Publication
Title
Janus-faced reorganization : specialization and coordination in four OECD countries in the period 1980-2005
Author
Abstract
It is believed that the New Public Management (NPM) doctrine resulted in a disaggregation and a suboptimal fragmentation of government in the 1980s and 1990s, which called for a re-strengthening of the coordination capacity through renewed hierarchy-type mechanisms, market-type mechanisms and network-type mechanisms. In order to assess the validity of this assumption, this article identifies the trajectory of specialization and coordination in four countries (New Zealand, United Kingdom, Sweden, France). The results support the assumption, although different trajectories are discernible. Also, the results point to the renewed emphasis on coordination based on hierarchy, along with markets and networks. Points for practitioners Specialization and integration both can have significant benefits for the functioning of the public sector, but excessive adherence to one or the other produces dysfunctions. There are a range of instruments available to managers for imposing coordination, but these must match the existing organizational cultures and the available resources. The issues of specialization and coordination refer to linkages within the policy cycle as well as the structure of government.
Language
English
Source (journal)
International review of administrative sciences. - Brussel
Publication
Brussel : 2007
ISSN
0020-8523
DOI
10.1177/0020852307081144
Volume/pages
73 :3 (2007) , p. 325-348
ISI
000250622700002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 26.03.2013
Last edited 02.02.2023
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