A key theme of recent reforms in public management in various countries is the perceived need for many organizations in government to have a degree of legal and operational autonomy. In studying this and other aspects of the reforms, there is considerable merit in examining how the underlying ideas have been explored in earlier works. In this article, we argue that this is particularly relevant to the current interest in organizational autonomy. Pertinent ideas, issues and concerns were addressed several decades ago by scholars such as Macmahon, Seidman, Selznick and Follett. The contributions of these scholars have continuing analytical value and deserve to be revisited.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aucoin, Peter (1995) The New Public Management: Canada in Comparative Perspective. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy .
2.
Barzelay, Michael (2001) The New Public Management: Improving Research and Policy Dialogue. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
3.
Birkinshaw, Patrick , Harden, Ian and Lewis, Norman (1990) Government by Moonlight: The Hybrid Parts of the State. London: Unwin Hyman .
4.
Boston, Jonathan , Martin, John , Pallot, June and Walsh, Pat (1996) Public Management: The New Zealand Model. Auckland: Oxford University Press .
5.
Chapman, Brian (1959) Devolution of Powers to Autonomous Institutions, Including Professional Bodies and Universities: General Report. Brussels: International Institute of Administrative Sciences .
6.
Craig, Barbara Hinkson and Gilmour, Robert S. (1992) ‘The Constitution and Accountability for Public Functions’ , Governance5(1): 46-67 .
7.
Dawson, R.M. (1922) The Principle of Official Independence. London: King .
8.
Evans, Peter (ed.) (1997a) State-Society Synergy: Government and Social Capital in Development. Berkeley, CA: University of California at Berkeley (International and Area Studies) .
9.
Evans, Peter (1997b) ‘Government Action, Social Capital, and Development: Reviewing the Evidence on Synergy’, in Peter Evans (ed.) State-Society Synergy: Government and Social Capital in Development, pp. 178-209. Berkeley, CA: University of California at Berkeley (International and Area Studies) .
10.
Farazmand, Ali (ed.) (1996) Public Enterprise Management: International Case Studies. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press .
11.
Farazmand, Ali (ed.) (2001) Privatization or Public Enterprise Reform? International Case Studies with Implications for Public Management. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press .
12.
Fesler, James W. (1968) ‘Centralization and Decentralization’, in D.L. Sills (ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 370-379. New York: Macmillan .
13.
Flinders, Matthew V. and Smith, Martin J. (eds) (1999) Quangos, Accountability and Reform: The Politics of Quasi-government. London: Macmillan .
14.
Flynn, Norman (2002) Public Sector Management, 4th edn.Harlow: Pearson Education .
15.
Follett, Mary Parker (1941a) ‘Constructive Conflict’, in Henry C. Metcalf and L. Urwick (eds) Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett, pp. 30-49. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons .
16.
Follett, Mary Parker (1941b) ‘Business as an Integrative Unity’, in Henry C. Metcalf and L. Urwick (eds) Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett, pp. 71-94. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons .
17.
Friedmann, W. and Garner, J.F. (eds) (1970) Government Enterprise: A Comparative Study. London: Stevens .
18.
Friedrich, C.J. (1963) Man and his Government. New York: McGraw-Hill .
19.
Greer, Patricia (1994) Transforming Central Government: The Next Steps Initiative. Buckingham: Open University Press .
20.
Greve, Carsten , Flinders, Matthew and Van Thiel, Sandra (1999) ‘Quangos — What’s in a Name? Defining Quangos from a Comparative Perspective’ , Governance12(2): 129-146 .
21.
Hague, D.C. , Mackenzie, W.J.M. and Barker, A. (eds) (1975) Public Policy and Private Interests: The Institutions of Compromise. London: Macmillan .
22.
Hanson, A.H. (1964) ‘Decentralisation’ , working paper by Rapporteur-General, Sixth World Congress of International Political Science Association, Geneva.
23.
Hanson, A.H. (ed.) (1968) Organization and Administration of Public Enterprises: Selected Papers. New York: United Nations .
24.
Hood, Christopher (1991) ‘A Public Management for All Seasons?’ , Public Administration69(1): 3-19 .
25.
Hood, Christopher (1994) Explaining Economic Policy Reversals. Buckingham: Open University Press .
26.
Hood, Christopher (1997) ‘Which Contract State? Four Perspectives on Over-outsourcing for Public Services’ , Australian Journal of Public Administration56(3): 120-131 .
27.
Hood, Christopher and Schuppert, Gunnar Folke (eds) (1988) Delivering Public Services in Western Europe: Sharing Western European Experience of Para-government Organization. London: Sage .
28.
Huxham, Chris (2000) ‘The Challenge of Collaborative Governance’ , Public Management2(3): 337-357 .
29.
Kernaghan, Kenneth , Marson, Brian and Borins, Sandford (2000) The New Public Organisation. Toronto: Institute of Public Administration of Canada .
30.
Kettl, Donald F. (2000) The Global Public Management Revolution. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution .
31.
Kooiman, Jan (ed.) (1993) Modern Governance: New Government-Society Interactions. London: Sage .
