Change in the Public Sector of Developing Countries - Admission/Application Essay Example

Change in the Public Sector of Developing Countries Introduction With the limitation of a few resources on the horizon combined with the requirement of having to achieve every goal with these limited resources at every level of organization, there has been a general acknowledgement to the fact that it is not time to move towards a new paradigm that would allow the government to reinvent itself in the quest to find itself a completely new way of organization, management and operation. Thus, there has been a general shift in the mindset of institutions that constitute the Saudi public establishment from the mere provision of public services to providing them with better quality and efficiency that would help make the end result more effective (Salem AI-Qahtani, 1997). Thus, there is a general momentum towards utilizing the available resources with more efficiency. With the availability of renewed and improved services to most people, the concern has then shifted towards examining and monitoring the quality and the performance levels of these services, which has been possible through the use of performance improvement measures, which have been introduced as part of management models that aim to use these limited resources in the best possible way. Moreover, the popular performance of the government in the wake of these public concerns, have further generated more pressure and competition, thus prompting the public sector agencies to rethink their approach. Key Questions The primary purpose of the proposed research study is to evaluate the organizational culture and behavior and thereby understand the manner in which they have been applied and developed by the public sector organizations operating in Saudi Arabia. By doing so, the research will also help analyze the notion of total quality management (TQM) as it is being perceived by these organizations belonging to the Saudi public sector (Babbie, 2001). To help achieve this, the study will study the improvement in quality and service and compare this against the earlier practices that were in place within these same environments. such an approach will this help understand the organizational drivers that have undergone a transformation thus prompting the related productivity programs in related areas. Upon having studied the various approaches undertaken to initiating change in the organization and culture in the Saudi public sector, the study will also work towards identifying some of the problems that still exist in the quest that are still hampering the achievement of the desired change in the organizations. This will help recommend a series of suitable measures and alternatives to existing work processes that will help these organizations use their resources in a much better fashion. Literature Review The primary purpose of the research was to understand the notion of organizational behavior and change and the efficiency and quality with which it was being implemented in the Saudi public sector. It is also aimed at understanding the wider concept of Total Quality Management (TQM), and the efficiency with which it was being followed in the pursuit of implementing the required organizational change (Carman, 2003). In order to understand the quality concern of organizational change in the Saudi public sector, the research will work towards studying the quality of services before and after the implementation of the identified organizational changes and processes. This will also help in understanding the effect that some of the productivity initiatives have had on the overall TQM (Carlisle, 2004). As has been mentioned before, the study will then work towards underlining some of the solutions that can be worked towards problems that still exist in an effort to redefine all such affected processes thereby working towards removing all obstacles that prevent the application of the concept in the Saudi public sector. Total Quality is seen as one of the most innovative ways which will help search new ways of improvement and its approaches have worked for the private sector, especially where the concern is more concentrated on reducing the overall expenses of operations as well as improving the effectiveness of operations by reducing all forms of wastes. Public sector organizations, especially in the developing world should start adopting organizational changes, by recognizing the nature of their inherent cultures and making changes that will help improve their internal and external workflows (Gabor, 2006). The benefits of TQM in the quest towards this goal are promising. As the name suggests, continued improvements that pave the way in the long term, renewed customer satisfaction, as well as the complete involvement of the work force in the suggested changes are some of the basic requirement that TQM is based on. In fact, the recommendations under organizational change were adopted initially in the private sector, but have since then been constantly followed by the public sector as private companies worked their way towards improving their prospects by sticking hard to the barriers set forth by TQM. Since then, public sector companies have been in the quest to implementing and spreading the notion of organizational change in their work environments (Juran, 1999). Further, there is an increasing urge to implement change in public sector organizations, wherever the importance and value of such approaches have been recognized. The effective implementation of organizational change can improve effectiveness and performance, enhance productivity, and reduce errors and cost of operation, in addition to ensuring the sustainability of organization in the long term. It is also well know that public sector companies have made tall promises in the past of shedding their lethargic images and work towards working in an enhanced and sustained