Discuss the contextual uses of governance.

 The concept of governance is used in several contexts. Rhodes (1997) has highlighted the following:

Governance as the Minimal State

In this sense, governance redefines the extent and form of public intervention, the use of markets and quasi-markets to deliver ‘public’ services. In U.K. the size of government was reduced due to privatisation and reduction in the size of civil service. However, public expenditure remained roughly constant as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); public employment fell only slightly in local government and the National Health Service; and regulation replaced ownership as the preferred form of public intervention, with the government creating ten major regulatory bodies.

Governance as Corporate Governance

This relates to governing of public and private enterprises. In this context, governance refers to “the system by which organisations are directed and controlled” (Cadbury Report, 1992). Thus, the role of governance is not only concerned with running the business of the company, per se, but also with giving overall directions to the enterprise, with overseeing and controlling the executive actions of management and ensuring adequate accountability and regulatory framework.

Governance as New Public Management (NPM)

In its third use, governance is related to the New Public Management which aims at making public administration market-based, committed to the three prime goals of Efficiency, Economy and Effectiveness (3 E’s). NPM has emerged as a major manifestation of Competition State approach. This new paradigm, which gained wider usage, with varied labels – reinventing, re-engineering, quality management and performance management, focuses basically on changes in the structure and processes of government (Medury, 2010). New Public Management, initially, had two meanings. In its first meaning it means managerialism, i.e., introducing private sector management methods to the public sector. In its second sense, it refers to new institutional economics, i.e., introducing market competition into public service provision.

Governance as ‘Good Governance’

This use of governance became popular after the World Bank (1992) popularised the phrase ‘good governance’. For the World Bank, governance is ‘the exercise of political power to manage a nation’s affairs’. The bank came to realise that good governance is central to creating and sustaining an environment, which fosters strong and equitable development, and it is an essential complement to sound economic policies.

Governance as a Socio-cybernetic System

Governance, according to Kooiman (1993), is the pattern or structure that emerges in a socio-political system as a ‘common’ result or outcome of the interacting intervention efforts of all involved actors. This pattern cannot be reduced to one actor or group of actors in particular.

Governance as Self-organising Networks

This use sees governance as a broader term than government, with services provided by a combination of government, the private sector and the voluntary agencies. For example, the British government creates agencies, bypasses local government, uses special-purpose bodies to deliver services, and encourages public-private partnerships; so, ‘networks’ become increasingly prominent among British governing structures.

This model is driven by networks and collaborative government rather than hierarchies. It lays stress on horizontal linkages among the three actors i.e., the State, market and civil society. Networks are a widespread form of social coordination and managing inter-organisational links and are just as important for public as well as private sector management.

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