New Public Management - the UK - Case Study Example

Running head: NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF UK Student name: Student number: Course title: Lecturer: Date: Introduction There is a lot of reinvention in the government in the way services are being managed. They have been referred to as business process reengineering, new public management. This paper will analyze this new model f managing the public management using this criterion. There is a new way of doing business in the public sector. There is a revolutionary change process, which is seen to be taking place in the public. Instead of coming up with a totally new way of doing business in the public sector, the model has been developed from the old models with keen interest in the areas where the government has been getting problems before. Most governments have been seen to be entrepreneurial in their dealing of the service providers by promoting competition between the service providers. This way, the citizens are empowered by taking control out of the bureaucracy to the community. There is a paradigm shift where the clients are redefined by being offered choices; problems are being solved before they occur rather than offering services to solve the impact of the problem. More energy is seen to be focused on earning money and not devising ways of spending it. There is more emphasis on participatory management where it is encouraged by decentralization. There is also more emphasis on catalyzing all sectors and not providing services alone. This way, the community are seen to be n the front line in solving their own problems. The United Kingdom (UK) is commonly termed as the textbook case of the new public management (NPM). This country is among the countries that adopted a reform programme that is devoted to the introduction of techniques on management and incentives on economy to funnel the blueprint and function of executive government and public services in view of the fact that it was last reviewed in 1970s. However, it is widely claimed that UK was one of the minority countries to adopt most of facets associated with the NPM. It is an exclusively strong leader laced with an equally strong distaste for a complacent and an inefficient public sector pushed through great reforms in opposition to initial resistance, and her heirs continued in line with the trajectory put in place by Mrs. Thatcher. For establishing an absolute, and a tell apart, picture of public management reforms, there are three dimensions to focus on. The first dimension is on time, in the good judgment of management reforms having established in the heyday of the New Public Management in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the budges in approaches portrays a haze of the unevenness of the ‘text book’ case. Connected to the larger time dimension is the view that the public management reforms are effects to earlier reforms and their responses other than the inventive blue print ideas exercised. In context of public policy, such responses have been interpreted basing on the succession policy and the recent most public management account reforms in Britain. The second dimension centered on the canons that have drive the blue print of public management reforms and are connects to the identity that the shopping basket of NPM incorporates to a greater extent gainsay recipes and canons that relate to freedom of management and decentralization. It also includes performance accountability and on the other hand increased top down control. Others have proposed that NPM can also be defined as an array of reform thoughts, to which an heir and the post NPM reforms have established and emphasize on integration and coordination of the numerous stakeholders and communal trust. Lastly, the outcome and the connected facets of procedures for assessing the outcomes compose a third dimension for any appraisal of public management reforms. However, it is the most difficult one. With these admonitions in mind, this paper draws a picture of public management reforms in the UK. Putting into practice the three perceptions lenses to bring out the results of public management and the development dating back to the 1970s, the next part recalls the UK conventional story as a textbook case that has been propelled by mingle of high on motives for political participation in public management reforms and high on opportunities for exercising will and thoughts. It therefore details the factors and drivers that are normally said to report for the British exceptionalism in landmark reform measures and the public management reforms. The second section debates on public management reforms that follow management control, auditing, and performance measurement as sentient reform thoughts. The third is based on the earlier two sections debating on the pendulum swings amid reforms following contrasting canons. It also portrays the development of the public management reform agenda as the high speed of change. These accounts of public management reform rummage around for various reform perspectives pursued in the UK, with the objective an overall characterization of the public management the, UK chic. The final section offers integral evidence from the three approaches posed and could as such count as a general characterization. Various government departments and agencies are determined to offer various high quality and much better services to the public, to present advice to the state heads, ministers and provide vivid information more widely to the executive branch of government so as to work in an efficient manner, more accessible and a transparency way. It has been seen in many developing countries that the government in leadership mostly fails due to reform fatigue. The public sector reform program mains objective is to focus on the managers and the heads of departments involved in the planning, design and implementation of these programs. These helps mainly in improving service delivery by use of a logical approach that supports up to date techniques. This technique is mostly helpful and valuable for officials responsible for planning, supporting and implementing this reform programmes across the whole government. The programme's main purpose is to have an overview of the reform in a manner that can be of help and development to a country that is established on a rigorous policy analysis approach that stresses on designing and introducing change in order to upgrade their delivery on their services. The improvements on service delivery are such as organizational development, capacity building and performance management. The remedy to this service delivery and the frequent use of practical toolkits will contribute greatly in implementation of these reform programmes. 