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1 – 10 of over 37000Ahmed Shafiqul Huque and Patamawadee Jongruck
The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies of civil service reforms in Hong Kong and Thailand. It seeks to identify the drivers of reforms in the two cases and explain…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategies of civil service reforms in Hong Kong and Thailand. It seeks to identify the drivers of reforms in the two cases and explain the divergence in processes that were intended to achieve similar ends.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a case study approach along with a thorough review of the literature. It is based on secondary materials, including academic studies, government publications and websites, and media reports. It compares approaches, strategies and outcomes of civil service reforms in Hong Kong and Thailand.
Findings
Civil service reforms in Hong Kong focused on improving management through the implementation of New Public Management (NPM) principles, while governance values were prominent in civil service reforms in Thailand.
Originality/value
This paper compares civil service reforms in two dissimilar Asian cases. It highlights the impact of global trends on traditional bureaucratic organizations and reform strategies, and recognizes the impacts of traditions, culture and capacity on civil service reforms.
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Lisan Fan, Cailing Feng, Mulyadi Robin and Xiaoyu Huang
Transformational leadership and service performance of civil servants greatly affect the government’s administrative effectiveness. However, there are few studies on the influence…
Abstract
Purpose
Transformational leadership and service performance of civil servants greatly affect the government’s administrative effectiveness. However, there are few studies on the influence mechanism of transformational leadership on service performance in the context of public organizations. Based on the social exchange theory, this study aims to construct and examine the dual path mediating process of affective trust and cognitive trust for the effects of transformational leadership on service performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing from 268 supervisor–subordinate dyads civil servants at the municipal level in China across three waves.
Findings
Both affective trust and cognitive trust partly mediated the relationships between transformational leadership and service performance, which supported the underlying theoretical mechanism of social exchange theory and transformational leadership theory in explaining the dual relationship between leaders and subordinates. This study innovatively and empirically examined the effects of transformational leadership on service performance through dual trust in civil servants in China, thus bridging the gap in this knowledge.
Originality/value
This study innovatively and empirically examined the effects of transformational leadership on service performance through dual trust in civil servants in China, thus bridging the gap in this knowledge.
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Ways in which work in the civil serviceis controlled are examined. A matrix ofstaff control procedures is outlined onthe basis of their function: direct, detect,correct and…
Abstract
Ways in which work in the civil service is controlled are examined. A matrix of staff control procedures is outlined on the basis of their function: direct, detect, correct and motivate; and their impact: impersonal or personal. The role of the line manager as controller is then considered.
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Reviews the crisis of the inherited career Civil Service system inSub‐Saharan African countries and argues for a small career service thatwould be adjusted to the imperatives of a…
Abstract
Reviews the crisis of the inherited career Civil Service system in Sub‐Saharan African countries and argues for a small career service that would be adjusted to the imperatives of a market economy and political pluralism. Concludes with suggestions on the rationalization of employment and pay, the enhancement of efficiency and productivity and capacity building.
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Hong Kong’s public sector reform since the 1990s is not just a continuation of an administrative reform trajectory started in colonial years to modernize the civil service…
Abstract
Hong Kong’s public sector reform since the 1990s is not just a continuation of an administrative reform trajectory started in colonial years to modernize the civil service. Although concerns for efficiency, productivity and value for money have always formed part of the reform agenda at different times, an efficiency discourse of reform is insufficient for capturing the full dynamics of institutional change whether in the pre-1997 or post-1997 period. During Hong Kong's political transition towards becoming an SAR of China in 1997, public sector reform helped to shore up the legitimacy of the bureaucracy. After 1997, new political crises and the changing relations between the Chief Executive and senior civil servants have induced the advent of a new “public service bargain” which gives different meaning to the same NPM-like measures
The purpose of this paper is to bring together two separate strands of the literature (politics and industrial relations) on civil service management and reform to enable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to bring together two separate strands of the literature (politics and industrial relations) on civil service management and reform to enable consideration of the industrial relations implications of these changes.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is conceptual and has no empirical base. The paper is a general review of existing literature on the subject.
Findings
The paper identifies the importance of historical legacy in both management and union behaviour in the civil service. By revisiting earlier civil service reforms, the reader is able to gain an understanding of the rationale for much of the current restructuring of the civil service. Additionally, any discussion of trade union behaviour should be located in the context of union tradition and evolution.
