Showing papers in "The Asian Journal of Public Administration in 2003"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that if we do not enrich e-government, many of its possibilities will remain unexploited, and if we stick to the information management approach, eGovernment will endanger the very foundations of the legitimacy of public administration.
Abstract: In public administration science and practice, the debate on e-government concentrates on service delivery, information and technology. This article argues that we need a broad public administration approach towards e-government that surpasses this technocratic emphasis. Public administration theory helps us to escape from the conceptual prison of the information management ideology that currently dominates e-government. Both the locus of e-government (the parts of public administration that are being touched by it) and its focus (its approach towards governance) can be used to broaden the concept. If we do not enrich e-government, many of its possibilities will remain unexploited. Also, if we stick to the information management approach, e-government will endanger the very foundations of the legitimacy of public administration.
55 citations
TL;DR: The anti-corruption strategies in Indonesia, the Philippines and Indonesia can be attributed to the low salaries of the civil servants and political leaders, the ample opportunities for corruption in many public agencies, and the low probability of detection and punishment of corrupt offenders as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Corruption in Indonesia, the Philippines and Indonesia can be attributed to the low salaries of the civil servants and political leaders, the ample opportunities for corruption in many public agencies, and the low probability of detection and punishment of corrupt offenders. The consequences of corruption are negative for all three countries, but they are less serious for Thailand because of the National Counter Corruption Commission’s efforts in curbing corruption. The anti-corruption strategies in Indonesia and the Philippines would be more effective if their political leaders demonstrated their commitment to curbing corruption.
31 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore and analyse the emerging need to customise these linkages between governments and community to optimise inherent benefits of these modes of working, and propose that new ways of working together require specialised mixing, matching and managing of networked arrangements between government and citizens.
Abstract: Changes in the social, political and economic make-up of contemporary society have resulted in greater emphasis on competition, entrepreneurship, individualisation and fragmentation but, at the same time, there has been growing calls by the community for improved connection between government and citizens, and greater integration and cooperation. Since governments cannot afford to tolerate excessive levels of tension between constituents and other stakeholders, and the previous systems of integration on their own are no longer sufficient, there is a need for new processes and mechanisms of connection. Universally, networked forms based on horizontal integration principles have been presented as the new mode for social connection. Despite their apparent simplicity, networked arrangements offer a wide array of options, structures and potential outcomes. This paper explores and analyses the emerging need to customise these linkages between governments and community to optimise inherent benefits of these modes of working. It is proposed that in this context, new ways of working together require specialised mixing, matching and managing of networked arrangements between government and citizens.
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the current attempt in the UK to develop institutional mechanisms for relationship building through the development of "compacts" between government and the voluntary and community sector.
Abstract: Since the election of the New Labour government in the UK in 1997, the voluntary sector has been drawn from the margins to the mainstream of public policy making. At a political level the government has sought to change the nature of relationships between itself and the voluntary sector. In order to accomplish this, new institutional relationships need to be cultivated between public bureaucracies and voluntary sector institutions. This article evaluates the current attempt in the UK to develop institutional mechanisms for relationship building through the development of “compacts” between government and the voluntary and community sector. Such compacts offer a relational contracting approach to structuring evolving relationships between these sectors Since their inception in the UK, international interest in compacts has grown steadily. It is therefore important to begin to evaluate the key lessons from the UK experience to underpin discussions of policy transfer. This article is structured in four parts...
17 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of collaborative partnership as participatory co-governance was proposed to examine the means by which government-NGO relationships might move from consultation to significant collaborative participation.
Abstract: Governments have been developing and applying various approaches to ecological sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability over the last twenty yean The broad trend, partly displacing the traditional focus on regulatory standards and consultation, is that governments have increasingly adopted collaborative approaches, in concert with diverse and conflicting non-government organisation (NGO) stakeholders, to address the "big issues". Tensions and conflicts are not avoided, but are contained as far as possible within broad longterm frameworks supported by inclusive processes and good science. In Australia, management of these major sustainability issues is made more complex through the interplay between three levels of government. This article adds to the emerging literature presenting models of government and NGO relationships by developing the concept of collaborative partnership as participatory co-governance. Two case studies oj natural resource management in the state of Queensland (Australia) are used to examine the means by which government-NGO relationships might move from consultation to significant collaborative participation.
17 citations
TL;DR: The third sector, comprising a vast array of organisations that are neither part of government nor formed primarily to generate a profit for owners, is an important part of a well-functioning society.
