Public Management Systems

Question 1

Outputs of a local public works department 

Measuring the output and productivity of our public services, such as health and education, is important for public accountability. Public services are around a fifth of total Gross Domestic Product. Taxpayers, users and providers of public services have an interest in how government spends our money on these services and in whether services are good value for money. This paper is concerned with techniques for measuring changing levels of public service output, and productivity, over time, with particular emphasis on measurement of the quality of services Public services are services provided to users which are provided by a public body, or purchased by a public body for use which is free, or has only nominal charges, at the point of delivery(Shah 78-89). They do not include cash transfers (e.g. state pensions) but do include the administration of such benefits. The amount of tax-payers' money spent on public services can be identified relatively easily. The work covered by this paper aims to measure what is provided by the different services, in terms other than 'what was spent'. Other traditional measures like 'number of teachers' or 'number of hospital beds' also describe inputs to services, not the outputs. Question 2

Profit Sharing And Gain sharing

Gainsharing is a system that includes (1) a financial measurement and feedback system to monitor company performance and distribute gains in the form of bonuses when appropriate, and (2) a focused involvement system to eliminate barriers to improved company performance(Perkins 112-119).

Profit sharing, when used as a special term, refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses that provide direct or indirect payments to employees that depend on company's profitability in addition to employees' regular salary and bonuses. In publicly traded companies these plans typically amount to allocation of shares to employees.

Gainsharing and Profit Sharing are similar in that when the company does better, these improvements are reflected in employees' compensation. But beyond this basic similarity there are several important differences. Gainsharing most definitely is NOT profit sharing, although there are some similarities. Profit sharing is generally tied to the company's overall performance, whereas gainsharing focuses on the company's most vital performance metrics. Payments come out of increased revenue or reduction in costs. Profit sharing typically runs on a quarterly or annual cycle, whereas gainsharing generally cycles on a monthly basis. As a result, more frequent performance discussions take place; with the added benefit that mediocre or poor performance is addressed sooner. While there are both similarities and differences between profit sharing and gainsharing, this does not mean that the two programs must be implemented exclusively of one another. Many companies that use profit-sharing use gainsharing also and the two systems work well together(Shah 78-89).

Gain sharing in a local government body

The Indianapolis Department of Public Works (DPW) agreement with AFSCME Council 62 and Locals 725, 1887, 1831, 3131, and 3766 defines gain as the difference between bid operating costs and actual annual operating costs. Service improvement, defined as a reduction in the total number of annual calls, is also considered in computing ...