New Public Management for Privatization in Thailand

Abstract

Changes in globalization and technology advancement make the old management focusing on regulations for achieving maximum
efficiency not be able to solve problems and be out-of-date and inflexible management. When encountering any changes, organizations cannot adjust themselves to situations which affects the country’s development. This leads to a proposal of new idea or public management open for public participation in public management. An increase of the roles of private sector in government organizations or privatization responds to people’s needs under the concept of New Public Management (NPM). This concept applies Evolutionary Institutional Economics including Managerialism, Public Choices and Principled-Agent Theory as management guidelines for government sector. The concept is market mechanism. It reduces size of organization to enable management flow by increasing the roles of private sector or privatization. However, the New Public Management may give both positive and negative effects on government management and privatization. Therefore, precise knowledge on privatization should be assimilated to give understanding to all parties. This will transform to private strategic management, enabling competition, enhancing product quality
and directly responding to people’s needs. It also provides public services thoroughly. The country can compete with foreign countries at the end. New Public Management (NPM) has played a role in Thailand after economic crisis in 1997. The government considered new guidelines for management so it applied the concept of reducing government sector roles and privatization for the country’s development efficiency and effectiveness. Privatization is different. For instance, privatization of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited aims to increase competitive performance and investment from private sector. Nevertheless, New Public 
Management cannot solve all problems as management corresponding to the context of country’s development is required.