The McKinsey Quarterly

2010

• January 2010 

  How business interacts with government: McKinsey Global Survey results

  A variety of government actions in addition to laws and regulations powerfully affect companies’ finances, executives say. But executives also indicate that companies’ processes to manage their relationships with government are generally less robust than are the ones used to manage relationships with other stakeholders.

2009

• November 2009 

  Improving worker performance in the US government

  Government leaders have the opportunity to improve the performance of their organizations. To do so they will need to harness the talents and motivation of their workforce.

• October 2009 

  The CEO as diplomat: An interview with Richard Haass

  The Council on Foreign Relations’ president discusses new ties between government and business.

  Includes:

• September 2009 

  Focused on foresight: An interview with the US’s national intelligence officer for warning

  Kenneth Knight shares lessons from a career spent analyzing and preparing for the unknown.

  Includes:

• August 2009 

  A leaner public sector

  Through lean and Six Sigma initiatives, public-sector agencies can improve performance and productivity—but the impact won’t stick if they ignore the “soft” side of making operational change happen.

• August 2009 

  Improving public-sector purchasing

  To get the most out of the purchasing function, public institutions should gain a consolidated view of purchasing spend, set high aspirations for change, streamline buying processes, and strengthen the purchasing organization.

• August 2009 

  When citizens are your customers

  Optimization techniques using noncontroversial metrics such as customer satisfaction can help government agencies improve their service levels.

• July 2009 

  E-government 2.0

  Despite spending enormous amounts on Web-based initiatives, government agencies often fail to meet users’ needs online. By employing new governance models, investing in Web capabilities, and embracing user participation, agencies can raise the effectiveness of their online presence.

• July 2009 

  Using prizes to spur innovation

  Prizes used to spark innovation are on the rise. Philanthropists—as well as players in the public and private sectors—must understand how to use them in the most effective way.

  Includes:

• June 2009 

  New challenges for Asia’s governments

  As the roles of the region’s governments expand and change, they must transform their capacity and performance.

• June 2009 

  Reforming the public sector in a crisis: An interview with Sweden’s former prime minister

  Göran Persson has lived a story that should encourage leaders around the world: how to stay in power while pursuing a harsh crisis program that requires sacrifices throughout society.

• June 2009 

  The case for government reform now

  The expanded role of governments means that taxpayers will pay more for public services—and will demand more in return. To meet these expectations, the public sector must transform itself.

• May 2009 

  Improving performance at state-owned enterprises

  Public-sector companies can match the performance of their private-sector counterparts and even become world-class players.

2008

• November 2008 

  Perspectives on change: A former chief of staff reflects

  Leon Panetta discusses how to make change happen, public–private partnerships and their effect on policy, and the major management challenges confronting the new administration.

• July 2008 

  Boosting performance in public-sector IT: An interview with a US Defense Department agency director

  David Fisher talks about his experiences after he went from the private sector to the biggest organization in the US government.

• July 2008 

  China’s urbanization challenge

  A McKinsey Global Institute documentary probes the opportunities and policy choices posed by the biggest urbanization wave in history.

  Includes:

• July 2008 

  Reassessing China's state-owned enterprises

  China’s state-owned companies, like China itself, are diverse. Many of them would make better partners for multinationals than some of their private-sector counterparts. Openness, not ownership, is the key.

• February 2008 

  A healthier health care system for the United Kingdom

  New research indicates that leadership by clinicians and talent management are the keys to making things better.

• February 2008 

  How investors can get more out of infrastructure

  Opportunities to invest in public infrastructure will increase during the next few years, but so will competition for deals.

• January 2008 

  A healthier future for India

  Affordable care, preventive medicine, and healthy behavior must be the pillars of India’s health care reform.

2007

• November 2007 

  Addressing Africa’s health workforce crisis

  Addressing Africa’s health workforce crisis is a formidable task. Yet McKinsey’s experience in the region suggests ways to make headway.

• November 2007 

  The impact of Asia’s emerging middle class

  Executives may be underestimating the effect on their businesses of so many new middle class consumers.

  Includes:

• October 2007 

  Creating a modern Indian city: An interview with Delhi’s chief minister

  Sheila Dikshit discusses the challenge of urban development in India.

• October 2007 

  Government as a business

  Ian Davis, managing director of McKinsey, talks about the public-sector productivity imperative.

  Includes:

• April 2007 

  Private-investment opportunities for public transport

  Public-private partnerships represent a significant opportunity for private investors—but pose worrisome risks as well.

2006

• December 2006 

  Building better partnerships for global health

  By correcting some flaws, global health partnerships can save even more lives in desperately poor countries.

• October 2006 

  Meeting the demand for improved public services

  Governments face a productivity imperative because the public wants better services, but not higher taxes.

• July 2006 

  Coping with competition in European postal markets

  To fend off attackers, incumbent postal services must learn to act more like private businesses.

• June 2006 

  Applying lean production to the public sector

  Governments at all levels must deliver more for less. The principles of lean manufacturing offer surprisingly apt solutions.

• June 2006 

  Sweden's growth paradox

  Productivity is rising, but the level of employment among working-age people actually declined from 1992 to 2003.

