AJPA_Accepted+Paper.pdf (256.83 kB)
Public sector ‘Modernisation’: examining the impact of a change agenda on local government employees in England
journal contribution
posted on 2017-10-11, 12:50 authored by Russell J. Glennon, Ian HodgkinsonIan Hodgkinson, Jo Knowles, Zoe J. Radnor, Nicola BatemanCan public sector reform change service performance for the better? This is a hotly contested debate which carries significant theoretical and practical importance. In England, as in many countries, modernisation was at the heart of local government reform and represented an interpretation of New Public Management into a policy framework. This paper examines the role of the modernisation change agenda in England and what this has subsequently meant for ‘service improvement’. Drawing on both document analyses and qualitative interviews with local government employees, we find that while modernisation sought to establish continuous improvement, unintended consequences of modernisation have led to Staff Reductions, Skill Deficiencies, and Loss of a Competent Middle Core in local government, as well as performance outcomes creating an environment for Commissioning, Service Reduction, and Self-Policing. Implications for the lasting roles and behaviours of public managers affected by this national change agenda are discussed, and conclusions for theory and practice are drawn.
History
School
- Business and Economics
Department
- Business
Published in
Australian Journal of Public AdministrationVolume
77Issue
2Pages
203 - 221Citation
GLENNON, R.J. ... et al., 2018. Public sector ‘Modernisation’: examining the impact of a change agenda on local government employees in England. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 77(2), pp. 203-221.Publisher
Wiley © National Council of the Institute of Public Administration AustraliaVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Publisher statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: GLENNON, R.J. ... et al., 2018. Public sector ‘Modernisation’: examining the impact of a change agenda on local government employees in England. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 77(2), pp. 203-221, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12294. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Acceptance date
2017-10-05Publication date
2018-06-05ISSN
1467-8500Publisher version
Language
- en