000			01572pab a2200157 454500
008			180718b2003 xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aGretchen, Key
245			_aManaging the impersonal in a personalized public service
260			_c2003
300			_ap.197-209.
362			_aMay
520			_aWhat happens when an apparently personalized small public service enters the information highway? How does it integrate the new frame of mind implied in the impersonal, open approach to information? The practical implications of implementing information technology as a means to use information strategically in the Maltese public service, with its apparently paradoxical administrative style, prompted the pilot study in early 2000 upon which this article is based. Using a simplified empirical approach, the study tested the hypothesis that small scale could affect the way leaders deal with the impersonal, such as information resource management. Although limited in scope, the results of the study support a qualified conclusion that small scale, through its link with personalization and associated informal mechanisms, does affect the way top managers in the public service deal with the impersonal, at least in the short and medium term. To what extent it does so, or the space for change, are subjects for further research. The article concludes with suggestions for further investigation into this topic, both in its narrow and wider applications. - Reproduced.
650			_aCivil service
773			_aPublic Administration and Development
909			_a59735
999			_c59735 _d59735