IPMN Newsletter
Summer 1997

On June 27-27, 1997 IPMN convened its biennial public management issues workshop in Potsdam, Germany. The workshop was held in the historic Truman House where President Harry Truman resided at the end of World War II during the conference at which the formal end of the Second World War was negotiated. In addition to the wonderful ambiance and historical significance of the villa itself, the experience working at the house was enhanced by pictures and documents mounted on the walls that evoked some mixed emotions. It was somewhat eerie to stand at certain locations and gaze out over Lake Griebnitzsee recognizing that Stalin, Churchill, Truman and other participants in the Conference of Potsdam had stood at these very spots in 1945 at such a momentous point in history of the twentieth century. The large meeting room in Truman House was perfect for the informal workshop. We are greatly indebted to our workshop hosts, Christoph Reichard, University for Technology and Economics, Berlin, and Werner Jann and Deiter Wagner of the University of Potsdam for doing a wonderful job of making us feel at home in the setting and for organizing a highly successful workshop.

On the evening prior to the first day of the workshop a panel discussion of NPM in higher education was convened. Chaired by Werner Jann, the featured speaker for this session was Kuno Schedler, University of St. Gallen and IPMN "co-coordinator." Kuno Schedler spoke about the rather unique structure and organization of the University of St. Gallen and its component institutes, and the current potential impact of NPM-oriented reform on higher education in Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere. The presentations and discussion that followed concentrated on conceptual, philosophical and practical (including financial) concerns, resistance and other difficulties related to implementation of NPM-oriented change in German universities. After the panel a number of the workshop participants enjoyed the festivities of "Academic Day" that conclude the school year at the University of Potsdam. We got to know each other better over beer and wurst, and some of us even played a quick game of "pick-up" basketball with some Potsdam students. Watch out for touch fouls by Schedler, quick passes by Klausen, wild shooting by yours truly and the "bear hug" defense of Budeus!

The workshop began the following morning. Four working papers were presented for discussion. The first was by Laurence E. Lynn, Jr., University of Chicago, entitled, "Public Management and Government Performance: A Consideration of Theory and Evidence." Werner Jann presented a brilliant synthesis and set of issues to consider in his formal commentary on Lynn's paper and presentation. His comments and Lynn's presentation and paper sparked a very lively discussion that ranged over topics including alternative definitions of NPM, hypothesis underlying the sub-discipline of public management and the "new" public management, ethical challenges to NPM, and appropriate methodologies for empirical research. Lynn supplied an extensive bibliography of empirical studies with his presentation -- a valuable resource for researchers wishing to empirically test a variety of public management and NPM hypotheses. The second presentation was made by Kurt Klaudi Klausen, Odense University, Denmark on, "Area Studies of Nordic States." Klausen's presentation and the commentary by Stig Martin, University of Orebro, Sweden triggered a discussion and debate about the nature and extent of public management change in the Nordic region. Among the discussants Sigurdur Helgason, a native of Iceland and representative to the workshop from OECD, offered views on public management transition in Nordic states that differed from those of Klausen and Martin. This produced the type of debate about the nature of public management change that IPMN was conceived to stimulate.

The evening of the first day of the workshop included a visit and tour of the famous Prussian Palace of Sans Souci and the lavish park grounds surrounding it. Following this tour, workshop participants were treated to an evening boat excursion around Potsdam including dinner and a plentiful supply of delicious German beer.

The third presentation on the morning of day two was made by the highly respected scholar Frieder Naschold from the Berlin Science Center. His empirical study and report of results on reform in a sample of NPM-oriented cities demonstrated that, indeed, widespread change is taking place, that change may be most significant at the level of local government, and that in many instances it is producing highly positive results as intended. Naschold's comments on the equity impacts of some of the changes, and the commentary delivered by Nathalie Halgand, University of Montpellier, France focusing on the role and importance of accounting reform to NPM initiatives, stimulated a rewarding discussion. The final presentation of the workshop was made by Michael Barzelay, London School of Economics, in which he described in detail the methodological approach he is pursuing in research on NPM in OECD nations. Barzelay's well-organized and thorough presentation and responses to questions, combined with a highly insightful commentary by Sandford Borins, University of Toronto, challenged all of us to think about a number of choices that must be made in conducting empirical research. It also provided many of us with some surprising and new perspectives on our field. The workshop concluded with a meeting of the Editorial Board of the International Public Management Journal followed by an informal dinner at an excellent Berlin restaurant near the hotel where workshop participants stayed, located ideally in the center of the city.

As expected, the presentations by Laurence Lynn, Kurt Klaudi Klausen, Frieder Naschold and Michael Barzelay caused us to carefully question many of the assumptions we make in conducting research on public management generally and NPM in specific. Speaking on behalf of virtually all, if not all, participants, the workshop was a resounding success. The presentations and commentary, combined with the evident motivation of those present to participate actively in the discussion periods, created the type of intellectual climate and opportunity for exchange of information that IPMN seeks to foster. Again, we are very grateful to our hosts and wish to give special thanks to Christoph Reichard for chairing the host committee and Werner Jann and Deiter Wagner for making the arrangements at the University of Potsdam and Truman House. This workshop sets a good standard for future workshops, the next to be held in Sienna, Italy (1999) as well as for our next two IPMN conferences in the US (1998) and Sydney, Australia in the year 2000.

IPMN member and current chair of the Academy of Management Public and Nonprofit Division Nancy C. Roberts reports that Larry Lynn won the division's 1996 book award for Public Management as Art, Science and Profession. John Bryson was last year's winner and he chaired this year's award committee. Hal Rainey, another IPMN member, who received the award the previous year, also served on the award committee.

Best Regards,

Larry Jones