INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PAPER (IRP) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, QUETTA 11thMid Career Management Course 07th March to 11th

June, 2011

Public Policy Implementation and Role of Civil Servants (A Critical Evaluation)

By Muhammad Aslam Tareen BCS

A paper submitted to the Faculty of the National Institute of Management, Quetta in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the 11thMid-Career Management Course. ent The contents of this paper are the end product of my own efforts and research and reflect my own personal views and are not necessarily endorsed by the National Institute of Management.

Signature... Date: . Signature... Paper supervised by: Syeda Mubin Fatima

PREFACE
Public policy formulation and implementation in Pakistan is a very sensitive issue. Pakistan is a country in a transitional process from under-developed to developing its democratic, social, political and bureaucratic cultures and norms. The performance of civil servants has always remained unproductive as for as public policys proper formulation and implementation is concerned. Our civil servants lack efficiency, effectiveness, capability and dedication, whereas our system of governance is suffering deficiencies in accountability and transparency. Poor governance in Pakistan is the major cause of public policys failure at operational and tactical level. The study highlights the same efforts which the Government in general and The National School of Public Policy in particular have taken to design the training institutions and modules for capacity building of civil servants so as to groom their skills of professionalism and leadership for better service delivery as operational managers of public policy. The nature of the research demanded the comparison of Pakistan with the developed nations of the world and the past with the present and ultimately leading to a critical analysis. It was my utmost try to be more rational and balanced while confronting with the integers in analysis. The relevant data has been collected from the websites of United Nations, World Bank, Transparency International and International Crisis Group focusing upon Public Policy issues. Some general books were also consulted in order to develop a contextual background. Books of high standard available in the library of National Institute of Management, Quetta were of great help which made me able to comprehend the issue in its totality. During the research the guidance and cooperation extended by the Director General, NIM, Quetta, Mir Javed Iqbal, Faculty Advisor Syeda Mubin Fatima and ADS (T&C) Maj Saleem Baloch was of a high level and without their cooperation I was not in a position to materialize the ideas which at present this paper has done. I am also very thankful to the Chief Instructor Mr. Nazar Muhammad Kakar whose initial discussion over the topic and full time supervision helped me to grasp the issue.

(Muhammad Aslam Tareen) BCS th 11 MCMC, NIM, Quetta May 2011

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Public policies are articulated by the state to address the public issues. There are three components in developing public policy; issues, actors and policy. It is the finalized course of action decided upon by the government. The legislature formulate policy, whereas, the civil servants are responsible for its successful implementation to achieve the goals elaborated in the policy. The study of public policy began in 1922, when Charles Merriam, a political scientist sought to build a link between political theory and its application to reality. Numerous issues are addressed by public policy, including national and internal security, education, foreign policy, health, trade and commerce, finance and social welfare. In Pakistan public policies are usually designed both by the legislature and executive. Pakistans bureaucracy plays pivotal role in not only tactical and operational level but also in policymaking. Unfortunately, public policies have always been a failure in Pakistan because of mismanagement, bureaucratic and political corruption, inefficiency of civil servants on tactical and operational level and above all lack of transparency and consistency in public policy formulation and implementation. Civil servants are often allegedly held responsible for policy failure. Governments have endeavored for human resource development and tandem reforms in civil services, yet the required goals were not achieved. The recent step to address the issue of civil servants capacity building was abolition of the National Institute of Public Administration and formation of the National School of Public Policy, with its constituent units of National Institute of Management at Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. The aim of NSPP is to achieve the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration of the General Assembly of United Nations Organization, which calls for an efficient and effective public administration, as well as for sound governance system. That entails adopting proactive measures to develop enabling policy frameworks, enhance human resource capacity, and promote the use of new technologies, set up performance measurement and evaluation system, overhaul administrative structures and design adequate patterns for the collection of internationally comparable, reliable and accurate data for policy making purposes. Furthermore, it aims to constantly upgrade the skills, develop leadership qualities, emphasize mobility, integrity and professionalism and override claims of merit in the recruitment, placement and promotions of public servants, who are indeed the operation managers of successful public policies.

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Table of Contents
PREFACE ......................................................................................................................................................... i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. ii INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Statement of Problem ............................................................................................................................... 1 Significance and Scope of the Study ......................................................................................................... 2 Review of the Literature............................................................................................................................ 2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Organization of Paper ............................................................................................................................... 3 SECTION1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 Process, Implementation and the Role of Civil Servants in Public Policy ..................................................... 4 1.1 Public Policy Processes ........................................................................................................................ 4 1.2 Implementation of Public Policy ......................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Role of Civil Servants/Bureaucrats ...................................................................................................... 7 SECTION 2 ....................................................................................................................................................10 Capacity Building of Civil Servants ..............................................................................................................10 2.1 Functional Specialization and Career-Orientation ............................................................................10 2.2 Human Resource Development ........................................................................................................11 2.3 Capacity Building of Civil Servants ....................................................................................................13 SECTION 3 ....................................................................................................................................................15 Civil Services in Pakistan.............................................................................................................................. 15 3.1 Civil Services Reforms........................................................................................................................15 3.2 Civil Servants and Public Policy Process in Pakistan..........................................................................17 3.3 Grooming of Civil Servants in Pakistan..............................................................................................19 CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................................21 RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................22 BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................................................23

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INTRODUCTION In any society, governmental entities enact laws, make policies, and allocate resources. This is true at all levels. Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives. The legislator develops public policy in terms of laws, regulations, decisions, and actions. There are three parts to public policy making i.e. problems, players, and the policy. The problem is the issue that needs to be addressed. The player is the individual or group that is influential in forming a plan to address the problem in question. Policies are the finalized course of action decided upon by the government. The rational model for the public policymaking process can be divided into three parts i.e. agenda-setting, optionformulation, and implementation. Within the agenda-setting stage, the agencies and government officials meet to discuss the problem at hand. In the second stage, option-formulation, alternative solutions are considered and final decisions are made regarding the best policy. Consequently, the decided policy is implemented in the final stage. Policy implementation is an important component of the public policy process. The implementation stage of the policy process is by definition an operational phase where policy is actually translated into action with the hope of solving some public problem. Administrative decision-making has a significant impact the determination of who receives benefits and who is restricted as a result of the implementation of any policy. The bureaucracy is delegated a significant degree of power during the implementation stage of the policy process because of its indiscretion in interpreting the actual intent, method, and scope of a policy decision. But the most important factor in public policy process is its proper and successful implementation which wholly relies upon the capacity and professional skills of the civil servants who play the pivotal role in such public assignments at tactical and operational level. Statement of Problem Public policy is an attempt by the government to address public issues. The government, whether it is city, state, provincial or federal, develops public policy in terms of laws, regulations, decisions, and actions. Implementation of the policy is the responsibility of the public administration for optimum benefits of the masses. Public policy Implementation is

increasingly being scrutinized due to its crucial role especially in the delivery of programmes. Therefore, much need to be understood in developing an adequate understanding of the difference between theory and practice when civil servants implement policy. The successful achievement of the goals set for public policy calls for an efficient and effective public administration, which depends on well-functioning institutional structures as much as on skilled, dedicated and highly motivated public servants. Their skills need to be constantly upgraded and leadership qualities enhanced, and new career structures that emphasize mobility, integrity and professionalism must be developed to elaborate and implement reforms for social and economic development or an efficient and effective public administration, as well as for sound governance systems. Human resource capacity plays critical role in public management. As the concepts are rapidly changing, consequently, public sector employees need to be able to interpret and adapt those trends to their national context and increase their capacity to analyze future trends in order to take a proactive rather than reactive approach to minimize the issues and challenges in the implementation of public policy. This research paper will critically evaluate the role of civil servants in the implementation of public policy, particularly by highlighting the gapes of professional skills to undertake the public assignments at tactical level. Significance and Scope of the Study It is a proven fact that highly qualified and professionally skilled civil servants are key to the successful implementation of a public policy. The countries having such professionally skilled human resource have faster economic growth and development as compare to the countries where capacity building of civil servants is neglected. Keeping in view the theory that the economy and progress in the present day is led by the proper implementation of public policies, the importance of professionally skilled human resource in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan cannot be set aside. The study highlights the weaknesses as well as the strengths which Pakistan is facing in proper implementation of public policies. The focus of the study is the capacity building issues of the civil servants with regard to the implementation of Public Policy in Pakistan. Review of the Literature Good governance initiatives towards successful formulation and implementation of public policies are linked to three important relationships: leadership-people, people-leaders,
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people-people1.Although not the only factor shaping the nature of governance, globalization is clearly a crucial context in which the policy process should be understood2. The term policy process suggests that there is some sort of system that translates policy ideas into actual policies that are implemented and have positive effects3. The development of public policy in the society is practically impossible without strategic planning because the analysis always begins from the characteristic of the concept of national strategy as a future successful public policy4.Strategic planning for the purpose of organizational innovation, however, is not the only benefit of strategy formulation, strategies are also important for interpreting routine policies and goals and articulating the operational needs of an organization for meeting those goals5. Methodology First descriptive method is used in order to define and address the issue in its contextual reference. It studies the process of public policy including its implementation by the civil servants. The analytical method is also adopted so as to critically evaluate the issue from different angles. The gaps in public policies implementation by the civil servants and their impacts on the society is the target data. This qualitative data is collected from concerned websites, books, journals and articles of the news papers. Organization of Paper Section 1 highlights the process of public policy, its implementation and the roles of civil servants. Section 2 will narrow down the issues of the capacity building of civil servants to functional specialization, career orientation and Human Resource Development and growth in public policy implementation process. Section 3 comprises of a critical appraisal of civil services reforms and growth in public policy implementation process in Pakistan. It will analyze the issues of capacity building and grooming of civil servants from the growth and development perspective.
1

Abdul Rauf, Ambali, Servant Leaderships values and Staffs commitment: Policy Implementation focus, American Journal of Scientific Research,(Malaysia: Euro-Journals Publishing, Inc, 2011)30-36 2 Patricia, Kennett,Governance, Globalization and Public Policy, (Massachusetts, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2008) 2-6 3 Thomas A, Birkland,An Introduction to the policy process (New York, M E Sharpe Inc, 2011)4-25 4 Olexandr, kiliievych, Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, the National Academy of Public Administration (Ukraine, Office of the President) 55 Steven, Gohan, William, Eimicke, Tanya, Heikkila, The effective public Manager (San Francisco, Jossey-Boss, 2008) 188-254

SECTION1
Process, Implementation and the Role of Civil Servants in Public Policy
1.1 Public Policy Processes
Public Policy impacts almost every aspect of our lives, be it economic, social or cultural. Our economic well-being is, to a large extent, determined by the fiscal and monetary policies of government. While socially we are directly or indirectly affected by public policy on a range of issues like healthcare, education, welfare and the legal system of justice. Culturally, too, our lives are influenced by public policies formulated in the area of working hours, national holidays, health, education or energy issues. All in all, the presence of public policy is so all-pervading that its importance in a democracy cannot be overemphasized. As such, it is desirable that every citizen gains, at the least, a rudimentary understanding of how public policy works and how it can be influenced so that greater economic and social justice for all segments of society is achieved. Experts who study public policy have identified four main steps in the public policy process. These steps include the identification of a problem, the formulation of a policy change to solve the problem, the implementation of that policy change, and the evaluation of whether the solution is working as desired. In this way, public policy process can be seen as the steps a government takes to address a public problem. The first step in the public policy process is the identification of a problem. This step involves not only recognizing the existence of an issue, but also in-depth study of the problem and its history. This stage of the process often involves determining who is affected, how aware the public is of the issue and whether it is a short or long-term concern. Another key question centers on whether altering public policy can effect change. Answers to such questions may give policy makers a gauge for which policy changes, if any, are needed to address the identified problem. After identifying and studying the problem, a public policy solution is usually formulated and adopted. This step in the public policy process is usually marked by discussion and debate between governmental officials, interest groups, and individual citizens over how best
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to address the issue. The general purpose of this step is to set clear goals and list the steps to achieve them. The formulation stage often also includes a discussion of alternative solutions, potential obstacles, and how to measure the effects of the policy change. Policy formulation and adoption is usually led by the legislative branch of the government. The final stage in the process, known as evaluation and maintenance, is typically an ongoing one. While the importance of this step has not always been emphasized, modern policy makers often incorporate tools for evaluation into the formulation stage. This final step usually involves study of how effective the policy change is in addressing the original problem, and often leads to further public policy manipulation. This part of the process is generally implemented through a cooperative effort between policy managers and independent evaluators. Policy studies often focus on how policies are made rather than on their content or their causes and consequences. That study of how policies are made generally considers a series of activities, or processes, that occur within the political system. The implication of this process model is that policymaking occurs in identifiable stages and that each stage can be examined separately6. Implementation Evaluation Policy Re-Formulation

Formulation

Figure 1:

A sequential model of policy-making7

Thomas R, Dye, Florida State University, Understanding Public Policy, 10thed (Delhi: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004), 32 7 Commonwealth of Learning Executive MBA/MPA, SC1: Public Policy, Block 2, (Islamabad: Alama Iqbal Open University, 2004) 54

These processes are usually presented as follows: PROCESS Problem Identification ACTIVITY Publicizing societal problems Expressing action demands for government PARTICIPANTS Mass media Interest groups Citizen initiatives Public opinion Agenda Setting Deciding what issues will be decided, Mass media, Elites, including what problems will be addressed by Parliament, Cabinet, Political government Policy Formulation Parties

Developing policy proposals to resolve Cabinet, Ministries, Legislature issue and ameliorate problems Parliamentary Committees Interest Groups Think tanks, Civil Society

Policy Legitimation

Selecting a proposal, Developing political Executive support for it, Enacting it into law, Parliament Deciding on its constitutionality Higher Judiciary Civil Servants Executive departments and agencies of government Executive departments and agencies

Policy Implementation

Organizing departments and agencies Providing payments or services Levying taxes

Policy Evaluation

Reporting programs

outputs

Evaluating impacts of policies on target Parliamentary oversight and non-target groups Proposing changes and reforms Process Stages of Public Policy8 Committees Mass media Think tanks, Civil Society Table 1:

The models usually presented are of United States origin, whereas, in the parliamentary system of Pakistan, as such, there is no role of the President in policy formulation and implementation processes. Although the President of Pakistan often identify the problem and
8

Ibid

provide with the necessary direction to the Chief Executive of the state, that is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, as well as the Parliament, while addressing her joint session as provided in the constitution.

1.2 Implementation of Public Policy

Implementation is the continuation of politics by other means 9 .The responsibility of deciding whether any action of an organ or authority of the state, or a person performing functions on behalf of an organ or authority of the state, is in accordance with the principles of policy is that of the organ or authority of the state, or of the person concerned10. Policymaking does not end with the passage of a law by parliament and its assent by the President. Rather it shifts from parliament and cabinet to the bureaucracy, departments, agencies and commissions of the executive branch11.Implementation involves all the activities designed to carry out the policies enacted by the legislative branch. These activities include the creation of new organizations, departments, agencies, bureaus and so on, or the assignments of new responsibilities to existing organizations. These organizations must translate laws into rules and regulations. They must hire personnel, draw up contracts, spend money and perform tasks. All of these activities involve decisions by bureaucrats, decisions that determine policy12. Implementation involves all such prescribed functions to implement the policies adopted by the legislature. These functions include the creation of new organizations, departments, agencies, offices and soon, or assignment of new responsibilities to existing organizations. They must develop human resource, establish contracts, and spend funds and perform tasks. 1.3 Role of Civil Servants/Bureaucrats As society has grown in size and complexity, the bureaucracy has increased its role in policymaking process. The standard explanation for the growth of bureaucratic power is that legislature and cabinet do not have the time, energy or technical expertise to look after the details of environmental protection or occupational safety or equal employment opportunity or

Van Meter, Donald S and Vanltorn, Carl E, The Policy Implementation Process, Administration and Society, 6 (February 1975), 447 10 Article 30 (1), Responsibility with respect to Principles of Policy, Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 11 Thomas R, Dye, Florida State University, Understanding Public Policy, 10thed (Delhi: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004), 50 12 Ibid

transportation safety or hundreds of other aspects of governance in a modern society. Bureaucratic agencies receive only broad and general policy directions in the laws of legislature. They must decide themselves on important details of policy. This means much of the actual policy making process takes place within the hundreds of other bureaucratic agencies 13 .The bureaucracy is not constitutionally empowered to decide policy questions, but it does so, nonetheless, as it performs its task of implementation14. The paramount responsibility of civil servants is to successfully implement the actions of an organization of any size. But these are often associated with large entities such as government, businesses and non-governmental organizations, to reach its goal and mission. Civil servants are responsible for determining how it can achieve its goal and mission with the greatest efficiency and lowest cost of all resources. The implementation of public policy is the most visible and obvious policy of civil servants, only one of several phases. Making public policy covers complementary processes that take place outside the three core functions of policy implementation i.e. development of rules, implementation of rules and arbitration of rules. To obtain optimum understanding of the role of civil servants in the political system, we need to place the implementation of policy in a broader context. While the legislature is charged with making all laws or statutes, the bureaucracy usually must take the general enabling legislation created by the legislature and build real programs and administrative rules for implementing corresponding public policy. When the enabling legislation deals with regulation, the bureaucracys authority to develop programs and rules is critical to carrying out the letter and the spirit of the law15.The constitution have defined the functions of the organs of state as the legislature formulate a law, judiciary is to adjudicate it, hence, execution is the sole responsibility of civil servants. Implementation is the stage of cyclic model in which policy is carried out or executed. It is translation of stated policy into action. The cyclic model assumes that implementation is a
13 14

Ibid

Thomas R, Dye, Florida State University, Understanding Public Policy, 10thed (Delhi: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004), 50-51
15

The Policy Making Process http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/8_3_3.html(Accessed on 14th April, 2011)

discrete stage that occurs after policy formulation. Once the policy has been enunciated, public servants are charged with the duty to administer and execute the policy16.

Commonwealth of Learning Executive MBA/MPA, SC1: Public Policy, Block 2, Understanding Public policy, (Islamabad: Alama Iqbal Open University, 2004) 63

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SECTION 2
Capacity Building of Civil Servants
2.1 Functional Specialization and Career-Orientation
One of the first writers of the civil services and the state administration was the German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920), whose writings on civil services has contributed to the common ideal of impartial, efficient, rational and legal civil servants. Weber noted that each authority than could be counted by three types: traditional authority in which duties and responsibilities are not clearly defined and not on merit or competence. The charismatic authority based on devotion to a particular person and rational and legal authority, on clear, impersonal rules and the allocation of jobs to functionally specialized and technically skilled human resource. Despite having some negative consequences, the rational-legal type of authority is generally thought to be preferable to traditional or charismatic authority, and to provide model for bureaucratic behavior in a modern political system. Weber saw the modern rational-legal officialdom ideally functioned according to six principles. 1. Fixed division of labor, with specialization of workers. 2. Positions organized in a chain of command, a hierarchy. 3. Rules and regulations regarding work. 4. Separation of personal and official property. 5. Selection of personnel on the basis of technical qualifications. 6. Employment that is career-oriented17.

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Bureaucracy and Modernity, http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/8_2_0.html (accessed on 14th April, 2011)

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Thus the criteria for induction into civil service and nature of jobs in modern era have completely changed, since the major function of civil servants is not mere secretarial and clerical duties but of a competent manager entrusted with the responsibility of implementing the public policies of the state in order to gain the welfare of the society. But the competence and skills as required in the prevailing environment cannot be achieved without proper capacity building of the available human resource. Unfortunately, civil servants have a reputation for being lethargic. Although there may be some bad apples in the bunch, as there is in most clusters, the civil servants are not likely to follow red-tapism culture. Most of the civil servants are hard working and ambitious. Believed by many to be among the most secure work environments, jobs in government are highly sought after. Excellent retirement and health benefits are what attract many people to civil services. Not all governments, though, are generous in the benefits they offer. In addition, government agencies have faced some of the same problems that the private sector has faced in recent years. Downsizing is one of these problems. Such are the factors that have affected the performance of the civil servants in implementation of public policies, both in negative as well as in positive manner. Civil service is organized upon standard bureaucratic lines in which a chain of command stretches in pyramid fashion from the lowest offices to the highest. This command implies obedience to the lawful orders of a superior, and in order to maintain this system, the hierarchy of offices is marked by fixed positions, with well defined duties, specific powers and salaries and privileges objectively assessed.18 Job security, career-orientation opportunities, functional-specialization training, freedom of work according to the rules and regulations are such unavoidable aspects which directly influence the performance of civil servants in implementation of public policy.

2.2 Human Resource Development

Human resources (HR) professionals have many important roles and responsibilities. For example, HR professionals recruit, interview and hire new employees, develop compensation
18

Muhammad Abbas, Abba Saeed, Civil Service: Could It Be Neutral ?Pakistan Administration, A Journal of The Administrative Staff College (Lahore, Vol XXIX, January-June 1992)24

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and benefits packages, ensure employment and labor laws are observed, train and coach employees across different business functions, and develop strategies for employee retention. According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, HR jobs are expected to grow faster than average (18 26% by 2014) and be competitive due to HR being a course at many universities.19 Talent Development, part of human resource development is the process of changing an organization, its employees, its stakeholders and groups of people within it, through learning planned and unplanned, in order to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage for the organization. Although the development of talent is reserved to senior management, it is increasingly clear that career development is necessary for the maintenance of an employee, regardless of their level in society. Research has shown that a certain type of career is necessary for job satisfaction and job retention so. Perhaps organizations need to include this sector in their overview of employee satisfaction.20 The term talent development is becoming increasingly popular in civil services and organizations, as corporate culture is now evolving from the traditional term training and development. Talent development encompasses a variety of components such as training, career development, career management, and organizational development, and training and development. The vision is that during the 21stcentury more organizations will begin to use more integrated terms such as talent development instead of mere training of bureaucrats. These changes have been sited due to the phenomenon of proper implementation of public policy as the prime object of civil servants. Capacity building and human resource talent development refers to an organizations ability to align strategic training and career opportunities for civil servants. It aims at inculcating such special qualities and abilities in the civil servants engaged in implementation process of public policies that could ensure their capacity to accomplish the assigned function with integrity, accountability, transparency and confidence of achieving the targeted goals.
Pace University, Human Resources Management, MBA Concentration http://www.pace.edu/lubin/lubin-academicprograms/graduate-programs/mba-programs/mba-degree-concentrations/management-concentration-mba/humanresources-ma(Accessed on 15 April, 2011) 20 Talent Development, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Resource_Development(Accessed on 15 April, 2011)
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There are two logical laws of talent development: First law of talent development: The beginnings of any technology-rich business are all characterized by a shortage of large numbers of technically trained people needed to support ultimate growth Second law of talent development: The resources will come when the business becomes attractive to the best-and brightest who adapt skills to become part of an exciting opportunity21 In human resource development, leadership and commitment issues are point of reference to public policy implementation in public organizations and always warrant the attentions of the governments around the globe. Success of formulated public policy and its implementation by the agency or organization in charge solely depends on the leaders characteristic attributes and commitment of the followers. Researchers have generalized the significant influence of all leadership attributes on organizational commitment of staff.22

2.3 Capacity Building of Civil Servants

The importance of human resource development and capacity building of civil servants for effective and efficient implementation of public policy is major element as desired by United Nations Secretary Generals Millennium Declaration. The achievement of the goals set out in the Undated Nations Millennium Declaration calls for an efficient and effective public administration. This depends on well functioning institutional structures as much as on skilled, dedicated and highly motivated public servants. Human resource development is a critical factor in ensuring that the development goals outlined in the report of the Secretary General on a road map towards the implementation of the Millennium Declaration are effectively achieved. Public servants skills need to be constantly upgraded and leadership qualities enhanced. New career structures that emphasize mobility, integrity and professionalism must be developed in order for countries to elaborate and

21 22

Talent Development, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Resource_Development(Accessed on 15 April, 2011) Abdul Rauf,Ambali, Servant Leaderships values and Staffs commitment: Policy Implementation focus, American Journal of Scientific Research,(Malaysia: EuroJouranls Publishing, Inc, 2011)

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implement reforms for social and economic development. The present report explores some key dimensions of human resource development, including leadership and vision. It further adds human resource competencies, training, performance, conditions of work, ethics, integrity, management of diversity and gender and empowering public service users.23 While focusing on changes in management, the state must be in the forefront of implementing the change and smoothing the path for progress. The entail adopting the proactive measures to develop enabling policy frameworks, enhance human resource capacity, promote the use of new technologies, and set up performance measurement and evaluation systems. Overhaul administrative structures and design adequate patterns for collection of internationally comparable, reliable and accurate data for policy making and implementing processes.24 The Road map highlights the importance of promoting the public service in cognitive abilities, technical skills and capacity building, which are scarce in many countries such as Pakistan. In fact, in most developing countries and countries in transition, the gaps in skills have often been substantial in civil servants capability to implement public policies.

23

Enhancing the capacity of public administration to implement United Nations Millennium Declaration, Economic and Social Council, (New York, United Nations, 2002) 24 Ibid

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SECTION 3
Civil Services in Pakistan
3.1 Civil Services Reforms
In recent years civil service reforms has become increasingly viewed as a key development priority for Pakistan. Although past attempts did not achieve desired results, the strong interest in civil service reform recently shown by the political leadership, by large parts of the government bureaucracy, and by civil society as a whole is a very positive development. This interest stems from a widespread perception that the civil service has been unable to cope with its increased responsibilities as the role of the state in Pakistan has expanded and changed over the years.25 The civil service is also viewed as ill-equipped to assume new and more complex roles that are needed in the context of broader structural reforms that are currently being implemented. Severe fiscal constraints further underscore the urgency of reforms to ensure appropriate balance between wage and non-wage public expenditures.26 A civil service exists to provide services to the public, to carry out regulatory functions, and to assist ministers in formulating policy. The public needs to know that these functions are being carried out well, cost-effectively, and honestly. This implies the need for some way to measure the outcomes achieved by public service in performing its tasks. It also implies a chain of accountability from every civil servant up through the internal chain of command to the minister and through the Assembly to the public.27 The present system of administration in Pakistan is a legacy of colonial rule. Any modifications introduced were to promote the interests of groups holding the levels of power within the government and administration. The administration thus became its own master.28

A Framework for Civil Services Reform in Pakistan, Report No. 18386-PAK, (Document of the World Bank) i Ibid 27 A Framework for Civil Services Reform in Pakistan, Report No. 18386-PAK, Document of the World Bank, 21 28 Ijaz, Rahim, Administrative Reforms in India and Pakistan: A Comparative review, A Journal of the Administrative Staff College (Lahore, Vol XXIX, January-June 1992, 24)66
26

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The Government of Pakistan has an ambitious and comprehensive program of reforms to accelerate growth and poverty reduction by proper implementation of public policies. Governance reforms, particularly in the areas of tax administration, procurement, financial management, and devolution of power to local governments are key features of the program.29 Pakistans bureaucracy, although not large by international standards, suffers from structural weaknesses, that are fairly common in the region. Progress in civil service reforms has been quite limited. While a Civil Service Reform Unit (CSRU) was created to catalyze and oversee the implementation of reforms, there has been little progress in civil service restructuring. Future reforms are likely to be given the politically difficult issues involved, at best incremental. Wage decompression and pension reforms have been politically difficult to implement. Despite some progress in the past five years, in particular the increased autonomy of the Federal and Provincial Public Service Commissions, ensuring merit-based recruitment into the bureaucracy continues to remain a challenge.30 In 1973, PM Bhutto promulgated civil service reforms which brought drastic changes in the civil services of Pakistan, but the goals of efficiency, effectiveness, integrity, transparency, accountability and capacity building of civil servants could not be achieved. Again in 2001, devolution of power by Musharraf introduced some cosmetic changes in the civil services but, unfortunately, the experiment resulted in total failure with the decline of the regime. Contrary to US model bureaucracy, civil servants in Pakistan play the pivotal role in not only the process of implementation of public policy, but also in the policy formulation and evaluation processes. It is the dire need of the system to identify the gaps in the areas of professional skills to undertake the public assignments at tactical and operational level, through effective, progressive and meaningful reforms.

29

Governance in Pakistan, World Bank Report http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/EXTSAREGTOPPRISECDEV/0,,contentM DK:20584876~menuPK:496677~pagePK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:496671,00.html (Accessed on 16 April, 2011)
30

Ibid

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3.2 Civil Servants and Public Policy Process in Pakistan

Pakistans civil service system is composed of federal and provincial civil service system. It is rank based system, where generalists are preferred to specialists and life time employment is provided to its incumbents. The pay and perks received by the civil servants are many time higher than the per capita income of the common men in the country. However, these perks have definitely been on the lower side as compared to what is being received by the private sector managers and employees of multinationals in Pakistan.31 Decades of mismanagement, political manipulation and corruption have rendered Pakistans civil service incapable of providing effective governance and basic public services. In public perceptions, the countrys 2.4 million civil servants are widely seen as unresponsive and corrupt, and bureaucratic procedures cumbersome and exploitative. Bureaucratic dysfunction and low capacity undermine governance, providing opportunities to the military to subvert the democratic transition and to extremists to destabilize the state. The civilian government should priorities reforms that transform this key institution into a leaner, more effective and accountable body.32 If the flaws of an unreformed bureaucracy are not urgently addressed, the government risks losing public support. The recommendations of the National Commission on Government Reforms (NCGR), which was set up by the military regime in 2006 and presented a report to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in May 2008, if properly implemented could help reform the civil service.33 The policy of civil service reforms can be better understood through the critical and conceptual framework. Then it should be applied on the Public Services. Pakistan can meet the goal of good governance through the system of professional service and results-based calendar. We need to focus on high quality training of civil servants, as they play an important role in governance being the key participant in the formulation and implementation of public policy.
31

Muhammad, Iqbal, Is Good Governance an Approach to Civil Services Reforms? Public Private Choice, (The Pakistan Development, Volume 45, Part 4, The Winter 2006) 621-637 32 International Crisis Group, Reforming Pakistans Civil service, Asia Report N185 16 Feb 2010. http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/pakistan/185-reforming-pakistans-civilservice.aspx(Accessed on 17 April, 2011) 33 Ibid

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Good policy is the soul of good governance in any political and bureaucratic system; likewise, good governance is the backbone of good policies. Corruption is one of the malaises of public sector affecting their efficiency and performance. It can be defined as misuse of an employees authority by not fulfilling his/her duty properly; not taking care and protecting publics interests; stealing wealth and resources from organization; exerting unjustifiable influence on policy making and implementation process and employing unskilled workers of certain jobs etc. The most obvious cause of corruption is low salaries, insecure tenure, and outmoded accountability mechanism. Recruitments, postings and promotions are not merit-based; Bureaucratic corruption takes several forms, including abuse of discretionary power, misuse of regulatory authority, as well as institutionalized and participative practices of corruption.34 There is lack of transparency, political influences, lack of resources, delayed projects, large and unskilled work force, low earnings and wages, unjust employment opportunities and promotion criteria. On the other hand, public sector is required to serve the common people and protect their interests by facilitating them indiscriminately. For this very objective, it is imperative for public sector organizations to adopt good governance practices in these organizations in order to be more efficient and effective.35 There is a crisis of competence, in the civil service, linked to low pay, difficulties in recruiting high quality candidates and low incentives to display skills are exacerbated by the generalist tradition. There is no discernable systematic transition towards functional specialization, as the few individuals selected from the private sector do not reflect a systematic trend and there is lot of resentment against pay and perks enjoyed by them. Civil servants collude with Ministers in manipulation of laws. They are mostly inefficient, unsympathetic to public problems, decisions are not taken promptly, but only when necessary and where necessary to suit the circumstances.36

34

Aliya, Abbasi, Public Sector Governance in Pakistan, International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, Volume 2, No. 2.1, Quarter 1, 2011 35 Ibid 36 Transparency International., Nature and Extent of Corruption in Public Sector 2002, http://www.transparency.org.pk/documents/csr.pdf(Accessed on 21 April, 2011)

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It can be argued that Pakistan has a huge potential for foreign investment but this is not to suggest that Pakistan can attract foreign and local investment only by its policies of privatization and liberalization. There is an implementation gap in the policy making process and its implementation. Policy making and implementation are inter-related with each other and cannot be separated. Pakistan cannot emerge as a developed country until and unless those gaps are identified and appropriate measures are taken to address the issues of improper implementation of public policies in Pakistan. 3.3 Grooming of Civil Servants in Pakistan The civil services falling standards impact mostly Pakistans poor, widening social and economic divisions between the privileged and underprivileged, with citizens increasingly affected by conflict and militancy. The dominant paradigm of capacity building in most developed countries is state-centric and based on the premise that a highly educated and talented generalist well trained in public administration and on-the-job can perform a variety of managerial jobs in the government ministries without much difficulty.37 There are two parallel tracks for capacity building in developing countries. One that of a facilitator and catalyst for the private sector to seize the opportunities presented by increased participation in the global economy. And second that of direct responsibility of the government for equipping its own public servants in the specialized fields of macroeconomic and policy management, regulation and oversight, social sector and infrastructure provisioning, law and order and security.38 To make capacity building process sustainable, it is envisioned that the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) shall aim to reform the training methods, syllabi, quality of education for civil servants and to consolidate fragmented training efforts in specialized fields such as public policy, economics, finance and management sciences.39

37

Ishrat, Hussain, Changing Paradigm of Capacity Building, The International Congress on Human Resources (Islamabad, 7 June, 2003) 38 Ibid 39 National School of Public Policy,27-28-29, The Agenda for Civil Service Reforms, 11-12

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Drastic changes have been observed in the performance of civil servants after training at NSPP and NIMs, as for as the delivery and quality of service is concerned. The modern training methods applied at these institutes have optimized the capacity of civil servants in public policy at tactical and operational level.

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CONCLUSION
It is an established fact that bureaucracy plays a significant role in administrative development and political stability in any political setting. Political systems are composed of different components, such as bureaucracy, military, political elite and other institutions. These components are independent to each other. Each of them has specified function to perform for the accomplishment of common goals. Yet the role of bureaucracy or the civil servants in Pakistan is more important keeping in view its operational and tactical responsibilities regarding public policies and national interests. Thus an organized and effective bureaucratic system can act as a stable center around which rapid political changes can swirl without destroying the incipient state and hampering the consistency in implementation of policies of public interest. The desired effectiveness and efficiency of civil servants can only be achieved through capacity building as well as character building of our mid career managers at best training methods in the institutes like National Institutes of Management and of senior officers at National School of Public Policy. The efforts of the Government and the National School of Public Policy are to meet the challenges of new millennium as described in Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of United Nations Organization. National School of Public Policy aims at inculcating the leadership qualities and professionalism in the civil servants for better service delivery while acting as field officers or operation managers of public policy.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
a) Conducting regular training, including refresher courses, at all levels of the bureaucracy at National School of Public Policy. Improving standards of instruction of Mid Career Management Course, Senior Management Course and National Management Course to inculcate professional skills as well as norms and practices that reward character building, integrity, professional commitment and providing competitive compensation and benefits to attract qualified and motivated instructors in faculty. b) Increasing salaries and pensions, particularly for those at the bottom of the hierarchy, providing better housing, transport and health insurance for all government employees, and subsidized schooling for their children. c) Linking an officers performance during training programs with promotions, thus no longer using successful completion as the only yardstick. Hence, modifying Annual Confidential Reports to include tangible, performance-oriented criteria instead of subjective evaluations of officers characters. d) Establishing and strictly abiding by new criteria for secretariat appointments to include professional expertise, diversity of experience, demonstrable leadership in public institutions, and ability to tackle challenging assignments like public policy implementation. e) Instituting a transparent and competitive selection process to encourage representation of all occupational groups, and reserving positions in each basic pay scale for officers from each of those groups and ensuring that specialists have the same access to training facilities at National School of Public Policy, as generalist officers in occupational groups. f) Eliminate military interference by ending the practice of hiring serving or retired military officers in the civil service and abolishing the annual 10 per cent quota reserved for military officers. g) Refraining politicians from unnecessary interference in the administrative matters, especially in public policy implementation. h) Empowering federal and provincial ombudsmen to redress public grievances against bureaucratic malpractice.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books, Journals, Reports, Articles Dye, Thomas R, Florida State University, Understanding Public Policy, 10thed (Delhi: Pearson Education, Inc. 2004) Commonwealth of Learning Executive MBA/MPA, SC1: Public Policy, Block 2, (Islamabad: Alama Iqbal Open University, 2004) Donald S, Van Meter and Carl E, Vanltorn, The Policy Implementation Process, Administration and Society, 6 (February 1975) Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Article 30 (1), Responsibility with respect to Principles of Policy. Ambali, Abdul Rauf, Servant Leaderships values and Staffs commitment: Policy Implementation focus, American Journal of Scientific Research,(Malaysia: EuroJouranls Publishing, Inc, 2011) Kennett, Patricia, Governance, Globalization and Public Policy, (Massachusetts, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2008) Birkland, Thomas A, An Introduction to the policy process (New York, M E Sharpe Inc, 2011) kiliievych, Olexandr, Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, the National Academy of Public Administration (Ukraine, Office of the President) Gohan, Steven, Eimicke, William, Heikkila, Tanya, The effective public Manager (San Francisco, Jossey-Boss, 2008) Commenwealth of Learning Executive MBA/MPA, SC1: Public Policy, Block 2, Understanding Public policy, (Islamabad: AlamaIqbal Open University, 2004) Aba Saeed, Muhammad Abbas, Civil Service: Could It Be Neutral? Pakistan Administration, A Journal of The Administrative Staff College (Lahore, Vol XXIX, January-June 1992) Economic and Social Council, (New York, United Nations, 2002)Enhancing the capacity of public administration to implement United Nations Millennium Declaration, Document of the World Bank, A Framework for Civil Services Reform in Pakistan, Report No. 18386-PAK, Rahim, Ijaz, Administrative Reforms in India and Pakistan: A Comparative review, A Journal of the Administrative Staff College (Lahore, Vol XXIX, January-June 1992, 24) Iqbal, Muhammad, Is Good Governance an Approach to Civil Services Reforms? Public Private Choice, (The Pakistan Development, Volume 45, Part 4, the winter 2006)

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Abbasi, Aliya, Public Sector Governance in Pakistan, International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, Volume 2, No. 2.1, Quarter 1, 2011 Hussain, Ishrat, Changing Paradigm of Capacity Building, The International Congress on Human Resources (Islamabad, 7 June, 2003) The Agenda for Civil Service Reforms, National School of Public Policy

Websites University of Texas http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu Pace University, http://www.pace.edu Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org World Bank http://web.worldbank.org International Crisis Group http://www.crisisgroup.org Transparency International http://www.transparency.org.pk

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