REFORMS OLD DOCTRINES NEW DOCTRINES

Old Doctrine The purposes of public sector organizations are the hard-won results of sustained democratic debate. The are set out clearly in statute or executive order. These formal mandates legitimate public sector organizations and also provide concrete operational guidance as to the means to be used in pursuit of public purposes. Together, mandated purposes and ends provide a basis for accountability to the public via elected officials. We rely on compliance with statutory intent to avert waste, fraud and abuse.

Old Principles Budgets Civil service Athorization

New Doctrine Make public sector organizations efficient reduce costs, and adapt to changing political demands or new substantive tasks. CREATION OF PUBLIC VALUE

Reforms—within principles Old principles guide new reforms New reforms risk causing new problems New problems can violate old principles

1. Apolitical civil service Principle: neutral competence Civil servants No political allegiance Therefore: serve government of the day Puzzle: Enhance power without threatening democracy

2. Decline of hierarchy Hierarchy once ruled New threats Networked approaches New alternatives –Market models –Participatory organizations –Social compliance instead of mandates

3. Permanence and stability Assumption: permanent bureaucracy Public service assumed to be lifetime employment Challenge: Greater flexibility to meet new problems Rise of contracting

4. Institutionalized civil service Governed as corporate body Uniform policies apply to all Merit as foundation Challenges –Need for temporary employment –Do temporary employees have right skills? –How to measure merit –Does it produce tension when other employment isn’t as secure?

5. Responsiveness to political officials Beyond political neutrality Crucial to accountability Developing regimes Balancing predictability and accountability with entrepreneurship and flexibility

6. Equality Produce equality of outcomes Clients with similar needs should receive similar benefits

Four models Market government [Note: like New Zealand reforms] Participative government Team-based government Flexible government –“Virtual organizations” –Deregulated government –More managerial freedom

Common problems Coordination Errors: detecting and correcting Civil service

Nongovernmental Organizations Importance of NGOs

No theory of governance can be complete without a theory of NGOs NGOs: mixed message/mixed motives Community-based organizations al Qaeda

Roles of NGOs Political –Articulate values –Give voice to values not normally captured by governmental process –Especially in developing nations: give voice to poor, unconnected Administrative –Serve as intermediaries for implementing state policy

Connection between civil society and government NGOs as linkage Legitimacy –Challenge of pluralism: why listen to any particular NGO? –Which voices are not heard? –What role should outside forces play in encouraging development of NGOs? –What risks do they take in encouraging the creation of some forces, not others?

Impact Assess: what is the influence of NGOs on politics Domestic International

Administrative issues Capacity –Administrative ability of NGOs to carry out policy –Fisher: build capacity of citizens to act on own behalf –But how much work needed to build capacity?

Dilemma Building capacity v. fostering autonomy –NGOs as agents of government policy –Governments increasingly relying on NGOs for service delivery –Risk: conflict between governmental policy and NGO’s mission, autonomy

Public interest and NGOs Can government use NGOs and still pursue the broader interest? Risk: fragmentation, disenfranchisement Must governments rely on NGOs to ensure broad base for its actions? Broad participation, legitimacy

International Organizations

Big issues Governance Sovereignty Capture Equity

Governance of multinational organizations Who governs—and how? Who has power in formal structures? Formal voice, through treaty Formal policy, through procedures Who has bargaining power in actions? Are some countries disadvantaged in process? Imbalance of resources: political, economic

Bilateralism: alternative to multilateral governance Problems –Too slow –Multiplies boundaries to be spanned –Can’t frame multi-nation strategies –Doesn’t produce sustainable strategies

Interest group politics Interest group politics affects all gov’ts Corporations globalized more quickly, more broadly than governments Corporations have a strong interest in friction- free transactions Corporate interests don’t represent all interests—or, necessarily, the public interest ISSUE: balancing corporate power with other interests

Equity Do multinational organizations promote policies that destroy jobs, worsen poverty—to the advantage of large corporations?

Equity politics Worry: Power of multinational corporations strengthened through globalization Power strengthened at expense of the poor What strategies can be used to help the poor in a global world? World Bank: Comprehensive Development Framework (?)

Strategy for multinational orgs What should be done? Who is in charge of what?