Sad io Jonas
IN FORMATION AN D COMMUN ICATION TECHN OLOGY AN D (Good) GOVERN AN CE:
Im p lications for Organizational Stru ctu re, Pu blic Particip ation, and Cu ltu ral Resp onsiveness. The Cases of Gu yana, Kenya, Philip p ines, U.S.A and Estonia.
Master‟s Thesis in Pu blic Ad m inistration
VAASA 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 3
ABSTRACT 5
1. INTRODUCTION: FRAMING THE ISSUES 7
1.1. Research Questions 10
1.2. Research Scope 11
1.3. Relevance 12
1.4. Limitations 14
1.5. Work Structure 15
1.6. Motivation 16
2. MODERN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: CLASSIC IDEOLOGY,
ORGANIZATIONAL ORTHODOXY, AND CHALLENGES TO THOSE 17 2.1. Classic Ideation and The “Doctrine of Neutrality” 18 2.2. Extrapolating The Classic Ideation: Practical Implications 21
2. 3. Who Is Government? 23
2. 4. Governmental Action and Tools of Execution 23
2.5. Bureaucracy and Organizational Orthodoxy 25
2.6. Challenges To Classic Ideation, Bureaucracy, and Organizational Orthodoxy 28
3. GOVERNANCE THEORY 32
3.1. Defining Governance 32
3.2. Tenets of Governance Theory 33
3.2.1. Knowledge Management 35
3.2.2. Participation and The Public Sphere 38
3.2.3. Good Governance 42
3.3. e-Governance and m-Governance 45
3.4. Culture and Its Role In Governance 48
4. METHODOLOGY AND FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS 53
5. PRESENTATION OF CASES AND ANALYSIS 60
5.1. The United States of America 64
5.2. Republic of Kenya 67
5.3. The Co-operative Republic of Guyana 69
5.4. The Republic of Estonia (Eesti Vabariik) 72
5.5. Republic of the Philippines 75
5.6. Analysis 77
5.6.1. United States 81
5.6.2. Kenya 84
5.6.3. Guyana 85
5.6.4. Estonia 88
5.6.5. The Philippines 91
5.7. Summary of Findings on Changes in Organizational Structure 93 5.8. Summary of Findings on Cultural Relevance and Responsiveness 96
6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUDING REMARKS 98
6.1. Emerging Perspectives on Governance 99
6.2. Concluding Remarks 103
REFERENCES 106
APPENDICIES
Appendix 1. Kenyan E -Government Organization Chart 120
Appendix 2. U. S E-Government Organization Chart 121
Appendix 3. U.S Government Organization Chart 122
Appendix 4. Guyana Government Organization Chart (United Nations 123
LIST OF TABLES AN D FIGURES
Table 1. Topics In Published Public Administration Research. 13 Table 2. Service Limits Proposed By Classical Ideation. 22 Table 3. Matrix Of Findings From Analysis of ICT Strategy Documents. 81
Figure 1. UN Good Governance. 42
UN IVERSITY OF VAASA
Faculty of Public Administration
Author: Sad io Jonas
Master’s Thesis: Inform ation Com m u nication Technology and (Good ) Governance: Im p lications for organiz a- tional stru ctu re, p u blic p articip ation, and cu ltu r- al resp onsiveness.
D egree: Master of Ad m inistrative Sciences
Major Subject: Intercu ltu ral Stu d ies in Com m u nication and Ad m inistration
Year of Graduation: 2009 N umber of pages: 124 ABSTRACT:
In recent d ecad es there has been a p arad igm shift in Pu blic Ad m inistrative thou ght from the classical id eas of governm ent, to an ap p roach w hich is seen as the fu tu re of governing term ed Governance.
This stu d y sou ght to investigate w hether or how Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology (ICT) is being em p loyed w ithin Pu blic Ad m inistrative system s in term s of p rovid ing cu ltu rally resp onsive service w hich fu rthers the aim s of g overnance and its p ractical end Good Gover- nance. To focu s the inqu iry, the follow ing tw o research qu estions w ere p osed .
Is Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology (ICT) being u sed as a tool in reshap ing of p u b- lic ad m inistrative system s in keep ing w ith the stru ctu ra l and p articip atory d em and s of Gover- nance/ Good Governance?
If ICT is being u sed tow ard the stru ct u ral and p articip atory aim s of Good Governance how are these ch anges resp onsive to, or reflective of, the environm ental cu ltu re in w hich the ad m inistr a- tive system op erates?
The, national ICT strategy d ocu m ents and resu lting ICT initiatives of the U.S.A, the Philip p ines, Gu yana, Estonia, and Kenya w ere exam ined throu gh the p rism of the Governance Theory for intend ed u se of ICT in organizational stru ctu re, p articip ation, Know led ge Managem ent and cu ltu ral resp onsiveness.
Up on analysis of the m aterial it w as fou nd that all five nations had intend ed to, and d id u se ICT to shap e p u blic sector organizational stru ctu re and to p rovid e cu ltu rally resp onsive service. In so d oing, these nations are fu rthering the aim s of Good Governance as d efined by Gove rnance Theory.
KEYWORDS: Information Communication Technology, ICT, organizational structure, culture, governance, Knowledge Management, public sphere, participation, mobile technology, e-Governance, m-Governance, Public Administration
1. IN TROD UCTION : FRAMIN G THE ISSUES
The acad em ic science of Pu blic Ad m inistration, synthesizes theory from across the scop e of natu ral and social science in ord er to analyze, u nd erstand and ge n- erate new theories regard ing p henom ena.
In recent d ecad es there has been a sea change or p arad igm shift in Pu blic A d - m inistrative thou ght from the classical id eas of governm ent to w hat is seen as the fu tu re of governing term ed governance (Peters 1996).
This shift to governance can be seen as reflective of larger shifts in the theoret i- cal concep tions of am ong others; m anagem ent, organizational behavior, polit i- cal and sociological id eas of the public sphere, and the state‟s relationship to the citizen. Ow ing to this, constru ction of the new theory on governing (Gover- nance) is an interd iscip linary enterp rise w hich is ongoing. The u ltim ate p ractic- al end of the theory of governance is to produce in practice “good governance”
w hich is
“(… ) epitomized by predictable, open and enlightened policy making; (… .) a pro- fessional ethos; an executive arm of government accountable for its actions; and a strong civil society participating in public affairs; and all behaving under the rule of law.” (World Bank 1994.)
This w ork is a sm all p art of that ongoing effort in the stu d y of the fu tu re of go- verning. It is an exp loratory one; m eant to investigate som e of the w ays in w hich Inform ation Com m u nication Technology (ICT) / Mobile Technology is being u sed in p u blic ad m inistrative system s as a tool in governance.
Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology broad ly d efined is all technology u sed to m anage and d issem inate inform ation (Gu islain, Am p ah & Besançon 2005: 1). That inclu d es storage, d issem ination, interpretation am ong a host of other fu nctions. More p ractically how ever, the term is u sed w hen referring to
technologies related to the internet and its u se since the internet is concep tu a- lized the p rem ier inform ation com m u nication technology (Bekkers, van Du i- venbod en & Thaens 2006: 4). Exam p les of ICT are; internet w eb sites, w eb p a g- es, em ail, online d atabases, and attend ant hard w are and softw are n ecessary to su p p ort these.
Mobile technology is often seen as a su bset of Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology and is m ad e u p of m obile p hones, internet enabled m obile p hones, PDA‟s, Wi Fi and wireless networks. It also includes the hardware and software necessary to su p p ort these. (H elal, H askell, Carter, Brice, Wolek & Ru sinkiew icz 1999: xi.)
