Frank L. K. Ohemeng

Current State of Public Sector Performance Management in Seven Selected Countries

Purpose – This paper seeks to extend the analysis of performance management regimes by Bouckaert and Halligan to other countries in order to contribute to the developing theory of forms and challenges in public sector performance management.Design/methodology/approach – The state of performance management and the context in which it has evolved is assessed in seven different countries using dimensions drawn from Bouckaert and Halligans work along with elements from earlier work by Pollitt and Bouckaert. These are summarized in a table and comparisons made to generate additional insights into the factors that influence the shape and speed of public management evolution.Findings – The paper finds that the Bouckaert and Halligan framework for analyzing public sector performance management is useful, albeit with some modifications. Specifically, it finds that administrative culture is a key factor influencing the speed of reform and that the attitude of elites (politicians and civil servants, in most cases) ...

The dangers of internationalization and “one‐size‐fits‐all” in public sector management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to explain the failure in public management of wholesale policy transfer from well developed to developing economies.Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies extensively on organizational surveys and specialized interviews in both jurisdictions, as well as on a review of government (primary) and other institutional documents. It is qualitative in nature.Findings – The paper reveals that the context in which public sector reform policies are implemented matters. In short, the environment (with structural and contextual variables) is an essential element in the success of policies. It highlights important factors such as culture, institutional dynamism, the role of the external actors, etc. as issues that must be carefully looked at in the development and implementation of reform policies.Research limitations/implications – The number of cases needs to be expanded to further confirm the results. Furthermore, before it is possibl...

Institutionalizing the Performance Management System in Public Organizations in Ghana: Chasing a Mirage?

In the past 30 years, performance management has become an important aspect of attempts to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of public organizations. Fostering or institutionalizing a performance-driven culture in public organizations is a daunting task, but robust organization-wide performance management systems would have tremendous leverage in the organization. This paper examines Ghanas attempt to use legislation to institutionalize a performance management system in public organizations. Such attempts, it is argued, may force the establishment of a performance management system but would in no way lead to the institutionalization of a performance management culture due to problems associated with the processes of institutionalization. The article thus illustrates the problem associated with the use of legislation to foster performance management in organizations. It looks at a number of avenues that must be pursued to achieve this objective and adds to the voices calling for new ways of ensuring a performance-driven culture in public organizations.

The Politics of Administrative Reforms in Ghana: Perspectives from Path Dependency and Punctuated Equilibrium Theories

Since 1957, various Ghanaian governments have made, and continue to make, attempts to reform the administrative state for development. In spite of this, not much seems to have been achieved over the years. Why has the passion of successive governments for reforming the administrative system failed to yield the desired outcomes? What is the nexus between regime turnover and frequent administrative reforms? Where do we want to go, and what will take us there or at least close to our intended destination? What approach is likely to maximize the chances of success and minimize those of failure? We argue that administrative reforms in Ghana have been consistently undermined by the discontinuity of reform initiatives undertaken by successive governments; the inability to have a “national agenda for development”; continuous reliance on expatriates as consultants and advisers; over-reliance on multinational institutions for financial support; and by the absence of a “developmental state.”

Representative Bureaucracy in the Public Service? A Critical Analysis of the Challenges Confronting Women in the Civil Service of Ghana

In the public administration literature, the debate concerning the representation of minorities in the public bureaucracy continues to attract attention. The idea is that passive representation may lead to active representation with the later helping to develop policies and programs that will benefit minorities. Consequently, a number of governments have been implementing policies to enhance the involvement of minorities in public services. The Ghana government has not been left out in this endeavor. Since 1957, it has continued to institute measures to ensure a fair gender representation in the bureaucracy. This notwithstanding, the upper echelons of the bureaucracy continue to be dominated by males despite the over representation of women at the lower levels. What are the challenges confronting women in the public sector that make it difficult to achieve active representation? In this article, we examine the challenges confronting women to achieve active representation from a representative bureaucracy perspective.

Overcoming the Digital Divide in Developing Countries: An Examination of Ghana’s Strategies to Promote Universal Access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs)

The emergence of information communication technologies (ICTs) in developing countries has been hailed as a major step toward a solution to the problem of the underdevelopment of many of them. Obstacles such as corruption, delays in service delivery, lack of public sector accountability, and so on can many believe be overcome with ICT: particularly, the Internet and cell or mobile phones. Consequently, governments in these countries continue to expend a lot of their meager resources on ensuring the effective development and use of ICTs. In spite of this, a major problem that these countries face is what has been described as the digital divide. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to examine the government’s attempt to address this problem including how the problem has been defined, the steps that are being taken to heal it, the implied challenges, if any, facing the government, and how it can address these challenges.

Implementing a Revenue Authority Model of Tax Administration in Ghana: An Organizational Learning Perspective

The desire to increase domestic revenue mobilization has made tax reform a priority for governments in many developing countries. Addressing the tax problem, however, is often a complex process that involves reforming the tax system, as well as setting up effective administrative structures to administer that system. Many see the revenue authority (RA) model as the solution to these problems. Developing an RA model in Ghana began in the mid 1980s; it was not, however, fully operational and integrated until 2010. Using social learning theory, we argue that Ghana’s successful readoption of the RA model can be attributed to the lessons learned both in its own first attempts and from the successful tax reform experiences of other countries.

The Public Sector and Development in Africa: The Case for a Developmental Public Service

Following decades of downplaying the role of the state in development in Africa, there is now a rediscovery of the importance of the state in the developmental process, as the need for a more capable public sector has been rediscovered. Indeed, there is a renewed sense of urgency for creating an effective public sector in African countries at both the continental and national levels (Economic Commission of Africa, 2004). African governments have attempted public sector reforms since independence, and since the 1980s many African countries have with the support of donor agencies aggressively experimented with various reform strategies (see Table 4.1). These efforts ranged from the ‘quantitative’ first-generation and ‘qualitative’ second-generation reforms of the Washington Consensus era in the 1980s and 1990s, to the current ‘service delivery’ third-generation reforms of the post-Washington Consensus (World Bank, 2003). At the same time, there were parallel and overlapping sets of public sector reform policies; under the banner of the New Public Management (NPM), which draws on a model used in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, and attempts to apply market principles to governmental administration.

Civil Society and Policy Making in Developing Countries: Assessing the Impact of Think Tanks on Policy Outcomes in Ghana

Not long ago, the number of think tanks in Ghana began to increase steadily. These organizations have now carved out a niche as repositories of ideas for government to tap when formulating and implementing good policies for development. Unfortunately, while their role in the policy making process is well accepted, whether they actually have a substantial impact on policy outcomes is as yet undetermined. In this paper, we will examine the impact of think tanks on policy outcomes in Ghana by looking at two major policy areas where policies have been initiated either by these institutions or by government itself.

Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Strategies to Enhance the Advancement of Women in Ghana’s Public Service

Ghanaian women have made, and continue to make, considerable progress on their journey to the upper echelons of the decision-making institutions of the country. However, the overall number of women in decision-making positions, especially in the civil service, is distressingly small. At the end of 2011, for example, of 36 positions available only six were filled by women, as chief directors of a ministry. What is being witnessed in the civil service, then, is what has been described in the academic literature and popular press as the glass ceiling. This paper examines what has been and is being done by government, and what sort of strategies will be necessary to deal with the problem. The questions addressed are what are the strategies; and how effective are they in breaking down the glass ceiling that appears to exist in the civil service and which prevents women from progressing into senior management. What is the way forward – or up – in breaking through the glass ceiling?