Public Sector Manajemen A Millennial Insight

PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PLANNING
Public sector manajemen a millennial insight

Nirmal kumar berchoo
Introducing public sektor management
Public Sector Management concerns governance in each contemporary country. The

State is possibly among the largest or the single most important employer in almost all
countries. Public service personnel comprise of people employed by public authorities at
central, regional, and local levels and include civil servants and public employees. Public
authorities are expected to provide high-quality services to their citizens and decent work
for their workers.1
The public sector covers upstream core ministries and central agencies, downstream bodies
include both sector ministries, and non-executive state institutions. Upstream bodies involve
core ministries and agencies at the government’s centre, such as the Ministry of Finance and
offices that support the head of government, which have functions that cut across sectors.2
Downstream bodies include both sector ministries and agencies, as well as education and
health providers which deliver and fund services under the State’s policy direction. They
also include a diverse group of more autonomous bodies such as regulators and state-owned
enterprises and corporate bodies which, in many countries, still provide the majority of
infrastructure services despite extensive privatisation. Non-executive state institutions include
judiciaries, legislatures and institutions such as supreme audit institutions.3
Public Sector Management is an important part of public service as it is accepted capable
managers will drive change in the sector. Too often, the public sector has been considered
as a weak partner of any economy because it is associated with dull jobs, lack of prospect,
bureaucracy, bottlenecks, and red tape.
An African outlook of the public sector

With most African countries attaining independence in the late 1950s and 1960s, the
public sector is seen as the pivot that will promote socio-economic development. The basic
function of the public sector, which comprises institutions for making decisions regarding
interests of various kinds, was to provide goods and services to citizens based on ‘realisation
and representation of public interests and its possession of unique public qualities compared
to business management’.4
An argument for reforming public service

Since the 1980s, developed and developing countries have been embarking on public- sector
management reforms. The role and institutional character of the State has been questioned,
and the public sector has been under pressure to adopt private sector orientations. The earlier
reforms aimed at shaping a public administration that could lead national development
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and was based on the same institutional peculiarities inherited from colonial times. More
recently, the World Bank and other donors in Africa have been concerned with finding other
ways of organising and managing public services and redefining the role of the State to give
more prominence to markets and competition, and to the private and voluntary sectors.
The alternative vision, based on issues of efficiency, representation, participation, and

accountability has sought to create a market-friendly, liberalised, lean, decentralised,
customer- oriented, managerial, and democratic State. The public service – ministries,
parastatals, and extra-ministerial departments – has always been the tool available to
African governments for the implementation of developmental goals. It is seen as a pivot
African economies’ growth. It manages an appropriate and conducive environment in
which all sectors of the economy can perform optimally, and it is this catalytic role of the
public service that propelled governments all over the world to search continuously for better
ways to deliver their services.5
This sector remains, however, the economy’s productive component even if such productivity
remains unseen. Compared with the private sector, the public sector is a provider of services,
not the profit-making counterpart. The role of the State is changing and the Civil Service or
public sector is increasingly being called upon to be a proactive “facilitator” and an “agent
of social change.”6
The Civil Service’s key functions in this competitive environment can be summarised
as follows:
- developing creative, strategic policies;

- designing and delivering services directly or in partnership which meet the
public’s needs;
- using public money efficiently, while upholding core values of integrity, impartiality,
honesty, and objectivity.
The Civil service’s challenge increased over the years. As developing economies progressed
from a subsistence one to a service-oriented one, the importance of the civil service has
substantially increased. The scope is no more limited to the internal economy because of
external challenges. It has been felt the civil service must contribute to the globalisation
concept where it must shed off its limited domestic inclination to a more open, flexible, pro-
active philosophy evidenced in a dynamic sector.
To this end, the public sector should be on the move. No more room for complacency and
inertia, no more need to speak of inefficiency and sluggishness. The public sector should
partner the economy and collaborate with the private sector and foreign institutions. It
should offer value for money services while aiming to serve excellently due to greater
exigency from communities and stakeholders. Though it is hard to shed off certain clichés,
the public sector must keep pace with changes and development.
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In the next paragraph, a Case Study explains the need for a modernised public service
that performs better to citizens and develops capabilities of offering better and tailor-made
public service to society.
PUBLIC SECTOR PLANNING
This chapter provides a general view of planning in the public service by

explaining why the State needs to plan to ensure its goals are met. There are different types
of plans available and these depend on the choice government make. One can broadly
learn about the relevance of strategic planning since this is the key concern at the State level
but other types of plans do matter.
Planning remains an important consideration for the public sector. Given it is characterised
by a vast organisation and a tall structure, planning is needed to sustain the future of the
public service. Strategic planning may be considered more important and this should be
undertaken at the executive level. Officials working closely with Permanent Secretaries will
be also involved in such an exercise.
Some plans have been prepared in the form of documents that impact on the future of the
different ministries, occupations and even the country.
Tertiary educational reform is an example of strategic planning. White papers on Health

including reforms in the sector evidence long-term planning. Master plans in various sectors
like agriculture, fisheries, information and communications technology, social security,
among others highlight the need for strategic planning in government.
Government planning’s purpose

Planning directs, reduces change’s effects, minimises waste and redundancy, and sets
standards to facilitate control.
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Plans give direction
Public sector executives are concerned about where their organisation is going and how
they can contribute to reach the aim. This means establishing robust planning and control
cycles covering their strategic and operational plans, priorities, and targets, including risk
management processes.1 They must simultaneously engage with both internal and external
stakeholders on how such services and other interventions can best be delivered. They will
then coordinate activities, cooperate with each other, and work in teams. Lack of planning
will create disorder and prevent the departments from attaining their goals.
Planning reduces uncertainty
Since plans enable executives to think ahead, anticipate changes, and consider the impact
of change, effective planning reduces uncertainty. Governments of sugar producing nations
face a dilemma in relation to uncertainty in the sugar and the textile sectors. Broadly,
action plans devised at the right moment can be wiser steps to avoid uncertainty and
difficulties. Risks arise because of limited information and uncertainty about the future. In
transportation construction projects, project managers face the risk of cost overruns, scope
and schedule creep, and even waste, fraud, or abuse. Environmental, quality, and safety
factors also represent sources of risk. And with megaprojects, managers run the risk of
generating political controversy at the federal, State, or local level. An unrealistic
assessment of risk, for example, could lead to overly optimistic estimates, resulting in
unachievable goals and unmet expectations.2
Planning reduces waste
Planning can help reducing waste. When means and ends are clear, inefficiencies become
visible and overlapping or wastage is reduced. Voluntary family planning is one of the most
cost-effective investments a country can make in its future. Every dollar spent on family
planning can save governments up to 6 dollars that can be spent on improving health,
housing, water, sanitation, and other public services.3
Planning establishes parameters for control
Planning gives standards that facilitate control. Planning and control are linked. Planning sets
goals and actions. Control attempts to correct the deviations from stated goals or actions.
Planning establishes control parameters:
Education: Number of State schools built, budget spent in developing infrastructure, Intake
of students per year.
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Health: Budget allocated and spent in the health sector, quality improvement in health
standards.
Tourism: Increase in the number of tourist arrivals, visitors from new markets, revenue
and taxation receipts.
Types of plans: Terminology and definitions

