The New Public Service: Serving, Not Steering Book

Three metaphors guide this excellent little book. The "Old Public Administration" featured the metaphor of "rowing." As the authors put it (page 169): ". . .the purpose of government was simply to deliver services efficiently, and that problems were to be addressed primarily by changing the organization's structure and control systems." The "rowing" refers to the hard work of public administration delivering services.

The "New Public Management" uses a different metaphor, "steering." The authors note (page 13): "They are urged to 'steer, not row,' meaning they should not assume the burden of service delivery themselves, but, wherever possible, should define programs that others would then carry out, through contracting or other such relationships. . . .New Public Management [NPM:] relies heavily on market mechanisms to guide public programs."

And, finally, the preferred metaphor of the Denhardts, "serving." Their "New Public Service" would focus on "listening" to and "serving" the public. They observe that NPM forgets who owns the boat. That is, government belongs to the people, not the "steerers"; ". . .public administrators should focus on their responsibility to serve and empower citizens as they manage public organizations and implement public policy." (page 23).

One of the more interesting themes that are addressed in this volume: NPM looks at people as customers and tries to figure out how best to make consumers satisfied; the authors of this volume argue that we are to serve citizens, not create satisfied customers. In a democracy, citizenship means something and the people should be engaged through the New Public Service. With its market-oriented perspective, according to the authors, NPM does not consider citizenship as a critical factor.

This is a well written and thought provoking essay, well worth reading by those interested in contemporary public administration, by the idea of public service, and by those wondering how democracy can thrive in a complex organizational world.