Public management: Failing accountabilities and failing performance review

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s there have been major reforms with regard to the mode of operation of the public sector. The pervading theme running through these reforms is that of attempting to make the management of public services more accountable for the efficient and effective deployment of public resources. Focuses on how successful the reforms have been in engendering this enhanced accountability. First reviews the meaning of accountability and the different level of accountability in the public sector. Then reviews the principal changes in the accountability processes caused by the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s and questions whether these reforms have led to greater accountability. Concludes that this accountability is different from the traditional notion of accountability in the public sector, as it emphasizes management accountability at the expense of political accountability.