Understanding and Managing Public Organizations, 6th Edition

CHAPTER THREEWHAT MAKES PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS DISTINCT

The overview of organization theory in Chapter Two brings us to a controversy about what makes public organizations distinct. Leading experts on management and organizations have downplayed the distinction between public and private organizations as either a crude oversimplification or as unimportant (Fayol, 1917; Gulick and Urwick, 1937). In contrast, very knowledgeable people called for the development of a field that recognizes the distinctive nature of public organizations and public management.

This disagreement has major implications. A main rationale for privatization is that private organizations perform better. Privatization accounts for a significant portion of the world economy. On the other hand, its advantages over direct government provision are far from decided (Megginson and Netter, 2001). The absence of clear evidence in support of privatization has not dissuaded some representatives of the US Congress from wanting to privatize the National Park Service (NPS) to turn around the agency's budget deficit (Solomon, 2020).

Government officials around the world often consider questions about what should belong to the public and what is better off in the hands of business. President Donald Trump, e.g., pondered whether to auction off drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Government officials in China are confronted with similar questions with regard to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In general, ...