Performance Management, Quality Management and Contracts

Improving performance in public service organisations has been described as a ‘wicked problem’ since it is inherently complex, ambiguous and intractable (Jackson, 1998). A key characteristic of the Conservative years in office was to move the focus of public services from the traditional public administration model of organisation and accountability to a new managerialism most frequently described as the New Public Management (NPM) (Hood, 1991). This approach shifted the emphasis from the traditional concerns of political, bureaucratic and professional values to performance and quality service delivery, judged essentially from the perspective of the customer. This chapter explores the performance management and quality movement associated with the new managerialism and the developments most recently introduced by New Labour, with its claimed commitment to social democratic renewal and the participation of citizens as shapers of public services, rather than simply customers.