Exam (elaborations)
Tentamen PM
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Exam of 4 pages for the course Public Management at VU
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Part I1. Identity shifts
a. What is ‘identity work’ and how does it relate to NPM?
b. Give an example of an organization that has shifted its identity along one of the three
sector axes (e.g. a public organization that has been privatised, or a private organization
that has been nationalized, or a civil society organization setting up a business) and how
this affects employees’ identity work.
Response part a (10 points):
Identity work is a reaction to organizational reforms (e.g. NPM). Such reforms cause a sense of
insecurity and vulnerability, and are therefore often accompanied by identity work: the search
by individual employees to ‘secure a sense of self’ in the changing organization, coming to terms
with the new missions and visions and one’s own role in those.
In NPM, the emphasis is on reforming the public sector, which is supposed to increasingly adopt
characteristics of the private sector. This results in a sense of insecurity by employees, who react
to this through identity work: constructing narratives of who one is, what a public sector
employee is supposed to be like.
For the real Foucault buffs: NPM as a management discourse aims to colonize the subjectivities
of employees to the extent that employees discipline themselves in adopting the discourses
about who they should be as public sector employees (shift from feminine/caring to
masculine/competitive).
Response part b (10 points):
Thomas and Davies apply the concept of identity work to the healthcare sector in the UK. The
authors show how middle managers adopt part of discourse on NPM by arguing that they are
already behaving pro-active and competitive, but also party reject the discourse by
foregrounding the need to prioritise patients’ need, and by arguing that the quality of care
should not suffer from the reforms.
2. There are people strongly in favour of NPM and those strongly against.
a. Explain what NPM stands for and consists of. (10 points)
Assess if terms are thrown in or there is some understanding and coherence in
story. Each term mentioned gives two points ( if 3 terms mentioned that are
clearly different 8 points)
Business like government. More like business. More management techniques
from business
Privatization, contracts, competition, marketization
Results-orientation, performance management systems, more management
responsibility
Blurring of boundaries, Identity shifts
More responsive to citizens; citizens as customers
More efficient and effective (careful, only if clearly separate from other items)
PPPs, collaboration
Steering, not rowing (with explanation what that means)
Neoliberalism/neoconservatism, smaller government
, b. Give an example where introduction of (some) NPM principles has worked and explain
why. (10 points) Give name of organization or sector and clear explanation of NPM
principles applied (5 points); explanation of why application of NPM principles has
worked (5 points). 2 points deduction if student uses the correct argumentation but the
facts don’t support the claims.
Part II
Als in Nederlands en centrale begrippen zijn niet vertaald 3 punten aftrek
1. Entrepreneurship
a. What is social entrepreneurship? (4 points)
One of these two definitions gives 4 points (sheet lecture)
i. Process involving the innovative use and combination of resources to pursue
opportunities to catalyze social change and/or address social needs
ii. Process by which citizens build or transform institutions to advance solutions to
social problems in order to make life better for many
NB if definition of social entrepreneur or social enterprise is given then 2 points.
(If one of the definitions of social entrepreneurship from table 1 Mair & Marti is given
also 4 points)
b. Give an example to illustrate the concept (8 points)
Name is given and explanation is given of what the activity is (4 points). If a person is
mentioned and described, 2 points. If only person is mentioned no points.
Explanation is given why it is social entrepreneurship (and not commercial or public) (4
points)
c. What are similarities and differences between social and commercial (regular)
entrepreneurship? (8 points) two points for each item mentioned, but only if identified
correctly as similarity or difference. Other points may be mentioned but need to be
clarified and judged as correct. (from sheet lecture:)
Similarities :
i. Focus on risk-taking, innovation, value creation
ii. Both are social in sense that they entrepreneurs are socially embedded
Differences
iii. Priority of social value creation over economic value creation
iv. Economic value creation is means to end of social value creation
v. Who benefits? community
2. Linder (1999) describes the different meanings ascribed to public-private partnerships.
a. Present and explain 3 of those meanings:
1)Management reforms; 2) Problem conversions; 3) Moral regeneration; 4) Risk
shifting; 5) Restructuring public service; 6) Power sharing (10 points if explained
properly; see for explanations the article itself)
b. How do these meanings relate to neo-liberalism? (10 points)
Neo-liberalism focuses on individualism and agency, moral regeneration through private
property and the market. Role of state reduced to promoter and ‘referee’ of market.
Neo-liberals want PPPs and privatisation because the state is considered inefficient.
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