Research limitations/implications
In being a general review, the paper does not report empirical evidence but instead provides the background for future research into civil service industrial relations and management.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to provide a systematic review of management restructuring in the civil service whilst at the same time considering union responses. As such, the paper is of interest to academics and practitioners in the areas of both management and politics.
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Aminath Sudha, S.M. Ferdous Azam and Jacquline Tham
Emerging research on public administration theory has highlighted the need for public sector managers to become better leaders by inspiring and motivating them to align themselves…
Abstract
Purpose
Emerging research on public administration theory has highlighted the need for public sector managers to become better leaders by inspiring and motivating them to align themselves with their organisation's mission and vision. Therefore, transformational leadership has become increasingly appealing in public administration. This study investigates how transformational leadership affects the job performance of those in the Maldives' civil service. Furthermore, it tests the mediation effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between transformational leadership and the job performance of those working in the Maldives' civil service.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a quantitative and cross-sectional design to collect data from 370 employees from different Maldives civil service offices. Data were collected through an online questionnaire, and structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The mediating effect was tested using bootstrapping.
Findings
The results reveal that transformational leadership did not significantly affect job performance. While a mediation effect was present, the effect size was within a small range.
Originality/value
The results of this study has important implications for the Maldives' civil service from a human resource management perspective and provides insights to policymakers on how to improve leadership in Maldives' civil service institutions. Furthermore, this study contributes significantly to the existing research in understanding the effect of transformational leadership on public sector organisations in Asia and from a developing country's perspective.
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This article examines the rhetoric of recent civil service reform measures in Korea, their initial implementation, and growing concerns about their sustainability. Civil service…
Abstract
This article examines the rhetoric of recent civil service reform measures in Korea, their initial implementation, and growing concerns about their sustainability. Civil service reform in Korea was initiated by an enthusiasm for New Public Management (NPM) and public calls for reform. The changes initiated by the Korean Civil Service Commission and other government organizations have sought to encourage openness, competition, flexibility, diversity, and performance-based management. Despite the bold rhetoric heralding the reform initiatives, outcomes have fallen short of expectations, and many civil servants are losing their confidence and esprit de corps. Considering both the initial promise and the ultimate reality of Korean civil service reform, this article investigates problems and limitations confronting the sustainability of these reform measures
Christopher J. Rees, Jane Järvalt and Beverley Metcalfe
To explore, through a case study, some of the key career‐related HRD issues that senior managers are currently facing in the Estonian civil service.
Abstract
Purpose
To explore, through a case study, some of the key career‐related HRD issues that senior managers are currently facing in the Estonian civil service.
Design/methodology/approach
Presents primary empirical research into career management in the Estonian civil service since 1991, that is, in the post‐Soviet era. The research involved in‐depth interviews with a group of 12 senior staff employed by the Estonian civil service.
Findings
The interview data reveal the ways in which downsizing and de‐layering in the Estonian public sector have led to shortened career paths, increased functional flexibility, increased spans of control and shifts towards open job systems.
Research limitations/implications
The research explored career‐related issues solely within the Estonian civil service. Further research would be needed in a wider range of organisations and countries before the transferability of the findings could be established to transitional economies more generally.
Practical implications
Provides practical insights into the difficulties of career management in transitional economies situations from an HR perspective.
Originality/value
Offers a valuable contribution by demonstrating that, within certain parameters, Western‐based career management strategies and techniques may be adapted to fit transitional public services in Estonia but only as one element of a comprehensive HR modernisation programme.
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This article aims to provide an initial assessment of the responseof the civil service unions to the government′s most recent initiativeson management and working practices in…
Abstract
This article aims to provide an initial assessment of the response of the civil service unions to the government′s most recent initiatives on management and working practices in ministerial departments. It considers in particular the Ibbs Report on “Improving Management in Government”, the most publicised of recent documents emerging from the Cabinet Office. A fairly wide ranging approach is adopted in order that the historical context of the report, and its consequent importance, may be appreciated. The core of the article is the result of interviews with senior officials from the main civil service unions. An assessment is made of their perceptions of the report and its implications for the civil service. It is argued that the ambivalence towards Ibbs evident in the positions of the various unions is a result of the divisions that exist between them, and of the heterogeneity of the civil service itself. Consequently any opposition from the unions is severely constrained, although obstacles to implementation may arise elsewhere.
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