Local Government Modernization: UK and Comparative Analysis from an Organizational Perspective

Public Management Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 387-404, 2002

Posted: 10 Oct 2004

See all articles by Jean Hartley

Jean Hartley

University of Warwick Business School

Michael J. R. Butler

Aston University Business School

John Benington

Warwick University

Abstract

This article analyses three strands of local government modernization. The first takes an overview of the development of 'modernization' and 'improvement' of local government in the UK under the Labour government since 1997 and the overall programme of reform. We discuss both the shifts and the continuities with the previous decade and a half of the 'new public management' of Conservative administrations. We examine the implicit assumptions about how to achieve organizational and cultural change, arguing that much modernization is premised on a mechanistic metaphor of organizational change. The second section of the article examines other metaphors and theories of organizational change, arguing for the need to consider institutional and organizational perspectives in analysing local government modernization. The third section of the article then applies some organizational concepts to the comparative analysis of local government modernization.

Suggested Citation

Hartley, Jean and Butler, Michael J. R. and Benington, John, Local Government Modernization: UK and Comparative Analysis from an Organizational Perspective. Public Management Review, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 387-404, 2002, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=600743

Jean Hartley

University of Warwick Business School ( email )

Local Government Centre
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom
+44 (0) 24 7652 2942 (Phone)
+44 (0) 24 7652 3719 (Fax)

Michael J. R. Butler (Contact Author)

Aston University Business School ( email )

Aston Triangle
Birmingham, B47ET
United Kingdom

John Benington

Warwick University ( email )

Public Policy and Management
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom

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