New Public Management in the UK

New Public Management in the UK This chapter is devoted to the New Public Management (NPM) aspects regarding the UK perspectives. It begins with the meaning and the origin of the NPM. Some discussions are raised whether it is a conceptual thought or a practical application of management in public service. Then, it draws the line of NPM development along the UK history since the public administration had been emerged. Four main trends of public management are investigated from the related literatures to provide the succinctly picture of the UKs public service organisations reform and changes. One way to understand how NPM has been developed is to understand its nature. The attributes and models of NPM therefore are identified and categorised into main groups. This is to show how NPM has been reformulating and re-labelling in different ways from time to time. Later in this chapter, The Pendulum analogy is introduced to analyse the changes and the trend of NPM. It goes to the question whether there is a Pendulum analogy of NPM in the UK or not. What is NPM? Sometimes the new public management seems like an empty canvas; you can paint on it whatever you like. There is no clear or agreed definition of what the new public management actually is and not only is there controversy about what is, or what is in the process of becoming, but also what ought to be. (Ferlie et al., 1996:10) The term New Public Management (NPM) is used internationally in academic, governmental and organisational discussions, but it is rarely defined. It began life as a conceptual device invented for purposes of structuring scholarly discussion of contemporary changes in the organization and management of executive government In the decade after entering the literature, NPM acquired a wider range of meanings. For instance, some scholars have asserted that NPM is the application of new institutional economics to public management, many scholars have used this term in referring to a pattern of policy choices. This variation in usage means NPM is more a recognizable term than a fully established concept. (McLaughlin et al., 2002:15) Britain is very much on the crest of the NPM wave, as successive governments have sought not only to cut public expenditure and redraw the boundaries of the state but also to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of public services(Horton and Farnham, 1999:55) Origin and Definition Hood (1991:5) argues that NPM is originated from two different streams of ideas. First idea is The new institutional economics movement which have a set of new administrative style such as contestability, user choice and transparency. Second is Managerialism style which is drawn from scientific management mindset. Horton, S. Farnham, D. (1999) argue that by 1997 all public services had been affected by the adoption by successive conservative governments of neo-liberal or New Right ideas and all had been managerialised. The service were discussed as new, because they had been shifting from traditional bureaucratic administrative to managed public business. The reform of public services had been internalised and it was possible to describe as New Public Management as the norm. Concept or Application The Development of NPM in the UK Early Public Administration Earlier systems of administration began when there was an empire and its government. It most controlled from the centre based on personal that is the loyalty to individual such as a king or a minister rather than impersonal that is based on the organisation or the state. The common system inherited in this system is patronage and nepotism. The only way that young man can be employed by the government was to be supported by relative or family in a position. And there is no guarantee in the quality or competent in this so called spoiled system. (Hughes, 2003:18) The Traditional Public Administration Administrative systems traditionally dominated public organisations because historically the public services emerged as administrative bodies, supporting political policy makers and law makers and ensuring that the law was implemented. The civil service is still dominated by an elite whose perception of their roles is that of policy advisers to ministers and guardians of the public interest rather than managers. The administrative culture is also a consequence of traditional systems of public accountability (Horton and Farnham, 1999:38) Hughes (2003) states that the public administration was once a major movement in public sector reform established between 1900 and 1920. He characterized this tradition model as an administration under the control of political leadership, based on a strictly hierarchical model of bureaucracy (p.2) According to his work, the most influence theorists who contribute the success idea of public administration are Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber and Frederick Taylor. Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), the key activist and the professor at Princeton, argued that there should be a distinctive separation between politics and the administration. He proposed this idea many years before becoming the president of the United States. Max Weber (1864-1920), the German sociologist and political economist, formulated the theory of bureaucracy which set out the principles form of modern system of bureaucracy as the impersonal system based on rules and law, hierarchy structure organisation, bureaucratic professional public official, specialised office management, recruited and appointed by merit and politically neutral. Frederick Taylor (1856-1915), an American engineer was recognised as the father of scientific management devoted to improve standard of factory assembly line but fit very well with the theory of bureaucracy. He created theory of one best way of working and systematic control. (Hughes, 2003:20-27) The nature of administrative official work in most public organisations is defined as bureaucratic, incrementalist and particularist. The characterisation of bureaucratic management is hierarchy, impersonality and expertise. They concluded that Those in managerial positions have clearly defined roles within a specialised, hierarchical and horizontal division of labour. Their responsibility are narrowly defined and circumscribed by rules, and officials have limited discretion. (Horton and Farnham, 1999:39) Public administration was successfully established and has its golden age around 1920- to the early 1970s. During 1945-1979, it is known as The welfare state which has developed during the immediate post-war period that needs the reconstruction. There was rationing of industrial and building materials and planning in the economy, in land use and in public service. (Flynn, 2002:30) However, later it was found that the hierarchical structured have four major problems: First, political control was inadequate and illogical because politics cannot be separated from the administrations. Second, the problem of one base way begin to focus more on procedure and manual rather than contingency plan and problem solving, this is appeared as no responsibility for results. Third, the problems of bureaucracy were raised such as the administration work as timeserver waiting for retirement day, the formal bureaucratic offices were no longer efficient when compare with the private management company.(Hughes, 2003:30-37) In summary, the tradition model of public administration was the longest and most successful theory of management in the public sector before it had been replaced by the New Public Management Style. The Managerialism Since the early 1980s, there have been three main managerialist thrusts in the public services, although there have been variations within each service. First, there was tighter control of spending, involving cash limits and manpower budgets, and cuts in spending on staff. Second, there was a movement to decentralise managerial responsibilities and functions through more devolved budgetary systems and giving more responsibility to line managers, Third, management has become more rational with the introduction of management by objectives and performance management systems, including use of performance indicators and merit pay.(Horton and Farnham, 1999:42-43) The shift from particularist management to generic management in the public services is demonstrated by four key changes: first, public management is increasingly dominated by general managers, rather than specialist managers or professionalssecond, it is more objective-driven, rather than problem-driven; third, managers are now prepared to facilitate change, rather than resist it; and, fourth, managers behave as if the public are their main concern, rather than their staff.(Horton and Farnham, 1999:43) The New Public Management The emergence of new public management era has been developed from the scientific management and corresponding with the managerialism initiative. The good way to describe the NPM development is to do by chronological order according with the political development as well established by Norman Flynn (2002). 1979-1997, The New Right Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher and John Major toward the public services hired advisers form business, especially retailing companies to help them to think about how public services should be managed. The solutions included internal market, competition with the private sector, performance measure and management, decentralized operational management and revised payment system.(Flynn, 2002:36) 1997-2007 the Blair government announce the new third way represented a new type of politics, leaving behind old definition of left and right, capitalism and communism but the two great streams- democratic socialism and liberalism. A new generation of public reform was labelled as join-up government and later know as whole-of-government. This model was first introduced by Blairs government that its strategy is focus more on holistic rather than only economics approach. It aimed to make better use of scarce resources, create collaboration between different departments in the same area and provide one stop service to citizen. Due to the threat of terrorism had arisen that time, shared information between public agencies is became the key issue. It cut across traditional boundaries by create coordinative structure. It was claimed as Post-NPM model and critiqued the previous NPM that ignore the problem of horizontal structure. (Flynn, 2002, Christensen and Lagreid, 2007) 2007-2010, The Brown ministry ( latest ref needed) The NPM Attributes and Models It is essential to identify key elements of NPM in order to see whether it can be categorising and groping those attributes and model to formulate the trend or movement. The following part of this chapter then consults with the previous literatures and related studies to gather all information and later on proposed the major trend of the NPM pathway. NPM Attributes Hood (1991:4-5) discussed the doctrines of NPM which characterized to 7 components as follow: Using professional management who is full accountability and responsibility rather the power Explicit standards and measures of performance in terms of target, quantities Focus on output and outcome rather than procedures Shift to disaggregation of units in which separate provision and production interests to divided units. Create greater competition, use term contract to make competitive cost and higher standard Do more on business-like management style implemented in the public service culture Cutting costs and careful on budgeting with the idea of doing more for less He critiques that to identify success of NPM should be assess by the output to be delivered on what its claim. But the result so far has not a substantial work to be proved. NPM Models According to Ferlie et al. (1996:10-15), four new public management models have been introduced: Model 1: The Efficiency Drive, early to mid-1980s in Thatcher government initiated this model and the core themes are: An increased attention to financial control A strong managerial by hierarchy, a command and control mode of working An extension of audit both financial and professional, bench-marking, assessing performance Increased stress on provider responsiveness to consumers. More market-minded and customer oriented. Deregulation of the labour-market and increasing the pace of work: short-term contract; higher turnover at senior management level A shift in power from professionals to management Less bureaucratic and more entrepreneurial management New forms of corporate governance Model 2: Downsizing and Decentralization Developed quasi-market as the mechanism for allocating resources whining the public sector A move from management by hierarchy to management by contract. Contracting out of non-strategic function Delayering and downsizing, moves to flatter organizational structures, staff reduction move from command and control to networking and coordination Move away from standardized forms of service to more flexibility and variety. Model 3: In Search of Excellence, there is strong interest in how organizations manage change and innovation. In the bottom-up form: emphasis on organization development and learning; the learning organization movement of the late 1980s represents the latest relabeling of this tradition. In the top-down form: stress on charismatic forms of top-down leadership, more intensive corporate training programmes and strategic human resource management function. Model 4: Public Service Orientation receives notions of high quality management A major concern with service quality Reflection of user concerns and values in the management process Stress on the development of societal learning over and above the delivery of routine service Stress on securing participation and accountability as legitimate concerns of management in the public sector. Centralization: joint- up government, whole-of Government, reaggregation, In the 1990s the UK public services had experienced significant changes in what government expected of them and the way they were organised. The conservative government prior to 1997 had followed a policy of trying to achieve greater efficiency and service through market forces, setting up structures within public services to promote competition. With the election of the Labour government in 1997 this policy changed. Rather than emphasising competition, the emphasis switched to co-operation and what became known as Join-up government. Different services should work together to make them more accessible to their communities and improve quality. It was a theme with which Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, became personally identified.(Johnson and Scholes, 2002:572) Decentralization: Privatization, Agencification, Marketization, Disaggregation It [Privatisation] has taken three main forms: the selling-off government assets, the increased private-sector role within the public sector, and commercialisation of the public sectorFirst, the selling-off of government assets involves the transfer of ownership form the public to the private sector. Since 1979, more than 60 nationalised industries an state companies have been privatised, local authorities have sold land and other assets, Second, the increased private-sector role within the public sector involves private businesses and voluntary organisations providing public services still under government control government bodies have increasingly contracted-out service provision to private contractors; and central government has appointed many business people on to the boards of quangos that are responsible for providing public services. Third, commercialisation of the public sector requires public sector bodies to imitate allegedly more efficient private sector bodies in the way they manage themselves. For example, government bodies have levied more charges on consumers of their services; performance management has been increasingly entrenched in the public sector; and government reforms of public services have often asserted the right to manage with public managers being given more freedom locally to deploy resources in pursuit of centrally set policy goals. (Horton and Farnham, 1999:53) The Pendulum of Public Sector Management The Analogy of Pendulum The NPM Pendulum in the UK The major attempt is to reduce size of the public sector. By 1997, more than 90 public enterprises had been sold to private sector. This included both selling of public enterprise to private shareholders and introducing competition in to the remaining public sector into the supply of services of private sector. Privatization had the further advantage of raising additional revenue from the sale of state assets, thus avoiding increases in general taxation to fund government spending. (Horton and Farnham, 1999:12)

