Quality in public management: the customer perspective

This article presents reflections on the transposition of the private-sector concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) to the public sector. We search for answers to the following questions:· At what levels of the public sector is the concept of TQM operative?· How must the concept of TQM be interpreted for its transposition to the public sector?· What are the connections between the conventional quality-assurance control principles of public management and TQM?TQM intends to exercise influence on organizational action. Action by the state and, in this specific case, by public management requires legitimization. For this reason, the notion of legitimization must be analyzed more closely, and the operative levels of TQM must be placed in their respective contexts. Legitimization may be considered to have three layers: basic legitimization is a product of the social contract and refers to the state and its structures in general terms; institutional legitimization relates to public management as an institution, and to its outward manifestations; and individual legitimization is the product of specific contacts between management and its customers. It is on this individual level that most changes are sought by New Public Management.