Svako poduzeće teži ka ostvarivanju svojih ciljeva, neovisno o tome predstavlja li cilj ostvarivanje što veće financijske dobiti ili nešto drugo. Javna poduzeća specifična su po tome što im je glavna zadaća zadovoljavanje potreba građana uz istovremeno nastojanje ostvarivanja većih prihoda u odnosu na rashode kako ne bi bilo potrebno sredstvima iz državnog proračuna i proračuna jedinica lokalne i područne (regionalne) samouprave krpati financijske rupe javnih poduzeća. Jedan od najvažnijih čimbenika koji utječu na poslovanje javnih poduzeća u cjelini jest menadžment. Zadaća menadžmenta jest postići maksimalan rezultat koristeći raspoložive resurse. Menadžment je onaj čimbenik koji planira način funkcioniranja svih sastavnica poduzeća od planiranja do izvršenja. Specifičnost menadžmenta javnih poduzeća proizlazi iz činjenice da ona djeluju u drugačijem poslovnom okruženju; pritom se prvenstveno misli monopolski ili oligopolski položaj poduzeća, ali i potporu države te zakonsku regulativu poslovanja javnih poduzeća. Menadžment javnog poduzeća treba iskoristiti specifičnost položaja javnih poduzeća na tržištu te nastojati što kvalitetnije zadovoljiti javne potrebe, vodeći pritom računa o financijskom rezultatu poslovanja. Ipak, u praksi se pokazalo kako svoje zadaće menadžment javnog poduzeća vrlo rijetko izvršava na zadovoljstvo građana i države. Kao glavni razlog takvom stanju treba izdvojiti utjecaj politike na izbor i rad menadžera javnog poduzeća koji, ukoliko nisu politički postavljeni, zbog vanjskog pritiska od strane vladajuće opcije često gube samostalnost u radu, a samim time i kvaliteta njihovog rada se drastično smanjuje.

Every company seeks to achieve its objectives, regardless whether their objective is profit maximization or something else. A particularity of all public enterprises is that their main objective is to satisfy citizens’ needs and at the same time attempt to achieve revenues that considerably exceed expenses, so as to avoid using state budget funds or funds from the budget of local and regional self-government units to plug financial holes of public enterprises. One of the most important factors that affect business operations of public enterprises as a whole, is management. The objective of management is to achieve the best possible results using readily available resources. Management is the factor that is essential for determining the function of all elements in a company, throughout the planning phase all the way to implementation. A particularity of public enterprise management lies in the fact that these companies operate in a somewhat different business environment. This primarily refers to the position that a public enterprise occupies within oligopolistic or monopolistic markets, but also to state support and statutory regulations that govern business operations of public enterprises. Public enterprise management should focus on taking advantage of the special position that public enterprises occupy on the market and seek to satisfy public needs as effectively as possible, at the same time monitoring financial performance of company’s business. However, practice has shown that public enterprise management rarely fulfils these duties in a manner that would satisfy citizens and the state. The main reason for this situation is the impact that politics has on the appointment of and work performed by public enterprise managers, who, unless appointed through political lobbying, tend to lose autonomy in fulfilling their duties due to the pressure imposed by the party currently in power, which finally results in a serious decline in the quality of their work.