Public Information Technology or Gods of Management

Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues

Author: Garson

Public Information Technology: Policy and Management Issues constitutes a survey of many of the most important dimensions of managing information technology in the public sector. Written by noted academics and public administration practitioners, this book addresses general policy and administrative issues in this arena as well as the information technology skills needed by public managers.

About the Author
G. David Garson is professor of public administration at North Carolina State University, where he teaches courses on American government, research methodology, computer applications, and geographic information systems. His most recent works include Guide to Writing Empirical Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (2002), Social Dimensions of Information Technology (ed., 2000), Handbook of Public Information Systems (ed., 2000), and Neural Network Analysis for Social Scientists (1998). For the last two decades he has also served as editor of the Social Science Computer Review.

Table of Contents:

	Preface
Ch. I	Information Technology and Public Administration: The View from the Profession	1
Ch. II	Politics, Accountability, and Governmental Information Systems	20
Ch. III	The Evolution of Information Technology Management at the Federal Level: Implications for Public Administration	53
Ch. IV	The Realities of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: A Government-Wide Strategy for Information Resources Management	74
Ch. V	Mediating the Tension between Information Privacy and Information Access: The Role of Digital Government	94
Ch. VI	E-Government: An Overview	120
Ch. VII	Leading-Edge Information Technologies and American Local Governments	139
Ch. VIII	Information Technology as a Facilitator of Results-Based Management in Government	170
Ch. IX	Computer Tools for Better Public Sector Management	190
Ch. X	Survey Research, Focus Groups, and Information Technology in Research and Practice	221
Ch. XI	Geographic Information Systems in the Public Sector	252
Ch. XII	Electronic Mail in the Public Workplace: Issues of Privacy and Public Disclosure	271
Ch. XIII	World Wide Web Site Design and Use in Public Management	299
Ch. XIV	Toward an Information Technology Research Agenda for Public Administration	331
App	Doing Online Research in Public Administration	358
	About the Authors	384
	Index	390

Books about marketing: Public Relations or Leaders and the Leadership Process

Gods of Management: The Changing Work of Organizations

Author: Charles Handy

Would Zeus be more effective running a bank or an ad agency? Executives will find out in The Gods of Management, which is perhaps the most intriguing work from the best-selling author of The Age of Unreason and The Age of Paradox. Charles Handy has written a highly entertaining book, but more important, he provides an extremely valuable framework for understanding management styles and the corporate cultures associated with them.
Handy uses four Greek gods to illustrate for managers the four basic approaches they can take, and the organizational cultures that result. In a Zeus or "club" organization, power radiates from the top boss, and a personal relationship with that individual matters more than any formal title or position. We see this often in small entrepreneurial companies, brokerage firms, investment banks, and political groups. An Apollo "role" culture results in a highly structured, stable company--a bureaucracy with precise job descriptions, such as a life insurance company, a monopoly, or a firm with a long history of success with a single product. The Athena "task" culture emphasizes talent and youth, and promotes continuous, successful team problem-solving, as reflected in consultancies, ad agencies, and startup high-tech enterprises. Finally, a Dionysus "existential" organization survives mainly so that individuals can achieve their purposes: think of a university, or of a group medical practice, or of architects who share office space. Handy shows that each "god," or company culture, stems from different assumptions about the basis of power and influence, what motivates people, how people think and learn, and how change should occur. And he reveals that firmswith the wrong culture often wallow in inefficiency and unhappiness, either blind to their plight or unwilling to struggle to find the right culture for the firm.
If managers are aware of their own "gods" and of the cultural choices available for them and their organization, they can create a more productive and satisfying workplace. In this delightfully readable, stimulating volume, Charles Handy shows them how.