Reinventing Government – the “New Public Management” Denhardt Chp. 9

Reinvention An effort to improve quality and productivity – Requires increased “entrepreneurship” An “entrepreneurial government” is... – Streamlined – Flexible – Responsive

Principles of a reinvented Government Catalytic – steer (recognize options) don’t row (single objective) Community-owned (empower, don’t just “serve”) Competitive with private enterprise Mission- and customer-driven, results oriented Anticipatory (prevent, don’t cure) Decentralized (participation and teamwork) Market-oriented

Issues Do the differences between the goals of businesses and government agencies create “fundamentally different” incentives? – Should market forces drive public organizations? – Should economic principles be paramount? – Is administrative efficiency an appropriate goal? – Measuring productivity

Federal productivity programs OMB – Office of Management and Budget (Executive Office of the President) OMB Goals: – Improve Federal financial management – Reduce fraud, waste and abuse – Privatize where possible – Encourage use of new technologies

Grace Commission – “President’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control” Business leaders identified areas where productivity could be improved Anti-government slant alienated managers

1993 – GPRA – Government Performance and Results Act aka “National Performance Review” and “National Partnership for Reinventing Government” Cut red tape, reduce size of Federal government, put “customers” first and empower employees Federal agencies had to: – Develop strategic plans and measures of performance – Produce annual performance plans and reports (1998 GAO evaluation of agency compliance - Justice Dept. example)Justice Dept. example One thing that was accomplished – the Federal workforce was reduced by more than 300,000 employees

Quality of life issues Compensation Working conditions Worker opportunity for growth – Autonomy – Responsibility – Authority Social relevance Balancing personal life

Job Enrichment Better performance through: – Task diversity – Autonomy – Clear feedback on performance Methods – Expanded work / team work – Vertical loading (devolve management responsibilities to workers)

Result: The “new management” Some common precepts and buzzwords: – Clearly defined goals and objectives – Simple structure, lean staff – Precise measures of output – “Just in time” – “Loose and tight”: central direction coexists with individual autonomy – “Stick to what you know”- avoid excessive diversification – Customer service / customer orientation – Employee empowerment - those closest to the task should know the most

Techniques to implement “the new management” – fads or helpful tools? Management by Objectives (MBO) Quality Circles Organization Development (OD) Total Quality Management (TQM)

Management by Objectives Top develops broad goals Rest of organization develops objectives and sets performance criteria – Performance criteria can be amount of work, quality of work, effectiveness of work, timely completion, and costs Requires lots of time, effort and paperwork to implement May be a sneaky way to ramp up production Best applicable when output is quantifiable Application can promote cynicism throughout the workplace

Quality circles Small groups that meet to identify and solve workplace issues Requires support of top management Care not to cut out middle managers (recommendations still go through chain) Requires training group members in decision-making techniques Groups may ask for resources that are unavailable Results may not benefit the employer’s “bottom line”

Total Quality Management (TQM) Emphasis on quality service, customer orientation and program excellence – Employee involvement – Enhanced communications – Standards and measures – Extensive training and recognition Commercial consultant website

Difficulties in implementation – Resistance to change and to participatory management – Lack of funding – Lack of knowledge – Personnel regulations – Lack of attention and support from senior managers – Like psychoanalysis – feels good but absence of measurable gains over the short term

“Benchmarking” and “Best Practices” Survey experts and academics to identify like agencies and programs with excellent reputations Visit them – examine how they work – Input-process-output – Work processes, personnel practices, performance standards and measures Develop “benchmarks” for local use So obvious it may not require “management experts” Same solutions not applicable everywhere