Tools for Decision Making: A Practical Guide for Local Government

This book provides practical analytic techniques for local governments, with an emphasis on providing practical assistance to students, practitioners, and others interested in local government performance. It features a variety of techniques, including demand analysis, work distribution analysis, process flow performance, inflation adjustments, annualizing capital costs, staffing analysis, identifying full costs of a program or service, present value analysis, life-cycle costing, lease/buy analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, benchmarking analysis, and more. The third edition includes a dramatic expansion of Excel-based applications, templates, and exercises, and prepares readers to use statistical tests, construct Pareto charts, develop cause-and-effect diagrams, prepare control charts, detect possible discrimination in hiring and appointment practices, and present analytic evidence more effectively.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 502 pages
Publication date: 09 September 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive guide is designed to empower readers with a diverse range of practical analytical techniques that are invaluable for local governments. Written in a user-friendly style, with a strong emphasis on offering practical assistance to students, local government practitioners, and anyone interested in enhancing local government performance, this third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to include the most relevant and effective analytic methods.

The authors present a diverse array of practical techniques, drawing from the fields of management, public administration, policy analysis, and industrial engineering. Each technique is introduced within the context of a fictitious case, providing a clear and concise explanation of how it can be applied to real-world problems encountered in city and county governments.

The book encompasses a wide range of analytic techniques, including demand analysis, work distribution analysis, process flow-charting, inflation adjustments, annualizing capital costs, staffing analysis, identifying the full costs of programs or services, present value analysis, life-cycle costing, lease/buy analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, benchmarking analysis, and many more. Additionally, this updated third edition features a significant expansion of Excel-based applications, along with templates and exercises that accompany many of the chapters and are readily available online.

New chapters have been added to prepare readers to utilize statistical tests to identify significant differences in performance averages, construct Pareto charts, develop cause-and-effect diagrams, prepare control charts, detect potential discrimination in hiring and appointment practices, and effectively present analytic evidence.

This book serves as an essential resource for students and instructors of public administration courses focusing on analysis, methods, evaluation, productivity improvement, and service delivery. Its comprehensive coverage and practical approach make it an invaluable tool for anyone seeking to improve the performance and effectiveness of local government organizations.

Weight: 806g
Dimension: 156 x 236 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367654320
Edition number: 3 New edition