CHAPTER 7 THE THEORETICAL REFLECTIONS
7.2 Comparative Perspective of Civil Service Management
Education was the main weapon that qualified civil service employees and empowered them for quality services. The educated families of the study area were getting good opportunities for public service jobs, and their economic status was more
positively perceived than that of illiterate families. The illiterate families were found below the absolute poverty line. Still, families had a problem with education awareness.
The literacy rate of women and men was found to be 59.40 percent and 70.9 percent, respectively (CBS, 2012). The male literacy rate was higher than that of females, which means that females seemed backward in education sectors, and they were mostly engaged in household work. Males were more employed at the age of twenty to forty years of age mainly in overseas employment. Females, especially, were found to be more active in domestic work.
Rising Trends of Service Automation. The people were found mainly dependent on manual services that were more time-consuming and offered in tedious service facilities. This means that more than 61 percent of employees were primarily dependent on poor traditional services, and more than 31 percent of people were dependent on ICT for automated digital services. After public service, self-employment was another good source of the highly skilled technology-friendly human resource gain at present. The majority of the Ministries did not have well-equipped ICT facilities. More than 31 percent were found under the normal and basic level because of their scarcity of resources as they fell on a limited yearly budget. There was a large number of employees who had more facilities and training support. The service status has been improving day by day compared to ten years ago, and nearly 21 percent of the offices had no change in their basic status. The reform process was declining, but national employment was found to be increasing, and economic status was found to be better for families. The expectation of a large number of employees, about 47 percent, was to get support for modern technology. This means that the rural offices demanded the improvement of the service quality, and there was a rising trend in the use of ICT in public services.
Digitization Movement for Service Improvement. In the constitution of Nepal (2015), the public service system has been considered as the basic pillar of citizens’
rights. The Ministries were mostly established in urban and highly-populated areas, and there were very few of them at the national-level service units in rural areas. A small number of local offices was related to remote areas and very few of them were found working actively in the study area. There were also other offices like ward office, forest management office, agricultural support office, and knowledge centers in the areas. The
local offices were working smoothly and finally converted into automated offices one after another. Mainly agricultural, education, health, and infrastructure development offices were functional in the study area. People were receiving the benefits for security service, health, education, savings, taking loans, opportunities of employment, and raising income. The people who were working as a public service employee, they were found to be more energetic and happier than the others who were not involved.
Likewise, the chief executives involved in the Ministries were found to be more active, and service quality under digital technology was improved.
Promoting Inclusion through ICT Support. Only a few numbers of Dalit, marginal, and excluded poor were found to participate as public service employees.
Fewer numbers of these employees were actively working. More than 47% of participants’ views were that there were few advantages that the Dalit, marginal, excluded, and poor people were receiving from the participation in the public service system. More than 69 percent of participants agreed to increase the value of public services by uniting the poor and excluded people to have the same principles, values, and norms of the cooperative. They suggested that the more excluded that person was, the more encouraged that person should be to join the public service system.
The government or non-government organizations felt that they needed to provide civil service to the targeted people like Dalits, marginal, excluded, and poor people so that they could also become more involved in the quality service system.
Participants expressed that they needed to provide awareness programs through workshops, training sessions, etc., and through subsidies and aids to the Dalits, marginal, excluded, and poor women. They also demanded compulsory literacy classes for illiterate people for the illiterate to take part in the lower level of employment.
Based on the participants’ view, it was realized that the ICT use and reform movement in the public service sector should be in favor of poor and excluded people, and it should be based on agriculture and local level resources. The sustainable livelihood of the poor and excluded families should be made easy through the new model of micromanagement in public services and the concept of digitization of services. Respondents also referred to the other alternative models for quality services, NGOs, INGOs model, especially the reform in government system using e-governance modalities.
Without, Within and Beyond the use of ICTs. The private, public, and NGO partnership programs were found effective in the study areas. There were many groups of employees who by tradition had the custom of working together in different organizations. Still, employees shared work for work and in turn used human resources for economic promotion. Without the existence of a public service system, people also practiced the village managerial activities by tradition. However, civil service intervention at federal, provincial, and local levels, played a pivotal role in the proper management of economic activities. The local offices improved the livelihood of people and initiated entrepreneurial activities in the village through public support. The trust and faith towards the digital system introduced by civil service employees were increasing and the service scheme was found easier to be managed. The study demanded that civil service should go beyond its practice and move in the direction of micromanagement in reforming system towards the ICT use. Because of the limited number of skilled employees in the Ministries, the small number of employees would also facilitate the small groups to be involved in the digital reform. It would be better if micromanagement existed in the future.
