The effectiveness of information technology in promoting the learning organization in the public sector was examined using responses of 314 police officers. Three factors that threatened the capability of information technology to support knowledge workers in learning organizations were found: asymmetrical decision parameters, ill-structured…

Total quality management interventions and assessments must be more theory grounded and contingency based to advance understanding of its applicability, potential, and pitfalls in the public sector. Two-step and stage-state evaluative models can be used to ameliorate its shortcomings. (JOW)

Discusses how the Corporation for National Service and its programs have come under fire for being more political than catalytic, being simultaneously too centralized and too decentralized, and pursuing too many unclear goals. Identifies discontinuities between the rhetoric and the reality of reinvention and draws lessons for public-sector reform.…

Total quality management will not work well in government agencies because of stress on products, not services; on well-defined consumer groups; on inputs/processes, not results; and on preoccupation with quality. An effective revised version emphasizes client feedback, performance monitoring, continuous improvement, and worker participation. (SK)

Discusses the influence of employee race/ethnicity and gender identity, associated stereotyping and prejudice, and the nature of interpersonal relations on acceptance of diversity and support for diversity-management initiatives. A case study of 160 supervisors and 350 employees illustrates which factors influence employee support for diversity in…

Consistent differences are identified in the organizational environment and managerial activity of data processing organizations between the public and private sectors. A public organization's environment reflects greater interdependence and accountability, leading to more red tape. (Author)

Examines the employment of minorities and women in individual federal agencies as of September 1988. Focuses on the influence of factors including agency size, union strength, blue collar/clerical employment, and the rate of new hires of Blacks, Hispanics, and women. Finds that contextual variables explain much of the variation in integration.…

A survey of the 50 state personnel directors found that (1) their attitudes and actions reflect a concern for social equity issues; (2) 21 were women and 6 African American; (3) they experience similar role conflicts and tensions as federal civil servants; and (4) state personnel systems are addressing equity issues and benefit flexibility. (SK)

Public policy students were surveyed four times from 1998- 2000 (n=126, 104, 95, 92). Results reveal that many begin with uncertain goals and ambivalence about public sector work. Interest declined and the curriculum did little to promote the public sector. Many anticipated fluid careers and chose positions that offer growth more commonly…

Examines the constructs of segmented and block equalities from Frederickson's Compound Theory of Social Equity in the context of the civil service systems of the United States and Sweden. (JOW)