scholarly journals Working Environment Activities in Hospitals: Expansion of Scope and Decentralization of Responsibility

Author(s):  
Per-Christian Borgen ◽  
Bente Vibecke Lunde

This article analyzes how two development traits in the regulatory requirements for Working Environment (WE) activities – an expansion of scope and a decentralization of responsibility – are understood and handled over time by actors responsible for WE activities in Norwegian hospitals. The expanded scope of WE activities is studied based on the requirements outlined in The Working Environment Act, public health science theory, and the WE challenges in hospitals. The decentralized responsibility for WE activities is studied based on Internal Control (IC) reform and other hospital reforms inspired by New Public Management (NPM). The final section of the article discusses the effects of the two development traits, and how these enlarge the line manager’s area of responsibility. The article is based on a qualitative, longitudinal study conducted in three Norwegian hospitals in 1998-1999 and 2013.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110187
Author(s):  
Stephan Grohs ◽  
Daniel Rasch

This article asks how and why United Nations organizations reform their administrative structure and processes over time. It explores whether we can observe a convergence towards a coherent administrative model in the United Nations system. Like in most nation states, reform discussions according to models like New Public Management or post-New Public Management have permeated international public administrations. Against this background, the question of administrative convergence discussed for national administrative systems also arises for United Nations international public administrations. On the one hand, similar challenges, common reform ‘fashions’ and an increasing exchange within the United Nations system make convergence likely. Yet, on the other hand, distinct tasks, administrative styles and path dependencies might support divergent reform trajectories. This question of convergence is addressed by measuring the frequency, direction and rationales for reforms, using a sample of four international public administrations from the United Nations’ specialized agencies (the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank). We find that convergence depends on the area of reform (human resources or organizational matters are more harmonized than others) and time (some international public administrations are faster or earlier than others). Points for practitioners This article identifies different drivers of reforms, as well as several supporting conditions, and obstacles to reform in international public administration, which is useful for understanding and planning change management. It highlights the issues policymakers should consider when implementing reform measures, especially institutional context, administrative styles and relevant actor constellations. Among other things, it shows that: the establishment of coordination bodies clearly leads to more homogeneous administrative practices; executive heads have a decisive role in the shaping of administrative reforms and have a specific interest to foster coordination and control in public organizations; and autonomy enables organizations to pursue reform policies apt to their individual challenges.


2021 ◽  
pp. 40-61
Author(s):  
Christoph Hermann

Even though commodification is a quasi-natural tendency of capitalist economies, the extent of commodification can vary over time, depending, among other things, on government intervention. In the last three decades, neoliberal reforms have fueled (re-)commodification. This chapter looks at six major policies: privatization, liberalization, deregulation, marketization, New Public Management, and austerity. Privatization promotes commodification by abolishing non-commodified alternatives to the sale of goods and services. Liberalization fuels commodification by exposing producers to competition and by forcing them to make profits. Deregulation eliminates restrictions that in one way or another limit commodification. Marketization creates markets in economic and social spheres where no markets have existed before, while New Public Management promotes metric output measurements that closely resemble what, in the private economy, are market values. Austerity and related cuts in welfare expenditure drive re-commodification by making citizens more dependent on markets and on private alternatives to the welfare state.


Author(s):  
Colin Knox ◽  
Saltanat Janenova

The concept of one-stop shops started as a relatively modest idea of providing information to public service users under one roof and helping citizens to navigate the complexities of multiple providers. Over time a business sector model accelerated the development of one-stop shops into a new phase of digitization influenced by the emergence of New Public Management with its emphasis on putting users at the center of public services provision. Technological progress afforded citizens access to the state and, in turn, promoted state-to-citizens interactions through multiple channels, both digital and physical. One-shop shops became inextricably linked to e-government which impacted both the developed and developing world, including authoritarian states. Although evidence of the impact of one-shop shops is still limited, not least because the concept has morphed over time, key improvements are listed as increased citizen satisfaction, reduced corruption, and greater efficiency. The pace of development has been such that the future suggests a move from one-stop shops to “no-stop shops.”


New Public Management (NPM) is currently a global trend that is dominating all governments' reform agendas. Bangladesh is not an outlier. This paper begins by defining NPM and then moves on to examine critical preconditions for successful NPM implementation. Following that, this research revealed significant roadblocks in Bangladesh's implementation of modern public management. The final section of the study focuses on the next steps in implementing modern public management in Bangladesh and concludes with a final comment on the overall concept.


