Table Of Content“Across the globe, it is widely assumed that management is natural and
universal, serving everyone’s interests equally. So it is refreshing to read
a new book which challenges these assumptions in the context of public
services, and which recognises the interests being served by the mana-
gerialist systems which now dominate many country’s public sectors.
Its international set of authors all hold senior positions and are trying to
get things done, in spite of the ideological dominance of today’s quasi-
competition and league tables. Their work is complex, and any successes
are often paradoxical, but their personal narratives in the book are all the
more compelling for the challenges involved. Their stories represent vital
reading for anyone who wants to make a similar difference when faced
with the neoliberal modes of governance that have become so widely
used in today’s society.”
Mark Learmonth, Professor Emeritus, Nottingham Trent University
“A refreshing perspective on managerialism and a highly recommended
read. The book offers a unique window into senior practitioners’ lived
experiences of their management role within the public sector within the
UK and internationally. A very useful resource for managers, consultants
and academics faced with complexity and the dilemma of making sense
of their role and the context they find themselves in.”
Dr Julia Gale, Associate Dean (Special Projects), Faculty of Health,
Social Care and Education, a joint enterprise of Kingston University and
St. George’s, University of London
“Resonates absolutely with the reality and tumult of public sector lead-
ership. The authors clearly describe the realities of improvement in the
public sector, and help our understanding of the mismatch between
overly simplistic rhetoric and the complex reality leaders and their teams
experience.”
Danny Mortimer, Chief Executive of NHS Employers, Deputy CEO
of the NHS Confederation
COMPLEXITY AND THE PUBLIC
SECTOR
Since the early 1990s, public sector organisations have been overwhelmed
with what has come to be termed New Public Management (NPM) meth-
ods. NPM idealises performance, metrics, transparency and marketisation.
This book explores some of the tensions which arise in institutions where
NPM methods prevail, introduces different ways of thinking about the task
of managing for public good and offers a radical challenge to the dominant
assumptions regarding why and how professional communities of practice
may (or may not) come to change their working practices.
In this third book in the Complexity and Management series, the expert
authors bring together their experiences to provide vibrant accounts of
how to manage in everyday public sector organisational situations using
practical judgement. The book includes a brief introduction to complexity
and public sector management, real-world narratives illustrating concrete
dilemmas in the workplace and a concluding chapter that draws together
the practical and theoretical implications of a complexity perspective.
With both theoretical grounding and practical insights from senior
managers and consultants, the book provides an ideal resource for students
on management or executive leadership programmes for the public sector,
as well as managers in and consultants to the sector.
Chris Mowles is Professor of Complexity and Management at the University
of Hertfordshire Business School and Director of the Doctor of Management
programme there. He is the author of Complexity: A Key Idea for Business and
Society (2021) also published by Routledge.
Karen Norman is Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire
Business School, UK, and Visiting Professor at the School of Nursing, Kingston
University and St George’s, University of London, UK. She also works as a
Non-Executive Director at Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Complexity and Management
SerieS editor: ChriS MowleS, UniverSity of hertfordShire, UK
The Complexity of Consultancy
Exploring Breakdowns within Consultancy Practice
Edited by Nicholas Sarra, Karina Solsø and Chris Mowles
Complexity and Leadership
Edited by Kiran Chauhan, Emma Crewe and Chris Mowles
Complexity and the Public Sector
Edited by Chris Mowles and Karen Norman
For more information about this series,please visit: www.routledge.com/
Complexity-and-Management/book-series/CM
COMPLEXITY AND THE PUBLIC
SECTOR
Edited by
Chris Mowles and Karen Norman
Cover image: Getty Images / sssimone
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Chris Mowles and Karen Norman;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Chris Mowles and Karen Norman to be identified as the authors
of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mowles, Chris, editor. | Norman, Karen, editor.
Title: Complexity and the public sector / Edited by Chris Mowle and
Karen Norman.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2023. |
Series: Complexity and management | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Subjects: LCSH: Public administration. | Administrative
agencies—Management.
Classification: LCC JF1351 .C589 2023 (print) | LCC JF1351 (ebook) |
DDC 351—dc23/eng/20220628
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022015490
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022015491
ISBN: 978-0-367-54473-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-56920-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-09992-5 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003099925
Typeset in Joanna
by codeMantra
To Ralph Stacey, in loving memory.
CONTENTS
Notes on Contributors xi
Preface to the Complexity and Management series xiii
chris mowles
Acknowledgements xxv
1 The Complexity of Managing in the Public Sector: Introduction 1
chris mowles and karen norman
2 Calls to Interprofessionalism and ‘Best’ Practice in
Healthcare Distract Attention from Everyday Experience:
Practical Implication for Leaders and Practice Consultants 19
marion briggs
3 The Double Bind of Metrics 50
emma elkington
4 Working with Difference: The Emergence of Prejudice
When Integrating Care in the National Health Service (NHS) 72
fiona yung
5 Trust, Metrics and Complexity in Meaning-Making 95
sara filbee
