DIVERSITY AND DOMINANCE IN THE ARCTIC. ETHNIC RELATIONS IN THE GREENLANDIC BUREAUCRACY

Public bureaucracies are increasingly characterized by employee diversity in terms of ethnicity. Investigating relations between ethnic groups in bureaucracies is therefore important. This article focuses on the particularly interesting case of the Greenlandic administration. Being a former Danish colony, Greenland still recruits bureaucrats from mainland Denmark. These work alongside locally hired employees resulting in an administration with different ethnicities, cultures and languages. The analysis of ethnic relations is based on 28 interviews with bureaucrats of Danish and Greenlandic origin. Even though overall relations are found to be largely harmonious, ethnicity makes a difference. Interviewees describe differences in ethnic traits and behaviour and processes of social categorization. Particularly among Greenlanders, Danes are described as dominant and this dominance is reinforced by co‐variation between ethnicity, language skills and education. Finally, inter‐group relations are found to vary with the numerical balance of ethnic groups in different parts of the bureaucracy.     

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BRITISH CENTRAL STATE. PART II: EMPIRICAL FINDINGS

Part I of this paper (autumn issue) explained the need to improve existing research into the British central state, outlined the bureau-shaping model, and tackled a number of methodological issues involved in applying this framework. Part II demonstrates that the bureau-shaping model is highly effective in systematizing and extending our knowledge of how Whitehall and directly attached agencies are structured. The main types of organizations identified share many similarities, so that the model's categories have a clear intuitive meaning. As a result the bureau-shaping model can effectively cope with analytic problems that have constrained previous 'bureaumetric' research, such as the extreme variations in the size of central state agencies. The model also illuminates both the distribution of bureau-types across policy sectors, and the effects of different patterns of administration on public expenditure trends under the Thatcher government.     

HOW THE REINVENTING GOVERNMENT MOVEMENT IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION WAS EXPORTED FROM THE U.S. TO OTHER COUNTRIES

From an academic point of view, Reinventing Government (RG) is a weak book. But the judgment of the academic community leaves with an interesting problem:How can we account for the relative influence that RG ideas have acquired over public management practices and for the enthusiasm with which those ideas have often been received by bureaucratic reformers in many countries? To answer this question, the article develops an analysis that proceeds in two stages. In the first section, I show how RG ideas gained ascendancy in political circles because they altered the terms of discourse about government management and made new kinds of coalitions possible. The second part looks at the structure of the global management consulting industry to show how the consultants who advised the Clinton administration were able to rely on already existing international network of American-based consulting organizations through which they could preach their Reinvention gospel around the globe. The American domination of the world management consulting market; coupled with the growing use by states of external consulting services as a source of advice on management issues, allowed consultants to carry RG ideas into the heart of the policy process.     

THE POLITICAL REVERSIBILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM: A CASE STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE.

Studies of administrative reform have neglected or underestimated the tenacious nature of opposition. Vested interests first seek to obviate reform and, if unsuccessful, force reversion to the initial status quo. Such nullifying behaviour is discussed and illustrated with a case study of the incorporation of the United States Post Office Department.     

T. H. GREEN AND THE ETHICS OF SENIOR OFFICIALS IN BRITISH CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

This article is an attempt to move away from microeconomics in the study of administration and to concentrate on British administrative ethics from a philosophical perspective. Thus, ethics is used here not in the sense of the ethics of managers dealing with accounts but as the ‘science’ of ranking moral values. The intention of the article is to examine how political theory can be used to help illustrate the dilemmas of public servants working in a climate which is distinctly hostile to disinterested ideals. The ideas of T. H. Green, the English Idealist philosopher who contributed so much to our understanding of public service, form the basis of the theoretical discussion, and the work of senior officials in Whitehall is the material used for illustrative purposes. Where do the loyalties of civil servants lie? What are their duties and responsibilities to ministers? To whom, for what, and how are civil servants accountable?     

INNOVATION,PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC SERVICES DELIVERY IN THE UK. THE WORD THAT WOULD BE KING?

This paper explores the dialogue about innovation in public services currently found within public policy and creates an interaction between research and practice about its strengths and limitations. It argues that this dialogue is a flawed one, often both at odds with the existing evidence and lacking a holistic understanding of the nature of innovation and its distinctive policy and managerial challenges. It therefore synthesizes existing research to challenge current public policy thinking about the role and determinants of innovation in public services. It concludes by offering five lessons towards effective policy‐making and implementation that would provide a more sophisticated and evidence‐based approach to the encouragement and sustenance of public service innovation – and four key areas for further research.     

PERCEPTIONS OF BENEFIT FRAUD STAFF IN THE UK: GIVING P.E.A.C.E. A CHANCE?

This article reports a study concerning perceptions of benefit fraud staff and of management concerning their own interviewing techniques and standards, and their views pertaining to a preferred model of interviewing. Interviewing fraud suspects forms an important task performed by Fraud Investigators (FIs) within the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in the UK. Given this significance, it is surprising that there has been little analysis of the skills used to do this task. Current training consists of a course centred on an interviewing framework called the PEACE model, which was originally developed for police use. The research outlined in this paper examined both FIs and their managers’ perceptions and attitudes of the model and of their own practices. It was found that, while there was general support for the model, reservations were voiced over how effective PEACE may actually be in practice. These reservations centred on insufficient time to prepare for investigations along with a perceived inflexibility over the model’s framework. In, addition, it was highlighted that the absence of any national supervisory framework for investigative interviews should give the organization cause for concern in ensuring standards.     

PRIVATIZATION UNDER MRS. THATCHER: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Public Administration not only publishes original articles but it also seeks to provide material which will be useful to teachers and students alike. In order to strengthen this facet of the journal, the editors are introducing an occasional series of articles which will review the current state of the literature in the various sub-fields within the subject of Public Administration. This contribution by David Marsh reviews the 'state of the art' on privatization in Britain. The objective is to draw together the extensive literature in a systematic fashion by identifying key texts and the main research findings. His review examines the origins of privatization, the several meanings of this term, the objectives of government policy, and assesses the extent to which objectives have been realized. He also draws attention to lacunae in the literature and important areas requiring further research.
The editors would welcome suggestions for future articles in this series. Any prospective author should contact the editors to discuss the proposed topic and, where feasible, we will provide assistance by obtaining books for review.