Western Public Management Theory.doc

Western Public Management Theory
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Chapter 1: An era of change
The challenge to public administration
The emergence of a new approach
Imperatives of change
Introduction
Time: the mid-1980s
Contents: A new public paradigm was emerging in place of the rigid, hierarchical, bureaucratic form of public administration.
Countries: US, Britain, Germany, France, Australia and so on.
challenge to principles of public administration
Bureaucracy
One-best way of working
Bureaucratic delivery
Politics/administration dichotomy
The public interest (public servant)
A professional bureaucracy
Administrative
2. The emergence of a new approach
Focus on management, performance appraisal and efficiency
Focus on a user-pay basis, the use of quasi-markets and contracting out to petition, cost-cutting
Focus on output targets, ary incentives and freedom to manage
-----Rhodes
Principles of National Performance Review
Accountable for achieving results
Putting customers first
Empowering employees to get results
Producing better governments for less
-----Gore
OECD
Results
A focus on clients
Outputs
Management by objectives and performance management
Use of markets and market-type mechanism
Competition
Devolution of authority
Accountability
3. Imperatives of change
The attack on the public sector
Economic theory
Changes in the private sector
Technological change
The attack on the public sector
The scale of the public sector
The scope of government
The methods of government
Economic theory
Public choice theory
---The key assumption of public choice is rationality.
---It argued for a maximum role for market and a minimal role for government.
Principal/agent theory
---Agents act in the interests of principals, their activities need to be monitored by shareholders.
Transaction cost theory
--- Transactions would be less costly if contra