Showing papers in "International Public Management Review in 2006"

Improving Fiscal Governance and Curbing Corruption: How Relevant are Autonomous Audit Agencies?

Abstract: This research therefore underscores the limits of institutional design and constitutional engineering for improving the performance of government auditing. External factors, such as the functioning of the national system of fiscal control, the cycle of legislative accountability and the balance of political powers, matter greatly. A critical and often dysfunctional link is that between the AAA and their main principal, the legislature, as mediated by the legislature’s public accounts committee. This functional relationship is particularly important in the monocratic and collegiate models of external auditing where the autonomous audit agency acts as an advisory body to the legislature, such as in Argentina. It is a crucial relationship to enforce ex post government accountability in financial matters through the annual certification of public accounts and the discharge of government.

Mexico’s Professional Career Service Law: Governance, Political Culture and Public Administrative Reform

Abstract: Less than three years after the historic election of President Vicente Fox in July 2000, Mexico passed a professional career service reform law (Ley de Servicio Profesional de Carrera, 2003) for national government ministries. This law, and the linked transformations in governance and political and administrative culture that underlie it, have stimulated public administrative reform at all levels of Mexican government – national, state and local. This paper: (1) presents a conceptual frame for the evolution of public personnel systems in developing countries, (2) describes Mexico’s professional career service law (LSPC) and the historical conditions that led up to it, (3) places the LSPC in the context of underlying changes in Mexican governance, political culture and institutions, and (4) uses selected economic, social, political and administrative indicators to benchmark the impact of the LSPC and these related changes on public administrative reform in Mexico today.

Evaluating Executive Performance in the Public Sector

Abstract: The ability of a government organization to evaluate and reward executive performance is of critical importance if performance management systems are realistically expected to promote successful execution of the organization’s strategic goals and objectives. Government organizations must move away from evaluating performance based on equity, time in grade, personal attributes and effort (all inputs) and toward systems based on output, results, and outcome achievement. We provide a model that can be used to evaluate executive performance in government. The model allows executives to focus on what is important to their organization and customers, and ties their performance evaluations not only to the organization’s objectives, but to the importance of each objective; thus it gives leaders an open and explicit linkage between performance of the individual and organizational objectives. We measure individual achievement by defining results or measures of performance and then aggregating them into higher-level objectives. We discuss how to use the model to rank performance among executives, how the model results might be used to reward performance and limitations of using the model for performance evaluation.

Pradoxes of Public Accountability in Malaysia: Control Mechanisms and Their Limitations

Abstract: Public accountability has become difficult to ensure for there are a variety of factors, often rooted in the politico-bureaucratic institutions, that render accountability mechanisms largely ineffective. Since the utility of existing mechanisms of accountability is under challenge, governments have made increasing use of newer and non-conventional tools/strategies to enforce responsible administrative behavior. This article seeks to contribute to the understanding of public accountability in Malaysia and its limitations. In particular, it focuses on the mechanisms of public accountability and their roles in theoretical and empirical terms. The article begins with a brief overview of the Malaysia's political and administrative context.

Rethinking Capacity Development

Abstract: This article presents a summarized theoretical framework for capacity development, and the implications of applying this framework to development programs and projects It is hoped the discussions in this article will promote debate among developing countries and development partners on revisions to current approaches to capacity development, and a move to designs that offer greater hope of sustained impact The author suggests there are three key and essential phases in the CD process, each of which needs to be subjected to careful technical analysis: Performance Analysis – identifying what are the specific performance gaps which the organization wishes to address; Capacity Diagnostic Analysis – identifying the factors which are contributing to the performance gaps of the organization; Strategy development – based on the diagnostic analysis, developing strategies to address the factors which are constraining capacity

Public Management Needs Help

Abstract: The author discusses the state of public management in the U.S. in 2005, and suggests two improvements. First, the relatively small cohort of scholars active in studying public administration need ...

How "The Government Performance and Results Act" Borrowed from the Experience of OECD Countries

Abstract: To what extent did the United States draw upon the experience of OECD countries in developing a framework for "managing for results"? A great deal the author argues, tracing how The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) borrowed from the experience of Australia and OECD countries, and how this experience influenced both the legislative and executive branches in formulation and passage of GPRA that included elements of results-oriented strategic planning and resource assessment.

