Organisational amnesia: a serious public sector reform issue

Purpose - However well-intentioned are public sector reform movements, they are often compromised by misunderstandings about meanings and directions and by the organisational amnesia that comes from too rapid change and too little attention to the past. A better appreciation of these problems is needed. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach - The paper combines discussion about factors that inhibit successful outcomes of many reform programmes with examples drawn mostly from the Australian experience. Findings - Reform programmes are likely to have better outcomes if they are designed with these possible impediments in view. Similarly theoretical understandings will be safer and sounder if more attention is given to administrative history and more care is taken to reconcile conflicting views. Originality/value - The paper focuses on issues that have not been given much attention in the literature of public sector reform.