[PubAd] New Public Management

[Ranjith]

New Public Management:

·         Management reform in the public system or Public policy reforms.

·         Concept emerged in 1980 to have high performance and higher economic growth in Government.

·         Also called managerialism , business based pubad, entrepreneurial government.

·         NPM includes greater responsiveness to customers, performance based approach, output oriented system, increases competition.

·         NPM based on principle of business management: Adam Smith’s division of work, Taylor’s performance based rewards, Drucker’s Management by objectives.

·         It emphasis movement of performance against objectives.

·         According to Jalal, neoliberal, state has to reduce its role and allow quasi-market forces of competition.

·         Public sector reforms: efficient use of resources, marketisation, promoting competition, increased transparency, enhanced partnerships, total quality mgmt, Lean mgmt & continuous quality improvement.

·         NPM – concentration more on not qualification or experience, but performance & contribution; not inputs/procures but outputs/results.

·         A variety of administrative innovations have become part of the system.

·         Core values - match resources to tasks & objectives(measured in terms of money & time), fairness & honest (measure by degree of trust of citizens), resilience (avoid system failure during threat/challenge).

·         Two characteristics – free market & scientific methodological values.

·         Typical instruments of NPM:

1.       Privatisation of state owned firms

2.       Market testing of public agencies (public with private competition)

3.       Disaggregation of departmental structure into service agencies -> responsible for specific product

·         Public Governance reforms into three categories:

1.       Within the government departments – promotion, performance based budgeting.

2.       Larger sphere of governance – involves efforts initiated by civil society organisations.

3.       Collaborative ventures – joint venture projects in infrastructure development.

·         Criticism:

o   It disregards cross sectoral challenges

o   Focuses only on output(Ex: carrying capacity of the road) rather than on overall outcome of the policy(Ex: road safety).

o   It focuses only on the efficiency on a particular organisation & disregards cross-sectoral challenges.

o   NPM administration focus has become narrower (disaggregation to specific agencies) than classic bureaucracies.

o   Unintended corporatization & marketization resulted in administrative reform – New governance or modern governance.

o   Focus mainly on efficiency but not on effectiveness.

 

 

Reference: http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/ffu/akumwelt/bc2004/download/steurer_f.pdf