Representative bureaucracy: the Canadian perspective

Abstract. The representativeness of the Canadian federal public service is an important matter because of the relation of francophone representation to the central issue of national unity and because of recent demands for the increased representation of women and native people. The major arguments presented in this paper are: 1/that despite the logical and empirical deficiencies of the theory of representative bureacracy, official government policy on a representative public service is based on the central assumption of the theory, and 2/that government efforts to achieve a more representative public service serve significant symbolic and partisan political purposes. The first section of the paper reviews the arguments for and against representative bureaucracy and the Canadian literature on the subject. The second section describes government policy on a representative public service with particular reference to francophones, women and native people. The final section assesses the implications of representative bureaucracy for the Canadian political system and includes an examination of the relation between representative bureaucracy and administrative responsibility and between active and passive representativeness.     

αLe phénomèna bureaucratique et le Canada français: une réponse au professeur Bakvis

Abstract. In the spring of 1978 Canadian Public Administration published an article entitled “French Canada and the ‘bureaucratic phenomenon’”. The author, Herman Bakvis, suggested that Michel Crozier's model of bureaucratic behaviour be used to study the bureaucratic behaviour of French Canadians, since the French and French Canadians appear to share important cultural traits. In his analysis of the federal public service, Bakvis overestimates the influence Prime Minister Trudeau had on the operations of the federal bureaucracy. “French Canada and the ‘Bureaucratic Phenomenon’” is historically wrong when it suggests that a link exists between France, French Canada, feudalism and the bureaucratic behaviour described by Crozier. The reverse is true: observations by de Tocqueville indicate that French centralization and feudalism are historically opposing forces.     

GitHub use in public administration in Canada: Early experience with a new collaboration tool

GitHub is a web‐based digital project hosting service that facilitates collaboration. We introduce how GitHub works and assess how it has been used in the public sector in Canada based on interviews with federal government leaders and a survey of Canadian public service GitHub users. With little research to date on public sector use of GitHub, and none on its use in Canadian governments, we explore the early experience with this collaboration tool and consider the possible implications for collaboration in government.     

官僚体制的内在缺陷及其结构性冲突

以效率和稳定见长的官僚体制作为一种组织体制是有着内在缺陷的,其外在表现是效率的有限性和对人性的压抑,根本原因则是工具理性的缺陷及其与价值理性的冲突.同时,作为一种非市场性的公共行政组织而存在的官僚体制,在现代社会中与代议民主制、共同参与民主制和西方社会经济系统都存在着深层次的结构性冲突,并由此而成为当代西方新公共管理运动的内在动力.     

理性官僚制：公共精神的嵌入

官僚制存在不同的历史形态,传统官僚制、理性官僚制和嵌入公共精神的理性官僚制。韦伯的理性官僚制建构在政治与行政二分法的逻辑基础上,存在着与生俱来的困境———效率诉求与民主理念的冲突。突破官僚制、实现公共精神的嵌入需要技术基础的改善和制度规则的改进。     

The intellectual legacy of J.E. Hodgetts

Abstract: J.E. (Ted) Hodgetts was influenced by both the political economy approach that he learned at the University of Toronto and by the comprehensive historical method developed by Leonard White, under whom he studied at Chicago. His first great project, Pioneer Public Service, convinced him that responsible government was impossible without responsible public administration. The authors examine how his response to management theories and practices evolved following his participation in the Glassco, Lambert and Gomery commissions. Hodgetts consistently refused the complete separation of politics and administration, and he promoted the use of management techniques to strengthen parliamentary supervision of the public service. The two key components of his legacy are thus a commitment to the democratic values of representative government and the comprehensive study of the internal dynamics of public administration in interaction with the relevant environmental factors.     

