How to improve public administration services?

Summary

People are the lifeblood of any organization and the agents of reform and renewal in public administration. The knowledge, skills, values and attitudes of public servants are at the heart of State performance. The revitalization of public administration, however, must be seen from a holistic perspective. For example, the training of individuals cannot be isolated from the performance expectations of a specific function or position. Performance and human resources development plans for staff cannot be separated from the goals and service objectives of the employing organization, and goals and organizational structure cannot be disconnected from an understanding of the policy framework, including demand for services from the respective citizens. At the same time, the goals, priorities and performance objectives of an organization cannot be determined outside the broader national and government policy agenda and macro-socioeconomic framework.

Political leadership is the prime mover in bringing about alignment between capacity-building efforts of the public administration system and national development goals. Without effective and determined leadership, it is difficult to revitalize public administration in any country. While the importance of developing sound policy and institutional frameworks for revitalizing public administration cannot be overemphasized, it is leadership that primarily drives the change process. A major weakness of many public sector reform programmes, in fact, has been the lack of genuine leadership commitment to those efforts. These ingredients, policy and institutional reform and leadership commitment, are therefore essential prerequisites for the formulation of a strategy to strengthen the capacity of human capital in order to revitalize public administration at the national level. The present report stresses that reform of public administration is a long-term process, requiring the adoption of a comprehensive strategy that fosters the development of core capacities to provide leadership; to formulate sound public policies; to foster greater performanceorientation in service delivery; and to enhance professionalism in public management.

The world of government and public administration has traveled far since the early days of its struggle for disciplinary independence. Lately, there has been talk of the advent of a new spirit in the public sector, or at least expectations of its coming. The world wide globalization process supported by stronger orientations towards open markets, open highways of information, growing levels of organizational learning and interdisciplinarity in the social sciences have also made their impact on the study of our bureaucracies. Yet by all definitions public administration in the beginning of the 2000s still lacks the sense of identity that other fields of the social sciences has long since obtained. 1

Rethinking public administration or improving its services requires some strategies. According to

Committee of Experts on Public Administration1, Third session, New York, 29 March-2 April 2004
these are : I. Transforming the role of human resources. A. Developing a holistic and country- driven approach. B. Creating and enabling environment: 1.restoring pride in the concept of public service; 2. enhacing respect for professionalism; 3. improving conditions of service;

II. Building blocks for capacity development of human resources. A. Constructing an appropriate institutional framework. B. Identifying common values and professional standards. C. Developing competency frameworks for core professional groups. D. Desingning effective capacity development strategies. E. Institutionalizing human resources planning.

III. Human resources-key to high quality services. A. Capacity development of staff requires long term perspective and commitment. B. Merit-based recruitment and promotion in the civil service is essential. C. Determined and skilful leadership drives the reform process. D. Training of staff is an important engine for administration change.

Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2002, Supplement No. 24 (E/2002/84-E/CN.16/2002/8),

According to Eran Vigoda2 the next concepts may emerge as benchmarks in revitalizing public administration. Redefining and reaffirming the missions of the state, including its role in ensuring peace, security and stability, as well as creating sustainable environment to conducive to individual and private sector initiative, economic growth and human development. Developing and sustaining partnerships and collaboration among the institutions of the public sector, civil society and the private sector. Promoting cooperation among institutions of the state and public aministration in different countries in orders to facilitate the exchange of successful experiences in renewing public administration. Selectively integrating principles and practices of public management and governance in public administration so as to build and promote public administration system that are efficient and effective as well as perspective, responsive, equitable and accountable to the public.

Public administration in transition

The foundations of modern public administration can be discerned thousands of years ago, across cultures, and in various nations around the globe. The Bible mentions a variety of hierarchical and managerial structures that served as prototypes for governance of growing populations. Ancient methods of public labor distribution were expanded by the Greeks and the Romans to control vast conquered lands and many peoples. The Persian and Ottoman empires in the Middle East, like India and imperial China in the Far East, and the Mesoamerica cultures paved the way for public administration in the modern age, where in European Christians, and later Christians of the New World, were in the ascendant. All these, as well as other cultures, used a remarkably similar set of concepts, ideas, and methods for governing and administrating public goods, resources, and interests. They all employed professionals and experts from a variety of social fields. They all used authority and power as the cheapest control system for individuals, governmental institutions, and processes. All of them faced administrative problems close in type and in nature to problems of our own times: how to achieve better efficiency, effectiveness, and economy in government, how to satisfy the needs of the people, and how to sustain stable political hegemony despite the divergent demands and needs of sectorial groups. Not surprisingly, all the above cultures and nations also used similar managerial tools and methods to solve problems of this sort. They all used, fairly effectively, division of work, professionalism, centralization and
2

Eran Vigoda. University of Haifa, Israel.

decentralization mechanisms, accumulation of knowledge, coordination of jobs, complex staffing processes of employees, long-range planning, controlling for performance, and so on. Intuitively, one feels that nothing has really changed in the managerial and administrative process of public organizations for centuries, possibly millennia. But this feeling is of course exaggerated. Some major changes have taken place in recent centuries to create a totally different environment and new rules, to which rulers and citizens must adhere and by which they must adjust their operation. In fact, a new kind of governing game has taken shape, in which public administration plays a central role.3

As a conclusion we can say that human resources and the main institutions play a big part in the process of rethinking public administration and improving its services. Already we can speak about a reform wich has started years ago and it will continue.

Gorga Denisa Iulia Anul I. seria B, gr. 206

http://poli.haifa.ac.il/~eranv/material_vigoda/pam8-1-1-vigoda.pdf