New Public Management Essays - Economic Systems, Economic Ideologies

New Public Management INTRODUCTION Public sector reforms adopted in a number of countries such as USA, UK and New Zealand in the last fifteen years and characterised by efficiency units, performance management, contracting out, market type mechanisms, and agency status have come to be known as the New Public Management or NPM. Appearance of the NPM as shifting the paradigm from the old traditional model of administration has been promoted by a remarkable degree of consensus among the political leadership of various countries and is presented today as the major tool for public sector management reforms. The elements of NPM have been implemented in diverse forms in different countries depending on their historical nature of bureaucracy and public sector management and reform objectives. For instance, more emphasis was given to performance management in Scandinavian countries, while a stronger accent was on market type mechanisms, contractualisation of the public service and systematic approaches to improving service quality in New Zealand, the UK and the USA. The long-term benefits from these reforms have not been empirically validated. Nevertheless, the major donors are agreed that what developing countries must do to improve public sector management is to sweep away the traditional public administration paradigm that underpins their bureaucracies and introduce the new public management (Turner and Hulme 1997: 230). Mongolia has not escaped from this trend. The Government of Mongolia is preparing to introduce public administration reforms based on the New Zealand experience of contract relationship between resources used and outputs purchased. However, there is a question mark about Mongolia's capacity to implement such reforms and wether they meet current needs. Therefore, assuming that the concepts of NPM are quite familiar, attempts have been made to asses the Mongolian situation against prescriptions of the New Zealand model of Public Sector Reform, particularly in relation with the country's transitional circumstances. THE NEW ZEALAND MODEL OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT The proponents of the New Public Management have often identified New Zealand as a good example of this contemporary mode of administrative reform called NPM. New Zealand has implemented an enormous number and range of management reforms since 1988. These include accrual basis accounting and appropriations. Budgeting for outputs rather than inputs, separation of service delivery functions from advisory and regulatory functions, replacing permanent department heads with chief executives appointed for a fixed term, discretion for managers to spend their operating budgets as they deem fit, individual employment contracts for most senior managers, annual purchase agreements between ministers and their departments, annual reports, and audited financial and performance statements (Schick 1998:2). Every element of reform has been designed to establish or strengthen contract-like relationship between the government and ministers as purchasers of goods and services, and departments and other entities as suppliers. This ?new contractualism' replaced the relational contracts that characterise traditional public administration (Schick 1998:3). Managerial reform is based on a simple principle: managers cannot be held responsible for results unless they have freedom to act, that is, to spend and hire within agreed budgets as they see fit, to make their own choices concerning office accommodation and other purchases, and to run their organisation free from ex ante control by outsiders. The New Zealand experience shows how effective management practices in the private sector can be brought into a public sector environment and adapted. The change was driven by ideas that have only recently entered mainstream economics and they have been applied with full fidelity to their internal logic. Although one can justify that the country has vastly enlarged the stockpile of public management ideas and practices, however, there remain concerns related to contract-like arrangements in the public sector and there is much more to be accomplished before a final assessment can be made (Schick 1998:4). TRANSITIONAL FEATURES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN MONGOLIA After the collapse of the socialist block, radical political and economic changes occurred in most former socialist countries. According to Hesse (1993) the former socialist countries have a number of common characteristics, such as: a transition from one party rule to a multi-party, pluralist system with democratic and accountable government; the deconcentration and decentralisation of political power; the creation of distinct spheres of economics and politics; and, economic liberalisation. No socialist country has yet completed the full process of economic liberalisation. This is mainly because the