1. Central government services The review of the public sector reforms in the United Kingdom indicates that the public and commercial service union (PSC) has a presentation of 320,000 members that is founded on the civil service. This shows clearly that the (PSC) is the largest trade union in the civil service. The main objective of the government is to set out their plans for the future of the country in the comprehensive spending review. This includes information on the reformed changes they wanted to make in the public sector. During the same year, chancellor, Gordon Brown declared on job cuts and relocations of about 104, 1000 jobs to be taken on different agencies, civil services departments and non-departmental public bodies. In 2007, a 5% cut was declared during the budget making report and another cut had already been made in relation to the Department of work and pensions, Revenue and customs, the treasury and the cabinet Office. The government had its missions in 2007 to make a reduction of 2.5% in other departments per year. The governments foresee to make additional reductions in the workforce employed though it is not clear about the effect it will cause to the public service available, presented by PCS members. The government is also concerned about the stability privatization threats as on of their strategies in restructuring process and off shoring of work. The important public services are always provided by the PCS members such as; national minimum wage, passports, child benefits and their welfare, pensions, driving license and tax credits. The PCS has been fighting against job cuts since the most targeted people are part time workers, women and disabled people. They tend to get the lowest wage payment which has become an indication that the civil service will continue deteriorating down. The Government is being pursued on giving a chance to the members of PCS who want to remain in the civil service also the PCS has been playing a grate role in the supervision of the workers welfare, analyzing their current situations and risks attached to the members. The policies implemented by the PCS states out some of the strategies that are used for organizing a national ballot for industrial action. Geographical issues The UK Government has been trying to extend it programme to Scotland through “Transforming public services – the next phase of reform “this was issued by Scottish minister in June 2006. The reforms that were subject of the matter included sharing of services in the public sector department which was under the delegation of Scottish rule of law including the local government, education, police and fireboards, as well as the parts of the civil services and the public arenas that are also categorized under the passing on of the Scottish ministers. From a statistics carried out in Scotland, it has been proven that the PCS is presented by 35000 members currently working in the Scottish Government places, in the Scottish parliament, agencies and public bodies, and in some major private companies. The Scottish minister has introduced certain reforms and the PCS has seen it as grate step hence supporting the new Agenda on public sector reform. This reform includes: Measures should be taken to reinvest its savings on the front line services and on the departments that will be able to recover back the investments. Policies that would protect the violation and compulsory unemployment in favor of natural wastage, this would encourage training and development of the workers thus leading t their redeployment. These major issues are addressed by the PCS Scotland’s engaging the government on the efficient public reforms that would protect each individual and hence leading to the development and growth of the country. It has been found out that the UK agendas and its Shared services to the Scottish government has become a threat since it tends to increase the number of job cuts program. The PCS concerns has contributed a lot in fighting against the UKs’ threat of shared services agenda of the local and within civil Service market, out sourcing and possible off-shoring (Ocampo, 2003). The model used shares its services within and outside the market. It has been proven to be a private sector that has been up to date from 20years back, which its objectives is to curb against the measures of increasing the corporate services within the and without the business sectors. The Scottish government is encouraged to form a framework that would ensure a smooth flow of shared devices developed; the shared devices should provide a clear framework with transparency processes that is free from discrimination and negotiable terms with the trade unions. The developed measures have also been able to involve the minister that has greatly encouraged their implementation and working hand in hand to fulfill the new commitments. In the transformation of England, the government’s arms might be excluded for it to achieve its objectives in establishing the shared services model. One of the