manner (Ritter, 1998). however, such a vision has been implemented only by a minority of them who have been really serious towards reducing waste and minimizing costs. It is also necessary for modern organizations to improve quality by cutting across red tapes, enhance the morale of the employee and instill the sense of responsibility in them. It is also necessary to enhance their participation in the development process by taking suitable measures to rescue absenteeism, reworking the mechanisms that determine their individual performance and efficiencies as well as enhance the sensitivity towards the customer (Rosander, 2003). This will also help in making major inroads towards earning increased revenues and achieve major savings on an annual basis. It is also worth noting at this juncture that have made attempts towards implementing organizational changes, but have failed to achieve the intended results as a result of numerous obstacles and also due to programs that could not achieve the required effectiveness. In the case of organizations that had implemented changes along the lines of TQM for the first time, there have also been lack of strong and strategic planning, absence of quality leadership as well as deficiencies in the management of human resources (Scott, 2005). all this combined with the incapability in managing the change and quality process have degraded the already damaged reputation with the customer and citizens. Lack of empowerment for the employees and commitment from the too management of the company have been some of the additional barriers that have hampered the implementation of change in public sector organizations. Public sector companies are also notorious for changing the leadership in a frequent manner, ambiguities in training employees, poor performance at the individual level as well as lack of understanding of serving different customers with related requirements (Simon, 2004). The management of financial systems has also been anything but efficient, thereby necessitating the need for a considerable amount of time in implementing any credible initiative for achieving change and total quality. Despite the problems specified above, the contribution and the promise that organizational change and TQM continue to provide for the public sector, call for the need to undertake an extensive research that will help pave the way for related recommendations to be implemented in the public sector. These measures, apart from providing development across all areas, will also work towards avoiding potential pitfalls, as the rennet attempt by Saudi public sector indicates. Research Methodology As the proposed research study is completely analytical in nature, the concept of organizational change and Total Quality Management shall be reviewed from the perspective of public sector organizations in Saudi Arabia, whereby the plan developed for the implementation of related policies and procedures will be identified, studied and analyzed by way of sampling through snowballing, a method that is used when the members of the target group cannot be located through random sampling (Taguchi, 2007). This sampling allows the study to develop an increasing set of observations, wherein a participant in a particular event is asked to recommend other colleagues for interviewing. In such cases, the interviews are also used to solicit data from people involved in the management of various departments, which would help study their experiences as well as work towards providing an even closer overview of the organizations. These can then be used to create a metaplan, which would help in designing constructive forms of group interviews in addition to helping enquire employees towards identifying and analyzing factors that aid or hinder the adaptation of Total Quality Management in the Saudi public sector. In the point of view of some of these individuals, their opinion could also impact other organizations that may not fall under the purview of these changes (Walker, 2001). Conclusion Two of the main instruments that will be employed as part of this study is to conduct interviews for managers who perform in supervisory roles in addition to using the above mentioned metaplan to facilitate group discussions amongst employees who re directly influenced by the implementation of TQM. The metaplan has been designed in a way that would not tend to exert any pressure or influence on the members who participate in the study, thus relieving them from disclosing any specific opinions or experiences. This plan will also help in ensuring that the employees share their opinions in an anonymous fashion so as to enable the prevention of any friction in their workplace. References Salem AI-Qahtani (1997), Possibility of TQM Application in the Saudi Public Sector, Public Administration. Babbie (2001), The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. Carlisle (2004), Customer Service Team as an Intervention Strategy in Public Sector. AOP Spring Conference, 2004. Carman (2003), Continuous Quality Improvement as a Survival Strategy: The Southern Pacific Experience. California Management Review. Gabor (2006), Yes, It Can Be Done; Ten Steps to Measuring and Improving Quality and Productivity in the Public and Service Sectors. AOP Spring Conference. Juran (1999), Juran on leadership for Quality. New York: The Free Press. Ritter (1998), Let's Elevate Quality on Our National Agenda, New York: National Productivity Review. Rosander (2003), The Quest For Quality in Services. Milwaukee: ASOC Quality Press. Scott (2005), TQM Expected to Boost Productivity, Ensure Survival of U.S. Industry. Aviation Week and Space Technology. Simon (2004), Basic Research Method in Social Science. New York: Random House. Taguchi (2007), Introduction to Quality Engineering. Michigan: American Supplier Institute. Walker (2001), Creating Total Quality Improvement That Lasts. National Productivity Review. Read More