National University of Political Studies and Public AdministrationMaster Public Sector ManagementQuality Management in Public Sector

Quality Strategic ApproachRe-vitalizing the portfolio of the County Agency for Employment- Buzau

Professor:Student:

Bucharest2015

Table of contents

Introduction..3I. The concept of quality...4II. From Quality to Total Quality Management...5III. Re-vitalizing the portfolio......61. The County Agency for Employment-Buzau.72. The focus on public interest83. The invention of new public services..9A. Development of the organizational competences.....9B. Building alliances/partnerships..104. Redefining public services through technology11Conclusions12Bibliography..13

Introduction

The society is changing constantly, as people evolve, so their needs and desires. The state must find ways to fulfill their duties towards citizens and their everyday life easier. In a democratic public administration, public services are focused on the public interest, on how they are delivered and on the accuracy of the information held. Public services have as one of the goals the citizen satisfaction, because it exists thanks to it, in order to meet their needs. Citizen satisfaction experienced a long evolution, leading to the conclusion that certain reforms are needed to improve public services, being inspired also by the marketing researches. A citizen, in the posture of a customer is satisfied when he receives quality services that meet the expectations and that sometimes exceed their aspirations. There are many deficiencies in public administration in Romania, problems that began to be addressed properly in other EU countries, a model worthy of consideration. Some of these issues are for example the lack of communication between citizens and public officials, the attitude of superiority or impatience with which the public servant treats customers, a crowded system of laws and procedures, misleading both public officials and citizens, which also deliver late the service. Misinformation and lack of a database, that could give access to all citizen information, regarding taxes and fees and respecting of course the privacy rules and regulations, make the citizen to walk numerous times to the counter, to waste his time and money, which produces displeasure eventually. As a solution to these problems arose quality management, which tried to find solutions that would please everyone. A quality public service maintains harmony during the work of public servants aims the citizen satisfaction and therefore obtains a collective satisfaction and gratitude of the citizens who pay their taxes in time, citizens who hope that the state will help them back with any eventual problem. Numerous specialty papers have been written on this subject, and I think that in time and by involving all actors, all these issues will be eliminated, obtaining an efficient public administration, transparent, which will provide qualitative public services.

I. The concept of qualityThe success of an organization, whether public or private, it depends on the trust of the service`s clients or users. Although, traditionally, public option gives certainty to obtain a product or service at a lower cost, quality must not be neglected. This is because the duality public/private is felt in some institutions like transport, health or education, resulting in a shift towards more personalized service or satisfactory from a qualitative point of view, even If they pay more for their product. The goal of quality is perfectly compatible with the basic principle of public service that wants to find the most suitable answers to the needs of the citizens. In addition, quality builds confidence in the service and in its providers.In order to understand what the quality management does, what are its attributes and what are its goals, we need to know some of its definitions[footnoteRef:2]. [2: Lucica Matei, Corina-Georgiana Lazar, Quality management and the reform of public administration in some of the states from Southeast Europe, Comparative Analysis, Theoretical and practical economy, Volume XVIII (2011), No. 4(557), p. 68]

Improvement of the manner of governing-constitutional architecture and the structure of government and society-and the efficiency of public action (Bovaird, Lffler, 2002, Bovaird, Lffler, Parrado-Dez, 2002, Daemon, Schaap, 2000, PUMA, 2002); Quality can be defined by opportunity of adequate character.(OCDE, 2001);

Ensemble of standards and characteristics of a product, in relation to its capacity to satisfy the needs that are known or assumed. (Norma ISO 9004-2);

Quality is the level at which a set of intrinsic characteristics satisfies the requirements; it can be at different levels, respectively: unsatisfactory or poor; satisfactory or good and excellent. (ISO 9000: 2000 Standard. Quality management systems. Fundamental principles and vocabulary).In my opinion, quality is defined as the ability to use appropriate resources with proper value of money, and of course the customer`s satisfaction. The customer is in the center of the quality approach, and everything reports to him. We mustn`t forget that quality is subjective and continuously changing.

