From Bureaucracy to Public Management

Dwivedi, O. P.; Gow, James Iain

doi:10.3138/9781442602601

Cited by 48 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The study of rules and norms of governance, and the strategic engineering of the distribution of finite public resources, is of critical importance to understanding how public administration works. After all, governance in Canada is a complex intersection of ideas, structures, processes and cultures (Doern and Phidd, 1983; Dwivedi and Gow, 1999). Early conceptualizations of Canadian public policy found that it is underpinned by partisan politics and ideology (Manzer, 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveying the Canadian State: Evolution of Canadian Political Science, Politics, and Government Since 1967

Marland

Wesley

2017

Can J Pol Sci

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This review essay identifies major monographs about the study of government and political institutions in Canada published in English over the past 50 years. Our review is woven around a general argument that key books about Canadian political life have mirrored the evolution of the discipline in the country as a whole. For instance, important books on federalism were written at turning points in Canada's constitutional history, while the recent uptick in social diversity and political communication studies mirrors broader societal trends. Equally, greater diversity in hiring within the academy has contributed to a broadening of subject matter, perspectives, methodologies and authorship. Thus, we explore the intersection between scholarship and society, with political scientists and their books as much products of their time as they have been contributors to the evolution of the political world around them. The sources that we identify have given shape to the study and practice of Canadian domestic politics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveying the Canadian State: Evolution of Canadian Political Science, Politics, and Government Since 1967

Marland

Wesley

2017

Can J Pol Sci

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“…It was driven by a belief that the “private is better than the public” (Kapucu 2007: 890–91). Its neoliberal approach promised that applying private‐sector practices and values would offer relief from the rigidities of large government bureaucracies and from the high taxes and deficits that had become associated with the “welfare state” (Clark 2002; Dwivedi and Gow 1999).…”

Section: The Challenge Of Privatization and “New Public Management”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The key prescriptions of NPM included emphasizing results over procedures, delegating authority, reducing the total cost of the public sector, disaggregating administrative units, and decentralizing authority. NPM also claimed that efficiencies could be achieved through competition and contracting out (Dwivedi and Gow 1999; Hood 1991).…”

Section: The Challenge Of Privatization and “New Public Management”mentioning

confidence: 99%

Privatization and the boundaries of judicial review

Hoehn

2011

Canadian Public Administration

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Can a public authority avoid public law requirements, such as an obligation to act fairly, by “contracting out” the performance of its functions? In Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec v. Cyr, the Supreme Court of Canada said “no,” but it did not explain how far the Court will move the boundaries of judicial review to adapt to the growth of the private role in governance. However, there is reason to believe that the Court is moving towards a functional approach in defining state power and the location of the boundary between public and private law. This promises to be more coherent and effective than the piecemeal functional approaches that have emerged in the United States and the United Kingdom. A functional approach will prevent the lines of legal accountability to Parliament, the legislatures, the electorate and the courts from being severed by a contract between a public authority and a private party. At the same time, the emerging functional approach accepts that public law remedies should generally not be available if private law offers an adequate remedy or if applying public law would generate disproportionate costs to efficiency or would damage other public law objectives or private interests.

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“…In the literature on public sector reform, Canada is often regarded as a laggard or an excep tion to the new public management trend (Aucoin, 2002). Commentators note that successive Canadian governments have failed to articulate a positive reform agenda for public administration; politicians have not been involved in reforming bureaucracies in the same high profile way as in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and US, although they have been attracted by the downsizing and privatization elements of the new public management (Aucoin, 2002;Bakvis, 2000;Dwivedi and Gow, 1999). Unlike the other AngloAmerican jurisdictions, which embraced substantial public sector Howard Are we being served?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unlike the other AngloAmerican jurisdictions, which embraced substantial public sector Howard Are we being served? 67 68 International Review of Administrative Sciences 76(1) reform initiatives at the political level with positive visions of administrative transforma tion, Canada's notable reforms of the 1990s, both provincially and federally, were mostly negative exercises in reducing the size of government (Clark, 2002;Dwivedi and Gow, 1999;Taras and Tupper, 1994). Thus the Chrétien Government initiated a drastic budget cutting exercise called Program Review in 1995, against a backdrop of substantial budget deficits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are we being served? A critical perspective on Canada’s Citizens First satisfaction surveys

Howard

2010

International Review of Administrative Sciences

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Background: Citizen satisfaction surveys are used in many jurisdictions to measure attitudes towards public services and inform service delivery improvement strategies. Canada is regarded as a world leader in the field due to its internationally influential Citizens First surveys. Aim: This study aims to determine the soundness of the design, execution and reporting of Canada’s Citizens First surveys. Method: It presents a critical methodological review drawing on several social scientific paradigms including survey research, interpretivism and post-structuralism. Results: The Citizens First surveys contain significant problems in terms of sample representativeness, validity of causal claims and treatment of subjective opinions. These surveys can also be criticized for the influence they have had on the direction of public service reforms. Survey findings have been invoked to support the shift to private sector models of delivery and encourage a narrow and passive view of the role of the citizen in official decision-making. These developments conflict with other realities and values in contemporary administration and governance. Conclusion: Canada’s citizen satisfaction surveys contain important methodological weaknesses which must be acknowledged and rectified if reformers wish to extend the scope and effectiveness of current service delivery innovations. Points for practitioners Canada’s citizen satisfaction surveys are widely regarded as models for other jurisdictions to follow, yet they have significant limitations, including very low response rates, which mean the findings are not representative of the population’s views on government service delivery. Although the surveys claim to identify the specific elements of service delivery that cause increases in general citizen satisfaction with the performance of governments, the existing methodology does not permit such assertions. These surveys present a private-sector-inspired view of the service user as a customer, and suggest that all users of government services value the same things. This view fails to capture the diversity of government service delivery and is particularly inappropriate in complex policy areas such as human and social services.

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From Bureaucracy to Public Management

Cited by 48 publications

References 0 publications

Surveying the Canadian State: Evolution of Canadian Political Science, Politics, and Government Since 1967

Surveying the Canadian State: Evolution of Canadian Political Science, Politics, and Government Since 1967

Privatization and the boundaries of judicial review

Are we being served? A critical perspective on Canada’s Citizens First satisfaction surveys

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