PREPAREDNESS TOWARDS THE NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT (NPM) BASED REFORMS IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

The phenomenon of the NPM is known as managerialism, market-oriented public management and entrepreneurial government in the vicinity of public sector reforms around the world. For the purpose of achieving the expected results from the NPM based reforms, there should be a desired level of preparedness. Hence, this research paper basically discusses the level of preparedness for the NPM initiatives in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, in the Sri Lankan context, on the basis of developed literature on the NPM, different elected governments have taken a variety of steps and adjustments to formulate the background for implementing the components of the NPM in public sector agencies. In this study, the level of preparedness for the NPM initiatives in Sri Lanka has been analyzed in terms of legal provisions, organizational capacity, human resource development, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and political leadership. The study found that the level of preparedness for the NPM based reforms is at an adequate level in spite of certain lapses and misconceptions in Sri Lankan. Those lapses mainly include: misunderstanding of the Sri Lankan senior bureaucrats about the theme of the NPM, resistance to change, attitudes of general public towards public services and political instability of the country. The study has utilized both qualitative and quantitative research methods in achieving the set objectives. As primary data, a representative sample of high ranked bureaucrats at ministerial level was interviewed based on a structured questionnaire, and in addition, secondary sources of data and information have also been utilized in the study.

Keywords: NPM; Preparedness; Sri Lanka

For full paper: fmscresearch@sjp.ac.lk