Introduction What is the public sector? Managing in the public sector The structure of this book Part 1: the context of public sector management Chapter 1: understanding public sector organizations The changing nature of public sector organizations Understanding organizational structure Organizations as systems Understanding organizational culture Why is there a public sector? The public-private debate The wider context of public organizations The value base of the public sector Part 2: planning to get it right Chapter 3: identifying power and influence Organizations as coalitions of interest groups Sources of power The role of politics in the influencing process Managing conflict Using power and influence Chapter 4: working for equality of opportunity and access Defining equal opportunities Why is there a need to consider equal opportunities? Equality of opportunity in employment Equality of opportunity and a access for service users Improving equality of opportunity Chapter 5: marketing public services What is marketing? Characteristics of markets The components of marketing Marketing overview Beyond marketing: business planning Chapter 6: developing new services Understanding innovation Managing the development of new services Part 3: delivering services Chapter 7: purchase of service contracting What is a contract? Important concepts in contracting Pricing a contract Contractual relationships Types of contract The contracting process Chapter 8: performance management Background to performance management The building blocks of performance management Performance management Putting together a performance management system Performance indicators and value for money At which organizational level should performance be assessed, by whom, and how often? The differing levels of performance management Chapter 9: ensuring quality of service What is quality? Why is quality important? Why evaluate quality? How to measure quality Designing a quality evaluation system Designing your own quality management system Chapter 10: managing finance Managing budgets Estimating costs and planning budgets Costing units of service What is information? What are your information needs? Using information technology Stages in introducing information IT Chapter 12: managing during times of change Understanding the change process Planning and managing change Understanding the effect of change on people Helping people cope with change