Social Housing: Corporate Management Approaches in the UK

Abstract

The social housing sector in Britain has undergone significant change over the last four decades since 1980. Under the economic and political ideology of Neoliberalism, the introduction of market forces into the arena of public service provision has resulted in the evolution of a competitive operational environment for Social Housing Providers (SHPs). These organizations have to operate as businesses and meet the challenges of functioning as independent firms that are regulated by the state. They can borrow finance on the private markets to fund their activities and diversify their operations to seek new streams of business. The expectation is that they will operate as efficient and effective businesses that provide safe homes for their customers. As well as operating along business lines, SHPs are expected to fulfil a social purpose to provide for those in society with a housing need and who cannot access housing through the market mechanism. This article looks at the rise of corporatism in the social housing sector. It explores types of management theory that are being used by SHPs to create organizations that deliver effective services as well as efficient businesses that survive in a competitive age. Approaches to the management of values are considered in terms of benefits to customers and as guiding parameters for staff in these organizations. The article then asks if these approaches have benefitted customers and reflects on the challenges that SHPs face in fulfilling their obligations as business with a social purpose.