The urban governance in Malaysia is currently undergoing a period of change. These changes are necessary in response to the changing national environment. The urban continues to be the engine of growth. The role of the local government will continue to be the pacesetter and facilitator in order to establish a competitive, dynamic and resilient economy. What are the objectives of urban governance reforms in Malaysia? Firstly, we want to create a local government which is efficient, effective, dynamic, and innovative; secondly, we need to have a local government which is highly disciplined with the highest standards of integrity, and thirdly, we require a local government which is action-oriented, people-oriented, and customer focussed. In undertaking some of the administrative changes, we are mindful of the opinion or suggestion that the local government should become more like business.
There are similiarities between business and public administration, namely that officials or managers in both sectors are involved in organizational design, allocation of scarce resources, and the management of people. But the context of public administration significantly alters the work itself, and so there are differences between the two. Three differences are most apparent. The first difference between public administration and business lies in the purposes to be served. In most business, even those with service objectives - the bottomline - profit -is the basic measure for evaluating how good a job the organization is doing. In turn, the performance of individual managers, can, in many cases, be directly measured in terms of their units' contribution to the overall profit of the company What does "quality" mean with respect to the environment?
A second difference between work in public governance and corporate governance is the fact that in business, decisions can be quickly made from an individual or a small group, whereas in a public organization, inputs are required from many diversive groups and organizations. We call this the pluralistic nature of government decision-making. Thirdly, managers in public organizations seem to operate with much greater visibility than their counterparts in industry - we are subject to constant scrutiny by the press and the public. With this background, we have introduced changes in the local government which incorporate some of the principles of management in the business sector. However some of the structural changes, and the value-changes introduced are peculiar to the civil service. The Malaysian local government has embarked on a journey towards developing a quality culture. The ultimate objective is the evolution of a mindset premised on quality values that would permeate the entire public sector. They are to be market-driven and to institutionalise a distinct customer-orientation in the delivery of services. Service recovery based on customer feedback would also become an integral part of managing the performance of public sector agencies. The Malaysia Incorporated concept has been the impetus for greater and intense public-private sector collaboration in national development. The imperative has been to build a meaningful working relation-ship in order to forge ahead in an increasingly competitive global market place. Rules, regulations, procedures have been constantly reviewed to expedite work processes, and importantly, decision-making.
There are similiarities between business and public administration, namely that officials or managers in both sectors are involved in organizational design, allocation of scarce resources, and the management of people. But the context of public administration significantly alters the work itself, and so there are differences between the two. Three differences are most apparent. The first difference between public administration and business lies in the purposes to be served. In most business, even those with service objectives - the bottomline - profit -is the basic measure for evaluating how good a job the organization is doing. In turn, the performance of individual managers, can, in many cases, be directly measured in terms of their units' contribution to the overall profit of the company What does "quality" mean with respect to the environment?
A second difference between work in public governance and corporate governance is the fact that in business, decisions can be quickly made from an individual or a small group, whereas in a public organization, inputs are required from many diversive groups and organizations. We call this the pluralistic nature of government decision-making. Thirdly, managers in public organizations seem to operate with much greater visibility than their counterparts in industry - we are subject to constant scrutiny by the press and the public. With this background, we have introduced changes in the local government which incorporate some of the principles of management in the business sector. However some of the structural changes, and the value-changes introduced are peculiar to the civil service. The Malaysian local government has embarked on a journey towards developing a quality culture. The ultimate objective is the evolution of a mindset premised on quality values that would permeate the entire public sector. They are to be market-driven and to institutionalise a distinct customer-orientation in the delivery of services. Service recovery based on customer feedback would also become an integral part of managing the performance of public sector agencies. The Malaysia Incorporated concept has been the impetus for greater and intense public-private sector collaboration in national development. The imperative has been to build a meaningful working relation-ship in order to forge ahead in an increasingly competitive global market place. Rules, regulations, procedures have been constantly reviewed to expedite work processes, and importantly, decision-making.
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