Quality Standards for Highly Effective Government : Second Edition

A seminal work for the public sector, Quality Standards for Highly Effective Government (Second Edition) redefines what is expected and what is required for excellence in management. The practices presented here also benefit non-profit organizations, and indeed any organization in which services are not directly rewarded by a purchase.

The book introduces three new performance standards that frame the value add of management, for processes, systems, and aligned leadership objectives. Along with defining known best practices, these standards create an imperative for the use of Lean and continuous quality improvement as a foundation for good management, built onto that defined structure.

Quality Standards for Highly Effective Government, Second Edition establishes a "new normal" in government that will ultimately reinvent the practice of democratic government. The principal catalyst for this change will be the adoption of auditable quality standards within every government entity—based on efficiency, effectiveness, and delivered value. Conventional wisdom says that government is not efficient and not effective – but, we are still unsure what works and what is broken in government, where to find some common sense, and where to start to fix it.

The problem sounds huge, but the solution is not all that difficult. Quality science can provide a structure for efficiency and effectiveness, democratic institutions can create consensus goals, and auditable standards can show where these issues exist and to what degree. In addition, it can drive change where it must happen, because if you can measure it, you can manage it.

Auditable quality standards can make these unknowns highly visible and offer a clear scorecard that anyone can follow. They can provide holistic and thorough measurements because they will align with the unique roles and responsibilities at three fundamental levels of leadership in government: (1) Work unit supervisors and managers at the "front line" of government service; (2) chief executives, department directors, and their deputies as "Executive Management" of government agencies, and (3) elected top leadership, as those key officials must define the priorities, outcomes, programs, and budgets.

This book proposes that a focus on efficiency and effectiveness, combined with its defined value, provides the foundation of effective government, and of its audit standard.

In this book, you will learn four necessary strategies that will support the use of these standards including:

• Creating an imperative for consensus
• Ending incentives for building bureaucracy
• Building a safety net for champions of efficiency
• Making elected representatives accountable for results

This book presents the methods necessary to measure and improve the quality of organizational systems in government, across the board, and on a sustained basis to achieve value, efficiency, and effectiveness -- It is the manifesto and map for government’s future.