Richard Common

Convergence and transfer: a review of the globalisation of new public management

There is much talk about a new global paradigm in public administration. However, many claims surrounding the existence of this new paradigm remain largely unsubstantiated. This article reviews some of these claims by attempting to explain how new public management (NPM) could be said to be globalised. The article then questions whether or not we are talking about policy convergence rather than globalisation in the case of NPM. Policy transfer analysis is then introduced as an explanatory concept for the appearance of different NPM techniques around the world. The article argues that because of the weaknesses of the new paradigm, its globalisation is extremely questionable and the convergence argument does little to advance its cause. Instead, policy transfer activity appears to be on the increase but this is confined to piece‐meal copying and adaptation, or even imposition. The article concludes by declaring globalisation a misnomer for the scattering of management techniques around the world.

Organisational learning in a political environment

This article observes that the political environment will always compromise the application of the organisational learning concept in government. In an attempt to overcome this problem, it seeks to demonstrate that a conceptual synthesis between policy learning and organisational learning has an important contribution to make in terms of developing an understanding of how and why policy transfer occurs. Although the concept of organisational learning is now fairly well established in management approaches for improving organisational effectiveness, its current attraction is largely a result of the same environmental pressures that have allegedly globalised policy-making. The efforts of the UK government to improve learning from the international environment are examined and it is argued that while adaptive behaviour is common, true learning is rare. This observation underscores a key problem with the policy learning approach. The article therefore considers how the demands for effective organisational learning have presented new challenges for public management that involve understanding the mechanisms of adopting and evaluating policy innovations from overseas. The complex and unpredictable nature of the contemporary public sector environment, along with the international diffusion of policy knowledge, means that it is vital for governments to learn effectively. In practice, however, the ‘Learning Organisation’ ideal can only be realised in a very narrow sense by public organisations.

Administrative change in the Gulf: modernization in Bahrain and Oman:

States in the Middle East tend to be overlooked by researchers in comparative public administration. However, these states offer potentially useful insights into the nature of administrative change as they defy standard assumptions about pressures for reform. The aim of the article is to provide an account of reform by analysing important contextual factors in Bahrain and Oman. Given the large gap in the literature regarding the Gulf States, this article is supplemented by observations and evidence gathered on regular visits to both countries by the researcher. The analysis reveals systems of public administration highly resistant to international reform trends. Many of these factors are situational; including highly centralized political systems, tradition and strong national and administrative cultures. It is concluded that while reform processes are emerging in these countries, they are slow and evolutionary and are more adapted to the domestic rather than the international context. Points for practitioners The article may be of interest for practitioners working for international consultants, not only in Bahrain and Oman, but also in the wider Gulf Region (Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have similar political and social contexts to those of Bahrain and Oman). In addition to providing contextual information, the article discusses the institutional and cultural barriers to reform in terms of providing Western-style administrative solutions. The article also alludes to the different time horizons in the Gulf States, and the slow (by Western standards) and evolutionary nature of the reform process.

Governance and the management of networks in the public sector

Abstract This essay utilizes policy network analysis to examine UK drugs policy within the wider context of the governments approach to joined-up governance. While confronting the definitional problems and limitations associated with the policy network concept, it is assumed that multiple agencies work towards pre-determined policy objectives. In particular, Atkinson and Coleman (1992) challenge three aspects of policy network analysis; the macro-political context, the international dimension of many policy domains, and the dynamics of political change. These aspects are addressed through the case of drug policy in the United Kingdom in general, and the decision to reclassify cannabis in particular. In addition, it is suggested that the analysis of networks requires a systemic approach to understanding how the duality of power and knowledge determines the dynamics of networks and their impact on institutional change. This includes an assessment of the consequences of the managerialist discourse surrounding changes to drug policy.

The Histological Effect of Aqueous Extract of Ginger on the Kidneys of Adult Wistar Rats

The New Public Management (NPM) appears to be of universal applicability. However, if examined on a country-by-country basis we can observe considerable variations. This article surveys public management change in three Asia-Pacific countries and contends that even in countries that share similar characteristics, in this case, British post-colonial bureaucracies, there is little uniformity. We might assume that administrative change is the result of the attraction of NPM to elites who shop around the international market for ideas, but this is a gross oversimplification. However, the apparent internation alization of NPM appears to be driven by policy transfer activity. The survey of public management in these countries reveals that although the policy transfer approach is difficult to apply empirically, it is worth pursuing as it strips away the appeal of NPM. Although in each of these countries, it is difficult to argue with any conviction that policy has been transferred from another country, a number ...

