New Public Management (NPM)
Associate Professor Amporn Tamronglak, Ph.D.
Faculty of Political Science
Thammasat University
New Public Administration (NPA)
vs. New Public Management (NPM)
Amporn Tamronglak ®
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
What is New Public Administration
(NPA)?
Amporn Tamronglak ®
 Minnowbrook Conference I, 1968 : from 3E’s to normative
theory of public administration
 3E’s and social equity, responsiveness and representation
 Minnowbrook Conference II, 1988
 Blacksburg Manifesto
 Normative theory
 Constitutional basis
 Neo-institutionalism: Public Administration
 Agential Leadership: second citizen
 Active citizen
 Authority and dialogue
 Etc.
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
New Public Management (NPM)
 Owen Hughes (1994, 2004)
 Christopher Pollitt
 Christopher Hood (1991)
 Gaebler and Osborne (1992)
 Jan –Erik Lane
 New Public Service by Denhardt and Denhardt
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Amporn Tamronglak ®
Administration vs. Management
 Administration , Oxford Dictionary:-
Amporn Tamronglak ®
 An act of administering, “to manage the affairs of ” or “to direct or
superintend the execution, use or conduct of ”
 Management: To conduct, to control the course of affairs by one’s own action, to
take charge of (Oxford Dictionary)
 The act or art of managing, the conducting or supervising of
something as a business, especially the executive function of planning,
organising, coordinating, directing, controlling and supervising any
industrial or business project or activity with responsibility for results
 Management comes form manus, meaning: to control by hand.
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Driving forces for change to NPM…1
Attack on the public sector: 3 points
I.
Amporn Tamronglak ®
The scale of the public sector, too large, consuming to
manage scarce resources
2. The scope of government, too many activities, leading to
private sector--privatization, such as contracting-out
3. The methods of government with bureaucracy, becoming a
highly unpopular form of social organization, leading to
market principle
1.
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Driving forces for change to NPM…2
Amporn Tamronglak ®
Change in economic theory in 1970s:
1. Public choice theory: the minimum role of government
and maximum role of market forces
2. Principal/agent theory in private sector: the clear
accountability of agent (manager) to principals
(shareholders) by the contract
II.
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Driving forces for change to NPM…3
 Globalization
 Competitiveness
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Amporn Tamronglak ®
NPM
Amporn Tamronglak ®
 Management defined by Hughes as the achievement of
results, while administration means following instructions
(Hughes, 1994, p. 60)
 Function of general management by Allision (1982)
1. Strategy: setting objectives and priorities and create
operational plans to achieve objectives
2. Managing internal components: organising and staffing,
directing personnel, controlling performance
3. Managing external constitutencies (external unite, agencies
from other branches or levels of government, interest
groups, and private enterprises, the press and public
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Hood (1991): 7 points in NPM
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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Amporn Tamronglak ®
Hands-on professional management
Implicit standards and measures fo performance
Emphasis on output controls
Disaggregation of units in the public sector
Greater competition
Private sector styles of management practices
Greater discipline and parsimony in resource use, cutting
direct costs, raising labor discipline, limiting compliance
costs to business:--doing more with less
Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Hughes (1994): 4 kinds of changes
Amporn Tamronglak ®
Focus on outputs
2. Changes to inputs: doing more with less, staff cuts,
performance indicators with stress on economy and
efficiency, short-term appointment, flexible budget, etc.
3. Reducing the scope of government: privatization,
contracting-out, tendering competition
4. Relationships with politicians and the public: managers are
now closer to the politicians, but the politicians have the
final say.
1.
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Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Criticisms on NPM
1.
Amporn Tamronglak ®
Problem of economic theory
 Citizens and clients, consumers: the differences between public
and private
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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Problem with measurement of results in public sector
Neo-Taylorism
Politicization
Reduce accountability: at arm’s length/indirect
accountability
Implementation problems in performance management
Unclear specification : no clear definition of NPM
Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University
Amporn Tamronglak ®
Thank you.