Skip to main content

Municipal Managers in Italy: Skills, Training Requirements and Related Critical Aspects

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
  • 857 Accesses

Abstract

Public Administration in Italy has been experiencing noteworthy transformations necessary to meet citizens’ requirements. Public managers must apply such transformations and so their skills should be redefined. The aim of this article is to identify the skills that public managers should have for a good administration of the local community and to rank them in order of importance. A survey was administered to a sample of public managers operating in the Veneto region of Italy. Then skills and training requirements underlined by the same managers have been analysed. The findings indicate that a rich set of 26 skills is required. Good teamwork, proactive behaviour and authoritativeness are the most important skills for municipal managers, whereas specific and technical knowledge does not characterize the role of managers. This is particularly true in large municipalities, in which internal structures are complex and external relationships even more so.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bell, S., & Hindmoor, A. (2009). Rethinking governance: The centrality of the state in modern society. The Australian Journal of Public Administration, 69(1), 103–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolzan, M. (2010). Competenze e processi formativi per i dirigenti degli enti locali. Padova, Italy: Cleup.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouckaert, G. (2007). Cultural characteristics from public management reforms worldwide. In Cultural aspects for public management reforms (pp. 29–64). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouckaert, G., & Halligan, J. (2008). Managing performance, international comparisons. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, J., West, J., Berman, M., & Van Wart, M. (2016). The professional edge: Competencies in public service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyatzis, R. (1982). The competent manager: A model for effective performance. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyne, G., & Chen, A. (2007). Performance targets and public service improvement. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 17, 455–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyne, G. A. (2010). Performance management: Does it work? In Public management and performance: Research directions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodkin, E. Z. (2011). Putting street-level organizations first: New directions for social policy and management research. Journal of Public Administration Research, 21, i199–i201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CEDEFOP. (2008). Future skills needs in Europe. Medium-term forecast: Synthesis report. Lussemburgo: Ufficio delle pubblicazioni ufficiali delle Comunita’ Europee.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cerase, F. (2002). The competencies required in public management: A case study in Italy. In Competency management in the public sector: European variations on a theme. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Graaf, G. (2011). The loyalties of top public administrators. Journal of Public Administration Research, 21, 285–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Demircioglu, M., & Audretsch, D. (2019). Public sector innovation: The effect of universities. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 44(2), 596–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denhardt, K., & Denhardt, J. (2009). Public administration: An action orientation. Wadsworth Publishing Co. Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Draganidis, F., & Mentzas, G. (2006). Competency based management: A review of systems and approaches. Information Management & Computer Security, 14(1), 51–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunleavy, P., & Hood, C. (1994). From old public administration to new public management. Public Money & Management, 14(3), 9–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farnham, D., & Horton, A. (1996). Public managers and private managers: Towards a professional synthesis? In New public managers in Europe: Public servants in transition (pp. 26–52). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galanti, M. T. (2014). Beyond mayors and great men: Effectiveness, policy leadership and accountability in Italian local government. Contemporary Italian Politics, 6(2), 159–177.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Getha-Taylor, H., Blackmar, J., & Borry, E. (2016). Are competencies universal or situational? A state-level investigation of collaborative competencies. Review of Public Personnel Administration (ROPPA), 36(3), 306–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granrusten, P. T. (2015). The freedom to choose and the legitimacy to lead. In Thinking and Learning about Leadership. Sydney: Community Child Care Cooperative.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, M., & Adams, D. (2002). Knowing and skilling in contemporary public administration. Australian Journal of Public Administration., 61(4), 68–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hood, C., & Lodge, M. (2004). Competency, bureaucracy, and public management reform: A comparative analysis. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, 17(3), 313–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horton, S., Farnham, D., & Hondeghem, A. (2002). Competency management in the public sector: European variations on a theme. Amsterdam: IOS Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. (2014). Assessing the influence of managerial coaching on employee outcomes. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 25(1), 59–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lago, A., & Pesarin, F. (2000). Nonparametric combination of dependent rankings with application to the quality assessment of industrial products. Metron, 58, 39–52.

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Laud, R., Arevalo, J., & Johnson, M. (2016). The changing nature of managerial skills, mindsets and roles: Advancing theory and relevancy for contemporary managers. Journal of Management & Organization, 22(4), 435–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maesschalck, J. (2004). The impact of new public management reform on public servant’ ethics: Toward a theory. Public Administration, 82, 465–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mc Kinsey, G. I. (2011). Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition and productivity. http://www.mckinsey.com/Insights/MGI/Research/Technology_and_Innovation/Big_data_The_next_frontier_for_innovation.

  • Noordegraaf, M. (2000). Professional sense-makers: Managerial competencies amidst ambiguity. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13(4), 319–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (1995). Governance in transition: Public management reforms in OECD countries.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollitt, C., & Bouckaert, G. (2004). Public management reform: A comparative analysis (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, C., & Passos, A. (2013). Team mental models, relationship conflict and effectiveness over time. Team Performance Management, 19(7–8), 363–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. (2018). Manager as coach: An exploratory study into the experience of managers dealing with team challenge. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Chester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, H. (2019). Manager as coach characteristics for dealing with team challenge. Journal of Work-Applied Management, 11(2), 165–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Virtanen, T. (2000). Changing competences of public manager: Tension in commitment. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13(4), 333–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, R. (2004). Innovation and organizational performance: A critical review and research agenda. London: Advanced Institute for Management Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, R. (2006). Innovation type and diffusion: An empirical analysis of local government. Public Administration, 84, 311–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, R., Damanpour, F., & Devece, C. (2011). Management innovation and organizational performance: The mediating effect of performance management. Journal of Public Administration Research, 21, 367–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimer, N., & Zemrani, A. (2017). Assessing the level of cultural competencies in public organizations. Public Administration Quarterly, 41(2), 273–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, J., & Piderit, S. (1999). The value of mission statements in public agencies. Journal of Public Administration Research, 9, 193–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, B. (2011). Public sector work motivation: Review of current literature and a revised conceptual model. Journal of Public Administration Research, 11, 529–586.

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, B., & Pandey, S. (2011). Public organizations and mission valence: When does mission matter? Administration & Society, 43(1), 22–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Marozzi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Bolzan, M., Boccuzzo, G., Marozzi, M. (2021). Municipal Managers in Italy: Skills, Training Requirements and Related Critical Aspects. In: Mariani, P., Zenga, M. (eds) Data Science and Social Research II. DSSR 2019. Studies in Classification, Data Analysis, and Knowledge Organization. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51222-4_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics