Public Sector Governance and System Dynamics

1. Public Sector Governance and System Dynamics in
Ethiopia: The Case of Addis Ababa
By
Nigussie Daba
Dr. Gebre Miruts

2. INTRODUCTION
 Governance as in many literatures is the relationship between
governments and citizens that enable public policies and programs
to be formulated, implemented and evaluated. It also refers to the
rules, institutions and networks that determine how a country or an
organization functions.
 Governance becomes dynamic when previous policy choices can be
adapted to current developments in an uncertain and fast changing
environment so that policies and institutions remain relevant and
effective in achieving the long-term desired outcomes of a society.
 It is more than making a one-time change or recovering from a
setback. It is about on-going sustained change for long-term survival
and prosperity. It is also about public value.

3.  However, governance in the public sector is more complex and
has more layers and points of accountability than in the private
sector.
Source: Gill, 2008

4. Structural Complexity
 Customers Dissatisfaction
 Employee Disappointment
 Wastage of Resource
 Maladministration
 Corruption etc
Civil Service Reform
• Top Management System sub reform
• Human Resource Management sub reform
• Expenditure Management & Control sub reform
• Public Service Delivery sub reform
• Ethics sub reform
System Dynamism
o Fundamental Rethinking
o Radical Redesign
o Business Process
o Dramatic Change
o Strategy, Measurement &
Communication etc
System Transformation
• Good Governance
• Quality Service Provision
• Democratization
• Sustainable development
Public Sector Governance
o Human Resource
o Financial Resource
o Physical Resource
o Technological Resource
o Organizational Structure etc

5. Citizen
Finance
Internal Business Process
Learning and Growth
 With this scenario, the Ethiopian public sector has also undergone a series
of reforms in recent years with the aim of providing the citizens with the
services they require in a rapidly changing world.

6.  This model helps to align strategy and operation, clarify
strategies and targets, balance internal and external, tangible and
intangible, financial and nonfinancial, lead and lag indicators.
 Many scholars (Gebre, 2014, Gebre and Nigussie, 2015, Adebabay, 2011, AH
Consulting, 2010, Paulos and Tilaye, 2007) stated, the ineffectiveness of the
implementation of the reform.
 However, though the public sectors are reengineered to bring a
paradigm shift and the BSC is also in placed, the dynamism of
public sector governance is not addressed.
 Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine specific reform
programs within the Ethiopian civil service in an attempt to
understand the dynamics of reform in Addis Ababa.

7.  The study also tried to answer to the following research questions:
1. How effective is the implementation of civil service reform in
Addis Ababa
2. How does the human resource management look like after the
civil service reform in Addis Ababa?
3. How does the appraisal of employees look like in the public
organizations of the city?
4. What are the major impediments and challenges that affect the
management of human resources after the implementation of the
reform?

8. Survey Statements
Scale
SA A NC D SD
% % % % %
The existence of well known pre-stated standards 18.5 36.9 6 23.3 10.4
Proper consultation on performance appraisal criteria 15.9 27.3 5.1 39.8 11.1
Consensus building on the result given 14.5 26.4 4.8 38.6 11.4
Result based corrective actions 6.8 17 8.2 43.8 18.8
Result based rewarded and motivated 12.5 29.5 5.1 35.2 12.2
Relating individual performance with organizational goals 9.7 26.1 6 40.3 13.1
Accountability of Appraiser and Appraisee 9.1 18.2 4.5 45.7 18.2
1. Performance Appraisal in Addis Ababa
 Performance appraisal is an evaluation of individual’s job performance
based on pre-stated standards and objectives in which, lower achievers
need a corrective action while, the higher achievers will be rewarded.

9. Sex * Effectiveness of BSC based appraisal system Cross-tabulation
Effectiveness of BSC based appraisal system
Very
Low Low Medium Effective
Very
Effective Total
Sex Male Count 14 55 73 22 13 177
% within Sex 7.9% 31.1% 41.2% 12.4% 7.3% 100%
Female Count 10 32 52 24 17 135
% within Sex 7.4% 23.7% 38.5% 17.8% 12.6% 100%
Total Count 24 87 125 46 30 312
% within Sex 7.7% 27.9% 40.1% 14.7% 9.6% 100%
2. The Balanced Scorecard in public sector governance
 The balanced scorecard is a management approach that addresses different
precise issues such as translating strategy into measures that uniquely
communicate vision to the organization members, customers and stakeholders .
 Pearson Chi-Square Value = 5.34 Sig. (P-value) = .254

10.  In the dynamic public sector governance, the appraisal result also
needs to be a true reflection of employee performance.
29%
70%
1%
Yes
No
I Don't Know
 The Addis Ababa civil service bureau in placed the self evaluation, peer
review and supervisor appraisal system. However, 70% of the employees
result is filled by the immediate supervisor only.

11. Very Low
Low
Medium
High
Very High
3. Human Resource Management after Reform
 In a reformed organization HRM will be improved, controlling and checking will
be minimized and employees will be empowered, continuous building of
capacity is practiced, and organizational culture will be positively changed.

12. Conclusion and Recommendations
 Business process reengineering is currently being implemented in
Ethiopian public sectors as one tool and approach of changing the
functional and departmentalized structures in to process-based and
customer-focused organizations.
 BSC is also used as a strategic management system, performance
measurement and strategic communication tool. The public sectors in
Ethiopia are now using the BSC as the central organizational
framework for managerial processes.
 However, in Addis Ababa:
 The HRM is not transformed as excepted
• Poor reward system,
• Poor accountability system and
• Inadequate corrective measures
• Insufficient training and education system

13.  The appraisal result is not a true reflection of employees’ performance
• 70% of the employees’ result is filled by the immediate supervisor
• Inadequate consultation among managers and subordinates
• Poor consensus building between appraiser and appraisee
 The dynamics of HRM within the reengineered public sector in Addis
Ababa is medium. Hence, the HRM is not transformed even after the
execution of the reform programs.
 Therefore, the public sector governance in Addis Ababa is not as
dynamic as excepted in the civil service reform programs.
 Hence, managers and subordinates should have a consultation session on
the standards before evaluation is practiced. Furthermore, reaching on
consensus after evaluation is undertaken need to be a culture of public
organizations.
 The civil servants performance appraisal should adhere to the civil
servants proclamation, principles, indicators and standards of the reform
such as BPR and BSC.