Corporate Governance Under 'New Public Management': An Exemplification

A key feature of the 'New Public Management' reforms has been the adoption, by public sector bodies, of modes of organisation and governance more usually associated with the private sector. This paper seeks to identify the general model of corporate governance prevailing in the private sector and reviews the extent to which its elements are paralleled in the public sector. It uses NHS trusts as exemplars to examine whether sufficient congruity exists between them to allow governance models created in the private sector to be applied to the public sector. If such a transfer is not appropriate, trusts would require tailor made governance models. It would also highlight the extent to which private sector techniques can be transferred to the public sector without modification. The conclusion is that the study of corporate governance in NHS trusts shows that the transplant of private sector culture, as reflected in modes of corporate governance, is not complete, necessary or possible.