Past Abuses and Future Uses of Private Finance and Public Private Partnerships in Transport

The article explains the origins of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and the way the policy has evolved under the present Labour administration into Public Private Partnership (PPP). The author gives an assessment of the future prospects for the PFI/PPP in the transport sector. He believes that PPPs can make a considerable contribution towards efficient transport service delivery and this will be maximized if there is a better understanding of what the policies are seeking to achieve. Much of the action in the immediate future in transport PPPs will be with the local authorities, including the new Greater London Authority.     

Using Relational and Transactional MCSs to Manage the Delivery of Outsourced Public Services: Evidence from Twelve Cases in the USA

The successful management of the purchaser–provider relationship is essential for the effective delivery of public services, and entails the use of both transactional and relational approaches. We herein analyse the degree and complementarity of transactional and relational management control systems in the management of purchaser–provider relationships for the successful delivery of public services using evidence from 12 US case studies. We demonstrate that transactional and relational management control systems are controlled differently in order to improve contracting efficiency. We also show how a combination of these management control systems offers a framework for structured public accountability and service flexibility.     

优化纳税服务渠道的国际经验及借鉴

纳税服务渠道综合了为纳税人服务的各项资源和具体措施,是税务机关提供纳税服务、提升管理效率的重要依托。本文介绍了国外纳税服务渠道建设的先进经验,分析了我国纳税服务渠道建设存在的问题,并提出了建设以纳税人为导向的整体纳税服务渠道策略的若干建议。     

Relationship disconnect in retail banking

It has been established that increasing the role of technology in a service organisation can serve to reduce costs and improve service reliability. It is argued, however, that there remains an important role for personalised relationships in the delivery of any service proposition. Throughout this paper both of these perspectives will be discussed and an attempt is made to reconcile these apparently opposing views in the emerging age of technology-enabled remote relationships. Findings from a longitudinal research study with a large UK case bank that focused on the area of remote relationships are revisited and reinterpreted with management from the case bank in question. Through this reflective lens the bank's recent strategic decision to no longer proactively relationship manage its personal customer base is examined. In light of this deliberate relationship disconnection strategy key marketing implications are discussed.     

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND BEST VALUE AUDIT IN SCOTLAND: A RESEARCH NOTE ON THEORY AND PRACTICE

This paper appraises the theory and practice of Best Value Audit in Scotland, and in particular the central assumption that a robust performance management system is essential for continuous improvement in service delivery, within a rational planning model of governance. The reviews of Best Value Audit in practice reveal important gaps between theory and practice, with an overemphasis on monitoring process rather than performance. There is, therefore, considerable scope to reduce the demands of the audit process on local government, and Best Value Audit, needs to move from a theoretical model to an evidence‐based model of good practice if real progress is to be made.     

DEVOLVED BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT: LESSONS FROM A SHIRE COUNTY

The changing environment of public sector organisations has, in recent years, focused attention on the management processes employed to achieve effective service delivery as economically and efficiently as possible. One approach has been the importation into the public sector ofa number ofprivate sector management strategies and practices, most notably those based on devolved bud- getary management principles. This paper analyses the approach of a large local authority to the implementation of devolved budgetary management, based, in large part, on interviews with line managers to whom budgets were devolved. It examines the process of devolution within the authority and the reactions of line managers to that process. It concludes that while the implementation of truly devolved budgetary management is an important, and perhaps essential, managerial technique in the 'new' local government environment, it should not be implemented in ways which ignore the differ- ences between public and private sector organisations and between different local authority departments.     

Segmenting retail banking customers

The desire to treat all customers equally, irrespective of their value to the organisation reflects the laudable but uneconomic service mantras of the past. New Zealand banks, using modern database management tools in conjunction with individual customer information, are migrating customers to cheaper delivery systems and adjusting their customer service levels (customer support, privileges, fee waivers, discounts, etc) according to customer profitability. The essence of this database management is still customer segmentation. Using a retail bank's proprietary customer contribution data in combination with survey-based customer data, this paper presents a quantitative eight segment ‘extension’ of Reinartz and Kumar's (2002) behavioural segmentation solution. Potential profitability in the customer-bank relationship is drawn from incorporation of share of wallet into the segmentation solution, providing insight into the management of each segment's customers, especially the ‘barnacles’ (loyal, loss-making customers) and the ‘butterflies’ (short-term, profitable customers).     

