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Public Administration vocabulary · Government Structure

New Public Management

Meaning in public administration, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In public administration, New Public Management means: A reform approach, widespread from the 1980s, that brought private-sector ideas into government, such as performance targets, competition, outsourcing and treating citizens as customers.

In Turkish: Yeni Kamu İşletmeciliği, Yeni Kamu Yönetimi

How it is used

A key concept in public administration courses, often abbreviated NPM and linked to reforms in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Supporters stress efficiency and results; critics argue it can weaken accountability and equal treatment. Later approaches include New Public Governance.

Example sentences

  1. Performance-related pay for civil servants was one of the ideas of New Public Management.

  2. The essay compares New Public Management with the traditional Weberian model.

Common collocations

  • New Public Management reforms
  • critique of New Public Management
  • post-New Public Management
  • public administrationThe work of putting government policies into practice and running public institutions; also the academic subject that studies how the state is organized and managed.
  • outsourcingPaying a private company or another organization to carry out work that a public body used to do itself, such as cleaning, IT support or meal services.
  • performance indicatorA measurable value used to show how well an organization, programme or service is achieving its objectives, such as waiting times, cost per case or satisfaction rates.
  • governanceThe whole system of rules, institutions and relationships through which decisions are made and power is exercised, including how government works with citizens, business and civil society.

More terms: Government Structure

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