Strategic plans
These are plans that are organisation-wide. They establish overall goals and position of an
organisation in terms of its environment. They are long term oriented and most sought after
in public service. For instance, transforming into a cyber-island or a city-state like Singapore.
Streib and Poister (1999) define strategic planning as something quite basic, that is, a
planning effort or method ‘to focus scarce resources, to maximise effort, and to exploit
opportunities’. They state further that strategic planning: …seeks to revitalise an organisation
by channelling effort toward the most important goals and activities The above-mentioned
scholars surveyed local government managers about their strategic planning practices and
included questions on the impact of strategic planning. They found, descriptively, top
managers in local governments engaged in strategic planning overwhelmingly believed such
planning improved performance, in terms of financial conditions, operations management,
and delivering services. The use of strategies has military roots, and we hear of business
strategies of different kinds. Strategic planning is an essential part of aggressive results-
oriented management. It is a ‘big picture’ approach that appears well suited to our rapidly
changing world.
Aims of Strategic Planning

Aim Definition
Provide Strategic In setting direction, three purposes stand out:

Direction
1) strategic planning sets goals on where an organisation
wants to go;
2) it indicates where resources are to be concentrated; and
3) it gives top priority and attention to strategic goals.
Guide Priority Use of Resources are scarce or limited. Strategic planning allows for
Resources sound and pointed allocation of resources – human, financial,
and material.
Set Standards of Strategic planning allows an organisation to establish shared

Excellence values and standards of excellence.
Cope with Environmental Strategic planning aims to be flexible and provide contingencies
Uncertainty and Change for uncertainty and change.

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Provide Objective Strategic planning allows for marking success and failure.
Basis for Control and Performance measurement or tracking of strategic objectives and
Evaluation action plans are of significance and serve as a basis for control.
Source: Jack Koteen (1989). Strategic management in public and non-profit organisations. New York, NY: Praeger
Publishers, pp. 25–26
Public sector strategic planning

According to a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) the strategic planning system at
central public administration level nowadays consists of two main parts – management
and budget. Management generally consists of mandate statement of mission, vision,
values, internal and external environment analysis, medium term priorities, and directions
of activities, monitoring, and evaluation, reporting, while the budget component consists
of current situation analysis, goals, results and performance indicators of the budget
programmes, funding programmes.
A strategic plan of state institution is management and a budgetary planning document

which assure medium-term planning for central public administration institutions. It refers
to the public policies under the competence of the institution and it offers a clear image
of policies, commitments and measures that will be promoted at the institution level, but
it is not a public policy document itself. A strategic plan of state institution supports the
shift from a resources oriented management to a results based management.6
Strategies are long-term plans. Basically, senior managers prepare them for an organisation.
It is a broad-based plan that requires a large amount of input from managers. Since the
environment is less predictive in the long run, strategic plans mainly forecast the changes
and make predictions.
Operational plans
These refer to plans that specify details on how to reach overall goals. They are normally
done by operatives. Operational plans are routine and repetitive. The degree of complexity
is lower than a strategic plan. In general, operational plans apply to a firm’s operatives.
Supervisors are empowered to put this plan to practice. For instance, monitoring daily
attendance in the public service departments.
The operational plan is effective for the short-term. It is executed by operatives and quite
often applied by the line manager or supervisor. The operational plan is detailed but it is
also more easily interpreted and carried out by operatives.
Operational plans should be prepared by the people who will be involved in implementation.
There is often a need for significant cross-departmental dialogue as plans created by one
part of the organisation inevitably have implications for other parts.
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PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION
Operational plans should contain:
- clear goals.
- activities to be delivered.
- quality standards.
- desired outcomes.
- staffing and resource requirements.
- implementation timetables.
- a process for monitoring progress.
Short-term plans
These are similar to operational plans that cover a period of less than one year. Such plans are predictive
in that they are quite easy and straightforward to plan for the short term. Note that short and operational
plans are broadly similar in perspective. For instance, improving service to patients through effective time
management
Long-term plans
These are similar to strategic plans that extend beyond five years. For instance, a Master
Plan on Education or on Health is a long term plan that can impact on education for at
least five years. These are less predictive than the short term plan. Long-term plans lay the
strategy for the organisation and they have a large focus.
Specific plans
Specific plans have clearly defined aims. They leave no room for interpretation. They require
clarity and a sense of predictability. When uncertainty is high, managers may not use such
plans. They can choose directional plans.
Directional plans
Directional plans identify general guidelines. They provide focus but are not specific and
exact. They are more flexible than specific plans. For example, reforming education to
improve overall educational standards.
Objectives
Objectives are specific goals. The terms are used interchangeably. They state end results.
Overall objectives must be supported by sub-objectives. Objectives form a hierarchy as
well as a network. Further, corporate management and officers have multiple goals which
are sometimes incompatible and may lead to conflicts within the organisation. Objectives
represent the desired outcomes for people, groups or entire organisations.
Case Study: Mc Kinsey’s strategic planning for governments worldwide7

The Mc Kinsey group helps public institutions build and execute strategies to achieve their
policy and organisational goals. Public-sector organisations around the world face important
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questions about how to fulfil their core mission, respond to political and environmental
changes, and deliver services to citizens despite reduced budgets. To answer these questions,
organisations must undertake rigorous strategic planning – a process that can be difficult,
especially in the context of a diverse stakeholder environment with numerous and often
divergent interests and priorities.
Working in collaboration with senior leaders, the Mc Kinsey group helps public-sector
organisations set a vision for strategic outcomes, build a robust fact base, rigorously assess
options under uncertainty, design an actionable plan, win support from key stakeholders, and
evaluate progress from design through execution to ensure that strategies have lasting impact.
Drawing on insights from the private sector and decades of public-sector work, the Mc Kinsey
group supports clients on a range of strategic topics, including identifying social, economic,
and technology trends; synchronising budgeting and strategic-planning processes; designing
stakeholder-engagement plans; and creating innovation programs at scale. The consultants
advise public-sector agencies varying in size, scope, and geography – from regional health
agencies in Africa to school districts in US cities, from national defence departments to
municipal infrastructure and technology teams.
In the past five years alone, the Mc Kinsey group has supported more than 1,000 public-
sector strategy projects. Examples include the following:
- advising a national government in Asia on a competitive tourism strategy that has

