The Case of Sri Lanka Administrative Service
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Entrepreneurship in Public Management: The Case of Sri Lanka Administrative Service Lalitha Fernando, University of Sri Jayawerdenepura, Sri Lanka Abstract. The role of entrepreneurship in public management remains in debate. Despite the debatable arguments to regarding public entrepreneurship, this paper argues that the concept still has validity of utilizing as a tool for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public service. By using Hunter’s reputational snowballing technique to identify public entrepreneurs among Sri Lanka’s administrative service, this study presents the preliminary findings based on a recent empirical study and examines their administrative and decision-making roles towards desired changes in the public service in Sri Lanka. During the period of October 2002 and March 2003, the study gathered the data through in-depth interviews of 25 officers in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service. The results of the study indicate that public managers’ motivation to achieve and their leadership skills, goal clarity, managerial autonomy, performance-based reward system, citizen participation and public support represent major factors contributing to public entrepreneurship in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service. This study also finds that there are entrepreneurs in the Sri Lanka public service. Also the paper argues that there are opportunities and potential in the service to work as entrepreneurs who are innovative, proactive and willing to take some risks beyond their work responsibilities. Further, the author argues that there are significant benefits when the entrepreneurship is applied to public management. Therefore the necessary reforms are needed to sustain such initiatives of public entrepreneurs towards more effectiveness and efficiency of public service. oor performance of the public sector is reported better service for the same monetary unit. There is a in most developing countries and Sri Lanka is general criticism that bureaucracies have less money P no exception. In this context, entrepreneurial due to fraud, abuse, and inefficiency. In this context, in behavior of public managers seems to have potential. order to move toward better government services and There is considerable evidence that an entrepreneurial efficient use of resources, the entrepreneurial behavior management style is common to successful business of public managers could be seen as an alternative organizations. Similar to a business organization, many option. By definition, entrepreneurs are innovative, experts argue that public managers could behave as proactive and willing to take risks in what they are entrepreneurs to serve the citizens’ needs despite limited doing. In a modern world, especially under a market resources handled. Entrepreneurship is presented as one economy system, the central government cannot fulfill answer to the perennial problem of failing public all aspects in the public service; thus the private sector services (Llewellyn and Jones, 2003). has to do the other part. Under the current situation of After the work of Osborne and Gaebler (1992) financial constraints and difficulties, the passive entitled Reinventing Government: How the behavior of officials would not permit higher Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector performance of the government. Thus in order to the term, public entrepreneurship has been given focal respond to the peoples’ demands under the conditions of attention. These authors see entrepreneurship as a third scarcity of resources, the roles of the managers in the option for coping with inadequate government public sector need to be changed in an innovative and performance. Those authors see that cutting service and proactive way to improve the performance of the increasing taxes are the first and the second options. government. Instead of traditional public administration, in the This research focuses on the utility of the modern era “Managerialism” and “Entrepreneurial concept of public entrepreneurship in government Government” is emerging, in which public managers organizations in Sri Lanka and analyzes the qualitative have to play an innovative role for delivering public data gathered through the in-depth interviews. The first service and the accomplishment has to be congruent part of this paper discusses about the Sri Lanka with citizen satisfaction, efficiency and effectiveness. Administrative Service in terms of its nature, evolution, Despite the limited resource base in the public sector, and administrative positions. The second part of the peoples’ aspirations have to be fulfilled. In this context, section of this paper discusses the interviews and entrepreneurial behavior could be seen as an alternative presents verification of claims of entrepreneurship and way to cope with such difficulties. characteristics of the selected purposive sample. Then, As Osborne and Gaebler (1992) argued, citizens the officials’ attitudes and behavior related to the three do not like to have less education, less health care but dimensions (innovativeness, willingness to take risks 80 Chinese Public Administration Review · Volume 3 · Numbers 3/4 · September/December 2006 and proactiveness) of entrepreneurship are discussed. including managerial staff, technical, clerical, and minor Several entrepreneurial activities of the officials are grades. The main role of the public service is to ensure presented as case studies, along with the results of the better delivery of service to the people. in-depth interviews. Finally the paper presents its The present structure of the public service in findings based on the in-depth interviews. Sri Lanka includes three main groups of public servants. Those are public officers in the central government, Public Service of Sri Lanka provincial governments and semi-government sectors. Public Services refers to all organizations and activities According to the data, the majority of employees work financed out of public revenue, and the services under the central administration. The following figures provided by government (Warnapala, 1995). Public reveal the structure of the public service in the year Service includes all the branches of the administration 2002. Table 1.1 The Distribution of Employees by Sectors of Sri Lanka Sector Number of Employees (percentage) State Sector 329,297 (36.2) Provincial Public Service 308,375 (33.9) Semi- Government Sector 271,988 (29.9) Total 909, 660 (100) Source: Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 2002 Public servants in the central government serve Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the ministries, government departments, district, and For understanding the nature and basic characteristics of divisional secretariats. Provincial public servants serve the service, it may be useful to examine the evolution of in the provincial ministries, its departments, and other the service which can be divided into two periods: local government institutions. Public servants in the before independence and after independence. semi–government sector serve organizations such as public corporations and statutory boards. The Sri Lanka Evolution of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Administrative Service represents nearly two percent of Before Independence the entire public service. The public servants serve the Civil Service means higher administrative service following main categories of public services. (Warnapala, 1995). Under the Crown Colony, the service was named Ceylon Civil Service. The British Main Categories of Public Services colonial government ruled Ceylon for 150 years through • Sri Lanka Administrative Service (this is an all- this bureaucracy in which all effective powers were island service) vested (Leonard, 1962). The chief “Service” was the • Combined Services (such as general clerical “Ceylon Civil Service,” founded in 1802 on a very small service, typists service, store keepers service) scale by Governor Frederick North with eight members • Sri Lanka Educational Services (Leonard, 1962). Thus it was the premier service and • Sri Lanka Medical Service the oldest. According to the official diary of Leonard in • Sri Lanka Police Forces 1962, (the diary was maintained by an assistant • Civilian Staff of Armed Forces government agent under the colonial administration of Sri Lanka), civil servants were administrators par • Sri Lanka Engineers Service excellence who were entrusted with the most • Government Accountants Service responsible posts in the government in all departments. • Planning Service It is said that the members of the civil service were specially selected and had special training, special As the main concern of this study is related to pay and the exclusive right to hold the most influential the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, the next part of and powerful positions in government. The civil service this chapter discusses the nature and evolution of the was the virtual ruler of Ceylon from 1802, when the service and the profile of administrative positions in service was established up to 1931. From 1802, the civil detail. service was entrusted not only with executive functions, but also with legislative and judicial functions (Leonard, 1962). The diary further added that the powers of the civil service were thus supreme; they were the chief exactors, the chief legislators and the chief judicial Fernando / Entrepreneurship in Public Management: The Case of Sri Lanka Administrative Service 81 officers. The only person above the civil service was Administrative Studies in 1966 to provide public service