Social research as a tool to improve the quality of the authorities' performance

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of issues arising from the use of social research to assess the authorities' performance. The shortcomings of the tools measuring the corresponding factors hamper the effectiveness of studying of the authorities' performance. Perception of social studies only as a method of data collection may have negative effects. The paper highlights that managerial decision-making lacks social research. Taking decisions without prior public opinion study may have bad impact on power legitimacy. The novelty of the paper consists in switching from «sociology as a tool to gather relevant data» concept to «sociology as a control and quality improvement process» concept in political decision-making. Based on the performance of the regional press offices, a new methodological approach is proposed to improve the quality of authorities' performance.