Public sector organisations do have specific attributes (if only because of their history) which mean that managers must adapt their behaviour. For example, there are very specific differences in financing (perhaps the most important at a “technical” level) and often a different attitude among the employees (perhaps the most fundamental in terms of getting things done). This is not necessarily to decry the attitudes of the public sector ‐ after all, a commitment to public service before the profit motive is what has distinguished some of our greatest public servants. However, we are now ambivalent to the public sector; we expect high levels of customer service, responsiveness to the “market” and we expect efficiency. This can sit uneasily on the individual and collective traditions.
Although the public sector has adopted many of the practices of the private sector, such differences will remain for the foreseeable future and public sector managers need to be aware of, and react to, them. The future issues raised towards the end of the book may be common across the sectors (Nolan, the portfolio manager, relational contracting, etc.) but they will be handled differently within the public sector. This book helps address the issues of why and how.