The focu s on Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology (ICT) and its su bset Mobile Technology stem s from the fact that these have been tou ted as the p an a- cea for m u ch of w hat ails the w orld . The econom ic d ivid e betw een w ealthy and u n-w ealthy nations cou ld be narrow ed , governm ental and p rivate sector or gan- izations cou ld be m ore cost efficient and p rod u ctive, the know led ge gap b e- tw een rich and p oor citizens of the w orld cou ld be red u ced and so on. As p art of the argument for the “healing” power of Internet Communication Technolo- gies, attention has been focu sed on Governm ents ad op ting ICTs as a strategy to move towards a future of “better governing” or governance. (Bekkers et al.
2008: 3−4.)
As it sp ecifically relates to Pu blic Ad m inistration, ICTs are seen as the m eans to p rovid ing increased : access to governm ent inform ation, efficiency of gover n- m ent services and op eration, qu ality and nu m ber of services offered , seam les s- ness of governm ent services across governm ental agencies, achievem ent of ta r- geted ou tcom es for p olicy objectives, civic interactions betw een governm ent and citizens and vice versa. It is also seen as a m eans to contribu te to gover n- m ental reform . (Bhatnagar 2002; Saxena 2005; World Bank 2008: iv; USAID d ot- GOV 2009;.)
Accord ing to governance theory, com m ensu rate w ith or as a p art of a shift to- w ard s governance, a stru ctu ral shift in the organization of governm ent need s to occu r. A m ovem ent aw ay from a vertical bu reau cratic stru ctu re tow ard s a m ore horizontal netw orked stru ctu re has to take place in ord er for the benefits of g o- vernance to be had . (Peters 1996.)
The overarching reason for this is, bu reau cracy began as a techniqu e for org a- nizing and execu ting p u blic ad m inistrative d u ties since ancient tim es in hu m an history. Later, it had com e to be seen as the m ost sensible and su ccessfu l m e- thod of organization for the m od ern ind u strial nation state. H ow ever as the w orld rap id ly m oves throu gh the p ost ind u strial p eriod and d eep er into the technological age, the bu reau cratic stru ctu ral organization is p roving less u s e- fu l. Governm ents w orld w id e are looking for a w ay to change their organiz a- tional stru ctu re accord ingly. (Peters 1996.)
Unfortu nately, for p u blic sector organizations the w orld over, this p oses a p a r- ticu lar challenge. The global p u blic ad m inistrative system is notoriou sly b u - reau cratic. In som e cou ntries the p u blic ad m inistrative system is synonym ou s w ith bu reau cracy. For exam p le in talking abou t their p u blic sector, Filip inos usually refer to “the bureaucracy” in official and casual com munication. (see Philip p ine Civil Service Com m ission 2009.)
Inform ation and Com m u nication Technology has been su ggested as an answ er to this qu estion of m aking governm ent stru ctu re less vertical and rigid and m ore horizontal and flexible in ord er to ad ap t to the new d em and s of the tech- nological age. (H ann a 2008: 81−82.)
If it is p ossible that ICT can be u sed to m ake governm ental stru ctu re m ore flex i- ble, then conceivably governm ent can also becom e m ore resp onsive. Perhap s the civic engagem ent betw een the governm ent and its citizens and conversely, the citizen and its governm ent can be cond u cted in a cu ltu rally relevant w ay.
These id eas of the u se of Inform ation and Com m u nication/ Mobile Technology in Governance; its ram ifications for organizational stru ctu re in p u blic sector organizations, and p ossible cu ltu ral ram ifications w ithin the p u blic sp here, are the su bject of this stu d y.
1.1. Research Qu estions
In ord er to com e to a better u nd erstand ing of the larger role of Internet Co m - m u nications technology in governance, it becam e necessary to focu s this i n- qu iry into m anageable research qu estions.
The tw o research qu estions u nd er investigation in this w ork are :
Is Information and Communication Technology/M obile Technology (ICT) being used as a tool in reshaping of public administrative systems in keeping with the structural and participatory demands of Governance/Good Governance?
If ICT is being used toward the structural and participatory aims of good governance, how are these changes responsive to or reflective of the environmental culture in which the administrative system operates?
In ord er to u ncover answ ers to these qu estions; a stu d y of Governance theory (its m ain tenets) w ill be u nd ertaken. This Governance theory w ill then form the fram ew ork throu gh w hich to exam ine the Inform ation Com m u nication Tech- nology initiatives of the United States, The Philip p ines, Estonia, Kenya and Gu yana.
The five cou ntries w hich are the object of stu d y sp an a w id e sp ectru m of size in term s of geograp hy, p op u lation, w ealth p er cap ita, ad m inistrative stru ctu re, available resou rces, sp atial location on the globe, history, national cu ltu re, and m easu red read iness (as d eterm ined by the United N ations) to im p lem ent ICT.
Exam ining the p u blic ad m inistrative system s of su ch d iverse nations is a good w ay to glean som e insight into w eather the acclaim ed p otential of ICT is being fu lfilled .
1.2. Research Scop e
Althou gh this w ork partially end eavors to exam ine issu es relating to p u blic p articip ation and the p u blic sp here, it is not m eant to be a d eep exp loration of the p olitics of p u blic p articip ation. Issu es of p u blic p articip ation w ill be e x- amined only in relation to Public Administration. The public‟s involvement in d ecision m aking, com m u nication w ith governm ent, collaboration and p artne r- ship w ith governm ental institu tions are exam p les of top ics w ithin the scop e of this w ork.
This w ork is also not m eant to be a technical analysis of Inform ation Com m u n i- cation Technology app lication w ithin the stu d ied Pu blic Ad m inistration sy s- tem s. N o com m ent nor analysis w ill be m ad e regard ing d et ailed technological m ethod s or strategies for ICT im p lem entation. For exam p le, kind s of hard w are or softw are u sed and typ es of netw orks selected w ill not be d iscu ssed in d etail.
This is not a d irect com p arative stu d y betw een the five cou ntries selected . Each cou ntry w ill be stu d ied ind ivid u ally and com p ared to the stru ctu ral m od el d i c- tated by Governance theory.
This w ork is not one focu sed on p u blic sector reform , bu t rather on Inform ation Com m u nication Technology as a tool w hich can be u sed in reform st rategies.
Lastly, this w ork w ill not attem p t to d eterm ine efficacy of ICT p rojects or initia- tives u nd ertaken by the nations u nd er stu d y. Initiatives w ill be exam ined and analyzed based on the intent or stated aim s as com m u nicated by the nations.
1.3. Relevance
Du ring m y cou rse of stu d y in Pu blic Ad m inistration, I have observed an intr i- gu ing silence on the p art of ad m inistrative scholars in regard s to the p u blic se c- tor and cu ltu re. A cu rsory exam ination of the read er in ad m inistrative thou ght assigned as one of the fou nd ational m aterials on w hich to bu ild ou r stu d ies find s that the book is fairly thorou gh. Articles covering top ics su ch as the d is- cip line of Pu blic Ad m inistration, the p olitical context of Pu blic Ad m inistration, organizational theory, hu m an resou rces m anagem ent, bu d getary p rocesses, p u blic m anagem ent, p u blic p olicy analysis and im p lem entation, p rogram eva l- u ation, intergovernm ental relations and p u blic service ethics w ere p resent. This list of top ics is rep resentative of the bread th of inqu iry in the d iscip line bu t ab- sent w as cu ltu re and its effects on Pu blic Ad m inistration.
Since this w as a cu rsory observation at the basic level, I kep t the issu e at the back of m y m ind p end ing m ore ad vanced stud ies. After com p leting a cou rse in Pu blic Ad m inistration at the Masters level I still noted a d earth of research on the m atter.
I d ecid ed to d o an official investigation and fou nd that m y hu nch w as correct.
David E. McN abb (2002: 18) p resents the find ings of a stu d y on Top ics Pu b- lished in Pu blic Ad m inistr ation Research (see Table 1). After a w ritten d escrip - tion of the m ethod ology of the stu d y he goes on to say that “an analysis of the Pu blic Ad m inistration literature reveals that very little research has been co n- d u cted on top ics relating to culture” [au thor‟s em p hasis].
