scholarly journals The potential for public value frameworks in Northern Ireland and Ireland

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nat O’Connor

Abstract The publication of a far-reaching public value framework for central government in the UK presents an opportunity to consider how this or a similar framework could be a useful tool for public management in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The concept of public value represents an evolution beyond some of the weaknesses of New Public Management, as it goes further to measure the holistic public benefit compared with pure monetary valuation. Examination of the current programmes for government in Ireland and Northern Ireland leads to the conclusion that a public value framework could be useful to advance their agendas. Lessons from social value legislation in England, Scotland and Wales indicate how a more comprehensive public value framework might be implemented in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 340-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Goddard ◽  
Tausi Ally Mkasiwa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the budgeting practices in the Tanzanian Central Government. New budgeting reforms were introduced following exhortations from the bodies such as the UN, the World Bank and the IMF and reflect the new public management (NPM). Design/methodology/approach A grounded theory methodology was used. This methodology is inductive, allowing phenomena to emerge from the participants rather than from prior theory. This ensures both relevance and depth of understanding. Findings The principal research findings from the data concern the central phenomenon of “struggling for conformance”. Tanzanian Central Government adopted innovations in order to ensure donor funding by demonstrating its ability to implement imposed budgetary changes. Organizational actors were committed to these reforms through necessity and struggled to implement them, rather than more overtly resisting them. Research limitations/implications The research is subject to the usual limitations of case study, inductive research. Practical implications This research has several implications for policy-makers of NPM and budgetary reforms. These include the recognition that the establishment of the rules and regulations alone is not adequate for the successful implementation of budgetary and NPM reforms and should involve a comprehensive view of the nature of the internal and external environment. Originality/value There are few empirical papers of NPM accounting practices being implemented in the public sector of developing countries and none at all based in Tanzania. The paper identifies the existence of struggling to conform to reforms rather than resistance identified in prior research.


2012 ◽  
pp. 255-272
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Formisano ◽  
Giuseppe Russo ◽  
Rosa Lombardi

Nell'attuale scenario economico-competitivo, lo studio delle reti d'impresa (Bastia, 1989; D'Alessio, 2008; Cafaggi, 2004; Lipparini, 2002; Lorenzoni, 1992) consente di enfatizzare il ruolo svolto dalla cooperazione tra piů organizzazioni sia pubbliche, sia private. In questa direzione, con l'avvento dell'economia della conoscenza, le imprese creano valore collettivo per effetto dell'azione di gruppo e degli interessi coinvolti nel sistema organizzativo a rete. Le opportunitŕ che si presentano alle aziende coinvolte nella rete sono molteplici: l'investimento relazionale favorisce l'interdipendenza tra i differenti sistemi aziendali e ne rafforza la loro complementarietŕ; ogni processo cooperativo influenza ciascuna impresa della rete. Nelle aziende pubbliche, tale fenomeno č noto come New Public Governance (Bovaird, 2002; Lynn et al., 2007): all'interno di una rete locale si trovano aziende pubbliche e private la cui azione č protesa alla realizzazione del bene comune (Zamagni,2008). In questo senso, il passaggio dal New Public Management al New Public Governance ha permesso di valorizzare il concetto di network indagandolo quale rete di soggetti o entitŕ interagenti tra loro, in grado di guidare le loro relazioni verso il raggiungimento di un obiettivo comune: il public value creation (Moore, 2005). In questa direzione, il presente contributo si propone di analizzare il concetto di rete, con particolare riferimento alle possibili configurazioni che possono assumere i network pubblici locali. Nel caso di specie, lo studio si concentra sui network all'interno dei quali esiste la presenza dell'istituzione universitaria quale catalizzatrice del sapere e fonte della creazione di valore pubblico locale. Mediante l'esperienza dell'Universitŕ di Cassino, lo studio si propone di definire il ruolo dell'universitŕ rispetto al contesto territoriale di riferimento e quale impatto economico-sociale genera la sua azione. La domanda di ricerca č la seguente: Che cosa sono i network? Nell'ottica della New Public Governance, qual č il ruolo svolto dalle universitŕ nel sistema di rete? Č possibile individuare, in tal caso, un modello di rete?


