Identifying identities: performance‐driven, but professional public managers

Abstract

PurposeThis paper examines the effects of performance driven public services on managerial behaviour and the values that influence individual actions.Design/methodology/approachThe approach is historical/institutional within a constructed theoretical frameworkFindingsFuelled by the “new public management” movement, public managers are forced to act in performance‐driven ways and instruments like “performance contracts” and “performance‐related pay” are being used to improve managerial behaviour and the professionalism of public officials. Consequently, public managers have acquired personal stakes in public organizations because when they meet organizational targets, they reap financial rewards. More efficiency, lower costs, and less waste, more responsiveness to customers, and increased flexibility are perceived to be good for society. These changes, however, are more than instrumental. They are about changing identities and changing the meaning of acting as a public official. Traditional Weberian ideas about how such organizing furthers the public good have been replaced by a performance‐driven conception of public management, which is strong on organizing, but weak on the public good. The paper concludes that professional public managers must be judged within the context of the “res publica”.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the debate about professionalism within the context of NPM and whether this is compatible with a view of public service as serving the public interest