1st Edition

Improving the Quality of East and West European Public Services

By Elke L�ffler Copyright 2004
    273 Pages
    by Routledge

    273 Pages
    by Routledge

    This volume provides a comprehensive overview of current reforms in public sector quality management in Eastern Europe. Comparisons are made with trends in Western European countries to draw out the lessons emerging from current developments (including e-governance). Case studies from twelve countries and five comparative and conceptual studies identify how quality is put into practice, how the level of quality is assessed through quality accreditation systems and how e-government and citizen involvement may help to improve public service quality. The findings make essential reading for academics and students in public policy and public administration who are interested in modernization of the public sector from an international perspective. It also provides helpful guidance for reformers who want to try new approaches to improving the quality of public services.

    Contents: Part I: Introduction: The current quality agenda of East and West European public services, Elke Löffler and Mirko Vintar; Aims, approach and structure of the book, Elke Löffler and Mirko Vintar. Part II: Implementing Quality Management in Service Delivery: Early experience with performance management in Hungary, Albania and Georgia: assessing its potential for local service improvement, Katharine Mark and Ritu Nayyar-Stone; The effect of organizational structures and cultures on quality management in Estonian local authorities, Kristiina Tõnnisson; Improving the quality of services delivered in Ireland: different approaches to the challenge of change, Peter C. Humphreys; Can teamwork improve public services? An empirical analysis of two Spanish public agencies, Salvador Parrado Díez; Implementing quality management in service delivery: comparing emerging lessons in East and West European countries, Peter C. Humphreys. Part III: The Usefulness of Quality Accreditation Systems for Public Service Improvement: Quality management and the management of quality in European public administrations, Wouter van Dooren, Nick Thijs and Geert Bouckaert; Do Western quality models work in CEE countries? Some insights from the Hungarian perspective, György Jenei and László Gulácsi; Finnish local authorities' experiences with the use of ISO 9000, Salme Sundquist; 'ISO 9001 by Decree': the Latvian approach to quality management in the public sector, Iveta Reinholde; Quality assurance of public administration programmes in Poland, Witold Mikulowski; Why do Belgian public agencies use the common assessment framework (CAF)?, Wouter van Dooren and Steven Van de Walle; Measuring local government productivity in a quality-oriented environment: methodology and policy implications in the USA and UK, Arie Halachmi and Tony Bovaird; The usefulness of quality accreditation systems for public service improvement: comparing emerging lessons in East and West European countries, K

    Biography

    Elke Löffler, Mirko Vintar