Administrator. One who carries out a variety of complex managerial tasks, and whose performance is measured by the objective count of tasks completed and a subjective opinion of performance quality.
Contract Operations. A form of public-private partnership in which a private company agrees to provide operational and management services to a water utility facility, or facilities, owned by a government agency. Contracts may be simple agreements subject to cancellation on sixty-day notice or complex agreements covering periods from one to thirty years in length.
Goals. The strategic portion of planning that defines the conditions existing upon successful execution of a business plan. Goals define the manner in which an organization attempts to carry out its stated mission, and are achieved by accomplishing a series of well-defined tactical objectives. Goals tend to remain fixed while a business plan remains viable, while objectives are usually modified from time to time to reflect actual conditions encountered within the organization's business environment.
Manager. An administrator additionally charged with building economic value, and whose performance is measured by the degree of economic value achieved.
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®. A system for describing personality types utilizing theories developed by Carl Jung. Developed by Katharine Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers. As used in this study, the Myers-Briggs survey section is not a scientifically validated test in its own right, but is used as a simple indicator of basic personality traits distributed within the survey groups for the sole purpose of verifying distribution traits as a test of overall survey validity. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the term MBTI are registered trademarks of Consulting Psychologists Press, Inc.
Objectives. The tactical portion of planning that defines the benchmark accomplishments by which the attainment of specific goals can be measured. Objectives define the desired outcomes of tasks to be executed by an organization attempting to carry out its stated mission, and are used to measure progress toward achievement of the organizations goals. Objectives are usually modified from time to time to reflect actual conditions encountered within the organization's business environment, while goals tend to remain fixed as long as the underlying business plan remains viable.
Private Sector. As used in this study, private sector refers to companies organized for profit, including sole proprietorships, partnerships and publicly or privately held corporations, providing utility operations and management services to governmental agencies. Not-for-profit organizations and quasi-private organizations created by public sector agencies were not considered private sector organizations for the purpose of this study.
Privatization. A form of public-private partnership in which ownership rights to an operational government asset, facility or facilities are transferred to a private sector company by a governmental agency either by sale or long-term lease.
Public Sector. As used in this study, refers to federal, state or local government organization whose employees operate under the direct control of publicly elected officials, or boards appointed by publicly elected officials.
Public-Private Partnership. A contractual relationship through which responsibility for any, or all of the financing and construction, operations, or maintenance of public sector facilities or services is transferred to a private sector company. Although this study investigates water utilities, public-private partnerships are utilized in real estate, transportation, environmental services and other services at all levels of government throughout the United States.
Water Utility. An entity created for the purpose of providing potable water and/or wastewater collection and treatment services to a group of customers who are typically residential or commercial in nature. Water Utilities may be privately owned (subject to governmental regulation of rates and quality of service), or publicly owned and operated as an enterprise of municipal, regional or state government.