International Public Management Review
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Stakeholder Theory, Partnerships and Alliances in the Health Care Sector of the UK and Scotland
Get PDFThis article explores the potential for the application of stakeholder theory to resolve some paradoxes and dilemmas of NPM where partnership and alliances are concerned. It argues that stakeholder theory should be further developed and adapted to meet the needs of public sector managers seeking a “rosetta stone” to negotiate the increasingly complex and world which they inhabit. The article provides a practical as well as a theoretical perspective as it draws upon a recent project examining a three way partnership between a third sector organization, local government and the National Health Service in Scotland. The concept of “public sector bargains” (Hood, 2000) has relevance and application to such partnership activity
Political Life and Intervention Logic: Relearning Old Lessons? Corrections Policy and IVL
No full textIntervention logic (IVL) is an analytical technique being developed and used in New Zealand and elsewhere in an attempt to improve government.s ability to produce desired policy outcomes. This article raises questions about the political viability of this latest tool of mainstream policy analysis, and argues that improved public policymaking depends less on the use of techniques drawn from a long linear-rational tradition, which are taught because they can be taught, and more on the development of individual capacities and institutional processes that are in keeping with democratic norms and values
Risk Communication and Management in the Twenty-First Century
Get PDFRisk management and risk communication in Europe have undergone profound changes over the past twenty years or so. This paper briefly outlines the changes that have occurred over time and discusses some of the resulting teething problems that have taken place and which now need to be addressed
Regulating Corporate Performance and the Managerialization of Local Politics
Get PDFThe modernization of local government in unitary constitutions such as the UK has involved a complex mixture of managerialism and public engagement agendas. The post-1997 reforms have moved on from focusing on the delivery of individual local services such as education and social services, and, through comprehensive performance assessment, are now aimed at the transformation of local government itself. Since such policies appear to challenge the classic dichotomy between politics and administration, the paper applies Luhmann’s theory of autopoietic systems in order to analyze the relationship between these systems. The theory and policies are explored through a comparison between two large UK local authorities. The fieldwork suggests that nationally determined indicators and somewhat Weberian models of planning and control are prominent features New Labour modernization. Yet there are significant differences between the two authorities. In spite of the regulatory pressure, the one authority’s political system, sustained by a local media, longstanding municipal traditions and potentially explosive political conflicts, remained vigorous. The other authority, in contrast, was less able to resist managerialization
Comment from the Editor: Introducing IPMR
No full textIt is my pleasure to introduce a new International Public Management Network publication – The International Public Management Review (IPMR). IPMR is an electronic journal that will publish two times per year on the IPMN website at www.willamette.org/ipmn. IPMR submissions are blind reviewed under the same quality standards of our sister IPMN publication, The International Public Management Journal (IPMJ). However, there will be no duplication or overlap of articles between IPMR and IPMJ. These journals will operate independently. Another difference is that IPMR is published by IPMN while IPMJ is published as a print journal by Elsevier
Still the century of government? No signs of governance yet!
Get PDFThe fiscal crisis has led to recentralization, reorganization and innovation. These endeavours can better be understood as acts of government than as governance. The heg-emonic position of New Public Governance is questioned from four reference points: (1) reform policies of the Danish state under three consecutive governments since the turn of the century; (2) the fate of a public policy manifesto by 30 Danish researchers (3) research that looked in vain for politicians who identify with and act in accordance with ideals of governance; and (4) the deliberate strategic efforts made by local author-ities to achieve strategic design fit and to push forward the innovation agenda from the top down. As far as signs of New Public Governance, the Danish case should be of particular interest because of Denmark’s history of corporatism and consensus-oriented democracy, a highly decentralized welfare state and the high level of trust among citi-zens and at the workplace
Corruption and Government Trust: A Survey of Urban and Rural Inhabitants in the North and Northeast of Thailand
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to investigate citizen attitudes toward control of corruption, their trust in government, and the relationship between trust and corruption in order to determine whether these factors are conducive to governance reform. The sample consists of 3,600 respondents surveyed in late 2005-early 2006 in the north and northeast regions of Thailand. The findings indicate that almost threequarters of the respondents said that petty and routine corruption was unacceptable; only one-third said they trusted or somewhat trusted public officials. Trust and control of corruption attitudes are positively, although weakly, correlated. The findings suggest that citizen attitudes toward corruption and their levels of trust in government are not antithetical to the notion of good governance. The data reveal considerable variation, however. Using partial correlation analysis, education and urban-rural distinctions are identified as key: persons with higher educational attainment and urban inhabitants are more likely to state that petty and routine corruption is unacceptable, and they are less likely to trust public officials, than persons with less education or persons living in rural areas. Gender and age have surprisingly little effect
New Zealand Public Management in Action: A Case Study of Organizational Performance
Get PDFA case study of performance issues in the child protection services of New Zealand’s Department of Child Youth and Family (CYF) is used to discuss the effects of the New Zealand public management system on the allocation of public resources, accountability for performance and central steering of a decentralised management system. During the last six years, there have been three major reviews of the Department’s performance. Concerns with performance are rooted in growing public concern at the rate of family violence and child homicide in New Zealand. The case study concludes that control of child protection services by either outputs or outcomes is difficult and that CYF is likely to continue to experience ambiguity and political struggle over its objectives, the use of procedural rules for control rather than performance measurement and limited ability to learn from error because of the conflict over objectives. The general conclusion is that implementation of performance management systems works best where goals are clear and results can be observed, there are known effects of management intervention, and the management and staff of the organisation can learn from experience
Kicking the Can: The U.S. Congress, the Bush Administration and the 2008 Budget
Get PDFIn December 2008, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued its annual report on the health of the federal budget. The report details the U.S. government's long-term financial outlook, including the biggest fiscal challenge, i.e., the unsustainable growth in entitlement programs. Later the same month, U.S. federal budget legislation for FY 2008 was completed, with passage of an approximately 70 billion was included for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). There was considerable conflict between the Democratic Congress and the Bush Administration over funding for these two wars. Except for the Mexican War (1846-48), the U.S. has always raised taxes to pay for war, lest deficit and debt get out of hand. This article examines the FY 2008 budget and issues related to its passage, and the longer-term issue of U.S. government fiscal sustainability. It argues that Congress did little to address this problem, rejecting the few initiatives proposed by the Bush Administration. The budget views of the presidential candidates suggest that U.S. fiscal sustainability will remain in jeopardy
Reassessment of the Application of TQM in the Public Sector
Get PDFNumerous articles have been written regarding the application of TQM in the public sector. The purpose of this article is to delve into the roots of and to assess TQM, past and present, within the framework of public administration theory, and to highlight some of the issues that relate to the implementation of TQM in the public sector. Suggestions are made to address the concerns identified in the article