Articles
Innovation and Justification of New Public Management
2002 Volume 2 Pages 96-111
Details
2002 Volume 2 Pages 96-111
New Public Management (NPM) is derived from traditional policy science and evaluation theories, not only the application of business model to public sector. But the application of business model has brought us to an innovation of public sector reform. NPM has brought about a way to political rationality in order to make the decision-making rational. Individual performance measure stands for a specific value, so that settling performance targets (indicators) represent selecting values. NPM theory has led to a breakthrough to policy science.
In the relation to evaluation theories. evaluation itself is transforming from strict objective one (scientific evaluation) to participatory one (practical evaluation). The latter has made a way to utilize performance measurement system.
The core concept of NPM is composed of the two factors, (1) Strategic management. and (2) Performance measurement system. Strategic management is defined as management by strategic plan. that clarifies a strategic vision. and programs and tasks in order to make the strategic vision come true.
In this case, it is very important to have a common vision among concerned parties (persons). Individual performance target is a tool to realize the strategic vision and strategic goals. Innovation and justification are dependent on how to make the strategic Vision. Originally speaking. settling a strategic vision and strategic goals is the role of politicians in the leading nations of NPM, that is led by politics, what we call, politics-leading system. But in the most of nations or governments, politics-leading system often don’t work so well, because of the two reasons, (1) the malfunction of political system. and (2) ‘government failure’.
Nowadays, there has become more and more important to assure external public management for strategic planning and management. Settling as trategic vision and strategic goals is becoming more and more based not on political system but on citizen-input, partnership, collaboration one. In the Post-NPM. citizen are considered as the three categories as follows, First is customer. that is based on the narrow meaning of NPM. Second is stakeholder, third is sovereign. There are coming a new public governance and management system based on the three characterized citizen-input ways through the external management system.