II. From Quality to Total Quality ManagementLater things have moved to a new concept, the current one nowadays: Total Quality Management. To define total quality management, we must first point out what is total quality. This concept was first used by Armand Feigenbaum, who defined in 1956, in Harvard Business magazine, the total quality as: The basic principle of total quality, which reflects the fundamental difference from other concepts, consists in the fact that, to get a proper efficiency, keeping under control the quality should start with identifying the quality demands of consumers and stop only after the product reached the consumer, and this is satisfied.[footnoteRef:3] [3: George Moldoveanu, Quality Management in the public sector, academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, 2010, p.6]

Total Quality Management (TQM) was initially used in the private sector, to achieve full monitoring and estimation of all relevant activities of an organization, in order to achieve excellent results in business. After that it was adopted in the public sector, in order to build an efficient public administration, transparent and citizen-oriented. At first, by quality in public administration it was associated with the respecting of the rules and procedures, in time obtaining different definitions that complete each other in a way or another. In this order of ideas, Total Quality Management is a managerial approach that focuses on involving all members of the organization, internal and external. It focuses on quality of the taxes paid by the citizens and on the way that budgetary revenues are used in the interest of citizens[footnoteRef:4]. It also focuses on environmental protection. TQM focuses on satisfying the components of total quality: society, civil servants, and users. It involves the technical aspects, like the marketing compartment, production, service and human resources, with the purpose to improve these services and to obtain the customer`s satisfaction. [footnoteRef:5] [4: S. Gresoi, Considerations regarding quality and quality management, last accessed at 21 January, 2015 http://www.artifex.org.ro/departamente/biblioteca/Editura%20pt%20site%20artifex/sorin%20gresoi/managementul%20calitatii.pdf] [5: Luminita-Gabriela, Popescu, The Strategic Approach of Total Quality and Their Effects on the Public Organization, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania]

Citizen satisfaction is a very important aspect because, in my opinion, is the liaison that keeps together the functioning of these public services. The term "satisfaction" is defined as "feeling of contentment, pleasure" or "act by which someone get or give someone what it claims, wishes or his due. In literature there are different definitions of satisfaction. Some authors believe that satisfaction is a cognitive outcome of the comparison between is and must. Others authors define satisfaction as a general attitude, based on a comparison of cognitive and affective component[footnoteRef:6] [6: P. Datculescu (2006), Marketing research, Brandbuilders Group, Bucharest, 2006, p.16]

In order to obtain Total Quality Management, several principles must be respected: 1. Participation of all civil servants (all civil servants must accept to change); 2. Orientation towards the citizen; 3. Focus on actions; 4. Planning continuous improvement; 5. A new style of public management.[footnoteRef:7] By respecting these principles a new way of doing things will arise, and the organizations would have to change and adopt different ways of providing services. Intrisinc aspects should be taking into consideration, but the extrinsic ones, like the design of the building, the technology, are also very important. There are several dimensions for quality strategic approaches, that would be difficult to apply but not impossible. Each dimension has its role and combined it would make a strong public service, efficient and appreciate. These dimensions are: re-defining the potential of the organization, re-structuring the organization, re-vitalizing the portfolio of the organization and re-projecting of the evaluation system.[footnoteRef:8] [7: Luminita-Gabriela, Popescu, Quality Management in Public Sector, Faculty of Public Administration, Bucharest, 2013pp.36-39] [8: Luminita-Gabriela, Popescu, op.cit., p.51]

All these dimensions regard aspects like changing public servant`s mentality, making them to understand that they need to change their attitude; reorganizing the institutions, to collaborate better; measuring the citizen satisfaction, asking them for feedback, improving the buildings design and improving the delivering of the specific services. All this is necessary because in a democratic state, the government is always in a close relationship with its citizens, the relationship being of coordination, cooperation, and not only of subordination.

III. Re-vitalizing the portfolio of the organizationThe current status of the institutions in our country totally denies evolution and the processes that should be adapted to this economical and social context. Throughout this paper I mentioned the problems and disadvantages of public sector`s way of delivering its services. Factors such as customer satisfaction, speed of delivery of the public services, communication between citizens and civil servants, bureaucracy and the lack of technology in most of the institutions are important factors that must be changed or upgraded. The public institutions must learn to apply these strategies, which will have many positive aspects and will influence the functioning of the state. As institution I chose the County Agency for Employment of Buzau County, because in the current situation citizens from our country are dissatisfied by the lack of jobs. The misinformation of unemployment blocks the efficiency of the tasks of this institution. 1. The County Agency for Employment-BuzauThe County Agency for Employment Buzau is a public institution according to the Law no. 202 of May, 22/2006, amended by Government Emergency Ordinance no. 84 of November 1/2006. This institution has as main objectives the institutionalization of social dialogue in the field of employment and training, the implementation of strategies in the field of employment and training and the application of social measures of the persons that are unemployed. In order to accomplish these objectives the institution has as main activities[footnoteRef:9]: [9: The County Agency of Employment-Buzau, official website, http://www.ajofmbuzau.ro/despre.php, last accessed at 19 January, 2015]

Supplies and finances, under the law, training services, consistent with employment policy and labor market trends work in order to facilitate the employment; Orients the unemployed and mediate between them and employers, in order to achieve balance between supply and demand of labor; Elaborates studies and analyzes in the field of employment and training, which will be used by the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity to develop strategies in this area; Supports both businesses and their employees in case of collective dismissals.The activities of this public institution are necessary for the labor market and for the citizens, but there are several negative aspects that will be presented next. These negative aspects could be eliminated or improved by adopting a managerial strategy, and that is by re-vitalizing the portfolio.

