What Challenges Does the Traditional Public Administration Encounter in a Changing Public Sector Environment
WHAT CHALLENGES DOES THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ENCOUNTER IN A CHANGING PUBLIC SECTOR ENVIRONMENT
The traditional model of public administration (TPA) remains the longest standing and most successful theory of management in the public sector which pre-dominated for most of the 20th century. The TPA can be characterized as an administration under the formal control of the political leadership which was based on a strictly hierarchical model of bureaucracy, staffed by permanent, neutral and anonymous officials, motivated only by the public interest, serving any governing party equally, and not contributing to policy but merely administering those policies decided by the politicians. Its theoretical foundations were mainly derived from Woodrow Wilson and Frederick Taylor in the United States, Max Weber in Germany, and the Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854 in the United Kingdom. It is now being replaced by the New Public Management (NPM) due to the fact that the traditional model has been discredited theoretically and practically. The adoption of new forms of NPM means the emergence of a new paradigm in the public sector. This new paradigm poses a direct challenge to several of what had previously been regarded as fundamental principles of TPA. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the challenges that TPA encounters in a changing Public Sector environment. The discussion will focus on hierarchical structures, bureaucracy, political control, rigidity, one best way, meritocracy and technological change.
The term administration is narrower and has a more limited function than that of management and in consequence, changing from public administration to public management means a major change of theory and of function. According to Hughes (2003:6), “public administration is an activity serving the public, and public servants carry out policies derived from politicians.” The Oxford dictionary defines administration as, “an act or process of organising
The traditional model of public administration (TPA) remains the longest standing and most successful theory of management in the public sector which pre-dominated for most of the 20th century. The TPA can be characterized as an administration under the formal control of the political leadership which was based on a strictly hierarchical model of bureaucracy, staffed by permanent, neutral and anonymous officials, motivated only by the public interest, serving any governing party equally, and not contributing to policy but merely administering those policies decided by the politicians. Its theoretical foundations were mainly derived from Woodrow Wilson and Frederick Taylor in the United States, Max Weber in Germany, and the Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854 in the United Kingdom. It is now being replaced by the New Public Management (NPM) due to the fact that the traditional model has been discredited theoretically and practically. The adoption of new forms of NPM means the emergence of a new paradigm in the public sector. This new paradigm poses a direct challenge to several of what had previously been regarded as fundamental principles of TPA. The aim of this presentation is to discuss the challenges that TPA encounters in a changing Public Sector environment. The discussion will focus on hierarchical structures, bureaucracy, political control, rigidity, one best way, meritocracy and technological change.
The term administration is narrower and has a more limited function than that of management and in consequence, changing from public administration to public management means a major change of theory and of function. According to Hughes (2003:6), “public administration is an activity serving the public, and public servants carry out policies derived from politicians.” The Oxford dictionary defines administration as, “an act or process of organising