"The book focuses on application of performance analysis tools, not the theory of performance management. This text is an effective learning tool for students in analytical technique courses in public administration and policy programs. With other texts, students may learn about a statistical concept and calculation, but still don't understand the managerial context where the statistical tool applies. Consequently, they often fail to understand the managerial importance of statistical tools they learn, and worse, fail to recognize the correct tool to use when a managerial issue rises. This book corrects this problem by providing a managerial context that bridges statistical concepts and the managerial reality. The managerial context is performance management, in which performance data are presented, monitored, and analyzed. It is in this performance management context that the usefulness and applicability of statistical tools are illuminated for the learner."--BOOK JACKET.

Studies in Public and Non-Profit Governance (SPNPG) publishes in a growing area of governance research. SPNPG allows for the establishment of an engaged community of researchers. It contributes to the definition of the theoretical components that assign an innovation role to governance systems in public and non profit organizations.

The revised edition of this accessible text provides a balanced assessment and overview of state-of-the-art organizational and performance productivity strategies. Public and nonprofit organizations face demands for increased productivity and responsiveness, and this practical guide offers strategies based on current research and scholarship that respond to these challenges. The book's comprehensive coverage includes: rationale for productivity and performance improvement; evolution of productivity improvement; the quality paradigm; customer service; information technology; traditional approaches to productivity improvement; re-engineering and restructuring; partnering and privatization; psychological contracts; and community based strategies. In addition to updating the examples of the first edition, this new edition also highlights the growing use of enterprise funds, partnership models of privatization, and web-based service delivery. Each chapter concludes with a useful summary and all-new application exercises.

New edition of a classic guide to ensuring effective organizational performance Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of Managing and Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations is a comprehensive resource for designing and implementing effective performance management and measurement systems in public and nonprofit organizations. The ideas, tools, and processes in this vital resource are designed to help organizations develop measurement systems to support such effective management approaches as strategic management, results-based budgeting, performance management, process improvement, performance contracting, and much more. The book will help readers identify outcomes and other performance criteria to be measured, tie measures to goals and objectives, define and evaluate the worth of desired performance measures, and analyze, process, report, and utilize data effectively. Includes significant updates that offer a more integrated approach to performance management and measurement Offers a detailed framework and instructions for developing and implementing performance management systems Shows how to apply the most effective performance management principles Reveals how to overcome the barriers to effective performance management Managing and Measuring Performance in Public and Nonprofit Organizations identifies common methodological and managerial problems that often confront managers in developing performance measurement systems, and presents a number of targeted strategies for the successful implementation of such systems in public and nonprofit organizations. This must-have resource will help leaders reach their organizational goals and objectives.

"The nonprofit sector survives because it has a self-exploiting work force: wind it up and it will do more with less until it just runs out. But at some point, the spring must break." America's nonprofit organizations face a difficult present and an uncertain future. Money is tight. Workloads are heavy, employee turnover is high, and charitable donations have not fully rebounded from the recent economic downturn. Media and political scrutiny remains high, and public confidence in nonprofits has yet to recover from its sharp decline in the wake of well-publicized scandals. In a recent survey, only 14 percent of respondents believed that nonprofits did a very good job of spending money wisely; nearly half said that nonprofit leaders were paid too much, compared to 8 percent who said they earned too little. Yet the nonprofit sector has never played a more important role in American life. As a generation of nonprofit executives and board members approaches retirement, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that their organizations are prepared to continue their missions—that they are built to last in a supremely challenging environment. Paul Light, renowned expert on public service and nonprofit management, strongly argues for capacity-building measures as a way to sustain and improve the efforts of the nonprofit sector. With innovative data and insightful analysis, he demonstrates how nonprofits that invest in technology, training, and strategic planning can successfully advance their goals and restore public faith in their mission and capabilities. He explains the ways in which restoration of that faith is critical to the survival of nonprofits—another important reason for improving and then sustaining performance. Organizations that invest adequately in their infrastructure and long-term planning are the ones that will survive and continue to serve.

Research Methods and Statistics for Public and Nonprofit Administrators: A Practical Guide is a comprehensive, easy-to-read, core text that thoroughly prepares readers to apply research methods and data analysis to the professional environments of public and non-profit administration. The authors expertly incorporate original case examples to demonstrate concepts using “real actors,” facing specific scenarios, in which research methods must be applied. This unique approach—presented in language accessible to both students new to research as well as current practitioners—guides the reader in fully understanding the research options detailed throughout the text.

How can leaders use strategic planning to strengthen their public and nonprofit organizations? In this fourth edition of his perennial bestseller Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, Bryson provides the most updated version of his thoughtful strategic planning model and outlines the reasons public and nonprofit organizations must embrace strategic planning to improve their performance. Introduced in the first edition and refined over the past 18 years, the Strategy Change Cycle--a proven planning process used successfully by a large number of nonprofit and public organizations--is the framework used to guide the reader through the strategic planning process. Bryson offers detailed guidance on implementing the process, and specific tools and techniques to make the process work in any organization. In addition, he clarifies the organizational designs through which strategic thought and action will be encouraged and embraced throughout an entire organization. In addition to updated examples, new cases, and additional information on boundaries, distinctive competencies, Actor-Network theory, Bryson will creat an instructor's manual with sample syllabi, PowerPoint teaching slides, and additional cases.