A Critical Analysis of New Public Management, Human Resource Practices and Operational Performance in Uganda’s Public Sector

Abstract

Many sub-Saharan countries have sought “new public management” (NPM) reforms to improve their effectiveness and efficiency. While these reforms have been implemented, public sector organisations have largely remained inefficient and ineffective. Some of the reforms have included adoption of private sector practices in the public sector, yet the two are uniquely different in their purpose, design, and operation. Moreover, human resource practices are continually evolving to become more strategic so as to achieve the desired goals through a combination of strategic and operational effectiveness. Whereas operational performance is crucial for improvement in service delivery through achievement of effectiveness, timeliness and efficiency, it has been given limited attention especially in public sector human resource practices. Therefore, we bring strategic human resource management (SHRM) into this forum by demonstrating how human resource (HR) practices can be used to improve operational performance in the Public Sector. In doing so, we pay special attention to three issues: (a) SHRM and operational performance, (b) NPM and operational performance, and (c) HR practices implementation in Uganda’s Public Sector. Accordingly, we call for the implementation of the ability-, motivation- and opportunity-enhancing HR practices in public sector organizations. Our conceptualization offers a novel perspective to both NPM and SHRM with the goal of guiding future research that will result in more applicable and relevant knowledge for both scholars and practitioners.