Machiavelli warned us – being Part IV of the series on managerialism

“It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.” Machiavelli “The Prince” (16^th century)

The huge literature on the reform of public services rarely asks why and how “reform” was suddenly transformed from a topic of marginal interest to a veritable fixation…. The Machiavelli quote exposes the basic conundrum on which I hope this series of posts will throw some light…. the excerpts are from the intro of my little book In Transit – notes on good governance

“Increasingly in the 1980s, leaders knew that something was wrong - although the nature of the problem and solution eluded them. To some it was poor quality advice - or management. To others it was lack of inter-Ministerial co-operation: or over-centralisation.

In Britain a variety of reforms got underway from the early 1970s; and were accelerated when it became clear that no new resources were available for government spending and, indeed, that there would have to be significant cutbacks”.

But, even before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the mood of caution suddenly changed dramatically. Encouraged by the examples set by countries such as Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Finland, government reform become all the rage throughout the world in the late 1980s and 1990s. Initially this involved governments selling off industries such as Steel, Gas and Telecommunications but reform spread deep into the thinking about how the basic system of government and of social services should be managed - and what that meant for the role of government.

“Thanks to the global influence of bodies (such as the OECD and World Bank) the talk in the 1990s was of the "ENABLING" state - of government no longer trying itself to produce things and to run services but rather focussing on strategic purposes and trying to achieve them by giving independent public agencies - national and local - budgets and guidelines in contractual form. Then relying on a mixture of independent regulation, audit, quasi-market forces and arm-twisting to keep them on target.

Now (2000) no self-respecting politician - left or right - wants to be left behind from something that is variously seen as the "march of managerialism" or the "march of the market".

And the changed climate gives more courage to challenge staff interests and traditions of public service - although legal and constitutional constraints have been stronger on continental Europe. The inevitability of global change, the OECD or the European Union can, however, always be blamed! “

Bill Clinton won his Presidential victory in 1992 – the same year the book “Reinventing Government” was published – and soon had Al Gore heading up a major “Reinventing Government” programme of change which lasted a decade.

Even as I type the words, the outline of an answer to my question about the reasons for the sudden enthusiasm for reform is already emerging –

-       The disappearance of the threat of communism confirmed the apparent legitimacy of the Thatcher/Reagan agenda

-       Clinton and Gore’s espousal of the need for government bodies to be “reinvented” gave the notion of reform a global visibility and credibility

-       The UK had been quietly consolidating the case for innovation in the  delivery of public services with John Major’s various Citizen Charters

-       Global bodies such as The World Bank and the OECD were spreading the message of “lean government” with tracts such as the State in a Changing World (1997) which preached the doctrine of the minimum state; and Modernising Government (OECD 2005).The Canadian academic, Leslie Pal gave us the best expose in Inversions without End (2007)

-       In 1997, New Labour inherited the missionary zeal and launched in 1999 what they called the “modernisation of government” programme which lasted until Gordon Brown’s demise in 2010

If Protherough and Pick are to be believed, the first signs in the UK of the mangling of managerial language were in the 1980s – with “customer” becoming the fashionable word for “member of the public! I mocked this managerial invasion in Just Words – a sceptic’s glossary

Books on Managerialism

It’s curious how few books there seem to be about such a big issue!

I begin with what I consider to be the two best – and it’s significant that they go back at least a decade….  I suggest you go to the articles

Management and the Dominance of Managers – an inquiry into why and how managers rule our organisations; Thomas Diefenbach (2009) Great start to this book which I can read only in google excerpts  It suggests that the question of how managers have gained their excessive power has not been sufficiently explored…..This article of his is in “academese” but you can still sense his concerns - NPM – the dark side of managerial enlightenment

Managing Britannia – culture and management in modern Britain; Robert Protherough and John Pick (2003) 

Managerialism  a critique of an ideology; T Klikauer (2013) is a more recent book but received a devastating critique from one of the subject’s doyens…

Rethinking Management – radical insights from the complexity sciences; Chris Mowles (2011) A delightful and very thoughtful book from an experienced consultant trying to rethink his profession from first principles….

Confronting Managerialism - How the Business Elite and their schools threw our lives out of balance; Robert Locke and JC Spender (2011) Bit repetitive

The Puritan Gift; Hooper and Hooper (2009) A marvellous book which one of America’s greatest thinkers on strategy called “one of the best books I have ever read in my long life”

Against Management – organisation in the age of managerialism; Martin Parker (2002) A disappointing book from the “critical management school”

Managerialism – the emergence of a new ideology; W Enteman (1993)

Articles

As is often the case, the articles will give you more (bangs per buck) 

managerialism – an ideal type 2018

Evolution of managerialism 2016 article

The administrative reform industry;  2013 article 

When reforms become permanent; Douzens (2012) 

James Burnham – the managerial revolution and the development of management theory in post-war America (2011)  - article

Managerialism and its discontents; Parker (2009)

Burnham’s political thought; c 1980 review in US journal

Globalisation and Administrative Reform – what is happening in theory? Lawrence Lynn (2000)

George Orwell commentary on Burnham’s The Managerial Revolution