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Comment on BØrre Nylehn's “Strategy in Local Government”.
Author(s) -
Johnsen Åge
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
scandinavian political studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9477
pISSN - 0080-6757
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9477.1998.tb00011.x
Subject(s) - local government , government (linguistics) , business , strategic management , management strategy , public relations , public administration , political science , marketing , business administration , philosophy , linguistics
Børre Nylehn's article “Strategy in Local Government” is an exciting and thought provoking discussion of strategic management in local government. However, his observations can be discussed, both theoretically and empirically. It has been documented that politicians resist attempts to introduce strategic management systems in the form of Management by Objective, especially in small municipalities, but Nylehn's conclusion that strategic management is not used in local government organizations, that it is inappropriate, inadequate and even harmful is too hasty. I will argue that there may be good reasons to use strategic thinking in local government, but more research is needed to document the costs and benefits.