Giseline Rondeaux

Modernizing Public Administration: the impact on organisational identities

Purpose – To provide a case study of a Belgian ministry, within the framework of the Copernicus reform.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses both interpretative and interactionist approaches and a range of research methods including a survey, involving a questionnaire and interviews, content analysis and some elements of speech analysis.Findings – The paper confirms the hypothesis that an identities evolution is taking place following the implementation of new public management (NPM) principles in the Belgian federal service. Using two identity logics “public service,” relating to the principles and values associated with traditional public administration, and “public managerialism”, relating to the principles, values and representations linked to NPM, it distinguishes six identity profiles. These are characterised by their positioning according to two principles fidelity and reality. The conclusion is that organisational identity is complex, hybrid and composite and in constant evolution according...

What are the dynamics of organizational identification in the course of modernization processesAnalysis of a Belgian administration

In the course of reform, organizational identity emerges as a prominent issue. While the process of modernizing the administration sets out to redefine this identity, how is this experienced by its members? What are the identity dynamics at work in terms of their perception of changes in their environment? By analysing the Copernic reform in Belgium, we inductively developed a typology of identity rationales and profiles (Rondeaux, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010). On this basis, we conducted a questionnaire survey in a regional administration engaged in reform. Our analysis highlights the coexistence of different identity rationales and diverse perceptions of the environment, which are congruent or dissonant with them. The results underline the importance of the environment and of its perception in organizational identification processes and confirms the hypothesis of identity hybridization, providing also an empirical basis for the integrative approach of Ravasi and Schultz (2006). Points for practitioners This article proposes an identity interpretive framework for reform processes, considering both the institutionalized organizational identity, at the heart of the modernization project and various alternative rationales contributed by the civil servants. Our analysis highlights the diverse perceptions of the environment in the light of the identities present and underlines the practical implications of such an approach in terms of change management.

Book Review: Transforming Managers. Gendering Change in the Public Sector:

present in some contributions (particularly in Easton and Jarrels chapter), it is hardly conceptualized, and thus remains somewhat below the surface. There is also something missing. In Weicks spirit, the book should be seen as a contribution to the continuous process of sense-making and should have acted upon that. In that vein, The Quality Movement and Organization Theory can certainly be recommended, as a catalyst.