32.
Lane, Jan-Erik (1997) ‘Incorporation as Public Sector Reform’, in Jan-Erik Lane (ed.) Public Sector Reform: Rationale, Trends and Problems, pp. 283-300. London: Sage .
33.
Lane, Jan-Erik (2000) New Public Management. London: Routledge .
34.
Losch, August (1954) The Economics of Location. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press .
35.
Lowndes, Vivien and Skelcher, Chris (1998) ‘The Dynamics of Multi-organisational Partnerships: An Analysis of Changing Modes of Governance’ , Public Administration76(2): 313-333 .
36.
Macmahon, Arthur W. (1961) Delegation and Autonomy. Bombay: Asia Publishing House .
37.
Maddick, Henry (1963) Democracy, Decentralisation and Development. London: Asia Publishing House .
38.
McLaughlin, Kate , Osborne, Stephen P. and Ferlie, Ewan (eds) (2002) New Public Management: Current Trends and Future Prospects. London: Routledge .
39.
Milward, H. Brinton and Francisco, Ronald A. (1983) ‘Subsystems Politics and Corporatism in the United States’ , Policy and Politics11(3): 273-293 .
40.
Mishra, R.K. and Ravishankar, S. (eds) (1986) Public Enterprises in the World. Bombay: Himalaya Publishing House .
41.
Mitchell, Jerry (1999) The American Experiment with Government Corporations. New York: M.E. Sharpe .
42.
Mitnick, Barry M. (1980) The Political Economy of Regulation. New York: Columbia University Press .
43.
Modeen, Tore and Rosas, Allan (eds) (1988) Indirect Public Administration in Fourteen Countries. Abo, Finland: Abo Academy Press .
44.
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) (2002) Distributed Public Governance: Agencies, Authorities and Other Government Bodies. Paris: OECD .
45.
Osborne, David and Gaebler, Ted (1992) Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
46.
Pierre, Jon and Peters, B. Guy (2000) Governance, Politics and the State. London: Macmillan .
47.
Pollitt, Christopher and Bouckaert, Geert (2000) Public Management Reform: A Comparative Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
48.
Pollitt, Christopher , Birchall, Johnston and Putman, Keith (1998) Decentralising Public Service Management. London: Macmillan .
49.
Pollitt, Christopher , Bathgate, Karen , Caulfield, Janice , Smullen, Amanda and Talbot, Colin (2001) ‘Agency Fever? Analysis of an International Policy Fashion’ , Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis3(3): 271-290 .
50.
Powell, Walter W. and DiMaggio, Paul J. (eds) (1991) The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press .
51.
Ramanadham, V.V. (ed.) (1986) Public Enterprise: Studies in Organizational Structure. London: Cass .
52.
Schmitter, Philippe C. (1974) ‘Still the Century of Corporatism?’ , Review of Politics36(1): 85-131 .
53.
Seidman, Harold (1952) ‘The Theory of the Autonomous Government Corporation: A Critical Appraisal’ , Public Administration Review12(2): 89-95 .
54.
Seidman, Harold (1954) ‘The Government Corporation: Organization and Controls’ , Public Administration Review14(3): 183-192 .
55.
Seidman, Harold (1968) ‘Organizational Relationships and Control of Public Enterprise’, in A.H. Hanson (ed.) Organization and Administration of Public Enterprises: Selected Papers, pp. 154-168. New York: United Nations .
56.
Seidman, Harold (1975) Politics, Position and Power: The Dynamics of Federal Organization. New York: Oxford University Press .
57.
Seidman, Harold (1983a) ‘Public Enterprise Autonomy: Need for a New Theory’ , International Review of Administrative Sciences49(1): 65-72 .
58.
Seidman, Harold (1983b) ‘Public Enterprises in the United States’ , Annals of Public and Co-operative Economy54(1): 3-18 .
59.
Seidman, Harold (1988) ‘The Quasi World of the Federal Government’ , The Brookings Review6(3): 23-27 .
60.
Seidman, Harold (1998) ‘United States Experience: The Need to Reassert the Government Corporations Control Act’ , Public Administration and Development18(3): 295-299 .
61.
Selznick, Philip (1949) TVA and the Grass Roots. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press .
62.
Selznick, Philip (1957) Leadership in Administration: A Sociological Interpretation. New York: Harper and Row .
63.
Selznick, Philip (1996) ‘Institutionalism “Old” and “New” ’ , Administrative Science Quarterly41(2): 270-277 .
64.
Smith, Brian C. (1967) Field Administration: An Aspect of Decentralisation. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul .
65.
Tiebout, Charles (1962) The Community Economic Base Study. New York: Committee for Economic Development .
66.
World Bank (1995) Bureaucrats in Business: The Economics and Politics of Government Ownership. New York: Oxford University Press .
67.
Wraith, Ronald (1971) ‘The Four Dimensional Administration: Deconcentration, Delegation, Devolution and Decentralisation’ , Quarterly Journal of Administration(Ife, Nigeria)5(2): 153-166 .
