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By W.A. De Silva
This article may be considered as an open proposal in response to the press notice published by the Ministry of Finance calling for proposals from the general public for the reformation of public service in Sri Lanka. The contents of this article focus mainly on productivity of man-power in public service.
It may be observed that productivity could be achieved by adjusting the ratio of input and output based on any constant level of input and output required for producing any product or service. Productivity of any organisation whether it is in the public sector or private sector should be measured in terms of the above proposition.
Let us now examine the productivity in public service in terms of the above proposition. In that context it is necessary to identify the output of the public service in terms of its input.
The output of the public service could be defined in brief as services to be rendered to the General Public in Sri Lanka based on policies and policy frame as decided by the Government, the magnitude of which is so vast covering almost all aspects of services and facilitations to be provided by the State for the well-being and progression of the general public. The degree of satisfaction of the general public in respect of services so provided is considered as an important yard-stick for measuring the effectiveness and productivity of public service.
What are the inputs provided to make the output above referred to? Inputs so provided could be categorised for our convenience as follows :-
(a)Allocation of funds through budgetary provisions
(b)Facilities provided such as office accommodations, communication, IT facilities, etc.
(c)Man power in the form of employees at various levels and status stretching from Office Aide, at bottom level up to the level of Ministerial Secretaries at the topmost level.
(d)Wages, salaries, remunerations and perks in addition to the superannuation in the form of Pension, (E.P.F., E.T.F., Gratuity only in statutory bodies) etc.
Out of above inputs man-power is considered as one of the most significant components of inputs required to make any targeted output which may be in the form of products or services both in public and private sector. In that context it is absolutely necessary to balance the ratio of input of man-power in terms of the ratio of output in public service. In other words rationalisation of manpower is absolutely necessary for the enhancement of productivity in any organisation whether it is in the public or private sector.
What is the most appropriate methodology to be followed for rationalisation and enhancement of productivity of man-power in public service? It must be an effective mechanism based on the following human resource management (HRM) techniques.
(a)A systematic scheme of recruitment based on the findings of Work Load Analysis, man-power planning, job specifications, well structured mechanism of interviews and selections. It should also be capable enough to ensure the best matching of organisational (departmental) needs with the needs of recruits and to determine the exact number and quality of manpower and skills needed for them to perform any given job successfully.
(b) An effective scheme of Performance Evaluation. The PE Scheme should ensure that the following principles are incorporated and implemented.
(i)Traits or characteristics which are being evaluated should be relevant and closely related to the output of the job as far as possible.
(ii) Evaluation should totally be unbiased.
(iii) It should focus on performance and not the characteristics of a person.
(iv) Evaluation should be related to the ultimate goal of the organisation concerned.
(v) It must be practicable, measurable, efficient, objective and acceptable to the employees.
(c) Effective Scheme of Training - It should be based on Training Needs Analysis (TNA). It should also be ensured that the exact field of training is required - whether on attitudinal change, skill change or behavioural change, resource persons for training, length of training, media of training, mode of training whether it is on-the-job, off-the-job, vestibule (combination of both) by way of lecturing, seminars, workshops, business games etc. The training scheme should be capable enough to empower the manpower in order to achieve the performance targets set and thereby to achieve organisational/departmental goals.