Public Service Management

Mike Durke

What is it?

• What is management?• What images does the word conjure up for

you?• What are the differences and similarities

between management, administration and leadership?

• What kind of people become managers?

• Management = making things happen• About doing not theory• About changing behaviour, developing people

and working with them, reaching objectives and achieving results (Mullins; p190)

• Drucker (1979; p14) “Management is a task. Management is a discipline. But management is also people.”

Nature of management

• Science

• Art

• Magic

• Politics

• Learnt knowledge and application

• Born with intuition and personality

• No-one knows what’s going on

• Unwritten laws of life, good at winning the game

Watson TJ (1986)

Management

• “Management is the process of achieving organisational objectives within a changing environment, by balancing efficiency, effectiveness and equity, obtaining the most from limited resources, and working with and through other people.”

Naylor J (2004) Management 2nd Edition. Financial Times, Pitman Publishing

Management

• A fundamental difficulty is that individual and organisational objectives differ

Drummond (2000) Introduction to Organisational Behaviour. OUP.

• “Management is not homogenous. It takes place in different ways and at different levels of the organisation.”

Mullins (2005; p196)

Management and Administration

• Terms do overlap but management tends to be seen as a general descriptive label and administration as the implementation of systems and procedures instigated by management

• “Management is viewed as applying to both private and public sector organisations; and administration is interpreted as part of the management process.” Mullins (2005; p194)

Management

• “Management is the process of achieving organisational objectives, within a changing environment , by balancing efficiency, effectiveness and equity, obtaining the most from limited resources, and working with and through other people.”Naylor J (2004) Management, 2nd edition. Financial Times Pitman Publishing; p7

Management

• A fundamental difficulty is that individual and organisational objectives differ Drummond (2000) Intro to Organisational Behaviour. OUP.

• “Management is not homogenous. It takes place in different ways and at different levels of the organisation.”Mullins (2005; p196)

Principles of Management

• Henri Fayol’s definition of management:“To forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control.”

• 5 Elements: Plan, Organise, Command, Co-ordinate, Control

Fayol’s Principles of Management

14 of them:1. Division of work – more work same effort2. Authority and responsibility – positions of authority come with

responsibility3. Discipline – order with penalties4. Unity of command – one line manager, otherwise authority is undermined

and discipline, order and stability threatened.5. Unity of direction – one head, one plan for any group of activities with the

same objective6. Subordination of individual interest to general interest – the organisation

comes first

Fayol’s Principles of Management

7. Remuneration of personnel – keep employer and employee happy where possible.

8. Centralisation – always present. Question of proportion9. Scalar chain – chair of superiors, line management system10. Order – material order avoids loss (stock control, inventories), social

order puts all staff in a specific place11. Equity – fairness and equality at all levels12. Stability of tenure of personnel – good support, efficient HRM13. Initiative – source of strength for the organisation but must keep respect

for authority and discipline14. Esprit de corps – harmony and unity, morale, goodwill

10 ‘New’ PrinciplesMoorcroft R (2000) Managing in the 21st Century. The British Journal of Administrative

Management. January/ February. P 10

1 Manage information through people2 Change is constant3 Technology is the future4 Relationships matter5 Investment in training and development is important6 Measure only against the best7 The market is global8 Unity of direction is important9 Equity is expected10 Initiative is important

The Nature of Leadership

• Vroom RH and Deci EL (1992) Management and Motivation. Penguin

Marked difference between 2 apparently matched employees – Why?

Competence not enough to ensure high performance – Motivation is needed.

The Nature of Leadership

• Leadership is a relationship through which one person influences another

• Interpersonal influence directed towards outer world goals (Mullins)

• Leaders and managers are very different – in motivation and personal history and in the way they think and act. (Zaleznik 1977 Managers and Leaders … Harvard Bus Rev)

The Nature of Leadership• Administrators – carry out policies. Not influential, but

concerned with implementation• Managers – concerned primarily with efficiency and

doing things the right way. They design systems. Seek changes when there is overwhelming evidence that things are not working

• Leaders are primarily concerned with doing the right things. They clarify vision, purpose and direction. Creative and receptive to change.

Doherty & Horne (2002; p206) Managing Public Services. Routledge

The Nature of Leadership7 Eras of Leadership1. Personality – implies they are born not made2. Influence – power to dominate others3. Behavioural – patterns. Consideration (trust, respect

and rapport) and structures.4. Contingency – situational factors5. Transactional – between leader and subordinates6. Cultural – symbolic - performance of little

consequence7. Transformational – proactive, radical, new ideas