This is not to say that there is no stu d y on cu ltu re1 how ever cu ltu re as a field of inqu iry in ad m inistrative science has been u nd er exp lored .
1 scholarship on d evelop m ent ad m inistration, com p arative ad m inistration, and organizational behavior som etim es ad d ress cu ltu re
That being the case; this w ork is relevant in that it attem p ts to d rop a p ebble into that void in ad m inistrative inqu iry. It d oes so by exam ining how or if stru c- tu ral changes in p u blic ad m inistrative organization (aid ed by ICT im p lem ent a- tion) allow for cu ltu rally relevant interaction betw een the organization and its environm ent.
Table 1. Topics in Published Public Administration Research (McNabb 2002: 82).
Policy ou tp u t Manp ow er-m od eling m ethod s
Ad ap tation to scarcity Prod u ctivity m easu res Local attitu d es and lead er op inion Effects of Fed eral Aid Licensu re effectiveness Pu blic p articip ation
Policy ou tcom es Coop erative m anagem ent style
Organizational costs Job m anaging effectiveness Attitu d es beliefs and valu es Staff bu rnou t
Cash-m anagem ent strategy School Effectiveness
Tax lim itations Risk-m anagem ent p ractice
(Research ) Valid ity and reliability Affirm ative –action effectiveness
The stu d y of the intersection betw een Inform ation Com m u nication Technology and governance is very relevant to the enterp rise of Pu blic Ad m inistration. In his w ritten p reface to the E-Governm ent su rvey of 2008; the d irector of the U.N Division for Pu blic Ad m inistration and Develop m ent Managem ent p laced Know led ge Managem ent at the cen ter of all governm ental tasks. The u nd erly- ing p rincip le being that effective Know led ge Managem ent lead s to m ore effi- ciency, transp arency and resp onsiveness. E-Governm ent u tilizing ICT is seen as the m eans to that end .
If the Division for Pu blic Ad m inistration representing all 192 m em ber states of the United N ations has p laced ICT as a central tool in governance it su ggests a com p elling case for the relevance of any stud y w hich seeks to investigate those areas.
1.4. Lim itations
Every stu d y has its lim itations and this thesis is no excep tion. The first lim it a- tion is that of w orld view . Thou gh ed u cated in three cou ntries, in term s of aca- d em ia m y w orld view is d ecid ed ly lim ited . Most of the cou rse m aterial u sed throu ghou t m y acad em ic career w ere p rod uced in Eu rop e or the United States.
Althou gh extensive exp osu re to m u lticu ltu ral environm ents and cou rses of stu d y in cu ltu ral anthrop ology and intercu ltu ral com m u nication certainly p lay a role in m itigating this lim itation; it m u st be consid ered that w hen fram ing, analyzing and d iscu ssing this issu e m y ap p roach is bou nd by m y Am erican and Anglo-Saxon Eu rop ean m od e of acad em ic training.
H ow ever, in an ord er to fu rther m itigate this d eficiency, scholarship from arou nd the globe w as actively sou ght to increase the p ossibility of a d iversity of p ersp ectives. That how ever, w as not w ithou t com p lications as the fou nd ations of m od ern scholarship on Pu blic Ad m inistration has its acad em ic roots in “the West,” coloring the entire discipline with the world view of its originators (see chap ter 2).
Finally, as w ith all stu d ies w hich em p loy the qu alitative ap p roach, the sam p le size u nd er stu d y in the p ractical section are not rand om or representative. This op ens to d oor to all criticism s leveled at and lim itations em bod ied by the qu a- litative ap p roach to research. N am ely that the find ings are only ap p licable to the cases in w hich they w ere fou nd .
Thou gh those criticism s are valid , I believe that even if the find ings only ap p ly to the cases w hich I stu d y, the natu re of the inqu iry is su ch that the resu lts of even a single case shed s light on the issu e at hand .
The actions of the ad m inistrative system of any cou ntry affects m illions of lives.
A p ositive or negative find ing of a shift in organizational stru ctu re or resp o n-
siveness to cu ltu re w here ICT is em p loyed in ju st one nation is therefore signifi- cant.
1.5. Work Stru ctu re
This thesis is organized into six chap ters. An exp lanation of w hat can be ex- p ected in each chap ter follow s.
Chap ter one consists of the introd u ction to the w ork and locates the issu es u n- d er exam ination w ithin the larger fram ew ork of ad m inistrative stu d y. It also exp licitly states the research qu estions, the researcher‟s m otivation, as w ell as the scop e, lim itations, relevance and w ork stru ctu re of the stu d y.
Chap ter tw o lays ou t the backgrou nd of m od ern ad m inistrative thou ght and som e of the classic id eological fou nd ations u p on w hich it rests.
Chap ter three is a theory and literatu re review w hich exp licates Governance theory, and p resents and d efines other concep ts central to the stu d y.
Chap ter fou r is an exp lanation of the m ethod ology em p loyed for the p ractical asp ect of the stu d y. There w ill be an exp lanation of how Governance theory as d iscu ssed in chap ter 3 w ill be u sed as a fram ew ork for analyzing the cases p r e- sented in the p ractical section.
Chap ter five is an exp lanation of the practical asp ect of the w ork. The cases u n- d er stu d y w ill be p resented w ith all the relevant d ata and backgrou nd inform a- tion for each. Then an analysis of the cases, and a rep ort of the find ings w ill be p resented . The find ings w ill be treated w ith regard s to the stated research qu e s- tions and those in tu rn w ill be exam ined in light of larger issu es.
Chap ter six consists of a d iscu ssion of em erging p ersp ectives o n Governance and conclu d ing rem arks.
1.6. Motivation
Catalyzed by the sem inal exp erience of im m igrating from the cou ntry of m y birth (Gu yana) to the p lace w here I w as raised (The United States), I d evelop ed an interest in the peculiar ways in which people do things “somewhere else.”
As I grew , I becam e w hat I later learned to be a p erp etu al stu d ent of Cu ltu ral Anthrop ology. I am d raw n to looking at any hu m an activity throu gh the p rism of cu ltu re.
For this grad u ate d egree I chose the p rogram in Intercu ltu ral Com m u nication and Ad m inistration for its p otential regard ing m erging Pu blic Ad m inistration theory w ith Cu ltu ral theory and p ractice/ praxis.
When the tim e cam e for choosing the issu e that I w ou ld like to exam ine for this thesis, I looked for an area of stu d y w hich inclu d ed the effects of cu ltu re on Pu blic Ad m inistration. I w as also interested in u ses of em ergent technologies in Pu blic Ad m inistration. As it tu rns out, the area of Governance in Pu blic Ad m in- istration encom p asses all of these issu es.
2. MOD ERN PUBLIC AD MIN ISTRATION : CLASSIC ID EOLOGY, ORGA- N IZATION AL ORTHOD OXY, AN D CHALLEN GES TO THOSE
Pu blic Ad m inistration has been in existence th rou ghout hu m an history and is synonym ou s w ith governm ent. Regard less of governm ental structu re; nation state (m onarchy, oligarchy, d em ocratic repu blic or d ictatorship ) or p re state (nom ad ic, clan etc) the m echanism for d istribu tion of resou rces and collect ive d ecision m aking is Pu blic Ad m inistration. Writings on the su bject cou ld be fou nd from ancient China, Greece, and Rom e. “It is p ossible to find m ost of the m od ern concep ts of m anagem ent and lead ership stated by one or another of the w riters of the classical, m ed ieval, and p rem od ern w orld ” (Shafritz, H yd e &
Parkes 2004: 1).
From as far back as 5200 years ago at the tim e of the Unified Up p er and Low er Egyp t u nd er King Menes w hich w as the first know n nation state ( see Rice 1990:
134), Pu blic Ad m inistration has been an im p ortant p art of governing. Since the w orld now is d ivid ed into m od ern versions of those nation states; the term s
“Public Administration”, “public sector” or “civil service” usually refers to the ap p aratu s of Governm ent resp onsible for execu ting the w ill of the state as d e- fined by law s or d ecrees.