led to revenue growth and significant job creation
- helping a government agency bring together three sub agencies that had historically
developed their own strategic plans, creating an integrated approach with broad
staff support
- supporting a US government agency in overhauling its approach to strategic priority
setting; specific tasks included helping the client build alignment and develop a
shared prioritisation process used by all ministers and senior officials
- assisting a major African government’s tax division in transforming its process
for handling budget planning and revenue allocation in the face of significant
demographic and economic changes, resulting in improved collection rates
- supporting an Asian municipality in creating a strategic road map to grow into a
major metropolis, attracting significant private investment, developing a ‘go live’
plan for a new automotive zone, and implementing new urban-planning incentives
to ensure sustainable growth.
Mc Kinsey’s global team of consultants has access to proprietary research, tools, and
solutions that have been successfully tested and applied in various contexts. For example, the
McKinsey Centre for Government’s research on strategies for government innovation
offers insights on how successes achieved in one department can be appropriately scaled
across a national government. The consultants use proven approaches, such as the portfolio of
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initiatives and senior-team workshops, to help their clients identify solutions, accelerate
innovation, and drive on-the-ground change.
PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION
The public service operates according to a well-defined organisational and fairly rigid
hierarchy. As explained earlier, it has a tall, formalised structure owing to many employees
and departments. Organisation could not have been easy in the sector if such a structure
and formalised practices would not be adopted. Permanent Secretaries and top executives
in the public sector have to see how effective they should organise their activities so that
they take place without major problem.
It is logical to assume activities take place accordingly but there is time consumption in
having them processed before feedback is given to recipients. All departments do not display
the same characteristics; some consider rapid feedback while others may confine themselves
with many procedures which halt the speed which the public sector would normally be
expected to work.
Organisational Concepts
Bannock Consulting (1999) provides a useful summary of the functions that public sector
bodies undertake and that should be distinguished before reviewing organisational form:1
1. Policy functions: such as strategic planning, legal drafting, development of performance

contracts, minimum standards, norms, policy analysis and evaluation, forecasting.
These functions tend to be seen as ‘inherently governmental’ and requiring specialist
skills, and are usually provided by core ministries within central government.
2. Co-ordination, supervision and performance monitoring functions: such as coordinating
relationships between different bodies, monitoring the performance of subsidiary
bodies, facilitating and enabling subsidiary bodies to reach their performance targets.
These functions also tend to be seen as ‘inherently governmental’ and undertaken
by core ministries.
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3. Service delivery functions: such as the provision of products or services to internal

(other public bodies) or external (farmers, foresters, fishermen) customers. Service
delivery is often provided outside of central government through contracting
arrangements or by subnational government. When undertaken by central
government this is normally performed by supervised bodies or executing
agencies.
4. Support functions: such as financial management, human resources management,
information systems, infrastructure, staff training, efficiency review and management
audit; and secretarial services. These are increasingly contracted out except when
seen as inherently governmental for security or other reasons.
5. Regulatory functions: such as licensing, certification, permissions, accreditation,
inspection, compliance, and financial audit. These functions are also often seen as
‘inherently governmental’ and provided by statutory commissions and other arm’s
length bodies within central government.
Formal and informal organisation

A formal organisation means the intentional structure of roles in a formally organised
enterprise. In a formal organisation, there is nothing inherently inflexible or unduly
confining about it. On the other hand, formal organisations must be flexible. There should
be room for discretion for taking advantage of creative talents, and for the recognition of
individual capacities.
Chester Barnard, a management theorist, saw informal organisation as any joint personal
activity without conscious joint purpose, even though contributing to joint results. 2 Informal
organisation improves communication, enhances cohesiveness within formal organisation,
and protects people’s integrity.
The design of organisation structures should also assist in the creation of opportunities to
employees at lower levels so that there can be chances for upward mobility or promotion.
Too often tall structures overlook such an aspect by maintaining a high level of rigidity
that stifles opportunities for advancement. It is therefore strongly wished to develop flexible
structures that can help motivate public officers.
Types of Organisational Structure in the Public Sector

Feigenbaum (2016) identifies three types of public organisation structures namely
vertical, horizontal and divisional that exist in the public service with their relevance to
workplace situations.3
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PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERSHIP
Vertical Structures
Most government organisations are classic examples of vertical structure. Vertical organisational
structures are characterised by few people at the top and increasing numbers of people in
middle management and lower-level positions. Few people make policy decisions, and many
people enact them. Governments often lean toward them because they create defined job
scopes and powers – each person has a clear role to play. Vertical structure is the classic
bureaucracy and is epitomised and originated in one of the oldest government functions:
military command.
Horizontal Structures
Horizontal organisation charts are characterised by a few positions at top and then many
positions on the next row down. In other words, there are very few supervisors and many
peers or equals. While this structure is most common in professional organisations such as
law and architecture firms or medical practices, a few types of government use this structure.
For instance, in very small programmes – especially after budget cutbacks – certain city and
county social services such as drug prevention or domestic violence education programmes
may find themselves with only a few staff members. To deliver services or because they do
job sharing, staff may work together cooperatively rather than in hierarchical order
Divisional Structures
Divisional structures divide function and responsibility based on speciality or geography –
such as a market territory. In the case of the public sector, a few organisations such as courts
use this system. For example, federal courts are divided into regional circuits and even most
counties have multiple courthouses which hear cases from their defined territories within
the country. These courts run parallel and are not affected by one another. Similarly, police
and fire departments usually have precincts and battalions with specific jurisdictions for
better functionality.
Degree of formalisation through the organisational structure

- Administrative Secretaries have to execute tasks as advised by the Permanent Secretary.
- Clerical Officers have to execute tasks as assigned by Executive Officers.
- Orders come from the top.
- Communication is essentially top-down.
- Rules and regulations are devised by senior executives and should be abided by
junior staff.
- Activities are devised according to procedures established in the Ministry.
- Any important matter is agreed by senior staff.
- There is an established mechanism for complaints or grievances.
Organisation structure and design

An organisation structure describes the organisation framework expressed by its degree of
complexity, formalisation and centralisation.

