Curious Cat Management Portal > Public Sector Continuous Improvement Site > Reading List

Our library links to many online articles and more (reports, training material...). Here we list material not available online (while including links to a couple online article).

Books

Find more books using the Curious Cat Management Improvement Bookstore.

Peter Scholtes, The Leader's Handbook: Making Things Happen, Getting Things Done, 1998. Highly recommenced. details
Fourth Generation Management by Brian Joiner, 1994. Good for beginners and advanced practitioners. Practical and useful in everyday management--all managers should read this.
The Improvement Guide A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance, 1996. By Gerald J. Langley (Editor), Thomas W. Nolan, Lloyd P. Provost, Clifford L. Norman and Kevin M. Nolan
An excellent practical handbook to consult as you work on improving your organization. Highly recommended.
The Team Handbook, Second Edition, by Peter R. Scholtes, 1996. Overview of many concepts (useful with and without teams). Practical and useful in everyday management. For beginners and advanced practitioners.
The New Economics for Industry, Government, and Education by W. Edwards Deming, 1993. Very good theoretical background. Strong on theory needed to succeed.
Orchestrating Learning With Quality by David Langford and Beverly Cleary, 1994.
Once upon a Campus: Lessons for Improving Quality and Productivity in Higher Education (American Council on Education Series on Higher Education) by Daniel Seymour, 1996.
Quality Policing: The Madison Experience by David Couper and Sabine Lobitz, 1991. David Couper was the chief of police in Madison, Wisconsin for over 20 years

Articles

">Quality Comes to City Hall," Joseph Sensenbrenner. The former mayor of Madison reports on his experience. HBR, March 1991, reprint number 91208
Transformation and Redesign at the White House Communications Agency by March Laree Jacques.
Originally published by the American Society for Quality in the Quality Management Journal, Volume 6, Issue 3, 1999.
Doing More With Less in the Public Sector: A Progress Report from Madison, Wisconsin, William G. Hunter, Jan O'Neill and Carol Wallen. The new quality improvement ideas can help public officials combat the effects of decreasing budgets just as they help private business increase productivity. CQPI, June 1986, report 13.
In 2009 the City of Melbourne became the first local government in Australia to start implementing Lean Thinking
Quality Improvement and Government: Ten Hard Lessons From the Madison Experience by David C. Couper, Chief of Police, City of Madison, Wisconsin
Total Quality Management in the Public Sector, Keith Smith. QP part 1, June 1993 and part 2, July 1993.
"Quality in the Community: One Cities Experience, George Box, Laurel Joiner, Sue Rohan, Joseph Sensenbrenner. Highlights the evolution of the Quality movement in Madison and addresses what it takes to start a quality improvement network.
Lean Government Primer by USA EPA
"National Know-How," March Laree Jacques. TQM, May/June 1993.
"State Governments' Growing Gains from TQM'" James Kline. An overview with several examples. NPR, Spring 1993.

Sources for articles

HBR--Harvard Business Review (617) 495-6985.

QP-- Quality Progress (800) 248-1946.

NPR--National Productivity Review 22 W 21st St. NY, NY 10010.

TQM--TQM Magazine (800) 945-4551

Government Executive and Quality Digest also have articles that may be of interest.

This reading list is meant to point out some useful material to help public sector employees with continuous improvement efforts.