International Public Management Review
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Marketization of Public Services in Germany
Get PDFThis article explores the very limited introduction of competitive mechanisms and of market or quasi-market instruments in the German public sector. Furthermore, it analyzes the role, trends and effects of introducing market-oriented incentives into the discourse on reforming state and administration in Germany. The article describes the general function of marketization and the different variants of competition in actual reform programs in several policy sectors. Two case studies that demonstrate "good practice” are assessed. Finally, the article analyzes some possible effects of increasing marketization in Germany
Balancing Customer Service, Empowerment, and Performance with Citizenship, Responsiveness and Political Accountability
Get PDFResponding to demands from recipients for better customer service while simultaneously respecting the rights and responsibilities of citizens are major challenges facing public managers. One of the long-term results of the decade-long “reinventing government” movement is that most citizens now expect public services to be “as good or better” than those provided by the private sector. In theory, successful efforts to satisfy customers in any type of organization - - public, private, or non-profit - - should convince public managers to respond to citizens in a like manner. Relationships among governments and individual citizens, however, are more complicated than interactions between private corporations and their customers. Fulfilling legal and political obligations while at the same time “putting customers first" requires a comprehensive bottom-up reexamination of long-standing public management practices, genuine employee empowerment, responsiveness to citizens as valued customers, and changes in the management and oversight responsibilities of public officials. This article shows how quality theories and strategies can be used to change management systems, redefine roles and responsibilities, and transfer the “best practices” of private firms and public agencies
New Public Management and Corruption: IPMN Dialogue and Analysis
Get PDFThe article explores potential interrelationships between New Public Management reforms in the public sector and corrupt behavior of public servants, politicians and/or private providers of public services. It reflects on the impact of different reform strategies on corruption, analyzes possible unintended consequences of reform, and explores motivation and opportunity as possible stimuli of corruptive behavior. Empirical evidence to deduce clear findings about the relationship is absent. In fact, there is no evidence to suggest that NPM fosters corruption any more than does traditional public administration. However, the article reviews hypotheses that suggest NPM may foster the opportunity for corruption. The analysis is assisted by comments on the topic made by IPMN members in a list server dialogue that took place in late 2002
Hierarchies, Networks and Local Government in Viet Nam
Get PDFThis article explores how decentralization supports the policy commitments made by the Viet Nam government to increase citizen participation and accountability, and to reduce poverty and regional disparities. The article includes a review of basic definitions of decentralization that places the case study in an international context, a brief look at the unique, historical context in Viet Nam and its relevance, a brief comparison of policy intention vs implementation reality, a preliminary analysis of the impact of decentralization during the period, and a concluding section on remaining challenges. The article examines the interplay between hierarchical and network organizations in Viet Nam, as stakeholders seek to better define the respective roles and authority of the party, and other public, quasi-public and private organizations at different territorial levels
Critical Essay: Compensation Equity in China
Get PDFIn China presently, employees receive different compensation according to all kinds of ad hoc definitions of external equity, internal equity and individual equity. Consequently, employee attitudes toward work and social status are affected. If the government would provide people with access to better education, legal measures that guarantee fair competition, and training opportunities to people who have need, the Chinese people would have greater reason to believe that improved compensation equity will be realized in the future
Paradoxes of Public Sector Reform: The Mexican Experience (2000-2007)
Get PDFDuring the last few years, many public sector reform efforts have taken place in Mexico. Without question, President Vicente Fox’s government (2000-2006) has been one of the most active administrative reformers in the history of our country (Pardo, 1991, 2007; Sánchez, 2006). The 2001-2006 National Program Against Corruption and for Transparency and Administrative Development (NPCT), and the Good Government Agenda (GGA) set a wide range of reform issues in the public sector agenda. These sought to change the structures, procedures and technologies of public organizations, as well as the behaviors and ethical standards of federal public servants. Besides, compared to previous modernization programs, it could be said that this six-year long reform agenda did not stay just as a collection of good wishes. On the contrary, during the last presidential term, numerous and diverse actions focused on building a more professional, honest, transparent, digitalized, and top-qualified government were implemented (Pardo, 2007). The question to be answered in the following years will be related to the adequacy and outcomes of these reform efforts
