Public Management Aspects

Directing in Public Management

Directing refers to issuing orders or guidance to perform or refrain from performing a task. In public management, directing involves orders, guidance, advice, or supervision from superiors to subordinates to achieve organizational objectives. It motivates employees and makes them responsible for their work. Directing is a crucial aspect of public management, clarifying how, through which method or process, tasks should be completed. It can be written or verbal.

Characteristics of Directing

It is the initial stage of implementation and follows planning, organizing, and staffing in management.
It occurs at every level of management.
It is a continuous process.
It flows from higher to lower levels.
It can be written or verbal.

Importance of Directing

Initiates any task.
Helps achieve organizational goals and objectives.
Motivates employees.
Strengthens manager-employee relationships.
Facilitates adaptation to change.
Maximizes resource utilization.
Increases production and productivity.
Ensures high-quality performance.
Completes tasks within the specified timeframe.

Principles of Directing

Maximum Individual Contribution: Directing should enable individuals to contribute maximally to task performance.
Harmony of Objectives: Align organizational and individual objectives to foster harmonious relationships.
Unity of Command: Employees should receive directions from only one supervisor.
Appropriateness of Directing Techniques: Use methods suitable to the task nature.
Managerial Communication: Use effective communication mediums.
Use of Informal Organization: Leverage informal structures when formal ones are insufficient.
Leadership: Supervisors should exhibit leadership qualities.
Follow Through: Ensure follow-up after issuing directions.

Elements of Directing

Supervision: Essential for effective directing; supervisors must continuously oversee subordinates.
Motivation: Essential for effective direction.
Leadership: Critical for successful directing.
Communication: Fundamental for directing.

Controlling in Public Management

Controlling is a managerial process that compares performed work with established standards and takes corrective actions if deviations occur. It ensures alignment with organizational objectives through oversight and adjustments.

It is a fundamental management tool that measures whether goals are met, focusing on effective resource use and task completion.

Top-Level Management: Controls policies (strategies/objectives).
Middle-Level Management: Controls procedures/values/processes/management.
Lower-Level Management: Controls performance execution.

Nature and Provisions of Control

Fundamental management function
Continuous process
Future-oriented
Result-focused
Improvement-oriented
Goal-oriented
Positive and negative in nature

Stages of Control

Pre-Control: Controlling before issues arise.
Ongoing Control: Controlling during execution.
Post-Control: Controlling after completion.

How to Control

Financial Control
Information Control
Benchmarking Best Practices
Using Scorecards
Setting Performance Standards
Establishing Laws, Rules, and Procedures

Importance of Control

Maintain service quality
Ensure financial discipline and frugality
Focus performance on objectives
Optimize resource use
Motivate employees
Ensure adherence to orders and discipline
Maintain operational coordination
Identify and minimize errors
Detect and rectify faults
Support supervision
Evaluate work progress

Control Arrangements in Nepal's Public Administration

Policy Basis

Fundamental rights, directive principles, and state policies in the Constitution
Civil Service Act, 2049 BS, and Regulations, 2050 BS
Corruption Prevention Act, 2059 BS
Financial Procedures and Fiscal Accountability Act, 2076 BS, and Regulations, 2077 BS
Audit Act, 2075 BS
Public Procurement Act, 2063 BS, and Regulations, 2064 BS
Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 BS, and Regulations, 2065 BS
Right to Information Act, 2064 BS, and Regulations, 2065 BS
Local Government Operation Act, 2074 BS
Work Performance and Division of Work Rules of the Government of Nepal
Provincial and Local Government Work Performance and Division of Work Rules
Periodic Plans
Annual Budgets and MTEF

Institutional Arrangements

Executives/Councils at federal, provincial, and local levels
National Planning Commission: Monitoring and evaluation
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, National Human Rights Commission, Auditor General, Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, and other constitutional bodies
National Vigilance Centre
Courts and quasi-judicial bodies
National Information Commission
Political parties
Donor agencies, media, and civil society
International and regional organizations

Other Tools

Public audits, social audits, public hearings, third-party evaluations
Information officers, spokespersons, grievance redressal mechanisms
Internal control systems

Reasons for Ineffective Control Systems in Nepal's Public Administration

Lack of inter-agency coordination
Insufficient information; weak information and record management
Duplication due to multiple agencies for the same task
Control viewed negatively rather than as a facilitation tool
No performance standards set
Lack of clarity in purpose and subject of control

Measures to Enhance Control Systems

View control as an essential managerial component, not negative, and use it as a facilitation tool
Promote inter-agency coordination
Improve control systems by incorporating feedback
Develop self-control mechanisms
Maximize resource utilization
Use methods like financial control, information control, benchmarking, scorecards, performance standards, laws, rules, and procedures
Develop and effectively implement internal control systems
Use good governance tools like public audits, social audits, and public hearings

Hierarchy in Public Management

Hierarchy is the ranking of organizational members based on authority, responsibility, role, or importance. It structures communication, division of work, and formal relationships within the organization, managing the flow of duties and responsibilities.

Proposed by Henri Fayol (Scalar Principle or Chain of Command), it assumes:

Single supervision
Authority flows top-down
Balanced responsibility with authority
Departmental and sub-departmental divisions
Authority, command, and control flow step-by-step downward; accountability and obedience upward

Positive Aspects

Clarifies duties, responsibilities, and authority
Ensures accountability and control
Maintains uniform orders
Clear communication
Facilitates delegation
Provides career development opportunities
Simplifies decision-making
Facilitates supervision, direction, and control
Emphasizes division of labor and specialization

Negative Aspects

Formalities cause delays
Promotes employee class divisions
Lengthy and cumbersome decision processes
Lack of coordination, participation, and teamwork
Higher conflict potential
Limits personal relationships
Reduces lower-level roles
No direct relationship between decision-makers and implementers
Rigid work processes

Decision-Making in Public Management

Decision-making is selecting the best option from available alternatives to act or not act on a matter. Decision-makers choose based on facts, analysis, authority, laws, resources, and societal context.

Stages of Decision-Making

Fig: Decision Process/Stages

Decisions begin with sensing problems or opportunities. Alternatives are explored and analyzed. The most suitable option is selected based on facts, laws, data, information, authority, experience, resources, and social context. Implementation follows, with evaluation and feedback for future decisions.

Reasons for Decision-Making

Embrace change
Solve problems
Utilize new opportunities
Introduce new policies, plans, programs, and technologies
Resolve conflicts
Eliminate dilemmas

Factors Influencing Decision-Makers

Policies, laws, procedures
Availability and quality of information and data
Organizational objectives, policies, and strategies
Delegation of authority
Decision-maker’s psychology
Willingness to take risks
Fear of failure
Personal biases, experience, and intuition
Environmental forecasts
Peer advice
Political leadership and third-party pressure

Principles of Decision-Making

Rationality: Decisions based on factual analysis and judgment
Incrementalism: Building on past decisions with additions
Public Opinion: Incorporating public input and suggestions
Mixed Scanning: Combining rationality and incrementalism
Participation: Involving stakeholders at every stage
Situational: Adapting to different environments and contexts
Obstacle Resolution: Addressing barriers before deciding

Problems in Decision-Making in Nepal's Public Administration

Tendency to delay or avoid decisions
Note-based decisions for minor issues
Lack of participative processes
Decisions prioritizing personal over organizational interests
Political and third-party pressures
Reliance on precedents over facts, data, and information
No culture of feedback
Conflicting laws and procedural ambiguity
Decision-makers avoiding risks
Weak monitoring mechanisms

Measures to Enhance Decision-Making

Base decisions on facts, data, information, suggestions, studies, research, and ICT
Clarify authority between political and administrative leadership, avoiding interference
Replace hierarchical note systems with discussions and participation; use orders for minor decisions
Delegate sufficient authority to lower levels for small decisions, defining accountability
Implement rewards and penalties for timely and effective decisions
Make impartial decisions aligned with laws
Use feedback from past decisions for better future decisions
Resolve legal and procedural ambiguities
Develop decision-makers’ capacity

Leadership in Public Management

Leadership is the ability to influence followers according to circumstances to achieve collective goals. It is the process of inspiring subordinates to work enthusiastically toward objectives.

Effective leadership builds confidence and morale among team members. Leaders direct efforts, motivate, and foster a sense of purpose, influencing through vision and action.

Leadership requires three essentials: a leader with guiding abilities, followers, and direction.

Fig: Essentials for Leadership

Qualities of Effective Leadership

Fig: Qualities in a Leader

Theories of Leadership

Trait Theory: Leaders are distinguished by traits; leadership qualities are innate, including initiative, intelligence, humor, enthusiasm, and self-confidence.
Behavioral Theory: Leaders are defined by behavior and conduct; effectiveness depends on actions.
Managerial Theory: Balances employee focus and production, including improved management, task management, middle-road management, group management, and friendly management styles.
Situational Theory: Leadership depends on environment and circumstances; effective in one context may not be in another.

Factors Influencing Leadership

Leader’s vision, will, and foresight
Socio-economic awareness and values
Situational factors
Followers’ role (trust)
Organizational culture and resources
Employee attitudes
Political system
Development level
Organizational size
Peace and security
Legal provisions
Social, cultural, and geographical context

State of Leadership in Nepal's Administration

Focus on processes over results
Autocratic tendencies
Lack of long-term vision
Prevalence of "yes-man" culture
Suppression by political leadership
Avoidance of challenges and risks
Sharing blame but claiming credit
Reliance on precedents over innovation
Dominance of hierarchical culture

Suggestions

Develop leadership skills
Reduce psychological gaps between leaders and followers
Adopt participative decision-making
Clarify job descriptions
Select leaders with effective performance and core qualities
Develop a leadership evaluation system
Ensure leaders treat work and behavior equally
Clarify authority delegation legally

Coordination in Public Management

Coordination is the communication, understanding, alignment, and collaboration among resources, efforts, and actors to achieve common objectives collectively.

It integrates all activities toward organizational goals and is a key management tool.

Coordination is:

The essence of management
A regular and continuous process
Proper distribution of work
Balance between work and positions
Mutual cooperation, collaboration, and harmony
A bridge between goals, objectives, and activities

Types of Coordination

Procedural and Autonomous Coordination
- Procedural (Formal): Defines members’ work, duties, authority, and relationships with effective communication (e.g., organizational charts).
- Autonomous (Informal): Prepares task lists and manages accordingly.
Based on Managerial Levels
- Vertical: Between higher and lower levels (e.g., ministry-department-office).
- Horizontal: Among equal levels (e.g., ministry-ministry, province-province).
Based on Scope
- Internal: Vertical and horizontal coordination within the same organization.
- External: Coordination with clients, suppliers, government, and pressure groups.

Principles of Coordination

Direct Contact: Establish direct contact for clarity and quick resolution.
Continuity: From inception to organizational existence.
Reciprocity: Anticipate mutual effects and coordinate accordingly.
Dynamism: Adapt to changing management needs.
Participation: Involve all employees from top to bottom for information sharing and trust-building.
Frugality: Promote cost-efficiency in the organization.
Effective Communication: Clear communication enhances coordination.

Methods of Coordination

Policy Methods: Plans, programs, policies, work plans.
Structural Methods: Organizational frameworks, command chains, hierarchies, interactions, workshops, discussions.
Managerial Methods: Inspections, teamwork, effective leadership, personal relationships, contacts, committees, commissions.

Delegation and Devolution of Authority in Public Management

Delegation: Transferring some administrative authority from a higher entity or official to a lower one. It reduces workload, speeds service delivery, and makes subordinates responsible.

Devolution: Transferring administrative, political, and financial authority from the central government to provincial or local governments through laws. It enables self-regulation, self-management, and self-decision-making, making entities responsible and capable.

Both are forms of decentralization.

Delegation	Devolution
Higher entity transfers some administrative authority to lower entity.	Central government transfers administrative, political, and financial authority to provincial/local governments through law.
Administrative decision.	Political decision.
Reduces workload, speeds services, makes subordinates responsible.	Enables self-control, self-management, self-decision; makes entities responsible and capable.
Exercised under legal authority.	Legally stipulated.
Related to Principle of Hierarchy.	Related to Principle of Subsidiarity.
Easily revocable.	Not easily revocable.
Transfers responsibility but not accountability; delegator remains accountable.	Transfers both responsibility and accountability; recipient is accountable.
Example: Chief District Officer delegating citizenship issuance to Assistant CDO or Administrative Officer.	Example: Federal government devolving authority to provincial/local governments through laws.

Supervision in Public Management

Supervision is the process where higher-level entities or officials oversee and monitor lower-level ones to ensure tasks are completed with specified quality, quantity, cost, and time (QQCT). It involves oversight, inspection, and guidance.

Public administration in Nepal uses periodic progress reports, internal procedures, grievance redressal, workshops, seminars, review meetings, delegation, administrative supervision, and performance appraisals for supervision.

Supervision Arrangements in Nepal's Public Administration

a) Legal Arrangements

Government of Nepal (Work Performance) Rules, 2064 BS: Defines ministerial jurisdictions
Administrative Procedures (Regulation) Act, 2013 BS
Government Offices (Inspection) Rules, 2026 BS: Department heads inspect offices twice yearly; CDOs inspect district offices annually
Civil Service Act, 2049 BS, and Regulations, 2050 BS: Performance contracts with 25 marks from supervisors
Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064 BS: Ministers, secretaries, and department heads supervise
Public Procurement Act, 2063 BS, and Regulations, 2064 BS: Office heads inspect assets at least annually

b) Institutional Arrangements

Parliamentary Committees: Public Accounts, Development, Good Governance Committees oversee and provide directives
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers: Supervises ministerial work
Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration: Conducts management audits and supervises employee management
Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority: Oversees irregularities
National Vigilance Centre: Oversees irregularities
Auditor General’s Office: Oversees accounts
Other Constitutional Commissions and National Planning Commission: Supervise within their jurisdictions

Main Differences Between Supervision and Monitoring

Supervision	Monitoring
Only from higher levels	From any level
Can be continuous or not	Continuous and regular
Requires direct contact	Does not require direct contact

Monitoring and Evaluation in Public Management

Monitoring

Monitoring is the continuous or periodic oversight and inspection of work, projects, or programs by internal bodies to ensure smooth implementation.

It identifies shortcomings or obstacles early, allowing timely corrective actions. As an evaluation during implementation, it is also called Ongoing Evaluation. Monitoring assesses short-term outputs, medium-term effects, and long-term impacts.

Monitoring involves regular or periodic examination, inspection, and supervision of:

Compliance with plans or procedures

Smooth implementation

Expected achievements and results

Emerging issues or obstacles

Necessary improvements or changes in plans or methods

Alignment between goals and progress

Evaluation

Evaluation is the process of measuring a policy, plan, program, or project's achievements against its objectives or targets.

It assesses the proximity or deviation between goals and outcomes, serving as a guide for future actions. Evaluation focuses on the future.

Differences Between Monitoring and Evaluation

Basis	Monitoring	Evaluation
Level	From any level	From external bodies
Purpose	Identify issues during management/execution for smooth continuation	Provide information for future policies and actions
Nature	Descriptive, positive, corrective	Explanatory, research-oriented, ideal
Duration	During implementation only; continuous and regular	During or after implementation; periodic
Improvement	Immediate improvement tool	Future guidance
Control	Performance Tracking	Objective Tracking

Types of Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring Types

Self-Monitoring
Internal Monitoring
External Monitoring
Process Monitoring
Result Monitoring

Evaluation Types

Feasibility Evaluation
Ongoing Evaluation
Achievement Evaluation
Impact Evaluation
Ex Ante
Ongoing
Ex Post

1.4 Directing, controlling, hierarchy, decision-making, leadership, coordination, delegation and devolution of authority, supervision, monitoring and evaluation in public management