The changing cultures of health and education

Many public sector managers are facing fundamental organizational changes, as government macro reforms in health and education reach down to the managers' agenda. Cultural changes and a new set of values are demanding new management approaches and skills as managers seek to embrace an alternative organizational environment. Seeks to draw out some practical lessons and examples where successful managers in hospitals and colleges have embraced the positive aspects of change, while still preserving those aspects and values of the public sector which have provided for stability and integrity in organizations. Sets out a balance sheet for change, considering the detailed operational issues likely to arise in implementing such changes and suggests that a sensitive and pragmatic view, focusing on process and people, as well as outcome, is likely to remain a crucial skill for effective management.