Mapping the New Governance: the Department of National Heritage and Cultural Politics in Britain
Taylor A
Public Administration, (UK), Autumn 97 (75/3)
Start page: 441 No of pages: 26

Examines the new structure of government in the UK which sees the responsibility of central executive as formulating policy and monitoring its implementation by autonomous agencies which operate at arm’s length from the executive. Identifies a contradiction in this system of governance between the aim of limited government and the desire for control. Focuses on the Department of National Heritage, set up in 1992, and conceived as an ‘enabling ministry’, analysing its ability to control the complex policy networks through resource control, ministerial activism, systematic review and scrutiny, and the control of financial resources. Concludes that ‘arms length but hands on’ is an accurate description of the Department of National Heritage’s approach to government, suggesting that the Department presents a blueprint for the rest of the UK Government.

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Francis S D, Alley P G
Business Process Re-engineering & Management Journal, (UK), Vol 2 No 11 96
Start page: 48 No of pages: 15

Summarizes the progress made to date on a business process re-engineering (BPR) project in the department of surgery of a publicly funded hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Discusses BPR in general, including the benefits and potential pitfalls and explains that the changes were necessary to meet the challenges of a competitive market-oriented environment of user pays and state sell offs. Describes the steps taken to involve staff in the changes and to study the existing patient experience with its improvement as a major aim. Concludes with considerations of information technology solutions, human resources, physical space, communications and involvement with staff, job security and the time required by the project team for undertaking BPR activities.

Read more on A ‘PATIENT FOCUS RREVIEW’ OF SURGICAL SERVICES. Business Process Re-engineering in Health Care…

Discourse strategies for dealing with conflict in participative decision making.

Yeung L N T
Journal of Applied Management Studies, (UK), Jun 97 (6/1)
Start page: 63 No of pages: 13

Examines the extent to which managers adopt conflict-handling strategies during participative decision-making meetings with their subordinates. Presents the findings of a study of meetings held at three Hong Kong Banks which show a number of conflict handling strategies adopted by managers: sympathetic representation of dissenting viewpoints as a pacifying gambit; defensive account giving; presentation of ostensible choice; hedging opinions as a gambit to preface mandates; using double standards; and avoiding using the outcome of open argumentation. Suggests that although mixed strategies were being used for handling conflict, thus indicating the practice of participative decision making to a limited degree, there was still a hidden agenda which reaffirms management control over subordinates.

Read more on Confrontation or Resolution Management….

Clarke A, Manton S
Business Process Management Journal, (UK), Vol 3 No 3 97
Start page: 248 No of pages: 8

Explores the use of benchmarking as a methodology for measuring and improving business performance, and outlines a particular benchmarking tool aimed at helping organizations to be more effective in managing the change process. Describes the basis of the tool as a two-dimensional matrix combining key success factors with the change process, those success factors being a combination of practices, activities and methods critical to successful change, and include: commitment; social and cultural factors; communication; tools and methodology; and interactions. Explains the three-step method of using the tool, and lists its benefits as: a measurable way of assessing maturity in change management; offering exposure to best practices; a mechanism for identifying priority areas for improvement; and a tool which contributes towards improving corporate learning. Concludes with suggestions for its practical application within an organization.

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Goetz K H
Public Administration, (UK), Winter 97 (75/4)
Start page: 753 No of pages: 23

Sets out the relationship between politicians and officials in Germany and examines how top officials gain the political skills and knowledge needed for promotion to senior positions within the ministerial bureaucracies. Outlines the German political system and identifies three institutions which play a key role in providing officials with the experience need to develop their political skills – the Chancellery, the political support units in the ministries and the offices of political parties. Considers the implications of this for the political system in Germany, asking whether there is sufficient division between the political parties and the German public administration..

