The impact of public service values on services of general interest reform debates

Abstract

Competing values complicate debates on the reform of public services. Attention for competition and efficiency is balanced by concerns for equity and universality in service delivery. These potential value conflicts are best visible in the reform of services of general interest. Despite debates at the European and the national level, current research on services of general interest has been limited to scholars in law and economics. Citizens' opinion on the guiding principles of service delivery is generally disregarded. In this article, we analyse a number of Eurobarometer surveys dealing with services of general interest, as well as a general survey of citizens' perceptions of the public sector in Belgium. We delineate clusters of citizens' public service delivery value orientations, and show that one-sided or ideology-based reform strategies probably negate many of the continuing dilemmas in public service delivery.     

Public management reform in Denmark

Abstract

This article discusses public management reform in Denmark. First, the institutional features of the Danish public sector are introduced. Danish ministries enjoy a considerable amount of autonomy that makes central co-ordinated public management reform challenging. The second part of the article outlines the contents of public management reform and provides an overview of the major reform initiatives of the last three governments. Denmark's reforms are characterized as a mixture of strategies for modernization and marketization, but with most emphasis on the former rather than the latter. Together with successive governments, the Danish Ministry of Finance has argued strongly for efficiency, economy and effectiveness as key values and they have been institutionalized in modernization efforts. Denmark should now be considered a country where NPM reforms have taken a firm hold.     

Tensions in local government employment relationships

Abstract

A wide variety of initiatives characterized under the umbrella term of new public management have been introduced over the past two decades to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the public sector. The implications of these initiatives for public sector employment relationships have been the subject of on-going debate. This article contributes to this debate through examining how employees within local authorities are managed in a time of personal crisis with a particular focus on long-term sickness absence in the context of increased management drives for efficiency under the NPM agenda. The findings reveal that for managers in two local authorities that form the focus of this study there is a tension in struggling to achieve a workable balance between the needs of employees and wider operational requirements, resulting in role ambiguity for line managers and detrimental effects for vulnerable public service workers.     

SCALE, PERFORMANCE AND THE NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF LOCAL AUTHORITY SERVICES

New public management (NPM) arguments on strategy and structure suggest that performance is enhanced if large organizations are disaggregated into smaller units. the NPM perspective reflects the views of public choice theorists who claim that big organizations are unresponsive to public needs, inefficient and fail to achieve their formal goals. These arguments have underpinned many recent changes in the structure of public services at both central and local levels.
This paper uses data on six local government services to test the NPM hypothesis that there is a negative relationship between scale and performance. Five dimensions of performance are analysed: service coverage, quality, speed of provision, efficiency, and administrative effectiveness. Scale is measured through indicators of service output, caseload and needs. the impact of scale is tested in multivariate statistical models which control for other potential influences on variations in performance across local authorities.
Only around half of the statistical evidence suggests that the smallest local units are the best performers. In addition, even when performance does decline with scale, this trend is reversed in the very largest units. Thus, contrary to NPM arguments, the biggest organizations are seldom the poorest performers.     

Identifying barriers to the application of standardized performance indicators in local government

Abstract

Local governments in many countries are implementing administrative reforms within the framework of New Public Management (NPM) in order to improve the quality and productivity of public services. The use of performance indicators and benchmarking facilitates evaluation of efficiency regarding the provision of such services and favours the acquisition of better practices. The problems that may arise in the introduction of performance indicators in local government mainly concern the consensual design and standardization of indicators for various entities, the method to be used for calculations and the selection of analytical criteria to be applied to the values obtained. In this article, we identify obstacles that may be encountered in achieving a standardized definition of performance indicators within local government and, on the basis of learning from the practical experience of several large city councils in Spain, formulate strategies to resolve these problems, taking note of the viability and real efficacy of the solutions adopted.     

Identifying the Predictors of Employee Health and Satisfaction in an Npm Environment

Abstract

The Demand-Control-Support (DCS) model is investigated in the context of police officers working within an organization that has relatively widespread uptake of New Public Management (NPM) practices. A survey of 479 police officers from two geographic regions was undertaken and the results indicate that the DCS offers a simple, yet powerful, framework for identifying the conditions to be managed in an NPM-oriented environment. Job control and work-based support predict all four target variables, strengthening the view that decision-making latitude and support from supervisors and colleagues represent critical resources for promoting the well-being, satisfaction and commitment of public sector employees.     

Human Resource Management Practices and Trust in Public Organizations

Abstract

Trust has been acknowledged as a valuable managerial resource within organizations. Working as a lubricant of organizational functioning, trust reduces opportunistic behaviours while it increases voluntary compliance to organizational norms and rules as well as enhancing individual and organizational performance. Considering the importance of trust, it is worthwhile to explore what factors may help build trust within organizations. This research investigates whether perceptions of several human resource management (HRM) practices are associated with trust in government organizations. According to social exchange theory, HRM practices signal management's commitment to employees which in turn leads to greater trust in the organization. Using data from an employee survey conducted for the Georgia Department of Transportation in 2007, this research tests how employee perceptions of HRM practices are related to trust in three distinct levels of management in a large department of state government: trust in department leadership, trust in one's leadership team, and trust in one's supervisor. Binary logit analyses suggest that perceptions of HRM practices focusing on autonomy, compensation, communication, performance appraisal, and career development are associated with trust in public organizations. According to the result, those practices present variation in their leverage on trust in leadership at different levels.     

