Lost in translation. How public professional services reconfigure professional practices

Abstract

Performance of public professional services (PPS) form an ongoing debate, often linked to NPM, between politicians, managers, professionals and citizens. The introduction of NPM has presumably led to the managerialization of professional practices, it is perceived as a managerial discourse focused on performance and cost efficiency that is contrasted with traditional professional values. Furthermore the workings of NPM raise new questions and problems as the managerialization of PPS is stated to generate unintended effects. However, research shows a multiplicity of locally divergent outcomes calling into question the representation of NPM as a ‘totalizing’ discourse. Notwithstanding the strength of global NPM discourse, this thesis stresses that individuals are not passive recipients of global discourses responding to what is imposed upon them. Moreover, active members such as managers, professionals and non-human actors such as policies, regulations, systems and tools have agency in translating NPM discourse in PPS. Therefore, this study explores how NPM discourses are translated in PPS and explains how these translations contribute to (managerial) reconfigurations of professional practices. In the thesis it is stated that there are three main NPM discourses for optimizing performance of PPS: competition, control and competency. The complexity of these discourses is acknowledged as they contain conflicting characteristics and their businesslike values contrast with professional values in PPS. As the study specifically focuses on Dutch education services it is described how competition, control and competency have been introduced in the Netherlands through a multiplicity of reform measures and tools. To understand how NPM is translated in PPS more understanding of the concept of translation is provided referring to ANT literature. Translation is seen as a multifaceted interaction between human and non-human actors, called actants, that involves the creation of convergences by relating things that were previously different and by making connections. NPM discourse is translated through interaction between human and non-human actants, and through such interaction professional practices are reconfigured. Connectedness between these actants is pivotal for meaningful and stable local reconfigurations. Following the central question, the study took an interpretive ethnographic approach, studying three local cases to explore how interactions between actants translate global NPM discourse in local practices of PPS.Based on the findings it is concluded that NPM discourses are translated in ongoing interaction between actants such as managers, professionals, consultants and stakeholders, and objects such as systems and tools. All actants are determinants of translation and (managerial) reconfigurations of professional practices. Furthermore it is concluded that institutionalized disconnectedness between actants, due to a strict focus on compliance with objects such as standards and business like concepts rather than contextualization of NPM discourse, enhances managerial reconfiguration of professional practices. Control density increases and encapsulates professional practices. Connectedness between actants creates professional space for translating NPM discourse in alignment with local contexts. Control is (perceived as) less dense and practices are less encapsulated due to ‘professional co-configuration'. The enabling of professional co-configuration by management proves crucial for meaningful reconfigurations of PPS and practices. This requires managerial courage and competency to ‘deviate’ from imposed standards.