Coordination: A problem in public sector management

Abstract

Coordination is a perennial problem for public services — most especially the human and social services. British policy towards community care and de-hospitalisation is examined as a case study of governmental attempts to improve inter-organisation relations. Three questions are addressed: do the theoretical approaches within the public policy literatures offer policy makers a coherent guide to action; have successive government policies been influenced by these theoretical approaches; has British empirical research on joint planning offered additional insights of help to policy makers? The need to link theories of trust — and the micro dynamics of inter-organisational relations — to the public policy tradition is emphasized, as is the need for a reflexive governmental concern for problems of implementation and governance.

Exploring Leadership in Multi-sectoral Partnerships

“…Bruner and Spekman, 1998;Kanter, 1994;Webb, 1991). These include competing and hidden agendas (Eden and Huxham, 2001;Judge and Ryman, 2001), lack of trust (Vangen and Huxham, 2003b), and vulnerability to political manoeuvring as well as political interference (Stewart, 1999;Stewart et.…”

Ambiguity, Complexity and Dynamics in the Membership of Collaboration

“…Whatever the specific purpose, most will be aiming to gain collaborative advantage; that is, to achieve outcomes that could not be reached by any of the organizations acting alone (Huxham with Mac-Donald, 1992;Huxham, 1996a). There is ample evidence, however, that inter-organizational arrangements are difficult to manage and often fail to meet expectations (Himmelman, 1994;Medcof, 1997;Meschi, 1997;Webb, 1991). Instead of achieving collaborative advantage, they often degenerate into a state of collaborative inertia in which the rate of work output is much slower than might be expected (Baumhauer & Naulleau, 1997;Huxham 1996a;Huxham & Vangen, 1996a).…”

“…Achieving collaborative advantage for all but the simplest of collaborative tasks requires major resource investment, together with significant managerial skill and patience from each of the individual participants (Webb, 1991). The goodwill both of these individuals and of the organizations they represent is also essential.…”

Home care: An opportunity for physiotherapy?

“…Trust has been shown to be of particular importance in determining that inter-organisational relationships are effective (Williams 2007) with attitudes of mistrust and suspicion a primary barrier to cooperation between organisations (Webb 1991). For home care coordinators and physiotherapists seeking to align physiotherapy with home care service delivery, there is often continued shifting in their responsibilities and the tasks involved in their roles as the service seeks to maximise outcomes for patients.…”