Naturally, public administration´s internal organisation also plays a major role in NPM. This is described by the concept of "lean management". Lean management is a successful organisation and work model for companies, a model which makes it possible to "clean out the cobwebs" and find a way towards new - more efficient and more humane - forms and ways of operation.

Here are the basic ideas of "lean management":

1. Considerations of economic efficiency including a new definition of "waste". According to this concept, waste is everything that does not benefit the citizen and which is, therefore, not productive from the perspective of a service attitude. 

2.  Considerations of improving performance, particularly when it comes to identifying and improving the performance of hidden resources which may be put to additional and beneficial use. In this way, the separation between management and executive functions is eliminated. What is called for is not just the managers´ mental potential but also that of their staff, of customers and suppliers - that is to say of all citizens. However, performance improvement is not only based on exploiting resources but also on what is known as "proactive action". It is no longer enough to respond to outside events. What is required is active and forward looking, creative action. 

3.  Considerations of providing for a safe and secure future. Lean management is based on the idea of a holistic way of thinking and, on the basis of a given situation, always attempts to include all future knock-on effects across all the sectors.  

Here is a comparison of the features of lean management with those of the traditional model of bureaucracy.