Price Analysis in Various Situations

Price analysis is a price comparison of a proposed price without analyzing any of the separate cost of elements that it’s composed of. With any purchase some type of cost analysis is completed in order to receive the best price possible. This paper will discuss which method for performing price analysis is best in the widest variety of situations. The policy of the government is to contract for its products and services at fair and reasonable prices. With that, many factors are taken into account when determining fair and reasonable prices and how the government determines fair and reasonable pricing. There are five means identified to determine fair and reasonable pricing: competitive offers, established catalog prices, established market prices, established by law and regulation, and cost based prices. Fair and reasonable price is what the government is willing to pay for products and services in competitive market conditions given reasonable knowledge of the marketplace. When the government acquires various products and services it must forecast the products and services in its budget and be able to convince the reviewing authorities the the forecast is reasonable. When forecasting the likely price of acquisition evaluation of bids, proposals, and quotations has to be completed. Then, the bidder or offeror for the reward must be selected and then the preparation for price discussion in negotiation. Given the opportunity to use any method of price analysis for the duration of my career, I would choose comparison of competitive bids. With this method three or more suppliers for the price of the same product are selected in order to determine if a particular price is reasonable. However, it’s not the best idea to go solely on the lowest bid without knowing full details into how that figure came about. Cheaper is not always the best value. Instead of comparing the lowest price, compare the total cost of acquisition. This includes variable cost, fixed cost, and semi-variable cost. When all these items are discussed a fair and reasonable price is at hand. If taking the lowest price is the key then there would be no value if what is purchased is unknown. In all, Price analysis is a price comparison of a proposed price without analyzing any of the separate cost of elements that it’s composed. Given the opportunity to choose the method of price analysis, I would choose comparison of competitive bids because it allows multiple offers to be compared and other factors of discussion in negotiaton of priceing.

Preparing to Conduct Business Research Essay

Preparing to Conduct Business Research Part Three In the business world today, management must know how to conduct business research for their organization to stay competitive. Organizations that stay competitive are those who have the knowledge to conduct business research and/or surround themselves with management that has the knowledge to do so. Knowing the right question to ask and how to get the answer is significant to reaching the organization’s goal. Problem and Purpose The key to staying competitive is communication. One must clearly be able to identify the problem and the purpose of each program one is ready to implement either to improve or reach the businesses’ destination. For example, at Valley, the problem is that majority of the production standards are incorrect and not up to date, which causes the production to be inefficient. For instance, if the standard says twelve hitches an hour and the operator can only make ten hitches an hour, the efficiency is out the door. On the other hand, if a program was implemented and discovered that the standard is ten hitches an hour, the efficiency is good. The purpose of implementing the program is to find the root-cause, improve the process, and update the new data into the system. Without a clear thought and view of the situation, one will likely end up wasting valuable time and money. In short, if a business wants to be successful, a business must know the bottleneck and the resolution of implementing the program. The Significance of finding a Solution to the issue, problem, and opportunity. The significance of finding a solution to the issue, problem, or opportunity is to improve the production line and stay in business. For example, at Valley, without the implementation of the program to improve and correct the standard pieces an hour, it does not matter how hard the employees work, management will see the employees as not performing to the  organization’s expectation. Thus, the employees will be reprimanded. By implementing the program, Steve and his team discovered new process of expediting production line and correcting the standard on pieces an hour, which it improves the efficiency. It is vital that data collected are input into the system for the system to have accurate reading on the performance of the employees. Without the solution to the problem, the results will not be in management’s favor. Thus, the inefficiency will show upper-management that the organization is not profitable. Research Questions, Hypothesis, and