The role of public sector managers

The latest research to come from The Work Foundation looks at role of public sector managers.

In Deliberative democracy and the role of public managers (Horner, L., Lekhi, R. and Blaug, R.) it is argued that managers should not be coerced into following old obsessions of choice, consumer satisfaction, and market mechanisms in the public services.

Instead public sector managers should be encouraged to endorse the concept of ‘public value’.

Put differently, "the job of every single person who works in the public sector is to ‘maximise public value".

More details include:

The report argues that people who receive public services - whether a benefit, an education, a GP appointment or a TV programme – should not be seen as passive consumers, but citizens with democratic rights, whose wishes need to be respected through a serious, renewed and continuous focus on their refined preferences and priorities. Honouring what the public values most, rather than hitting centrally imposed targets, should be the principal aim of all public servants.

For more details see a press release from The Work Foundation.