Public Policy and Performance Management in Democratic Systems

Theory and Practice

verfasst von: Shlomo Mizrahi

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book applies various theoretical tools to explore the advantages and disadvantages of performance management systems, the ways in which they can be improved, and the strategies through which they can be designed and integrated into the policy making process. By providing both theoretical insights and practical applications, it offers a unique perspective. Using four methods of research that have been rarely applied in the performance management literature: formal (game-theoretical) modelling, operational management, new institutionalism, and cross country statistical comparisons based on international data sets, the book illuminates different aspects of performance management systems in the public sector. It offers an integrative theoretical framework for explaining and designing such systems and their integration into the policy making process, and will open up new avenues of research, expose scholars and students to new methodological tools and equip public officials, politicians and citizens with practical methods for improving the performance of the public sector.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

1. Introduction

Abstract

This chapter presents the main arguments and the structure of the book. It applies various theoretical tools to explore the advantages and disadvantages of performance management systems, the ways in which they can be improved, and the strategies through which they can be designed and integrated into the policy-making process. The integration of the theoretical tools results in a performance management policy approach that highlights both the ways in which policy makers can use, and be enriched by, performance management mechanisms, and the ways in which policy theories and practices may help design and implement effective performance management mechanisms. This approach and the book as a whole emphasize the role of public accountability, learning, and entrepreneurship as essential components of effective management and governance.

Shlomo Mizrahi

2. Performance Management in the Public Sector: The State of Art

Abstract

This chapter explains the core characteristics of performance management and how it came to be part of the New Public Management movement. We explain the broad range of applications both at the macro and micro levels, and the advantages and disadvantages of such mechanisms. We also present a principal-agent framework of the nested relations in the public domain as the basis for further exploration to be carried out in the next chapters. The chapter then discusses the literature related to the ways in which public organizations can manage the core pathologies of performance management systems. The chapter also distinguishes between macro-level governance and policy making, and micro-level organizational management. Throughout the chapter we elaborate the research questions to be explored in the next chapters.

Shlomo Mizrahi

3. Performance Management, Gaming, and Monitoring in Democratic Systems

Abstract

The chapter addresses the problem of monitoring gaming activities in performance management mechanisms. We explain how the fundamental structures of democracy motivate all of the players in the public domain to engage in activities to game the system. The dual role that politicians, regulators, and senior administrators play as principals and agents, and the fact that the interests of principals and agents may align creates acute problems of responsibility, accountability, and reporting. Principals may devise an explicit contract to reduce the agents’ gaming efforts by introducing performance measures that benefit them, and/or by imposing painful penalties on the agents’ gaming. On the organizational level, performance management systems should emphasize learning through dialogue while avoiding the attachment of incentives to performance.

Shlomo Mizrahi

4. Performance Management, Managerial Quality, and Government Performance: A Cross-Country Quantitative Analysis

Abstract

This chapter explores whether and how performance management practices adopted by national governments are related to the specific outcomes they are designed to achieve, particularly, improved government effectiveness and performance. We use data collected by international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to derive general insights through quantitative, cross-country comparisons. The analysis shows that performance management may be effective for improving management quality and government effectiveness that then contribute to the trust that citizens have in their government. Decentralization, coordination initiatives, and the re-direction of resources either do not have an impact on outputs and outcomes or have only an indirect impact. On a practical level, the analysis implies that performance management mechanisms contribute mainly to managerial processes rather than guaranteeing specific outcomes.

Shlomo Mizrahi

5. A Framework for Strategic Performance Management for the Public Sector Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Abstract

This chapter develops a decision-making tool for planning performance management systems that minimize gaming strategies, encourage the use of performance information, and promote an organizational culture that favors cooperative learning. The framework applies the analytic hierarchy process methodology, which is usually used for grading multi-criteria alternatives where a subjective (expert) comparison between alternatives is required. We show how this methodology can be utilized for assigning weights to each one of the components of the organization’s activity as part of a strategic performance management approach. We also demonstrate how public officials can be integrated into this process in a way that can also point to necessary reforms in their role definition and assigned resources.

Shlomo Mizrahi

6. Integrating Performance Management into the Policy Process via Institutional Analysis Framework

Abstract

This chapter develops an integrative framework for analyzing the ways in which specific performance management systems are decided and implemented. We integrate the various streams of new institutionalism and the explanations of public sector reforms. The framework helps explain processes of change and suggests strategies for overcoming barriers in the stages of policy making and implementation. The framework consists of a four-step analysis that identifies the negative policy feedback, determines the strength of the lock-in effect, explains the evolution of transformative entrepreneurs and their ideational motivations, and analyzes the strategies of change using the typologies in the literature as well as the micro-level decision-making models of rational choice institutionalism.

Shlomo Mizrahi

7. Performance Management in the Public Sector, Effective Governance, and Democracy

Abstract

The chapter develops a performance management policy approach that includes several principles. First, policy making and implementation can be enriched by performance management mechanisms in a way that will improve government effectiveness and strengthen accountability and public responsibility in democracies. Second, performance management mechanisms should be integrated into the policy-making process. Third, on the macro-level effective performance-based policy should emphasize systemic performance indicators. However, on the meso and micro levels, such policies should emphasize organizational performance indicators, the incorporation of employees into the design of the performance management mechanisms, and learning. Fourth, public officials emerge as key players in advancing reforms and directing them toward social change to the extent that they may be considered institutional entrepreneurs who function as agents of social change.

Shlomo Mizrahi

Backmatter

Titel: Public Policy and Performance Management in Democratic Systems
verfasst von: Shlomo Mizrahi
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-52350-7
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52349-1
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52350-7