Entries with tag local government .

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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
06 Aug 2015 - 09:50

null He who pays the piper

  How much say should a Local Authority have in how a voluntary organisation is run? In the case of Kids Company the government thinks it is reasonable to tell a voluntary organisation to remove its charismatic and outspoken chief executive if it wants to continue receiving government funds. This is such a high profile organisation, one that in the past senior politicians have been happy... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Jul 2015 - 11:13

null Like the House of Cards

The only reason to be deputy is to use it as a stepping stone to be a Director. Every ambitious deputy, and all deputies are ambitious, seeks higher office but strives not to be seen to be actively perusing the post because above all else deputies are required to be loyal to their directors. Every deputy see the mistakes their director makes, knows they would never make such mistakes, would... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
13 Jul 2015 - 11:26

null To Kill a Mockingbird

So it turns out that Atticus the great liberal lawyer had racist views in latter life. That the character that inspired a generation to make a difference was not so different a Southern man. That the story as told by Scout was seen through the eyes of a naive young child who hero worshiped her father. Do all children grow up to realise their parents are imperfect? Is it inevitable that... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 Jun 2015 - 12:27

null The rise of the member led authority

The rise of the member led authority There has been a dramatic change in local government and I am not talking about budget cuts, management culls or outsourcing services. Where once councils were officer led now the politicians are very much in charge. Of course we always maintained there was a clear distinction between the leader of the council who managed the majority party and the chief... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
02 Jun 2015 - 15:05

null How many managers have you got?

It's a typically challenging question from the new leader of the council. The underlying implication is too many whatever the answer is. The honest answer is I don't know but that is an unacceptable answer and makes me look foolish. The correct answer is it depends how you count them but that just sounds like I am trying to be cleaver and risks antagonising my new boss. I could say 500 because... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
20 Apr 2015 - 15:19

null The Thinning

The public sector is being thinned, local government is being thinned, thinning creates anxiety and uncertainty, distrust and suspicion,  a constant threat of decline, alongside a sense of loss and a feeling that all is not right with the world. There is yet no end in sight of the thinning but the impact of 5 years of savage budgets cuts, redundancies, outsourcing and management... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
08 Apr 2015 - 16:37

null Not the Game of Thrones

There is a constant threat of decline, accompanied by a pervasive mourning and sense of wrongness in the world. There are kings and king makers, trial by combat, scheming and betrayal and a delicious habit of bumping of the biggest stars. This is not some medieval fantasy or an episode of Game of Thrones this is the modern day public sector in a time of prolonged austerity. Temporary... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Feb 2015 - 11:49

null You don't want to know the answer

Effective leaders ask good questions but too many people in charge don't ask questions. After all if you don't ask the question you can always deny knowledge. The Americans call this plausible deniability; we call it wilful blindness and selective deafness. "I didn't know some of my very senior managers were walking away with £million pay offs. I didn't ask the details of individual... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Feb 2015 - 11:05

null An Organisation in denial

"They denied that there had been a problem, or if there had been that it was as big as was said. If there was a problem they certainly were not told. They were no worse than anyone else. They had won awards. The media were out to get them". They were more concerned with the reputation of the organisation than they were in discovering what was really going on. The leadership did not expect... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 Jan 2015 - 14:02

null Why not make a drama out of this crisis

The president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, David Pearson, spoke on various BBC news programmes last week, to discuss the crisis in the NHS. On the BBC’s Breakfast show last Thursday, the GP interviewed before Pearson had used the opportunity to get a simple message across that the government had failed to train and retain enough GPs. As a result, surgeries could... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
14 Jan 2015 - 12:26

null An Unreliable Witness

If you listen to senior managers particularly in organisations where things have gone badly wrong it's not difficult to see why they might be unreliable witnesses.   I want to put the record straight. The politicians and the journalists have past judgment, my former colleagues have distanced themselves and even those I trusted most have spoken out against me.    ... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
19 Dec 2014 - 15:02

null Pot holes

It is nearly  5 years since my boss came back from a budget meeting and said this level of cuts is no longer about reduced services it about a totally different county council. At the time most of us didn't believe it was possible to take nearly 50 percent out of the budget yet that is what happened. Libraries and day centres were closed, grants to voluntary groups were cut, services... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
19 Dec 2014 - 14:26

null The powerful make things happen or do they?

Tony Blair complained that he pulled levers and nothing much happened. It's a common complaint by leaders in a democracy that they have status and authority but not enough power to make things happen. Margaret Thatcher thought  it was the dead hand of the civil service that stifled radical change and the trade unions, she was determined to reduce the power of both. In local government... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
17 Dec 2014 - 12:44

null Tis the season to give and receive

Five more years of austerity, it sounds grime. More services out sourced, more redundancies, more service reductions, it sounds inevitable. But here is  a reason to be jolly, corporate Christmas parties and lavish presents from new business partners. What better start to the festivities than a weekend in London, a posh dinner dance and an overnight in a swanky hotel. Just think how... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
01 Aug 2014 - 11:34

null The retail model in the public sector

The problems experienced by Tesco and the response of the board has a lot of parallels with NHS Trusts and Local Authorities. This isn’t surprising since the public sector has been encouraged to adopt the retail model. The financial and business press described it as “brutal". The announcement of his departure was sudden and unexpected. His replacement was already lined up. The loss of his... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 15:19

null Stricly come Whitehall

New report out by Open University on relationship between politicians and senior public sector managers makes comparison with ice dancing duo, a delicate mutually dependant partnership and goes by the title Dancing on Ice. But reality is a lot messier than the theory. In some local authorities it might be more accurate to make the comparison with Strictly Come Dancing. See article in... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 12:55

null What happens when you cut a coucils budget by 50%

Has the Government thought this through? What happens when councils can’t pay the bills for services they have entered into long term contracts for? No one really knows what will happen when you cut a councils budget by 50 percent. The bins won’t get emptied, the grass won’t get cut, the pot holes in the roads won’t get filled, and people will recent paying an increased council tax for a... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 13:03

null Is this really the end of Local Government as we know it?

The leader of Birmingham City council thinks so. A 50% cut in budget over the next 3 years coupled with an increasing number of older people will mean the local council will no longer be able to afford to run Libraries, museums, swimming pools and parks. The reduced budget will be spent on child protection services and adult social care. A free market, persecution of scroungers, failure of... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
19 Jun 2015 - 10:30

null 50 Shades of management from a women's point of view

You've read the book, you've seen the film or you've heard all about it on social media, well now ii's in the office...and its the same but different for women.  Grey suits, grey hair, grey is the colour of management. Grey comes in many shades from the gravitas of silver grey to deceit of dark gray. Like shades of gray subtle differences in management behaviour distinguish pain... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
12 Jul 2014 - 12:58

null How to manage the members

Working in local government at a senior level involves working hand in glove with local councillors or elected members as officers most commonly refer to them. Effective chief executives and Directors tend to have a reputation amongst their peers for being able to manage their members. In every person specification for a senior job in local government it will state the need for political... See more
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