The acad em ic d iscip line of Pu blic Ad m inistration as it exists tod ay thou gh, find s its roots in the stu d y of Cam eralism at institu tions like H alle University in the 1700s. Later, betw een 1850 and 1900 Lorenz Jacob Von Stein in Vienna and Wood row Wilson in the United States began introd u cing the concep t of Ad m in- istration as a Science in its ow n right. (Stever 1988: 44; Jackson: 2005.)
The d iscip line of Pu blic Ad m inistration took flight in the US follow ing Wilson‟s seminal article „The Study of Administration‟ in 1887 (Khan 2008: 10-16.) Prior to that tim e, the US had been focu sed on d ecid ing w hat kind of gover nm ent it w anted . Since that d ecision had been m ad e, Wilson tu rned his attention to in-
vestigating w ays to ad m inister the chosen form of governm ent. In „The Stu d y of Administration‟ he declared that
“it is the object of administrative study to discover, first, what government can properly and successfully do, and secondly, how it can do these proper things with the utmost possible efficiency and the least possible cost either of money or ener- gy.” (Wilson 1887: 22.)
In this article he also laid out the idea that “administration is the most obvious p art of governm ent; it is the governm ent in action ; it is the execu tive, the op er a- tive, the most visible side of government itself” (Wilson 1887: 22) and argued that execu tive m ethod s of ad m inistration shou ld be stu d ied and d iscovered scientifically and that ad m inistration shou ld be absolu tely sep arated from Poli- tics.
Following Wilson‟s w ork throughout the 20th century to now, a cannon of r e- search and w ritings on Pu blic Ad m inistration has em erged . It consists of sch o- larship m ainly from the United States, w ith contribu tions from the United Kingd om and other parts of Eu rop e, m aking acad em ia on Pu blic Ad m inistr a- tion a mainly “Western” (meaning Western Europe and North American) en- terp rise. (Johnson 1992: 82.)
2.1. Classic Id eation And The “Doctrine of N eu trality”
Pu blic Ad m inistration as a Science has had trend s in p hilosop hy like any other acad em ic d iscip line. There are som e p illars of acad em ic thou ght on w hich Pu b- lic Ad m inistration rests. Som e of these id eas have evolved bu t the effects of all these can still be felt throu ghou t the stu d y and p ractice. The se p rincip les w ere established over tim e and w ere form ed in resp onse to challenges facing Pu blic Ad m inistration in its infancy. These p rincip als still gu id e m od es of thinking abou t p u blic service and its resu lting role in governing.
One of the d octrines in civil service that had the m ost lasting effects is the d o c- trine of neu trality. This is the id ea that civil service shou ld be p rofessional, scientific and ap olitical. “Civil servants shou ld not have know n p olitical alle- giances of their ow n and they shou ld be able to serve any “m aster,” m ea ning any government of the day” (Peters 2001: 4). This doctrine got its shape from scholars in Eu rop e (the N orthcote Trevleyan rep ort of 1853 in the U.K for e x- am p le) and the U.S (Peters 2001: 4).
From the Am erican p ersp ective the d octrine of neu trality w as first esp ou sed by Wood row Wilson in 1887 and later Frank Good now in 1900 as p art of a strict d ivid e betw een p olitics and ad m inistration. This id ea w as im p ortant for the fled gling nation becau se its citizens w ere all too fam iliar w ith the ills of au thor i- tarian ad m inistration in the old w orld (Stever 1988: 40; Johnson 1992: 29). Am er- ica need ed a Pu blic Ad m inistration su ited to its valu es.
While Old er Eu rop e w as in a m ore p ensive and reflexive m od e, w here p hilos o- p hy and art w ere treasu red , Am erica w as rife w ith entrep reneu rial sp irit and frontierism. “Results, not reflection, were elevated and became the chief end of hu m an action on the Am erican continent” (Stever 1988: 50). Out of this necessi- ty, sp rang the sp ecifically Am erican w orld view exem p lified by the Pr ogressive Movem ent w hich w as a m ovem ent geared tow ard s p op u list reform s of m any sections of Am erican society. (Cook 1996: 69−70.)
The p rogressive attitud e eventu ally m ad e its w ay to acad em ia w hich d evelop ed the p hilosop hy of Pragm atism . The p rogressive era lead ers w anted to reform all the m ajor institu tions in the cou ntry and they tu rned their attention to the bu s i- ness of how to p ractically ad m inister the infant rep u blic. It is w ithin this m ileu that first Wilson then Good now sou ght to tackle the im p end ing reform of Am erican Pu blic Ad m inistration and establish ad m inistrative thou ght as a science.
Wilson sou ght to convince the nation that the Pu blic Ad m inistration system could be used toward progressive and positive ends. The American public‟s negative im p ression of Pu blic Ad m inistration thu s far had com e from the t y- rannical w ay in w hich it w as u sed in Pru ssia and u nd er the m on archy in France. (Stever 1988: 40.)
Wilson (1887: 32) w rote
“we can borrow the science of administration with safety and profit if only we read all fundamental differences of condition into its essential tenets. W e have on- ly to filter it through our constitutions; only to it put it over a slow fire of criti- cism and distil away its foreign gases.”
He took pains to call for this “science of administration.” He wanted more a t- tention to be p aid to the organization and m ethod s of Am erican governm ent offices. H e w anted to exam ine w hat governm ent can su ccessfu lly d o, m ost effi- ciently.
Becau se the p rogressive m ovem ent had a strong p op u list inclination, the gen e- rators of progressive thought at the time were very skeptical of “big gover n- ment” since it was seen as the enemy of the common individual. Wilson also had to reassure them that “professionalized Public Administration would not threaten individual liberties” (Stever 1988: 40) but would rather more effectiv e- ly execu te the d u ties of governm ent. H e sp ent a significant p art of his treatise
„The Study of Administration‟ constructing this argument. He painted the pic- tu re of a Pu blic Ad m inistration that w as sim p ly a neu tral and technical p rofe s- sion. He said that “the field of Administration is a field of business. It is re- moved from the hurry and strife of politics” (Wilson 1887: 28).
Bu ild ing on these id eas, Frank Good now (1900) another Progressive Movem ent thinker then took u p the m antle, exp and ing and refining the argu m ent in his work „Politics and Administration.‟ He called for a subordination of administra-
tion to p olitics. In keep ing w ith the thou ght that Pu blic Ad m inistration shou ld be in service of the p eop le not an enem y of the p eop le, he p osited that ad m ini s- tration shou ld su bm it to the w ill of the p eop le.
In the Am erican context; since p oliticians are elected by the citizens to rep resent their voice, p olicies d ictated by p oliticians in the legislative branch of the go v- ernment are seen as “the will of the people/ state.” According to Goodnow, ad m inistration shou ld fu nction sim p ly to execu te the w ill of the state. In pra c- tice “it is the executing authority which shall be subordinate to the expressing authority” (Goodnow 1900: 37) meaning that the legislative branch of gover n- m ent shou ld have oversight p ow er over the ad m inistrative system to ensu re the w ill of the p eop le received p reced ence.
With these arguments regarding organization, efficiency and adm inistration‟s duty to “the people”, Wilson and Goodnow not only firmly established Public Ad m inistration as a Scientific cou rse of stu d y, bu t cem ented w hat becam e the classic id eation for a technical, valu e neu tral non -p olity p rofession. (Stever 1988:
38−42; Cook 1996: 71−74.)
2.2. Extrap olating The Classic Id eation: Practical Im p lications
Extrap olating from these id eas illu strates the lim its im p osed on the p rofession and science of Pu blic Ad m inistration fostered from su ch id eation.
Table 2. Service Limits Proposed by Classical Ideation (Stever 1988: 43).
