The New Public Management and the Public Sector Performance

The proliferation of reforms in public administration based on the principles and instruments of the New Public Management (NPM) have triggered protest from and collective action by many professional groups in various sectors (healthcare, education, justice, social work, research.) and raised questions about the future of professionals working in the public service, particularly as concerns their autonomy. This exploratory study indicates that public administration in the 21st century is undergoing dramatic change, especially in advanced economies, but also in many parts of the developing world such as Nigeria. Globalization and the pluralization of service provision are the driving forces behind these changes. Policy problems faced by governmentsare increasingly complex, wicked and global, rather than simple, linear, and national in focus. And yet the prevailing paradigms through which public sector reform are designed and implemented are relatively static and do not fully encompass the significance or implications of these wider changes. While public sector reforms in the developing world such as Nigeria are influenced by policy experiments and organizational practices originating in OECD countries, they tend to operate within the traditional public administration paradigm. Consequently, there is often a discrepancy between the thrust of public sector reform efforts in developing country contexts and wider shifts in the nature of governance and contemporary approaches to publicmanagement grounded in OECD experience. It was concluded therefore that Nigeria has embraced the concept of new public management from their western originator but its core principles and tenets are not strictly applied in the management of public sector administration. It was recommended among others that for us to achieve the tenets of new public management in Nigeria, the government need to be honest, transparent, probity and accountability in the political leadership management including the managers in the public sector organizations.

Citation (2023), "Prelims", Caruana, J., Bisogno, M. and Sicilia, M. (Ed.) Measurement in Public Sector Financial Reporting: Theoretical Basis and Empirical Evidence (Emerald Studies in Public Service Accounting and Accountability), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. i-xxiv. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-161-820231012

In 1991, Christopher Hood made a substantial contribution to public administration research when he formulated the concept of new public management (NPM). His article can in many ways be understood as an enabler of research focused on public sector reforms. To this day, numerous articles and books have been published, discussing the concept itself and the empirical phenomenon. In celebration of the 25‐year period since the concept of NPM was introduced, this article revisits the current knowledge through a systematic literature review of 299 articles published between 1991 and 2016. This approach enables a meta‐analysis of research published in five top‐ranked international public administration journals. We identify four important themes as emerging from our review: (a) a reform with a vague intention, (b) the limping concept, (c) the one‐sided perspective, and (d) NPM as the new norm. An important effect of this is that Hood's framework may have been curtailed, leading to a distorted knowledge base when it comes to future studies.

The Future of Public Service: A Search for a New Balance

The aim of this paper is to talk about reforms of the public sector in the light of the new public management (NPM) with special emphasis of some selected Sub-Saharan African countries. The origin, rationale and chief characteristic of the ‘new public management’ was explained. Thereafter, a discussion was made on the trends, rationales and principal characteristics of the public sector reform program of the past two decades and the extent to which these reforms were influenced by the principles of new public management. Finally, the successes, challenges, limitations and constraints of the reforms and reform processes were highlighted. The paper is based archival research, where secondary data sources have been used. Reform programs through NPM is not only aim at ensuring the adequate management of machineries of government, but also effective public service delivery through the building and strengthening institutional capacity, and by introducing results-oriented management techniques. The paper demonstrated the variants of the new public management approach being introduced in the public sector reforms of developing countries, with special attention on Sub-Saharan Africa. However, it needs to be noted that the new public management approach may not be a cure to the problems of public administration. Hence, a wise selection and adoption of some elements of the NPM may be beneficial. Key words: Public sector reform, new publish management, public administration, Sub-Saharan Africa.

Policy Instruments and Public Management: Bridging the Gaps

Розглянуто досвід та інноваційні методи управління і стандартні процедури вдержавному управлінні країн Європейського Союзу та їх вплив на ефективність надання соціальних послуг. Зроблено аналіз розповсюдження неоліберальних політичних переконань та принципів нового державного управління (далі – NPM) у європейських країнах із початку 80-х рр. ХХ ст. і до сьогодні, що суттєво вплинуло на існуючу систему соціальної роботи. Виокремлено дієві інструменти: інформатизація, дебюрократизація, децентралізація, деінституціалізація, деконцентрація (аутсорсинг), приватизація та запровадження економічних механізмів регулювання управлінських процесів і сервісне адміністрування, які можна впровадити у реформування державного управління системою соціальної роботи в українському суспільстві.