Socially Responsible Service Practices. Over the last decade, there has been a noticeable shift from reactive research exploring public service solutions to social challenges and incorporating new public service methods that may assist these concerns, to proactively research exploring public service solutions. Socially responsible service practices can increase overall trust, a global trend with elevated competition and consumer alternatives, interest in greater staff efficiency and retention, and increased visibility and coverage of social responsibility and negligent activities are all factors that may be attributed to this shift. The following are examples of common activities:
Facilities that adhere to or surpass environmental and safety standards, such as those that conserve more of the public's resources, are being designed;
Improving processes that may include actions such as removing hazardous waste items from public spaces, cutting the number of chemicals used in agricultural production, or not using specific chemicals and materials in public spaces;
Discontinuing product offerings that are considered harmful, but not illegal in public service systems;
Choosing suppliers based on their readiness to adopt or maintain sustainable social and environmental standards, mainly in government agencies;
Reforming the public sector to be more digitally friendly while using ecologically acceptable manufacturing and packaging materials;
Fully disclosing products and their sources, as well as any potential hazards concerning e-governance reform;
The creation of initiatives to improve the well-being of personnel;
Measuring, tracking, and reporting to CEOs of accountable targets and actions;
The formulation of publishing rules to help government agencies communicate responsibly and use the best distribution channels;
Ensuring that disabled people have better access in the civil service;
Keeping consumer information private and secure; and
When making business decisions, keep in mind the economic impact on the local economy.
Reductions in operational expenses, monetary incentives from regulatory agencies, and enhanced productivity and retention are all possible financial benefits of socially responsible public service methods. There are several marketing advantages as well, including the opportunity to increase community goodwill, create brand preference, enhance brand positioning, and improve product quality and service quality.
Stakeholders´ Engagement for Collaboration. The public service system benefits greatly from the systematic and regular involvement of important stakeholders.
A constant dialogue with stakeholders is an important tool for anticipating new trends and potential commercial interests to create an innovative environment. A greater understanding of the public service environment and current trends will enable civil servants to develop their long-term strategic objectives. In many cases, engaging in a dialogue with outside parties can alert public service systems to future dangers and so improve risk management. Building mutual trust between civil servants and their major stakeholders is best accomplished through face-to-face interaction and the capacity to maintain tight ties. With the help of a fresh set of eyes, the government can clearly define its goals and assess its actual performance. Employees in the public sector who have strong and deep ties with stakeholders have an advantage in gathering information.
Considering both the good and negative effects of different stakeholders on the public service system is critical at all times.
There can be a roadmap to help public service systems decide on which stakeholders and areas they should concentrate on and what actions they should take utilizing the so-called stakeholder matrix. The matrix divides the parties engaged into two groups based on their respective impact (on the public service system as a whole) and their relative expectations (stakeholder dependence on the public service system).
Table 7.1 Stakeholder Influence and Dependency Matrix
Level of Impact-stakeholder Influence on Public Service
Low High
Level of expectations- stakeholder dependence on Public Service
High
(C)
Treat fairly- honor commitments to these stakeholders
(A)
Strategic threat or opportunity- invest in engagement processes to understand concerns and develop solutions
Low
(D)
Low priority- provide access to general channels of information and feedback
(B)
Keep involved and informed, but ensure a balance between the concerns of high influence stakeholders and those
impacted by decisions
Boxes A, B, and C are the key stakeholders of the public service system.
Box A (High-High): Stakeholders who appear to have a lot of impact on the public service are also crucial to its success, and they pose strategic risks and possibilities. For the public service system to be effective, it needs to build strong working connections with all of these groups. Investing in engagement procedures is essential to understand concerns and suitable solutions.
Box B (Low-High): These are stakeholders with the ability to influence the public service system, but whose interests are not always aligned with the general goals of employees of civil service. As a result, these stakeholders may pose a considerable danger, and they must be carefully monitored and managed. Civil service organizations should keep these stakeholders informed and involved, but strike a balance between high-level stakeholders' concerns and those who are directly affected by the chief executive's decisions.
Box C (High-Low): These are stakeholders who are critical to the success of the public sector yet have little influence. This means that if their interests are to be safeguarded, they will need to take specific measures. Following public service policy, rules, and industry norms, the public service system should honor obligations to these stakeholders and strive to keep stakeholders satisfied to the extent that the balance of costs and benefits allows.
Box D (Low-Low): The stakeholders in this box may require limited monitoring or evaluation and are of low priority because they have little influence or importance in the public service system. Employees of the government should give these stakeholders access to general channels of information and feedback.
Before initiating contact and moving forward to the active dialog, civil service systems must ensure that they are familiar with the objectives and preferred methods of communication they can use with specific stakeholders.