Harnessing Knowledge Exchange Among Professionals

Abstract: Officials, economists and others in developing nations worry about the economic impact of losing their best and brightest people to opportunities presented in richer countries. However, increasingly some of the effects of diasporas appear to be positive so that the new focus is on “brain gain” rather than "brain drain." The article begins with a brief discussion of technical and professional capacity challenges in developing countries, and then reviews recent evidence on the magnitude of brain gain. Findings on knowledge exchange among skilled professionals through diaspora networks are then summarized from case study research on the Philippines and the People's Republic of China (PRC) conducted by ADB, and from selected other work on the Asian experience. Based on these findings, policy recommendations are advanced on how to facilitate and improve knowledge exchange through diasporas.

Private Sector Corporate Governance and Singaporean Government Linked Corporations

Abstract: This article examines aspects of corporate governance in Singaporean public sector. Most government linked corporation in Singapore have performed well. In addition these corporations have been largely successful in combating corruption. Corruption has in recent years resulted in the collapse of some large private sector corporations such as Enron Energy and HIH Insurance. This paper suggests that large multinationals can benefit from governance strategies employed by the Singaporean public sector corporations. Although the principal-agent problem is often stated in the context of private sector corporate governance, this paper discusses the problem within the public sector.

Administrative Reforms in India: Need for Systems Approach to Problem Solving

Abstract: review of Indian administrative structure in 1950s, Appleby certified Indian Civil Service to be one of the best in the world. While there is still a lot to commend the civil service for, this article will focus exclusively on the deficiencies that have crept in the services over last few years. This should not be taken to mean that all is wrong with it. The article does, however, attempt to present the critique of the service from the perspective of an insider with a view to rid it of its malaise. Despite its notable achievements, over last five decades, disenchantment with public administration in India has dramatically increased. It is criticized for inefficiency, lack of professionalism, irresponsiveness, nepotism and corruption. After the assumption of power by UPA government, civil services have come under a real scanner. The government appointed an expert committee, under the chairmanship of the Hota committee, to review and suggest changes to the administrative structure. The committee submitted its report recently. It suggested changes in recruitment and performance appraisal system, opening of civil service position to outsiders and relaxing norms pertaining to removal from service to shake complacency of the civil servants. This article argues that these proposals are too restrictive in nature and scope. They are limited to changes in the upper echelon of bureaucracy. These don’t just exclude a large part of bureaucracy from the reform efforts, but also fail to address the factors external to the administration that hinge upon its performance. To be specific, the article presents evidence of the linkage between the deficiencies in the political, electoral and judicial system and the decline in performance of civil service. It reasons that it is meaningless to talk of administrative reforms without undertaking simultaneous reforms in political and electoral system. Finally, it suggests a more comprehensive reform agenda to improve the performance of civil service, and above all emphasizes the need for adopting the systems approach to problem-solving.

How Fiscally Distressed Local Government Authorities Can Create Public Value

Abstract: Fiscally distressed local governments face a critical challenge – how to create and deliver public value and sustain it. Drawing from the works of Porter (1995) and Moore (1995), this study highlights the concept of organizational strategy and the need to look into the “hidden” strategic advantages of fiscally distressed local authorities as a coherent approach for creating and delivering public value. To this end, case studies of local authorities in Israel that had been scrutinized by an investigation committee appointed by the Ministry of Interior were analyzed. This investigation committee eventually suggested replacing the heads of the local authorities with temporary nominated management committees until new elections were conducted. Findings on value creation are provided in the conclusions.

Opening the Doors of Invention: Institutions, Technology and Developing Nations

Abstract: What can the knowledge economy offer developing countries? Can developing nations hope to transform existing social and economic relations into an information society? What are the roles of trust, social forces, laws, internal governance structures, financial and information intermediaries, regulators and civil society? Does the creation of an information society represent a paradigm shift in development that requires different thinking and a different path from that taken by agrarian societies that have industrialized? This article explores these questions, investigating the path that developing nations can follow to build a knowledge-based service economy.

Intelligent Administration: Productivity, Transparency and Management of Change

Abstract: I am honored to be here today to contribute to the inauguration of the second course on intelligent administration, whose particular emphasis this year, is upon the administrative values of productivity and transparency and on the process of managing change…… When I first started to teach and consult in Spain, back in the late 1980s, I enjoyed many advantages being a foreign expert Within Spain, few individuals had a deep understanding of results-oriented public management Only a few did These individuals wanted access to information and analysis about foreign practice, which was something I could provide They also found it convenient to have an academic and a foreigner to reinforce their own themes in seminars on modernizing the public administration I mention this because I strongly suspect that, in 2005, I no longer possess any strong advantage in being a foreign expert It is not because my intellectual capital is less than it was 10 or 15 years ago It is because Spain has changed…… I aim to touch upon some of the theoretical foundations of intelligent public administration Before presenting my substantive comments to you, I will relate a relevant anecdote