Practical notes

only by following the laws of nature could man triumph over his environment: 'The empire of man over things depends wholly on the arts and sciences. For we cannot command nature except by obeying her. Sir Francis Bacon

just as only a strong civil society may guarantee democracy, only a strong state may assure competitive markets. Democracy and Public Management Reform: Oxford Univ Press

"the link between public service quality/performance and complaints or litigation deserves more exploration ... So does the role of insurance, risk pooling and financing liability arrangements in shaping public service provision". ESRC, Public Servies Programme

What's measured is what matters - Assumptions underlying governance by targets are synecdoche (taking a part to stand for a whole) and that problems of measurement and gaming do not matter. Christopher Hood, Oxford Univ.

It is right to posit a trade-off between exit and voice and argue that social investment, or loyalty, lowers exit and increases voice. Public Services Programme, Oxford Univ.

Informal networks of employees are increasingly at the forefront, and the general health and "connectivity" of these groups can have a significant impact on strategy execution and organizational effectiveness.

Performance management helps organisations achieve their strategic goals. It reminds us that being busy is not the same as producing results.


there has been a systematic effort by activist investors to promulgate an alternative definition of best interests that emphasizes social values –environmentalism, support for human rights, pro-union workplace policies.


When every place looks the same, there is no such thing as place anymore - because everywhere looks like everywhere else, dominated by the usual suspects .....