Governments' adoption of the privatization policy has led to the rise of the private sector, contributing to the economy's overall growth. However, sustained progress and development of any country necessitate collaborative efforts between both sectors. The private sector comprises businesses owned, managed, and controlled by individuals, whereas the public sector comprises government-owned and managed business enterprises. The realization that private institutions are funded mainly through profits, while the public sector is funded through taxes, nuance the differences in the fundamentals that define organizational culture. Organizational culture as a collection of practices, expectations, and values that inform actions to support organizational functions highlight specific traits distinctive of the desired management approaches. In this paper, the main difference between the private sector and the public sector is that while the former mainly serves its own interests mainly by generating profit from identified gaps in a certain society, the latter exists to solve various citizens’ needs mainly through the provision of important services .
The public sector serves to address citizens' needs while the private sector exists to generate revenue by focusing on identified gaps in the society, each objective necessitating appropriate measures. Regardless, achieving the set goals requires strategies that streamline operational procedures and systematic efficiencies ( Alford & Greve, 2017 ). For instance, private institutions target the various mechanics that enhance employee resilience, including motivation, engagement, and productivity. On the other hand, the success of the public sector depends on the management's ability to foster an environment that encourages public participation, to identify issues to prioritize. This realization implies that the management strategies applied in the public sector enhance public relations, whereas the private sector targets to streamline operational procedures to enhance organizational competitiveness ( Veselovsky et al., 2018 ). Notwithstanding the differences in management principles applied in the private and public sector, the identified strategies are but a conduit to facilitate the realization of the specified mission and vision.
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The management in the private sector outlines measures to formulate and evaluate success by referring to specific goals, whereas public managers focus on the overarching needs manifest in the society by adopting programs that contribute to the overall betterment of the society. Notably, the public sector serves a diverse group and is subject to constant changes, hence require appropriate measures to address social, financial, and political challenges ( Alford & Greve, 2017 ). On the other hand, the private sector provides niche-based services and focus on facilitating resource efficiency to gain a competitive edge. Markedly, the vast portfolio and the multifaceted functions completed by the public sector explains why public managers often engage the private sector for solutions. Therefore, the differences in the key objectives outlined by the private sector and the public sector highlight the need for a collaborative effort and an evaluation of the business process change (BPC) to identify inefficiencies in past strategies, to facilitate the realization of the specified mission and vision.
Whereas administrators in the public sector implement and execute governmental policies within specified frameworks and using allocated funds, managers in the private sector rationalize through approaches that impact organizational decision-making to realize goals that support organizational growth. Therefore, public officials involved in the management of public institutions are employed by state agencies to execute governmental policies and focus on implementing laws within specified frameworks ( Hay & Cordery, 2018 ). On the other hand, managers in the private sector undergo vigorous vetting to satisfy stakeholders’ needs using available resources ( Hay & Cordery, 2018 ). This understanding highlights the lack of concern for efficient use of resources in the public sector, unlike the private sector, where the allotted budget should be observed, notwithstanding the differences in the management approaches adopted by each entity, both highlight transferable activities and strategies, which aims to facilitate the realization of the specified mission and vision.
The differing goals of the public sector and the private sector highlight discrepancies in the ethical conduct to guide managers of respective entities, outlining the seriousness of public institutions engaging in acts that represent the public good. Notably, research indicates that numerous ethical issues derail the public sector from realizing success, including corruption, nepotism, bribery, conflict of interests, and generally poor administration of public funds ( Kröger, 2018 ). On the other hand, the private sector applies liberal approaches when completing their function, thereby attracting different ethical judgement informed through differing ethical perceptions. Markedly, the public sector outlines several principles that should govern management efforts to address existing challenges, whereas the private sector prescribes approaches to enhance good corporate citizenship ( Alford & Greve, 2017 ). The lack of competition in the public sector and the dynamics of dealing with different people where individuals compete for attention presents numerous challenges in public sector management. On the other hand, the private sector engages in competitive efforts to record success and managers could exercise discretion in applying concepts of ethical considerations. Nonetheless, both sectors are expected to adopt strategies that serve the public good as they pursue specified goals.
