Sensemaking and the political-administrative interface: the challenges of strategically steering and managing a local public service
- 2016
- p.454-471.
- Sep
Our study focuses on the relationship between elected officials and managers in the context of local services management. We analyse the political-administrative interface using Weick's theory of sensemaking. Our research, based on the case of water services management in Montreal, shows that the loss of expertise in the public sector, coupled with a lack of political vision, leads to a mismatch between the actions envisaged by the managers and the resources available. The organizational purpose needs to be politically defined in order to achieve a reciprocal influence in policy making. This collaboration, or complementarity of politics and administration, allows shared sensemaking that is essential both to a management diagnosis in line with the organizational mission and to strategic decision-making which takes into account the civil servantsﾒ recommendations. - Reproduce