Accep table areas for p u blic ad m inistration
N on accep table service areas for p u blic ad m inis- tration
Cu ltu re objects, tools ru les, valu es , sym bols
Self objects: consu m ed and u sed by the p u blic; vital services only
beliefs, op inions, com m it- m ents
Institu tions im p lem entation of p u blic p oli- cy only
p olicy form ation
As illu strated by Table 2, the classic id eation can be seen to have im p lications for Pu blic Ad m inistration in three areas; nam ely, institu tions, the self, and cu l- tu re.
Regard ing institu tions, follow ing classical id eology w ou ld m ean that ad m inis- tration shou ld p lay no role in the d evelop m ent and im p lem entation of p u blic p olicy. The civil service shou ld be an ad ju nct to the existing governm ental structures; existing only to execute the state‟s will. As a tool for execution; a b u- reau cratic system w here p ersons are em p loyed and p rom oted on m erit shou ld be u sed . (Stever 1988: 46.)
Regard ing the self, classic id eation w as to exclu d e Ad m inistration from m atters of the self. More sp ecifically, leaving religion and other trad itional social ins titu - tions to ad m inister m atters of the self. This m eant that p ractically, civil service w as bou nd to only m aterial su p p ort of the self to the exclu sion of m ost social services. (Stever 1988: 44.)
Lastly, regarding culture, classic ideation “dictated that professionals in Public Ad m inistration shou ld not becom e involved in d eterm ining cu ltu ral valu es or m ajor legal p rincip les of cu ltu re” (Stever 1988: 43). “The civil servant w as the
implementer of cultural values not the molder” (Stever 1988: 44) since orig inat- ing cu ltu ral change w ou ld be ed ging into the area of p olitics.
N ow that som e of the fou nd ations of Ad m inistration theory have been d is- cu ssed , attention can be tu rned to w ho or w hat actu ally constitu tes gover n- m ent.
2. 3. Who Is Governm ent?
In a nation, “the state” or “the governm ent” is constitu ted of variou s actors in com p lex netw orks of organizations from the local to national level. As d e- scribed by the United N ations Econom ic and Social Com m ission for Asia and the Pacific UN ESCAP, these organizations are essentially com p osed of elected officials, civil servants, p rivate contractors and som etim es citizen volu nteers.
(UN ESCAP 2009.)
Dep end ent on the level of governm ent being exam ined , there cou ld p ossibly be N on Governm ental Organizations and coop er atives, research think tanks and acad em ics, p olitical p arties, religiou s lead ers and institu tions, finance instit u - tions, land d evelop ers and even organized crim e. (Ibid .)
At the national level, in ad d ition to the actors nam ed above, lobbyists, intern a- tional d onors, international corp orations and others m ay also p lay a role in the governing p rocess. (Ibid .)
2. 4. Governm ental Action and Tools of Execu tion
What d oes governm ent actu ally d o? Ad m inistration is the m ost visible p art of governm ent and thou gh national governm ents arou nd the w orld m y concep - tu alize their level of resp onsibility to their p u blics d ifferently, generally there
are som e basic internationally agreed u p on resp onsibilities of fu nctioning go v- ernm ents. As laid ou t by William C. Johnson (1992: 7) there are seven essential p u blic p u rp oses. In su m m ary governm ents u nd ertake to:
p rotect the lives, p roperty and rights of their citizens. This m ay inclu d e creating and m aintaining an effective national d efense system , law e n- forcem ent, and m echanism s for p u blic health for exam p le.
m onitor and m aintain the su p p ly of critical resou rces like w ater, energy and food su p p lies.
p rovid e for citizens w ho are u nable to p rovid e for them selves su ch as the d isabled , retirees, p ossibly foster care or orp hanag es.
try to m aintain and p rom ote constant and stable econom ic grow th. This m ay m ean p rotection of internal m arkets, stim u lu s to trad e, and tran s- p ortation infrastru ctu re.
p rom ote qu ality of life throu gh ed u cation, p arks and recreational facili- ties, and city m aintenance etc.
p rotect the natu ral environm ent to conserve w ater and soil resou rces m anage p ollu tion and control w aste.
p rom ote scientific and technical ad vancem ent inclu d ing inform ation d is- sem ination, p rotection of inventions and su bsid ies for scientific research.
Johnson (1992: 20) also p osits that governm ents em p loy p articu lar tools to im - p lem ent p rogram s tow ard s fu lfilling these p u blic p u rp oses:
Direct rem ittances to ind ivid u als (u nem p loym ent benefits, retirem ent p ensions, loans, hom e rental su bsid ies).
Bu ild ing and u p keep of infrastru ctu res (schools, hosp itals, p risons, air- p orts, highw ays, streets, harbors).
Provision of services (p u blic transp ortation, m ed iation and resolu tion of conflicts, social services).
Regu latory control of corp orate and ind ivid u al behaviors (controls on fi- nancial and m arket transactions, w age control, chem ical control, crim e control).
Protecting the cap acity to govern (tax ad m inistration and collection, p oli- cy and d ecision m aking, com m u nication w ith the p u blic, for eign rela- tions and d ip lom acy).
Above w as a d iscu ssion of w hat governm ents are m eant to d o and som e tools com m only em p loyed to those end s. H ow ever no d iscu ssion of governm ent w ou ld be com p lete w ithou t a d iscu ssion of the organizational structu re of go v- ernm ent. Until recently all m od ern states w ere organized into bu reau cracies.
2.5. Bu reau cracy and Organizational Orthod oxy
Bu reau cracy can be d efined as a strategy of stru ctu ral organization charact e- rized by large size su ch that top m anagers som etim es d o n ot have face to face relationship s w ith their su bord inates. It is sp ecialized enou gh to requ ire p recise d ivision of labor and consists of offices arranged in a chain of com m and from the top to the bottom .
Versions of this m ethod of organization had been p racticed throu ghou t antiqu i- ty in Ancient Egyptian and Sam arian societies for exam p le. H ow ever, Germ an sociologist Max Weber first p enned m od ern thou ghts on bu reau cracy. Weber‟s p rincip als of bu reau cracy are as follow s:
“There is the principle of fixed and official jurisdictional areas, which are gener- ally ordered by rules, that is, by laws or administrative regulations” (Weber 1922: 50). These ru les sp ecify how the organization or agency w ill enforce d eci- sions, w hat the resp onsibilities and d u ties of the p ersonnel are, and how the law shou ld be ap p lied to each case. The ru les also p revent cap riciou s treatm ent of em p loyees and clients of the organization.
“The principles of office hierarchy and of levels of graded authority mean a firm ly ord ered system of su p er and su bord ination in w hich there is a su p erv i- sion of the lower offices by the higher ones” (Weber 1922: 50). There is also a system of ap p eal w hich p rotects the low er officials.
“The management of the modern office is based upon written documents “th e files”, which are preserved in their original or drought form” (Weber 1922: 50).
This store of documents acts as the organization‟s memory. It guides future d e- cisions and p rovid es accou ntability to higher au thorities.
“Office management, at least all sp ecialized office management and such man- agem ent is d istinctly m od ern u su ally p resu p p oses thorou gh and exp ert train- ing” (Weber 1922: 50). All employees are appointed based on competence w hich is ensu red by training, years of exp erience or d eterm ined by an e xam . In the American context, over time, Max Weber‟s concepts were expanded upon by ind u strial engineers and m anagem ent scholars. Fred erick Taylor (w ho w as the proponent of “scientific management”), Luther Gulick (of POSDCORB2
2Gu lick d evised this acronym to concep tu alize his organizational theory. POSDCORB stand s for Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Co -coord inating, Rep orting and Bu d geting
fam e) and Lynd all Urw ick created som e of the id eas that becam e so p revalent as to be considered a type of “organizational orthodoxy.” As described by Eddy (1983: 193−195) these p rincip les of organization are as follow s:
Em p loyees shou ld be given tasks w hich w ere in accord ance w ith th e overarching organizational d esign.
Each agency shou ld be chaired by one execu tive rather than by a board of d irectors as w as com m on at the tim e.
