Public Management of the UK & Japan

This qualitative research study compares and contrasts New Public Management (NPM) of the United Kingdom (UK) with Japan, where NPM and the British Next Steps Initiatives (NSI) targeting public administration reform have been implemented. The research reveals that the UK has enjoyed greater though not universal success with NPM and that reform in Japan has been both less extensive and more difficult to achieve due to the unique cultural, economic and political structures of the nation. The literature suggests that NPM, though portable from one jurisdiction to another, must be modified to meet the needs of the local unit of governance.

The research reveals that Japan is continuing to struggle to achieve meaningful NPM transitions. The UK case is identified as also having failed to have achieved full realization of the NPM goals and objectives. Yet, the study does serve to demonstrate that NPM has the potential to move a public administration sector toward greater accountability, efficiency and transparency while also achieving a market orientation.

Overview of Public Administration and Its Governance Role

"Public Administration (PA)" is that assortment of activities undertaken by an established government via the public sector to ensure the delivery of public services, the making and enforcement of law, the collection and allocation of revenues and res

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tain first hand information on NPM. NPM in Theory and Practice Hood (1995, pp. 108 -109) described NPM as based in a body of doctrinal beliefs that had discredited Progressive Public Administration's answers to administrative what-to-do questions in government. From this perspective, NPM was advanced by the rhetoric of so-called "econocrats" and "consultocrats." The policy framework underpinning NPM is based upon a fairly complex set of theoretical ideas about organization and management emerging from economics as well as political science. Barzelay (2001, p.108) believes that NPM is best understood as a fairly comprehensive related set of processes and systems that seek, above all else, to reposition government in the context of markets, efficiency, and incentives that encourage efficiency. Romeo B. Ocampo stated that: New Public Management (NPM) is "shorthand for a group of administrative doctrines" in the reform agenda of several OECD countries starting in the 1970s. According to the OECD, "a new paradigm for public management" had emerged, with eight characteristic "trends" (listed below in modified order, to range from internal to external concerns): (1) strengthening steering functions at the center; (2) devolvi
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Dunleavy Hood, Examining NPM, Reform Council, Thatcher Polidano, Cabinet Office, Professor Ohsumi, Japan Subjects, NPM NSI, Management NPM, UK's NSI, public sector, public administration, public management, civil service, prime minister, barzelay 2001, npm nsi, private sector, pa reform, administrative reform, pp 1 --, public management npm, public administration reform, 1 -- 2, administrative reform council,
Approximate Word count = 9730
Approximate Pages = 39 (250 words per page)

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