Delivering Public Services Under the New Public Management: The Case of Public Housing

One of the biggest changes in public sector housing practice in recent years has been the introduction of New Public Management techniques. Housing associations, promoted by successive governments to supplement local authority provision of social housing, have readily taken on the new management agendas of performance indicators and business disciplines in service delivery. The author identifies a conflict between the social purposes of public funding for housing and the business practices of housing associations. The limited accountability of housing associations allows for practices that lead to social exclusion. For local authorities, a parallel conflict arises because of government emphasis on 'what works' in public housing management, rather than on 'what matters'.     

Performance information use by politicians and public managers for internal control and external accountability purposes

Governance structures have changed fundamentally since the beginning of New Public Management inspired reforms. Particularly local public service delivery nowadays can be characterized as diversified and fragmented, leading to internal management and external accountability challenges for politicians as well as public managers. In this context the use of performance information is seen as a crucial element for effectively dealing with both issues. Nevertheless, empirical research considering different actors and contexts within one study is rare. The present paper fills this gap by applying a multi-theoretical perspective and testing hypotheses on the antecedents of performance information use by politicians and public managers for internal management as well as external accountability purposes in small- and medium sized local governments in Austria. The study results show that both groups use performance information to a greater extent within external accountability relationships than for internal management purposes. Results further illustrate that driving factors show similarities for both groups with reference to the latter mentioned purpose, while a more diverse picture is shown regarding factors impacting their use behavior toward citizens and supervisory authorities.     

Cost accounting comes to service industries

With rising prices and increased competition, service companies are finding that knowing the costs of their products and services is vital to their health, if not to their existence. However, many of these companies have found their cost accounting systems less than satisfactory. This author points out that many service companies use traditional product cost techniques, which are inappropriate for them. He explains why these techniques fail and describes a system of unique costs that should be successful.     

Third sector commissioning and English local government procurement

This article investigates third sector commissioning policy commitments and their relevance to English local government procurement. The conclusion is that there is confusion regarding the differences between commissioning and procurement. Policy commitments are not properly embedded in procurement policy, strategy, procedures and performance management. Other countries with an interest in these policy developments should take note of the issues regarding embedding in order to improve service delivery and commissioning decisions.     

Management and Accounting Developments in Executive Agencies

The executive agency programme has moved ahead rapidly since its introduction in 1988 and by 1996 over 70% of all civil servants were working under executive agency conditions. This has resulted in a major change in the structure of the civil service and in the management of the activities of central government. The question that then emerges concerns the benefits, if any, that these changes have brought about. This paper reports the results of a survey of a sample of senior managers in executive agencies. The survey attempted to ascertain the extent to which agencification was felt to have led to increases in autonomy and freedom to manage and also to obtain the views of managers on a range of issues including changes in operational effectiveness and quality of service delivery. These, after all, are some of the key measures of the success or otherwise of the agencification programme. The survey also examined changes in specific management accounting practices and a broad overview of the findings is provided in the paper. In general, it seems that the senior managers of executive agencies do feel that agencification has achieved many of the benefits hoped for and that is has brought about changes and improvements in management and management accounting practices.     

Key account management in financial services: An outline research agenda

The forces of deregulation and technological development have created a highly competitive environment in financial services. Despite the quest for business-to-business service efficiency, most financial services companies know that they must not lose sight of the importance of relationship quality. As a result, there is growing interest in key account management (KAM) in these companies. Research on KAM in general is limited and little has been undertaken in financial services. There are several reasons why KAM practice in financial services may be distinctive: the regulatory environment; the sector's size and diversity; the high degree of intermediation; product diversity and complexity; uncertainty of product performance; the problem of measuring profitability; the challenges of interactive marketing using both traditional face-to-face and complementary direct marketing techniques; and the role of technology in delivery. A research agenda for KAM in financial services is proposed. It is argued that more knowledge in this area would be of benefit to customer relationship management (CRM) research and to practising managers implementing KAM.     

