Editorial
| DOI | 10.1177/095207679000500101 |
| Published date | 01 March 1990 |
| Author | A.F. Midwinter |
| Date | 01 March 1990 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
2
EDITORIAL:
What
New
Managerialism?
The
1980s
has
been
a
turbulent
decade
for
those
working in
and
teaching
public
administration.
A
radical
agenda,
based
on
a
public
choice
perspective
on
the
malfunctioning
of
the
public
sector,
brought
a
whirlwind
of
legislative
and
policy
change.
Expenditure
cuts,
charging
for
services,
asset
sales,
privatisation,
contracting-out,
and
value-for-money
were
the
hallmarks
of
the
new
order.
Greater
public
control
and
citizen
choice
were
the
stated
goals,
to
be
achieved
by
cutting
through
bureaucracy,
central
and
local.
Not
surprisingly,
both
administrators
and
academics
went
on
the
defensive.
The
language
of
public
administration
changed,
at
least
on
the
surface.
Policy
advisers
and
professionals
became
’managers’
and
the
criteria
of
success
became
’economy,
efficiency
and
effectiveness’.
Some
academics,
sensing
a
fundamental
wind
of
change,
revised
their
courses
to
at
least
include
the
word
’management’.
Courses
in
public
sector
management,
’ public
policy
and
management,
public
administration
and
management,
and
something
new
called
’public
management’
appeared
on
the
scene.
So
what
is
the
difference?
Gunn
(1987)
argues
that:
We
should
give
serious
thought
to
the
American
debate
on
public
_
management.
If
present
government
attitudes
to
public
spending
-
persist,
the
pressures
for
more
’business-like’
management
of
the
’
public
sector
are
likely
to
have
an
impact
upon
the
’shopping
lists’
of
government-funded
research
agencies
and
upon
the
way
in
which
public
sector
managers
are
educated
(pre
entry)
or
trained
(post
entry).
In
this
column
last
year,
Michael
Clarke of
the
LGTB
after
delivering
the
challenge
to
local
government,
could
only
repeat
some
traditional
concerns -
members
need
&dquo;to
think
more
broadly&dquo;
and
care
less
for
&dquo;service
production
and
delivery&dquo;
and
&dquo;rethink
their
representative
role&dquo;.
Officers
need
to
be
less
professionally
oriented,
acquiring
skills
in
&dquo;general
management&dquo;
(Clarke,
1988).
There
is
a
real
need
for
academics
to
stand
back
from
all
of
this.
How
fundamental
is
the
Thatcher
Revolution?
Public
spending
and
taxation
is
actually
up,
local
authorities
have
defended
their
services,
and
the
new
VFM bible
is,
fundamentally,
a
rehash
of
1960s
rational
choice
models
which
will
face
all
the
conceptual
difficulties
that
dogged
its
predecessors
(MBO,
PPB
and
corporate
To continue reading
Request your trial