Innovaton in Public Sector Management Control Systems in the Context of New Public Management: A Case of an Australian Public Sector Organizaton

摘要

This study is about the exploration of innovative management control systems inudthe context of New Public Management (NPM) initiatives. NPM initiatives createdudthe changes to the structure and processes of public sector organizations with theudobjective of getting them to run better. A government department in the AustralianudCapital Territory (ACT) has been selected as the field for investigation. This study drawsudon a single theoretical perspective, Giddens’s structuration theory to understand theudmanagement control systems evolved in the researched organization. Qualitativeudresearch methodology is applied to obtain a better understanding of the phenomena.udCase-based research method is used in developing a complete understanding of theudrelative role of controls in the management of organizational performance. In thisudstudy, it is argued that the researched organization has adopted various managementudcontrol tools to improve its performance and demonstrate transparency andudaccountability. Some of the control tools it has adopted are the innovations in theudpublic sector. It appears from the case that these adopted management controludtools forced the researched organization towards better performance supporting theudrationale of adopting New Public Management practices.