The primary aim of this thesis is to analyse the key drivers of Organisational Excellence in the Public Sector and integrate them in a comprehensive, reliable and valid performance measurement system. Within the movements for Public Sector reform and modernisation, Total Quality Management (TQM) has increasingly been regarded as a way to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the use of the resources available, deliver better public services, and bring Public Administration closer to its customers and citizens. However, too often the initiatives carried out are not integrated, nor they are part of a systematic and coherent strategy to guide public organisations towards Organisational Excellence (OE). The literature suggests that adopting TQM can lead to superior performance, in spite of the difficulties of statistically demonstrating such link. There is also a prevalent view that TQM principles and core concepts are universally valid, but need to be adapted to each context in particular. In this sense, they are applicable to the Public Sector, although the existence of multiple stakeholders, the need to balance individual customer needs with wider collective purposes and the strong bureaucratic inheritance make their implementation particularly challenging. The exploratory survey conducted in the Portuguese municipalities - which constitute the focus of our study - revealed that TQM is raising considerable interest and diagnosed the main barriers and motivations for TQM implementation. Moreover, it gave support to the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) identified in the literature. Several organisational excellence models were reviewed. It is argued that Kanji's Business Excellence Model (KBEM) adequately covers the CSFs identified and, additionally, provides a sound methodology - based on the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique - to estimate the relationships between them and determine their impact on an aggregated measure of OE. To measure OE from the internal stakeholders' perspective, a few adjustments were made on KBEM and new scales developed to assess the Local Government's performance in each CSF. The model was empirically tested and validated using data collected from 85 Portuguese municipalities and the internal OE index calculated. Given the critical role of Leadership (the prime of KBEM), this construct was analysed in detail. The key leadership requirements in an organisation committed to TQM and OE were identified. A model was then developed and used to measure, according to leaders' and staff members' views, Leadership Excellence in the Portuguese municipalities. With the purpose of evaluating OE from the external stakeholders' perspective, a Business Scorecard (KBS) was created. Feedback from citizens - the key external stakeholders of a municipality - was collected in each dimension of the scorecard. Using similar procedures, the model was validated and the scores for each latent variable computed. The OE index thus calculated drew attention to possible gaps between internal and external perceptions and called attention to the need of measuring OE from different angles. The system of performance measurement proposed is grounded in the CSFs identified and assesses performance from a multiple perspective by integrating feedback from the various stakeholders of an organisation. Therefore, it provides a more realistic assessment of performance and is expected to support the Local Government in its quest for Organisational Excellence.

It has been widely acknowledged that boundary problems resulting from urban growth is one of the persistent issues at the local level. At least three main problem areas have been identified: fragmentation of the planning system, inefficiency in the service provision and the scale of local participation. The main objective of this thesis is to analyze the restructuring of the organizational structure and statutes of local authorities in terms of boundary changes, amalgamation and annexation with reference to the Turkish case. The city of Denizli has been taken as a case study as there has been a recent change in the municipal boundaries which brought the annexation of small-sized municipalities to the Denizli Municipality. The thesis problematizes the Denizli case in terms of planning processes, service provision and local participation. The experience of other countries and the literature on this issue are to be used in order to provide a yardstick against which the case of Denizli could be measured.

This study examines changes in the governance of Nottingham and Derby in the period 1945-1968 from a local and national perspective. In so doing it foreshadows the changes wrought by the Local Government Act 1972, which usually receives greater academic attention. Post-war, local authorities became the nation’s principal landlords, while utilities, such as electricity and gas, were nationalised. In fulfilling their new responsibilities, urban authorities were forced to build estates on the periphery of, or outside, their boundaries. The relocation of residents resulted in an exportation of urban identity and greater urban-ness, but was not accompanied by a corresponding redrawing of administrative boundaries. Nevertheless, when urban authorities sought boundary extensions they were fiercely contested by county authorities, local associations, and residents’ groups. Such associations and groups claimed to possess characteristics distinct from the authorities that wished to incorporate them. There was also a fear that democratic accountability would be lost in the creation of larger units of governance. The local feelings aroused by boundary extension proposals demonstrate that local government is more than merely an agent of central government. It is a living organism: changes to it affect not only services, but also the identity of that place. The expansion proposals of the county boroughs of Nottingham and Derby differed markedly. Uniquely amongst county boroughs nationwide, Nottingham sought no expansion under the review initiated by the Local Government Act 1958. The thesis assesses the political motivations behind this and the wider reactions to reconfiguration proposals for both county boroughs. The role of conurbations is considered in terms of local governance, including the extent to which Nottingham and Derby could be classified as one. The thesis concludes that the maintenance of existing party political strengths outweighed local sentiment, and that only those proposals for reform which benefited the former were enacted.

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Als Schnittstelle zwischen der Lokal- und der Staatsebene konnten die Landkreise ihre Stellung im politischen System Deutschlands bewahren und ausbauen. Optimierungsbedarf hat sich aufgrund des sozioökonomischen, technischen und demographischen Wandel sowie der öffentlichen Finanzkrise ergeben. Kreisgebietsreformmodelle und die Ausweitung der Aufgabenkooperation dominieren die Reformdebatte. Neben den verfassungsrechtlichen Anforderungen und der Akzeptanz der Reform bei den Betroffenen ist der Reformerfolg wesentlich von der Qualität der Umsetzungsstrategie abhängig. Der aktivierenden Einbeziehung der Mitarbeiter in den Reformprozess kommt dabei eine besondere Bedeutung zu. / As an interface between the local and state level, the counties maintain and expand their position in the political system of Germany. Reasons for the improvement are the socio-economic, technological and demographic changes and the expansion of the public finance crisis. Models of territorial reforms and public-public partnerships dominate the debate. The success of these reforms is largely dependent on the constitutional conformity, acceptance of citizens and the quality of the implementation process. Employees should be involved in the design of the reform process.

Als Schnittstelle zwischen der Lokal- und der Staatsebene konnten die Landkreise ihre Stellung im politischen System Deutschlands bewahren und ausbauen. Optimierungsbedarf hat sich aufgrund des sozioökonomischen, technischen und demographischen Wandel sowie der öffentlichen Finanzkrise ergeben. Kreisgebietsreformmodelle und die Ausweitung der Aufgabenkooperation dominieren die Reformdebatte. Neben den verfassungsrechtlichen Anforderungen und der Akzeptanz der Reform bei den Betroffenen ist der Reformerfolg wesentlich von der Qualität der Umsetzungsstrategie abhängig. Der aktivierenden Einbeziehung der Mitarbeiter in den Reformprozess kommt dabei eine besondere Bedeutung zu. / As an interface between the local and state level, the counties maintain and expand their position in the political system of Germany. Reasons for the improvement are the socio-economic, technological and demographic changes and the expansion of the public finance crisis. Models of territorial reforms and public-public partnerships dominate the debate. The success of these reforms is largely dependent on the constitutional conformity, acceptance of citizens and the quality of the implementation process. Employees should be involved in the design of the reform process.