Solid Harvard Format Outline Step by Step Guide

Solid Harvard Format Outline Step by Step Guide Make It Look Harvard: Drafting an Outline in Harvard Format When students depart on their educational journey through college or university, they are most likely to encounter unknown tasks and unfamiliar requirements that make their hands tremble and mind race. Formatting, referencing, analyzing, providing literature review, methodology and discussion, and so on – the list can be expanded as required. But most requirements were not invented to complicate students’ lives. To the contrary, referencing and formatting standards were created to facilitate scholarly work and to standardize it. Thus everyone reading a paper knows what is meant by names and numbers in parentheses and how to decode reference entries. Harvard, also known as author and date format, is one of the most popular standards and after using it two or three times you will feel safe and confident in applying it. Outlining in Harvard style is no different from outlining in other styles. We will guide you step by step through main points and intricacies of the style, and then you can download a Harvard manual from the web and look up specific details that you need right on the go. Why Is Formatting and Referencing Important? Formatting gives a paper organized and neat look, and it also prompts readers what to expect from this paper. Abstract, footnotes, subheadings, reference part – all this is conditioned by a chosen format, so the more carefully you will approach the task the better your paper will be perceived by readers. Referencing is a separate point of attention. It means providing information about sources you used and indicating what exact ideas you borrowed and incorporated into your narration. If you fail to do so, you commit the worst academic crime – plagiarism. So to avoid blames of stealing ideas of others, credit every idea you use, whether in an outline or a ready paper and use a coherent citation standard across the paper. It will show that you take academic honesty seriously and are ready to be a part of the scholar community. This is where Harvard style comes in handy. Outlining is another important point. It is a plan of your paper will all key points mentioned and referenced. Yes, you should begin referencing on this stage already and it will significantly facilitate your work. 7 Basic Steps to Take While Writing an Outline Highlight and put down all key information that you see in sources; Organize it as a bullet point list with expanded notes after main subheadings; Cite author and date after each borrowed idea; Capitalize the authors’ names; Underline or put in italics names of books/articles; Create a rough reference page; Stay coherent in punctuation (no strict rules here). Basically, it all looks simple, but while writing outline students often skip referencing and then struggle to remember where the specific phrase or idea comes from. Apart from this complexity, you should not encounter any serious issue while using Harvard style to create a good outline, and, consequently, a good paper. General Path to Follow Now you may wonder how to structure your outline more precisely and what markers to use. It is also not that complicated. Subdivide your topic into points and give each point its sub-points. To differentiate between primary and secondary ideas use tabulation tool (indent). Flush left the lead point. Then make an indent and present sub-point(s). If you need to subdivide it, make a deeper indent. So the outline will look like a set of steps turned upside down. But this trick will help you to see what is important and what is supporting. Use various markers to differentiate between list levels: Roman numerals (main ideas) Arabic numerals (sub-points) Letters (upper case, lower case – for further subdivision) Letters in parenthesis. Switch between these markers and indentation to keep the structure of your outline visible to you and readable to your prof (if he or she requests to see the outline). No matter if you use Harvard or other standards, this basic rule of building an outline remains in place. Differentiate between levels and bring in more subdivisions if you need to add specific details and citations into main points. The more sub-points, the better the final paper will be. Applications of Harvard Formatting Style Harvard style is probably the most common formatting style because of its simplicity (it can contest with MLA only). Harvard formatting is used in Humanities and social science, but sometimes in business case studies as well. If you are assigned an outline with Harvard formatting, do not skip this task and do not treat it negligently. Making a good outline will help you to: Map out the information you found in a clearly readable way; Find inner connections and analogies; See what evidence goes where; See if you have enough evidence or need to research more; See what logical gaps you need to fill with additional research; Create a visible structure of your future paper. Application of Harvard style to outlining makes writing easier (because of the relative simplicity of style) and helps you keep your focus. By applying this style you get: Clear structure with logical subdivisions of issues and topics; The ready hierarchical structure of ideas (you see what is important and what can be skipped if you go beyond upper word count limit); A communication strategy that you can assess on the go and change without having to rewrite the whole paper; Bullet point image of your future paper – you can decide if you like it or not (and if your audience will like it). The outline is valuable in that it keeps you on the track of your thoughts and topics and does not let you stray away or forget something. While writing a paper it is very easy to get lost in explanations and lose the line of argument. An outline keeps you organized and brief, and by writing in bullet point format you can catch every idea that comes to your mind before it flies away. This is probably the highest benefit of outlining. We hope that we have persuaded you in the necessity of outlining and gave you the basics of Harvard style to keep you confident and going. Read through your outline and decide, if you have included everything you wanted or something else needs to be included yet. Check your introduction, conclusion and references. If everything seems in place, you are equipped to write a final paper. Finish Line Now that we have covered all major points Harvard style and outline creation do not look that intimidating. Actually, outlining is a valuable skill and so you should never miss a chance to practice it. Before setting to work, double check instructions given by your professor and what he or she expects to find in your outline. Whether your instructor wants to see a full-fledged plan with lots of subdivisions and citations or just a brief sketch showing that you are on the right track – anyway, you are well prepared to do it. But if you still need help and guidance, feel free to contact us and ask for assistance. We will create a proper outline, a whole paper and a reference page in Harvard format or in any other format you need. This is not a problem at all. We all learn by examples, so with our help and professionally crafted assignments you are bound to master the intricacies of this art – and get your good grades regularly.

Inland Barge Operation In Europe and China Research Paper

Inland Barge Operation In Europe and China - Research Paper Example In Europe and China, there have been significant advancements in the three forms of transportation. Rail transport has evolved over time and technological advancements have made the system more efficient and economical (Rodrigue, 2010). Most countries in these regions have developed an extensive railway network that traverses the area. Thus, rail transport is widely used for passenger and cargo transportation throughout the two regions as well us to regions. On the other hand, road transport is also widely used in the European and Chinese regions. The road network in Europe is extensive and covers virtually all the corners of the region. According to (Vrenken et al, 2005), the road network in Europe has the best roads globally with tarmacked roads covering over seventy percent of the region. Suffice to say, there are numerous road transport companies that own trucks used for delivery of cargo. The road transport system has been widely adopted in China due to its affordability and eff iciency. Long haul trucks are used to deliver cargo from all the areas in China. The truck transport system is efficiently due to precise coordination between the track companies and the warehouses where the cargo is taken from or delivered to. However, the road and rail cargo transportation systems have various weaknesses. ... Also, the two modes of transport are costly due to the high cost of fuel. Inland barge transportation is a viable alternative for the transportation of cargo. The use of boats and other water transport vessels for the transportation of cargo within the region can help to sustain the development in these regions and add other benefits. This paper argues that inland barge transportation is a more efficient mode of cargo transportation compared to road and rail transportation. This research therefore seeks to determine the use of inland barges in transportation in the two regions and the level of contribution of this type of transportation in each of the regions. In doing this, the research examines the advantages and the disadvantages of the transport systems and the extent to which it has contributed to the attainment of the modern state of the economy in the regions. The inland barge transport system will be evaluated in both regions and the contribution that it has made to the devel opment of the regions. The potential benefits of the inland barge transportation system will be analyzed. Furthermore, the discourse compares the transport mechanism in the two regions and further compares the level of development and the growth rate of the regions. In doing this, the research establishes the contribution of transportation to the process of development and determines the most cost effective means of transportation for the two regions and the whole world by extrapolation. Cargo transportation The transport sector forms a critical component of any region. In fact, an efficient transport network is often a pointer towards the level of development that is possible in a region. Industrial advancements require