Explaining Hybridity in Public Administration: An Empirical Case of Bhutan's Civil Service

Abstract

SUMMARYPublic administrations are mostly hybrid in nature with a combination of characteristics of different paradigms and models. In the first part of the paper, I use the notion of paradigms to explain a form of hybridity in public administration. The concept of paradigms in public administration is helpful in identifying a typology of the ideal types and their characteristics based on the main paradigms and models of public administration: the patronage system, the traditional public administration, the new public administration, and other emerging models such as public value management, responsive governance, and new public service. In the second part of the paper, through the trajectory of Bhutan's public administration history, we observe that its public administration exhibits characteristics that sit across the various paradigms and models of public administration. Thus, in doing so, the paper makes a significant contribution in applying the ideal type typology to explain how hybridity in public administration occurs in practice.

Trajectories of Reform: Where (and Who) Are the Public Servants

“…Hybridity in public administration systems has a well-established literature (Ugyel 2014;Rhodes et al 2008;Capano 2003) and the concept itself has several meanings. Hybridity is generally understood on three scales.…”

“…The first refers to hybridity on a micro-level and relates to how individuals understand themselves and their identities within organizations (Reissner 2019), as we discussed in the previous section. The second focuses on different types of organizational features, such as government services provided by private or nongovernment bodies (Ugyel 2014). This mesolevel understanding includes mixtures of market and hierarchical structures, as well as organizational roles such as service provision and political advocacy, as is often seen with nongovernment organizations.…”

“…This mesolevel understanding includes mixtures of market and hierarchical structures, as well as organizational roles such as service provision and political advocacy, as is often seen with nongovernment organizations. Finally, at a systems-scale, hybridity in public administration can refer to the layering of dominant paradigms that constitute the public sector system (Ugyel 2014). Macro-scale hybridity characterizes public sector systems as constituted by hybrid paradigms, for example, where systems blend or layer aspects of traditional public administration and new public management.…”

HRM in Development: Lessons and Frontiers

“…In this regard, the development literature discusses change strategies that are increasingly multifaceted. In this journal, Ugyel () describes how Bhutan aims to move away from patronage and bureaucratic (rule and obedience driven) models of administration towards modern models that involve performance and responsiveness. Reforms have thus far involved organizational development (O'Flynn and Blackman, ), a new performance management system, performance compacts between ministries and government, increased use of citizen participation, and job re‐classification.…”

“…However, further effort is now seen as needed. Ugyel () notes that HR development, recruitment, selection, and promotion have seen only incremental changes to the old system, and the earlier discussion also does not reflect much about HPWS. Liu and Dong () describe efforts to improve the performance appraisal system in China and conclude that it needs “better connection…with other human resource management (HRM) systems, consideration of the performance budget system, and improvement of appraisal technical activities.” Bardill () and Horwitz () discuss HRM integration in the modernization of South Africa's civil services, including the need for diversity and workforce planning.…”