Cultural, economic and political trends are changing the way public administrations are organized and this book examines the new challenges managers face, with the need for a shift from a traditional bureaucratic model to a competency-based approach to organizational design and management in the areas of recruitment, training, career development and assessment. Through the analysis of an experimental project launched jointly by the Italian National School for Administration (SNA) and the Prime Minister’s Office, this book showcases how a competency-based system can be a key tool in reforming HR in the public sector, with significant effects on the organization and management of public administration.

This book identifies nine guidelines for the conceptual development of public administration. It shows how one specific approach—the laboratory approach to organization development (OD)—can facilitate the development of public administration.

This book defines organizational development (OD) and discusses the philosophy of OD in terms of its assumptions and values. It addresses the issue of change in organizations and deals with groups and group processes since they are the forerunners of teams in organizations.

Calls for performance measures and metrics sound good, but public sector organizations often lack the tools required to assess the organization as a whole and create true change.In order to implement an integrated cycle of assessment, planning, and improvement, government agencies at all levels need a usable framework for organizational assessment that speaks to their unique needs. Organizational Assessment and Improvement in the Public Sector provides that framework, an understanding of assessment itself, and a methodology for assessment focused on the public sector. The book introduces the concept of organizational assessment, its importance, and its significance in public sector organizations. It addresses the organizational theory that underlies assessment, including change management, organizational and individual learning, and organizational development. Building on this, the author focuses on the processes and demonstrates how the communication that results from an assessment process can create a widely accepted case for change. She presents a model grounded in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program criteria but adapted for the culture of government organizations. She also addresses the criteria that form the basis for assessment and implementation and provides examples and best practices. Facing decreasing budgets and an increasing demand for services, government agencies must increase their capabilities, maximize their available fiscal and human resources, and increase their effectiveness and efficiency. They often operate in an atmosphere that prizes effectiveness but measures it in silos assigned to individual programs and a structure that encourages people to do more with less while systematically discouraging efficiency. Stressing the significant and important differences between a business and a government, this book supplies the knowledge and tools necessary to create a culture of assessment in government organizations at all levels.