Characterizing the "new public management" Key recent changes in UK public services The new public management as rising bodies of managerial throught The new public management in international perspective Some underlying themes and questions Approach and methods Plan of the book Public sector restructuring Theoretical developments Public sector context Evidence of system-wide change Conclusion-moving to system-wide change? The creation and evolution of quasi-markets Introduction: the new public management and quasi-markets The quasi-market phenomenon Characterizing quasi-markets - some theoretical issues The creation and evolution of quasi-markets - some empirical evidence from the NHS Conclusions and discussion A process of transformational change? From change to transformation Multilayered changes within organizations Changes to the technology and delivery systems Reconfiguration of individual roles and power relations Changes to the cultures of the organizations Board composition: managers and "magistrates" The growth of non-elected bodies The transference of private sector models to the public sector From authorities to boards The board: from "rubber stamp" to strategy-maker? Private sector boards Strategy formulation as a process Board process Professionals and the new public management Themes and issue Key concepts in relation to professionalism The impact of competition and a quasi-market on professionals The changing management processes and the impact on professionals Induvidual professionals, professional managers, and hybrids The question of accountability: new forms or a democratic deficit? The growing debate Alternative models of accountability Purchasing organizations - will they really develop as tribunes of the people? Concluding discussion - the need for more robust models of accountability Concluding discussion Recapitulation of the key themes Novel concepts and findings The new public management in theory Future reserch agenda