Abstract: The third sector, comprising a vast array of organisations that are neither part of government nor formed primarily to generate a profit for owners, is an important part of a well-functioning society. Governments can assist the development of a strong and sustainable third sector by ensuring there is a supportive legal and regulatory environment This article suggests ways in which well-framed laws and regulations can help the third sector. Then, drawing on Australian examples, it goes on to indicate how a badly managed legal and regulatory environment can damage the third sector. It concludes that even if the legal environment is supportive, it will be ineffective if the wider policy environment is hostile toward the third sector. A lesson for third sector organisations is that they must work together to ensure a favourable legal, regulatory and policy environment.
14 citations
TL;DR: This paper identified several such categorisations, and looked at the oddity of ordering which often sees so-called third sets occupying middle grounds between first and second sets, leading to exercises in continuum-building which emphasise the hybrid-like qualities of many constituents of those sets.
Abstract: Many attempts to explain social, political, economic and organisational developments have produced three-way categorisations of relevant phenomena. This article identifies several such categorisations, and looks at the oddity of ordering which often sees so-called third sets occupying middle grounds between first and second sets, leading to exercises in continuum-building which emphasise the hybrid-like qualities of many constituents of those sets. The exploration extends particularly to non-departmental public sector bodies, not-for-profit organisations and state-civil society mixes.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the duality in the role of the third sector in Hungary and explore its relations with present social, political and economic challenges, concluding by considering opportunities for a more developed partnership between government and non-profit organisations.
Abstract: This article examines the duality in the role of the third sector in Hungary. Is the third sector an expression of civil society, rooted in an emerging democratic culture, and based on a broadening social participation or is the third sector largely an extension of the central and local governments in the sense that a large part of its organisations play an important role in the provision of public services? The first part of this article seeks the explanatory factors of this duality in certain elements of the social and economic background. Successive sections give an overview of the dual system, and try to explore its relations with present social, political and economic challenges. The article concludes by considering opportunities for a more developed partnership between government and non-profit organisations.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the ability of the Hong Kong Police Force to work with the public in policing the society, focusing on how the police force can break the communication barrier with public to harmonise police-public relationships and to cooperate with local communities in combating and preventing crime.
Abstract: This article examines police-public projects in Hong Kong, focusing on the ability of the Hong Kong Police Force (the Force) to work with the public in policing the society. The work is described in terms of the evolution of community relations in Hong Kong, the structural arrangements for the practice of a community relations strategy, and the major community-based programmes. The performance of the strategy is evaluated and the constraints on the relevant policy initiatives are identified. The Force is shown to have broken the communication barrier with the public to harmonise police-public relationships and to cooperate with local communities in combating and preventing crime. But its capacity to work with people remains limited, as it has been less successful in building mutual trust with community members to enlist active public support for police operations.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the UK government's public service modernising agenda with particular reference to electronic service delivery in the context of fire services is explored, set against the growing a growing a...
Abstract: This article explores the UK government’s public service modernising agenda with particular reference to electronic service delivery in the context of fire services. It is set against the growing a...
6 citations
TL;DR: Hong Kong should position itself on a spectrum of nondiscriminatory state practice that offers equal respect to both traditional and modern medicines as mentioned in this paper, and examine different regional policy models they might learn from in framing health care policies to cover both Chinese and modern scientific medicine.
Abstract: In the past 10–15 years, policy makers in Hong Kong have started to turn their attention to Chinese medicine. This article reviews their progress to date, and examines the different regional policy models they might learn from in framing health care policies to cover both Chinese and modern scientific medicine. It argues that the best way forward for Hong Kong is to position itself on a spectrum of nondiscriminatory state practice that offers equal respect to both traditional and modern medicines. In East Asia, China stands towards one end of this spectrum, and South Korea and Taiwan towards the other. The article holds that Hong Kong should place itself somewhere between the two.
TL;DR: The impact of successive public sector restructuring, limited central government oversight, and shifting policy on health care information and communications technology (ICT) development in New Zealand is reviewed in this paper.
Abstract: This article reviews the impact of successive public sector restructuring, limited central government oversight, and shifting policy on health care information and communications technology (ICT) development in New Zealand. Through the period discussed in the article (late 1980s - present), health purchasers and providers developed information systems in isolation from one another with minimal central coordination or monitoring. The result is a complicated and entrenched ICT architecture, and numerous technical and organisational problems which government has limited capacity to influence. These issues require attention if present policy goals of interoperability, which drives integrated care, are to be achieved. The article discusses current health sector developments aimed at rectifying some of the difficulties. The key lesson from the New Zealand case is that there is a significant role for the state in health care ICT governance and regulation if interoperability is to be achieved.