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Complexity
Complexity considers the amount of differentiation in an organisation. The more

differentiated and tall an organisation is, the more complex it becomes. Simple and lean
organisations have a lesser degree of complexity. The public sector is affected by complexity
since there are several departments and hierarchies. Also, there are many employees working
in the ministries.
Formalisation
Formalisation refers to the degree to which an organisation relies on rules and procedures
to direct the behaviour of employees. Normally, in taller structures there can be a higher
degree of formalisation. In smaller and flatter organisations, this may be reduced to a great
extent. Formalisation, as explained earlier characterises the public service through procedures,
policies and abidance to rules. Formalisation can be said to create inflexibility.
Centralisation
Centralisation is concerned with the concentration of decision making authority in upper

management. In the former communist system, there was a high degree of centralisation.
Power and authority resided in the hands of leaders and top executives. In a centralised
model, decisions about the work or common tasks such as research, policy development,
financial reporting, HR activities or filing are undertaken by a ‘central’ division whose only
role is to perform these tasks.4
They perform this work for all the other divisions in the organisation. A variant of this
concept is a shared service, where certain common functions – typically corporate functions –
are shared across multiple agencies or business units.
Through the co-location of people with similar skill sets and work activities, centralisation
can foster the development of highly specialised capabilities.
The benefits of centralisation can include greater innovation, arising from pooling of
knowledge and expertise, cost savings arising from building core abilities or standardising
procedures, and greater cohesion across the whole organisation because different parts of
the organisation come together at the centralised point.
Many public sector organisations move between centralisation and decentralisation over
time. They do this to capitalise on the benefits of each model that are appropriate for
different stages of the organisation’s lifecycle or the demands of the operating environment.
For example, an organisation that is lacking cohesion or is having to work with reduced
resources may move to centralisation. An organisation whose work has become more varied
may move to decentralisation.
Decentralisation
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Organisations that develop and expand definitely need to decentralise their operations for some reasons.
Government aims at decentralising its activities to better attain the needs of local citizens. As such,
government organisations work more closely with the public and the State is relieved from excessive co-
ordination of tasks
A case for decentralisation

- Decentralisation helps government to have activities spread in various regions of a
country. It better reaches the local community.
- It helps executives to take decisions on their own provided that they are empowered
to do so.
- It improves flexibility in the activities in that they reach the community more rapidly.
- Better solutions can be implemented locally in line with the reality.
- Time can be saved by overcoming transport and disturbance.
Insight: Policy implications for decentralisation5

Decentralisation holds much promise, but whether it improves public service delivery
depends on the institutional arrangements governing its implementation. Several conditions
must be met before the full benefits of decentralisation can be reaped. First, for
decentralisation to increase allocative and productive efficiency, local governments need to
have the authority to respond to local demand as well as adequate mechanisms for
accountability. Because granting authority without accountability can lead to corruption and
lower productive efficiency, decentralisation needs to be accompanied by reforms that
increase the transparency and accountability of local government Second, functions need to
be devolved to a low enough level of government for allocative efficiency to increase because
of decentralisation. Low-level governments are likely to be aware of local preferences and, if
able to do so, are likely to adjust service delivery accordingly.
Third, citizens should have channels to communicate their preferences and get their voices
heard in local governments. But the existence of such channels is not enough. Influence
public policies and oversee local governments, citizens need to have information about
government policies and activities. The media play countries radio is especially important
for disseminating information about government. The media, however, tend to focus on
national events and politics. In a decentralised environment, adequate coverage of local
events and politics is also important.
Organisation design
The construction or changing of an organisation’s structure is referred to as organisation
design. Every organisation is designed in its own way in relation to the above-mentioned
factors. Organisational design is the art of dividing an organisation into operational parts,
then connecting those parts together through structural arrangements and mechanisms for co-
production, direction and control. The aim of organisational design is to ensure that the
organisation works well and that it can deliver the results expected of it using the resources
that are available to it.6
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A poorly designed organisation will mean that the organisation will be taking more time,
spending more money, losing more corporate knowledge, and losing more good staff than is
warranted. If the organisation is poorly designed, it may not be able to produce the results
expected of it at all.
E-GOVERNMENT PRACTICE
E-government is heralded as the success of the public service of the future. In an era where
all people at work are users of smart technology, governments have discrete accepted and
adopted new technological platforms to better serve the citizens. In a formal structure, let
us say, back in the 1980s, paper work was popular and typical to bureaucratic organisations
like the public service. Still, relying heavily on paper work can be the modus operandi
of public bodies. But, changes are taking place worldwide prompting all governments to
modernise by embracing e-government as a useful stand to communicate with the public.
Over the years, it has become customary for any user of government information or data to
click on the State portal and find out the numerous possibilities of benefiting from services
available online and at the click of the mouse. This chapter eventually embraces the relevance
of e-government and purports it as the most vital tool that the State can have to better meet
the demanding needs of the population. The topics covered include defining e-government,
the purpose for e-government, e-readiness as well as opportunities and challenges therein.
Defining e-Government
There are several definitions on e-Government meaning almost the same but having a slight
different view on it. This chapter analyses the various definitions of e-Government and how
close these might be related. The main approach on e-Government can be described as
follows: With the internet, e-Government can be used to work on and to solve political
and social issues increasingly local: close to the point of origin. As such, e-Government
creates a more effective and a more citizen orientated government with less costs for the
administration.
E-Government refers to the simplification and the transaction of business processes by the
use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the context of governance and
public administration.
e-Government is the use of information and communication technologies in public

administrations – combined with organisational change and new skills – to improve public
services and democratic processes and to strengthen support to public policies.
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E Government is understood as the execution of administrative tasks and processes with the
help of technical tools and media The World Bank, (2012) defines e-Government as the use
by government agencies of information technologies such as Wide Area Networks, the
Internet, and mobile computing that have the ability to transform relations with citizens,
businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies can serve a variety of different
ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business
and industry, citizen empowerment through access to information, or more efficient
government management. The resulting benefits can be less corruption, increased
transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions.2
E-government’s popularity
E-government has become a popular focus of government efforts in many countries around
the world. More and more governments around the world have implemented and introduced
e-government systems as a means of reducing costs, improving services, saving time and
increasing effectiveness and efficiency in the public sector. E-government and Internet has
made an essential change in the whole society structure, values, culture and the ways of
conducting business by utilizing the potential of ICT as a tool in the daily work.
According to Alsheri and Drew (2007), the purpose of e-government is not only the
conversion of traditional information into bits and bytes and making it reachable via the
internet websites or giving government officials computers or automating old practices to
an electronic platform. But it also calls for rethinking ways the government functions are
carried out today to improve processes and integration.3
Governments have different strategies to build e-government. Some have created comprehensive
long-term plans. Others have opted to identify just a few key areas as the focus of early
projects. In all cases, however, the countries identified as most successful have begun with
smaller projects in phases on which to build a structure. E-government researchers divide
the process of e-government implementation into phases or stages.
A business case for e-government4
E-government is now widely seen as being fundamental to reform, modernisation and improvement of
government. The OECD defines e-government as “the use of information and communication technologies
(ICTs), and particularly the Internet, as a tool to achieve better government”. However, the real costs of
and benefits of e-government have rarely been soundly and systematically evaluated. During the ‘dot.com’
boom, e-government enjoyed a healthy level of political and financial support. ICTs and e-government
were seen as key tools for modernising public administrations and providing better government. The next
stage of e-government, however, is likely to require investment in the development of services and systems
whose benefits will sometimes be less readily apparent to politicians and policy makers, and to the
public. This means that robust evaluation and monitoring of the costs and benefits of e-government needs
to be better incorporated into e-government planning and investment. This is commonly referred as the need
for e-government to be supported by a strong ‘business case’. Without this, e-government implementers will
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find it increasingly difficult to obtain support for making the investments required to enable them to
achieve the objectives that governments set for them
Governments need to adopt access for opportunity as a policy goal

