Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth

Public-sector organizations are fundamentally different from their private-sector counterparts. They are part of the society’s political organizations and are major political actors. They are multifunctional, follow a political leadership and the majority do not operate in an external market. In an era of rapid reform, reorganization and modernization of the public sector, this book offers a timely and illuminating introduction to the public-sector organization that recognizes its unique values, interests, knowledge and power base.

Drawing on both instrumental and institutional perspectives within organization theory, as well as democratic theory and empirical studies of decision-making, the book addresses five central aspects of the public-sector organization:

■ goals, values and motivation

■ leadership and steering

■ reform and change

■ effects, learning and implications

■ understanding and design

The book challenges conventional economic analysis of the public sector, arguing instead for a political-democratic approach and a new prescriptive organization theory. A rich resource of both theory and practice, Organization Theory and the Public Sector: Instrument, Culture and Myth is essential reading for anybody studying the public sector.

This second edition of the book contains a range of new and updated themes, examples and references.

Tom Christensen is Professor of Public Administration and Policy in the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway. He is also Visiting Professor at the School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University.

Per Lægreid is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Administration and Organization Theory at the University of Bergen, Norway.

Kjell Arne Røvik is Professor of Organization Theory in the Department of Social Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway.