Mapping the black box of intraministerial organization: An analytical approach to explore structural diversity below the portfolio level

Bertels, Jana; Schulze‐Gabrechten, Lena

doi:10.1111/gove.12486

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Despite our surveys being fielded before, during, and after the NPM reform‐wave, the organizational structure of the government apparatus has remained profoundly stable and robust over time, notably as regards the key organizational principles of vertical and horizontal specialization. This finding support recent observations on the stability and robustness of the organizational architectures of government institutions (Bertels & Schulze‐Gabrechten, 2021). Essential to our argument, organizational stability is conducive to behavioral continuity (#1).…”

Section: A Long‐term View Of Government Civil Servantssupporting

confidence: 92%

“Let's organize”: The organizational basis for stable public governance

Trondal

2022

Public Administration

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This study carries two distinct contributions to extant literature. Theoretically, it introduces an organizational approach to the study of public governance. Empirically, it demonstrates how the organizational architecture of government represents a stable and systemic capacity for public governance across time. The study establishes how stability serves as an enduring feature of public governance and how this is anchored in the organizational architecture of government systems. Moreover, structured flexibility is illustrated by how the civil service adapts to both international organizations and societal stakeholders. Theorizing the organizational dimension of public governance, this study also introduces a design tool that may be useful for deliberately (re)structuring public governance. Empirically, these arguments are probed by a sizable dataset with 13,173 observations across 40 years, consisting of nine surveys of civil servants at ministry and agency levels. The data enables a long-term perspective on government civil servants over nearly half a century, thus allowing for a comprehensive study of the organizational basis for public governance.

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Section: A Long‐term View Of Government Civil Servantssupporting

confidence: 92%

“Let's organize”: The organizational basis for stable public governance

Trondal

2022

Public Administration

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“…Some of these affiliations are sequential when officials experience mobility between departments within their own organisations, whereas others are simultaneous when officials occupy several affiliations at the same time. In conceptual terms, we may distinguish between primary and secondary organisational affiliations (Bertels & Schulze-Gabrechten, 2021). A 'primary structure' is the macro structure of organisations, defined as the structure to which participants are expected to devote most of their loyalty, time and energy.…”

Section: Organisational Affiliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The organisational dimension of executive authority in the Global South: Insights from the AU and ECOWAS commissions

2022

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The growing importance of executive authority at the international level has fuelled scholarly debate about the level of autonomy enjoyed by international public administration (IPA), that is, the executive arms of international organisations.Insights from IPAs in the West or Global North, such as the European Union, have largely shaped these debates, whereas data from IPAs in the Global South are largely missing in the discussion. This article seeks to remedy this imbalance and contribute to an organisational-theory-inspired conceptualisation of IPA autonomy: We draw insights from survey data from the commissions of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We demonstrate that, although both commissions are embedded in inter-governmental organisations, they demonstrate remarkably strong features of actor-level autonomy. Thus, this study suggests that even IPAs constrained by an inter-governmental environment may still wield some degree of autonomy.Finally, the article draws practical implications for reforming IPAs.

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“…These functions remain stable over time and require a significant amount of attention, for instance, the school system in the Ministry of Education or the police in the Ministry of Public Safety. This line of argument is strengthened by Bertels and Schulze-Gabrechten's (2021) finding that, although the organizational structure of cabinet ministries changes frequently, there are some units that remain in place. These units are probably those that handle the ministry's core functions.…”

Section: Agenda Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cabinet ministers and the use of agenda‐setting power: Evidence from cabinet ministers in Israel

Shpaizman

2021

Policy Studies Journal

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Cabinet ministers in parliamentary democracies have significant agenda‐setting power. However, not all ministers use it equally. This paper examines what affects the ministers' use of their agenda‐setting power. It explores this question based on the case of Israel, using three measures of agenda change and in‐depth interviews with former ministers. The paper finds that limited agenda capacity constrains the ministers' agenda‐setting power. However, the ministers themselves do not see this as a significant constraint and point at motivation instead. Ministers holding a portfolio that is salient to their party are not likely to change the agenda more. Ministers from small parties change the agenda less, and so do ministers in ministries where a significant proportion of services are provided by street level bureaucrats. Ministers in ministries that are seen as more salient change the agenda more. These findings are consequential for understanding policy responsiveness and proportionality in policy response.

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Mapping the black box of intraministerial organization: An analytical approach to explore structural diversity below the portfolio level

Cited by 19 publications

References 37 publications

“Let's organize”: The organizational basis for stable public governance

“Let's organize”: The organizational basis for stable public governance

The organisational dimension of executive authority in the Global South: Insights from the AU and ECOWAS commissions

Cabinet ministers and the use of agenda‐setting power: Evidence from cabinet ministers in Israel

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