Public Administration and Civil Service Reform UNDP Cambodia. Case Essay

Public Administration and Civil Service Reform UNDP Cambodia. Case Study - Essay Example Most public managers profess to an attraction to good managerial performance as well as good government performance. However, if their actual conduct is examined, it will become clear that there are two opposing and distinct perspectives on public reform administration reform. Crusading and free-spirited managers are always searching for better methods, promising designs, new ideas, and innovations. They embrace, and believe in novelty. They assess what others are doing elsewhere and identify what they can adapt or copy, and are ready to take risks just to improve performance. They are so eager for change that they often fall victim to the gimmicks and fads that are often witnessed in public management without reason or rhyme. On the other hand, reactionary managers exhibit too much caution and rarely show willingness to attempt anything new. This paper will discuss the factors that hinder or facilitate public administration reform by comparing two programmes of public service reform and looking at the lessons learned from those programmes in terms of the obstacles and opportunities involved in public administration reform. Key words Public administration reform, public management, public service.... to as the National Program for Administrative Reform (NPAR), which would be the foundation upon which the whole public administration reform program would be built. UNDP Cambodia decided to directly support the NPAR, and offered help to the Council of Administrative Reform (CAR) which was aimed at: a) Strengthening the capability of the council’s secretariat in order to improve the effectiveness of national consensus building, strategic planning, donor co-ordination, policy development, and how the NPAR is managed strategically. b) Facilitating the enforcement of priority reform programs and sub-programs, and also the creation of implementation plans. c) Supporting the creation and organization of a Priority Mission Group (PMG) plan so as to improve the efficiency in public service delivery in vital areas of government administration, and also to accelerate reforms. UNDP’s assistance in public administrative reform targets not only decentralized reform enforcement, but also wholesome strategic reform organization. It identified the need to integrate both aspects more fluidly, and also learned some important lessons in the process of supporting Cambodia in its quest to improve public service. Overall, although this project was originally meant to reflect UNDP’s expertise in public administrative reforms, other donors were unwilling to cooperate (Heeks 2002, pg. 25). In addition to this, poor coordination in comparison with other reform areas resulted in weak connections to other activities, disorganized activities, and a loss of focus. Lessons Learned Strategic constituency development is vital to acquire support for and run complex systems modification processes The public administration reform program’s original design failed to recognize the CAR as the