Public Administration Development and Reform in a Post-Communist Regime: The Case of Mongolia

Damiran, Tsedev; Pratt, Richard

doi:10.1080/23276665.2008.10779350

“…For almost all these countries, PAR is viewed as an indispensable activity with the aim of facilitating the transition process (Tong, Straussman et al 1999;Painter 2003;Randma-Liiv 2005;Damiran and Pratt 2008;Veselinović 2014). Arguably, the legacies from centrally planned economies have left enduring negative consequences for the contemporary administration such as bureaucratic and inert administration apparatus, discretionary governance, poor accountability and transparency, weak work ethics, poor performance and pervasive corruption (Poon 2004;Damiran and Pratt 2008;Meyer-Sahling 2009;Veselinović 2014). Public administration reform (PAR) has been highlighted as one of the imperative conditions for creating successful and sustainable economic development 46 (Veselinović 2014).…”

Section: Public Administration Reform In Transition Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3) lack of participation from citizens in the reform process (Damiran and Pratt 2008); 4) poor accountability and pervasive corruption (Jacobs 2004;Moon and Hwang 2013); 47 5) lingering legacy of the Soviet-style command economy, old administrative habits, political interference, weak state institutions and disrespect for rules (Cierco 2013).…”

Section: Public Administration Reform In Transition Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the way in which their performance is managed determines the operational effectiveness of organisations in fulfilling their goals (Manasa and Reddy 2009). While instances of exemplary performance exist, irresponsibility, corruption, poor performance and low work ethic are particularly widespread and harmful in transitional and developing countries (Jacobs 2004;Damiran and Pratt 2008;Cierco 2013). As a result, improving accountability, motivation, work ethics and proficiency of public employees has been highlighted as an essential condition for reform initiatives to be fruitful (Tong, Straussman et al 1999;Jacobs 2004;Moon and Hwang 2013).…”

Section: Public Administration Reform In Transition Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Vu¹

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<p>Public employees’ poor performance has been cited as one of the leading factors in the failure of reform programmes in developing countries. Although previous employee performance reforms have targeted selection, training, appraisal and compensation, agreement exists that these problems persist. Improving employee performance has proven difficult in developing and developed countries alike. Motivated by the New Public Management (NPM), employee performance management (PM) has been widely introduced by developed and developing countries as a public sector reform. Employee PM supposedly furthers development objectives by improving performance, enhancing accountability and aligning employee efforts with organisational goals. Unfortunately, the literature has reported many failed PM reforms. Arguably, employee PM in the public sector usually faces several difficulties, including the diversity of stakeholders, bounded delegated authority, ambiguous organisational and job goals, as well as the inherent complexity of employee PM activities. The situation is even more challenging for developing countries due to contextual problems of weak institutions, weak capacity and traditional cultures. There are perspectives that employee PM may not be compatible in developing contexts. Although there is no shortage of research on employee PM, most is theoretical research or conducted in developed countries. Empirical research in developing countries, particularly in the public sector, remains sparse. To address this gap, this research investigates whether employee PM is applicable or effective in the developing context, as well as exploring which contextual factors affect its development. To answer these research questions, a mixed methods approach guided by the research philosophy of pragmatism was adopted. The data for this research was gathered from 30 interviews and a survey of 322 respondents from 29 different organisations across five central Ministries and two provinces in Vietnam as a transitional economy with a strong effect of Confucian culture. This study contributes to the literature by providing some key findings. Firstly, it confirms that if well designed and implemented, PM can work in the public sector in developing countries. This finding supports the perspective that the failure of PM schemes is mostly because of implementation shortcomings rather than theory defects. Secondly, it proposes a formula for the effective implementation of PM in the developing context. Specifically, it is a combination of five PM practices, including goal-based appraisal, feedback, reward-for-performance, addressing poor performers and employee participation. Thirdly, the development of employee PM in developing countries is driven by three contextual factors: agency accountability, HR autonomy, and entrepreneurial leadership. Fourthly, PM is not only a tool to improve organisational performance, but also an important mediation agent to transmit the effect of other reform activities on desirable outcomes. Finally, the effect of the contextual factors on development of employee PM is weakened by interpersonal relationships and nepotism while being strengthened by communication and training. Based on these findings, this research proposes strategic solutions for policy-makers while providing specific suggestions for practitioners to develop effective PM systems. It also discusses some implications and identifies gaps for researchers in the future.</p>

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“…For almost all these countries, PAR is viewed as an indispensable activity with the aim of facilitating the transition process (Tong, Straussman et al 1999;Painter 2003;Randma-Liiv 2005;Damiran and Pratt 2008;Veselinović 2014). Arguably, the legacies from centrally planned economies have left enduring negative consequences for the contemporary administration such as bureaucratic and inert administration apparatus, discretionary governance, poor accountability and transparency, weak work ethics, poor performance and pervasive corruption (Poon 2004;Damiran and Pratt 2008;Meyer-Sahling 2009;Veselinović 2014). Public administration reform (PAR) has been highlighted as one of the imperative conditions for creating successful and sustainable economic development 46 (Veselinović 2014).…”

Section: Public Administration Reform In Transition Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3) lack of participation from citizens in the reform process (Damiran and Pratt 2008); 4) poor accountability and pervasive corruption (Jacobs 2004;Moon and Hwang 2013); 47 5) lingering legacy of the Soviet-style command economy, old administrative habits, political interference, weak state institutions and disrespect for rules (Cierco 2013).…”

Section: Public Administration Reform In Transition Economiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Vu¹

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

<p>Public employees’ poor performance has been cited as one of the leading factors in the failure of reform programmes in developing countries. Although previous employee performance reforms have targeted selection, training, appraisal and compensation, agreement exists that these problems persist. Improving employee performance has proven difficult in developing and developed countries alike. Motivated by the New Public Management (NPM), employee performance management (PM) has been widely introduced by developed and developing countries as a public sector reform. Employee PM supposedly furthers development objectives by improving performance, enhancing accountability and aligning employee efforts with organisational goals. Unfortunately, the literature has reported many failed PM reforms. Arguably, employee PM in the public sector usually faces several difficulties, including the diversity of stakeholders, bounded delegated authority, ambiguous organisational and job goals, as well as the inherent complexity of employee PM activities. The situation is even more challenging for developing countries due to contextual problems of weak institutions, weak capacity and traditional cultures. There are perspectives that employee PM may not be compatible in developing contexts. Although there is no shortage of research on employee PM, most is theoretical research or conducted in developed countries. Empirical research in developing countries, particularly in the public sector, remains sparse. To address this gap, this research investigates whether employee PM is applicable or effective in the developing context, as well as exploring which contextual factors affect its development. To answer these research questions, a mixed methods approach guided by the research philosophy of pragmatism was adopted. The data for this research was gathered from 30 interviews and a survey of 322 respondents from 29 different organisations across five central Ministries and two provinces in Vietnam as a transitional economy with a strong effect of Confucian culture. This study contributes to the literature by providing some key findings. Firstly, it confirms that if well designed and implemented, PM can work in the public sector in developing countries. This finding supports the perspective that the failure of PM schemes is mostly because of implementation shortcomings rather than theory defects. Secondly, it proposes a formula for the effective implementation of PM in the developing context. Specifically, it is a combination of five PM practices, including goal-based appraisal, feedback, reward-for-performance, addressing poor performers and employee participation. Thirdly, the development of employee PM in developing countries is driven by three contextual factors: agency accountability, HR autonomy, and entrepreneurial leadership. Fourthly, PM is not only a tool to improve organisational performance, but also an important mediation agent to transmit the effect of other reform activities on desirable outcomes. Finally, the effect of the contextual factors on development of employee PM is weakened by interpersonal relationships and nepotism while being strengthened by communication and training. Based on these findings, this research proposes strategic solutions for policy-makers while providing specific suggestions for practitioners to develop effective PM systems. It also discusses some implications and identifies gaps for researchers in the future.</p>

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Public Administration in Mongolia

Damiran¹,

Pratt²

2013

Public Administration in Post-Communist Countries

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Public Administration Development and Reform in a Post-Communist Regime: The Case of Mongolia

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Managing employee performance in transition economies: A study of Vietnamese public organisations

Public Administration in Mongolia

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