Governments must specifically identify and discuss issues of real access – utilising the Access
Model put forth herein – rather than issues of technology. The end goal should be access
for opportunity, rather than solely access to ICT. In this context the governments need to
develop and formally adopt E-government Plans and/or similar national ICT Plans that
include access goals, economic development objectives, and long-term goals to achieve a
knowledge economy/society.
Governments need to focus on knowledge societies

Governments need to re-think and re-engineer their development strategies towards building
knowledge societies. A renewed commitment is needed to put ICTs within an integrated
development framework to leap-frog the traditional long gestation phases of development
and yield rapid economic and social progress for all. Governments need to include ICTs
in all planning initiatives: To improve access-for-opportunity, countries must recognise the
centrality of ICTs to development. The governments need to include ICT planning across
all government sectors, particularly public education, public health, economic development,
commerce and industry, law enforcement and security, and others – this integrated planning
will lead to real e-government and ICT for development. E-government and ICT goals should
be clearly articulated in terms of economic development and quality of life enhancements
for all members of society.
Public sector leadership
Leadership development is neither new nor unique to the public sector. Why has it then
become a hot issue? A common complaint is lack of dedication to the underlying values of
public service and the interests of the citizens served. A common response seems to be the
attempt to promote a certain kind of leadership. Leadership is a critical component of good
public governance. Governance can be briefly described as how a nation’s tacit values
(usually articulated in some way in its Constitution) are ‘institutionalised’. This has
formal aspects such as separated powers, checks and balances, means of transferring
power, transparency, and accountability. However, for these values to be actualised, they
must guide the actions of public officials throughout the system. They must be imbedded
in culture.1
Leadership is the constitution’s core. It is at the heart of good governance. The most
important role of public sector leaders has been to solve the problems and challenges faced
in a specific environment. When we say we want more leadership in the public sector, what
we are really looking for is people who will promote institutional adaptations in the public
interest. Leadership in this sense is not value neutral. It is a positive espousal of the need
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to promote certain fundamental values that can be called public spiritedness.
Leadership is an important and crucial variable that leads to enhanced management

capacity, as well as organisational performance. A leadership focus also plays an integrating
role among various Human Resource Management components including recruitment and
selection, training and development, performance management, public service ethics, and
succession planning.2
Environment of contemporary public administration

One of the characteristics of public administration is that it is aimed at the future that is
actions to be taken in the future. One certain feature of the future trend of events is that public
institutions will continue to grow all over the world. The more highly developed
countries will expand their existing services, particularly those concerned with education,
highways, housing, public health, physical, social and economic planning, and urban
development, and will embark on new tasks such as those mentioned above. The low-
income countries are fully aware that the ambitious plans of economic and social
development which they have drawn up, and are pledged to carry out, can only be
realised with an efficient system of public administration.3
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Insight: General and common trends in developing future leaders

There is no single best model for developing future leaders, because each country has its
unique public sector values to be emphasised and the management systems are different
from country to country.
Despite the diversity of strategies and approaches adopted by OECD Member countries,
some general and common trends in developing future leaders can be drawn from the
country experiences.4
Define a competence profile for future leaders
In the UK and the US, the first step taken to develop future leaders was to define the
competence profile for future leaders. The idea underlying this is that competencies required
for future leaders could be different from those required for present leaders in terms of their
responsibility, capability, and role.
For this reason, it is essential to predict what forms the future public sector will take, and what
challenges will be faced to identify and develop leaders suitable for the future environment.
Identify and select potential leaders
Given the competence framework for future leaders, the next step is often to identify and
select potential future leaders. This issue involves the choice of whether to select future
leaders from outside or to nurture them in the public sector. If a country puts more emphasis
on the former method rather than the latter, it should also discuss the question of how to
recruit “the best and the brightest” candidates in competing with other sectors.
Urge mentoring and training
Once potential leaders are identified and selected, the next step is to train them continuously.
For this purpose, some countries set up a specialised institution for leadership development.
Others put greater emphasis on leadership in existing curricula and establish new training
courses for the top executives or senior managers.
Keep leadership development sustainable
As developing future leaders takes a long time, it is very important to keep the leadership
development sustainable. To do so, developing a comprehensive programme from the whole-
of-government perspective is essential for developing future leaders. Allocating more of
managers’ time to developing leaders, and linking incentives with performance for better
leadership are crucial to the success of leadership development programmes.
81
Critical leadership competencies for public managers

Transforming and directing the energies of others into purposive action requires the right
knowledge and information, skills, abilities and attitude. For that matter, effective leadership
requires a balanced combination of job related attributes and personal qualities.5
The following comprise the competencies that are most commonly cited in the literature
as being core to effective leadership:
Ability to inspire a shared vision
This must be attained by sharing the vision among management, employees and the
stakeholders involved. Sharing a vision increases acceptability of leaders.
Strategic thinking
Thinking should be well-focused and directed. It should encompass both short and long- term needs of
managers. There must be a sound knowledge of trends likely to impact on the public sector
Customer focus
One of the key requirements of effective leadership is that is customer-focused. All services
should be geared towards meeting the needs of the customers in the most appropriate and
satisfactory manner.
Decision-making
Decision-making is a key characteristic of excellent leadership in the public service comes

from decision-making. Leaders must be accountable for the decision that they make but
also aim at making the most satisficing decision for the benefit of their organisation.
Developing organisational talent
This is an aspect of talent management with the intention of harnessing the potential of
employees and ensuring that the best capabilities are being developed. Evidently, talent is
developed through appropriate training.
Delegation and empowerment
Leaders must have the ability to delegate power to their subordinates. Such empowerment
favours decision-making at the departmental level but removes inflexibility caused by top-
down directives.
Creating and leading teams
The development of teams could be a useful aspect to consider as teams are small groups
with leaders aiming at developing new ideas but also working through structured and healthy
competition among themselves.