There shou ld be u nity of com m and , m eaning that each em p loyee shou ld only rep ort to one im m ed iate su p ervisor
The lead ing execu tives shou ld have ad vice and assistance from other staff m em bers so that they can concentrate on im p ortant tasks and m ake the m ost inform ed d ecisions. These staffers m ay also act on behalf of the execu tive u nd er su p ervision if necessary . The Execu tive Office of the p resid ent in the U.S is a classic exam p le of this id ea.
There shou ld be d ep artm ents in an organization w hich shou ld be d i- vid ed into su bu nits accord ing to either, the p u rp ose the u nit serves, the im p lem entation p rocess it u ses, the clienteles w ith w hich it d eals, or geo- grap hic area covered .
Du ties shou ld be d elegated from the top echelons of the organization d ow nw ard and the su p eriors shou ld leave su bord inates to their w ork and be concerned w ith the resu lts of their efforts on ly.
Each official or em p loyee shou ld have su fficient au thority in ord er to carry ou t their d u ties.
There should be sufficient “span of control” meaning that supervisors shou ld have a reasonably m anageable nu m ber of u nits or p ersons to oversee. The nu m ber m ost often thou ght of as reasonable w as 6 (u nits or p ersons).
These p rincip les of bu reau cracy and organizational orthod oxy w ere seen as id eals for the prop er ru nning of organizations. They w ere based on the arg u - ment that there is a “best way” to do every task and these were blanket prin- cip les w hich, if follow ed , resu lt in that best w ay. (Ed d y 1983: 195.)
This com bination of organizational p rincip les sp read to societies all throu ghou t the ind u strial w orld as it w as seen as
“capable of attaining the highest degree of efficiency and it is in this sense formal- ly the most rational known means of carrying out imperative control over human beings. It is superior to any other form in precision, in stability, in the stringency of its discipline, and in its reliability. It thus makes possible a particularly high degree of calculability of results for the heads of the organization and for those act- ing on relation to it.” (Weber 1964: 337.)
2.6. Challenges To Classic Id eation, Bu reau cracy, and Organizational Orth o- d oxy
As history reveals, classic id eation had significant roots in Ad m inistrative thou ght and p olicy p ractices w ithin the p rofession. H ow ever, these id eas eve n- tu ally cou ld not hold in their id eal form in p ractice as the d em and s of Pu blic Ad m inistration ch anged w ith tim e.
An ad m inistration system w hich p lays absolu tely no role in p olicy shap ing would not survive. The evolution of “wicked” intractable problems of the mo d- ern society and the expansion of the public service, forced public service “ex-
perts” to play a role in shaping policy. The professional Policy Analyst, and the Sp ecial Ad visor are tw o exam p les. Sp ecial Ad visors are m em bers of the p u blic sector bu t they are p olitical ap p ointees charged w ith p rovid ing ad vice on p olicy d ecisions. (see Lind blom 1959: 177−187; Stone 1997: 571−575; Miller 2005: 37.)
The effects of increasing ind u strialization and u rbanization in the Am erican society created the need for a battery of social services. As a resu lt, the classical stance of ad m inistration regard ing the self had to change. “Trad itional social institutions” were unable to perform their roles effectively under these circum s- tances and the civil service system had to fill that need . (Stever 1988: 46.)
Lastly Public Administration‟s role with regards to culture has become com- p lex. There can no longer be a laissez fair attitu d e on behalf of p u blic ad m ini s- trators regard ing cu ltu re. Pu blic Ad m inistration system s and their relationship to the cu ltu ral environm ent is the su bject of one p art of the inqu iry u nd ertak en in this thesis. This issu e w ill be d iscu ssed in fu rther d etail in section 3.4 on cu l- tu re and its role in governance.
An exam ination of the challenges against bu reau cracy and organizational o r- thod oxy reveals that significant changes in this area occu rre d . As the p rincip les of organization becam e m ore and m ore entrenched , and the concep ts p u t into p ractice, p roblem s em erged w hich eventu ally lead to the established challenge.
(Ed d y 1983: 195−205.)
H erbert Sim on (1946) for exam p le d etailed the w ays in w hich the established p rincip les of organization w ere at od d s w ith each other w hen p u t into p ractice.
Second ly, not su fficiently taken into accou nt by Weber, Taylor, Gu lick and their ilk w as the hu m an relations p ersp ective.
The essential ram ifications of their concep ts of organizational orthod oxy taken to their logical end w as that em p loyees w ere ju st another resou rce on p ar w ith
inanim ate resou rces like m oney, m aterials, bu ild ings and m achines . They w ere sim p ly a m eans to an end . N o regard w as given to the social relationship s in the w orkp lace and their im p act on p rod u ctivity.
When social relationship s are taken into accou nt, it is p ossible to reject the W e- barian tenet that only throu gh form al stru ctu ral d esign can fu ll efficiency be gained . One of the sem inal thinkers along this line w as Mary p arker Follett. She w as ahead of her tim e since she exp ressed in 1918, som e of w hat cam e to be p o- pularly understood as the “human resources perspective” decades later. (see Follett 1918; 1924.)
The single m ost cited exp erim ent that p osed an em p irical challenge to organiz a- tional orthod oxy w as the H aw thorne exp erim ent. It w as cond u cted at the H aw - thorne Works of the Western Electric Com p any w ith the aim of ind u cing the w orkers to be m ore p rod u ctive. It w as d iscovered that the w orkers had created inform al organizations of their ow n w ill that both reflected and cond itioned their behavior and m otives. Exam ination of this p henom enon revealed that the things that influ ence p rod u ctivity (besid es form al organization) are the rela- tionship betw een colleagu es (grou p d ynam ic), and the fact that hum ans sim u l- taneously seek to serve the organization‟s goals and pursue goals of their own.
Since the p riority of these d u al goa ls alternates, it is argu ed that sensitivity to w hat m otivates p eop le and sensitivity to interp ersonal situ ations shou ld be a strong p art of organizational theory. (Maslow 1943; Johnson 1992: 85.)
From the hu m an relations p ersp ective m ore p rod u ctivity is gained from the creation of: cond itions w hich m otivate em p loyees to fu lfill their ow n goals as w ell as the organizations goals, cond itions w here em p loyees coop erate w ith their su p eriors rather than sim p ly receive ord ers, and grou p d ynam ics w hich foster interp ersonal relationship s that enhance rather than d iscou rage the e n- hancem ents m ad e by em p loyees. (see Bennis 1967: 238−249; Alvesson 2004:
121−133.)
These concep ts p osed a theoretical challenge w hich w as m atched in p ractice only by the forced exp ansion of the Pu blic Ad m inistration system in the U.S d u ring the great d ep ression (Cook 1996: 98−99). Thou gh the concep ts of organ i- zational orthod oxy still rem ained p revalent, it becam e evid ent d u ring this tim e that there need ed to be a com bination of innovative m ethod s established to ef- fectively d eal w ith the scop e of p roblem s the ad m inistrative system faced .
In the era after the Great Dep ression, the lessons learned and innovations d e- velop ed in Am erica regard ing organizational behavior and stru ctu re w ere re c- ord ed , p ond ered u p on and su bsequ ently p roliferated throu ghou t the w orld .
These new id eas scattered across the acad em ic land scap e d evelop ed and gave birth to new field s of inqu iry. One su ch field is the contem p orary id ea of gove r- nance. As w ith all other theor etical concep ts in m anagem ent, it is shared by both p rivate and p u blic sectors in w ays m od ified to su it each. It u tilizes som e of the theories d evelop ed from ad m inistration and m anagem ent, organizational behavior, political science, and sociology am ong oth ers. Am ongst all the tenets of Governance theory; id eas of m u tu al p articip ation, collaboration and regard for hu m an m otivation can p erhap s be traced back to lessons learned from the stu d y of organizational behavior and the challenge to organizational ortho d oxy m ou nted by those w ho factored hu m ans back into the p rod u ctivity equ ation.
