This case study shows how a quango has failed to achieve effectiveness because its cumbersome structure prevents the active minority pressing for change from achieving it. A catch-22 situation arose in events associated with revising the Act under which the quango was constituted. The main stumbling block preventing proposed revisions from succeeding was Council representation, a critical factor for effective decision-making, as evidenced by its inability to reach a decision on it.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allison, G.T.1971Essence of decision: explaining the Cuban missile crisisBoston: Little, Brown.
2.
Forrest, M.1983'Reporting and review of quangos' in 'An Australian Conference on Quangos', J. Ferner (ed.). Public Sector 6. 7-12.
3.
Mintzberg, H., D. Raisinghani, and A. Théoret.1976'The structure of "unstructured" decision processes'Administrative Science Quarterly21: 246-275.
4.
Palmer, G.1979Unbridled power? An interpretation of New Zealand's constitution and governmentWellington: Oxford University Press .
5.
Simpson, T.1984A vision betrayed the decline of democracy in New ZealandAuckland: Hodder and Stoughton .
6.
Williams, C.1978'New Zealand cause groups: pressure politics and political success' in Politics in New Zealand: a reader. S. Levine (ed.), 301-309. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.