The new public management and the UK Police Service

This article explores the impact of the introduction of the New Public Management (NPM) within the UK Police Service since the mid-1990s. A specific focus upon individual performance management (one of the central features of NPM) is examined from the perspective of the police sergeant who has primary responsibility for managing performance and ultimately the delivery of policing services within one of the UK's ‘essential’ public services. After a discussion of the literature on individual performance management within the context of the NPM, the article identifies four major research questions relating to: the job role demands of performance management; access to valid and reliable performance management information; the capacity to provide follow-up development and support; and the wider integration of performance management with organization strategy and service objectives. After reporting on interview data collected from role sets in which the sergeant is a focal member, the article concludes with a discussion of the constraints upon effective performance management within the NPM.     

Configurations of New Public Management reforms and the efficiency,effectiveness and equity of public healthcare systems: a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

ABSTRACT

Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis identifies configurations of New Public Management (NPM) reforms (privatization, consumerism, performance management, and corporatization) associated with perceptions of improvements in healthcare efficiency, effectiveness and equity in 14 European countries. Although these outcomes are pursued concurrently, no combination of the considered reforms appears to support success or failure across the board and the inter-relations between reforms shape their effects. Three NPM reform profiles are evident in Europe; (1) strong reformers, adopting a comprehensive package of reforms that are perceived to perform better than (2) partial reformers, with (3) limited reformers also doing better than partial reformers.     

Political Authority and Bureaucratic Resilience

Abstract

Consumerism and choice have become prominent ideas in the design and delivery of public services. Often perceived as a way to improve the quality and value of public services, potential downsides and areas of concern that relate to a consumerist approach are frequently ignored. This review essay takes a critical stance on the application of a consumerist discourse to public service provision and management by exploring four key areas of concern: definitional problems, questions about the concept's transferability from a private to a public sector setting, the problematic nature of ‘choice’, and difficulties associated with implementing consumerist ideas within public service contexts..     

NPM Can Work: An optimistic review of the impact of New Public Management reforms in central and eastern Europe

Abstract

This article reviews the New Public Management (NPM) literature in central and eastern Europe (CEE) with the aim of assessing whether reforms have ‘worked’. Increasingly, academics have tended to argue against the suitability of NPM instruments in this region. To understand the impact of this much-debated policy, we first propose a classification of the impacts of NPM geared to the realities of central and eastern European states. Then, we use this classification to carefully review empirical studies across the region over the past 10 years. Unlike much of the recent academic literature, we suggest that NPM can work. NPM policy has not always been successful to the extent expected and promoted, but there is enough evidence to show that some of the central ideas in NPM have led to improvements in public service organization or provision across different organizational settings. An adequate degree of administrative capacity, sustained reform over time and a ‘fitting context’ are the main factors that can tip the scale for the success of these management instruments. The article provides a fresh and transparent assessment of a major administrative development in a growing region with implications for other parts of the world that experience similar challenges and opportunities.     

Public organizations and biodiversity disclosure: Saving face to meet a legal obligation?

The biodiversity disclosure practices of sub-national governments remain understudied and poorly understood. The present study investigates the biodiversity disclosure practices of the 101 public organizations in Québec, Canada. The study's purpose is to better understand the internal dynamics that may explain the various shortcomings observed in official documents. To meet this objective, Goffman's dramaturgical frontstage/backstage analogy is used. In particular, the current study employs a content analysis of the sampled organizations' action plans and annual reports (N = 505) as well as interviews (N = 35). The results highlight both significant gaps in Québec's public organizations' biodiversity disclosure practices and a tendency for these organizations to make symbolic rather than substantial commitments. Also, problematic behaviors that can affect transparency were identified among the organizations—specifically, bricolage of actions and the manipulation of figures to influence stakeholder perceptions.     

Electronic Participation Technologies and Perceived Outcomes for Local Government Managers

Abstract

US local governments are under increasing pressure to adopt electronic participation technologies to engage stakeholders in decision-making. The choice set of technologies and the ease with which they can be applied, has potentially increased the complexity of the context within which managers operate. Using data from a national survey of 850 government managers in 500 cities, we investigate whether different channels of e-participation technology and the intensity of e-participation technology use are associated with managers' perceptions of outcomes. We find that the relationships between complexity of e-participation technology and perceived outcomes depend upon the type of external stakeholder group considered.     

