NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC ELDERLYCARE - Section heads' and caregiving staffs' perceptions of the existence and influence in public retirement homes
This examine illustrates the section heads' and caregiving staffs' perceptions of the influence of New Public Management (NPM) in public retirement homes in Malmö. A central theme is to investigate if the main features of New Public Management are noticeable and if that's the case, are the consequences an advantage or disadvantage? The main features of New Public Management in this examine are: decentralization, competition, internal market, cost- conscious, management by objectives with a focus on results and costumer focus.
To reach answers to the questions above, a quantitative and a qualitative approach has been chosen. The study is based on 41 questionnaires with enrolled nurses/nurse's assistants and four semi-structured interviews with section heads of retirement homes. Four different retirement homes have been participated in this study.
To understand the material, two different theories have been chosen; the new- institutional theory and the organization- political theory. These theories are clearly influenced by each other in that term that they are illustrating different perspectives of the phenomena Management bureaucracy. Further, this phenomenon can also be related to New Public Management.
The material shows the section heads' of the retirement homes and the caregiving staffs' experience if the main features of New Public Management are implemented in the organization and secondly, which advantages and disadvantages those have occurred. The professionals have different opinions regarding if NPM are noticeable and if the consequences are an advantage or disadvantage. The reached conclusion in this examine is however that New Public Management is visible in the retirement homes of the public sector in Malmö and this is mainly seen as an advantage.