Quality improvement in European public services : concepts, cases and commentary

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Quality improvement in European public services : concepts, cases and commentary

edited by Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert

Sage, 1995

  • : pbk

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Note

Bibliography: p. [174]-179

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Since the late 1980s the quality of public services has become a major focus of attention for politicians, managers and citizens, but surprisingly there has been little material with a truly European focus. This book remedies this absence. Part One provides a theoretical framework which helps the reader make sense of the detail contained in the later case studies. It also locates quality improvement in the special political and organizational context of the public sector. It shows how choosing a particular concept of quality has significant political and organizational consequences and also discusses how quality may be measured. In Part Two seven case studies illuminate detailed operational issues in quality improvement by drawing on the experience of a range of different types of public services from a number of countries. The third part reviews the general lessons of the case studies in terms of fitting strategies for improvement to the purposes and circumstances of the organization in question, and reflects upon the nature of service quality and the range of approaches to its improvement.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART ONE: DEFINITION AND OPERATIONALIZATION Defining Quality - Christopher Pollitt and Geert Bouckaert Measuring Quality - Geert Bouckaert PART TWO: CASE STUDIES Quality Measurement and Quality Assurance in European Higher Education - Frans van Vught and Don F Westerheijden Quality in the French Public Service - Sylvie Trosa Quality Improvement in German Local Government - Helmut Klages et al Quality Improvement in Local Service Contracts - Lucy Gaster Environmental Services in Harlow Quality in Swedish Higher Education - Hellen Westlund A Pilot Study Costing Non-Conformance at an NHS Hospital - Richard Joss A Pilot Study Quality Improvement in the Dutch Department of Defence - Nico Mol Enhancing Quality in the Police Service - Stephen Hanney Leicestershire Constabulary PART THREE: OVERVIEW Improvement Strategies - Christopher Pollitt Concluding Reflections - Geert Bouckaert

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