Administrative Reform

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Sundström
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
Rule Following ◽  
New Public

This chapter contains an analysis of Swedish administrative reform from the mid-1970s until today. It shows that Sweden has embraced most New Public Management ideas. Regarding management ideas Sweden was an early mover, whereas the neoliberal part of the NPM package took root quite late, from around 1990. In recent years Sweden has also embraced some “post-NPM” ideas. The chapter shows that the development partly can be understood as rational problem-solving. However, there are also observations supporting the argument that the development partly should be understood as rule-following and partly in terms of a path dependency. Regarding effects, critics argue that the reforms have brought about a more fragmented state, created a low-trust culture, made the pubic officials more silent, and generated paperwork which precludes the agencies from carrying out their ordinary work.

Understanding complexity of administrative reform

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwangseon Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Values ◽  
New Public ◽  
Functional Nature ◽  
Rational Calculation

Purpose This paper aims to examine the complexity of administrative reform and its implications. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on an extensive review of the literature. Findings The most conspicuous fashion might be new public management (NPM) and its successor, post-NPM. However, recent reforms which involve complexity created the challenge of “rational calculation” in terms of an understanding of administrative reform. The authors observe that the measure of coordination in a response to fragmentation increases complexity and the rationale behind that reform is based on the instrumental rationality. This hinders real meaning of administrative reform, thereby failing to provide lessons for the future administration. Whether market-based reform or neo-Weberian model of reform, the thing should be considered is the condition under which the reform works. Originality/value This paper reaffirms the importance of the political-bureaucratic system which has multi-functional nature and competing institutional values when the different recipes for reform are imported into different context and a compatibility test by leaders.

scholarly journals The craft of public administration in Eurasia

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-484
Author(s):  
Karl O’Connor ◽  
Paul Carmichael
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
New Public ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
Administrative Elites

In an innovative approach, applied to a region of the world on which research remains in its infancy, this article identifies the dominant administrative reform traditions embedded within the administrative elites responsible for administrative reform in Eurasia. Our contribution is twofold. Firstly, we establish a mechanism for measuring bureaucrat perceptions of administrative reform that may be replicated in other regions, by identifying the extent to which the three dominant Western traditions of public service (traditional public administration, new public management and new public governance) have been embedded in Eurasian societies. The article thereby demonstrates the effectiveness of these turns in public administration to be ‘learned’ and become embedded within the psyche of elite-level bureaucrats in these Eurasian post-Soviet regimes. The article posits that, while members of these elites hold several common governance perceptions, understanding of administrative reform differs markedly between bureaucrats and is broadly aligned with various aspects of the three dominant turns in public administration. Therefore, it is recommended that some rebalancing needs to take place between international/regional public policy interventions and public administration interventions. While public policy interventions are of course required, the administrative foundations upon which they are built (or learned), require greater attention to the needs, skills and attitudes of practitioners.

Getting the state right: think tanks and the dissemination of New Public Management ideas in Ghana

2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Louis Kwaku Ohemeng
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
The State ◽  
Think Tanks ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Administrative State ◽  
Policy Environment ◽  
New Public ◽  
Private Research

Private research institutions, commonly referred to as think tanks, are a recent phenomenon in the Ghanaian policy environment. They are part of a growing number of NGOs that have emerged with Ghana's political liberalisation and are attempting to influence policymaking. These institutions exert a greater influence on policies affecting the functioning of the ‘administrative state’ than other NGOs. Through their efforts, ideas pertaining to administrative reform appear to have taken root strongly in Ghana. This paper examines the processes and methods that have been adopted by these institutions in developing policies that are being pursued to change the ‘administrative state’ in Ghana. It argues that the ability of these institutions to influence policies geared towards changing the administrative state can be attributed to the calibre of personnel as well as the processes and methods they have adopted.

scholarly journals Trends in Public Administration after Hegemony of the New Public Management

2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-218
Author(s):  
Pedro Luiz Cavalcante
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Administrative Reform ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
Current Role ◽  
The Public ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
New Public

The paper’s goal is to advance at understanding of the public management framework after decades of administrative reform under the New Public Management (NPM) hegemony. Based on a broad literature review, the paper maps trends in terms of principles and guidelines and indicates that post-NPM is a process of continuity rather than a disruption with the previous paradigm. The implementation processes of the management trends, as well as in the NPM, are presented in different ways, varying according to the context and institutional framework of each government. The article concludes that the most emblematic characteristic of the contemporary public administration is the prevalence of the governance phenomenon that, in different formats, encompasses most of the post-NPM principles and guidelines discussed in the literature. In this sense, the return of the State and the bureaucracy as protagonists is emphasized, however, far from the traditional hierarchical standard. The current role of the civil service focus on the direction of interdisciplinary skills, collaborative capacities, increasing accountability to society, as well as leadership with interactive components.

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