"Only seeing the numbers and forgetting the people behind" - The influence of New Public Management on elderly care : A country comparison between Germany and Sweden

Abstract: The elderly care sector is facing high demands in the context of demographic change. In regard to the high potential of efficiency increase, the area has been restructured particularly strongly based on principles of the New Public Management (NPM) since the 1970s. This thesis aims to investigate the influences of NPM on elderly care and the effects on care staff and people in need of care by means of a qualitative approach based on a qualitative content analysis. Through a holistic perspective, the role of social work as a profession and possible changes within the welfare state structures of Germany and Sweden is explored. The findings convey a rather negative experience of the impact of NPM and is characterized in both countries by a high degree of privatization, standardization and economization in care. Due to higher workloads and fewer resources, the pressure on staff in care is high. In addition, services for those in need of care are reduced and the quality of care suffers from the staff’s high workload. The objective of care is affected by the implementation of NPM and entails a change in the profession, which needs to be viewed critically based on the results.