Work

Making Work Invisible: New Public Management and Operational Work in Critical Infrastructure Sectors

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Based on a study of reliability consequences of New Public Management (NPM) reforms in Norwegian critical infrastructure sectors, this article suggests that the discourse of work found inNPMrenders essential aspects of operational work invisible—including practices that are known to be of importance for reliability. We identify two such organizationally ‘invisible’ characteristics of operational work: the ongoingsituational coordinationrequired for keeping a water supply system or an electricity grid running, and the aggregatingoperational historywithin which this happens. In the reorganized infrastructure sectors, these crucial aspects of operational work fit poorly in market oriented organizational models and control mechanisms. More generally, our analysis contributes to the understanding of how some types of work fit poorly within the discourse of work found inNPM.

Source: Public Administration

DOI: 10.1111/padm.12069

Authors: PETTER GRYTTEN ALMKLOV, STIAN ANTONSEN

Institutions: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU Samfunnsforskning

Language: English

Topic: Public Policy and Administration Research

Subfield: Public Administration

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: green

Funder: Norges Forskningsråd