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Changing public service bargains for top officials

Changing public service bargains for top officials The Author(s), 2011. Reprints and permissions: http:// www.sagepub.co.uk/ journalsPermissions.nav 0952-0767 201104 26(2) 159–165 Changing public service bargains for top officials Annie Hondeghem Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Top officials in public service have been the subject of many recent publications. Their role and position have been examined closely as well as their relations with politicians (Page and Wright, 2007; Peters and Pierre, 2001). Top civil servants have a crucial role in the management of the civil service and this role and position has been severely challenged as a result of recent administrative reforms. The change of role and position has been encapsulated in some expressions such as ‘make managers’, ‘make managers manage’ and ‘let managers manage’ (Toonen, 2001). The first expression refers to the position of top civil servants. In several countries top civil servants have lost their stable, tenured position and evolved towards a more insecure, performance-related position (Putseys and Hondeghem, 2002). If their performance is insufficient, they can be dismissed. The second expression refers to a new relationship between top civil servants and political leaders, as politicians have sought to establish control over bureaucracy (the administration) and performance contracts are used in order to improve steering and control. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Public Policy and Administration SAGE

Changing public service bargains for top officials

Public Policy and Administration , Volume 26 (2): 7 – Apr 1, 2011

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References (11)

Publisher
SAGE
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2011.
ISSN
0952-0767
eISSN
1749-4192
DOI
10.1177/0952076710387039
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The Author(s), 2011. Reprints and permissions: http:// www.sagepub.co.uk/ journalsPermissions.nav 0952-0767 201104 26(2) 159–165 Changing public service bargains for top officials Annie Hondeghem Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium Top officials in public service have been the subject of many recent publications. Their role and position have been examined closely as well as their relations with politicians (Page and Wright, 2007; Peters and Pierre, 2001). Top civil servants have a crucial role in the management of the civil service and this role and position has been severely challenged as a result of recent administrative reforms. The change of role and position has been encapsulated in some expressions such as ‘make managers’, ‘make managers manage’ and ‘let managers manage’ (Toonen, 2001). The first expression refers to the position of top civil servants. In several countries top civil servants have lost their stable, tenured position and evolved towards a more insecure, performance-related position (Putseys and Hondeghem, 2002). If their performance is insufficient, they can be dismissed. The second expression refers to a new relationship between top civil servants and political leaders, as politicians have sought to establish control over bureaucracy (the administration) and performance contracts are used in order to improve steering and control.

Journal

Public Policy and AdministrationSAGE

Published: Apr 1, 2011

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