Decoupling managerial audit: Evidence from the local authority children's homes sector

Martin Kitchener; Ian Kirkpatrick; Richard Whipp

doi:10.1108/09513559910282830

Decoupling managerial audit: Evidence from the local authority children's homes sector

Martin Kitchener^*, Ian Kirkpatrick, Richard Whipp

^*Corresponding author for this work

The York Management School

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Within discussions of the "new public management" (NPM) it is suggested that professionals increasingly face managerial initiatives that are designed to reduce their autonomy and monitor their work. This paper draws on study data from the local authority children's homes sector to assess Power's predictions regarding the "colonisation" and "decoupling" of management audits within professional state agencies. The findings suggest that the introduction of a managerial audit in children's residential social work has involved a complex, negotiated and uneven process in which older patterns of autonomy have proved to be resilient. A key outcome has been the sometimes ritualistic and partial implementation of the audit process.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	338-350
Number of pages	13
Journal	International Journal of Public Sector Management
Volume	12
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1108/09513559910282830
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 1999

Keywords

Children
Managerial audit
Public administration
Resistance
Social services

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Decoupling managerial audit: Evidence from the local authority children's homes sector

Abstract

Keywords

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