improvements that have been made in Scotland is the transport service industry. It has been one of the reforms made by using the service implementation model. Terms for the services to be provided should be made clear to everyone and of the parties involved. Such details that are required includes; details for provided shared services proposals, the department responsible for the individuals employments, the body/ agency to be shared services and staffs, and the number of the staff on the job their payment details, performance measurement, training and development of the staffs. The PCS always intervene to negotiate on the terms and assurance of quality standards to be offered by the departments, agencies and bodies associated with the service model and the civil and the public servants on the agreement of any service that has been proposed. The PCS crew anticipates setting a forum that would involve a talk with the Scottish head officials and the minister involved in the development of the changes being anticipated to take place. The PCS are taken to be the representatives of the workers, they tend to present their needs and grievances they have. This has lead to the development of the Scottish people and this way, there has been assurance that there is quality public and civil services being offered and the retaining of it employees and addressing Trends in public sector reform 3.1.1. Break-up and fragmentation of services The United Kingdom government plans were to privatize forensic science services in 2003. The PCS held a campaign together with the labor MPs petitioning for the labor sector to allow the services to continue being offered for two more years. The privatization was not really a good idea, since it would give way for UK to be the only country with authority of detecting crime in the world. This would have led to privatization of profits also and this is why they would suggest job-cuts rather than benefiting those who need the services (Ocampo, 2003). Due to these petitions, the ministry of defense is currently facing threats from within and outside and to the professionals that give these skills to the armed forces have been warned that they will be sold off to the Defense Training Review, it has been confirmed that at least 4000 staff have already been taken to the private sector. The main services being offered in the Department of Work and pensions, were faced with relocation of jobs to the private sector, although a lot of people had their efforts to change this, the government went on making its plans to outsource about 60% of the jobs to the private and the third sector and the New work practices have been introduced in order to provide efficiency savings, and one of the reforms was to introduce a reduction of its estate (HMRC) Revenue and Customs (Ocampo, 2003). There have been quite a number of changes like the workforce change programmes being introduced and quite a number of members in Distributed Processing Offices have been receiving threats and having been transferred from one place of work to another such as the large new contacts centers. The North West DPOs was given threatening warnings and notices of closure and withdrawal of administrative grade work, this work was to be transferred to large call centers in Liverpool and other level of working people were denied the chance to work in this areas. Most of the enquiry centers have hard a tendency of closing up across the country by HMRC. most of the custom officers have been forming mobile teams to respond to the wide geographical wide spread of smuggling that has been tried to be control by some various customs all over the region covering so many miles in the coast line. The role of the third sector and private companies The main roles of the third sector are transferring the public services into private services hence outsourcing them. This has been a threat the staff and the services being delivered for about two decades in the country. The labor government has been into action to privatize the UK public services from the time UK came into power. Various mechanism including the Private Finance Initiative, private and public partnership it been always there to do upgrade this agenda. Privatization has been a continuous process whereby it is still being introduced in the public services, non-departmental public bodies, civil services and Agencies that are involved in various parts of the public sector, such as education institutions, the criminal justices system, health, water, gas, electricity, railways and fire services. The privatization process provides insufficient consultation with the trade unions, staffs, elected representatives, service users, citizens and affected organizations. It has been proven that privatization is undemocratic, does not advocate the views of its clients, it’s ill planed, inflexible, impractical which provides difficulties in holding up people to be accountable when issues arises. People have started being unreliable to the private sector since no strong proof has been found to counter the public sector. A number of sources have reported that the private companies cannot be relied on since there is no productivity in the improvements being made, time and cost of its activities; this has resulted to low productivity hence quality assurance continues to deteriorate. This context also describes how the private sectors are less monitored compared to the state sector on the equality matters. The PCS has been intervening to demand the civil services subordinates to carry out equality in their place of work and weighing their measures in relation with the legislation. The private sector has been seen as one of the sectors that do not have to take any general duty for the job cuts. References Ocampo, R. (2003). Models for public administration reform: New public management (NPM). Manilla: University of Philippines. Read More