Publisher's Synopsis
The authors offer an integrated analysis of the wave of management reforms which have swept through so many countries in the last twenty years. The reform trajectories of ten countries are compared, and key differences of approach discussed. Unlike some previous works, this volume affords balanced coverage to the New Public Management (NPM) and the non-NPM or reluctant NPM countries, since it covers Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the UK and the USA. Unusually, it also includes a preliminary analysis of attempts to improve management within the European Commission.;The complex and often-avoided question of the results of reform is tackled head-on. A general model of the process of reform is proposed in which key factors influencing the scope, speed and depth of change are identified and related to structures and strategies. In the second half of the book the authors critically dissect the claims of public sector transformations.
