Incentivizing the Poor Relation: ‘Performance’ and the Pay of Public-Sector ‘Senior Managers’

2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Cutler ◽  
Barbara Waine
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Managers ◽  
And Performance

This article discusses the principles and practices of pay determination for senior managers in the public sector. A central theme of the article is the analysis of performance-related pay (PRP) in the pattern of pay determination for this group. The discussion of this approach to pay is set in the context of New Public Management (NPM) and the emphasis on installing performance measurement and management as a central element in the ‘reform’ of public-sector services. The exemplary material is drawn from the United Kingdom, as it represents a national case in which NPM techniques have been applied over a quarter of century under successive governments. The article argues that while there are logical connections between PRP and performance measurement and management the practice of pay determination for senior public-sector managers is less coherent than such connections might suggest. The article locates the causes of such incoherence in the complexity of patterns of pay determination for senior public managers and the conceptual and methodological problems inherent in assessing the performance of public-sector services.

scholarly journals PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SECTOR AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19
Author(s):  
Anup Chowdhury ◽  
Nikhil Chandra Shil
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Measurement ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
New Public ◽  
Performance Measurement Systems

This research explored in depth the evolution of performance measurement systems in the context of new public management initiatives in Australian public sector. A governmental department in the Australian Capital Territory was selected for the purpose of the exploration. The qualitative research approach was adopted and data was collected following case study tradition. The main data sources were archival official documents and interviews. In addition, the researchers used direct observation to supplement and corroborate the archival documents and interview data. The empirical evidence presented in this research supports the fact that the selected Australian government department has implemented performance measurement systems in the line of new public management to illustrate the department’s commitment to efficiency and accountability. The research undertaken was in-depth, using a case study and though generalization is not possible from this single case study, the findings may be expected to add knowledge to existing literature and provide some important lessons for other public sector entities of the developing countries who are interested in adopting performance measurement systems as their control devices. Keywords: public sector, performance measurement systems, new public management, developing countries, Australia.

scholarly journals Nursing in Times of Neoliberal Change: An Ethnographic Study of Nurses’ Experiences of Work Intensification

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Selberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Care Work ◽  
New Public ◽  
Work Intensification ◽  
And Performance

Through an ethnographic study of nurses’ experiences of work intensification, this article shows how nurses respond to and act upon neoliberal transformations of work. The article identifies and explores those transformations considered by the informants, nurses working in public sector hospital wards, as central to changing conditions of work and experiences of work intensifications. It further analyzes nurses’ responses toward these transformations and locates these responses within a particular form of femininity evolving from rationalities of care, nurses’ conditions within the organization, and classed and gendered experiences of care work. The article illustrates that in times of neoliberal change and public sector resource depletion, nurses respond to women’s traditional caring responsibilities as well as to professional commitments and cover for the organization. Maintaining the level of frontline service is contingent on increased exploitation and performance control of ward nurses, and their ability and willingness to sacrifice their own time and health for the sake of their patients. The article argues that in the case of ward nurses in the Swedish public sector, work intensification is a multilayered process propelled by three intersecting forces: austerity ideology linked to the neoliberal transformation of the welfare state and public sector retrenchment; explicit care rationalities impelled by aspirations of the nursing profession to establish, render visible, and expand the nursing field both in relation to the medical profession and in relation to so-called unskilled care work performed by assistant nurses and auxiliaries; and the progressive aspect of New Public Management, which challenges the power and authority of the professions and contributes to strengthening the positions of clients and patients.

scholarly journals Shifting identities in the public sector: portraying the “new” public manager in the Italian setting

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosanna Spanò ◽  
Andrea Tomo ◽  
Lee D. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
New Public ◽  
Behavioural Tests

Purpose This paper aims to understand how training programs fostering discourses centred on individuals’ identity construction may turn resistance into a generative and enabling force to elicit more relationally and negotiated solutions of change. Design/methodology/approach The study used Foucault’s conceptualisation of “regimes of truth” to show how even potentially resistant public managers may generatively contribute to change processes if given the chance to restate the macro discourses of the hegemonic new public management movement at their own micro level. It relied upon an ethnographic approach based on verbal interviews, photo-elicitation, DiSC behavioural tests and observation of 29 Italian public managers participating in a training course. Findings The findings allow us to unveil how helping public managers to think about their self-identity in new ways enabled them to approach changing processes differently turning their resistance efforts into a generative force. Originality/value The paper offers a noteworthy contribution to the literature on public sector change by examining neglected issues relating to the identity of change agents and the implications of their multiple roles. It presents an alternative to the deterministic view of resistance as impeding or dysfunctionally shaping change under the new public management approach. This has important implications for both practice and policymaking.

scholarly journals Appraising Public Value in the Public Sector: Re-evaluation of the Strategic Triangle

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Malang B.S. Bojang
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Public Value ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Managers ◽  
Public Sector Managers

Purpose- This article aims to address public value by assessing public programs and services' success in a more cost-effective way. The study also investigates how public managers and elected officials can use public value to guide their decisions on resource allocation to create value for the citizens. Design/methodology- To meet this study's aims, Mark Moore’s strategic triangle is used as the framework for this study. This is a comprehensive framework that evaluates the performance of public sector programs and service delivery. Data for this study has been collected via a primary scoping of the literature on public value. Database searches were conducted in the Social Sciences Index, SCOPUS journals, ISI Social Sciences Citation Index, and Google Scholar. Findings- From the investigation, the result indicates that public value is created by government or public managers in their daily transactions and by non-profit organizations that articulate their objectives and find popular support for the community's common good.                                                                                                Practical implications- Arguably, public value management provides a necessary improvement to public management theories. It redefines the function of public sector managers in the provision of socially desirable outcomes through citizen engagement. As a progress appraisal tool in public organizations, it offers a broader and inclusive framework than the New Public Management (NPM). Originality/value- This study's results contribute to the knowledge and literature of public value in the public sector.  The strategic triangle builds on the challenges and weaknesses of NPM and it aims at reshaping institutions to prioritize value creation for citizens.

scholarly journals Intellectual Capital and Sustainable Economic Performance in the Public Sector: The Context of the New Public Management in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7885
Author(s):  
Kardina Kamaruddin ◽  
Indra Abeysekera
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Public ◽  
Operational Variables ◽  
Construct Dimensions

The New Public Management allows us to reflect upon whether intellectual capital helps public sector organisations meet their performance benchmarks. Sustainable economic performance gains importance from the public sector’s service ideal. Although there have been empirical endeavours using intellectual capital as operational variables, this study examines the theoretically informed relationship between the intellectual capital construct and its construct dimensions and the sustainable economic performance construct and its construct dimensions. The decision-making inputs of senior officials in the Malaysian public sector are vital for evaluating the relationship, as these officials are the individual strategists of the collective organisational strategy. The study conducted a survey that received 1092 usable responses and analysed them using the structural equation modelling research method. The findings showed a robust theoretical relationship between intellectual capital and sustainable economic performance. Furthermore, the study identified intellectual capital items that play a vital role in supporting public sector sustainable economic performance in Malaysia under New Public Management. The findings provide useful knowledge for public sector officials and policymakers, and for further research.

scholarly journals A register of public-sector research organizations as a tool for research policy studies and evaluation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetto Lepori
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
Public Sector Research

Abstract This article presents the conceptual and methodological design of a register of public-sector organizations, as well as a preliminary delineation of such organizations in Europe. Conceptual and methodological issues are discussed, as well as the potential usage of the register for interlining datasets and analysis. The significance of the register for research policy and evaluation studies is also discussed, as related with changes associated with New Public Management reforms.

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