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- "Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the
- Public Sector", Penguin Books: New York: 1992, pp405; $13
-
- A Book Review by Norman C. Frank, PE, CQE, CQA
- CER Corporation, Washington, DC
-
- This book comes complete with a recommendation from "Governor Bill Clinton".
- I haven't believed much he has said, so I picked up the book with a healthy
- portion of cynicism. The good news is that the book is indeed excellent!
- There is no bad news.
-
- The authors have succeeded in providing a compendium of the best approaches
- to governance that have been tried and proven through application by local,
- state, and federal governments. The authors present ten principles that can
- be used either singly or in any combination to achieve cheaper, more
- effective governance by our public officials and employees.
-
- A few of the new techniques are franchising, partnerships, technical
- assistance, referrals, vouchers, impact fees, jawboning, seed money,
- coproduction or self-help, quid pro quos, and restructuring the market.
- These have been tried and have worked for many governments.
-
- Examples of failures are also given. A program initiated by a Florida
- governor was trashed by the next elected governor even though it was
- beginning to work a victim of the "not invented here" syndrome so prevalent
- in elected positions.
-
- This book is an excellent reference for any government employee or government
- official. It shows that some of the changes can be made by employees
- themselves. Most require the support of upper management, just like any true
- changes in a system or bureaucracy.
-
- Highly recommended. Buy this book from any book store.
-
- ----------------
- Mr. Frank has over 25 years experience in the field of quality, in the areas
- of nuclear quality assurance, research and development, and consulting. He
- is currently in Washington, D.C., with CER Corporation out of Las Vegas,
- Nevada.
-
- _Ten Principles of Reinventing Government_
-
-
- 1. Catalytic Government: Steering Rather Than Rowing
- 2. Community-Owned Government: Empowering rather Than Serving
- 3. Competitive Government: Injecting Competition into Service Delivery
- 4. Mission-Driven Government: Transforming Rule-Driven Organizations
- 5. Results-Oriented Government: Funding Outcomes, Not Inputs
- 6. Customer-Driven Government: Meeting the Needs of the Customer, Not the
- Bureaucracy
- 7. Enterprising Government: Earning Rather Than Spending
- 8. Anticipatory Government: Prevention Rather Than Cure
- 9. Decentralized Government: From Hierarchy to Participation and Teamwork
- 10. Market-Oriented Government: Leveraging Change Through the Market
-