公安学学科构建中基本理论问题之反思

公安学作为建构色彩比较强的学科，在搭建公安学学科体系的过程中需要付诸更多的自觉理论反思。在处理“公安”与“警察”二者关系时宜采取先求同后求异的态度，积极总结二者的共通内容将警察研究特别是西方先进的警察研究成果吸纳入公安学的研究中来，以促进公安学的发展。公安学可以考虑将“安”和“危”作为学科逻辑起点，并在此基础上展开，筛选公安学的基本概念、搭建公安学下设学科框架。     

Neither public nor private: The efficacy of mixed model public service delivery in two Canadian municipalities

The New Public Management emerged in the 1980s, and with it, alternative service delivery (ASD) mechanisms, which removed service delivery from the public bureaucracy and separated policy making from policy implementation. Most western governments implemented measures including privatization or contracting out of service delivery to the private sector. By the mid‐1990s, many governments started reversing ASD policies and sought new ways to deliver services, leading to a mixed model approach to service delivery, which combines the benefits of the public and private sectors. We examine the adoption of the model in the Canadian municipalities of Hamilton and Ottawa to determine if and how it enhances competition, cost‐savings, efficiency, effectiveness, and good governance in the delivery of public services, during an era of fiscal constraint. Our findings indicate the model is better in enhancing the five variables when compared to solely public or private services delivery.     

Public input into policy-making and administration: the present situation and some requirements for the future

Abstract Modern society is inescapably bureaucratic, and the central problem in policy-making and administration is to harmonize bureaucracy with democracy through enhanced public input. Two models for such input are distinguished, designated as the representation and direct participation models. Progress has been made in the last number of years in enhancing the role of Parliament, democratizing political parties, expanding pressure politics, multiplying access points, and making bureaucracy ‘representative.’ This has resulted in improvement of the representation model, but ironically it has also had the effect of increasing the opportunities of those who already have disproportionate influence in the policy process. The problem is that the representation model involves only ‘instrumental’ participation, i.e., participation designed to advance self-interest. Fully effective public input requires ‘consummative’ participation which fosters the individual's personal development through involvement in building the community. This is the essence of the direct participation model of public input. The two models are not mutually exclusive, however. Rather, the representation model provides a base from which the direct participation model can be developed. Improvements in the former are desirable in themselves but their full potential will be realized only within the framework of the latter. Strategies for developing the direct participation model include the establishment of an ‘information network,’ devolution of authority in large organizations, direct participation in decision-making in the neighbourhood and especially in the workplace and, what is fundamental to everything else, progress toward a more equal society. Sommaire. Qu'on le veuille ou non, la société moderne est une société bureaucratique et le problème majeur qui se pose en matière d'élaboration de politiques et d'administration consiste à asurer le contrôle démocratique de la bureaucratie en développant le rôle du public. Ce dernier peut exercer son influence selon deux modèles, à savoir la représentation et la participation directe. Au cours des dernières années, des efforts ont été déployés dans le but d'accroître le rôle du Parlement, de démocratiser les partis politiques, d'accroître le rôle des groupes de pression, de multiplier les points d'accès et de rendre la bureaucratie représentative. Tous ces efforts ont abouti à une meilleure représentation mais, ce qui est ironique, c'est que ceux qui exercent déjà une influence disproportionnée sur le processus politique ont vu leurs chances s'élargir encore. Le problème provient du fait que la représentation implique seulement une participation contributive, c'est-à-dire une participation conçue dans le but de promouvoir l'intérêt personnel. Or, pour que le public joue un rôle absolument décisif, sa participation doit être entière, c'est-à-dire qu'elle doit favoriser le développement personnel de l'individu en le faisant prendre part à la construction de la communauté. C'est ce en quoi consiste précisément le modèle de la participation directe. Les deux modèles de participation ne s'excluent cependant pas mutuellement. Au contraire, la représentation peut servir de base au développement de la participation directe. Bien qu'il soit désirable en soi d'améliorer le premier modèle, celui-ci n'atteindra son plein potentiel que dans le cadre du second modèle de participation. Les stratégies mises au point pour accroître la participation directe comprennent la mise en place d'un réseau d'informations, la délégation de l'autorité dans les grands organismes, la participation directe à la prise de décision dans les quartiers et au travail, et avant toute chose, l'orientation vers une société plus égalitaire.     

