Table of Contents

2003
 

Volume Eight, Number Two

Single Articles
    

1. Local Government Management In Nepal: An Urban Perspective
   Erik Bryld

   Governments in both developed and developing countries are turning towards New Public Management (NPM) of their local bodies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of public service. The question remains however, whether this move towards more flexible public management is practiced as stated and if this approach is a feasible option for countries like Nepal. This article outlines the key aspects of NPM and analyses how far the Nepalese Government has moved the process from a formal to a flexible management arrangement for its local government institutions and whether this approach is feasible in a Nepalese context. The paper finds that flexible public management at the local level should be pursued but that Nepal is still far from its intention of transforming the local bodies to become effective service facilitators, thus emphasizing the need for adjusting the relatively culture blind NPM approach to the local context.
    

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2. Labor-Management Relations, Collective Bargaining, and the Public Sector: Collaborative Solutions in Alameda, California
   Edward J. Martin

   This article describes current developments taking place in the collective bargaining process between public labor unions and public agencies in the United States. In order to create a more effective working relationship with each other, labor and management have shown a willingness to engage in participative decision-making as a method for greater collaboration. A case study of the City of Alameda, California will serve as a framework for this development between labor and management. In order to better understand this development, two policy models will be presented -- Peters' "flexible government" and Milward's "hollow state" -- as a conceptual frameworks for better understanding how labor and management have become more cooperative in their negotiation strategies.
    

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3. Organizing Water & Wastewater Industries To Meet The Challenges Of The 21st Century
   Paul Seidenstat

   The capital intensive, monopolized, and largely government owned and operated water and wastewater industries of the U.S. are facing major challenges. In light of these financial and service quality pressures, designing an optimal organizational structure has taken on greater urgency. Local governments have a variety of options. Some form of public private partnership may be the most efficient organizational format. .
    

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