Knowledge management forum Jakarta November 2011

Transcription

1 Knowledge management forum Jakarta November 2011

2 Messages Strategy and objectives: politically responsive, administratively independent Co-ordinate reform through a unitary structure Restructuring: streamline across agencies to free resources for service delivery Rightsizing : Strategic; costs not post numbers; caring The leaky boat: control recruitment to avoid downsizing Manage the process Indonesia is on the road: success is possible because others have succeeded

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4 Reform: best practice v problemsolving Best practice: Who are the leading reformers? What are the best technical methods? Why reinvent the wheel? Problem-solving: If rightsizing is the solution, then what s the problem? What other solutions are possible? Shouldn t we start from where we are?

5 Problem-solving means strategy Downsize if you must. But don t expect a pay-off unless you do so with a well-thought-out strategy. (Henkoff, 1990) In the public sector, strategy means political objectives Strategy first, then best practice

6 Politically responsive, administratively independent Political responsiveness: a steering function or Delivery Unit to ensure responsiveness to political objectives? Administrative independence: a Civil Service Commission as guardian of independence (as per Law 43/1999?)

7 1. What are our objectives? 2. Which structure is appropriate?

8 Objectives and programmes Canada: efficiency programme to solve budget deficit: cuts across the board UK 2000s: efficiency programme to find resources for frontline services: frontline services protected different objectives, different programmes

9 Canada 90s (Conservative, budget deficit/pro-market) We must deal urgently with the deficit It will consume our available financial resources, undermine our capacity to respond to new opportunities, put increased pressure on interest rates, and inhibit investment and growth in our economy. - Brian Mulroney, Canadian PM 1. Does the programme or activity still serve a public interest? 2. Is there a necessary role for government? (Sri Lanka s Tea Exporting Board) 3. Can the federal role be passed to the provinces? 4. Which programmes should be transferred to the private or voluntary sector? 5. If the programme continues, how could its efficiency be improved? 6. Is the programme affordable?

10 UK 2000s efficiency programme (Labour, pro-public services) The objective: to release major resources out of activities which can be undertaken more efficiently into front line services that meet the public s highest priorities Efficiency means: same service, fewer resources ; or better service, same resources Targeting back office : use of ICT, improved tax collection and benefits payments; savings in procurement, buildings and facilities

11 UK efficiency programme: evaluation 1 TARGET by 2007/8 $31 billion p.a. 70,600 post reductions OUTCOME $40 billion 86,700 posts 20,000 posts relocated by by 2008 Savings used by departments to increase frontline staffing: teachers, nurses, police officers etc. (

12 Objectives and programmes: developing country examples South Africa: transforming an apartheid bureaucracy through affirmative action into a public workforce which represents the ethnic and gender composition of South Africa s population Sri Lanka: using constitutional reform as a device to solve the problem of Tamil insurgency by co-opting Tamil representatives into the system of governance Uganda: freeing resources to meet the government s commitment to universal primary education (similar to UK 2000s)

13 Location and co-ordination Strong UNITARY central steering function is vital In constitutional monarchies: Delivery Unit in UK Cabinet Office (incorporates former Civil Service Dept) Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) in Malaysia PM s Office (JPA/PSD is separate, but clearly subordinate) In presidential systems: South Africa under Mandela: office of vice-president (Thabo Mbeki) United States under Clinton: office of vice-president (Al Gore)... Office of Vice-President makes sense(??)

14 The popular image

15 Images of rightsizing.

16 Appearance and reality Uganda: fewer than 15,000 out of 160,000 job reductions through compulsory termination UK: fewer than 20,000 out of 250,000 (including Head of HR!)

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18 Don t cut for cutting s sake! After downsizing: financial performance of Fortune 100 companies got worse productivity targets missed cost-cutting targets missed workers morale and trust suffered Firms that downsize once are more likely to downsize again (Bennett, 1991; De Meuse et al., 1994; Henkoff, 1990; Peak, 1996)

19 Costs v numbers UK temporary staff spending : $174 million in 04/5 $240 million in 06/7 Costs exist for a reason. If you don t take the reasons away, the costs will return (US general manager) Move from line item to programme budgeting McCourt (2001)

20 71/2 73/4 75/6 77/8 79/80 81/2 83/4 84/5 Spending GBP 000m Staffing 000s The balloon problem 80 The Balloon Problem Government Spending Staffing

21 The leaking boat Ghana and Sri Lanka missed their job reduction targets because they failed to control recruitment Managerial discretion is the soil in which nepotism, corruption and favouritism flourish. In many developing countries entry to elite cadres in the civil service is well controlled... It is therefore particularly in the twilight world of temporary posts, transfers, secondments etc.... that deals can be done. (McCourt, 1998: 14)... and so we have the market for public office (Wade, 1985) - Process for temporary employees to become permanent??

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23 REACHING THE TARGET: UGANDA Category Approx no. Period Ghosts 46, Overdue 4, retirees Group 61, employees Voluntary 3, retrenchment Compulsory retrenchment 14, (also 29,000 who moved depts.)

24 Flexibility and political sensitivity

25 Sri Lanka: from downsizing to recruitment control Failure to meet rightsizing targets agreed with donors Donor withdrawal Indigenous diagnosis: root of problem in failure to control recruitment Failure because Public Service Commission (PSC) reported to Cabinet, and politicians used it for patronage Constitutional amendment in 2001 to restore independence of PSC Independence has been maintained

26 Process An incremental approach: Learning (Uganda initial target 34,000; eventually 150,000 posts disappeared) Perverse incentives (Sri Lanka retirees) Communicate: Ghana yes: Civil Servants Association gave its blessing Uganda no: remorse over how staff were removed: Reform was welcomed, but the way it was handled is now detested (no union)

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28 Success is possible because others have succeeded Sri Lanka did restore the independence of the Public Service Commission Uganda did reduce civil service numbers, and then implement universal primary education South Africa did solve the problem of overstaffing in the former homelands Canada did solve its deficit, partly through restructuring The UK did reduce back office spending and release more money for front-line services

29 Messages Strategy and objectives: politically responsive, administratively independent Co-ordinate reform through a unitary structure Restructuring: streamline across agencies to free resources for service delivery Rightsizing : Strategic; costs not post numbers; caring The leaky boat: control recruitment to avoid downsizing Manage the process Success is possible because others have succeeded