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Better scrutiny leads to reduced corruption and stronger democracies in all society’s institutions, including government, corporations and other organizations. |
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November 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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-------------------------------------End
Editorial From
command and control to self-confidence in government: Meeting challenges Even
while proposing enthusiastically the attractions of the self-confident
organization as the model of the future, the very recent work of
researchers also begins from
an acknowledgement that ‘management by fear is still the norm in most
organizations as it is the easiest and often the most comfortable way to
manage’. In the face of this stubbornly enduring, fear-based
organizational environment, what realistic chance is there for the
sustainable development of the relative newcomer to the scene, the
so-called self-confident organization? Most English language dictionary
definitions of ‘confidence’ include a mention of concepts around
certainty, reliability and trust. For researchers, it is this latter
ingredient, trust that is the key to building the self-confident
organization, which is one that has moved away from repressive
authoritarianism, but stops short of total laissez faire. Structures,
rules and lines of authority continue essentially to exist but are clearly
articulated, reasoned and prioritized, thereby enabling the
organization’s operational experience to be one about which all
participants feel positive. So, self-confident management offers, its
proponents assert, very clear advantages. It is notable, however, that
this 21st century model still retains a central role for the chief
executive officer as the singular arbiter of the core values of the
organization. Few successful organizations have chosen to divide the
leadership role; and they also express concern that the pendulum may swing
too far away from the authoritarian models. Even within the
‘participative employee environment’ of the self-confident
organization, management sets the agenda and ‘employees fully understand
the parameters within which they operate and can trust their employers to
stand by these criteria’. While urging the move away from fear-based
command and control, their self-confident model is no egalitarian utopia. It
is perhaps this element — this continuing echo of earlier management
theories — which gives a clue to the future. What is needed is perhaps
not so much a full transition from command and control to self-confidence,
an abandonment of the one for the other, but rather a synthesis of the
two, with trust as the catalyst. If this proposition is accepted, then the
real challenge for the organizations of today and tomorrow is equipping
their managers and their front-line teams with the right tools for
each task and the cultural environment in which to develop the skills and
the capabilities appropriate to the challenges but without the fear
associated with past cultures. Rather than Handy’s lone, isolated chief
executive who, trusting no one, does indeed become arbitrary and
authoritarian, we should be seeking to establish coalitions, where the
existence of trust and self-confidence in the teams allows for the
emergence of a single decision-maker when it is appropriate. It
can be argued that, here too, there developed tensions between the
authoritarian approach of the centre and the perceived laissez faire
approach at the local level — between central and local direction, on
the one hand, and democratic participation at the community level, on the
other. And, as with the private sector studies,
the debate continues within the literature on government. It seems now
that in recent years the notion of governance, as outlined earlier, may
have begun to lose its prominence and, whilst it remains relevant when
considered in the context of local problem-solving, it is beginning to be
challenged by a resurgence of support for the importance of national
government. Although the fragmentation of public administration may be
seen as a response to the more de humanizing aspects of globalization,
paradoxically the apparent rise of public support for the more centralized
national government also comes from the excesses and tragedies of
globalization. Whether
coming from central governments, funding institutions or from the
communities themselves, the demand for greater participation by local
people has become identified as the key to the future of local democracies
across the world. If governments, whether local or central, are to
continue their hold upon the moral high ground of democratic legitimacy,
they must surely seek to adapt to these aspects of change management with
more success than observers have so far claimed for their commercial
counterparts. It has been argued previously that what may be needed is not
so much a total abandonment of command and control in favour of
self-confident management but rather a development of self-confidence,
based fundamentally upon levels of trust that allow the selection of the
appropriate management techniques for each organizational challenge. The
consequent changes of political and professional leadership had brought
people into positions of power who were eager to introduce new ideas and
attitudes. Corporately, the Council had suffered severely in terms of a
loss of self-confidence and of public trust and was in no position to
resist widespread demands for change. There
is far greater clarity and consistency in the messages that we send to
others and a demonstrable willingness to listen to, and act upon, those
that we receive in return. In consultation with others, city Council has
established clear organizational values and goals — its vision of the
City’s future is expressed in terms of
improving the quality of life for its residents. In
summary, our first key learning points have been as follows.
Related Article From
command and control to self-confidence in government: Meeting challenges Reference Batty C., Hilton J. (2003). From Command and Control to Self-Confidence in Government: Meeting the Challenge in Doncaster. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 69(2), 161-172
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