Lastly, performance in the private sector is a priority to managers and necessitate corruption-free strategies, whereas the workload in the public sector is insignificant and often results in a monotony, which highlights the discrepancies in the adopted strategies. Notably, the public sector presents numerous corruption cases, whereas the private sector seems corruption-free ( Arundel et al., 2019 ). This realization implies that managers in the public sector struggle to conform with the existing code of conduct, limiting their creativeness and proactiveness in solving issues of political nature. In contrast, manager in the private sector adopts liberal approaches, unconcerned about ethical considerations. Therefore, the management strategies applied in the public sector are restrictive and attract periodic validations. In contrast, the approaches adopted by managers in the private sector primarily endeavors to enhance organizational performance and does not highlight consistency measures. Despite the discrepancies evidenced in the public sector, both sectors outline strategies that address pertinent questions that enhance overall performance.
A public sector manager needs to have two important skills in order to be effective; the ability to persuade people to cooperate and the skill of solving conflicts. Randolf (2020) illustrates the persuasion skill in public management by using the example of investigators who need to talk to people, listen to them and identify with them. This means that for effective persuasion, public managers need to identify with the needs of teams, listen actively, understand their perspectives, and then talk to them to cooperate and work towards organizational goals. Persuasion helps to inspire people and at the same time influences people to commit to the good of the organization. The skill of solving conflicts is important as people are likely to differ in ideas, views and other aspects, which may lead to confrontations. Solving conflicts ensures that work is not derailed and that all needs of people are addressed .
In conclusion, it is now apparent that there are numerous differences in the approaches used by managers in the public and private sector. Nonetheless, the adopted strategies serving both the private and public sector services to facilitate the realization of the specified mission and vision, despite the highlighted differences. Notably, the public sector serves to address citizens' needs while the private sector generates revenue by focusing on identified gaps in society. This realization implies that both sectors present challenges that require specific and appropriate measures based on the established organizational culture. Markedly, the management in the private sector outlines measures to formulate and evaluate success by referring to specific goals, whereas public managers focus on the overarching needs manifest in the society by adopting programs that contribute to the overall betterment of the society. The workload in the public sector presents monotonous challenges and compel managers to engage in undesired actions, including corruption, bribery, poor administration of public resources, and nepotism. In contrast, the private sector is considered corruption-free. Nonetheless, managers in the private sector exercise diligence in exploring different strategies and prioritize approaches that enhance their competitive advantage while contributing to the status of their corporate citizenship. Also, managers in the public sector struggle to conform with the existing code of conduct, thereby limiting their creativeness and proactiveness in solving issues of political nature, where the manager in the private sector adopt liberal approaches, unconcerned about ethical considerations. Regardless, both sectors refer to mission and vision statement to inform appropriate strategies to realize the specified goals.
References
Alford, J., & Greve, C. (2017). Strategy in the public and private sectors: Similarities, differences and changes. Administrative Sciences , 7 (4), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci7040035
Arundel, A., Bloch, C., & Ferguson, B. (2019). Advancing innovation in the public sector: Aligning innovation measurement with policy goals. Research Policy , 48 (3), 789-798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2018.12.001
Hay, D., & Cordery, C. (2018). The value of public sector audit: Literature and history. Journal of Accounting Literature , 40 , 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acclit.2017.11.001
Kröger, L. C. (2018). 'The Right Thing to do'or 'Good for Business: The Importance of Morality in Formulating Diversity Policies of Public and Private Sector Organizations (Master's thesis).
Randolph, D. (2020). Persuasion and Effective Communication for Law Enforcement: Applications for Patrol, Investigation, Undercover Operations and Survival . Palmetto Publishing Group, Charleston, SC
Veselovsky, M. Y., IZMAILAOVA, M. A., Bogoviz, A. V., Lobova, S. V., & Ragulina, Y. V. (2018). System Approach to achieving New Quality of Corporate Governance in the Context of Innovation Development. Quality-Access to Success , 19 (163). https://web.b.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=15822559&AN=128693218&h=x2VqjcM5ZCN2%2bczwUa2eDiRSHRS8mdx1TO8ZZ4YIwk6okEChJq%2f50sUulE%2b%2biw2tbJpAYiV%2b7xlkx08SoYlEFg%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d15822559%26AN%3d128693218
