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“Every citizen in the developed, industrialized, urbanized societies depends for survival on the performance of the public-service institutions,” Drucker wrote in his 1973 classic Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices. “These institutions also embody the values of developed societies. Education, healthcare, knowledge and mobility—not just more food, clothing, and shelter—are the fruits of our society’s increased economic capacities and productivity.”
Precisely because these institutions are indispensable, however, they are also prone to absorb money and exercise power without being held sufficiently accountable. “In every country citizens complain loudly of growing bureaucracy in government,” Drucker noted. “What they mean is that the government agency is being run more for the convenience of its employees than for contribution and performance. This is mismanagement.” (Drucker Institute)
This is precisely the reason why we need innovation and entrepreneurship for the public sector.