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Contract management is a critical skill for all contemporary public managers. As more government duties are contracted out, managers must learn to coordinate and measure the performance of private contractors, and to write contract requirements and elicit bids that obtain important services and products at the best possible price and quality. They must also learn to work in teams that include both public and private sector partners. The Responsible Contract Manager delves into the issues of how to ensure that the work done by private sector contractors serves the public interest and argues for

An overview & analysis of the practical problems of developing & implementing a code of ethics for public administrators, addressing three key issues: (1) What are public ethics & where do they come from? (2) What are the central ethical issues facing public administrators? & (3) Are there practical tools & guidelines to assist public servants to be both ethical & effective public managers? A plea is made for consideration of ethical issues, & five general ethical principles for public administrators are presented. Adapted from the source document.

This article provides an overview and analysis of the practical problems of developing and implementing a code of ethics for public administrators. The article addresses three key issues: (1) What are public ethics and where do they come from? (2) What are the central ethical issues facing public administrators? and (3) Are there practical tools and guidelines to assist public servants to be both ethical and effective public managers? The article concludes with a plea for consideration of ethical issues, and it presents five general ethical principles for public administrators.

This study provides an in-depth management and policy analysis of the independent contractor model in the modern U.S. economy. We pay extensive attention to the complex issue of misclassifying employees as contractors, a minor, but salient issue on the nation's political and regulatory agenda. The report is divided into three sections: • Part I discusses the independent contracting model and relevant issues of organizational management. • Part II analyzes most common types of independent contractors, varied across industries and varied by size and discusses the complex policy and legal environment that independent contractors operate under in the United States. • Part III concludes with a discussion of independent contracting's place in the current and future U.S. economy amid recently heightened national scrutiny and includes a discussion of best practices for companies who engage with independent contractors.

Governments have begun to use the World Wide Web to assist in service delivery. This includes, but goes far beyond, the dissemination of information to the general public and involves a variety of other governmental functions. In reviewing some government websites it is clear that the use of the web for service delivery is still in its infancy. The types of services that can be delivered through the web are still in the process of being imagined and organized by both government and the private sector. Over the next decade we can expect to see a great deal of experimentation and organizational learn- ing in this area. The purpose of this report is to accelerate this learning process by studying several noteworthy current government efforts to use the web for interactive functions. The methodology of this study is to select a number of illustrative case studies on the use of e-commerce and the Internet in government service delivery and communications. The study includes a content analysis of selected state, local, and federal government websites and, where available, an analysis of the costs and benefits of switching to web-based service delivery. We selected cases in Alaska, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the city of Boston, Florida, Indiana, and Texas. We discuss the lessons learned from these cases and their broader implications for government service delivery. Then we provide a checklist of the steps that governments should take when using the Internet to deliver government service. Finally, we present background on the websites we reviewed, discuss the development and implementation of the site, and analyze its costs and benefits.

This paper provides a broad overview of five perspectives on the public service ethics agenda, incorporating a current debate which may well emerge as the initial reform agenda of the new millennium. Perspectives explored include the politics/administration dichotomy, the New Public Administration's emphasis on individual responsibility in the context of strong organizational values and norms, the ethical risks of public entrepreneurship, and the recent emergence of spiritualism as a guide to public ethical decision-making. The authors conclude that we are entering a new era of public ethics where performance and morality will be accorded equal priority. They argue that public entrepreneurship is increasingly essential to meet the public's demands for government that works better and costs less. Most public officials will need on-the-job training and/or ethics courses in schools of public policy and administration to competently assess the ethical risks and dangers that a particular policy innovation may encompass.

As the twentieth century comes to a close, ethics is returning to the public sector reform agenda. Just as it was at the turn of this century the current focus is on the administrative branch of government. Then, as now, scandals involving elected officials prompted the reform initiatives. However, today there is far less consensus on the most appropriate elements of the reform agenda, perhaps reflecting a century of less than successful ethically-driven reforms.

A complete guide to sustainability policy at the federal, state, and local levels Sustainability Policy: Hastening the Transition to a Cleaner Economy is a fundamental guide for public sector professionals new to sustainability policy development, implementation, strategy, and practice. Featuring detailed cases highlighting innovative sustainability initiatives, this book explores the elements that constitute effective policy, and the factors that can help or hinder implementation and adoption. Readers gain insight into policies in effect at the federal, state, and local levels, in the areas o