From old public administration to new public management

This article starts by looking at the now familiar idea of ‘New Public Management’ in the light of previous efforts at managerial reform, arguing that NPM has proved a fairly durable and consistent agenda. Then the major criticisms of NPM within and outside the public service are reviewed, demonstrating the tensions and contradictions among the major criticisms. To endure, NPM must be capable of accommodating different poles of criticism by modifying its agenda, attempting to identify the areas where drawbacks in NPM methods are most salient. Finally, some future challenges for NPM are discussed: the prospect of outcomes outside the conventional distinction of traditional and modern public management styles; the risk of inappropriate cloning; and quasi‐constitutional issues about the core competencies of public sector agencies.