STRUCTURE

Introduction – A short introduction to new public management ( 15 words)                     

Body – Explain characteristics and features of new public management (220 words)

Conclusion – Mention a short conclusion  (15 words)

ANSWER

NPM seeks to adopt various techniques and practices used by private sector management. E.g. zero based budgeting (ZBB), Total quality management (TQM), Human Resource Management (HRM), Networking, Human Resource Accounting (HRA), Social Accounting, Operational research technique (OR), Management by objective (MBO) etc. NPM has also common roots and combined the public choice theory and Neo-Taylorism. (Neo-Taylorism introduced the managerial methods and techniques of private sector into the public sector).

The core themes for the New Public Management were:

• A strong focus on financial control, value for money and increasing efficiency
• A command and control mode of functioning, identifying and setting targets and continuance monitoring of performance, handing over the power to the senior management
• Introducing audits at both financial and professional levels, using transparent means to review performances, setting benchmarks, using protocols to ameliorate professional behavior
• Greater customer orientation and responsiveness and increasing the scope of roles played by non public sector providers
• Deregulating the labor market, replacing collective agreements to individual rewards packages at senior levels combined with short term contracts
• Discouraging the self regulatory power of the professionals and handing over the power from individuals to management
• Encouraging more entrepreneurial management than bureaucracy with high retrospective accountability requirements upwards
• Introducing new forms of corporate governance, introducing a board model of functioning and concentrating the power to the strategic core of the organization
• Introduction of a more elaborate and evolved quasi-market system
• Creation of more fragmented or loosely contracted public sector organizations at the local level setting in a change from management of hierarchy to management of contract
• Distinguishing between the small strategic core and the large organizational periphery, market testing and contracting out the non strategic functions
• Delayering and downsizing
• Introduction of new managerial concepts like Management by Influence, creating network for of organizations, creating strategic alliances between the organizations
• Moving away from standardized service forms to more flexible and varied service forms

Features of new public management:

• Catalytic government: Government should focus on catalyzing public and private sector and NGO's into solving societal problems.
• Community owned government: Government should empower citizens to solve their own problems thus taking various services from control of bureaucracy.
• Competitive government: Improve performance, reduce cost by creating competition among service providers.
• Mission driven government: Government should be driven by goals rather than rules.
• Result orientation: Focus on outcomes by encouraging target achievement and mission directed efforts.
• Customer driven government: Less institution oriented more client impact oriented.
• Enterprising government: Focus on generating money than just spending.
• Anticipatory government: Proactive than fire fighting approach. Responsiveness should be inbuilt the system to meet changes.
• Decentralization: Shift from hierarchical to participatory management and team work.
• Market oriented government: Opt for market mechanisms not bureaucratic.