Variables In every experiment or study, there are questions, hypotheses, and variables one must take into consideration. For instance, questions, such as why are implementing this program, is this program appropriate for this experiment or study or how are we going to improve our goals. As mentioned early on preparing to conduct business research part one, Steve and his team made several hypotheses such as, if the team put an experienced employee to run the robot will the robot produce more products or if the team expedites the welding speed will that improve production, and still have the same weld penetration on the parts. Hypotheses such as these will eventually lead to the goal. Variables as mentioned early in the first essay, when an experienced employee ran the robot, we produced more products compared to an entry-level employee or the speed of the employee; the employee has to keep up with the robot in order to produce more parts. Variables such as these also need to be considered as well. Research Design Knowing the proper research design for his or her business is another element to consider when one wants to implement a program to either solve the issues, problems, or just to improve the opportunity. There are several research designs that can help solve the issue, problem or improve the opportunity. Before such a program can be implemented, one must know the business financial state and which program is appropriate to meet the goals. As noted on the second preparing to conduct business research essay, at Valley, Steve and his team used the exploratory study for two reasons. First reason was by using the exploratory study Steve and his team will discover other ways to improve or improvise the process of producing a part. The second reason is the most important reason it save time and money. Steve and his team could have chosen Causal Study, but it would have been inefficient, as the causal method would only solve one problem at a time. Instrument Developed or Selected There is an old saying, â€Å"There is more than one way to skin a cat;† in other words, there is more than one instrument that can be used to accomplish a goal. One can either use an instrument that has already by developed or develop a new one. It is always good to challenge the status quo to develop new concepts and think outside the box. A creative management is one who will likely be more successful than one who is not. As noted by Golicic and Davis, (2011) â€Å"Using multiple methods to study a phenomenon is proposed to produce results that are more robust and compelling than single method studies.† The data instrument Steve and his team used at Valley was communication. Steve and his team first interview the operators; they asked the number of years the operators have been operating the machines, their skillset, their ability to multi-task, their machine troubleshooting knowledge, and how parts were documented: hourly or by shift. After collecting the data, Steve and his team started conducting time studies for each operation. By collecting data and conducting time studies, Steve and his team not only resolved a problem, but they also improved the existing manufacturing process. Sampling Method Every management has his or her way of doing sampling. It depends on what a management wants to accomplish. At Valley, Steve and his team conducted the sampling by doing time studies on cycle time for each operation and on each employee. Since it is an ongoing process, every time a new work order appears, Steve and his team would have to conduct the sampling. Steve and his team sampling method were not that difficult because they can control the environment and the atmosphere. Steve and his team starting with the entry-level employee and work their way to the senior-level employee. Different management has different style of doing sampling. Overall data analysis approach There are many ways a management can approach a data analysis. One can process by monitoring or surveying. At Valley, Steve and his team approached by monitoring and surveying. At first, Steve and his team monitor each employee’s performance such as how the employee would run the machine or robot and compare it to other employees. By monitoring the employees’ performance, Steve and his team managed to find the most effective way of operating the machine or robot. After monitoring, Steve and his team survey the employees by conducting interviews and communication. In doing so, in some area where the standard varies, Steve and his team can come to an agreement of a median standard for that particular work order and process. Result Reporting A management can use any research design or approaches on data analysis to discover or reach the goal. The important factor in using the program is the results. In the end, the upper-management would want a final report on the results. Questions and concerns have to be answered if results are not in upper-management’s expectations. By reporting the results, upper-management will be able to make their decision whether to proceed with the program or if it is just a waste of time. In other words, did upper-management get their money’s worth? Another factor in reporting the results is that upper-management now will have a better understanding of the organization’s culture, tradition, and goals. Ethical considerations Ethics in the workplace is very important. Ethics has many meanings; to some people, ethics can mean doing something that is appropriate and legal. On the other