1
Public management:
The use of organizational resources in and by public and non-profit organizations to coordinate social
efforts, so that objectives can be accomplished, and public needs are met.”
1. Old public administration: Weberian bureaucracy.
The first model of public governance, with a focus on respect for rule of law. It strives for equal
treatment for all (same paperwork, treatment,...), with professional civil servants (full time, well
trained, lifelong). The idea on itself isn’t necessarily bad, it becomes bad when taken to far. There is
the problem of red tape (unnecessary paperwork) and lack of transparency.
This leads to a big government that uphold rule of law but is not necessarily efficient and effective.
Civil servants stop thinking for themselves and only start doing what is asked of them.
ex: Hitler’s Nazi regime.
2. New public administration: small government that runs like a business (80’s).
Introduction of new values for public governance, with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Non-
efficiency and non-effectiveness in public management lead to big government deficits, potential
bankruptcy of countries, etc. Reagan said: “Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the
problem”.
The government had to start working like a business. These are regarded as the golden days of the
economists. This lead to the rise of Wicked problems such as multicultural integration, mega cities,
poverty,... .
ex: Reagan, Thatcher.
3. New public governance: interorganisational governance (2000’s).
Interorganisational governance, with a focus on societal needs, collaboration and facilitating. The
complexity of issues has become more complex than ever. There is a need for collaboration of
government with public partners, professionals, economists, citizen participation,... because of these
wicked issues.
There is not one ideal public management method, no theory of everything. It depends on the country,
goals, values, needs,… . Focussing on only one type can lead to problems there is a need for a
simultaneous use of the three public values: professionalism, efficiency & effectiveness and meeting
societal needs.
Public management: use the resources in organisations to uphold these values.
Examples:
U.N. is to bureaucratic: the paperwork takes about a year, which makes it difficult to respond
to unexpected problems (ex: help victims of tsunami).
Old Public Administration.
Greece: becoming extremely efficient and effective, but not helping your citizens.
New Public Administration.
Citizen participation panel: only white, male, pensioners came to help - Leeds to inequity (only
a specific segment of the population is included).
New Public Governance.
Public management
, 2
The rise of public management
Public Management:
Public management is about accomplishing objectives, using resources, meeting public needs and
coordinating social efforts. The goals need to meet societal needs and for the coordination of social
efforts, we need leadership.
Performance Professionalism Politics
Money, people and Clients, professionals Ideas, attention,
Resources
materials and clients political actors
Political agendas,
Customer satisfaction, Expertise, autonomy,
Objectives and needs checks and balances,
productivity, profit craftsmanship
publicness
Optimization of Organizational spaces Collaboration and
Social action and systems, through and climate, through contestation, through
coordination contracts and associations and networks and
hierarchy socialization stakeholders
Efficiency and Quality, reliability and Justice, solidarity and
values
effectiveness safety legitimacy
Different meanings:
Public managers can operate in two different areas: the internal and external management.
1. Internal: things within the organization, understand how to manage risk and change within
the organization.
HR, financial,… .
2. External: working with other organizations, efforts to collaborate with private groups to
support the adoption of public policy.
Interorganizational relationships.
A public organization can be broad or narrow.
1. Broad: their services are present in multiple different policy domains.
City of Ghent: culture, education,… .
2. Narrow: the organization provides one type of service and makes sure it is the best (cost-
effective).
IVAGO.
A public organization focusses on either products or processes.
1. Products: plans, performance dashboards, strategies.
2. Processes: how to implement and do things, plans,….
Public management
, 3
What makes an organisation public:
1. Public ownership / position.
No stakeholders.
2. Public financing / funding.
Taxation.
3. Clear relationship with politicians.
Accountability.
BUT: organisations are more often hybrid, they are on a scale of a more non-profit or a “broad” public
sector.
Ex: European commission, University of Ghent, Museum, … .
History of managing public organizations:
An organization is considered public when it has public ownership, receives public funding and is
politically accountable. Many hybrid forms exist. The management of public organizations has a great
history of both practical and theoretical thought, often enforcing or criticizing each other.
1. Old public administration: emerged during the Industrial revolution.
Weber and Ford: need for a professional, boreoarctic government.
2. New public management: emerged during the oil crisis of the 1970.
Friedman: need for efficiency and effectiveness through a small government and
privatization (there is no money).
3. New public governance: emerged during the Global economics crisis in 2008.
Many public management scholars: giving to much power to the private market is
dangerous.
Crises shaped public management.
New public management:
New public management is not the same as public management. New Public Management
recommends an approach to public management focused on privatization, small government, free-
market thinking, idealization of business practices, etc. Unfortunately, and unfairly, NPM is the reason
why many public officials and servants are no big fans of public management.
Thatcher: popular capitalism (privatization).
Small government: 4 legitimate functions of a government according to Friedman.
1. International defense.
2. National defense.
3. Making rules
4. Enforcing rules.
Problem: some things like university became to expensive for a lot of people, bad and
expensive trains,…. .
Public management and NPM have often been conflated with each other, but they are not the same
thing. There are different types of public managers, with different roles (requiring different use of
resources). We are also seeing more and more professionalization among public managers.