2. The focus on public interestThe County Agency for Employment in Buzau has as main customers the unemployed citizens. The objectives and the activities they perform daily, it should focus on public interest, that being the finding a job for each person. The interest consists in searching and offering jobs that suit properly to each customer, in order to maintain a job for a long period of time. As a bonus, the citizen will contribute to the taxes and fees, because he will have money. The public interest is satisfied only if customers are satisfied, by the public service purchased and the way it is delivered. Communication is very important, and the way that a public servant treats its customer, because the citizen`s behavior would also be influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Secondly, there are several projects that took place few years ago, focusing on the integration of the unemployed, but some of them still remained without a job. The solution consists in practical courses, because in this way the citizen can learn easier. Moreover, the courses for a professional competence are not always interactive, so the provider should implicate more. Thirdly, there are a lot of unemployed citizens in the rural areas, and the reality is that they are not aware of the importance of the courses offered by this institution. Also, they need to be educate in this respect. Everybody needs the same chance, regarding their social status or their educational background. Another issue that this institution doesn`t treat that well is the digital illiterates, a concept well known but still untreated. The idea is that half of this population, or more, still doesn`t know how to work on a computer, and in a growing IT market there is a bigger and bigger request. Focusing on public interest should bring only positive results on this institution, because if the needs and the request of customers/citizens are satisfied, it should work properly and efficient, and also it would develop in a qualitative public service. The factors that express the public interest are bearers of some messages whose significance can be revealed only through direct involvement and attendance of the actors of the metaorganization,[footnoteRef:10]which implies the involvement of the public servants regarding their tangents with the customers/citizens. [10: Luminita-Gabriela, Popescu, op.cit., p. 62]

3. The invention of new public servicesA. Development of the organizational competencesIn a qualitative public service, basic competences are represented by those abilities, capacities and technologies that define the specificity of the organization. Their identification, development and combination creates new opportunities of satisfying the public interest/[footnoteRef:11] in this order of ideas, there are several competences that influence the well functioning of an organization, that should be present in the institution I`ve chosen too. In this institution public servants should be motivated to work efficiently, and should be encouraged to express their opinion regarding to any aspect present at their job. There is a cycle of competences, and if is not respected then the public servants would not be efficient. [11: Ibidem, p. 63]

We mustn`t forget that in order to have an active delivery of services, and also a professional one, the human resources have a big influence on it. This is what I meant by the picture below, because when people, the employees know how to do their job, everything works faster and without errors. The errors that appear in a system like this can ruin it, the system will fail and the economical resources would have to be spent on repairing the errors. Employees that are well trained can avoid these circumstances, and in this manner the dissatisfaction of customers would be avoid too. The credibility of the public service would be protected and it would continue without any interruption. Figure no.1. Competences and abilities hat should be present in a public institution

We saw that The County Agency for Employment Buzau has as activities the reintegration of the unemployed in the labor market. My idea is that the employees should be well formed and that they should be trained in the psychological field, in order to recognize a person that can`t keep a job and to help her to integrate. This interaction between the citizens and the public servants is very important, because when people search for this institution they look for help and advices, and when they are treated badly, things could get worse. The County Agency for Employment Buzau has to learn how to motivate its employees, and how to make them recognize that full involvement is necessary for the evolution of the institution. This is the right way to ensure an overall increasing and a rapidly evolving, flexibility and adaptability. The strategic management must conduct a proactive strategy, where every individual should be used by his qualities and competences.