hand, to others, ethics can mean whatever it takes to get the job done. In our experiences, poor management wants the results to be in their favor; they would even resort to research data manipulation to reflect their agenda positively. In the end, management gets the results that they wanted, but lose a few hard working dedicated employees who value ethics. On the other hand, a good management cares for their employees’ safety and well being. They have employees who do what is right and legal. In an article from the Trade Journal, the author stated, â€Å"A recent International  Study by Walker Information and the Hudson Institute found that 55 percent of workers who describe their workplace environment as ethical are more likely to be loyal and stay with the same organization† (Sherren, 2005). For companies who care about, respect, and recognize their employees’ hard work, are rewarded with employees who are very loyal to the organization and work even hard to see that the organization succeeds. There are companies in Asia who value and maintain an ethical workplace culture that have employees work their entire careers under the same organization and have family members working alongside them. This is an example of a great company-employee relationship that emphasizes trust and ethics that transcends numbers, and profit margins, and have thus become symbiotic in nature; turning a traditional work environment into a more familial culture. Conclusion There are many kinds of management in the business world; some emphasize one business culture over the other. Whatever the case may be; there is one ruling goal in business, and that is to make the most profits by any means necessary. Businesses that are successful are the ones that have knowledge of conducting business research methods and know what questions to ask, who to ask and where to get the answers. It is also important that business who conduct business research to consider the long-term ramifications and possible unintended consequences that their decision will have on their employees, stockholders, clients and the society as a whole. When conducting a business research, it is important to consider the problem and the research purpose, the significance of the research and the different opportunities it would bring. A researcher should also take into account the research method, the hypotheses, the variables, and the ethical considerations that their data analysis will bring the company, not because it is legal, but because it is simply the right thing to do. References Cooper, D.R., & Schindler, P.S. (2011). Business Research Methods (11th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Golicic, S. L., & Davis,, D. F. (2011, June). Benefits and challenges of conducting multiple methods research in marketing. Academy of Marketing Science. Journal39.3, Vol. 39, Issue 3(), p. 467-479. Sherren, J. (2005, June). Ethics in the workplace. Trade Journals, Vol. 8, Issue 4 2p.p.4-5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/230359334?accountid=458

How to Study for Fill in the Blank Tests

Of all the test question  types, fill-in questions may be the most feared. But this type of question doesnt have to give you an immediate brain drain. There is an effective strategy for preparing for this type of test question. In most cases, the best tool for test preparation is great class notes. When you take good notes from your teachers lecture, you usually have about 85% of the material youll need to prepare for any type of test,  right on hand. Most teachers create tests straight from their lecture notes. When preparing for a fill-in test, your class notes are even more important than ever. If you have been able to record your teachers notes word for word, you may have some fill-in phrases for the test right in front of you already. If youre preparing for a fill-in-the-blank test right now, pull out those class notes and try one of these two study strategies. Strategy 1: Leave Out a Word The great thing about this method is that it actually prepares you for all types of questions. Youll find that this method makes it easy to answer most any essay question, as well as the fill-ins. Read over your class notes and underline new terms, important dates, noteworthy phrases, and the names of key people.Put parentheses around the sentence that contains your key word or phrase.Copy each sentence onto a clean sheet of paper, leaving out the key word or phrase.Leave a blank space where they key word or phrase should go.At the bottom of the paper  containing your sentence (or on a separate page), make a list of the key words and phrases. This will serve as your key.Read over your sentences and attempt to fill in the blanks with correct answers in very light pencil. Consult your notes when necessary.Erase your work and continue this process until you can answer all your fill-in questions with ease.For insurance, read through the relevant chapters in your text to find any words or phrases you didnt find in your notes.Go through the same process of copying sentences and filling in the answers until they all come easily. Strategy 2: Dry Erase Practice Test You can create your own reusable practice test by using the following steps. Make a photocopy of your class notes or textbook pages.White out key words, dates, and definitions.Slip the new page with blank spaces into a plastic sheet protector.Use a dry erase pen to fill in answers. You can easily wipe away your answers to practice again and again.