Recognizing Public Value

“The idea that public managers should operate more like business managers gained momentum in the 1980s, and it continues today. Many reformers and politicians insist that managers should identify the ‘customers’ for public services and measure agency performance. Moore’s new book examines the difficulties in applying this approach to public services, particularly with respect to performance measurement. He argues that private sector methods do not measure the ‘public value’ created by a wide range of state and local agencies… His case studies demonstrate that it is possible for public managers to incorporate helpful elements of private sector performance measurement, but that it is essential to recognize the special nature of the public value created by public service agencies.”—M. E. Ethridge, Choice