Public Policy & Management
2 total works
This work examines a variety of approaches to quality definition, implementation and measurement. Lessons and experience from practice and research in the public and private sectors aim to give a solid background for readers to develop their own views. Lucy Gaster disentangles the important aspects of quality, challenges assumptions and shows that there are no simple solutions. At the same time, she provides a framework to enable public service managers to develop and integrate ideas about quality in ways which are relevant to their own day-to-day practice. This framework aims to show that real choices are available to managers.
It starts from the premise that citizens and users are the key 'stakeholders'. They need to be consulted and involved at every stage. Within inevitable resource constraints, it is their needs, balanced with those of society, which must be met. Service providers need to change their culture and behaviour to make this happen. This book presents a straightforward and comprehensive model for understanding quality and putting it into practice. Existing quality philosophies and approaches are examined. Overviews of recent policy on quality in central and local government, the health service, and in public service partnerships are included. Finally, five practitioners present practical 'vignettes' of citizen involvement, local partnerships, and quality improvement in health, housing and local government.