CHANGE IN THE BENEFITS AGENCY: EMPOWERING THE EXHAUSTED WORKER?
基于英国福利机构三个办事处的案例研究，分析了新公共管理改革对员工的双重影响，发现地方差异导致管理方式和工作组织不同，赋权努力被工作强度加大所抵消。
Using case study evidence from an investigation of ‘quality’ initiatives and working practices in three offices within a District of the Benefits Agency (BA), this article examines the contradictory role of new public management on employees. Decentralised management, performance related pay, teamwork philosophies and the promotion of a ‘customer’ culture reflect a move away from a traditional civil service bureaucratic form of organisation. However, the implementation of change within local settings has brought about variations in local management approaches, work organisation and staff perceptions. The consequences of these are explored and we consider whether the BA’s attempts to empower staff have been thwarted by a progressive intensification of workloads. Our research, by illustrating the importance of variations in local settings, warns of the dangers of evaluating institutional and employment change in the public sector as if it were the result of a coherent and consistent neo-liberal re-structuring strategy. Moreover, it examines reasons why some change initiatives have been unsuccessful. Finally, we identify a recent shift in emphasis within the BA which presages a move away from service quality to economy and draw some initial conclusions about the future impact on employment in this sector.