Managing Private and Public Organisations

Abstract

The debate about markets and politics and the role of the state in Britain raises the issue whether there are differences between the ways that organisations located in the ‘private’ and ‘public’ domains are structured and managed. One view is that the term ‘management’ refers to a rational approach to organisational decision-making, which is traditionally associated with the private sector. Managers are seen as the agents for achieving organisational goals with the most efficient use of resources. In the public sector, by contrast, the term ‘public administration’ has been used. This has traditionally been viewed as the process whereby public officials, employed by state agencies, implement and execute governmental policies determined by the political authorities, within a framework of law, and where the efficient use of resources is of secondary importance.