76
77
Leading by example
Leaders in the public service have to show this competence of being inspirational in taking
decisions that benefit the workplace. This requires a good management of personal and
leadership ethics.
Personal strength and maturity
Public leaders must show maturity and strength in their decisions. They must show unity of
command and direction as leaders. They must equally make decisions that show a certain
degree of maturity.
78
Effective communication
Public leaders are expected to inspire by communication. This can be an essential component
of public sector management where poor communication causes dysfunctional management
with ideas being poorly received and interpreted and lots of misunderstandings taking place.
Resilience
A characteristic of good leadership requires leaders to be resilient in that they have to accept
criticism, very often bear the consequences of employee frustration and demonstration, but
certainly, have the ability to ‘jump back’ again and do their business as usual.
Innovation/creativity
Public leaders are expected to demonstrate a high level of creativity in their endeavours.
This allows them make good decisions, improvise whenever applicable and come forward
with bright ideas for their organisations.
Transparency and accountability
These are two terms interchangeably used while they stress the importance for leaders to
abide by high ethical standards. It is very important today for leaders to show this degree
of accountability in the actions that they undertake.
Sound technical knowledge
Apart from strategic management knowledge, leaders have to show that they have the desired
technical competences to undertake their activities correctly. Knowledge and possession of
technical competences like sciences, economics, and statistics can help leaders discuss issues
more confidently.
Ability to mentor others
In line with delegation and empowerment, leaders must demonstrate the ability to mentor
others, especially, the younger generation and consider this attitude as a means of sharing
competences but also developing future leaders.
Top leaders in the public service require the above competencies for a variety of reasons.
Organisational or departmental teams must be directed towards a vision of the future in
an inspirational manner; strategic goals must be found and communicated to all categories
of public employees; organisational opportunities and constraints must be identified and
appropriate responses developed, proper judgement must be applied in decision-making;
and, once made, decisions must be implemented.
79
PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT MOTIVATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Insight: Public Sector Leaders: Different Challenges, Different Competencies6

Today’s public sector leaders are being asked to function with fewer resources and
continually find new ways to tackle challenges. Leadership in the public sector is
especially important; it not only influences the job performance and satisfaction of
employees, but also how government and public agencies perform. Leadership is critical to
good public governance, including good planning, efficiency, transparency, and
accountability.
Public sector leaders also face different challenges than in the private sector, and perhaps
call on different competencies. Public sector senior leaders are typically prone to follow and
monitor rules and procedures and give clear directions about the way things need to be done.
Without many of the incentives available in the private sector, it can be a challenge for public sector
senior leaders to motivate their employees. What’s more, they may struggle with how to establish a
positive working atmosphere that inspires people to deliver good public services
MOTIVATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Motivation has long been a central topic for scholars and practitioners. An abundance of
theories and approaches were developed to explain the nature of employee motivation.
Another handful of studies were conducted in an attempt to discover whether public sector
employees have different motivation antecedents than their private sector counterparts. And
a special motivation theory, called Public Service Motivation (PSM), was conceptualised
to explain how public employees differ from private workers in the level and type of their
intrinsic desire to work and serve.1
Improving management functions and procedures of human resources in the public sector
is a continuous and constantly evolving process. From the public officials the citizens and
society require effective work in providing public services to the population. In comparison
with the private sector, a lower efficiency in public sector is still noticeable in the world. The
efficiency of state and municipal authorities depends not only on the education, competence
and abilities of public officials. The efficiency of human resources motivation system has a
significant impact on the effectiveness of state and municipal authorities. For the purposeful
work results of the administration offices of human resources, it is important to analyse not
only the existing functions and procedures, but also to investigate the factors that affect the
motivation of human resources in performing the functions and procedures well.2
80
Factors motivating public servants

The notion that people are motivated to work in the public service due to altruism, a
desire to serve, or a wish to have an impact on society is a long-standing one. It is closely
associated with the idea of public service ethos, which is rooted in an understanding that
the public service is different from the private sector, both because of the tasks it performs
and the behaviours it expects of its employees. Public service motivation is not the only
or even the most important criterion of people choosing to take up, or remain in, public
service employment. Recent research cites the superseding importance of good, or at least
market-rate, levels of pay and security of tenure. The prevailing economic situation in the
country and longstanding cultural issues which impact on the prestige and social standing
of public officials are likewise relevant.3
However, public service motivation does matter, and among the intrinsic reasons that come into play when
people chose where to work it is highly significant. Against a backdrop of global recession, many governments
are increasingly seeking to reform their public service, reducing cost and increasing efficiency and
effectiveness in the delivery of services. These changes are needed
Research is cautious against ignoring or minimising the negative impact on employee

motivation and engagement of changes to terms and conditions and ways of working. In
circumstances where extrinsic motivations are significantly constrained or even reduced, as
is the case currently in the Irish public service, it is critical that managers are very aware of
the importance of fostering and supporting the intrinsic motivations of employees.
Motivational theories
To grasp concepts of public sector motivation, it might be useful for learners to get an
overview of the general motivation theories and think of their relevance and adaptability
to public administration. A summary from Your Coach website allows us grasp the key
concepts of motivation without going into much detail.4
Needs motivation theories

According to needs theories of motivation, motivation is ‘the willingness to exert high levels
of effort toward organisational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some
individual need’.
A need in this context is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive.
An unsatisfied need creates tension that drives the person. These drives then generate a
search behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to
the reduction of the tension.
Needs are physiological or psychological deficiencies that arouse behaviour. These vary over
time and place, as the can be strong or weak and influenced by environmental factors.

91
81
Equity theory
John Stacey Adams’ equity theory helps explain why pay and conditions alone do
notdetermine motivation. It also explains why giving one person a promotion or pay rise can
have a demotivating effect on others.
When people feel fairly or advantageously treated they are more likely to be motivated; when
they feel unfairly treated they are highly prone to feelings of disaffection and demotivation.
Employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they
receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others. The belief in equity theory is that people
value fair treatment which causes them to be motivated to keep the fairness maintained in the
relationships of their co-workers and the organisation
Alderfer’s ERG motivation theory

Clayton P. Alderfer’s ERG theory from 1969 condenses Maslow’s five human needs into
three categories: Existence, Relatedness and Growth.
Existence Needs
Include all material and physiological desires (such as food, water, air, clothing, safety,
physical love and affection). Maslow’s first two levels.
Relatedness Needs
Encompass social and external esteem; relationships with significant others like family,
friends, co-workers and employers. This also means to be recognised and feel secure as part
of a group or family. Maslow’s third and fourth levels.
Growth Needs
Internal esteem and self-actualisation; these impel a person to make creative or productive
effects on herself and the environment (for instance, to progress toward one’s ideal self ).
Maslow’s fourth and fifth levels. This includes desires to be creative and productive, and to
complete meaningful tasks.
Vroom Expectancy Motivation theory

