Managing the Welfare State

A comprehensive account of the major changes which have occurred in British public sector management over the last decade. Relates these changes to the international arena particularly in the European community and the United States. Under Margaret Thatcher, the Conservatives promised to change everything. Public sector management was transformed in the 1980s by the wholesale importation of private sector management techniques, in response to a new concern with efficiency and the...
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A comprehensive account of the major changes which have occurred in British public sector management over the last decade. Relates these changes to the international arena particularly in the European community and the United States. Under Margaret Thatcher, the Conservatives promised to change everything. Public sector management was transformed in the 1980s by the wholesale importation of private sector management techniques, in response to a new concern with efficiency and the proper allocation of resources. As the economic miracle of the 1980s fades into memory, the resulting economic and social disaster - and the failure of public sector management - is hard to ignore. Where did the Conservatives go wrong, and what can be done? Managing the Welfare State differs from other books on public sector management in its sharply political and intellectual approach. It is a fiercely argued root and branch critique of new public sector techniques, and vigorously opposes the agenda of reform which in their view has even been assimilated by Labour and continues to inform British social policy to the present. SECOND EDITION Despite the fact that a new Labour Government seems securely in place, the future of public sector management remains very much open to question - perhaps more than ever before. As private sector management theory and market principles rule public administration and the economic miracle of the 1980s becomes a faint memory, what is the future of the British welfare state? This book differs from other books on public sector management in its sharply political and intellectual approach. It is a fiercely argued root-and-branch critique of new public-sector techniques that vigorously opposes the agenda of change management which in the authors' view has been assimilated by Labour and continues to inform British social policy to the present. Now available with a Sourcebook that brings together in an accessible form key extracts from central government documents, this thoroughly revised and updated edition of a bestselling text provides a comprehensive account of the major changes that have occurred in British public sector management over the last decade. The primary source materials reprinted here on the application of management to public sector social services are generally difficult to obtain or out of print and will serve as an invaluable resource for students.