Administrative change and the Arab manager
| Published date | 01 October 1990 |
| Date | 01 October 1990 |
| Author | Jamil E. Jreisat |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230100405 |
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT,
Vol.
10.413421 (1990)
Administrative change and the Arab manager
JAMIL E. JREISAT
University
of
South Florida
SUMMARY
The success of developing countries in fostering administrative change has not been commen-
surate with their intensive efforts and investments. Causes and effect of the slow progress
of change elude and even bewilder scholars and practitioners alike. Based on experiences
from the Arab world, this study proposes modifications in organizational processes and
behaviour to balance the traditional, one-directional policies
of
administrative change. When
change originates outside the organization
or
at its very top, and is communicated downwards
by decree
or
edict, three important elements are inevitably absent: employee involvement,
effective incentive systems, and appropriate methods
of
evaluation. Public managers in various
Arab countries express preference for jobs that allow them, as managers, to utilize their
knowledge and skills, and which do not reduce them to mere executioners of higher commands.
Comparing this group with a similar group
of
American managers reveals managerial charac-
teristics of particular pertinence to administrative change.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGE
Virtually all centralized administrative systems, such as those of developing countries,
constantly undergo administrative change (reform or development). Tangible
achievements in this regard, however, are the exception (Jreisat, 1985, p. 1). ‘Despite
substantial investments in staff training’ Esman (1988, p. 130) observes, ‘improve-
ments in the management of public services have fallen short of expectations’. Con-
cerns over administrative change permeate the literature of development
administration and occupy a central theme in its coverage over the past three decades
(Esman, 1988; Heady, 1984; Wiarda, 1983; Riggs, 1964).
Various explanations exist to account for influences on administrative change.
Key factors range from cultural (Hofstede, 1980) to other contextual elements such
as the types
of
political regimes within which the administration functions (Esman,
1966). Proponents of cultural perspectives continue to debate whether we can effec-
tively apply a body of principles and skills
of
administration, detached from surround-
ing cultural values, without regard to spatial and temporal elements. Preoccupation
with the political system and the patterns
of
political action usually reduces adminis-
trative variables to dependent status (with only insignificant latitude of action).
A third orientation of research, influenced by classic economic theories, is gaining
ground in American and non-American managerial theories and processes and may
be briefly stated as follows: not subject to competition, government managers and
employees, possessed of a mandate to perform a service indefinitely, feel no imperative
to eliminate inefficiencies, modernize procedures, or improve services (Benson, 1985).
Professor Jreisat is Professor of Public Administration at the University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
33620,
USA.
027 1-2075/90/0404 I3-09$05.00
0
1990
by John Wiley
&
Sons,
Ltd.
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