Reaping the Advantages of Information and Modern Technology: Moving From Bureaucracy to Hyperarchy and Netcentricity
Get PDFThis article focuses on the inherent contradiction between the basic building block of most non-market productive relationships – hierarchy – and the vision inspired by the architecture of modern information technology, especially the World Wide Web, of a more egalitarian culture in public organizations. Evans and Wurster (1997) have argued that, in the future, all knowledge-based productive relationships will be designed around fluid, team-based collaborative communities, either within organizations (deconstructed value chains), or collaborative alliances like the “amorphous and permeable corporate boundaries characteristic of companies in the Silicon Valley” (deconstructed supply chains). They assert that, in these relationships everyone will communicate richly with everyone else on the basis of shared standards and that, like the Internet itself, these relationships will eliminate the need to channel information, thereby eliminating the tradeoff between information bandwidth and connectivity. “The possibility (or the threat) of random access and information symmetry,” they conclude, “will destroy all hierarchies, whether of logic or power.” We believe that we ignore the views such visionaries as Evans and Wurster at our peril. The World Wide Web, together with the canon that two heads are better than one, has created something immensely interesting and potentially transformative. The genius of the World Wide Web is, as Evans and Wurster explain, that it is (a) distributed (so that anyone can contribute to it), and (b) standardized (so that everyone else can comprehend the contributions). Random access and information symmetry jeopardize the power of gatekeepers of all sorts: political leaders, managers, functional staff specialists, and even experts to determine what information counts as evidence and what beliefs are sufficiently warranted to count as knowledge. In other words, they threaten nearly everyone with a vested interest in existing institutional arrangements. One does not expect folks to surrender position or power without a struggle. Furthermore, homo sapiens’ need for leaders is evidently instinctive, deeply rooted in our simian brains. The need for hierarchy buttresses the status quo, even where the powerful are neither wise nor unselfish
Measuring Trust in Government: A Hong Kong Perspective
Get PDFTrust and legitimacy occupy a central position in contemporary discourse surrounding the process of environmental reform in late-modern societies. This study examines dimensions of trust from stakeholders and uses a group process to enrich the data describing and explaining the reasons behind a possible ‘trust deficit’ in the context of environmental governance and policy making in Hong Kong. Results from focus groups indicate that trust in government with regard to environmental issues is generally very low. Factors include poor leadership, a rather out-dated mindset of the government, inflexible government structures, inconsistent governance, misplaced knowledge and expertise in the government and its reluctance to create dialogue or communication. Stakeholders suggested that to enhance public trust in the government, the government needed to develop stronger leadership, reform government structure, improve communication on environmental issues to the public, take input from the community more seriously and make better use of regulation and provide incentives for environmental protection
Political Corruption in India: Coalition Dharma?!
Get PDFThis article, while drawing a distinction between three kinds of corruption– transactional, constitutional and political, dwells on an analysis of the latter with particular reference to the time stemming out of the call for confidence by the Manmohan Singh coalition government in India in 2008. It also makes a case for controlling the proliferation of parties, while acknowledging the need for political parties for a successful working of a democracy. The plea is to stop small, splinter parties based on individual personalities rather than any ideology, and provide proper political conduct devoid of opportunism
Trust and Transparency in Network Governance: The Implication of Taiwan's Anti-Corruption Activities
Get PDFA core element of governance is the role of networks. Any government is embedded in webs of relationships, and the behavior and cognition of actors in networks are affected by rules of the game created in interactive relationships. Under such circumstances, two important issues -- accountability and transparency -- emerge from the analysis of governance. Trust in networks is the foundation of accountability and transparency. Trust can facilitate efficiency and effectiveness in network governance. Transparency is the cornerstone of government competitiveness, and has a direct impact on the wellbeing of people’s lives. Thus, trust and transparency should be examined from the network governance perspective. The network concept is applied in this research to explore the operation of Taiwan’s anti-corruption network. Research findings demonstrate that the judicial system and Civil Service Ethics Office are two most effective anti-corruption mechanisms recognized by respondents. Although the effectiveness of different anti-corruption mechanisms varies, the overall evaluation of them is not high. On the other hand, even though the judicial system is recognized as the most important anti-corruption mechanism by respondents, only 67.7% of people surveyed believe their safety will be protected by the judicial system. The research findings point out that there are institutional trust problems in Taiwan, and that corruption is a significant problem affecting government competitiveness