Joop Koppenjan, Arie van Sluis, Frans-Bauke van der Meer, Ben Kuipers and Kees van Paridon
The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of complex change processes in fire service organizations and to apply these in a case study…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify critical success factors for the management of complex change processes in fire service organizations and to apply these in a case study of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides review of literature on organizational change, case study of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service supported by the analysis of policy documents and 30 semi-structured interviews with key persons.
Findings
Combining different theoretical approaches helps to get a more complete picture of important issues and dilemma’s in the management of change processes – which is a first step in the successful implementation of changes – whereas other approaches tend to emphasize only some and overlook others. Applied in a case study, this approach revealed serious weaknesses in the management of change within the Rotterdam-Rijnmond fire service and offered practical guides for solutions.
Originality/value
This paper combines insights from different theoretical approaches into a more integrated perspective that aims to be helpful as a practical tool for designing and implementing complex changes in fire service organizations.
Details
Keywords
Arie van Sluis, Lex Cachet and Arthur Ringeling
The purpose of this article is to present the findings of research into the impact of a new performance system for the police in The Netherlands.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to present the findings of research into the impact of a new performance system for the police in The Netherlands.
Design/methodology/approach
For this research, the international literature about the effects and side effects of performance steering in the public sector was scanned and more than 150 local stakeholders in five Dutch police regions were interviewed in semi‐open interviews, using a checklist. The study analyzed the specific impact of the results‐based agreements in various branches.
Findings
On the whole, the police do not get isolated as a consequence of the results‐based agreements and they do not disassociate themselves from the societal networks they participated in before. The authors offer several explanations why many of the expected negative effects have not occurred.
Originality/value
Valuable in this article is the focus on the situational context and the implementation context for an adequate assessment of the significance of performance‐based steering of the police in practice. It gives an update of the Dutch state of affairs and recommends another starting point for police performance measurement in the near future.