Drivers and outcomes of the new public management in three public sector agencies

Abstract

This paper examines three public sector agencies in the Queensland Government
which have undergone a series of changes in line with the prescriptions of the new public management. Interviews and public documentation from each of the agencies reveals that the major driver of change in all three organisations is the dominant ideological perspective, derived from public choice theory and aspects of the management literature, which favours the introduction of market principles and competition into public sector agencies. While the outcomes of change remain uncertain, early indications are that efficiency gains have only been achieved through the utilisation of new technologies or the shifting of responsibilities to the community sector, rather than as a direct consequence of new models of public management. Concerns also exist about the impact on quality of service delivery, especially when reforms are introduced in the context of inadequate funding of public services. The change process has also created human resource management problems associated with cultural and professional opposition to public management reform. So while public management reforms have placed pressure on organisations to make efficiency gains through innovations in service delivery and the utilisation of technology, they have also created some problems in terms of quality of service delivery and employee opposition to reform.