A most fundamental question emerging in
innovation research is why some organizations innovate while others do not.
Innovation has traditionally been studied in the
private sector. It is only recently that some research has been addressing
innovation in a public sector context. Given the size of the public sector relative
to the economy in Jordan, the variety of its organizations, and the fact that
there is a new vision for economic modernization, addressing what would make
organizations in the public sectors innovate is a vital and timely undertaking.
اضافة اعلان
A good example of innovation in the public sector is
the introduction of new or significant changes to the provision of services and
goods, operations, organization, or communication. Innovations need not be
developed by the organization itself, but simply applied or implemented by it.
To begin with, one should recognize that public
sector innovation is often seen and assessed through private sector frameworks
and paradigms. Basic economic theory states that private sector organizations
maximize profits while public sector agencies focus on minimizing costs.
Moreover, it is widely accepted that the public sector is less efficient than
the private sector. This latter claim could be generally true, but not
necessarily in all government agencies.
Factors that determine the level of innovation in
the private sector, such as size, location, performance, and investment in
human capital (training), can also be applied with some tweaking to public
sector organizations.
In the public
sector, innovation may respond to specific organizational and managerial
conditions and practices. Managerial conditions that are conducive to
innovation in public agencies include: sufficient space for experimentation,
availability of clear and efficient feedback loops, effective response level to
low performance, motivation to make improvements (reward systems), and budget
constraints to drive efficiency (however, this is the least significant
condition, according to the literature).
Basic economic theory states that private sector organizations maximize profits while public sector agencies focus on minimizing costs.
A good example comes from Australia, where the
government not only allows its employees to experiment and innovate, but also
established for them a framework to do so.
In Jordan, any initiative that focuses on enhancing
innovation at public organization level must start there: at the organization
level. Each organization has a unique work culture affected by location,
structure, geography, placement within the bureaucratic hierarchy, function,
etc.
The literature on innovation in the public sector
underscores that the focus should be on the individuals’ interest in those
organizations. Consequently, public
organizations should focus on the fundamental aspects of jobs, and increase the
employees’ motivation to innovate through experimentation.
Providing
motivation and experimentation to public sector employees will lead to greater
innovation and job satisfaction. On the other hand, budget cuts are not
recognized as a motivator to innovate, as the carrot is always a better
motivator than the stick (which is the budget cuts here).
Based on the above, having a merit-based management
system in the public sector is an important and necessary condition for
enhancing innovation in the public sector, but it is not sufficient. Measures
that specifically focus on enhancing the level of innovation are also vital for
public sector innovation.
Yusuf Mansur is CEO of the Envision Consulting Group and
former minister of state for economic affairs.
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Jordan News
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