Author(s):  
Andrew Nickson

This paper analyzes the impact that the ‘policy transfer’ of managerial reforms associated with the New Public Management (NPM) has had upon enhancing the capacity of the broadly defined ‘developmental state’. The paper begins by outlining the key principles of the NPM-type managerial reforms proposed to governments as a response to the challenges of wider public sector reform. Section 2 analyzes the extent to which these managerial reforms have actually been implemented around the world, with special reference to the experience of countries where they have either been modified or abandoned. Section 3 addresses the issue of ‘policy transfer’ by examining the extent to which aid-dependent countries have been more prone than other countries to adopt such managerial reforms. Section 4 outlines the major features of the developmental state, with a particular focus on the nature of the bureaucracy. Section 5 provides a critical assessment of the extent to which the introduction of managerial reforms can enhance the overall developmental capacity of the state. The final section offers some broader conclusions.


Author(s):  
Per Lægreid

New Public Management (NPM) reforms have been around in many countries for over the past 30 years. NPM is an ambiguous, multifaceted, and expanded concept. There is not a single driving force behind it, but rather a mixture of structural and polity features, national historical-institutional contexts, external pressures, and deliberate choices from political and administrative executives. NPM is not the only show in town, and contextual features matter. There is no convergence toward one common NPM model, but significant variations exist between countries, government levels, policy areas, tasks, and over time. Its effects have been found to be ambiguous, inconclusive, and contested. Generally, there is a lack of reliable data on results and implications, and there is some way to go before one can claim evidence-based policymaking in this field. There is more knowledge regarding NPM’s effects on processes and activities than on outcome, and reliable comparative data on variations over time and across countries are missing. NPM has enhanced managerial accountability and accountability to users and customers, but has this success been at the expense of political accountability? New trends in reforms, such as whole-of-government, have been added to NPM, thereby making public administration more complex and hybrid.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dion Curry ◽  
Steven Van de Walle

This article uses bibliometric analysis to track the breadth and depth of the concept of New Public Management as it has developed in the 25 years since the coining of the term, in order to provide a deeper understanding of how academics have engaged with the subject. The article uses bibliometric and qualitative analysis to map the use of the concept as a whole and over time, and the use of bibliometrics provides an original, methodical and quantitative way of analysing the usage and movement of New Public Management as a concept. It looks at the breadth of the literature in terms of whether it has spread to new journals or academic disciplines and depth in terms of whether articles on New Public Management engage with new research on the subject. It is shown that the breadth of the literature has increased, but there has been no significant deepening. By providing an overarching view of New Public Management as a concept, this article allows for more systematic academic engagement with the concept, leading to a deeper research agenda that goes beyond its current somewhat limited usage.


A review of the welfare economy finds that seven Nobel Laureates recommend a tax system with negative income. The size, entitlement to, meeting out, and finance of universal basic income (UBI) are concluded in accordance with other social security legislation. Further, New Public Management 2.0 is outlined. It also includes national accountancy with multinational companies. The final section presents a COVID-19-based index on social vulnerability that reveals serious limitations to deal with the climate threat in a majority of G7 countries in contrast to the excellent coping with COVID-19 of the larger Asian economies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-27
Author(s):  
Christoph Demmke

The following discussion adds to the discourse regarding the relationship between public administration reform and ethics policies. In this theoreti­cal paper, a narrative is employed that re-reads the old Weberian model as a model of ‘institutional integrity’, which is slowly replaced by a public management concept that focuses on individual integrity. Whereas the Weberian concept defined institutional integrity as a quality of institu­tions, more recent management concepts define institutional integrity as a quality of public officers within institutions. This also explains why the current focus of attention is ever more on individuals (as the main cause for unethical conduct) and the bad-person model of integrity. An alterna­tive framing of this paper is about ‘institutional ethics’ over time. During the last decades, we are moving from an institutional, but mechanical and rigid Weberian model, to an individual, but more fluid New Public Management model. We are moving towards a version of institutional in­tegrity that tries to use new behavioural mechanism to get back to some Weberian virtues, without its structures and technical focus. This novel ‘integrity management’ movement is really all about filling the gaps left by New Public Management doctrines. However, the reform of integrity management also develops into a specialised, sophisticated and profes­sionalised ethics bureaucracy. Trends are towards ever more broader and stricter integrity requirements. Still, ethics policies are ineffective and shortcomings in implementing integrity policies are neglected.


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