Beata Glinka

Reforms and identities: How relentless pursuit of improvements produces a sense of helplessness among bureaucrats

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show how the identities of the employees of Polish public administration are shaped in the process of public system reforms. Design/methodology/approach The findings are based on interviews with 40 employees of the Polish public administration. The authors have used open interviews as well as projective methods to discover and explore beliefs and attitudes of bureaucrats towards their work and the system of public administration. The selected sample was diversified both spatially and systematically to reflect the diversity of organisations that constitute the Polish public administration system. Grounded theory was used for data coding and interpretation. Findings The study indicates that organisational change initiatives designed to enhance the quality and efficiency of public administration may have negative impacts on the identities of public servants and may lead to their increased incapacity. Rather than sparking entrepreneurial behaviours and transforming bureaucrats into managers, introduction of the rhetoric of New Public Management and New Public Governance in the Polish public administration has contributed to strengthening of classical dysfunctions of bureaucracy. Research limitations/implications The results imply that the understanding of organisational changes in the Eastern European public sector – which are usually studied through the lenses of regulation and economy – would benefit from more sociologically and historically oriented studies. The limitations of our results are associated with the adopted qualitative subjective methodology. Practical implications Foreign-born templates of reforms may appear to be logical and coherent but they rest on certain assumptions about identities and value structures that are not necessarily congruent with the identities at the adoption site. For that reason, successful reform projects need to consider and problematise the content and shape of culturally conditioned identities. Social implications Understanding of public sector reforms’ implication should lead to the improvement of change programmes as well as to the evolution of public administration towards a form more desired by the society. It is especially important as Polish society considers public administration as one of factors influencing (in a negative way) the quality of life. Originality/value The paper provides insight into public administration reforms in Poland and their impact on public servants’ identities.

What Should Be Avoided During Qualitative Research

This chapter is focused on typical mistakes made in qualitative research projects. Its aim is to show traps and mistakes researchers face in their work, in order to help them understand and avoid possible pitfalls, and design and execute projects more carefully. The first part of the text includes explanation of the nature of typical research mistakes. We describe it against the background of different ontological assumptions, paradigms, and perspectives applied by researchers. The sources and areas of methodological criticism are also analyzed. We point out how some of the criticism is connected with different sets of assumptions adopted by researchers. The following part of the chapter concentrates on descriptions of typical mistakes made on different stages of qualitative research projects: project design, data collection, data analysis, and text writing. Some tips on how to avoid mistakes are offered. The text includes practical examples from different research projects showing how and why mistakes are made.