible Means to Improved Social Services?

The central issue in welfare policy is clear and constant: how can the relatively affluent majority be persuaded to share its wealth and concern with those left behind in poverty (37, p. 1)? The Judeo-Christian ethic, the basic humanitarian orientation of most Americans, and a long tradition of private charity have convinced the majority of Americans that something must be done for the poor. The conflict is precipitated when it must be decided how much will be done, in what manner, and at what cost. As Elizabeth Wickenden states:

America Works' Criminal Justice Program: Providing Second Chances Through Work

This report presents a case study of a new program developed by America Works, Incorporated, to assist released prisoners reenter the world of work. The report describes the substantial problem presented by America’s growing prison population, and the related challenge to society by released prisoners. The costs and benefits of programs to train ex-convicts for jobs are discussed. Finally, a profile of America Works and its efforts to assist released prisoners is provided. The paper concludes that the America Works program has been effective in finding private sector employment for ex-offenders.

Ethical Public Entrepreneurship: Common Dilemmas from North and South America

Abstract Public administration scholars and practitioners differ widely in their views regarding the ethical risks of entrepreneurial behavior and decisionmaking in the public sector. This article examines three cases, two from the United States and one from Colombia, which highlight the ethical issues raised when governments use the entrepreneurial tools of competition, privatization, and contracting out. Issues of job loss, favoritism, corruption, poor performance, and limited access to services often accompany the process of privatization/outsourcing. The political, legal, and economic problems in the Latin American context are somewhat different from those in North America, reflecting varying policy objectives and cultural and institutional contexts. The ethical dilemmas faced, however, are substantially the same. Several principles are suggested to guide public administrators through entrepreneurial ventures, including the need to take individual responsibility for the process and its consequences (past, present, and future), as well as the need for a heightened emphasis on thorough analysis and professional competence as an ethical imperative.

Eliot Spitzer: "The People's Lawyer"

Corruption at the highest levels of government and business has led news reports around the world in these early years of the new century. In this environment, the identification of individuals who adhere to high ethical standards is particularly useful for guidance in ethical decision-making. This profile examines whether Eliot Spitzer, New York State attorney general, has become an ethical role model by prosecuting criminal behavior in the business sector. The article looks at four of Spitzers most controversial investigations: gun control, acid rain, Wall Street financial manipulations, and garment-industry organized crime. These cases have earned Spitzer praise for protecting the interests of the average citizen against business, as well as criticism for overstepping his jurisdiction and trying cases in the media. The discussion concludes that exemplars need not, indeed cannot, be perfect to accomplish a great deal.

Using Strategic Information Systems to Improve Contracted Services and Assess Privatization Options

Government officials are looking to contracting out and privatization as means to create a public sector that works better and costs less. This new approach to public service delivery is evident in the welfare to work reforms of the 1990s, lowand moderate-income housing construction and management, homeless services, economic development and job training, and the charter school movement. Contracted services require a whole new set of skills for government workers, including contract design, negotiation, monitoring, and evaluation. Sophisticated information systems are crucial to performance management and evaluation systems that are essential to effective contract management. This chapter explores the theory and practice of performance measurement and information technology (IT) in the context of outsourcing public service delivery. It discusses the use of government strategic planning and information-based performance management to plan and manage private contractors performing public tasks. While information systems are critical to the management of in-house organizational units, we believe they are even more important in managing the work of contractors.

Larger Role Essential

The target publication date for the special issue is late 1976. To meet this target, manuscripts must be in the hands of the referees by March 1975, and revisions must be completed by December 1975. Submit manuscripts by sending them to the editors: Paul C. Nystrom and William H. Starbuck, Editors, Management Science Special Issue, School of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201. ould also be short, as Management Science l mits