Private sector is more efficient than the public sector

[LateX'Dog]

Work that is cheap is not necessarily work that is effective. This myth that the private sector is more efficient has motivated the increase in competitive tendering of public services to private contractors, and has been used to justify lower unit costs (and lower wages). However, lower prices are sometimes secured at the cost of service quality, suggesting that paying higher wages could in fact be more efficient

Thoughts?

 

[Maccapacca]

Homework?

 

[StriderX]

We've known this for centuries.

 

[wndsr]

Having done Lean in the private sector, to me it feels absolutely horrendous but I imagine it's great for everybody else.

 

[Mickie]

Corporate world can Rot.

 

[LateX'Dog]

Homework?

Sort of. I'll explain if i get more replies.

 

[Mynight]

Explain and you might get more useful replies

Private does tend to be more efficient as they don't have the financial backing like public services they're in it to make money they don't make money they go bankrupt. Efficient in the way of cost to service ratio maybe not actual quality of service. If public services run out of money they have many more options than a private entity.

 

[LateX'Dog]

Explain and you might get more useful replies

I don't want my reply to taint or derail the question. Which is does nearly all the time.

 

[rodenal]

Having worked in or been very close to the worst of both worlds.....no, but extreme inneficiency seems to be the norm for public sector rather than the unfortunate exception

 

[Judgeneo]

I contract into the public sector at the moment, their systems are an absolute mess and the work ethic is lower than I've experienced in private.

Saying that, there is nothing to stop a public sector company being ran efficiently, I just haven't seen any evidence that it happens yet.

 

[Mynight]

I don't want my reply to taint or derail the question. Which is does nearly all the time.

Argh fair enough. Well I'm somewhat intrigued to know the reason.

 

[Deathwish]

I don't think you can judge/compare every public sector place, just like you can't compare private sector businesses. Some are bound to be better than others.

Personally from the public sector pov, we work with some shocking private sector companies that come in with ridiculously low tender responses and then proceed to shaft you every which way.

The public sector needs to get tougher with private companies who are taking the **** with contracts.

 

[Destination]

Cheaper work, properly supervised and signed off on prior to payment would be the way.

 

[Caged]

I contract into the public sector at the moment, their systems are an absolute mess and the work ethic is lower than I've experienced in private.

Saying that, there is nothing to stop a public sector company being ran efficiently, I just haven't seen any evidence that it happens yet.

Perhaps it could be argued that a constantly changing agenda coming down from the Government and a desire for minsters to keep **** rolling downhill prevents any actual work being achieved, and any ideas to be kept under wraps in case they don't work.

How can you run a public sector organisation effectively when the objectives you are judged against are changing with the wind?

 

[Judgeneo]

Perhaps it could be argued that a constantly changing agenda coming down from the Government and a desire for minsters to keep **** rolling downhill prevents any actual work being achieved, and any ideas to be kept under wraps in case they don't work.

Almost certainly true...
The problems I see would take longer than a parliamentary term to fix even with a good plan...

 

[Deathwish]

Perhaps it could be argued that a constantly changing agenda coming down from the Government and a desire for minsters to keep **** rolling downhill prevents any actual work being achieved, and any ideas to be kept under wraps in case they don't work.

Could be a part of it. I've been employed in the public sector for nearly 8 years now and each administration (elected members) always want to change things and so the entire business has to move.

Crap flowing downhill, ha.

 

[LateX'Dog]

Argh fair enough. Well I'm somewhat intrigued to know the reason.

Privatised != private. The recycling company, the "private" prisons, they're all granted a monopoly by the government, sub-contracting government work is not the same as providing a voluntary service in the market. I have no choice in the level of service or price for recycling, I'm forced, by the city, to use Waste Management, Inc.

 

[Caged]

Privatised services are the worst of both worlds - the lack of oversight that tends to come with public sector management because nobody can be bothered to say "No, we aren't paying for this awful job. Do it again", and the for-profit nature of private companies.

The arrangement could actually work quite well if there was any sort of scrutiny from the agencies employing their services.

 

[{SAS}TB]

I contract into the public sector at the moment, their systems are an absolute mess and the work ethic is lower than I've experienced in private.

Saying that, there is nothing to stop a public sector company being ran efficiently, I just haven't seen any evidence that it happens yet.

Similarly I consult almost exclusively to the Public Sector and the above is true (in my experience) in 90 odd percent of the cases

 

[kibblerok]

Easy to compare private and public and come up with that assumption yet comparing something completely different.

The private sector will siphon off the easy routine stuff that can be compartmentalised and run pretty efficiently whilst leaving the expensive to operate processes alone, thus giving a false sense of efficiency.

Additionally most of the public sector systems have been designed and implemented by the private sector.. It's a different beast entirely. It's like the banks, their systems are a mess, yet they're too important and integrated into eveyrthing else to change easily.