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyorgy Hajnal ◽  
Katarina Staronova

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine whether the incentivizing type of performance appraisal (typical of New Public Management) has indeed been superseded by a post-New Public Management (NPM), developmental type of performance appraisal in European Civil Services.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review lead to a unidimensional, twofold typology: incentivizing (NPM) and developmental (post-NPM) performance appraisal. The empirical basis of the research is two surveys conducted among top civil servants in 18 European countries.FindingsFirst, there are crucial discrepancies between performance appraisal systems in contemporary European central government administrations and current theorizing on performance appraisal. Contrary to our expectations developed on the basis of the latter, “developmental” and “incentivizing” do not seem to be two distinct types of performance appraisal; rather, they are two independent dimensions, defining altogether four different types of performance appraisal systems.Practical implicationsThe authors results give orientation to policymakers and public service managers to engage in designing or applying performance appraisal systems, in particular by identifying assailable presumptions underlying many present-time reform trends.Social implicationsCitizens and communities are direct stakeholders in the development of public service performance appraisal both as possible or actual employees of public service organizations and as recipients of public services.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a new fourfold typology of performance appraisal systems: incentivizing, developmental, symbolic and want-it-all.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 726-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Raadschelders ◽  
Frits M. Van der Meer

The Dutch top civil service level has seldom been described in ‘elitist’ terms; befitting a country with a strong egalitarian social culture. Though formally open to outside recruitment, in practice the (top) civil service in central government is a rather closed system. There is relatively little occupational mobility between these civil servants and political officeholders, and virtually none between the public and the private sectors. However, some initiatives have recently been taken to improve this external mobility. New Public Management has had little impact upon the structure and functioning of the Dutch administrative elites. More important for the positioning and functioning of these civil servants has been the creation of the Senior Executive Service, and, within the SES, the top management group. By creating this career system at the very top of the civil service at the central level, the elite nature of the top civil servants has been reinforced. Points for practitioners The structure and functioning of the Dutch civil service has not been influenced by New Public Management (NPM). The rotation of positions at the top, through the Senior Public Service, is mainly inspired by the effort to decrease the compartmentalization of government departments. What has changed is the environment in which higher civil servants work, with Parliament, media and citizens demanding fast and tangible results.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Christensen ◽  
Dong Lisheng ◽  
Martin Painter

The prevailing interpretation in the scholarly literature is that public sector reform in China during the period of marketization has been driven primarily by internal, contextual factors rather than being under the sway of particular global reform models or theories such as New Public Management. The aim of this article is to move beyond arguing from inference that `Chinese characteristics' continue to be dominant and to inquire into the manner and extent of external influences on central government reform actors. We assume a `multi-causal' model in which both internal and external factors are present. From a survey of the literature on the reforms, we conclude that, while there are some `unique' features, most of the themes (and even the results) of modern Chinese reforms are not unique and have parallels in Western countries. Moreover, aside from the similarities in the content and substance of administrative reforms, the patterns and styles of reform in China and in the West in the past 20 years show marked similarities and parallels. Thus, external reform ideas and influences are being diffused through reform processes. Further empirical and theoretical analysis is required to establish the more specific nature of scanning and dissemination, or other forms of diffusion; the kind of learning that is taking place; and the impact that any imported models or templates actually have on reform proposals and outcomes in particular reform episodes. Points for practitioners • Whereas many scholars tend to believe the lip service the Chinese leaders pay to the `uniqueness' of China's public sector reforms and their `Chinese characteristics', their leaders have been very eager to `learn from the West'. • Emulation and learning at a global level are key aspects of contemporary public sector innovation and reform, even between jurisdictions that are seemingly very different from each other. • The development of sophisticated mechanisms for scanning and selective learning are key requirements for a rapidly developing public sector such as China's.


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Balle Hansen ◽  
Trui Steen ◽  
Marsha de Jong

In this article we are interested in how the coordinating role of top civil servants is related to the argument that country-level differences in the adoption of New Public Management significantly alter the Public Service Bargains of top civil servants and consequently their capacity to accomplish interdepartmental coordination. A managerial PSB limits top civil servants’ role in interdepartmental coordination, as their focus will be on achieving goals set for their specific departments, rather than for the central government as a collective. We test our argument with empirical insights from a comparative analysis of five countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. We find that our argument is only partly valid and discuss the theoretical and empirical implications of the analysis. Points for practitioners Alongside the introduction of New Public Management, the relationships between ministers and their top civil servants in state administration have evolved. At the same time, societal issues are getting more complex and demand a holistic, cross-sector approach. The concept of a managerial Public Service Bargain is used to analyze changes in top civil servants’ role and the impact of reforms on the capacity of top civil servants to accomplish interdepartmental coordination. Practitioners can learn more about the close link between challenges for interdepartmental coordination and changes in the role and functioning of top civil servants.


Author(s):  
Vernon Bogdanor

‘Joined-up government’ has been a topic of important discussion in the early twenty-first century as much as it was in the end of the twentieth century. Reinventing government was a move towards the ‘new public management’ which revolved on the importance to stimulate a business situation in the government and to apply the disciplines of the market to the public sector. The joined-up government on the other hand advocated a more holistic approach. It not only sought to apply the logic of economics but also the insights of other social sciences such as sociology and cultural theory to reform and change public service. This book focuses on the joined-up government strategy of the UK government. This strategy sought not only to bring together the government departments and agencies but also a number of various private and voluntary bodies for a common goal. The chapters in this book discusses the various barriers to the joined-up government such as contrasting perspectives of the central and local government, the conflicting departmental interests, and the diverging interests of the professionals.


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