Patterns of Canadian departmental survival

Assertions have been made about the immortality of public‐sector organizations and the need for higher rates of termination of public‐sector organizations. Research on the American federal government argued that such organizations had mortality rates lower than private‐sector organizations. Better research demonstrated that the mortality of public‐sector organizations has occurred at the highest rates observed in the private sector, where rates could be expected to be high because most organizations were very small. Mostly large public‐sector organizations were examined in the U.S. – they should have had low mortality rates. What is the situation in Canada? How does Canadian survival of public‐sector organizations compare to that in other sectors and other countries? This article compares the survival and mortality rates of Canadian public‐sector organizations to those of the private sector and the non‐profit sector. It also compares Canadian public‐sector organizations to those in Ireland and the U.S., finding that Canadian federal organizations have not been immortal and that their mortality rates are among the highest detected. The pattern of Canadian public‐sector organization terminations is punctuated equilibrium.     

Avoiding blame,doing good,and claiming credit: Reforming Canadian income security

Abstract: This article examines federal legislation, An Act to Amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act (Bill C-36), from the vantage point of the contemporary politics of welfare state reform. Government decisions on the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) made in the 1990s noticeably generated political and administrative feedback to the policy agenda and policy development processes. Bill C-36 was the response by policy-makers to solve these issues and use the occasion to make other changes they had been contemplating. The legislative reforms contained the imposition of specific losses for one group; the introduction of benefits for another group, both geographically diffuse clienteles; and, for all covered by these programs, modest improvements in service provision. Inside the federal public service, officials responsible for the CPP Disability program acted effectively as policy entrepreneurs, making use of a window of opportunity, and the necessity of amending the legislation, prompted by the focusing event of a critical audit report.     

The rise and fall of policy planning and research units: organizational perspective

Abstract. Some observers have suggested the success of policy planning and research units depends upon the receptivity of the political system to rationality. Others have put forward personality traits such as ‘flair’ and ‘diplomatic style’ as the major determinants of policy unit effectiveness. Neither of these would seem to provide an adequate explanation for the Canadian experience. This paper concentrates on the profile which a policy unit might assume in any given organization. A two-dimensional model is presented based on the degree of initiative and the degree of visibility of policy units. Against the background of the model, the experience of these units in the Canadian federal bureaucracy suggests that while most start as highly visible and proactive, they later tend toward being invisible and reactive. With a view to the future, a distinction is made between the policy development function and the policy unit. If policy development and analysis is to survive, greater use must be made of a task force approach. If permanent policy units are to survive and be effective, they should adopt a modest role and profile. Sommaire. Daprks certains observateurs, le succhs des services de recherche et de planification depend de la rkceptivitk du systkme politique A la rationalitk. D'autres considkr nt que des traits de caractkre tels que le a flair n ou le a style diplomatique n sont les klements dkterminants de l'efficacitb de ces services. Aucune de ces dew hypothhses ne semble expliquer totalement l'experience canadienne. L'auteur de cet expose centre ses observations sur le profil n que ces services de recherche et de planification pourraient adopter dans une organisation donnee. I1 offre un modkle bi-dimensionnel bask sur le degrd d'initiative et le degre de singularit6 de ces services. En utilisant ce modhle, l'analyse du fonctionnement de ces services dans la bureaucratie fkdkrale canadienne semble ind quer que la plupart d'entre eux sont remarquables et font preuve de beaucoup d'initiative au dkpart mais qu'ils tendent A devenir invisibles et rkactifs par la suite. Pour l'avenir, l'auteur sugghre de distinguer entre la fonction d'klaboration de politiques et le service de recherche et de planification. D'aprhs h i, si nous voulons que cette fonction d'elaboration et d'analyse des politiques survive, il faudra gkneraliser l'approche a groupe de travail m. De plus, si les services permanents de planification et de recherche dksirent survivre et être efficaces, ils devront adopter un rdle et un profil modestes.     

