Public management
Encyclopedia
Public management is a term that considers that government and non-profit administration resembles private-sector management in some important ways. As such, there are management tools appropriate in public and in private domains, tools that maximize efficiency and effectiveness
. This contrasts with the study of public administration
, which emphasizes the social and cultural drivers of government that many contend (e.g. Graham T. Allison
and Charles Goodsell
) make it different from the private sector.
Studying and teaching about public management are widely practiced in developed nations. Such credentials as the Master of Public Administration
degree offer training in decision making
relevant to the public good
using public infrastructure
.
The public manager will deal with critical infrastructure
that directly and obviously affects quality of life
. Trust in public managers, and the large sums spent at their behest, make them subject to many more conflict of interest
and ethics
guidelines in most nations.
Comparative public management, through government performance auditing
, examines the efficiency and effectiveness of two or more governments.
Effectiveness
Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression.-Etymology:...
. This contrasts with the study of public administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
, which emphasizes the social and cultural drivers of government that many contend (e.g. Graham T. Allison
Graham T. Allison
Graham Tillett Allison, Jr. is an American political scientist and professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He is renowned for his contribution in the late 1960s and early 1970s to the bureaucratic analysis of decision making, especially during times of crisis...
and Charles Goodsell
Charles Goodsell
Charles T. Goodsell is Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy. He is perhaps best known for his volume The Case for Bureaucracy, now in its 4th edition....
) make it different from the private sector.
Studying and teaching about public management are widely practiced in developed nations. Such credentials as the Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree offer training in decision making
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
relevant to the public good
Public good
In economics, a public good is a good that is non-rival and non-excludable. Non-rivalry means that consumption of the good by one individual does not reduce availability of the good for consumption by others; and non-excludability means that no one can be effectively excluded from using the good...
using public infrastructure
Infrastructural capital
Public capital is the aggregate body of government-owned assets that are used as the means for private productivity. Such assets span a wide range including: large components such as highways, airports, roads, transit systems, and railways; local, municipal components such as public education,...
.
The public manager will deal with critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure
Critical infrastructure is a term used by governments to describe assets that are essential for the functioning of a society and economy. Most commonly associated with the term are facilities for:*electricity generation, transmission and distribution;...
that directly and obviously affects quality of life
Quality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
. Trust in public managers, and the large sums spent at their behest, make them subject to many more conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
guidelines in most nations.
Organizations
Many entities study public management in particular, in various countries, including:- In the US, the American Society for Public AdministrationAmerican Society for Public AdministrationThe American Society for Public Administration is a membership association in the United States sponsoring conferences and providing professional services primarily to those who study the implementation of government policy, public administration, and, to a lesser degree, programs of civil society...
. - In Canada, the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, the Observatoire de l'Administation publique, and various projects of the Federation of Canadian MunicipalitiesFederation of Canadian MunicipalitiesThe Federation of Canadian Municipalities is a civic advocacy group representing many Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence debate and policy, as it is main national lobby group of mayors, councillors and other elected municipal...
and Infrastructure CanadaInfrastructure CanadaInfrastructure Canada is part of the Transport, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio of the Government of Canada. Established in August 2002, the organization was formerly associated with Treasury Board Secretariat, the Privy Council Office, Industry Canada, and Environment Canada... - In the UK, Warwick Business SchoolWarwick Business SchoolWarwick Business School, also known as WBS, was established in 1967 as the School of Industrial and Business Studies.It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD degree programmes,as well as non-degree executive education for individuals and companies....
, the London School of EconomicsLondon School of EconomicsThe London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, the UK local democracy projectUK local democracy projectThe UK local e-democracy national project is a best practice exchange among municipal governments. Arising out of a "national strategy for local e-government, the 22 National Projects offer councils proven, cost effective, standard products, services and implementation roadmaps with which to build...
and London Health Observatory. - In Australia, the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
- In France, the École nationale d'administrationÉcole nationale d'administrationThe École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...
and the IMPGT, Institute for Public Management and Territorial Governance in Aix-en-Provence, Aix-Marseille University. - In Germany, the Hertie School of GovernanceHertie School of GovernanceThe Hertie School of Governance is a private university in Berlin, in the historic Quartier 110 of Friedrichstraße. The school is regarded as one of the leading policy institutes in Europe...
, Germany's leading professional school for public policy. - In Switzerland, the IDHEAP (Institut des hautes études en administration publique).
- In Italy, the SDA Bocconi School of Management, the graduate business school of Bocconi UniversityBocconi UniversityBocconi University is a private university located in central Milan, beside Parco Ravizza. Bocconi provides undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate education, in addition to a range of double degree programs, in the fields of economics, management, finance and law. According to many university...
in Milan, Italy.
Comparative public management, through government performance auditing
Government performance auditing
Government performance auditing was developed in the late 1960s and shepherded by the United States Government Accountability Office, . Government performance auditing has since spread to most state governments and many closely managed local governments...
, examines the efficiency and effectiveness of two or more governments.
Academic resources
- International Journal of Public Sector Management, ISSN: 0951-3558, Emerald Group Publishing
- Public Management Review, ISSN: 1471-9045 (electronic) 1471-9037 (paper), RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
- Public Works Management & Policy, ISSN: 1552-7549 (electronic) 1087-724X (paper), SAGE PublicationsSAGE PublicationsSAGE is an independent academic publisher of books, journals, and electronic products in the humanities and social sciences and the scientific, technical, and medical fields. SAGE was founded in 1965 by George McCune and Sara Miller McCune. The company is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California,...