Public management
Public management:
The use of organizational resources in and by public and non-profit organizations to coordinate social
efforts, so that objectives can be accomplished, and public needs are met.”
1. Old public administration: Weberian bureaucracy.
The first model of public governance, with a focus on respect for rule of law. It strives for equal
treatment for all (same paperwork, treatment,...), with professional civil servants (full time, well
trained, lifelong). The idea on itself isn’t necessarily bad, it becomes bad when taken to far. There is
the problem of red tape (unnecessary paperwork) and lack of transparency.
This leads to a big government that uphold rule of law but is not necessarily efficient and effective.
Civil servants stop thinking for themselves and only start doing what is asked of them.
ex: Hitler’s Nazi regime.
2. New public administration: small government that runs like a business (80’s).
Introduction of new values for public governance, with a focus on efficiency and effectiveness. Non-
efficiency and non-effectiveness in public management lead to big government deficits, potential
bankruptcy of countries, etc. Reagan said: “Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the
problem”.
The government had to start working like a business. These are regarded as the golden days of the
economists. This lead to the rise of Wicked problems such as multicultural integration, mega cities,
poverty,... .
ex: Reagan, Thatcher.
3. New public governance: interorganisational governance (2000’s).
Interorganisational governance, with a focus on societal needs, collaboration and facilitating. The
complexity of issues has become more complex than ever. There is a need for collaboration of
government with public partners, professionals, economists, citizen participation,... because of these
wicked issues.
There is not one ideal public management method, no theory of everything. It depends on the country,
goals, values, needs,… . Focussing on only one type can lead to problems there is a need for a
simultaneous use of the three public values: professionalism, efficiency & effectiveness and meeting
societal needs.
Public management: use the resources in organisations to uphold these values.
Examples:
U.N. is to bureaucratic: the paperwork takes about a year, which makes it difficult to respond
to unexpected problems (ex: help victims of tsunami).
Old Public Administration.
Greece: becoming extremely efficient and effective, but not helping your citizens.
New Public Administration.
Citizen participation panel: only white, male, pensioners came to help - Leeds to inequity (only
a specific segment of the population is included).
New Public Governance.
Public management
, 2
The rise of public management
Public Management:
Public management is about accomplishing objectives, using resources, meeting public needs and
coordinating social efforts. The goals need to meet societal needs and for the coordination of social
efforts, we need leadership.
Performance Professionalism Politics
Money, people and Clients, professionals Ideas, attention,
Resources
materials and clients political actors
Political agendas,
Customer satisfaction, Expertise, autonomy,
Objectives and needs checks and balances,
productivity, profit craftsmanship
publicness
Optimization of Organizational spaces Collaboration and
Social action and systems, through and climate, through contestation, through
coordination contracts and associations and networks and
hierarchy socialization stakeholders
Efficiency and Quality, reliability and Justice, solidarity and
values
effectiveness safety legitimacy
Different meanings:
Public managers can operate in two different areas: the internal and external management.
1. Internal: things within the organization, understand how to manage risk and change within
the organization.
HR, financial,… .
2. External: working with other organizations, efforts to collaborate with private groups to
support the adoption of public policy.
Interorganizational relationships.
A public organization can be broad or narrow.
1. Broad: their services are present in multiple different policy domains.
City of Ghent: culture, education,… .
2. Narrow: the organization provides one type of service and makes sure it is the best (cost-
effective).
IVAGO.
A public organization focusses on either products or processes.
1. Products: plans, performance dashboards, strategies.
2. Processes: how to implement and do things, plans,….
Public management
, 3
What makes an organisation public:
1. Public ownership / position.
No stakeholders.
2. Public financing / funding.
Taxation.
3. Clear relationship with politicians.
Accountability.
BUT: organisations are more often hybrid, they are on a scale of a more non-profit or a “broad” public
sector.
Ex: European commission, University of Ghent, Museum, … .
History of managing public organizations:
An organization is considered public when it has public ownership, receives public funding and is
politically accountable. Many hybrid forms exist. The management of public organizations has a great
history of both practical and theoretical thought, often enforcing or criticizing each other.
1. Old public administration: emerged during the Industrial revolution.
Weber and Ford: need for a professional, boreoarctic government.
2. New public management: emerged during the oil crisis of the 1970.
Friedman: need for efficiency and effectiveness through a small government and
privatization (there is no money).
3. New public governance: emerged during the Global economics crisis in 2008.
Many public management scholars: giving to much power to the private market is
dangerous.
Crises shaped public management.
New public management:
New public management is not the same as public management. New Public Management
recommends an approach to public management focused on privatization, small government, free-
market thinking, idealization of business practices, etc. Unfortunately, and unfairly, NPM is the reason
why many public officials and servants are no big fans of public management.
Thatcher: popular capitalism (privatization).
Small government: 4 legitimate functions of a government according to Friedman.
1. International defense.
2. National defense.
3. Making rules
4. Enforcing rules.
Problem: some things like university became to expensive for a lot of people, bad and
expensive trains,…. .
Public management and NPM have often been conflated with each other, but they are not the same
thing. There are different types of public managers, with different roles (requiring different use of
resources). We are also seeing more and more professionalization among public managers.
Public management
