A REVIEW OF NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Introduction of New Public Management (NPM) in public sector organizations typically results in an overhaul of the existing traditional management system, with renewed emphasis on improving efficiency and performance of the public sector organization. Public sector organizations and countries suffering from corruption, non-performance, bureaucracy, incompetence and high operational costs were in dire need of a new management system that would assist in bringing down operational costs, help manage resources and budget, minimize bureaucracy, eliminate corruption and improve the overall performance of the sector. NPM pertains to several strategies that can be adopted, such as decentralization and delegation of leadership, minimization of bureaucracy, privatization, human resource management, customer satisfaction, accountability, transparency, adoption of latest technology, resources and budget management and performance oriented management style. Several countries around the world have implemented NPM strategies among their public sectors, in order to deal with the growing rate of corruption and incompetence, lowering national morale and waste of resources, with mixed results. Sectors with highly complex workforce, multiple and highly ambiguous mission goals and objectives and efficient utilization of information, resources and budget, need new public management strategies for effective management.