Empowering the Customer (Managing the Public Service Strategies for Improvement Serie)

One of the key ideas in current public sector reforms is that of citizens as customers. To this end, various market-oriented measures, privatization of government enterprises and new performance management approaches have been introduced in addition to traditional consumer protection mechanisms to promote genuine empowerment of the customer. This publication explores some of these recent strategies based on Commonwealth best practice. It presents guidelines on developing clients' charters, setting appropriate standards for public services, and meeting the expectations of the socially deprived. The public sector is of course remarkably different from business, and not easily amenable to the conditions of a perfect market environment. The publication addresses some of the implications of this issue for the implementation of the new management theory. It provides "hands-on" materials and policy ideas for governments, practitioners and experts.