Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets Essay

Focusing on Long term care for the elderly, how have internal markets changed the organisation and delivery of public services - Essay Example This has in turn led to emergence of new management tactics in the public sector. Public services differ from other services provided by private sector in various ways. Private organizations produce goods and services for sale with an aim of making profit and hence are not available to people who cannot afford them. On the other hand, the aim of the government is to provide the essential services to all citizens especially those who can’t afford. It does not aim at making profit by providing the services (Flynn, 2007). The public services also help the other members of society indirectly due to trickling effect of benefits from those who consume the services such as education. As opposed to private services which are acquired individually depending on affordability, public services are paid collectively through taxes and some can’t be offered in isolation. Some public services though are subject to charges such as leisure facilities, care for the elderly, and some drugs . The people accountable for ensuring the citizens get the services are the politicians who represent the needs of the electorate. The facilities used to provide the services are publicly owned although the government can rent private facilities to be able to provide the services. The government through public sector reforms has been engaging the services of private organizations in order to offer efficient services. There has also been need to provide high quality services and minimise costs therefore, the government employs the management tactics of the private sector to achieve the reforms needed (Hoggett, 1991). The organization and delivery of public services has therefore changed tremendously over time. One of the services affected by these changes is the provision of long term care for the elderly which will be discussed throughout the paper. Public Administration to New Public Management Traditionally, public administration dominated the public sector management. Organizatio n and delivery of services was controlled by the central government through public service employees. The services were funded by revenue collected from taxation, in essence citizens pay for the services indirectly but the provision of the services does not depend on how much individuals contribute as tax; services are offered equally to all. Bureaucratic controls were evident in administration and provision of services. The politicians elected by the people determine what is to be offered to the electorates through the budgetary process. They also determine the bureaux to supply the services as they are selected to lead ministries and make legislations for local authorities on services to carry out (Flynn, 2007). The organization and delivery of care services for the elderly were controlled centrally by the Department of Health through the regional health authorities. The department organized purchasing and provision of care for the elderly and the disabled (Brereton & Vasoodaven, 2010). The public enterprises followed strict procedures regulated by law. The work of the managers of these enterprises was to implement national policies. The management policies were geared towards ensuring trusted workers and development teams who in turn would promote public service values. Customer (citizens) satisfaction would