Complexities of Productivity Policies in the Finnish Public Sector: Knowing How to Do More with Less?

Kork, Anna‐Aurora; Mänttäri, Pietu; Vakkuri, Jarmo

doi:10.1111/faam.12062

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This creates an imbalance between income, expenditure and expected quality of service. Imbalance between income and expense in the Finnish public sector has given rise to issues with long-term financial sustainability (Kork et al, 2015) and forced the sector to seek savings in public services (Bailey et al, 2016). These developments have focused public-sector attention on various improvement projects, the main target being to deliver more services with fewer resources (Kork et al, 2015), that is, to be more efficient.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Imbalance between income and expense in the Finnish public sector has given rise to issues with long-term financial sustainability (Kork et al, 2015) and forced the sector to seek savings in public services (Bailey et al, 2016). These developments have focused public-sector attention on various improvement projects, the main target being to deliver more services with fewer resources (Kork et al, 2015), that is, to be more efficient. Bysted and Jespersen (2014) argue that austerity in the current (public) economy has created the need for efficiency related innovations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Innovation through implementation of a quality improvement method

Mättö

2019

TQM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effectiveness of a quality improvement method in driving innovation in the public sector. The study expands on the concept of innovation and analyses the types and usefulness of the innovations observed. Design/methodology/approach The study utilizes an action research approach. The aim of the quality improvement method introduced is to generate innovations enhancing efficiency. An interventionist research method is required to produce the findings. Data collection methods include a preliminary question sheet, interview, workshops, observation and the examination of other material concerning the case organization. Findings The study supports the notion that innovations created with a quality improvement method can be more oriented towards process improvement, particularly in the public sector. Further, when the method enables professionals from different functions to participate in the process, the innovations created can be more comprehensively designed. Innovations can be classified according to their degree of novelty, type, resource consumption and the projected outcome. A project follow-up makes it possible to compare the projected outcome of the innovation against its actual outcome. Practical implications The method applied could be a viable option for practitioners considering public sector quality improvement and innovation capacity building. The paper provides guidelines for prioritizing innovations in terms of their resource consumption and usefulness. Originality/value Integrating quality improvement with innovation generation as a potential efficiency source for public-sector organizations has received relatively little research attention. Further, the paper provides a categorization for innovations in the public sector that provides guidelines for prioritizing innovations.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innovation through implementation of a quality improvement method

Mättö

2019

TQM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moynihan and Pandey (2010) argue that the use of PI becomes the biggest issue in performance management. Some evidence exists about large-scale municipal merger reforms in Western European countries in Denmark (Blom-Hansen, 2010), in Germany (Blesse and Baskaran, 2016) and in Finland (Kork et al, 2015). There is no corresponding evidence from Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries during the last few decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of performance information in local government mergers

Kenk

Haldma

2019

JPBAFM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study more deeply the use of performance information (PI) in the context of the administrative-territorial reform, e.g. amalgamation in the local governments (LG) with an example of Estonian LGs. Design/methodology/approach The case study method is adopted, using data from publicly available documents and interviews with the politicians and officials at the five merger cases of Estonian LG units. The data are interpreted and analysed using attribution theory. Findings The results show that amalgamation patterns do have an influence on PI use – in particular, the authors see that PI is reported to be used more frequently in cases of voluntary mergers, which may be related to the different motivations to make attributions in cases of voluntary and compulsory mergers. Originality/value The study contributes to the debate on the importance and usefulness of different types of PI, as financial as well as non-financial information and for different information users in the light of LG reform in Estonia as being a Central and Eastern European country.

show abstract

Improving access and managing healthcare demand with walk-in clinic

Kork

Vakkuri

2016

International Journal of Public Sector Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose – Poor access to healthcare and increasing demand for services represent a management dilemma how to balance between needs and costs. Scrutinising the concept of demand management and using a case study from Finnish primary care, the purpose of this paper is to examine the complexities of managing demand for health services. Design/methodology/approach – Convenience has explained the popularity of walk-in clinics (WIC), making it an attractive demand management tool. By analysing the quantitative service utilisation data of frequent attenders at WIC, the paper exemplifies what enhanced access to care means for demand management of public welfare services. Findings – High user rates and satisfaction indicate demand for this type of service; however, the establishment of WIC provided supplementary care for the high users of health services, most suffering chronic diseases. Research limitations/implications – Better understanding of the structure of service demand is needed in order to develop a more coordinated service system and to manage demand for public welfare services. Practical implications – The study demonstrates the importance of identifying service utilisation patterns in managing demand. Instead of single solutions, a wider system-level perspective is essential. Originality/value – Managing demand and facilitating access are core primary care attributes but there is little evidence about the impact of demand management strategies. The paper ties together important healthcare management issues: how to control demand and improve the access? Moreover, few studies have examined the frequent attendance at WIC. This paper presents a practical illustration of demand management tool and indicates some demand management problems to be considered in healthcare management.

show abstract

Complexities of Productivity Policies in the Finnish Public Sector: Knowing How to Do More with Less?

Cited by 4 publications

References 24 publications

Innovation through implementation of a quality improvement method

Innovation through implementation of a quality improvement method

The use of performance information in local government mergers

Improving access and managing healthcare demand with walk-in clinic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About