In the early 1990s, when American governments were plagued by a series of shortcomings, some innovative and exemplary institutions emerged outside the public sector. Those organizations were fast, decentralized, up-to-date and work-oriented. They were also flexible and adaptable (able to adapt to new changes). They also used competitive, customer-oriented and non-staffed mechanisms to get the job done.
Versalia, California, etc. had a clear impact on this entrepreneurship. The product of these things began to be applied in the public sector as a Reinventing Government. As this method and procedure leads to annual budget lapse, it also eliminates the need to spend budget money anyway at the end of the year and encourages managers to save budget. This budget money is ours and the feeling of spending it like this was awakened.
Budget system related to expenditure control was implemented. At the same time, with the change in the environment, the management has started to provide the facility to change. The line item budget system was removed and administrators were given the right to spend where required. The saved budget amount was also given the right to be spent next year, even in new priorities. Many such examples (Versalia, California) began to be found in the USA and ideas regarding Reinventing developed.
Reflecting on such things, after various studies, researches and investigations in 1992, the scholarly authors Osborne and Gaebler published a practical book with the idea that Reinventing should be done. According to these writers, the government can still do better than the market system and the government or the bureaucracy is neither necessary nor efficient, so the government (administration) must be Reinventing.
The book contains time-relevant chapters and introduces it as an American Perestroika. Other chapters include Reinventing Government as Anticipatory Government, Catalytical Government, Community-owned Government, Competitive Government, Customer-driven Government, Enterprising Government, Mission -driven Government, Decentralized Government, Result-oriented Government, Market-oriented Government etc.
10 points of Reinventing Government
- Entrepreneurial government will also implement and encourage competition among service providers.
- To bring the powers of government to the people or to empower the people. Empower rather than serve.
- Performance should not be input -oriented but result - oriented i.e. result should be good.
- Entrepreneurial government should move from process oriented administration to its mission.
- Entrepreneurial government meets the needs of customers and not bureaucracy. Therefore, with the choice, the public was called customer instead of client.
- Providing service before arising any problems.
- Entrepreneurial government should focus on earning rather than spending.
- They decentralized authority; Embrace simple management and team work system.
- In the process of providing services and facilities to the people, the market mechanism has been promoted rather than the bureaucracy. This is an attempt to bring change in the market.
- The government will play a catalytic role among the private, public and voluntary organizations in the society to solve the problems of the people's community.
These 10 principles are an inseparable collective concept. The authors seem to have the idea that they do something even if they do not solve many problems.
Achievements / Features of Reinventing Government
- Expenditure controlled budget system has been implemented.
- The management has provided the facility to change with the change in the environment.
- Line item budget system was removed and administrators were given the right to spend where required.
- The saved budget amount was carried towards next year and given right to be spent on new priorities.
Some Examples for Reinventing Government
- America has the worst public school even the world is so developed.
- Courts and prisons are overcrowded.
- Formerly worth doing or proud states and cities have actually gone bankrupt. In addition, millions of employees were laid off and billions of budget deficits or those states started running deficit budgets.
- Accused persons / criminals started walking openly.
- Very good and enterprising people do not want to come into government service. According to a survey conducted in the late 1980s, only 5% of people want to come into government service.
- Thousands of Americans are homeless.
- Millions of American children do not have health insurance, meaning they are deprived of health care.
