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Post-bureaucratic management :
A new age for Public Services?
EFMD Aix-en-Provence 14-16 june 2006
Working in a post bureaucratic context :
civil servants’ perceptions of the main challenges
involved and their coping strategies
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez
Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, IDHEAP, Switzerland
Swiss administrations undergo
deep transformations
Since the mid 1990s, new public management
has inspired most of the reform processes :
MbO, PRP, Customer-orientation, Cost-accounting…
Surviving in the post-civil service
A new legal framework for civil servants, for example
at the federal level (from the 1st of January 2002) : The
new Federal Personnel Act (!! No privatisation, but a sort of
alignment); also at cantonal and local level
Several ' downsizing ' and cost-cutting exercices,
motivated by the right wing politics and persistent budget
deficits; for the fist time, some redundancies are planned
and implemented
Other transformations (new technologies, new political
and administrative authorities…)
2
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
The emergence of a
post-civil service environment
Alignment of civil servants’ legal and managerial
environment with that prevailing in the private sector
(in most countries) (Emery/Giauque, 2005a, Bossaert, 2005,
Surviving in the post-civil service
Demmke, 2005)
Hybridazation of civic and business world (Rondeaux,
2005)
Confusing value framework (Giauque/Caron,
Hammerschmied/Meyer, 2005
Paradoxes and contradictory injunctions (Pollitt/Bouckaert,
2004, Emery/Giauque, 2005b)
The classical weberian caracteristics of the
bureaucracy under great pressure (Emery/Wyser, 2006)
3
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Goals and design of the research project
Explanatory part of a bigger research project focused
on ' new adaptative strategies of civil servants in the
post-civil service '
Surviving in the post-civil service
Analyse the perception civil servants have of the reform,
and their ' coping strategies '
Assess the impact these transformations have on
productivity and quality of services for citizens
Choice of the interviewees :
12 interviews
Call for participants
Qualitative methodology inspired by the ' Grounded Theory
' (Stauss and Corbin, 1997, 1996) and the ' comprehensive
interview ' according to Jean-Claude Kaufmann (2004)
4
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Main results and findings :
a changing work environment
Simultaneous changes
No coordination between all these changes
Surviving in the post-civil service
Direct involvement appeared as non existent
Growing manageralisation within the public sector
Employees agree with the reform’s objectives, but the
change process itself is perceived as poorly managed.
5
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Main results and findings :
perceived positive and negative consequences
Positive consequences
Good intentions which in few cases lead to more
effectiveness and a better image of public service
Negative consequences
Surviving in the post-civil service
Doing more with less
Reinforcement of administrative functions and
bureaucracy
Reinforcement of fragmentation
Autonomy diminished / increased control
Deteriorating relations between colleagues / with
superiors
Impression that decision-makers no longer exist
Perceived job insecurity
6
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Main results and findings :
consequences at individual and organisational levels
Loss of productivity
Commitment, motivation and attachment
Surviving in the post-civil service
deeply impacted :
decline of the commitment, motivation and attachment.
increase of stress and effect on physical health.
Possible drop in the quality of public
services :
Lack of time and means, long waiting times
Contact: does not take the human aspect into account
Fewer possibilities for small initiatives
7
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Main results and findings :
identified coping strategies
Autonomous action and negotiation
Disengagement
Strategy of rejection, criticism
Surviving in the post-civil service
In- and out-groups
' Protective bubble ' to protect oneself from more
demanding, invasive internal atmosphere.
8
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Discussion of the individual strategies
One more time : Hirschmann typology
The problem linked to Exit
The missed opportunity linked to Voice
Surviving in the post-civil service
Loyality towards what ?
Coping strategies
Active coping
Passive coping
A positive Asset : The willingness to ' get the system
moving ', a loyalty towards a vision of public service
A ' swiss ethos at work ' ?
9
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
Conclusion and first hypothesis
H1: The current work environment pushes civil servant
to adopt coping strategies that reinforce ‘bureaucratic
Surviving in the post-civil service
style’ behaviours.
H2: Within Swiss administrations, a positive ethos helps
to overcome the disfonctions of the current reform
process.
10
Prof. Y. Emery, C. Wyser, J. Sanchez, Idheap, Switzerland
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