International trends in HRM in the public sector: Reform attempts in the Republic of Georgia

Purpose – The overall purpose of this paper is to explore the limits of HRM in public sector organisations, within the context of international public management. The cultural basis of HRM, derived chiefly from North America and Western Europe continues to underpin public sector HR reforms, aided and abetted by the international institutions. The paper seeks to begin with an overview of the impact of wider public sector reform on HR practice by briefly exploring the limitations of orthodox HRM in a public service setting. However, the main argument of the paper aims to follow the conceptual position that an understanding of the institutional and cultural contexts is required before attempting HRM‐type reforms.Design/methodology/approach – The author visited the Republic of Georgia in 2008 to work with the Public Service Commission on HRM reforms in central government. Thus, the paper presents the illustrative case of Georgia, which is both a transitional state and susceptible to Western ideas regarding pu...

Leadership and elite interviews: Researching the challenges of EU rail integration in a Single European Rail Area

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate critically the constructivist-grounded theory in elite interviews, the methodology used for this research. Design/methodology/approach – The research is about the challenges of the EU rail industry integration in the context of EU integration as seen and told by the involved actors. In particular, the integration process requires leadership in the multi-level governance context of the EU and in the transition from state monopolies to businesses providing services on the integrated market. This provides a potential source of theoretically and practically relevant research questions; and second rigorous grounded research methodologies will bring insight that transcends the currently accepted formal and public statements about the phenomena. The work is situated within social constructivist ontology, enacted through a rigorous grounded theory approach to understanding the current challenges of the industry and seeking more effective developments for the futu...

From London to Beijing: Training and Development as an Agent of Policy Learning in Public Management

The education and training of international public managers is a powerful mechanism for policy learning and transfer. In a way similar to the globalization of MBA studies, which has contributed to the international diffusion of Western derived management concepts, a number of countries are investing in overseas training programs for their public servants to bring back international “know how” and good practice. Although this practice has been coterminous with the expansion of relatively easier and affordable international travel, policy learning activity in the area of administrative reform appears to have intensified. Though largely undocumented, the UK has witnessed a sharp increase in the number of cohorts of Chinese civil servants arriving to enroll in short courses. Many of these courses are conducted outside the University system and are arranged and hosted by independent organizations. Despite this being a growth industry, the impacts are unclear and raise a number of questions, such as, what is being learned about UK public administration and how much of it is being transferred back to China? What is it about UK public administration that has particular appeal to China? Although training and development may have a multiple agenda, the assumption is that its primary purpose is to facilitate knowledge transfer. This article sets out to understand whether this recent trend constitutes an agent of international policy transfer between Britain and China. To do this, the article analyses the nature of policy learning from the UK within a cohort of senior Chinese public servants.

Symposium edition: Public sector reform in Central Asia

The reform of the public sector is in any country the hostage to overriding forces associated with the character of governance (the balancing of government, the marketplace, and civil society), the role of the state (as provider, as contract manager, as regulator, or facilitator and empowerer) and the nature of society in general (its political, ideological, economic, and socio-cultural values) (Dixon, 2003; Dixon et al., 2006). The public sector reform project in Central Asia—comprising the five former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—shows how government’s rhetorical interest in market reform (to reduce the size and cost of the public sector) and administrative reform (to improve the costefficiency and cost-effectiveness of the management of public resources and thus the provision of public services; and to make national civil services and decentralized regional and local administrative structures more responsive to the needs of, and accountable to, citizens) are sometimes contradicted by its actions. The market reform rhetoric has been followed, to varying degrees in each of the republics, by the initiation of the systemic changes thought to be needed to establish a market framework, to begin the process of global economic integration, and to address the challenge of exploiting more effectively their natural resource endowments. These systemic changes have included deregulation, marketization, contracting out, public-private partnerships, and privatization initiatives. The market reforms, however, have not always given rise to the desired market-reform outcomes (Gurgen, 1999; Pomfret, 2006).