Showing papers by "Government of Canada published in 1974"

Common services in government

Abstract: . The provision of supporting services to a number of departments and agencies by one or more common service departments is the application in government administration of the economic principle of the specialization or division of labour. Common service agencies are used widely in the Government of Canada, in provincial and municipal governments, and indeed within most large organizations both in the public and private sectors of the economy. This paper examines the advantages and disadvantages of common service agencies and considers some of the principles which can contribute to their success. The paper then focuses on four major issues which face both users and suppliers of common services. These are (a) whether the use of common services should be optional or mandatory; (b) whether or not the users of common services should pay for the services they receive; (c) under what circumstances common service agencies should buy their services from the private sector and under what circumstances they should staff to provide those services themselves; and (d) whether common service agency efficiency and effectiveness should be subordinated to other policy objectives. The paper concludes that the use of common services in government has produced many of the advantages inherent in the specialization or division of labour as well as some attendant disadvantages. Whether common services will succeed or fail depends in no small part on what might be called the level of civilization of the organization in which they operate. Sommaire. La prostration de services de soutien a plusieurs ministeres et organismes par un on certains ministeres designes est une illustration de l'application clans l'administration publique du principe economique de la specialisation ou de la division du travail. Les organismes de services communs sont tres repandus a tous les paliers de gouvernement et du reste, on les retrouve dans la plupart des grandes entreprises publiques et privees. L'auteur de l'article fait le bilan des avantages et des inconvenients des organismes de services comniuns et examine certains des principes qui pourraient contribuer a leur succes. Il s'attache ensuite a quatre questions importantes que se posent tant la clientele que les fournisseurs des services communs, a savoir: (a) si le recours aux services communs doit etre facultatif ou obligatoire; (b) si les utilisateurs des services communs doivent payer ou non les services; (c) quelles sont les circonstances qui peuvent amener les organismes de services communs a acheter leurs services du secteur prive et celles ou ils doivent s'attacher le personnel leur permettant de fournir eux-memes ces services; et (d) si le fonctionnement et l'efficacite. des organismes de services communs doivent etre subordonnes a d'autres objectifs prioritaires. L'auteur conclut que l'utilisation des services communs au sein du gouvernement comporte un grand nombre des avantages inherents a la specialisation ou a la division du travail en meme temps que certains inconvenients inevitables. Le succes ou l'echec des services communs tient en grande partie a ce que l'on pourrait appeler le niveau de civilisation de l'organisation qu'ils servent.