Public and private values at odds: can private sector values be transplanted into public sector institutions?
| Date | 01 February 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199702)17:1<131::AID-PAD903>3.0.CO;2-D |
| Published date | 01 February 1997 |
| Author | PETER LARSON |
Public and private values at odds: can private sector values be
transplanted into public sector institutions?
PETER LARSON
Public Policy Forum, Canada
SUMMARY
In the last few years, it has become widely accepted that the answer to many of the
shortcomings of public sector administration lie in the wholesale adoption of private sector
values like `risk-taking', `customer focus', and `bottom-line orientation'. This prescription
seems self-evident to many business executives, and even has some appeal among public sector
managers. However, it is based on a false premise: that the relationship of the state to citizens
is, or should be, basically similar to that existing between private enterprise and its clients.
Public administration is about choices. It necessarily means satisfying some citizens while
frustrating others. If carried to its logical conclusion, the process of privatizing public sector
values would make state bodies more responsive to their direct customers while stripping them
of their public legitimacy. The challenge for public sector administrators is to ®nd ways to
integrate appropriate private sector values into their organizations while safeguarding their
overall role as guardian of the public interest. (&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
INTRODUCTION
In Canada the con¯ict between public and private sector values is currently very
topical. Governments at both federal and provincial levels are looking for ways to
use private sector management techniques to streamline government. But so far, our
expectations have exceeded our ability to deliver, precisely because of a profound
con¯ict between public and private values, and our inability to decide which ones
should dominate where.
To take one simple example: about a year ago, we had a big scandal in Canada.
`Taxpayers scammed of $40 million dollars' ran the newspaper headlines. According
to the story, the government printing of®ce had improperly taken $40 million of
government revenue. A few days later, the responsible chief executive was summarily
relieved of his functions. But when all the facts gradually came to light, it turned out
that no public money was actually wasted, nobody ®lled their own pockets, in fact,
there was no criminal intent at all. But the executive did stay dismissedÐa grim
warning to public managers who try to mix public values with private ones.
By way of background, in 1990, the Queen's Printer was made into a `special
operating agency', responsible for its own costs and revenues, and the head of the
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 17, 131±139 (1997)
CCC 0271±2075/97/010131±09$17.50
&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Peter Larson is Executive Vice-President, Public Policy Forum, 1705-130, rue Albert Street, Ottawa,
Ontario, KIP 5G4, Canada.
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