The actioning of new values of proximity to customer, creativity, innovation and
entrepreneurship in the delivery of these services can only occur if post-bureaucratic
organizational forms prevail in the views stated above. This view, however, stems from
a limited and somewhat caricatured view of bureaucracy and its different forms.
Moreover, despite the prospect of new service values materialising in public service
delivery, conforming to standards and contractual obligations, the existence of
indivisibilities and the need to exploit economies of scale and scope constrain the
post-bureaucratic promise. But, this constraint opens up the possibility of reanimatingpublic governance as both a discourse and practice of continuity. This approach opens
up a rich vein of material for future research agendas to mine. It also provides the basis
for practitioners to re-appropriate some their professional territory through
understanding the discourses which may underpin future reforms in the public services.