IPMN Classroom

In the IPMN Classroom, we will publish links to short (5 – 10 minutes) personal presentations of original concepts, ideally described by their founder or a scholar who is familiar with this concept.

Don Kettl’s October 1 lecture: “The merit principle in crisis”

Basic questions about the management of public servants “are under fundamental assault,” Professor Kettl says, and “in the academic world, there are very few people paying careful attention. We could wake up and discover that fundamental, wrenching changes have been made while we weren’t looking.”

Black Box of Governmental Learning
Presented by Raoul Blindenbacher and Bidjan Nashat

Little is known about how governments learn best or what exactly makes them change their behavior in a targeted way. Governments consist of thousands of state officials and numerous institutional units—the executive branch, parliaments, the judiciary, and the civil service—which function under unique political conditions and environments. In this video interview, Raoul Blindenbacher and Bidjan Nashat highlight practical and methodological steps to facilitate governmental learning process that ensures that there is a transition from knowledge to action, that acquired knowledge is constantly updated, and that learning is sustainable.

Government Performance
presented by Professor Steven Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School

The business of government is often considered overly bureaucratic and slow to respond to changing circumstances. Yet at other times, it can be extremely adept, agile, and responsive to citizens’ needs. How U.S. government agencies can and should be structured to maximize performance is the focus of Professor Steven Kelman’s writing and research. Kelman is the Weatherhead Professor of Public Management and former Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget.

Government Blame
Presented by Professor Christopher Hood, University of Oxford

James Cox interviews Professor Christopher Hood of Oxford University about blame avoidance by governments and whether or not it is productive.

Multirational Management
Presented by Professor Kuno Schedler, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland)

Organizations in the public and non-profit sector are typically pluralistic organizations. This is, these organizations deal with multiple rationalities in their decision processes. There is a significant body of research that highlights the existance of multiple rationalities. There is, however, only little knowledge about managerial strategies and behaviour that deal with multiple rationalities. Professor Kuno Schedler explains the concept of multirational management and its relevance to practice and research.