Plenty has been written about how to conduct organizational assessment and improvement in the private sector, but can't the public sector--governments and government agencies--do the same? Immordino (organizational research and assessment, Rutgers, State U. of New Jersey) says they can and should. The author notes that interest in organizational assessment in the public sector has grown for two reasons: responsibility and capability. Public sector organizations typically have a broad range of critical responsibilities. And ever-growing demands affect their capacity to respond effectively. The author provides an explanation of assessment practices in the public sector and an assessment and improvement model, as well as implementation guidelines, case studies, and best practices. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)