Policy and Politics, Vol. II No.3 (1983),313-341 A PUBLIC SERVICE INDUSTRY APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE Elinor Ostrom THE DOMINANT THEORY OF LOCAL PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISA nON Unless local government is organised to meet the needs of the future, and in particular is organised in units large enough to match the tech- nical and administrative requirements ofthe services which it adminis- ters, its powers much diminish, and with it the power of local democracy ... 1 Too often, the structure of local government in the metropolis
The rapid economic growth of the past few decades has radically transformed India’s labour market, bringing millions of former agricultural workers into manufacturing industries, and, more recently, the expanding service industries, such as call centres and IT companies.
Alongside this employment shift has come a change in health and health problems, as communicable diseases have become less common, while non-communicable diseases, like cardiovascular problems, and mental health issues such as stress, have increased.
This interdisciplinary work connects those two trends to offer an analysis of the impact of working conditions on the health of Indian workers that is unprecedented in scope and depth.
This original and topical book tells the untold stories of migrants’ experiences of, and responses to, financial exclusion in London. Breaking important new ground, it offers an insight into migrants’ lives which is often overlooked, yet is increasingly vital for their broader integration into advanced financialised societies.
Adopting a holistic focus, Migrants and their Money investigates migrants’ complex financial lives which extend far beyond remittance sending, exploring their banking, saving, credit and debt related practices. It highlights how migrants negotiate the complex financial landscape they encounter and the diverse formal and informal ways in which they manage their money in the financial capital of the world. Drawing upon a rich evidence base, this book will be of particular interest to academics, local authorities, policy makers and the financial services industry.
Innovation is promoted to improve performance and increase the quality of services provided by public service organisations. Managing public services innovation provides the first in-depth exploration of innovation and the management of innovation in the housing association sector. Drawing on longitudinal case studies and data sets, including the Housing Corporation’s Innovation and Good Practice database, Managing public services innovation: indicates that housing associations have innovative capacity and classifies innovation in the sector; identifies the ‘innovative housing association’ and its key characteristics; explores the way innovation has been managed in housing associations making recommendations for best practice; develops techniques to develop evidence-based policy in the housing association sector; discusses the implications of innovating in regulated public service industries.
Managing public services innovation is essential reading for housing industry and public management professionals, policy makers and academics in housing, business and public management departments.
Japanese youth and foreign migrants face stringent institutionalised controls in Japan. This book questions the efficacy of such social controls, focusing on the interrelation of inequality (powerlessness, discriminate controls and class inequality) and deviance (largely derived from power and the violation of informal and formal norms). It provides a comprehensive detailed description and explanation of inequality and deviance of Japanese youth and 17 foreign migrant groups. The book is aimed at individuals, students and academicians interested in Japan area studies.
As the percentage of people working in the service economy continues to rise, there is a need to examine workplace harm within low-paid, insecure, flexible and short-term forms of ‘affective labour’. This is the first book to discuss harm through an ultra-realist lens and examines the connection between individuals, their working conditions and management culture.
Using data from a long-term ethnographic study of the service economy, it investigates the reorganisation of labour markets and the shift from security to flexibility, a central function of consumer capitalism. It highlights working conditions and organisational practices which employees experience as normal and routine but within which multiple harms occur.
Challenging current thinking within sociology and policy analysis, it reconnects ideology and political economy with workplace studies and uses examples of legal and illegal activity to demonstrate the multiple harms within the service economy.
Introduction and conclusion available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence.
The turn towards a Social Investment approach to welfare implies deploying resources to enhance human capital and mobilise the productive potential of citizens, starting in early childhood.
This edited collection brings regional and local realities to the forefront of social investment debates by showcasing successes, challenges and setbacks of Social Investment policies and services from ten European countries: Italy, UK, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Spain. It provides practical, accessible illustrations of good practice, routes to success, and lessons learned. The book is informed throughout by engagement with service users and local communities, and features many previously unheard voices including front-line workers, local decision makers, volunteers and beneficiaries.
The field of social policy has a rich history but policies on the ground are undergoing intensive change. Governments around the world are responding to political, economic and financial pressures, many of them linked to the global economic crisis. National agendas typically have social policy at or close to the centre.
This latest edition of Social Policy Review presents an up-to-date and diverse review of the best in social policy scholarship. It brings together research by an exciting range of internationally renowned authors and examines important debates in British and international social policy. This edition includes a special focus in the third part on work, employment and insecurity.
Social Policy Review is essential reading for social policy academics and students and for anyone who is interested in the social and economic implications of government policy.
Society is undergoing change, and, as a result, social welfare services – including social work – are being transformed. This book explores the sociological basis of contemporary society and shows how social workers experience tensions and contradictions in practice.
The book uses case studies and self directed activities to enable students to relate sociology to daily lives. It explores key themes in turn, examining their relevance for social work and how they can be applied to practice, particularly in areas such as children and families, mental health, disability and older people.
Relevant and accessible, the authors explore aspects of class, ethnicity and gender and conclude with suggestions of how sociology can inform practice and enable social work to engage with processes of transformation.
The book provides essential material for students of social work and social care, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It will also be relevant to social policy and sociology undergraduates.
On the margins of inclusion explores the notion of ‘social exclusion’ from the perspective of those deemed to be ‘socially excluded’ and provides a compelling and vivid portrait of lives at the insecure, low-paid end of the labour market.
The ethnography is used to illuminate key issues in sociology and social policy and to tackle debates and controversies that are central to current discussions on the appropriate role and function of state welfare. A thorough discussion of current policies to address social exclusion and area regeneration is woven into the fieldwork analysis.
On the margins of inclusion is essential reading for researchers, academics and higher-level students in sociology and social policy, and will also be of interest to policy makers in the field.