General Management n Public Administration-2

8/7/2019 General Management n Public Administration-2

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Dr Samuel [email protected]

24/03/2011 HR Control in Civil Service Samuel Tengey


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Introduction: backgroundy The civil service has a chequered history of employing

the most qualified personnel on the basis of merit;offering lifelong employment. With lifelongemployment comes commitment of a patriotic citizento what is viewed as a benevolent State employer.

y Keynesian full employment and intervention model ofdevelopment was pursued with vigour

y In Africa, enthusiasm with state employment gave riseto large number of state employees, producing sadly,very little of total output, yet attracting large volumesof state funds in wage bills



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Introduction: background

y By 1980s, in the face of fiscal imbalances governments hadto rethink the states role as an employer

y In consultation with the World Bank/IMF, a conceptual

shift was made in states role in employing personnel.y Such rethink has given rise to an entire domain of very

strategic and flexible approach to controlling humanresources in the civil sector



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Introduction: backgroundy In economic recovery programme (ERP), and

structural adjustment programme (SAP), substantial

number of state employees were made redundant,some transferred to private employers by specialarrangements, others went on to casual employment



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Lesson Outliney Concept of Human Resource Management

y Human Resource Control

y Features of the Civil Servicey Developments in the Civil Service warranting HR

control

y HRControl in the Civil Service: Strategies, rationales,

and consequencesy Conclusions



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Concept of human resource management

y HRM: a strategic approach to managing theorganisations most valued assets: the people

y Human resources understood as the most reliablesource of competitive advantage to an organisation



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Concept of human resource managementy Technology, machinery, physical resources are imitable as

a way of competing, but it is impossible to imitate anorganisations employees, including peculiar ways in which

they approach their work: eg, what is it in the employees ofexcellent organisations that is so difficult to imitate? Thesource of an organisations competitive advantage and corecompetence lay in those resources that cannot be imitated;

only people have this characteristic



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Concept of human resource managementy Evolved from human capital theory: humans as capital

resources just as other technological, physical andfinancial resources, part of the resource-based theory

(Barney, 1991).y Holds that when properly developed and managed, people

[possessing untapped reserves of human resourcefulness]can make substantial contribution to their organisations

competitive position: can perform the magic



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HR ControlHR control essentially reflects the hard HRM. It is a

strategy of ensuring that HR administration:

y Occurs in line with the organisations strategicdirection.

y Places restriction on the quantity/number andtype/quality of HRs employed in ways that reflect

organisations strategic objective



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HR Controly Is pursued at the lowest cost to the organisation

y Explores relationship between current challenges and thelikely consequences of these for the future of the

organisationy Explores all possible, more cost-efficient and cost-effective

alternatives to conventional approaches to employmentand the associated cost and productivity implications.



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The Civil ServiceyThe Civil Service is technically the

support mechanism [BASE] for thethree arms of government, BUTparticularly those directly charged withthe responsibility of enforcing the law(the executive).



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The Civil Servicey Selection based on a merit system

y Permanent employment

y fixed salaries and remuneration package

y The last two points have serious HR implications: largenumber taken, none of whose remuneration is tagged toperformance



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HR Control in the Civil ServiceWhat is its object and origin? Part of flexibility

agenda (Atkinson, 1984)

yDownsizing; core-periphery concept

y Flexibilitynumerical: quantity/number

y Flexibility-functional: quality/type

y Flexibilitypay: new approach

y Flexibilityworking patterns

y Outsourcing, etc ...



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HR Control in the Civil ServiceParsimony and frugality in public resource use arising

from:

yEscalating fiscal imbalances

y High public sector wage bills

y Low productivity

y Bad/negative public sector work habits



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HR Control Strategies:y HR Planning: not necessarily to forecast increase but

cuts in HRs, seek alternative forms of employment

ySelection Control in terms ofnumbers;

y Reduction in non-technical staffs

y Increase in technical staff: buying instead of making

y Reduction in training budgets



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HR Control Strategiesy Numbers

y Quality: candidates with strong management

background and experience and result-orientedexperience preferred for management and top levelpositions

y Cultural control Greenfield appointments for

people with no civil service background



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HR Control Strategiesy PayControl

y Move from automatic promotion to one based on

performancey From automatic increases to performances based

pay



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HRControl Strategiesy EmploymentControl

y Permanent employment to short term performance-based contracts

y Shift in lifelong employment towards preparingemployees for lifetime careers.

*Subcontracting

*Outsourcing

*Agency staffs



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HR Control Strategiesy UnionControl: Increased control of union activity

Flexibility of various forms

y Functional to meet demand for changes in productquality and calibre of skilled personnel core ahandful of these.

y Numerical: number: response to quantities changes

in demand.



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HR Control Strategiesy Pay flexibility

y Flexibility pay

y Performance based payy Flexible work (family, friendly policies)

y Part-time

y Temporary

y Job Sharing



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HR Control Strategiesy Shadowing

y MaternityCover

y Term-time onlyy Teleworking working from home

y Agency working

y Casual working

y Contract working



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Aims ofHR Control in Civil Service

y Control spending (pay only for what is used)

y Change attitude

y Ensure accountability

y Bring contract face to civil service employment

y Develop private sector

y Increasing tax revenue

y

Reduce State SSNIT contributionsy Focus on core business



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Implicationsy Increased use of contractors, etc...

y Public may lose its expertise;

y Private providers may turn themselves into cartelsy Market failures

y Negative externalities



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Implicationsy HRPlanning

y Against that backdrop;

y Control number forecast reductiony Control-skills requirements

y Control-determine contractors, etc....



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Conclusionsy While control seems the plausible thing to do because it

helps cut costs, the current challenge of the civil/publicorganisations require more, not fewer staffs to address

y There is an increasing number of problems, which canbe converted into projects and implemented; this callsfor more, not fewer employees



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Conclusionsy What is required is a more strategic and flexible

approach to managing, not controlling human

resourcesy There are several ways of generating incomes in civil

service organisations; these need exploring


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