The Responsible Contract Manager by Steven Cohen

The Responsible Contract Manager by Steven Cohen

The Responsible Contract Manager addresses the practical issues of government contract management, and it explores issues of public ethics and the philosophy of governance and representation in a democratic society. Contract management is a critical skill for all contemporary public managers. In an age of outsourcing and public-private networks, managers must learn to work with, coordinate, and measure the performance of private contractors from both for-profit and nonprofit organizations who have assumed duties once reserved for government employees. Managers must learn how to write contract requirements and elicit bids that obtain important services and products at the best possible price and quality. Contract managers have a unique burden because they must develop practices that ensure the production advantages of networked organizations but also the transparency and accountability required of the public sector. Steven Cohen and William Eimicke fill a major gap in public management literature by providing a clear and practical introduction to the best practices of contract management. They help the reader answer key questions: When should you outsource, and under what conditions is the task best performed by your own organization? How do you successfully coordinate a public-private network? How do you ensure accountability and guard against corruption and other potential violations of public trust? What is the effect of this new public sector on representative democracy?

The book is remarkably devoid of ideological and normative wrangling that often polarizes audiences on the topic of government contracting.. a must read for public management scholars and contract managers. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Excellent addition to the literature on contract management, as it covers the practical issues as well as the broader questions of professional ethics, accountability, and responsible governance. It will be useful for MPA students and faculty as they explore best practices in this growing area of study... The strengths of this volume are many, but I was particularly impressed at how the authors present the realities of the political environment and the conflicting pressures on contracting professionals. This material is well developed throughout the discussions of both the practical and ethical issues. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

Steven Cohen is director of the Master in Public Administration Program in Environmental Science and Policy and executive director and chief operating officer of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. William Eimicke is deputy commissioner of the Fire Department of New York City and director of the Picker Center for Executive Education at Columbia University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781589012141
ISBN 10	1589012143
Title	The Responsible Contract Manager
Author	Steven Cohen
Series	Public Management And Change Series
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Georgetown University Press
Year published	2008-10-01
Number of pages	256
Prizes	Winner of Public Administration Section: Herbert A. Simon Book Award (United States)., Winner of Public and Nonprofit Division's Best Book Award (United States)., Winner of Co-winner of the American Society for Public Administration, Section on Public Administration Research's best book award (United States)., Winner of Public and Nonprofit Division Best Book Award (United States).
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.