Public Administration and local authorities in Italy. Three case studies: Milan, Rome and Palermo (1994)
The research focuses on civil servants, who are considered the actors on whom the functionality of the complex system of public administration depends. To better investigate this internal dimension of the PA, a sample survey – which started in early 1992 and took more than two years to complete – was carried out in three cities that were significant and representative not only on a territorial level but also in terms of different work cultures: Milan, Rome and Palermo. The 1,055 public employees interviewed were carefully selected based on age, professional and cultural criteria and based on their organisation (Municipality, Region, Province, Local Health Unit, hospitals and transport companies).
This focus on local authority employees is related to the belief that they should be the pivot of PA reform decentralisation projects and the main actors of experimentation and innovation.
Index
Introduction
Preface
The decline of extensive government policies
Taboo
The public as an employer: innovators and malingerers
Competition and ownership
From the assigned employee to the responsible one
Chapter 1. Methodological note and socio-demographic profile of the sample
Some reflections on the methodological aspects of the general design of the research
Considerations on the quality of data produced by sample surveys in the social field
Planned interventions
The population and the sample
A description of the three populations surveyed and the relative samples drawn
Milan
ATM
The Municipality
Hospitals
Local Health Units
The Province and the Region
The sample of interviewees
Rome
ATAC
The Municipality
Hospitals
Local health units, the Province and the Region
The sample of interviewees
Palermo
Hospitals and Local Health Units
The Municipality
The Province
AMAT
The Region
A comparison between Milan, Rome and Palermo
The socio-demographic profile
Chapter 2. Recruitment
Introduction
The importance of qualifications
Experience in vocational training courses
Previous professional experience
Recruitment: age, mobility, procedure, aids
Chapter 3. The job
Socio-occupational status and professional hierarchy
Professional hierarchies and work organisation
Polyvalence, autonomy, technology in work tasks
Controls and working hours
Careers and transfers
Double work and patronage in working relationships and with users
The meaning of work
Chapter 4. Planning, effectiveness, efficiency
Planning, effectiveness, efficiency
Effectiveness and efficiency in everyday work
Effectiveness and efficiency in public administrations
Some conclusive considerations
Chapter 5. Work cultures
Foreword
Training and updating
Natural, scholastic aptitudes and professional experience
Application of school knowledge to work
Perception of income
Decision-making functions and participation
Political and social orientation
Participation in strikes, assemblies, agitations
Opinion on self-regulation of strikes in the public administration
Propensity to reduce working hours
A view on the granting of an unemployment wage
Chapter 6. Public Administration and Citizens
Public Administration and Citizens
The right to information
The protection of citizens’ rights
The Transparency of Public Administration
Some final remarks