Pointers: Pay; Housing; NHS; Regional policy; Public expenditure; Industrial support; US deficits

Using performance indicators to drive improved service delivery and cost‐effectiveness has been a recognized management technique in the public sector for many years. Most managers are now convinced of the possible benefits, at least in theory. Reality, though, is much less encouraging. Partial coverage, poor implementation and unrealized expectations are still the norm. Yet the potential for radical improvement by making the most of performance measurement is even greater than most people would believe. The question is how to unlock this potential.     

快递服务质量与顾客再次购买意愿关系实证研究——基于顾客信任的中介作用

构建快递企业形象、快递服务时效性、快递服务柔性、快递人员专业性和快递失误及时补救性等五个维度及影响路径分析,对原有的 SERVQUAL量表的指标进行了测量并予以修正。研究发现,在顾客形成对电子商务企业做出再次购买意愿的快递服务维度中,快递企业服务的时效性及快递企业失误及时补救性的影响更强;顾客信任在影响顾客再次购买意愿的过程中起到部分的中介作用。     

The DHL EuroCup: shots on goal

Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal monopoly, faced significant challenges as it began the process of integrating three businesses: Deutsche Post Euro Express, its own ground-based parcel delivery service, and two companies it had acquired-DHL, the worldwide express delivery service, and Danzas, a worldwide air and ocean freight company. The cultural differences alone were imposing. For example, DHL was a privately held, entrepreneurial company in which most managers had international experience; Deutsche Post was until recently a state-owned monopoly in which few managers had worked outside their home country. Enter EuroCup. For 20 years, DHL employees had held a soccer tournament to strengthen company culture across national boundaries. Canceled the previous year due to budget constraints, the EuroCup tournament was revived in 2003-in part to help with the postmerger integration. But did the event really help? HBR senior editor Paul Hemp attended EuroCup 2003, joining nearly 2,500 DHL employees--about 600 of them players, the rest cheerleaders and other supporters--in the small Belgian town of Lommel. He set out to answer a number of questions relevant to any company staging an ambitious off-site intended to encourage teamwork and boost morale. How does a company determine whether such a large-scale event, even one that generates goodwill, is worth the investment? Does the team building extend to those back home who don't get to attend? Can intense competition between teams begin to overshadow the spirit of cooperation that such an event is meant to engender? In short, can a soccer tournament help a company achieve its corporate goal of creating a strong common culture?     

国有商业银行实施现金管理服务的具体构想

客户对银行现金管理服务的需求受经济和技术环境的影响,在不同时期呈现出了不同的特点,银行现金管理服务的内涵和实现手段也随之发生变化.在今后很长的一段时期内,基于电子银行平台开展现金管理服务将是银行现金管理服务的主流.作为银行实施现金管理服务的基础平台,电子银行在现金管理实施中具有独特的优势.从某种意义上讲,商业银行的现金管理业务体现的是一种客户需求、一种银企关系变化和进步的趋势,是一个具有持续发展能力的过程.基于此,国有商业银行实现现金管理要有战略规划,要抓住实施平台和支撑机制这两个重点,分阶段稳步推进.     

从老爱立信到当代爱立信

<正> 在瑞典韦姆兰教区一座教堂的庭院内竖立着一座庄严朴素的纪念碑,碑文简洁明晰:“瑞典电话业亲眼目睹了他的成就。”他,就是爱立信公司的创始人——拉·马·爱立信。爱立信公司自1876年创立以来,千千万万的杰出人土为它能成为世界同行业的佼佼者做出了自己的贡献。然而,创始人拉·马·爱立借对公司的影响始终是最为深远的。直到今天,爱立信的企业文化和经营理念还带有很强的老爱立信的思想印记。     

Executive Agencies, Performance Targets and External Reporting

Since 1988, the role of Next Steps executive agencies has been crucial in delivering central government services. Agencies were established to improve service delivery, with changes being supported by an increasing focus on quantification. The Government argued that performance measures and targets are vital in supporting management in planning and controlling the operation of an agency, and that they are also important in providing a basis for reporting to those outside its immediate management—an aspect of discharging accountability. This article discusses the connections between targeting and reporting performance in agencies and, through an empirical study of business plans, corporate plans and annual reports, shows the extent of such linkages. The article provides evidence that key targets in planning documents of agencies provide a useful platform for external reporting, although improvements can still be made.