The successful application of New Public Management (NPM) at some developed countries has cleared path for perpetual promotion of NPM doctrines into developing countries. Privatization is a doctrine in which the service delivered by the government shall be shifted to the hands of private agents. De-bureaucratization is considered as superior because it promises performance improvement if compared to classical public administration. The government of Indonesia starts to acquaint with Reinventing Government since the end of 1990s. The most obvious implementation is the application of decentralist governmental system based on Law No. 22 of 1999 about Local Government which is then amended into Law No. 32 of 2004. New Public Management (NPM) is an important concept and also a significant issue in the public sector reformation. This concept concerns with the problems found in the management of performance at public sector because performance measurement is one of main principles of NPM. The movement of NPM starts from developed countries in European and it has gone far into a global movement such that many developing countries are inspired by the global distribution of this concept. Research attempts to describe New Public Management (NPM), New Public Service (NPS), and Governance in public administration. What will happen with other paradigms after the emergence of New Public Management is also explained. The application of New Public Management and problems behind this application are elucidated. Few illustrations are also given about the difference between Old Public Administration, New Public Management, and New Public Service. The objective of this research is to explain the development and application of New Public Management in public administration / governmental organizations in order to create good governance in decentralization area or wide local autonomy.

The global financial economy crunch and increased demand for accountability by citizens have reignited the need for greater efficiency and value for money among public sector organisations (PSOs). The New Public Management (NPM), which requires market orientation and management practices from the private sector, is advocated to improve service delivery and public sector performance. Besides privatisation, outsourcing has been one of the vehicles PSOs have used to deliver products and services to citizens. However, outsourcing is a complex practice requiring a strategic approach.The formulation and implementation of outsourcing strategies to achieve the needed productivity among PSOs is very complex and challenging for public sector managers in developing economies, thus forming this chapter’s focus. Relying on existing literature, this chapter examines some of the strategies to manage outsourcing in the public sector in the quest to maximise social good. The management of outsourcing risk is necessary to ensure that PSOs in Africa achieve outsourcing objectives such as delivering quality products and enhancing organisational performance. The chapter uses a case study on outsourcing of vaccine management in South Africa to prove how effective outsourcing by public sector organisations in Africa can be. This chapter contributes to the practice and policy on outsourcing in Africa’s public sector.KeywordsOutsourcingPublic sectorNew Public ManagementManaging outsourcing riskPublic sector performance

The work presented in this paper focuses on New Public Management (NPM) and the public human resource management system. New Public Management (NPM), which has been used in the West for a number of years, is currently being implemented in China to manage various government departments. China is aware of the benefits that NPM may bring to the management of the government. In the context of New Public Management, departments of public human resources will also need to undergo transformations in order to improve talent management and recruitment efforts. This paper identifies the problems with public sector human resource management, including but not limited to the following: the focus of Chinese public sector personnel on achieving public sector goals at the expense of personal goals; the unfairness of recruitment principles due to human relations, which is not conducive to the rational allocation of talent and leads to brain drain; and the outdated management style, problematic promotion system, and inadequate incentives in China's public administration. Increasing the effectiveness of the performance evaluation process is one way to solve these shortcomings. These deficiencies can be rectified by enhancing the performance appraisal mechanism, establishing a flexible system for workers, and aiming for maximum efficiency in order to improve the difficulties in the public sector. This paper offers some references for the improvement of talent management in public organizations.