Whereas Maslow and Herzberg look at the relationship between internal needs and the
resulting effort expended to fulfil them, Vroom’s expectancy theory separates effort (which
arises from motivation), performance, and outcomes.
Vroom’s expectancy theory assumes that behaviour results from conscious choices among
alternatives whose purpose it is to maximise pleasure and to minimise pain. Vroom realised
that an employee’s performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills,
knowledge, experience and abilities. He stated effort and are linked in a person’s motivation.
82
He uses the variables Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence to account for this.
83
PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Case Study: Motivation of Public Service Officials5

While public services are constrained in their ability to compete for top talent, it may not
actually be in their best strategic, long-term interests to compete. Resources will always
be a limiting factor, and the vagaries of human nature make the management, let alone
motivation of public service officials challenging in the best of conditions. The discussion
in this summary seeks to offer inspiration, insight and instruction as a starting point on
the crucial journey to improve motivation in the public service. Public Service Motivation
(PSM) is ‘a person’s inclination to respond to intentions grounded primarily or uniquely
in public institutions or organisations’. It is a predisposition to provide services for the
benefit of society.
Private and public sector workers differ in their intrinsic motivation to serve. The amount of effort that
workers exert depends on factors such as personality and the type of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards that
they respond to. Workers in the public service sector are typically seen as more altruistic than their private
sector counterparts
An individual’s PSM values influences his job choice and work performance; those with
greater PSM values are often drawn to the government service. In a British study of
longitudinal data, it was found that employees working in the public sector are attracted
because of the intrinsic rewards and so, are more likely to be committed to their organisation.
The authors also observed that larger numbers of people who are not intrinsically motivated
accept jobs in the public sector when the extrinsic rewards are high.
While public services are constrained in their ability to compete for top talent, it may not
actually be in their best strategic, long-term interests to compete. Resources will always be a
limiting factor, and the moods of human nature make the management, let alone motivation
of public service officials challenging in the best of conditions. The discussion in this case
study seeks to offer inspiration, insight and instruction as a starting point on the crucial
journey to improve motivation in the public service. Public Service Motivation (PSM) is
‘a person’s predisposition to respond to motives grounded primarily or uniquely in public
institutions or organisations’. It is an inclination to provide services for the good of society.
One study has identified four factors that draw people to the public service: attraction to
public policy making; commitment to public interest and civic duty; self-sacrifice; and
compassion. Another study classified motives for public service into different helping
orientations.
Private and public sector workers differ in their intrinsic motivation to serve. The amount
of effort that workers exert depends on factors such as personality and the type of intrinsic
and extrinsic rewards that they respond to. Workers in the public service sector are typically
regarded as more altruistic than their private sector counterparts. A person’s PSM values
influences their job choice and work performance; those with greater PSM values are often
drawn to the government service.

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107
In a British study of longitudinal data, it was found that employees working in the public sector are attracted
because of the intrinsic rewards and so, are more likely to be committed to their organisation. The authors
also observed that larger numbers of people who are not intrinsically motivated accept jobs in the public
sector when the extrinsic rewards are high
CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Change is a major component of a person’s working life. Joining an organisation at a

relatively young age, progressing during his career and ultimately attaining the top level are
illustrations are changes taking place in the life of the public officer. While these changes
are unavoidable and broadly unquestionable, changes at work might be issues where the
employee finds himself in conflict with what she is actually doing and what might be
expected of him in the future.
Change is a necessity for most organisations and the public sector is not exempt from it. It
has been seen that public organisations are now espousing change more quickly than ever
before because of the impact of internal and external factors. The need to downsize can be
an external factor for change, the need to abide by new technology at work could be an
internal factor for change.
Although change is essential, it may have some effect on the worker. For instance, an
elder public officer might consider change to be a threat to him while this might be better
espoused by a younger worker. The fear of the unknown, the threat of being surpassed by
others and the apprehension that existing privileges might be lost could be some compelling
forces that might undermine change.
This chapter starts by defining change and moves forward with an explanation of factors
influencing public sector change and ways on how to bring about change in the most
acceptable way.
Defining Change management
Change management is the discipline that guides how companies prepare, equip and support
people to successfully adopt change to drive organisational success and outcomes.
While each change and person is unique, decades of research show there are actions we
can take to influence people in their individual transitions. Change management provides
a structured approach for supporting people in any organisation to move from their own
current states to their own future states.
Change management’s Three Levels: Individual, Organisational, and Enterprise
108
While it is the natural psychological and physiological reaction of humans to resist change, we are actually
quite resilient creatures. When supported through times of change, we can be wonderfully adaptive and
successful Individual change management
Individual change management requires understanding how people experience change and
what they need to change successfully. It also requires knowing what will help people make
a successful transition: what messages do people need to hear when and from whom, when
the optimal time to teach someone a new skill is, how to coach people to demonstrate
new behaviours, and what makes changes ‘stick’ in someone’s work. Individual change
management draws on disciplines like psychology and neuroscience to apply actionable
frameworks to individual change.1
Organisational Change Management
While change happens at the individual level, it is often impossible for a project team to
manage change on a person-by-person basis. Organisational or initiative change management
provides us with the steps and actions to take at the project level to support the hundreds
or thousands of people whom a project impacts.
Organisational change management involves first identifying the groups and people who
will need to change as the result of the project, and in what ways they will need to change.
Organisational change management then involves creating a customised plan for ensuring
impacted employees receive the awareness, leadership, coaching, and training they need to
change successfully. Driving successful individual transitions should be the central focus of
the activities in organisational change management.
Organisational change management is complementary to your project management. Project

management ensures your project’s solution is designed, developed and delivered, while
change management ensures your project’s solution is embraced, adopted and used.
Enterprise change management capability
Enterprise change management is an organisational core competency that provides

competitive differentiation and the ability to adapt to the ever-changing world. An enterprise
change management capability means effective change management is embedded into your
organisation’s roles, structures, processes, projects and leadership competencies. Change
management processes are consistently applied to initiatives, leaders have the skills to guide
their teams through change, and employees know what to ask for to be successful.
109
The end result of an enterprise change management capability is that people embrace change
more quickly, and organisations are able to respond quickly to market changes, embrace
strategic initiatives, and adopt new technology more quickly and with less productivity
impact. This capability does not happen by chance, however, and requires a strategic approach
to embed change management across an organisation.2
Change and public service
Organisational change is a reality of the 21st century. The forces for change are largely
external, coming from increased demands brought by customers, competitors, suppliers,
markets, government regulations and the advent of new technologies. Acquisitions and
downsizings pose additional significant demands.
There are also common internal motivators such as: dissatisfaction with current performance
when compared to established goals; the need to implement and gain the full benefit of new
technologies; the increasing expectations of key people, especially senior management; new
demands from the workforce, for example, for more influence, information, and increased
skills; and, finally, the force of shared values that guide the organisation’s desired
relationships with customers, employees, and the community.
These issues are no less compelling for those who labour in government departments and
roles. They are facing demands to ‘industrialise’ so as to become ‘lean and mean.’ These
demands come from taxpayers, government officials and others who are horrified with
the waste and poor service record that have been identified in all manner of government
processes over many years.3
Need for public sector change

