Improving the Quality of East and West European Public Services
| Date | 01 July 2005 |
| Author | Peter Falconer |
| DOI | 10.1177/095207670502000310 |
| Published date | 01 July 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
REVIEWS
Improving
the
Quality
of
East
and West
European
Public
Services,
edited
by
E.
Loffler
and
M.
Vintar,
Aldershot,
Ashgate,
2004.
ISBN
0
7546
3972
X,
hb.
This
edited
volume
offers
a
wide-ranging
analysis
of
quality
as
an
important
element
of
public
services
management
and
public
management
reform.
Drawing
on
a
variety
of
case
studies
written
by
an
international
team
of
established
academic
authors,
the
book
provides
an
interesting
and
timely
treatment
of
contemporary
developments
in
public
sector
quality
management.
The
principal
value
of
the
book
lies
in
its
coverage
of
what
is
referred
to
as
Eastern
Europe
(though
its
actual
scope
includes
Central
Europe
also),
and
the
way
in
which
the
Western
European
experience
of
public
management
reform
has
informed
the
nature
of
change
in
Eastern
Europe.
The
book
itself
is
structured
around
four
main
sections,
incorporating
case
studies
from
12
countries
along
with
five
comparative
and
conceptual
analyses
of
quality
in
the
public
domain.
Building
upon
an
introductory
section
which
provides
an
analytical
context
for
the
study
of
quality
agendas
in
East
and
West
European
public
services,
the
second
part
of
the
book
presents
an
interesting
set
of
chapters
on
the
implementation
of
quality
management
systems
across
a
rage
of
countries.
The
third
part
of
the
volume
covers
the
role
played
by
quality
systems
in
the
quest
for
improvements
in
public
service
delivery,
while
the
final
part
considers
the
specific
issue
of
electronic
governance
and
citizen
engagement
as
new
approaches
to
quality
management
in
the
public
sector.
Overall,
the
book
offers
less
of
a
theoretical
and
conceptual
approach,
and
opts
for
an
engagement
with
the
practical
dimensions
of
designing,
implementing
and
evaluating
quality
systems
within
public
organisations.
In
this
regard,
its
major
strength
lies
in
its
provision
of
an
overview
of
those
quality
approaches
which
are
of
current
relevance
to
public
managers
in
West,
Central
and
Eastern
Europe.
An
additional
attraction
of
the
book
is
its
specific
attention
to
such
new
EU
states
as
Hungary,
Estonia,
Latvia,
Poland
and
Slovenia.
The
book
makes
a
very
useful
empirical
contribution
to
the
public
management
literature
and
will
be
of
principal
value
to
academics
and
Public
Policy
and
Administration
Volume
20
No.
3
Autumn
2005
124
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