3. GOVERN AN CE THEORY
In this chap ter governance is d efined , p u sh factors cau sing the shift tow ard s governance are id entified and governance theory is p resented . e -Governm ent, m -Governm ent and Ad m inistration‟s relation to cu ltu re are also covered .
3.1. Defining Governance
If governing can be consid ered as
“the totality of interactions, in which public as well as private actors participate, aimed at solving societal problems or creating societal opportunities; attending to the institutions as contexts for these governing interactions; and establishing a normative foundation for all those activities” (Kooim an 2003: 4.)
then, Governance m ay be concep tu alized as “the totality of theoretical concep - tions on governing” (Kooiman 2003: 4).
There are m yriad d efinitions for governance, bu t the id ea of governance as a theory of governing is very apt for its role in Pu blic Ad m inistration as an aca- d em ic d iscip line. Therefore this d efinition w ill be incorp orated into this stu d y.
The read er m u st be asked , how ever, to note that the term governance is u sed throu ghou t official literatu re and in casu al reference to m ean both a theory on governing (Governance) and the practice of a p articu lar kind of governing. This p ractice is so p revalent that I, the researcher, am also constrained to follow this p ractice. Therefore throu ghou t this w ork the m eanings m ay be u sed intercha n- geably at tim es bu t effort w ill be m ad e to clarify instances w hen governa nce refers to the theory of governing.
3.2. Tenets Of Governance Theory
The central tenet of Governance theory is the acad em ic treatm ent of the shift from governm ent to governance. Accord ing to scholar Janet N ew m an (2005: 4)
“Governance theory offers an account of the dispersal of power beyond and within the state, undermining the privileged place of representative democracy as the means of channeling citizen interests and legitimizing governmental actions.”
Thou gh it is exp lored from d ifferent angles, scholars agree on the existence of this shift. (see Peters 1996; Kooim an 2003: 5; Mayntz 2003, Gerd & G iu sep p e 2006: 3.)
In other w ord s governance is characterized by a “hollow ing ou t” of the state, the em ergence of m u ltilevel governance, d isp ersal of p ow er to m u ltip le agen- cies and sectors and a change in the p aternalistic relationship betw een the state and its citizens.
Governance from the p u blic sector stand p oint is an ap p roach to d ecision m a k- ing and ap p rop riation of resou rces w hich encom p asses this stru ctu ral shift aw ay from strictly bu reau cratic, hierarchical, vertical, rigid organizations t o- w ard s flatter, netw orked flexible organizations.
Central to these changes are concep ts of Know led ge Managem ent (KM), p artic- ip ation and the p u blic sp here, and u ltim ately the p ractical aim s of “Good Go- vernance.” These three ideas w ill be treated in turn starting with section 3.2.1 follow ing an exp lanation of the forces cau sing the shift.
The forces at w ork cau sing this large scale change to governance w ere m an i- fold . Firstly, there w ere socio econom ic forces at p lay. The there is a trend in m ost ind u strialized nations of an aging p op u lation cou p led w ith a d eclining birthrate (Finland and Jap an are tw o su ch exam p les). The econom ic cons e-
qu ence of w hich is, m ore ind ivid u als d ep end ent on the state for services bu t less tax revenu e being collected to finance these exp end itu res. This p henom e- non p u ts p ressu re on governm ent to d o m ore w ith less. (Peters 1996: 14.)
Second ly, governm ents increasingly faced p ressu re from th eir p u blics inclu d ing the p rivate sector to be m ore efficient and to red u ce the cost of d elivering exis t- ing service com m itm ents by sim p ly stream lining ad m inistration. Su ch changes had been thou ght to be su ccessfu l in the p rivate sector and there w as a vocifer- ou s argu m ent that som e of these p rivate sector m ethod s shou ld be im p orted to the Pu blic Sector. (Ibid . 14.)
There w ere also global econom ic forces (glob alization) w hich cam e to bear.
There w as a d esire on the p art of ind u strialized states to be com p etitive in the global m arket. As a resu lt there w as red u ction in tax costs, increased d eregu l a- tion, red u ction in econom ic p rotectionism and any p erceived p u blic sector ine f- ficiencies. (Ibid . 14.)
According to Peters (ibid. 16) there was also an increase in “ wicked” or intract- able problems in governing facing the industrial state, “issues such as race, gend er, p articip ation and equ ality.” So called p ost m aterialist p roblem s w hich cou ld not be solved u sing the existing governm ental m echanism s.
Lastly there has been “a d ecline of stable organizations as the focu s for gover n- ment interventions as well as for the source of inputs into governing” (ibid. 16).
Meaning, there has been a red u ction in the p resence of large citizen interest blocks (su ch as u nions for exam p le) w ith w hich governm ent cou ld ba rgain or consu lt d u ring p olicym aking. This forces an im m ed iate change in how p u blic p articip ation in the governing p rocess is concep tu alized and achieved .
3.2.1. Know led ge Managem ent
As m entioned earlier, alongsid e theories of p articip ation and the p u blic sp here and Good Governance, a m ajor contribu tion to Governance theory is the bod y of w ork on Know led ge Managem ent (KM). Before KM is d iscu ssed how ever; a d efinition of know led ge is necessary.
“Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual inform a- tion, and exp ert insight that p rovid es a fram ew ork for evalu ating and incorp o- rating new experiences and information” (Baskerville & Dulipovici 2006: 84). In the case of organizations, “it often becomes em bedded not only in documents or rep ositories bu t also in organizational rou tines, p rocesses, p ractices and norms” (ibid. 84).
There are also several kind s of know led ge held by both ind ivid u als and colle c- tives like organizations. N am ely; inform ation (know w hat), com binational skill (know -how ), technical know led ge and innovation, and tacit know led ge. (Ibid . 84.)
Throu ghou t the w orld , organizations have becom e d ecid ed ly m ore d ep end ent on their ability to access and leverage these intellectu al or know led ge ba sed resou rces. A m yriad tools, techniqu es, and concep ts are being u sed as m an a- gerial d evices tow ard s this end . Effective Know led ge Managem ent is seen as a necessity in meeting the challenges of the new “information age” or “kno w- led ge society” (Styhre 2003; McN abb 2006: 4).
Gu id o Bertu cci, d irector of the U.N ‟s d ivision for Pu blic Ad m inistration argu es that there are benefits to be had for both the p u blic sector firm w hich em p loys p rop er Know led ge Managem ent and for the citizens w hich they serve. In the p reface to the United N ations e-Governm ent Su rvey com p iled by the United N ations Dep artm ent of Econom ic and Social Affairs UN DESA he states that
“ for citizens the benefits to be reaped from KM include better services, more choices, more personalization and greater accountability of how their money is spent. For the organization, KM provides the major benefit of improving the or- ganization’s performance through increased efficiency and innovation.” (UN DE- SA 2008: iii.)
There are rou ghly three theoretical concep ts w hich d rive Know led ge Manag e- ment. The first two were developed out of the importance of valuing the “soft”
assets of organizations for d eterm ining their econom ic valu e (inform ation eco- nom ics). These are intellectu al cap ital theory and intellectu al p rop e rty theory.
Intellectual capital is defined as the difference between “the book value of a company and the amount of money someone is prepared to pay for it” (Basker- ville et al. 2006: 86) d u e to soft assets like strength of a brand and cu stom er loyalty w hich ad d valu e to a com p any.
Intellectu al p rop erty refers to cop yrights, trad e secrets, p atents and the like.
The last d riving concep t in Know led ge Managem ent; core com petence m a n- agem ent, arose ou t of w ork d one in the area of organizational strategy. (Basker- ville et al. 2006: 86.)
Core com p etencies of organizations and ind ivid u als are a set of know -how or sp ecialties that can be leveraged to the ad vantage (u su ally econom ic) of that ind ivid u al or organization.
