 |
| JANUARY 2008 In the first issue of the Management Letter of the new year, Ken Miller explains why, when it comes to the public sector, greed isn't such a bad thing. Girard Miller takes a look at what will be 2008's hot-button issues in the areas of benefits, pensions and investments. And Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene tackle everything from the pain of office work to the pleasure of jury duty. And special guest columnist Stephen Goldsmith, a former mayor of Indianapolis and the director of the Innovations in American Government Program at Harvard's Kennedy School, writes about how you can improve your government's performance without spending a lot of money. |
 Greed is Good Top Topics for 2008 Improving Government 
In MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS, some of America's top experts share their perspectives on getting the most out of government. The online-only column, a collaboration between Governing.com and Harvard University's Government Innovators Network, is updated every Wednesday. This week's topic: when higher ed comes downtown. State & Local Sourcebook
A trove of data, contacts and more You are receiving The Governing Management Letter because you requested it via Governing.com or the online print subscription process. Have colleagues who would benefit? Forward this edition to them -- they can subscribe by clicking here. To unsubscribe from The Governing Management Letter, click here. Governing Magazine/Governing.com |
This continuing series of articles examines performance measurement and management and provides links to valuable resources for public managers. Now online: a new report on |
Katherine Barrett
& Richard Greene |
 |
|
Tell us what you think. Many government managers we've chatted with over the years (particularly over drinks) complain about how the "politicians get in the way" of sensible initiatives. It's not like they're opposed to the political process -- they just find it a pain in the neck. KEEP READING And lest you believe that we don't pay sufficient attention to the comments you make, please be sure to look at the January issue of Governing, in which we used your thoughts about efficient or inefficient meetings to write a column about that subject. KEEP READING How to keep employees happy? States and localities are always looking for ways to accomplish this, without raising their pay. One of the more widely acclaimed approaches, in recent years, has been permitting employees to telecommute. KEEP READING And while we're writing about unhappy employees, we just came upon a poll that indicated that a huge portion of private-sector employees regularly show up to work sick for a variety of reasons, including a desire to keep up with their work and save sick days for when their children are sick. KEEP READING Back in January 2006, we wrote in our Governing management column that "pretty much everyone who has studied the formula for determining the poverty rate knows that it's flat-out wrong." We went on to suggest that cities and states would be wise to tap into better sources for determining poverty -- given the number of programs that are tied to that statistic. KEEP READING A simple question: A bunch of states are considering requiring audio or video recordings of government meetings. But who's watching? KEEP READING As regular readers of this report know, we get pretty frustrated at folks who continually argue that state and local governments just need to be managed more efficiently in order for all their financial problems to disappear. You all have heard the troika -- fraud, waste and abuse -- blamed for all that ails states and cities. Well, an outside audit of Oklahoma's troubled prisons indicates that sometimes there's a real limit to what managers can do. KEEP READING It's an honor to serve on a jury. We doubt many will argue (at least publicly) about that. But it's a pity that in many places the actual process of communicating with the courts about jury duty can be onerous. KEEP READING Laura Chick's excellent work as the city of Los Angeles' controller was featured in this space some months back. Here's the latest from her office. KEEP READING With all the arguments over the "real" records of former governors running for president, we're wondering why there are debates about these things? KEEP READING In our recent fulminations about the misuse of e-mail, we neglected one of the most obvious ways this technology consumes untold hours of scarce public employee time: a total misunderstanding of the "reply to all" button. KEEP READING Have you ever wondered about men and women who carry an "acting" title for months and months? Why aren't they just given the job? We'd kind of thought that it was generally a function of a slow-hiring HR department. Turns out we've been a little naïve. KEEP READING The full B&G Report | Who are Barrett and Greene? | |
 | |