Transforming Government

This insider's guide reveals the key lessons for managing reformbeing learned from the federal government's Reinventing Governmentprogram. Leaders will discover that success will be evident not inmajor, sweeping changes but in a series of small, but importantsigns.

The contributors present strategic issues for change, discussingwhy the current bureaucratic model of organizing is ill-suited totoday's challenges and identifying what will replace it. Theyexplore the tactics for change in public organizations, examiningthe repercussions of change for employees, identifying successfactors for change, and examining the crucial role leadership playsin successful change.

Transforming Government presents a look into the future of publicorganizations and sage advice on how to implement changeeffectively to succeed in that future. Part One: Strategic Change in Public Organizations.

1. Ferment on the Front Lines: Designing New Modes ofOrganizing(James R. Thompson).

2. Heroes of the Revolution: Characteristics and Strategies ofReinvention Leaders(Ronald P. Sanders).

3. The Best-Kept Secret in Government: How the NPR TranslatedTheory into Practice(John M. Kamensky).

4. Reinventing Public Agencies: Bottom-Up Versus Top-DownStrategies(James R. Thompson, Ronald P. Sanders).

Part Two: The Tactics of Change in Public Organizations.

5. Overcoming Employee Resistance to Change(David C. Frederickson,james L. Perry).

6. Ingredients for Success: Five Factors Necessary for TransformingGovernment(Hal G. Rainey).

7. Tailoring Change Strategies: Alternative Approaches to Reform(B.Guy Peters).

Part Three: Lessons for Continuing Transformation.

8. Where the Buck Stops;
Accountability in Reformed Public Organizations(Barbara S.Romeck).

9. Making Government Reform Stick: Lessons Learned(Donald J.Savoie).

Conclusion: Transforming Management, ManagingTransformation(Patricia W. Ingraham). "There has been enormous debate about "reinventing government"--butlittle careful study about what is actually happening. Thisextremely useful book tells the story-behind-the-story. It examinesthe critical steps required to make reinvention work, and the bigproblems that reinvention must solve. Anyone interested inimproving government performance will need to read this book."(Donald F. Kettl, director, The Robert M. LaFollette Institute ofPublic Affairs)

"Bureaucracy-busters will benefit from this manual for betteringbusiness practices in government. Its authors offer a practicalguide that does not ignore the considerable obstacles facingreinvention advocates." (Timothy B. Clark, editor and publisher,Government Executive Magazine) PATRICIA W. INGRAHAM is professor of public administration and political science and director of the Alan K. Campbell Institute at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and the author of New Paradigms for Government. JAMES R. THOMPSON teaches public administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. RONALD SANDERS is associate professor at George Washingotn University. In government agencies across the country, managers and elected officials are effecting real change--and learning important lessons about what works and what doesn't in re-engineering government organizations. These reinvention laboratories represent a move away from rigidity and bureaucracy and toward the fluidity and flexibility required to effect positive change in today's public organization. Transforming Government reveals the key lessons for managing reform being learned from the federal government's Reinventing Government program. Leaders will discover that success will be evident not in major, sweeping changes but in a series of small, but important steps; that leaders must look to the history of their own organizations rather than at practices of others for solutions; that leaders must consistently provide resources for implementation, that strong, continuos leadership is central to reform, and more. The contributors draw directly from the expertise and experience of reinvention laboratories from the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, and others. The contributors present strategic issues for change, discussing why the current bureaucratic model of organizing is ill-suited to today's challenges, and identifying what will replace it. They explore the tactics for change in public organizations, examining the repercussions of change for employees, identifying success factors for change and examining the crucial role leadership plays in successful change. The book then goes on to offer lessons for continuing transformation, dealing with such thematic issues as accountability and political context. Transforming Government presents a look into the future of public organizations and sage advice on how to implement change effectively to succeed in that future. In government agencies across the country, managers and elected officials are effecting real change--and learning important lessons about what works and what doesn't in re-engineering government organizations. These reinvention laboratories represent a move away from rigidity and bureaucracy and toward the fluidity and flexibility required to effect positive change in today's public organization.

Transforming Government reveals the key lessons for managing reform being learned from the federal government?s Reinventing Government program. Leaders will discover that success will be evident not in major, sweeping changes but in a series of small, but important steps; that leaders must look to the history of their own organizations?rather than at practices of others?for solutions; that leaders must consistently provide resources for implementation, that strong, continuos leadership is central to reform, and more. The contributors draw directly from the expertise and experience of reinvention laboratories from the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service, and others.

The contributors present strategic issues for change, discussing why the current bureaucratic model of organizing is ill-suited to today?s challenges, and identifying what will replace it. They explore the tactics for change in public organizations, examining the repercussions of change for employees, identifying success factors for change and examining the crucial role leadership plays in successful change. The book then goes on to offer lessons for continuing transformation, dealing with such thematic issues as accountability and political context.

Transforming Government presents a look into the future of public organizations and sage advice on how to implement change effectively to succeed in that future.