Leadership in the British civil service: an interpretation

This article is essentially a polemic. The argument is that when politicians and officials now talk of ‘leadership’ in the British civil service they do not use that word in the way in which it was previously used. In the past leading civil servants, acting in partnership with ministers and within constitutional constraints, exercised leadership in the sense of setting example, inspiring confidence and encouraging loyalty. The loosening of traditional constitutional patterns, the marginalization of senior officials in the policy process and the emergence of business methods as the preferred model for public ­administration have led to a political and administrative environment in which leadership in the British civil service is now about encouraging patterns of behaviour which fit in with these changes. Leadership skills are now about ‘delivery’; they are not about motivation. It is time for politicians, officials and scholars to be open about this

Source reduction for prevention of methylene chloride hazards: cases from four industrial sectors

BACKGROUND: Source reduction, defined as chemical, equipment and process changes that intervene in an industrial process to eliminate or reduce hazards, has not figured as a front-line strategy for the protection of workers' health. Such initiatives are popular for environmental protection, but their feasibility and effectiveness as an industrial hygiene approach have not been well described. METHODS: We investigated four cases of source reduction as a hazard prevention strategy in Massachusetts companies that had used methylene chloride, an occupational carcinogen, for cleaning and adhesive thinning. Three cases were retrospective and one was prospective, where the researchers assisted with the source reduction process change. Data were collected using qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews and site visits. RESULTS: Motivated by environmental restrictions, a new worker health standard, and opportunity for productivity improvements, three companies eliminated their use of methylene chloride by utilizing available technologies and drop-in substitutes. Aided by technical assistance from the investigators, a fourth case dramatically reduced its use of methylene chloride via process and chemistry changes. While the companies' evaluations of potential work environment impacts of substitutes were not extensive, and in two cases new potential hazards were introduced, the overall impact of the source reduction strategy was deemed beneficial, both from a worker health and a production standpoint. CONCLUSION: The findings from these four cases suggest that source reduction should be considered potentially feasible and effective for reducing or eliminating the potential hazards of methylene chloride exposure. Especially when faced with a hazard that is both an environmental and worker health concern, companies may chose to change their processes rather than rely on local exhaust ventilation equipment or personal protective equipment that might not be as effective, might transfer risk and/or not be integrated with financial goals. However, technical assistance sensitive to environmental and health and safety impacts as well as production issues should be provided to guide companies' source reduction efforts

Review of the management of the Government's Civil Estate

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:GPC/07799 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Objective setting and monitoring in executive non-departmental public bodies

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:GPC/09455 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Performing for pay? The effects of 'merit pay' on motivation in a public service

Despite the growing use made of performance-related pay schemes, their true impact remains sadly under-researched. This article, a case study of the scheme introduced into the Inland Revenue in 1988, and typical of recent UK public-sector schemes, is an attempt to reduce the area of mystery. We assess the scheme by its likely impact on employee motivation, which we gauge through a variety of employee and management opinions and attitudes, as expressed in more than 2000 responses to a questionnaire. Our conclusion is that, although the scheme was thought by staff to have a number of virtues, it was very unlikely to have raised employee motivation appreciably; it may indeed have been demotivating on balance. We also consider the likely reasons for this result. If the scheme did not improve employee motivation, it is hard to see how it could have enhanced employee performance. The study has potentially important implications for the government policy of seeking to improve the functioning of the public sector through performance-related pay

Resource management systems An Efficiency Unit scrutiny

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:OP-95/C / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo