This innovative text offers an assessment of the role of management in the restructuring of social welfare in contemporary Britain.

In the transformation of the welfare state since the 1970s, management has been accorded a central role. New forms and ideas of management have had profound consequences for: the organization and delivery of public services; the political processes of policy formation; systems of accountability; and the experiences both of the recipients of services and of those working within public sector organizations.

Examining the significance of managerialism, this book offers a unique insight into the current shaping of social welfare.