Megawati's bargaining position<\/p>\n
The invitation from the House of Representatives to the two
\npresidential candidates who will go on to the second round of the
\npresidential election on Sept. 20 to present their likely Cabinet
\nformations should they win the election (Kompas, July 15) is
\nworth responding to.<\/p>\n
Incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who looks to be
\nthe second candidate to qualify for the second round of the
\nelection, has the best chance to present her probable Cabinet
\nlineup to law makers. Being the incumbent President and having
\nruled the country for more than three years, she has to come up
\nwith new and fresh proposals, especially as she has said on many
\noccasions that she inherited a \"bloated and rubbish bin
\nbureaucracy\". Meaning she has to come up with a slim and
\nefficient Cabinet, unlike the 31 ministers in the next Cabinet
\nrecently proposed by the House (The Jakarta Post, July 15).<\/p>\n
She also has to take this opportunity to leave behind the
\nstrategy-follows-structure paradigm, meaning that her
\npredecessors set up the organizations first and their strategies
\nfollowed later. This had led to a proliferation of government
\nagencies and is completely contrary to Robbins and Millet's
\ntheory of structure-follows-strategy, as presented in their book
\nOrganizational Behavior (2002).<\/p>\n
She also has to tell law makers that such a paradigm shift,
\nwhich entails cost minimization, would save a lot of money needed
\nfor other crucial and urgent government programs such as poverty
\nalleviation, job creation, environmental and energy conservation,
\netc.<\/p>\n
In fact, the House's proposal is one minister more than
\nMegawati's current Cabinet, something that flies in the face of
\nher own ideas on restructuring and reforming the bureaucracy,
\nwhich has been called for since the reform movement began in
\n1998. Critics of the bureaucracy say it is unproductive, swollen
\nand ineffectual, which has led to rampant corruption at all
\nlevels of government.<\/p>\n
If the public accepted Megawati's proposed Cabinet, it would
\nhelp improve her popularity among voters.
\n
\nM. RUSDI
\nJakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawatis-bargaining-position-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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