• February 2006 

  After the tsunami: Lessons from reconstruction

  Indonesia and Sri Lanka faced the monumental task of rebuilding once their immediate needs were met. Their experience could help other countries respond to disasters.

2005

• November 2005 

  National oil companies: The right way to go abroad

  Deals with foreign partners can open the door to overseas profits.

• September 2005 

  A foundation for public health in India

  A renewed effort to train and attract public-health professionals will ease a chronic shortage and improve health care.

• August 2005 

  Tanzania's health care crisis

  The shortfall in qualified health care workers could be offset by higher productivity and better recruitment and training.

2004

• December 2004 

  Spurring performance in China's state-owned enterprises

  The government must give a performance-based system space to take hold.

• November 2004 

  Boosting government productivity

  To pay for the care of the elderly, developed societies face plummeting levels of public services for everyone else—and soaring taxes. Productivity could be the answer.

• November 2004 

  Organizing for effectiveness in the public sector

  Traditional public-sector organizations can be redesigned to perform more successfully—even when market forces are lacking.

• August 2004 

  A streetcar named productivity

  Bus and train systems habitually run at a loss. But public-transit agencies could lower costs and raise the quality of service by emulating best practices from around the world.

• August 2004 

  Battling AIDS in India

  The head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Indian initiative on AIDS explains the importance of creating a vast network of public-private partnerships to tackle the problem.

• May 2004 

  Building on China's construction boom

  Foreign companies must carefully choose the projects they undertake in China if they hope to make reasonable returns.

2003

• December 2003 

  Healing Eastern Europe's hospitals

  The region’s governments can’t afford to provide quality health care for everyone. Hospitals must get creative to make up for the shortfall.

• December 2003 

  How businesses can combat global disease

  Multinationals are directly affected by the global epidemic. It can’t be controlled without them.

• November 2003 

  European public transport at a crossroads

  Liberalization is coming and Europe needs to get ready—fast.

• August 2003 

  What transformation means for the defense industry

  Warfare will surely be transformed. But how, and by whom?

2002

• December 2002 

  What's next for Eastern European telcos?

  To survive in the European Union, telecom incumbents in Eastern Europe must streamline their operations on all levels.

• May 2002 

  The case for boutique health care

  By offering comfort and convenience to people willing to pay for them, nonprofit hospitals could finance better care for everyone.

2001

• December 2001 

  Mobilizing South Korea's women

  If South Korea is to become one of the world’s most economically advanced nations, educated women will have to play a larger role in its workforce. The first step is getting the government to take childcare more seriously.

• December 2001 

  Vaccines where they're needed

  Governments and international organizations could reduce the financial risks borne by the developers and marketers of vaccines—and thereby make them cheaper and more plentiful.

• July 2001 

  Art for more than art's sake

  Public funding for the arts leads to more than just a vague cultural improvement; it yields concrete—and enormous—economic benefits.

• July 2001 

  Making welfare work

  A customer-focused reorganization of the Illinois Department of Human Services provides lessons for other public-sector and nonprofit agencies about how to improve efficiency and service.

• June 2001 

  Putting citizens on-line, not in line

  Electronic government can provide faster, more convenient, and more accurate services that will improve the lives of the people.

• February 2001 

  Agencies of change

  Many Europeans think that employment agencies help businesses circumvent strict employment protection laws and cannibalize permanent jobs. But a McKinsey survey found otherwise.

• February 2001 

  Better arms for fewer soldiers

  Europe should spend less of its limited defense budget on recruiting and training troops and more on equipping them for modern warfare.

• February 2001 

  Catching the bus

  Bogota is reforming its transportation system. All aboard!

2000

• June 2000 

  Rethinking Dutch healthcare

  McKinsey’s Amsterdam office teamed up with health care experts to find a way of preserving the quality of Holland’s health care system while easing the great strains it faces.

1999

• November 1999 

  A strategy for European defense consolidation

  The European record on joint defense procurement is weak, yet the arguments in favor of more collaboration are strong. The solution: projects should be led by industry, not by government.

1998

• February 1998 

  Government: The ultimate service turnaround

  No coordination—all the way down the line. Reorganizing Illinois’s Department of Human Services. The story of Julie.

1997

• November 1997 

  Deregulation on track? The transformation of European rail

  Several industry structures are possible. Railroads need to shape, adapt, choose a niche, or sell out.

• May 1997 

  Germany and France: Confronting the costs of social policies

  A new study establishes the case for improving productivity. It’s time to recognize that regulation has not preserved incomes, provided access to services, or prevented job losses. An analysis of six industries: automotive, housing construction, telecom, retail banking, retail, and computer software.

1996

• August 1996 

  The future role of postal operators

  The cozy monopolies that postal operators have so long enjoyed are gradually being prised apart by deregulation, while new forms of communication are starting to erode traditional markets.

1995

• November 1995 

  US public housing: Big room for improvement

  $400 million could be saved per year. Charleston, Richmond, and Omaha have shown how. Rather than regulate, the federal government could share best practice.

1994

• May 1994 

  Asian Management: The challenge facing China’s state-owned enteprises

  At the level of individual business enterprises, the real work of reform in China has just begun.