The Old Ways are the Best? The Durability and Usefulness of Bureaucracy in Public Sector Management
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20500801 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jill Schofield (Aston University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 77-96 |
| Publication date | 2001-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Organization (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1350-5084 • E-ISSN: 1461-7323 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/135050840181005 |
| OpenAlex | W2029308809 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 24 |
| References cited | 29 |
The paper addresses the paradoxical question of why, given two decades of ideological and structural reforms in the public sector, has bureaucracy survived both as a concept and in practice. The findings of research conducted in the British National Health Service suggest that bureaucracy is both useful and durable because it means that governments can rely upon the obedience of bureaucrats. In turn, it is suggested that this obedience is a function of bureaucratic vocation, the protection of professional reputation and a form of instrumental motivation. In conclusion, there is a theoretical discussion about the relevance of using Labour Process Theory to explain how state workers (bureaucrats) have experienced social and cultural adaptation to public sector reforms
Bureaucracy · Economics · Ideology · New public management · Obedience · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Public sector · Reputation · Social science · Sociology · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
Subverting the assembly-line
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The ideational robustness of bureaucracy
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Chief Executives and the Modernization of the English National Health Service
Understanding public agency communication
The Politics of Gender in the NHS
Open to open-source AI? Navigating AI model choice in public sector agencies
Searching for Answers
Reply to Clark
The `Neo-Bureaucratic' State
A Model of Learned Implementation
Resigned but Satisfied
Making health services management research critical
Recalcitrance, compliance and the presentation of self
Has Labour decentralised the NHS? Terminological obfuscation and analytical confusion
What Gets Measured Gets Done”
Decision Making in a Time of Significant Reform
Administrative reform in South Korea
Casting the lean spell
Governing beyond the Centre
The outsourcing of social care in Britain
White knuckle care work
The impact of bureaucracies and occupational segregation on participation of Iranian women in the workforce
Essays in positive economics
The New Public Management in Action
Inside Bureaucracy
Management Fashion
Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy
An economic theory of democracy
New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and the History of Ideas
The Discovery of Grounded Theory
Rhetoric and Myth in Management Fashion
Justification by Works or by Faith
Democracy, bureaucracy and public choice
Dons, Domination and the State
Heroic Bureaucracies
Bureaucrats and Politicians in Western Democracies
The rhetorics of policy analysis
The Political Attitudes of Senior Civil Servants in Western Europe
Social Theory and Social Structure
The Changing Face of British Public Administration
Theory and Methods in British Public Administration
Administrative Reform in Public Management
A Public Management for All Seasons
Governing the Soul - a Quarter of a Century On
Power and Subjectivity at Work
| Unique citing works | 24 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,04 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2026 (24) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 22 |