Systems thinking in the public sector : the failure of the reform regime ... and a manifesto for a better way / John Seddon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Seddon, John.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human services--Great Britain.

Human services.

Public welfare--Great Britain.

Public welfare.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Axminster, United Kingdom : Triarchy Press, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The free market has become the accepted model for the public sector. And so, in the UK and elsewhere, there's been massive investment in public sector 'improvement', 'customer choice' has been increased and new targets have been set and refined. But our experience is that things haven't changed much. This is because governments have invested in the wrong things. Belief in targets, incentives and inspection; belief in economies of scale and shared back-office services ... are all wrong-headed ideas. John Seddon here dissects the changes that have been made in a range of services. His descriptions beggar belief, though they would be funnier if it wasn't our money that was being wasted. In place of the current mess, he advocates a Systems Thinking approach where individuals come first, waste is reduced and responsibility replaces blame. It's an approach that is proven, successful and relatively cheap - and one that governments around the world, and their advisers, need to adopt urgently.

Contents:

Cover

Cover2

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: In the beginning... the emergence of a new ideology

Chapter 2: Do people want 'choice'?

Chapter 3: From particular case to general rule: ministers managing benefits

Chapter 4: The present style of management

Chapter 5: Systems thinking: a better way to make the work work

Chapter 6: Purpose - measures - method

Chapter 7: An irrational belief in targets

Chapter 8: 'Deliverology': the science of delivery, or dogmatic delusion?

Chapter 9: Taking the value out of policing

Chapter 10: Failing those who need care

Chapter 11: A gloomy vision: public-service factories

Chapter 12: Is 'Public Value' the answer?

Chapter 13: Is 'citizen empowerment' the answer?

Chapter 14: The regime: systemically incapable of doing the right thing

Chapter 15: Reforming the regime

Addendum

Index

About Triarchy Press

About the Author.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-37895-7

9786613378958

1-908009-33-0

OCLC:

873024999