People management: developing and testing a measurement scale

Abstract

The central concept in this study is people management, referring to line managers’ implementation of HR practices and their leadership behaviour oriented at supporting the employees they supervise at work. In this study we conceptualize people management and develop a multidimensional scale to measure it from the perspectives of both employees and line managers. Using a Study 1/Study 2 design, including two-wave multilevel data from employees and line managers of a financial service provider, and cross-sectional data from teachers, educational support staff, and supervisors, we demonstrate the scale’s reliability and multidimensionality across samples and over time. We provide evidence of the convergent validity by showing that employees’ and line managers’ perceptions of people management are significantly related, and that people management is significantly related to transformational and transactional leadership. Also, we demonstrate that people management adds explained variance above and beyond transformational and transactional leadership in predicting team performance. We demonstrate criterion-related validity through people management’s relationship with job satisfaction, commitment, and work engagement. We discuss the implications of our measure for theory and research on people management, its antecedents, and its effects.     

Interns’ perceptions of HR practices and their influence on fit and intentions to join

Abstract

This study examines interns’ perceptions of HR practices and their influence on person–organization fit, person–job fit, and intentions to join the organization. The hypotheses are developed with signaling theory and attraction, selection, attrition (ASA) theory. Utilizing a time lagged study design of 71 interns employed in a United States based service firm, we found positive perceptions of HR practices rated early in the internship were related to increased person–organization fit, person–job fit, and intentions to join the organization at the end of the internship. Our findings also showed that person–organization fit and person–job fit fully mediated the relationship between HR practices and intentions to join the organization.     

New Forms of Local Governance

Abstract

This article seeks to identify which factors lead local governments to use corporate public sector organizations, particularly municipal corporations, for service delivery. The authors argue that local officials trade off bureaucratic costs of in-house production with agency costs of external delegation to municipal corporations when deciding how to deliver local public services. Econometric models are employed to test this explanation for the adoption of municipal corporations by 278 Portuguese local governments. The results indicate that organizational size, financial independency and fiscal surplus, as well as ideological concerns and the activity of local interest groups, drive choices of local governance structures.     

HR managers’ talent philosophies: prevalence and relationships with perceived talent management practices

Abstract

HR managers have different beliefs about the nature, value, and instrumentality of talent—referred to as ‘talent philosophies’. In line with cognitive psychology, we reason that talent philosophies are similar to mental models that influence how HR managers interpret and use talent management (TM) practices within their organizations. In this article, we explore the prevalence of four different talent philosophies (exclusive/stable; exclusive/developable; inclusive/stable; inclusive/developable) in a sample of 321?HR managers. We then explore how talent philosophies relate to organizational context (i.e. size, ownership form, multinational orientation) as well as to HR managers’ perceptions of their organization’s TM practices. Cluster analysis corroborated the presence of the four talent philosophies in our dataset. All four talent philosophies were represented almost equally often in the overall dataset. Organizational size was found to be related to talent philosophies, such that HR managers who worked in smaller organizations were more likely to hold an inclusive talent philosophy. We also found support for the relationship between talent philosophies and perceptions of the exclusiveness or inclusiveness of the organization’s definition of talent, and its degree of workforce differentiation. Contrary to expectations, results did not support a link between talent philosophies and perceived talent identification criteria.     

Employee perceptions of HR practices: A critical review and future directions

Abstract

Scholars are directing more attention to employee perceptions of human resources (HR) practices and have explored issues such as whether and how employees’ idiosyncratic or collective perceptions of HR practices shape employee outcomes. To further this area of research, we seek to determine what authors mean when they refer to “employee perceptions of HR practices”. We review 105 articles from leading human resource management journals and find that employee perceptions of HR practices is not a monolithic concept. Rather, following previous scholars, we identify three distinct components of employee perceptions of HR practices: the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’. We critically summarize extant literature on these three components of employee HR perception and propose future research directions, including enriching the theoretical foundations of HR communication, embracing cross-national contexts, and enhancing practical relevance.     

Book Review

Following review of definitions of New Public Management (NPM), the paper assesses whether Canada has adopted the NPM, organized by Kernaghan and Charih's (1997) categories and using Loeffler's (1997) definition. Canada has reorganized the machinery of government, changed management methods and reduced the federal public sector substantially. Despite high debt, Canada's federal government reduced its expenditures and/or public service as much or more than the UK and New Zealand. Its expenditures as a proportion of GDP are now similar to those of the UK and New Zealand, the major proponents of NPM.     

NPM merger mania Lessons from an early case

A central doctrine of NPM requires the adoption of commercial management techniques to address the espoused goals of saving money and improving collaboration and service co-ordination. This article examines the evidence base for NPM mergers and uses study data to explain how two ingrained features of professional work helped to produce unintended outcomes at an early UK case involving a specialist mental health provider and an acute trust. The emergence of a de facto mental health trust within the merged entity arose from senior professionals' capacity to ‘buffer’ the work of colleagues from the rationalizing spectre of the merger. The persistence of ‘loosely coupled’ practices and structures restricted improvements in collaboration and service co-ordination. It is argued that these two enduring characteristics of professional organization will shape the outcomes of future NPM mergers in mental health care e.g. the creation of social care trusts and mental health ‘super-trusts’) and in other fields such as higher education.