Table of Contents
List of Tables viii
Acknowledgements x
Part I Setting the Scene 1
1 Translating Agency Reform 3
Introduction 3
The purpose of the book and theoretical background 4
Theoretical perspectives 7
The selection of countries and role of comparison 9
Defining agency talk 12
The plan of the book 14
2 Agency Reform: Tracing a Public Management Fashion 16
Introduction 16
The international agency story from solution to problem 16
Agency reform initiatives in The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia 20
The contours of Dutch agency reform 20
The contours of Swedish agency reform 24
The contours of Australian agency reform 30
Conclusion 38
Part II Theory and Trajectories of Talk 41
3 Theoretical Concepts and Tools: Rhetoric and Culture 43
Introduction 43
Agency talk and social construction 44
The study of rhetoric 45
The New Rhetoric 46
Grid Group Cultural Theory: context and talk 55
GGCT and the cultural flavour of public management talk 58
Translating agency reform: putting rhetoric and culture together 62
Conclusion 64
4 The Trajectory of Agency Talk Across The Netherlands, Sweden and Australia 65
Introduction 65
The selection of official documents 66
The trajectory of Dutch agency talk 1991-1998 68
Dutch agency rhetoric: agencies as a unique and accountable alternative 69
The cultural flavour of Dutch agency talk over time 76
The trajectory of Swedish official agency talk 1983-1997 80
Swedish agency rhetoric: agencies for democracy 82
The cultural flavour of Swedish agency talk over time 89
The trajectory of Australian agency talk 1997-2004 94
Australian agency rhetoric: agencies for customer service 95
The cultural flavour of Australian agency talk over time 102
Conclusion 107
Part III Comparing and Explaining Agency Talk 109
5 Comparing Official Agency Talk: National Speaking Styles and the Role of Cultural Context? 111
Introduction 111
Comparing rhetorical situations across high and low group political cultures 112
Comparing rhetorical styles across high and low group political cultures 116
National styles of speaking across high and low group political cultures 126
Similarities in talk: a role for political culture and transnational stories? 128
The correspondence between political culture and national styles of speaking 130
Conclusion 132
6 The Role of Culturally Flavoured Stories and their National Translations 135
Introduction 135
Comparing common cultural flavours and their rhetorical styles 136
Agency talk and an individualist rhetorical style 136
Agency talk and a hierarchical rhetorical style 139
Agency talk and an egalitarian rhetorical style 143
Hood's predictions and the rhetorical elements of cultural world views in agency talk 147
Shifts in the cultural flavour of agency talk: reactions of rhetoric or the rhetorical situation? 150
The national limits of shifts in the cultural flavour of talk 153
Translating fashionable agency stories 155
Conclusion 156
7 Conclusion 159
Introduction 159
National styles of speaking and fashionable management stories 159
Theoretical contributions and evaluation 163
Reflecting on public management knowledge 166
Speaking persuasively in high and low group political cultures 169
Appendix A Analysing the Documents 170
Appendix B Selection of Documents 173
References 176
Index 185