B. Building alliances/partnershipsWe all know that when forces are united, strength increases. Every institution should have partners from the same field, because there are a lot of positive aspects. Even though the County Agency for Employment Buzau had and is still having European Projects in demarche, this is not sufficient. Firstly, this institution should find partners that would share the same interest, that being finding jobs for unemployment and offering them qualifying courses. I found two NGO`s that should get involved with this institution. The first NGO is the Sigma Development Center Association, an NGO with many years of experience, which collaborated with European entities. This NGO also worked with companies specialized manpower in country and abroad, by its programmed called Young people without labels (Tineri fara etichete). It is focused on the unemployed young people from Romania, which can`t find a suited job or who desire to work abroad but they don`t have the possibility of going on their own. A second NGO could be the National Association of Recruiters, which also collaborates with a large number of companies that are looking for employees. Even though citizen don`t really trust this king of non-governmental associations, studies show that the trust in government is also law and sometimes nonexistent. In a practical way, the institution I chose must take the initiative and make contact with these associations, because there are several positive aspects if they will collaborate: The manpower, and the competences of each institution and organization would be combined in a homogenous way; The public institution presented above could innovate its services and be inspired by the Non-governmental organizations; The cost would be reduced and the alliances would get known faster by the citizens interested; The County Agency for Employment Buzau will learn how to collaborate and extend it to other public institutions, and also the public servants will learn how to interact sometimes in a non-conformist way with its citizens, and also how to get closer.

4. Redefining public services through technologyTechnology has always been a discussed topic in every field, because as how we all know nowadays we became depended of it, thanks to the numerous advantages of using it. We pay our bills on Internet, we make our homework and we collaborate with our professors, we buy tickets in order to get transport and the list can go on forever. People got used to this kind of comfortable activities, and when they have to go to a counter and then to another counter to get a document or to obtain an authorization, they are angry, dissatisfied and sometimes they act in a violent way. Public sectors must find a way to eliminate this negative factors, to evaluate and to modernize its services. The County Agency for Employment Buzau has its official website, providing information to its customers, but the website must change its design and this information should be sensitized with a clear formulation. For instance, there is present a list of documents that unemployed citizens need, but they are made like this: List of documents required for the article 74. Customers are put in a confused situation, they don`t understand what they need and where they have to go. Secondly, there should be a public servant that would respond promptly to the emails. It is well known that if you send a message to a public institution they will answer back at least in two days, and thats why citizen don`t send e-mails. They prefer to call, and the Communication Service gets very busy with the calls, not being able of doing anything else, their work being delayed. Except for the user-friendly interface, and the communication through e-mails, this institution should offer available links to relevant institutions that activate in the same domain, and where citizens can get their issues solved. The possibility of downloading the documents should exists, and citizens might avoid the clutter of the counter; even they will support financial costs for a service that should be free, customers must accept the situation until a clearer solution is found. Because there are unemployed citizens, the institution should pay for the photocopied documents.Redefining the public service of this institution through technology is an imperative measure that should increase the accessibility of these services, make it possible to apply online and reduce the traffic to the counter, obtaining the citizen`s satisfaction and a qualitative public service.

Conclusions The progress of society in general and public administration in particular, has led to highlighting a new trend in terms of providing public services. In present there is no longer sufficient just to provide these public services, but also it is also needed to focus on how they are provided. Thus, it aspires to increase the quality of public services, and the degree of efficiency and effectiveness, aiming to achieve a balance between the need of citizens and possibilities that government has to accomplish them. Continuous improvement of public services and how they are provided is necessary, in order to ensure social and economic progress as one of the issues inherent in the rule of law. The County Agency for Employment Buzau has to find measures to improve its public services, through strategically managerial approaches, involving all the actors and continuously improving, because redefining the portfolio is not an impossible strategy. It takes time, optimism and obstinacy, to get this institution to really communicate with the citizens in need, to react to their desires and needs and also to collaborate with them in an efficient way.

Bibliography1. Datculescu, Petre, (2006), Marketing research, Brandbuilders Group, Bucharest, 20062. Matei, Lucica, Lazar, Corina-Georgiana, Quality management and the reform of public administration in some of Southeast Europe countries, Comparative Analysis, Theoretical and practical economy, Volume XVIII (2011), No. 4(557)3. Moldoveanu, George, Quality Management in the public sector, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, 20104. Popescu, Luminita-Gabriela, Strategic Approach of Total Quality and Their Effects on the Public Organization, National School of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania5. Popescu, Luminita-Gabriela, Quality Management in Public Sector, Faculty of Public Administration, Bucharest, 20136. S. Gresoi, Considerations regarding quality and quality management, last accessed at 21 January, 2015,http://www.artifex.org.ro/departamente/biblioteca/Editura%20pt%20site%20artifex/sorin%20gresoi/managementul%20calitatii.pdf7. The County Agency of Employment-Buzau, official website, http://www.ajofmbuzau.ro/despre.php, last accessed at 19 January, 2015

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