Suchergebnisse

Intro -- Title -- About the Author -- Dedication -- Contents -- Introduction -- Prologue: A Galaxy Far, Far Away: 1940-1959 -- 1. Government Apprenticeship - 1960s Style: 1959-1973 -- 2. Life with the Red Queen: 1974-1976 -- 3. Servicing the Government's ATM: 1976-1985 -- 4. Replanting the Garden of England: 1985-1991 -- 5. Portfolio Man and Preparing for Government: 1991-1997 -- 6. Consigliere (Part 1): A Home Office Diary - 1997 -- 7. Consigliere (Part 2): Home Office Life - 1998 -- 8. Tough on Crime, Tough on the Causes: 1996-2003 -- 9. Yes Minister - Drugs, Bugs and Bureaucracy: 2003-2005 -- 10. Financial Meltdown and Recovery: 2005-2006 -- 11. Computer Games are Not Just for Geeks: 2005-2006 -- 12. Challenging the NHS to Change: 2005-2007 -- 13. Neglected Services and NHS Sustainability: 2005 to date -- 14. Epilogue: Red Bench Reflections -- Author's Notes -- Index -- Note by Author -- Copyright.

The NHS is a national icon that spends a lot of taxpayer's money, sometimes wastefully. This is an account of a Labour Health Minister's involvement in reforming a reluctant NHS. It assesses Labour's stewardship of the NHS, warts and all. Drawing on this experience, it examines the Coalition Government's plans for reform, as NHS funding moves from feast to famine. The book concludes with a description of the financial and accountability framework that any government should aim for if NHS efficiency and value for money are to improve

Government departments are under pressure to increase efficiency and effectiveness and to reduce staff numbers. The Rayner scrutiny programme is part of this pressure; and it has encouraged greater use of independent investigators and change catalysts within departments. This breed of internal critics often operate within, but at the limits of, official tolerance, like bureaucratic Philip Marlowes whose solutions may be accepted, but rarely with gratitude. Despite these developments external critics have continued to doubt the capacity for self‐criticism and innovation within government. The popular television programme'Yes Minister' has encouraged such a view. This article describes one department's attempt at using internal change agents to review the handling of business and to implement major changes in an organization employing over 60,000 people. The exercise suggests that bureaucratic inertia can be overcome internally, although the change process is difficult and sometimes painful for those involved.

Rayner scrutinies have become a regular feature of life in government departments. It takes only a few months to conduct a scrutiny but implementation is a far longer process which can absorb much ministerial and official time. This paper describes one of the first Rayner scrutinies — on arrangements for paying social security benefits — from inception to implementation. It relates the scrutiny team's reports to the social security system it was in part reviewing and then traces the way that ministers and officials handled the controversy that the scrutiny team's proposals caused when leaked in an inaccurate form. It concludes by speculating about some wider lessons that might be drawn about the validity of the scrutiny technique; the value of the Rayner label on reviews; the need for independent reviews in bureaucratic organizations; civil service responsiveness to reviews: the political dimension to management issues: public debate and open government considerations, and the indirect consequences of scrutinies.

GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS ARE UNDER PRESSURE TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS AND TO REDUCE STAFF NUMBERS. THE RAYNER SCRUTINY PROGRAMME IS PART OF THIS PRESSURE; AND IT HAS ENCOURAGED GREATER USE OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATORS AND CHANGE CATALYSTS WITHIN DEPARTMENTS. THIS BREED OF INTERNAL CRITICS OFTEN OPERATE WITHIN, BUT AT THE LIMITS OF, OFFICIAL TOLERANCE, LIKE BUREAUCRATIC PHILIP MARLOWES WHOSE SOLUTIONS MAY BE ACCEPTED, BUT RARELY WITH GRATITUDE. DESPITE THESE DEVELOPMENTS EXTERNAL CRITICS HAVE CONTINUED TO DOUBT THE CAPACITY FOR SELF-CRITICISM AND INNOVATION WITHIN GOVERNMENT. THE POPULAR TELEVISION PROGRAMME 'YES MINISTER' HAS ENCOURAGED SUCH A VIEW. THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES ONE DEPARTMENT'S ATTEMPT AT USING INTERNAL CHANGE AGENTS TO REVIEW THE HANDLING OF BUSINESS AND TO IMPLEMENT MAJOR CHANGES IN AN ORGANIZATION EMPLOYING OVER 60,000 PEOPLE. THE EXERCISE SUGGESTS THAT BUREAUCRATIC INERTIA CAN BE OVERCOME INTERNALLY, ALTHOUGH THE CHANGE PROCESS IS DIFFICULT AND SOMETIMES PAINFUL FOR THOSE INVOLVED.

Objective: Our objective is to capture temporal patterns in mental model convergence processes and differences in these patterns between distributed teams using an electronic collaboration space and face-to-face teams with no interface. Background: Distributed teams, as sociotechnical systems, collaborate via technology to work on their task. The way in which they process information to inform their mental models may be examined via team communication and may unfold differently than it does in face-to-face teams. Method: We conducted our analysis on 32 three-member teams working on a planning task. Half of the teams worked as distributed teams in an electronic collaboration space, and the other half worked face-to-face without an interface. Results: Using event history analysis, we found temporal interdependencies among the initial convergence points of the multiple mental models we examined. Furthermore, the timing of mental model convergence and the onset of task work discussions were related to team performance. Differences existed in the temporal patterns of convergence and task work discussions across conditions. Conclusion: Distributed teams interacting via an electronic interface and face-to-face teams with no interface converged on multiple mental models, but their communication patterns differed. In particular, distributed teams with an electronic interface required less overall communication, converged on all mental models later in their life cycles, and exhibited more linear cognitive processes than did face-to-face teams interacting verbally. Application: Managers need unique strategies for facilitating communication and mental model convergence depending on teams' degrees of collocation and access to an interface, which in turn will enhance team performance.

Objective: This article presents a model for predicting complex collaborative processes as they arise in one-of-a-kind problem-solving situations to predict performance outcomes. The goal is to outline a set of key processes and their interrelationship and to describe how these can be used to predict collaboration processes embedded within problem-solving contexts. Background: Teams are increasingly called upon to address complex problem-solving tasks in novel situations. This represents a domain of performance that to date has been underrepresented in the research literature. Method: Multidisciplinary theoretical and empirical literature relating to knowledge work in teams is synthesized. Results: A set of propositions developed to guide research into how teams externalize cognition and build knowledge in service of problem solving is presented. First, a brief overview of macrocognition in teams is provided to distinguish the present work from other views of team cognition. Second, a description of the foundational theoretical concepts driving the theory of macrocognition in teams presented here is provided. Third, a set of propositions described within the context of a model of macrocognition in teams is forwarded. Conclusion: The theoretical framework described in this article provides a set of empirically testable propositions that can ultimately guide practitioners in efforts to support macrocognition in teams. Application: A theory of macrocognition in teams can provide guidance for the development of training interventions and the design of collaborative tools to facilitate knowledge-based performance in teams.