Managerial Rationalities
Chapter 7 examines the rationalities or technologies used by government, specifically the rationality associated with the new public management, or managerialism, with its emphasis on targets and performance measurement. It decentres the Blair government's putative reforms of a central feature of the British state as understood by Westminster elites, notably the civil service. It tells three stories about the civil service and public service delivery. First, there is the centralization story, which claims the changes sought to increase the power of the Prime Minister at the expense of Cabinet and the Departments. Second, there is the management story, which claims the reforms of the civil service foundered on Blair's lack of policy making and management skills. Finally, there is the governance story, which argues the Prime Minister is locked into webs of dependence that undermined his initiatives.
Keywords: rationalities, Blair, prime minister, civil service reform, narrative, centralization, managerialism, governance
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .