Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
SUSS POL 353 Study Unit 3 Civil Service Systems in Southeast Asia - Coggle…
SUSS POL 353 Study Unit 3 Civil Service Systems in Southeast Asia
Features and Significance of the Public
Service
What is Bureaucracy
there are three ways to understand the term bureaucracy. It can be understood as
(i) a
formal organisational
setting replete with specialisation of functions,
hierarchy, adherence
to rules and impartiality;
(ii) a bevy of full-time professional staff
(bureaucrats)
who are recruited, managed and rewarded based on the basis of their service, professionalism and merit; and
(iii)
a tool
that translates the
commands
of elected political officials
into public policy.
the
bureaucracy
is commonly understood as
an arm of the state
and is not prominently featured in the design of political regimes, which tend to concentrate more on the power dynamics between political actors and institutions
Why Study the Bureaucracy?
The
bureaucracy has become critical
in government decision-making, continues to grow in influence and has become powerful in the post-World War II decades
Rose’s study shows that initially goods and services delivered by government comprised defence and tax collection; this list subsequently grew to include a range of other services such as public infrastructure and social development services as a result of increasingly complex modern economic and social life.
As such,
bureaucratic growth
can be understood as both a “
precondition to economic growth
” as well as a
response to rapidly-evolving society
, and is thus a
reflection of government spending
as well as government revenue.
Bureaucratic Accountability and transparency
the bureaucracy must also be appreciated for
operating under far more constraints
than private organisations.
They are
subjected to oversight
and direction by the elected politicians, political institutions such as the courts and legislature, pressure groups and the citizens.
As a result, the
bureaucracy is subject to “different objectives, more control and monitoring
, more red-tape, less autonomy and higher levels of formalisation in public organisations”
Critique on Bureaucracy
The bureaucracy itself endured criticisms by both government and citizens alike, calling it a power-seeking,
monolithical institution of Leviathan-proportions
Others paint the bureaucracy as a “court jester” that clumsy inept group of
uncoordinated agencies
that “muddle” through redundantly choreographed activities
Niskanen argued that the heads of the bureaucracies or career bureaucrats were simply
budget maximisers
, who were able to hide and manipulate the true costs of public service delivery; they did so to increase their allocated budget to beyond what was necessary
No clear transparency
: Niskanen also argued that these bureaucrats were
beyond the oversight of the legislature
as only they were privy to information regarding service delivery; as such the legislature neither had the ability to override the claims made by the bureaucracy nor were they able to independently adjust budget allocation to the bureaucracy based on their own judgements
Proposed solution: Privatisation
To mitigate such effects, it is proposed that the bureaucracy be marketised, where
competition
among various agencies offering the same goods and services at the lowest prices and best services would lower cost and increase efficiency
Bureaucratic Theory
Max Weber’s Ideal-Type Bureaucracy
Max Weber’s Ideal-type bureaucracy aims to “
accomplish large-scale administrative tasks
by systematically coordinating the work of many individuals”
Weber’s theory suggests that if a bureaucracy was indeed developed in the ideal form that Weber suggested, it would be the most rational form of organisation.
As such, it should be
used as a model against which empirical examinations of bureaucracies are measured
to understand how they have developed over time and assess how changes in the trends of public administration have affected how bureaucracies would function
Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy can also serve as a “helpful heuristic to analyse and
understand misconduct in government” and highlight how “actual practices
of bureaucracies fall short of ideals”
Elements of Weber's ideal Bureaucracy
Weber’s conception of an ideal-type bureaucracy reflects the bureaucratic ethos and included the following elements:
an organisation
comprised of bureaucrats or civil servants
who perform duties in specific areas delegated to them;
these civil servants also
use written documents,
have budgets and powers
allocated to them to carry out their duties
have been trained in a particular field of
specialisation
are professional and strictly adhere to official,
hierarchical controls
the civil servants are
long-tenure bureaucrats
and receive remuneration and promotion based on their seniority and performance
Characteristics of Weber's ideal Bureaucracy
The following are specific characteristics that Weber has enumerated
There is a
clear hierarchy
of civil servants
The
functions
of the civil servants are
clearly specified
Civil servants are appointed on a
contractual basis
Civil servants only
observe the impersonal duties
of their offices
Civil servants are
recruited on the basis of professional qualifications
and this position is the civil servant’s sole or major profession
Civil servants are
paid
remuneration
in accordance to
their position within the
hierarchy
and enjoy some form of pension
Civil servants are
free to resign
from their posts; under certain specified circumstances, they
may also be terminated
Civil servants are subject to a career and promotion structure based on seniority, merit, and judgement of performance
Civil servants
may not appropriate their positions
or any of the resources they are allocated in the course of their duties
Civil servants are
subjected to a unified control
and disciplinary system overseen by their superiors.
Robert Merton’s Bureaucratic Structure and Personality
the imperfections of bureaucracy
- He argued that strict adherence to rules results in
goal displacement,
produces rigidity,
bureaucratic red tape and
bureaucratic inertia.
The bureaucrat himself displays
“trained incapacity”
(
i.e. trained to think and act in a rigi/specific way)
that results in the training and skills that the bureaucrat has accrued eventually prevent him from functioning optimally as it
results in “inappropriate response
s (even) under changed conditions”
Merton also explained that the
reliance and adherence to regulations discourage bureaucrats from understanding
what are their
true motivations
of delivering public goods and services effectively and efficiently to citizens and they are unable to adapt if special circumstances arise in the course of their duties.
Apart from delays,
civil servants also will not be motivated to engage in policy entrepreneurship or innovation
, eventually
leading to bureaucratic pathology
and dysfunction
Bureaucratic Pathology
Pathology and dysfunction refer to a syndrome of “
sickness
common among the governmental organizations that substantially
reduce their effectiveness in successfully implementing the policies and programmes
”
Bureaucracy earned the
reputation of being bloated
and creating work for themselves by “manufacturing several organisational paraphernalia”. This
maximised budgets unnecessarily, while making it appear that such expenditures are routine and necessary.
bureaucracy systematically
rewards incompetence
as civil servants are allegedly
promoted more on the basis of seniority
, rather than performance
Bureaucratic bashing:
politicians engage in bureaucratic bashing as they
aim to use bureaucrats as “handy scapegoats
for disenchantment with government”
bureaucratic bashing is often unjustified, exaggerated and should not necessarily be encouraged as it is an “undesirable or unneeded flogging of public employees”
bureaucratic bashing has led to a “natural distrust of bureaucracy (that) has been twisted into a permanent cynicism”
Bureaucratic Pathology in South east asia
Bureaucratic pathology is also seen in Southeast Asia but in a slightly different form -
a blurring of the demarcation between private and public sectors
, with the bureaucracy seen as
attempting to hijack societal surplus instead of channelling them into public service delivery.
There are three general ways in which such pathologies occur in Southeast Asian bureaucracies, spanning as far back as the pre-modern era.
Firstly, the bureaucracy starts to get
bloated and overstaffed
, with concurrent increases in civil servants’ salaries and benefits.
Next, the bureaucracy tends to
involve itself in corporate economy activities.
Finally, there is a creation of “bureaucratic capitalism”, which sees bureaucrats pursuing private economic gain either personally or via clients.
Fixing Bureaucratic pathology
Bureaucratic pathology subsequently called for fixes in the image of market-oriented reforms to
“make bureaucracy more streamlined,entrepreneurial, competitive, customer driven, enterprising, and results oriented”, leading to programmes such as “zero-based budgeting, management by objectives, program planning budgeting systems,
reinventing government, and the general methods of the new public management
”
Issues with reform
:market-oriented reforms is actually
based on neoclassical economics
and unwittingly reiterates the original bureaucratic ethos in public administration, counter-intuitively trapping bureaucracy in a cycle of reform and criticism
Over coming reform issues
One possible way would be to
adopt a framework that features a professional and independent bureaucracy
that is simultaneously autonomous and
insulated enough from pressures in society
that may hinder it from discharging its duties effectively, and yet not that autonomous that it is able to disregard and override its professional obligation to serve public interests and complement policymaking efforts of elected politicians.
This is much similar to the “power, continuity and autonomy of elite bureaucrats” (Weiss, 1988), a characteristic of the developmental state model.
However, it remains to be seen if there is sufficient political will to reform bureaucracies as such, in Southeast Asian countries that tend to thrive on quite the opposite hitherto.
An Overview of Civil Services in Southeast Asia with Selected Case Studies
In Southeast Asia, it would not be inaccurate to conclude that the “civil service system is considered the core of public administration and a critical determining factor in its quality.
Recognising this, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed a declaration at the 30th ASEAN Summit in 2017, which
recognises the “role of the civil service as a catalyst for achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2025”
examining the public administration structures and civil service systems in
Southeast Asian countries
, we can understand that
civil service systems are influenced by a myriad of factors
including historical trajectories, colonial legacies, levels of development and so on
Colonial Legacies of Civil Service Systems in Southeast Asia
The colonial bureaucratic models were
premised on the formal principles of the original Western bureaucratic
models;
.
Colonial legacies
: as the state developed and gained independence,
some of these structures
and principles, especially those relating to Weberian bureaucracy,
were retained
,
while newer practices reflected the endogenous political culture and traditions of the specific Southeast Asian country
.
Exlpoitative nature
: colonial legacies are usually depicted in nationalist terms, where the
colonial administrators are seen as creating governance structures simply to “extract value” and exploit
the territories they oversaw with the intent of profit or specific self-serving agendas, rather than to develop these countries
Colonial experience
Different colonial legacies imparted
different cultural and structural consequences
on different countries,
depending
largely on what
purposes the colonies served
, how they were acquired and the political culture of the colonial powers.
For instance,
Burma
(now Myanmar) was
colonised via punitive expeditions, resulting in the displacement of King Thibaw
in 1885 and colonial rule imposed from India.
On the other hand,
British Malaya
(now Malaysia) was part of the Straits Settlements, and was considered to be
critical as these were territories acquired to protect critical sea-lanes
The diversity is especially pronounced in the Southeast Asian region that experienced Latin, Spanish, American, Anglo and European legacies.
British Colonial Legacy in the Hong Kong Civil Service
Positive experience
: The British colonial legacy has had more of a positive impact on the Hong Kong civil service in three major ways
civil service culture is
merit-based
attention to
the provision of infrastructure and
public service delivery
population policies to
boost economic advantage
Professionalism
: the “culture of professionalism” is a feature of Hong Kong’s civil service even today, where the bureaucratic ethos in
Hong Kong features values such as
“hierarchical
loyalty
,
efficiency,
meritocracy
, and
political
neutrality
”
with
compliance
and strict adherence to rules and regulations, especially at the lower levels
Recent scrutiny
: Hong Kong had recently come under scrutiny for
gifting its civil servants' perks
that British expatriates had once received as hardship allowances
(i.e. allowances, access to overseas education, etc)
Many of these perks seem
unnecessary and wasteful
and cost taxpayers billions of dollars yearly
Examples include
using public finances to maintain official residences of senior public servants
who claim to use these official residences to entertain foreign guests
Latin Colonial Legacy in the Filipino Civil Service
Many scholars argue that the Latin colonial legacies have had a
negative impact
on administrative cultures in the Philippines and Macau
In the Filipino case,
the bureaucracy was built on a framework that served to enrich those who occupied positions within the bureaucracy
and public office was seen as a business opportunity.
Spanish nationals occupied public service positions
, while the Filipino natives were relegated to the lowest rungs of the hierarchy
General attitudes
: Its bureaucracy was imbibed with two general attitudes,
that of outright
indifference
and
a
lack of commitment
to public office and this legacy has lived on till today
Negative observations
: Filipino civil service was observed to have exhibited
rent-seeking behaviour,
corruption,
lack of compliance to rules and incompetence and has been accused of being “arrogant, aloof, arbitrary and corrupt in its behaviour (where) almost 50% of government expenditures is lost to corruption”
Deep seated issue
: There have been many attempts to overcome these problems, where reform and reorganisation were said to be on the agenda of every government that has come to power since 1940, and yet the issues of impartiality, corruption and resistance have remained
Selected Case studies of Civil Service Systems in Southeast Asia: Cambodia and Lao PDR
Organisational obstacles:
developing countries, particularly those with troubled histories,
face several obstacles in organising the civil service system
, public service delivery and reform efforts
Challenges may include
a lack of political will,
pervasive patron-client systems,
weak institutions, lack of funding,
and lack of technical and administrative capacities
Gov effectiveness:
governments can only be
effective and progress if
the people who execute the will of the government - the
civil servants - are motivated, equipped with the right skills and attitude and have the ability to implement and deliver public services
countries attempting to progress economically, socially, politically and democratically
will flail without responsible public administrators
Cambodia
MCS:
Established in 2013, Cambodia’s Ministry of Civil Service (MCS) is the central organisation responsible for the Cambodian civil service.
It is tasked to
direct and develop the public service
sector of Cambodia
Goals and Activities
: The MCS is founded on three main strategies of the Royal Government
strengthening the quality and effectiveness of public service delivery
, specifically focusing on responsiveness, trust of service consumers, effectiveness and efficiency
capacity development
to improve civil servants’ performance, motivation, loyalty and professionalism
pay and
remuneration
reform of civil servants
Recent Key Initiatives of the Cambodian Civil Service:
Priority Mission Groups
, which sees a select
group of civil servants carrying out urgent reform
E-governance
has also been embraced by the MCS - in 2017, a smartphone app, Cambodia Public Services, was introduced to facilitate Cambodian citizens’ access to government services
Issues:
access to public service delivery
, especially by poorer Cambodians living in rural Cambodia is
uneven
, according to the World Bank
Laos
Objective
: Laos’s MoHA’s objectives are to
promote
resilient
governance,
organisational
stability
and
a competent and
professional civil service
, characterised by effectiveness and responsiveness to the Lao PDR citizens
Case Study: The Importance of the Civil Service to ASEAN
At the 30th ASEAN Summit in 2017, all ten ASEAN members signed a declaration to
recognise the importance of the civil service
in achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
The declaration explains that the ASEAN members recognise the centrality of the civil service
in providing good governance in the Southeast Asian region in the following ways
:
providing critical public services
to the ASEAN citizens;
directing
national and social
development
responsible
administering of
public resources
managing evolving
relationships
between government and citizens
being visionary and proactive to
tackle forthcoming challenges.
The declaration also highlighted that ASEAN members recognised the role of the civil service as
an impetus for collaboration and cooperation
across various instituition
Operationalisine the ASEAN
In doing so, the ASEAN members pledged to do the following, among others:
promote cooperation
in the development and implementation of capacity-building programmes and share best practices in critical policy areas, including good governance and talent recruitment, retainment and skills-building in the civil services of ASEAN
raise professionalism
and capacities of civil servants and enhance crosssector cooperation and collaboration
ensure civil services in ASEAN member states
embrace good governance principles
so as to build resilient, trustworthy, future-ready and citizencentric government institutions
promote welfare of civil servants
in ASEAN member states, especially those who are deployed for disaster-response
strengthen alliances
among ASEAN member states, dialogue partners and other non-state stakeholders such as civil society organisations and businesses.
Issues relating to Civil Service Personnel
Recruitment and Retention of Civil Servants
a key priority
: capacities of the bureaucracy to carry out administrative functions, implement policies and ensure these efforts are successful
Importance of right talents
: Thus in meeting these key priority, talent acquisition is fundamental
Recruitment of Civil Servants
Merit-based recruitment
: I.e. technocrats (Experience/Intelectual credentials as opposed to Racial/cultural bias)
Diversity
: Widens pools of candidates
Independent of political patronage
Merit-based recruitment
Attracting Potential Civil Service Candidates
Education and Training
Job Placement
Career Distinctiveness
Incentives and Motivation
Remuneration
Competency Management of Civil Servants