'Reinventing' is ideologically neutral<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The concept of "Reinventing Government" appears
\nto be closer to the Republican's goal of less government, but
\nDemocratic President Bill Clinton wholeheartedly adopted the
\nconcept the moment he came into the White House in 1993.<\/p>\n
The concept is free from ideology, says Ted Gaebler, the co-
\nauthor of the best seller 1992 book Reinventing Government -- How
\nthe Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector.<\/p>\n
"That's the reason why governments of Indonesia, Singapore and
\nelsewhere are interested in the concept."<\/p>\n
"If it came with American baggage, it would be of little value
\nhere," Gaebler says.<\/p>\n
Alternative systems of government, such as that in Australia,
\nauthoritarian governments, and even former dictatorships, either
\nhave found, or will find the idea valuable, he argues.<\/p>\n
"The commonality is how to improve bureaucracy, not how to
\nimprove politics," he says. "Reinventing government provides a
\nneutral set of strategies to do that."<\/p>\n
In the United States, the idea has led to a reduction of
\n300,000 people from the federal government's payroll; in the
\nDepartment of Defense, the rule book for personnel has gone from
\n8,000 to 400 and finally to 40 pages in length.<\/p>\n
Privatization and the downsizing of government, concepts that
\nwere very much associated with British Prime Minister Margaret
\nThatcher and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, are but
\ntwo tiny strategies in reinventing government, Gaebler says.<\/p>\n
"They are not an overall driving force. Having governments
\nlook at what they are doing, the role they play in society, these
\nand all the other institutions is what reinventing is about."<\/p>\n
The key word, in Gaebler views, is "entrepreneurial
\nmanagement".<\/p>\n
In the United States, Gaebler says Oregon is the most
\n"reinvented" state government, and it is followed by Florida,
\nMassachusetts, Utah, Minnesota and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
"Unfortunately, California, my home state, is not," says
\nGaebler, a resident of San Rafael, California.<\/p>\n
Among city governments that were most reinvented, he cites
\nHampton in Virginia, Charlotte in North Carolina, and Santa Clara
\nin California.<\/p>\n
These were assorted Democratic and Republican controlled
\ngovernments.<\/p>\n
What makes one government more successful than others?<\/p>\n
"They have had relatively consistent focus on changing the
\nbureaucratic structures, to be much more outcome-oriented,"
\nGaebler said.<\/p>\n
In Oregon, he said the people there set "benchmarks" -- what
\nthe citizens wanted as the end products of their institutions. On
\nhealth care, they quantified their targets of their expectations,
\nnot from the government, but from the health care system.<\/p>\n
In other states or cities, they have put up many services that
\nwere traditionally provided by governments, on competitive bids.
\nSome services were retained, but only after public employees won
\nthe bids.<\/p>\n
"This means that they have lowered costs by having public
\nemployees compete for retention of their jobs. Costs are lower,
\nand morale goes up.<\/p>\n
"It's a marvelous changing-the-consequences. If you don't
\ncompete, you'll lose your job. This comes in with the
\nconsequences-strategy. It's a very powerful strategy," Gaebler
\nsays.<\/p>\n
The popularity of his book has meant extensive foreign
\ntraveling for Gaebler, to discuss his ideas and to offer his
\nservices in the application of the "Reinventing Government."
\nstrategies.<\/p>\n
He has been invited to Australia and New Zealand, Russia,
\nSouth Africa and Latin America. In this part of the world, he has
\nworked in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, and is
\ncurrently involved in a project in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Gaebler recalls a meeting with Philippine President Fidel
\nRamos in Manila. "He gave me three books that he had written on
\nreinventing the Philippine government. He wanted me to validate
\nwhat he was already doing," he says.<\/p>\n
Ramos however may not get the chance to apply the concept
\nhimself, given that the Philippine constitution bars him from
\nserving a second seven-year term.<\/p>\n
What about Indonesia, which has been deregulating and
\ndebureaucratizing since the mid-1980s?<\/p>\n
"I had a discussion in 1994 with some government officials,
\nbut there was no follow up," Gaebler says. (emb)<\/p>",
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