Quebec in the Canadian federation: a provisional evaluative framework

Abstract. The authors consider two separate questions concerning the independence of Quebec: would Quebec improve its standard of living if it left the federation? and would political independence make it easier for Quebec to solve its economic problems? They argue that the first question, which is entangled in the ‘battle of regional economic accounts,’ cannot be answered satisfactorily and has drawn too much attention so far. So they focus on the second question, which they dissect into four sub-questions: 1/the options open to Quebec in the international economy; 2/structural adjustment and development policies; 3/employment stabilization policies; and 4/the organization of production and income distribution policy. The authors stress that the margins of latitude open to an independent Quebec would be rather narrow at the international level. But they conclude that, if the rigidities injected by the federal bureaucracy into the functioning of the federation and into the debate between levels of government persist, an independent Quebec could reap some net benefits in terms of economic development, employment stabilization, production organization and income distribution. Hence, the cost of political independence would be an increasing function of the capacity of Canadian federalism to display more flexibility in those matters in the future.     

理性视角下的中国官僚制：一个文献综述

本文运用文献综述法,对理性视角下中国官僚制的研究成果进行梳理,整理出中国行政改革未来发展模式观点,即新公共管理说,理性官僚制重塑说,以德行政说,服务型政府说和综合说等。最后对我国官僚制研究现状进行反思,以期对转型期的中国行政体制改革提供有益的借鉴。     

Integrating human resource planning with strategic planning

Abstract: Human resource management, directly linked to operational and environmental forecasts, is a critical tool for public administrators as they respond to current difficult economic conditions. This paper describes new developments within the public service of Canada to improve the quality of human resource planning and to ensure its complete integration into the corporate planning system. Planning for human resources must start at the top when the major objectives of the organization are set. These objectives establish the framework within which the strategic plan and the operational plans must fit. The author describes the factors which contribute to the complexity of developing and administering human resource planning in the public service and the principal elements of the Policy and Expenditure Management System (PEMS). Then, a new system is described which is proposed to be introduced in the federal public service in 1985. Its purpose is the integration of human resource planning, including career planning, training and development, hiring and action to redress under-representation, with operational and strategic planning. Its tools include attrition forecasting, environmental scanning, models of the organization under varying circumstances, occupational analysis and job definition, and it must be supported by data bases of considerable quality. In the Canadian public service it has become evident that the roles of the manager and personnel specialist must change if human resource planning is to work. Managers must be trained and able to foresee the human resource implications of their strategic and operational plans. The specialist must be able to provide information and analytical support needed to turn implications into valid, realistic long- and short-term plans for the achievement of corporate goals through development and appointment of appropriate resources. Human resource plans must emanate from the basic objective of the organization set by the Chief Executive Officer and the executive team; they will succeed in direct proportion to the level of commitment and support awarded to them by Chief Executive Officers and the extent to which managers are held accountable for them.     

Administrative reform in the federal public service: the first faltering steps

Abstract. This paper is complementary to one by H. L. Laframboise published previously in Canadian Public Administration (14, no. 3, fall 1971, pp. 305–25), ‘Administrative reform in the federal public service: signs of a saturation psychosis.’ Where Laframboise stresses the serious concerns that have arisen on the part of many managers over an accumulation of initiatives in administrative reform and seems generally to be advocating that we slow down the pace of such reform, the position taken here is that in our managerial practices we are very seriously below the level required to handle the enormous and complex demands facing the federal public service and therefore must attend far more energetically to administrative reform, albeit more expertly. The paper identifies four key needs to be met in managing public organizations effectively, and treats each of these in some detail: placing men and women of appropriate managerial mind and bent in managerial positions; identifying, developing and using appropriately the growing range of managerial support specialties; facing up to and countering the insularity that seems to afflict even the best of managers; and assuming a managerial approach suited to the dynamic nature of what Warren Bennis has termed ‘the temporary society.’ The paper concludes with a discussion of managing as a set of paradoxes. Sommaire. Cet article traite du même sujet qu'un autre article que publiait dans I'ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA (14, no 3, automne 1971, pp. 303–25) par H. L. Laframboise, intitulé“Administrative reform in the federal public service: signs of a saturation psychosis”. Alors que Laframboise soulignait les préscupations sérieuses de plusieurs administrateus devant le grand nombre d'initiatives en matière de réforme administrative et semblait préconiser de façon générale le ralentissement du rythme de cette réforme, l'on soutient ici que nos méthodes de estion sont bien loin de pouvoir répondre aux exigences nombreuses et compexes de la fonction publique féérale, et que partant, nous devons poursuivre la réforme administrative de façon beaucoup plus dynamique et plus experte. L'article détermine quatre exigences primordiales de la gestion efficace des administrations publiques et traite chacune d'elles en détail:affecter à des postes de gestion des hommes et femmes d'esprit et de tendance idoines; déterminer, établir et employer à bon escient l'éventail de plus en plus vaste des spécialités du soutien administratif; combattre la tendance que semblent avoir les meilleurs de nos gestionnaires de se renfermer dans leur coquille; adopter une méthode de gestion adaptée à la nature dynamique de ce que Warren Bennis appelle “la société temporaire”. L'article se termine en assimilant le processus de gestion à une série de paradoxes.     