Today’s world is highly competitive and demanding. Society is better informed and expects
more from public and private organisations alike. Traditional public processes and institutions
are less effective in satisfying people’s needs. Globalisation, the wide use of communication
and information technologies, and the coming of the knowledge society, among other factors,
are rapidly changing the world’s order. This has created new challenges to nation-states as
people’s expectations from government have increased, job seekers are more demanding on
job content, and societies call for more investment in education, health, and society but
are unwilling to pay more taxes.4
110
Personnel systems are becoming less adaptive to these new challenges. Traditional practices
in public administration are the product of a different context with different priorities. Now,
governments have a new role in society and are taking on new responsibilities but generally
without tools to manage them. Public managers are expected to improve the performance
of their organisations focusing on efficiency, effectiveness, and propriety which were not the
priorities 50 years ago. Therefore, to respond to a changing environment, the public sector
has to transform its structures, processes, procedures, and above all, its culture.
Public sector change and reform

Change and reform are two concepts commonly used in political and academic discourse. In politics, for
instance, policy-making is described as a change-oriented activity aimed at transforming, modifying or
altering the status quo. The notions of change and reform are used interchangeably but that, however, is
not necessarily always appropriate. Reform is only one way of producing change; it implies a special approach
to problem solving. Sometimes changes in organisations are part of any reform and some reforms produce
little or no change at all. Whereas change as transformation or alteration may be an intended or unintended
phenomenon, reform is a structured and conscious process of producing change no matter its extent.
Reforms can occur in political, economic, social and administrative domains and contain ideas about
problems and solutions
Internal sources of change

Citizens’ dissatisfaction, diminished trust in government and public participation in
policymaking constitute a trigger force for change in government. The ability to manage
change is determined, to a large extent, by the inclusion or exclusion of public participation
in the definition of the reform agenda. Although an inclusive policy-making process
demands more consultation and negotiation, it certainly encourages support for the reform
initiative, particularly for long-term solutions, legitimises the entire process of policy-making,
strengthens commitment from all stakeholders to the reform, and accelerates the acceptance
and management of change.
For instance, Waugh (2002) argues that ‘direct public participation in policy deliberations
on environmental risk increases both the likelihood that the policy choices will fit local
needs and the likelihood that local capacities to address community problems will expand.’
Internal events such as economic crises, political turmoil, ineffective response to natural
disasters, health and sanitary emergencies may also provoke changes at the interior of the
public sector to deal with problems better. In such cases, managing change may turn a
complicated issue as the lack of information and awareness, and even mental and emotional
preparation would hamper the acceptance of change. The introduction of a reform initiative
poses the problem of adaptation to new circumstances. Incremental reforms, in contrast,
would ease the understanding of change and diminish resistance.6
External sources of change

The external environment is changing fast and countries have a growing need for adaptations.
111
However, countries are constrained by a complex interplay of agents from the public and
private sectors at global, international, national and local levels. Constant interaction and
dependence on resources have led national governments to be part of self-organising and
interdependent policy networks. This factor has imposed significant restrictions on countries’
ability to define independently their reform agendas because the introduction of change will
produce a reaction from other members of the network as they are interrelated. Failing to
acknowledge other agents’ interests may result in policy failure and resistance to change.7
The transfer of ideas, innovations, and best practices among countries has been facilitated
by global, international and transnational sources of policy change. The level of dependence
among members of a policy network determines whether a process of policy transfer is
coercive or voluntary and, in doing so, contributing to our understanding of the origins
of change in government.8
Expected new cultural values of public sector change
Public sector reforms are complex, in many cases unpopular, contested, fraught with risk, and require a long
time to produce results and prove their benefits. This fact begs the question of how to maintain
legitimacy, increase support, sustain the impetus for reform and avoid continuing losing people’s trust while
introducing controversial but needed reform initiatives. Effective management of change techniques should
contribute to keep up the momentum for reform while overcoming any opposition to change
Traditional Values Instruments of Reform Expected New Cultural Values
Hierarchies of control Citizens empowerment Accountability
Conformity Policy dialogue Openness
Impersonality of work Normalisation of Transparency

employment conditions
Authority through position Delegation of authority Efficiency

Effectiveness
Command-control paradigm Performance-oriented focus Authority through leadership
Trusted leadership Managerial culture
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PUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PLANNING

Public sector manajemen a millennial insight

Introducing public sektor management

Public Sector Management concerns governance in each contemporary country. The

An African outlook of the public sector

An argument for reforming public service

The alternative vision, based on issues of efficiency, representation, participation, and

- developing creative, strategic policies;

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PUBLIC SECTOR PLANNING

This chapter provides a general view of planning in the public service by

Tertiary educational reform is an example of strategic planning. White papers on Health

Government planning’s purpose

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Plans give direction

Planning reduces uncertainty

Planning reduces waste

Planning establishes parameters for control

Planning establishes control parameters:

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Types of plans: Terminology and definitions

Aims of Strategic Planning

Provide Strategic In setting direction, three purposes stand out:

Set Standards of Strategic planning allows an organisation to establish shared

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Public sector strategic planning

A strategic plan of state institution is management and a budgetary planning document

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Operational plans should contain:

Case Study: Mc Kinsey’s strategic planning for governments worldwide7

- advising a national government in Asia on a competitive tourism strategy that has

PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATION

1. Policy functions: such as strategic planning, legal drafting, development of performance

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3. Service delivery functions: such as the provision of products or services to internal

Formal and informal organisation

Types of Organisational Structure in the Public Sector

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Degree of formalisation through the organisational structure

Organisation structure and design

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Complexity considers the amount of differentiation in an organisation. The more

Centralisation is concerned with the concentration of decision making authority in upper

A case for decentralisation

Insight: Policy implications for decentralisation5

e-Government is the use of information and communication technologies in public

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Governments need to adopt access for opportunity as a policy goal

Governments need to focus on knowledge societies

Public sector leadership

to promote certain fundamental values that can be called public spiritedness.

Leadership is an important and crucial variable that leads to enhanced management

Environment of contemporary public administration

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Insight: General and common trends in developing future leaders

Define a competence profile for future leaders

Identify and select potential leaders

Urge mentoring and training

Keep leadership development sustainable