Public Management and Complexity Theory (Routledge Critical Studies in Public Management) - Hardcover

Book 4 of 59: ISSN

Rhodes, Mary Lee; Murphy, Joanne; Muir, Jenny; Murray, John A.

 
9780415457538: Public Management and Complexity Theory (Routledge Critical Studies in Public Management)
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 041545753X ISBN 13: 9780415457538
Publisher: Routledge, 2010

Synopsis

That public services exhibit unpredictability, novelty and, on occasion, chaos, is an observation with which even a casual observer would agree. Existing theoretical frameworks in public management fail to address these features, relying more heavily on attempts to eliminate unpredictability through increased reliance on measurable performance objectives, improved financial and human resource management techniques, decentralisation of authority and accountability and resolving principal-agent behaviour pathologies. Essentially, these are all attempts to improve the ‘steering’ capacity of public sector managers and policy makers.

By adopting a Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) approach to public services, this book shifts the focus from developing steering techniques to identifying patterns of behaviour of the participants with the ultimate objective of increasing policy-makers’ and practitioners’ understanding of the factors that may enable more effective public service decision-making and provision. The authors apply a CAS framework to a series of case studies in public sector management to generate new insights into the issues, processes and participants in public service domains.

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About the Author

Mary Lee Rhodes is Lecturer in Service Delivery & Systems at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Joanne Murphy is Research Fellow in Governance, Public Policy and Social Research at Queen's University Belfast, UK.

Jenny Muir is Lecturer in Spatial & Environmental Planning at Queen's University Belfast, UK.

John A. Murray is Professor of Business Studies at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Routledge
Publication date
2010
Language
English
ISBN 10 
041545753X
ISBN 13 
9780415457538
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
250