Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Publication
    The study of public management in Switzerland : Wirkungsorientierte Verwaltungsführung
    (Routledge, 2008) ;
    Kickert, Walter
    Like in the neighbouring countries France and Germany, public administration is a topic that has been a debating point time and again in Switzerland. The literature on the topics of administration is wide-ranging and diverse but has only been moulded by a systematic conception of public management since the 1980s. An international dialogue which does not only make use of international sources but also provides the international scientific community with genuine research con-tributions has only been taking place for just under 20 years. Consequently, Switzerland will not be found as a research place for public management on any international map although its finely faceted structures and the pragmatic make-up of its public administration should render it particularly receptive to the study of public management. Much of what has been happening in Switzerland is comparable with processes in France and Germany since their political systems are built on the same traditions and principles (Proeller and Schedler 2005). Like them, Switzerland is a constitutional state with its own public law, and like in Germany and France, the legacy of Napoleon still has a lasting effect. Nonetheless, Swiss pub-lic administration differs substantially from its German and French counterparts: officials have no longer been employed for life since the 19th century, and in the wake of NPM, even the limited terms of office for officials were abolished in German-speaking Switzerland. Following the tradition of popular government, civil servants are largely treated like "normal" employees in Switzerland, with comparable terms and conditions of employment. This, too, has historical roots: on Swiss territory, clergymen were regarded as perfectly normal citizens without any formal privileges as early as the 13th century. Switzerland's direct democracy is unique in Europe and results in a slow development of new policies in this country since every change must be socially balanced and simple to communicate. This precludes an elite "classe politique" in Switzerland as much as it does Germany's "permanent civil service" or France's "grand corps". The Swiss aversion to a concentration of power, combined with thinking in terms of small areas, results in a distinctive civic mentality - also in public administration. The remuneration of Swiss civil servants is therefore fairly moderate as they are governed by formal rules, and performance bonuses are on the modest side. Even decoration with orders is prohibited in Switzerland - a cost-effective possibility of recognition of which neighbouring countries make frequent use. The practice of public management, which also has a substantial influence on the study of public management in Switzerland, is characterised by the permeability of the systems. Public adver-tisements for vacancies in public administration lead to a relatively large number of applicants from the private sector. It is this permeability and the wide-ranging possibilities of participation which other countries could learn from Switzerland. Since this climate prevented the formation of an elite caste of administration officials who run the risk of finally seeing no one but themselves, Switzerland's position on the continuum between homo �conomicus (agency theory) and homo socialis (stewardship theory) is likely to be closer to the latter. This is, NPM in Switzerland is less focused on individuals that maximise their economic benefit in rational decisions, than to expect civil servants to be intrinsically motivated and to be responsible citizens with a social focus. In NPM, too, the relationship between politics and administration is characterised much less by ac-countability than by responsibility. Government officials are expected to be responsible citizens and to bear in mind the welfare of the whole community when they fulfil their tasks. This reform agenda that has evolved in Switzerland (Schedler and Proeller 2002) and which differs from that of the Anglo-American model countries (based on a concept of man that is closer to the homo oeconomicus), may well be a reason for the fact that NPM is still being actively implemented and developed today, in 2006. Another decisive factor in the success of NPM in German-speaking Switzerland may well reside in the fact that the public administration's closeness to the people and its pragmatism has always resulted in economic modesty. In this context, government resources have to be treated with particular care. New Public Management, which has created so much buoyancy for the study of public management in Switzerland, is therefore not just in tune with the zeitgeist. Rather, it is also in keeping with the culture of German-speaking Switzerland and its leading public administrators.
  • Publication
    Forschungsannäherung an die managerialistische Verwaltung
    (DHV, 2007) ;
    König, Klaus
    ;
    Reichard, Christoph
  • Publication
    Public Management und Public Governance
    (VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2007) ;
    Benz, Arthur
    ;
    Lütz, Susanne
    ;
    Schimank, Uwe
    ;
    Simonis, Georg
  • Publication
    Type:
    Journal:
    Volume:
    Issue: