Presenter: Marvin Darius M. Lagasca

Professor: Jo B. BitonioME 215 Management of Change & Transition

New Public ManagementA management philosophy used by governments since the

1980s to modernize the public sector. New public management is a broad and very complex term used to describe the wave of public sector reforms throughout the world since the 1980s. The main hypothesis in the NPM-reform wave is that more market orientation in the public sector will lead to greater cost-efficiency for governments, without having negative side effects on other objectives and considerations.

NPM: Conceptual BasesStarted by developed countries two decades ago because

of the failure of traditional public administration. (i.e. Weberian types)

The task was to put the public sector more market-oriented and private-sector oriented.

Its focus is shifted from traditional public administration to public management, which puts emphasis on decentralized management within public services, increased use of markets and competitions in the provision of public services and increased emphasis on performance, outputs and customer orientation (Larbi, 1999).

NPM: 8 Character Trends1. Strengthening steering functions of the central

government2. Devolving authority, providing flexibility 3. Ensuring performance, control, accountability4. Improving the management of human resources5. Optimizing information technology6. Developing competition and choice7. Improving the quality of regulation8. Providing responsive service

NPM: Guiding Principlesan emphasis on hands-on professional management skills

for active, visible, discretionary control of organizations (freedom to manage)

explicit standards and measures of performance through clarification of goals, targets and indicators of success

a shift from the use of input controls and bureaucratic procedures to rules relying on output controls measured by quantitative performance indicators

a shift from unified management systems to disaggregation or decentralization of units in the public sector

NPM: Guiding Principlesan introduction of greater competition in the public

sector so as to lower costs and achievement of higher standards through term contracts, etc

a stress on private-sector style management practices, such as the use of short-term labor contracts, the development of corporate plans, performance agreements, and mission statements

a stress on cost-cutting, efficiency, parsimony in resource use and “doing more with less” (Yamamoto, 2003)

To Summarize…The central feature of NPM “is the attempt to introduce

or simulate, within those sections of the public service that are not privatized, the performance incentives and the disciplines that exist in a market environment” (Moore, et al., 1994)

NPM in the Philippines

NPM is not a new concept in the Philippines. Having experienced successive economic and fiscal crises of its own, the Philippines has to continuously look for alternative models of governance. NPM, which emphasizes efficiency and effectiveness at the least cost possible, proved to be an attractive alternative to traditional public administration.

Furthermore, insights from developed market economies, which successfully reformed their bureaucracy using NPM principles inspired Philippine government officials to initiate similar NPM reform efforts in the country.

Factors Contributing to NPM’s Growth in the Philippines :

1. Influence of Technical Consultants

The role of technical consultants in the formulation of

reform interventions led to the introduction of some NPM

concepts in the Philippines. As Greer (1994) puts it, NPM

reforms have been globalized by change agents, which include

large international management consultants, accountancy

firms and international financial institutions.

2. Development in Information Technology

IT has provided necessary tools and structures to make workable managerial reforms in the public sector possible (Greer, 1994 as cited in Labri). Today, many of the NPM inspired reform initiatives in the Philippines are hastened by the presence of IT infrastructures.

3. Mandatory structural adjustment programs of multilateral lending institutions like the World Bank, ADB and the International Monetary Fund.

“Going first to the IMF and then to the World Bank meant accepting stabilization and structural adjustment packages with their accompanying conditionalities in order to obtain credits and debt rescheduling from creditor banks and multilateral institutions. Policy-based lending by multilateral institutions was used as an instrument to encourage crisis states to embark on reforms that were pro-market and pro-private sector.” (Labri)

For example:The privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks

and Sewerage System (MWSS), an NPM inspired reform measure, was tied up to a loan provided by multilateral agencies like the ADB. The same is true for the privatization of the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR).

NPM Projects in the Philippines:

Naga City’s E-Governance Project

This project is considered one of the most successful local government projects in e- governance.

Through the program called i-Governance, Naga City promotes good governance by providing the people with information on city government policies, programs, and operations

Through this network, the Nagueños can access the city’s website at www.naga.gov.ph, get information, and monitor practically all aspects of city operation.

The program also has a TxtNaga component. It is afeedback mechanism that allows mobile phone users tosend inquiries, comments and complaints through textmessaging and get a reply within 24 hours.

It makes the provision of basic services efficient, transparent and accountable. Through the program, Naga was able to process business permits online at half the time; facilitate garbage collection requests, making garbage collection more efficient than ever; and monitor cost standards of road construction, medicine, and supplies.

Outsourcing of the Services Traditionally Provided by LTO (e.g. Application for, and Renewal of, Drivers’ License)

In 1997, the government awarded to a privately owned company, STRADCOM, a long-term build-own-operate (BOO) scheme for the computerization and interconnection of the 247 Land Transportation Office (LTO) offices nationwide. The LTO computerization was one of the first projects in the world to utilize a public-private partnership to improve the delivery of government services through the private sector, which has attracted a lot of attention and interest as a model for other countries to follow.

Among others, LTO outsourced the issuance of drivers’ licenses, including renewal thereof, to STRADCOM. Reports noted that drivers’ licenses can now be issued in these offices in 30 minutes, while a motor vehicle can be registered in less than an hour. Prior to this scheme, it took days, if not weeks, before an applicant could get his license.

Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project (PCCRP)

The PCCRP is a project that promotes competition among local government units. It basically assesses the capacity of a city to provide an environment that nurtures the dynamism of its local enterprises and industries. It examines the general ability of a city to attract investments and entrepreneurs, and to uplift the living standards of its residents. It also provides a benchmarking process that will aid individual cities in measuring

competitiveness.

The PCCRP ranks the competitiveness of various

cities using seven major drivers of competitiveness: cost

of doing business, dynamism of local economy, linkages

and accessibility, human resources and training,

infrastructure, responsiveness of local government to

business needs, and quality of life. Because of this

project, cities can benchmark their performance with

those of other cities. Investors are happy with the results

of the competition borne by this project.

Mamamayan Muna, Hindi Mamaya Na Program

A core principle of NPM is customer-orientation, which involves an increasing emphasis on improving the quality of services, setting standards for quality, and responding to customer’s orientation. While traditional public administration regards citizens as service receivers who are unilaterally given limited choices by government, NPM regards citizens as customers who have multiple choices, similar to the alternatives available in any market.

This project is a nationwide client-satisfaction program that seeks to instill courteous and efficient behavior among public servants, addressing the need for behavioral reforms in the bureaucracy, particularly in the manner by which civil servants deal with the public.

Other projects…Citizens’ CharterReal Property Tax Computerization and Administration (RPTA) Technology: Muntinlupa

City 2002‘One-Stop-Shop’Cabuyao, Laguna 2002

Are there some other initiatives and projects by the government to enhance PA in the Philippines?