Public Management Reform

Public management reform (PMR) denotes planned attempts by governments to modify and guide the operations of public sector organisations. Prior to the emergence of PMR in the 1980s, the antecedent terms were administrative or bureaucratic reform and reorganisation. PMR can be used literally to cover various modes of management but is also used to encompass reform more generally. Several reform models have received attention, such as new public management, new public governance and the neo-Weberian state, and those based on modernised administrative traditions. While reform waves/patterns may be distinctive, hybridity has increased. Countries may have a greater proclivity to engage in PMR because administrative traditions allow change and absorption of ideas from elsewhere. Most countries have engaged in some form of PMR, but the scope and impact vary widely between the reformist systems and those from traditions less able or disinclined to accommodate extensive change.