L'analyse stratégique de Crozier et le déplacement des buts: une tentative d'intégration

Abstract. Since the early part of this century, we have been trying to explain the ‘conduct’ of organizations, and of individuals within organizations and/ or bureaucracies. Weber suggested an ‘ideal-type’ form of bureaucracy. Various authors (Merton, Gouldner, Selznick, Crozier) following him have studied certain dysfunctions of bureaucracy in relation to the ‘ideal type.’ One of these dysfunctions is goal displacement, which Selznick suggests can be attributed to decentralization (delegation of decision-making authority). In this article, we shall attempt to integrate Selznick's goal displacement model with Michel Crozier's ‘strategic behaviour’ model. The main idea behind this type of analyse stratégique is that organizational actors can be considered to have a more or less rational strategy for the maximization (or, at least, the enlargement) of their power or influence.     

An analysis of the goals of lottery managers: implications for developments in the operation of Canadian lotteries

Abstract. Government lotteries were introduced in Canada in 1970 and during the past eight years have increased greatly in number and in size. Lotteries have generated a great deal of public interest but the goals of lottery managers have received little attention. The purposes of this paper are to examine some objectives which could be achieved in the operation of lotteries and to use the results of this analysis, along with the experience of foreign lotteries, to make some tentative predictions about changes in Canadian lotteries over the next five years. The first part of the paper discusses the role of government in lottery operation and argues that government-run lotteries are preferable to privately run lotteries, even if government-regulated. The second section of the paper examines various goals which may be important to lottery managers and concludes that revenue maximization is likely to be more important than goals like minimizing the regressivity of a lottery ‘tax’ or achieving the price and output which would occur in pure competition. In the last section, suggestions for increasing lottery revenues are examined and it is judged that more frequent draws, special prizes and increased advertising are more likely to occur than changes in ticket prices, prize structures and payout ratios. Lottery profits could also be increased by eliminating the competition between the federal and provincial offerings and it is likely that further conflicts will be resolved by a joint operation or in favour of the provinces.     

Management improvement in the Canadian public service, 1999–2010

This article surveys management improvement initiatives in the federal public service during the 2000s and assesses their progress. It reviews eight key areas: management accountability; expenditure management; financial management; human resource management; grants and contributions management; project management and capital investment; internal audit; and processes to sustain public service values and ethics. Although not all of the initiatives have been equally successful, this article argues that general improvement has been realized. The article also considers factors behind the successes, arguing that improvements typically arise from a combination of political, organizational, cultural and economic factors including public service leadership and support at the political level. Recent budget pressures may affect the sustainability of continuing management improvement, but elements for moving forward are clear.     

The conundrum of absenteeism in the Canadian public service: A wicked problem perspective

Absenteeism has received increasing attention in public sectors across the world. In Canada's federal public service, absenteeism cost the government approximately $871 million in lost wages in 2013 alone (Barkel 2014a ). Current and previous Canadian governments have attempted to reform sick‐leave policy to reduce absenteeism, but simple solutions to a complex problem will likely result in negative and unforeseen consequences. This article conceptualizes absenteeism as a “wicked problem” to explore its complexity. Addressing absenteeism requires a deeper understanding of issues and factors by government representatives, unions, NGOs, and policy experts, which can lead to multifaceted solutions.