The paradigm of New Public Management (NPM) is a system of public administration at the actual, because NPM seeks to improve the performance of the public sector as in the private sector. The application of the concept of New Public Management (NPM) has given a dramatic increase in the public sector, such as the traditional management of rigid, convoluted bureaucratic model of public sector management into a flexible, open, and more to accommodate the market. Quality improvement of service quality, NPM is able to provide optimal considerable changes in service delivery, such as transparency, simplicity, flexibility, effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability in order to obtain excellent service.

This article examines how social collaborative technologies have changed the nature and scope of e‐participation, showcasing several popular modes of engagement. It argues that the main implementation barriers to social media adoption are not technological, but rather organizational, cultural, and administrative. While there is enormous potential for Web 2.0 and associated social media tools to expand public engagement, the design of such initiatives must recognize that in digital environments influence is earned through social reputation, not bureaucratic authority.SommaireCet article examine comment les technologies de collaboration sociale ont changé la nature et l'envergure de la participation en ligne, en mettant en valeur plusieurs modes populaires de mobilisation. Il fait valoir que les principaux obstacles à l'adoption des médias sociaux ne sont pas technologiques, mais plutôt organisationnels, culturels et administratifs. Alors que le Web 2.0 et les outils de médias sociaux connexes présentent un énorme potentiel d'accroître la mobilisation du public, la conception de telles initiatives doit reconnaître que dans les environnements numériques, on acquiert de l'influence grâce à sa réputation sociale et non à son autorité bureaucratique.

Accountability is one of the most widely discussed concepts of public administration research and teaching in the last decade. But why is this case? Obviously accountability is, like its counterpart transparency, a “magic concept”, and an indispensable part of the prominent and omnipresent discourse on “good governance” as well as a significant element in debates about public sector reform. The same holds true for performance, which has been a magic and contested concept ever since New Public Management (NPM) entered the discourse about “modern” processes and structures of the public sector. But the third term in the title of this paper, legitimacy, even though it is one of the basic concepts of political science and democracy and is at the heart of Max Weber's theory of bureaucracy, has been surprisingly absent from current debates about the challenges of modern public administration, and for that sake also about the future of the welfare state. This chapter argues that different concepts of legitimacy lie at the heart of most debates about accountability and performance (input, output and throughput legitimacy), and that a better understanding of the relationships between accountability, performance and legitimacy can clarify some of the puzzles of contemporary research.

Over the past decades there has been a remarkable paradigm shift in Public Administration. Traditional Public Administration was in dire need for a change of a New Public Administration (NPA) approach in the 1980s. From early 2000s, the NPA began to be subjected to heavy criticism, which influenced public administration to take complete control of different reforms and approaches regardless of their diversity, complexity, hybrid and contradictory situations rather than offering the perfect approach and reform to the public sector. The New Public Management (NPM) and Post-New Public Management (Post-NPM) paradigms emerged in times whereby the NPA was already experiencing a massive deconstruction and reconfiguration of the public sector management. To scan and understand the remarkable paradigm shift in the field and practice of public administration, this study applies both NPM and Post-NMP to examine different views, principles, values and norms, and reform proposals for South African Public Administration. Methodologically, this study used qualitative research methods with the aid of secondary data to evaluate both the NPM and post-NPM paradigms, criticisms, arguments, challenges, and changes in public policy implementations. Recommendations are provided based on the existing challenges confronting the current public administration in South Africa. This study contributes to literature, new policy proposals and research within public administration.

Performance management has become a ubiquitous part of public administration thanks to the New Public Management (NPM) reforms, which were introduced in Anglo-Saxon countries at the end of the 20th century and diffused later into different settings (e.g. the EU). It plays a central role in improving public sector management and fixing bureaucratic issues. This entry discusses the key ideas about performance management in public administration. It first demonstrates the background, definition and development of the concept of performance over the last decades. It examines the link between performance and NPM and the debate surrounding its definition and multi-dimensional nature in the public context. It briefly describes three successively evident multidimensional performance measurement frameworks: Inputs- Outputs-Outcomes (IOO), Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and Total Quality Management (TQM). The entry also notes the recent studies of identifying new dimensions for measuring performance. The entry concludes with a demonstration of the main challenges to integrating performance into public administration management.