Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene

Recent Articles

• The Good Book
• Jul 1, 2001
• A new report on making results-based state government work is chock- full of commonsense recommendations.

• Getting the Grouse Out
• May 1, 2001
• Problems crop up when the grievance process is so complex and time- consuming that it stifles managers and employees.

• Paying the Bill
• Mar 1, 2001
• States need a more careful process of estimating the future financial impact of legislation before legislators pass it.

• Training Wheels
• Jan 1, 2001
• Most states can't tell you, with any authority, how much agencies spend on training or how wisely they spend it.

• Resume Follies
• Nov 1, 2000
• Credentials may be important, but the skills, abilities, knowledge and behavior of applicants are at least equally so.

• Keeping Secrets
• Sep 1, 2000
• Regardless of real-world pressures, data should be made public. Absent good information, bad information will prevail.

• Truth in Measurement
• Jul 1, 2000
• Verifying the accuracy of statistics generated by performance measures seems to be the last step in the process.

• The Centralization Continuum
• May 1, 2000
• States and local governments have been swinging like a pendulum between powerful and weak central controls.

• The Rise of Cost Accounting
• Mar 1, 2000
• Governments are finally beginning to figure out how to develop solid figures for the cost of the services they provide.

• Suggestion-Box Sickness
• Jan 1, 2000
• Employee idea boxes seem like an obvious way to foster the ballyhooed notion of `continuous improvement.' So why don't they work?