Bureaucracy or Post-Bureaucracy? Public Sector Organisations in a Changing Context

Parker, Rachel; Bradley, Lisa

doi:10.1080/23276665.2004.10779293

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Whether this has really happened has been subject to much debate when national, regional and sectoral modes of regulation remain evident (Johnson, Wood, Brewster and Brookes, 2009;Vie, 2010). Audit culture is a prime example, representing the continuing influence of bureaucratic values and control, including taking time from 'normal work' without adding anything (Clarke, 2006;Parker and Bradley, 2004;Travers, 2007). Table 5 shows the descriptors used to assess the bureaucratic conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of factors associated with trends in narrowing health inequalities in England

Blackman

Wistow

Byrne

2011

Social Science & Medicine

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This study explores why progress with tackling health inequalities has varied among a group of local authority areas in England that were set targets to narrow important health outcomes compared to national averages. It focuses on premature deaths from cancers and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and whether the local authority gap for these outcomes narrowed. Survey and secondary data were used to create dichotomised conditions describing each area. For cancers, ten conditions were found to be associated with whether or not narrowing occurred: presence/absence of a working culture of individual commitment and champions; spending on cancer programmes; aspirational or comfortable/complacent organisational cultures; deprivation; crime; assessments of strategic partnership working, commissioning and the public health workforce; frequency of progress reviews; and performance rating of the local Primary Care Trust (PCT). For CVD, six conditions were associated with whether or not narrowing occurred: a PCT budget closer or further away from target; assessments of primary care services, smoking cessation services and local leadership; presence/absence of a few major programmes; and population turnover. The method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis was used to find configurations of these conditions with either the narrowing or not narrowing outcomes. Narrowing cancer gaps were associated with three configurations in which individual commitment and champions was a necessary condition, and not narrowing was associated with a group of conditions that had in common a high level of bureaucratic-type work. Narrowing CVD gaps were associated with three configurations in which a high assessment of either primary care or smoking cessation services was a necessary condition, and not narrowing was associated with two configurations that both included an absence of major programmes. The article considers substantive and theoretical arguments for these configurations being causal and as pointing to ways of improving progress with tackling health inequalities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of factors associated with trends in narrowing health inequalities in England

Blackman

Wistow

Byrne

2011

Social Science & Medicine

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“…Bureaucracy is presented as so thoroughly antiquated 'that to invoke its name is to be labelled at best nostalgic, and at worst, irrelevant' (ibid.). However, several researchers show how the values and practices of bureaucracy are as relevant today as ever before (Olsen 2017;Goodsell 2004;Parker and Bradley 2004;Peters 2003;Styhre 2007, Hodgson, 2004. Efforts to eradicate bureaucracy from the map of public administrations appear to have failed in many respects (Ibid.…”

Section: Bureaucratic Logicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In relation to projects, the logic of bureaucracy is often represented by 'permanent' or ordinary organizations, while the projects are viewed as 'temporary' organizations (Lundin and Söderholm 1995) or postbureaucratic organisations (see Styhre 2007;Parker and Bradley 2004). To organize in project form is described as a way to avoid 'all the classic problems of bureaucracy' (Packendorff and Lindgren 2014, 7).…”

Section: Bureaucratic Logicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local government projectification in practice – a multiple institutional logic perspective

Fred

2019

Local Government Studies

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During the last couple of decades, we have witnessed a proliferation of the project as an organizational solution in sectors as diverse as IT, housing, social services, education and culture. Despite a growing interest in the phenomenon, we know surprisingly little of how processes of public sector projectification unfold in practice, especially at local government level. This article uses an institutional logic perspective to illustrate and argue that public sector projectification can be understood and conceptualized as the enactment of multiple, co-existing institutional logics, but where one particular logic is of growing importancethe project logic. It is argued that even though the project form is often perceived as more flexible than that of the bureaucracy, the practical outcome seldom represents a radical break with traditional, bureaucratic management models. Rather, it appears to aid a rediscovery and reuse of central bureaucratic practices and procedures such as reporting, documentation and standardization.

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“…They include partnerships, empowerment, restructuring, re-engineering, information technology, and continuous learning. Very different from the characteristics of bureaucracy that is delivered by Weber, these traits will culminate in public service values (Kernaghan, 2000;Parker & Bradley, 2004;Budd, 2007). Never the less Presthus (1961) assume the concept of bureaucratic Weber who make assumptions about human motivation is not necessarily matched by a non-western.…”

Section: ) Bureaucracymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathology Bureaucracy: Reality of the Indonesian Bureaucracy and Prevention

Andhika¹

2017

JBP

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The performance of a bad bureaucracy indicates a bureaucracy is riddled with problems; a pathology which arose not always coming from outside the bureaucratic body, but pathology that has been flourishing and will be exerting influence when the bureaucracy is unhealthy. This research article would like to give an overview of the incidence of the pathological bureaucracy which argumentation pathology can prevent. The phenomenon occurs that the bureaucracy could not deliver good public services and bureaucracy is a den of disease. The specific purpose of this research is focused on finding ways of preventing the pathology of the bureaucracy that comes from a variety of scientific literature. The method in this research article is systematic reviews technique that tries to identify all the written evidence exists regarding research themes. The results of this study reveal that the pathology of the bureaucracy is something to be prevented if we want the bureaucracy to run the task properly, one of the ways that can be done is to do a bureaucratic innovation (an innovation on structure, systems, culture). The innovation of bureaucracy will not only make changes to the organization to prevent the pathology of the bureaucracy but also as an ingredient to do discretion for a government policy especially regional government.

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Bureaucracy or Post-Bureaucracy? Public Sector Organisations in a Changing Context

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of factors associated with trends in narrowing health inequalities in England

A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of factors associated with trends in narrowing health inequalities in England

Local government projectification in practice – a multiple institutional logic perspective

Pathology Bureaucracy: Reality of the Indonesian Bureaucracy and Prevention

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