From Great Expectations to Hard Times? Managing Equal Opportunities Under New Public Management
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9299.00225 |
| Published date | 01 September 2000 |
| Date | 01 September 2000 |
| Author | Rosie Cunningham |
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
FROM GREAT EXPECTATIONS TO HARD
TIMES? MANAGING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
UNDER NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
ROSIE CUNNINGHAM
INTRODUCTION
This paper argues that there are significant tensions and contradictions
between the values inherent in the New Public Management (NPM) and
those that have traditionally underpinned equal opportunities policy and
practice in public sector organizations. NPM generally refers to the radical
organizational and managerial reforms introduced into the public sector
from the early 1980s onwards, including measures such as the tighter con-
trol of expenditure, decentralization, a strengthening of line management,
the use of market-like mechanisms and an emphasis on improving quality
(Farnham and Horton 1993). The article draws on empirical findings from
qualitative research carried out in a large civil service agency and two NHS
trusts between 1995 and 1998, and begins by outlining some of the key
developments in equal opportunities policy and practice in public organiza-
tions. The tensions between NPM and equal opportunities are discussed in
relation to three inter-related themes. First, the different ideological strands
underpinning NPM reforms have created a number of difficulties for man-
aging equal opportunities effectively, as contradictory values come into
conflict with those that have traditionally underpinned equality manage-
ment. Second, new power relationships emerging from the process of
organizational reform have impacted on the way equal opportunities policy
and practice is perceived by managers at all levels of the public sphere.
Third, in practical terms, the organizational terrain itself has changed, cre-
Rosie Cunningham is Senior Lecturer in the Division of Government and Politics at the University
of Northumbria, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Public Administration Vol. 78 No. 3, 2000 (699–714)
Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main Street,
Malden, MA 02148, USA.
700 ROSIE CUNNINGHAM
ating new challenges for managing the implementation of equal opport-
unities policy. Finally, brief consideration will be given to the implications
of NPM for the future development of equality management in the pub-
lic sector.
MANAGING EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN PUBLIC SECTOR
ORGANIZATIONS
The management of equal opportunities encompasses a number of activi-
ties, although the scope of these varies according to the meanings attached
to equality in individual organizations in both the public and private sec-
tors. Indeed, there is no one definitive approach to the way equality issues
are managed, although we have been provided over the years with a series
of models, such as the liberal or radical model, to help us describe or pre-
scribe actual practice (Jewson and Mason 1986; Jewson et al. 1995, p. 63). In
terms of scope, however, some organizations favour a ‘minimalist’
approach in which principles of fairness and anti-discrimination – and thus
equality of ‘opportunity’ – help to shape personnel procedures such as
recruitment, selection and promotion (Blakemore and Drake 1996, p. 52).
Here, the emphasis is on ensuring fairness in the way organizations manage
their personnel systems. Other organizations have a ‘maximalist’ approach
in which equality or inequality is judged more by the representation of
different groups at each level of the organization as opposed to simply
observing the fairness of procedures (Blakemore and Drake 1996, p. 56).
Managing equality via a ‘maximalist’ or ‘outcome’ approach often involves
a number of positive action initiatives, such as training opportunities
designed specifically for women or ethnic minority staff, and requires effec-
tive mechanisms for monitoring progress.
Within this context, many public sector bodies have laid claim to taking
a lead in managing equality by adopting policies that have moved closer
to a ‘maximalist’ approach, in principle at least. In terms of early policy
development, local authorities were among the first organizations in the
public sector to introduce wide-ranging equal opportunities policies in the
early 1980s, instituting a commitment not to discriminate in relation to gen-
der, race, class, age, disability or sexual orientation (Coyle 1989). Since the
mid-1980s, the civil service has promoted equal opportunities for its
employees through a number of programmes for action (Cabinet Office
1984, 1990, 1994b, 1994c, 1996, 1998a) and other policy documents (Cabinet
Office 1994a and 1998b). Similarly, the NHS recognized the significance of
being a good employer for its predominantly female workforce in 1991,
when it became the first government organization to sign up to Opport-
unity 2000, a Business in the Community initiative which aims to increase
opportunities for women in both public and private organizations. This
focus widened in 1996 when the NHS Women’s Unit was replaced by a
generic Equalities Unit, thus extending equal opportunities policies to
encompass ethnic minorities and employees with disabilities. Over the
Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000
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