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McCrindle J, Jones R K
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, (UK), Vol 11 No 2 98
Start page: 41 No of pages: 4

Sets out the principles that underpin the new complaints procedure introduced for the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, and the objectives set for it in Scotland. Investigates how well the procedure is working, six months after it has been implemented. Lists the reasons that people complain about the service provided by the NHS and sets out the criteria by which they judge the effectiveness of the complaints system. Identifies the limitations of the old complaints system, explains the features of the new system, that are designed to get round these, and considers the possible difficulties that could arise because of the new procedures. Reports the findings of an initial study which interviewed complaints officers working in six Scottish Trusts. Summarizes how the Trusts had implemented the new complaints procedure and sets out the areas in which problems might arise.

Read more on Preliminary evaluation of the efficacy and implementation of the new NHS complaints procedure…

Comparing Risk and Costs Contracts
Siddharthan K, Reid W M

International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, (UK), Vol 11 No 2 98 Start page: 45 No of pages: 5

Explains how older people, who are Medicare beneficiaries in the USA, are being encouraged enrol in Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and looks at the use of risk and cost contracts as part of the health care prepayment plans. Compares the outpatient and inpatient care received by the Medicare beneficiaries, whose care is based on the different types of contract, to find out if there are any differences. Also analyses if any differences in the care can be ascribed to Health Maintenance Organization characteristics, such as enrolment, number of years in operation, whether they were for-profit or not, accreditation status, type of contract the patient is enrolled in and the organization of the plan. Concludes that the Medicare costs contracts show signs of unmanaged care and over utilization. Argues that there needs to be more research into cost and quality issues to inform the debate on Medicare reform.

Read more on Health Care Utilization by the Elderly in HMOs….

Chan P S, Peel D

Business Process Management Journal, (UK), Vol 4 No 1 98
Start page: 44 No of pages: 12

Examines the factors which persuade companies to re-engineer, and specific types of impact that re-engineering has on organizations. Develops a conceptual framework to investigate the causes of re-engineering which classifies these cause into external factors – customers, competitors, changing industry or market conditions, and government regulations/political pressures – and internal factors which may include the need to: improve technology, increase efficiency, reduce cost and define or redefine strategic focus. Elaborates on each of these factors before describing a study of US companies from the private, public and governmental sectors that had re-engineered, which revealed that both external and internal factors weighed almost equally in contributing to re-engineering, and identified an almost universal improvement in customer service/quality and high incidence of increased efficiency and reduced costs as a result of re-engineering.

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Freer J, Jackson S
Health Manpower Management, (UK), Vol 24 No 2 98
Start page: 76 No of pages: 6

Describes the process of transition managed by Huddersfield Healthcare NHS Trust between 1993 and 1997, which involved the creation of a sub-directorate of clinical support services and the merging of seven separate services managed by different district heads under one manager. Discusses how the sub-directorate identified its strengths and weaknesses and agreed a vision prior to formulating a plan, and then managed the change process using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award self-assessment criteria, focusing on seven key areas: leadership; information and analysis; strategic quality planning; human resource development and management; management of process quality; quality and operational results; and customer focus and satisfaction. Outlines the quality improvement initiatives undertaken, spotlighting the difficulties encountered as well as the benefits achieved, and emphasizes three key elements of the project’s success: team commitment to continuous improvement, strong leadership and a sound quality management tool.

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Zeitz G, Johannesson R, Ritchie J E
Group & Organization Management, (USA), Dec 97 (22/4)
Start page: 414 No of pages: 31

Explains the need for a reliable and valid method which can be used by practitioners within an organization to evaluate the implementation of total quality management initiatives. Describes the development and validation of the scale measures proposed. Sets out the total quality management and related cultural dimensions considered and outlines how their relevance was tested in a survey of employees from a US manufacturing firm, a non-profit service agency and students on a post-graduate management course. Draws up a model of the total quality management process that indicates the relationship between the total quality management programme and the organization’s culture. Lists the 113 items that make up the survey instrument which measures the 23 dimensions identified as being significant for a total quality management programme. Discusses how the instrument should be administered.

Read more on Employee Survey Measuring Total Quality Management….