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2016 | Book

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Paradigms and Public Sector Reform

Public Administration of Bhutan

Author: Lhawang Ugyel

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This book describes the administrative system of Bhutan. Divided into two main parts, the first part of the book describes the Bhutanese public administration by examining the various paradigms and ideal types of public administration. Chapters examine the paradigms and ideal types in the field of public administration, and the paradigm concept helps in explaining the dynamics and the interaction of the application of public sector reforms within the context of the ideal types. Based on the historical and recent reforms, the Bhutanese administrative system has been mapped onto the ideal type typology to show hybridity with a mix and layering of characteristics of paradigms. The second part of the book examines the dynamics of implementing and evaluating the Position Classification System (PCS). This part includes chapters which evaluate the PCS and discusses the dynamics of the reform. It synthesizes the findings of the implementation of the PCS and connects it to the broader discussions on public sector reforms. It discusses the trajectory of public sector reform and the points of convergences and divergences within this trajectory.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
The first chapter is the introduction and it includes an opening statement of the spread of public sector reforms in Bhutan before discussing the main objectives of the book. This chapter also includes a brief introduction to Bhutan. The book is divided into two main parts.
Lhawang Ugyel

Public Administration of Bhutan

Frontmatter
Chapter 2. Paradigms of Public Administration
Abstract
This chapter examines the paradigms in the field of public administration and discusses how they influence and shape the characteristics of public administrative systems and practice. The chapter uses the notion of paradigms as described by Thomas Kuhn and provides a framework for understanding change in both a temporal and systemic sense. In the field of public administration, the paradigm concept is particularly helpful in understanding the problems that are faced, and how the public sector reforms that are selected to solve these puzzles shape the characteristics of the government. Paradigms in public administration, such as traditional public administration (TPA) and new public management (NPM) are examined. In addition, some models that are emerging as the post-NPM paradigm are also identified.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 3. Ideal Types in Public Administration
Abstract
This chapter builds on the two important characteristics of paradigms—that is, ‘exemplars’ and ‘world views’, to develop a typology of ideal types in the field of public administration. The two main paradigms in public administration, traditional public administration (TPA) and new public management (NPM), and characteristics of some of the key post-NPM models form the ideal type typology. In addition, the characteristics of the patronage system are also included into the typology. This chapter also argues that, in reality, public administrative systems do not always fit into one particular paradigm. Public administration systems exist as hybrid systems that are layered with characteristics of the various paradigms overlapping one another. The identification and descriptions of the ideal types help to describe the nature of Bhutan’s public administration.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 4. Bhutan’s Approach to Public Administration from Modernisation to the New Millennium
Abstract
In this chapter, the ideal type typology is used to examine the characteristics of Bhutan’s public administration at different stages of its history and development. This chapter focuses on the characteristics of Bhutan’s public administration since the modernisation of the country from the 1950s and 1960s until 2006, that is, the year when Position Classification System (PCS) was implemented in Bhutan. It also provides a historical description of Bhutan’s public administration. The examination of each of the characteristics of Bhutan’s public administration from 1960 to 2006 demonstrates that, initially, Bhutan’s public administration had traits of the patronage system. From the 1960s, efforts were made to incorporate characteristics of traditional public administration (TPA) with the introduction of the first set of civil service rules in 1972 and the cadre system in 1990.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 5. The Position Classification System and Bhutan’s Public Administration in a New Era of Governance
Abstract
This chapter discusses the changes in the characteristics of Bhutan’s public administration since 2006 with the implementation of the Position Classification System (PCS) reform, changes in political governance and other public sector reforms. It examines the PCS and discusses the introduction and formulation of the PCS. Using Peter Hall’s description of the two types of policymaking, that is, normal policymaking and paradigm-shift policy, a description of the PCS is presented. This chapter also examines some of the recent reforms, such as the introduction of democracy in Bhutan in 2008 and the introduction of performance compacts in 2010. Together with the PCS, these changes have changed Bhutan’s public administration system based on the ideal type typology.
Lhawang Ugyel

Implementation and Evaluation of the Position Classification System Reforms

Frontmatter
Chapter 6. Evaluating the Position Classification System
Abstract
This chapter examines some of the challenges in evaluating public sectors reforms and the approaches to evaluation using a mixed-method approach. Data obtained from the opinion survey and in-depth interviews with civil servants in Bhutan form the basis for the evaluation of the Position Classification System (PCS). A general overview of the perception of the Bhutanese civil servants towards the PCS is provided. It also examines the scope of the PCS and evaluates the PCS based on some of its process dimensions. The evaluation of the formulation, transition and implementation processes of the PCS reveals a mixture of failures and successes. The findings conclude that the normal policymaking components of the PCS were viewed positively, and the paradigm-shift reform components were mostly unsuccessful.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 7. Dynamics of the Position Classification System Reforms
Abstract
This chapter examines aspects of the dynamics of the position classification system (PCS). The PCS was perceived as being based on international best practices and symbolised as bringing about a new public service order into the Bhutanese civil service. This chapter also discusses the forms of interaction in public sector reforms by analysing the differences between normal policymaking and paradigm-shift policy components of the PCS. Paradigm shift policies face a major challenge in implementation because of the contextual and cultural differences between Bhutan and the countries in which the components of the PCS were originally based. Based on the key findings an explanation of how the dynamics of the PCS led to a hybrid system in Bhutan’s public administration with layers of various paradigms is provided.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 8. Dynamics of Public Sector Reforms
Abstract
This chapter draws on the discussions so far, and connects to the broader literature on public sector reforms. This chapter discusses the trajectory of reforms by addressing the following questions: Why are public sector reforms initiated? What is included in reform packages? Why do patterns of reforms differ across nations? These questions are central to the ongoing debate in the field about points of convergence and divergence in administration systems and the debate on the theory versus practice in public administration. Discussions are also focused on the reasons why hybridity occurs in public administration. It is concluded that institutional context and the culture of the country where the public sector reforms are applied matters. For solutions, historical experiences within the country are important considerations.
Lhawang Ugyel
Chapter 9. Conclusion
Abstract
This final chapter of the book concludes by examining three key questions that connect the two parts of the book. First, through the aspect of the dynamics of policy that examines the debate over revolutionary or evolutionary nature of policy change: What are the paradigms and ideal types in the field of public administration? Second, building on the unresolved dilemma of the scope and timing of the change: How do scope and timing influence the evaluation of public sector reforms? And finally, exploring the different view regarding the drivers of change and their forms of interaction: How do the drivers of change and their forms of interaction shape reforms?
Lhawang Ugyel
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Paradigms and Public Sector Reform
Author
Lhawang Ugyel
Copyright Year
2016
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-40280-2
Print ISBN
978-3-319-40279-6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40280-2