In su m m ary Know led ge Managem ent is the enterprise of harnessing and lev e- raging of all three of these: intellectu al cap ital, intellectu al p rop erty and core com p etencies; in any organization. Also inclu d ed in this end eavor are all the su p p orting technologies u sed as tools to this end . This is w hy Inform ation Com m u nication Technologies are so central to Know led ge Managem ent and by extension central to governance.
As can be exp ected , KM d oes have practical im p lications for organizational stru ctu re and hu m an resou rce m anagem ent.
In p ractice w hen the intellectu al cap ital, core com p etence, and intellectu al p rop erty are leveraged op tim ally in an organization the resu lt is the creation of a Know led ge Intensive Firm (KIF). Proponents of Know led ge Managem ent w ho ap p ly the concep t to the p u blic sector envision that eventu ally the p u blic sector agencies w ill be Know led ge Intensive Firm s.
The d efinition of a Know led ge Intensive Firm is a d ifficu lt one to cod ify. There d oes exist how ever, som e com m onality betw een the m yriad d efinitions availa- ble. It is agreed that a Know led ge Intensive Firm or KIF in som e w ay sp ecializes in offering know led ge and core com p etence as their p rim ary p rod u ct and are m ostly engaged in know led ge w ork. Know led ge w ork can be d efined as the u se of ju d gm ent highly su p p orted by theoretical an d intellectu al know led ge w hich can be relied on. Know led ge Intensive Firm s em p loy su bstantial am ou nts of p eop le w ho w ork on com p lex tasks that require a high d egree of autonom y and p ersonal ju d gm ent or d iscretion. (Alvesson: 2004.)
The Know led ge Intensive Firm can be consid ered as an evolu tion aw ay from Webarian bu reau cratic organization. In the p ost ind u strial inform ation age in w hich w e live, trad itional bu reau cratic organizations have p roven to be less u sefu l than they once w ere. Also the econom ies of t he “d evelop ed w orld ,” it is argu ed , have changed from natu ral resou rce based to intellectu al asset based . In thinking abou t the need s of the cu rrent age, acad em ics like Warren Bennis as early as 1967 in an article titled „Organizations of the Future‟ proph etically d e- scribed w hat has u ltim ately becom e the Know led ge Intensive Firm .
Characterized by flatter netw orks (as op p osed to hierarchical) stru ctu re, re s- p onsiveness to rap id changes in the environm ent, tem p oral su bstru ctu res, e m - p loyee centric and highly ed u cated w orkforce, Bennis‟s d escrip tion of the or-
ganization of the fu ture d oes not d iffer m u ch from that characterized by Mats Alvesson (2004) in his book „Know led ge Work and Know led ge-Intensive Firms.‟
Thou gh he sep arates Know led ge Intensive Firm s (KIFs) into 2 categories (p ro- fessional service firm s and R&D firm s), Alvesson (2004: 21) lists the follow ing as characteristics com m on to all KIFs.
H ighly qu alified , highly p aid ind ivid u als d oing sym bolic w ork (m eaning that the ou tp u t is not the transfer of m aterial tangible objects)
Preference for au tonom y over hierarchy
Use of ad hoc su b-organizational form s (exam p le: task oriented team s or cellu lar m od u les)
Extensive com m u nication for p roblem solving Id iosyncratic client services
Inform ation, p ow er, and fin ancial asym m etry Su bjective or u ncertain qu ality assessm ent
After Know led ge Managem ent, the next central tenet of Governance theory to be d iscu ssed is p articip ation . The com bination of Know led ge Managem ent and p articip ation p rovid e the p rescrip tion for stru ctu ral organization fou nd w ithin Governance theory. Althou gh they are treated sep arately, Know led ge Ma n- agem ent and p articip ation are highly interrelated and interd ep e nd ent.
3.2.2. Particip ation and The Pu blic Sp here
Mu ch scholarship and theorizing have been d one regard ing the id ea of p u blic p articip ation and the p u blic sp here. Thou gh they m ay be exp ressed in a nu m - ber of w ays, scholars in this field agree that m ore p olitical, collective and d em o- cratic m echanism s shou ld be em p loyed to send m essages to g overnm ent and
“governing should be about finding out what the public wants and finding
ways of delivering those services” (Peters 1996: 50). They also agree that trad i- tional “bureaucracy is an impediment to good government and if nothing else changed there m u st be a new m eans for d elivering p u blic services” (Peters 1996:
50).
They argu e that the low er echelons of hierarchical organizations are a w ealth of u ntap p ed resou rces and talent. It is thou ght that since w orkers at the low er echelons of organizations are the closest to the p rod u ction of good s or the p oint of service, that “they have the greatest insight and information about the pr o- gram s. It is assu m ed fu rther that if those id eas and talents w ere harnessed ad e- qu ately, then governm ent w ou ld p erform better” (Peters 1996: 51).
The p rop onents of increased p articip ation su p p ort it in term s of p u blic sector em p loyees having m ore say in their p lace of em p loym ent, clients of those p u b- lic sector organizations (the general citizenry) having m ore say in p u blic s ector decision making, and public sector agencies having more autonomy and “say”
in their area of sp ecialty vis a vie the total ad m inistrative system .
The concep tions of a p articip atory state can be d ivid ed into fou r categories.
These are p articip atory m anagem ent, d iscu rsive d em ocracy, street level b u - reau cracy, and com m u nitarianism .
Particip atory m anagem ent m ainly concerns m em bers of a p u blic organization charged w ith d elivering a service. It is argu ed that the m ost effective m od e of m otivating em p loyees w ithin a p u blic sector organization is to foster involv e- m ent and p articip ation. It is fu rther argu ed that em p loyees need w id e girth to exercise som e initiative and shou ld be allow ed a greater m easu re of ind ep e n- d ent d ecisions. That w ay they w ou ld be w illin g to invest m ore tim e and energy in the organization. (This is id ea is p art of the hu m an relations p ersp ective d i s- cu ssed in section 2.6.) Accord ing to the p articip atory m anagem ent ap p roach
“the general prescription for making government function better, th erefore, is
to foster greater ind ivid u al and collective p articip ation by segm ents of gover n- m ent organizations that com m only have been exclu d ed from d ecision m a king”
(Peters 1996: 51; see Malinga 2008.)
Going one step beyond p articip atory m anagem ent, w hich focu ses on the em - p loyees of p u blic organizations, the p rop onents of d iscu rsive d em ocracy argu e that the public should be “asked to decide all manner of policy issues by a d i- rect vote” (Peters 1996: 58). Proponents of this view find even representative d em ocracy to be lacking. “These id eas have a m u ch broad er concep tion of p o p - ular participation and democracy than conventional representative democracy”
(Peters 1996: 58).
Scholars w ho favor this view hold that a broad er range of citizens shou ld be involved in the “shap ing of issu es, form u lation of resp onses and p erhap s also in the im p lem entation of p rogram s” (Peters 1996: 58). A practical exam p le of d is- cu rsive d em ocracy w ou ld be a referend u m . In w hich m em bers of the p u blic vote d irectly in favor of or against a p articu lar p oint of p u blic p olicy. For exam - p le in the United States these are rou tinely attached to voting ballots d u ring Presid ential (general) and Congressional (m id -term ) elections.
The d iscu rsive line of argu m ent d ovetails w ith the id eas of theorists on the p u b- lic sp here like Jü rgen H aberm as. H e d evelop ed the concep ts of the “ideal speech community” and “communicative rationality” in ord er to d escribe the cond itions u nd er w hich p articip ation w ou ld be consid ered m ost effective.
Id eally, in H aberm as‟s concep tion, there w ou ld be no hierarchy of ind ivid u als or of id eas, instead , an egalitarian op en foru m w here all id eas are equ ally v a- lu ed . H e p osits that in this sp here all id eas shou ld be voiced in ord er to gauge the tru e range of op inion w ithin the com m u nity. (see H aberm as 1989; Peters 1996: 59.)
