Judith Aitken - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
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University of Canterbury/Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
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Papers by Judith Aitken
Public Administration and Development, 1997
The article presents a policy-maker's view of one of the most radical and most-consistently susta... more The article presents a policy-maker's view of one of the most radical and most-consistently sustained policy and institutional reforms. It begins by reviewing factors affecting the nature and tempo of New Zealand's reform initiatives, including`woodenheadedness', the political capacity to deliver sustained economic change, the failure of universities and other centres of research and scholarship to generate new ideas; the resistance of entrenched systems; the signi®cance of generating a popular conceptual framework for reform in a literate, articulate society. Issues that are relevant in implementing policy initiatives include: the scarcity of competent managers, particularly associated with the country's small scale; the impact of geography and technology; timing and queuing; loss of institutional memory; the power of communication to fail; and the persistence of ideological, professional ways of thinking, backed by the power of unions and professional associations. This article surveys essential concepts and elements of New Zealand's state sector reforms, focusing on: the guiding philosophyÐtransparency and consistency; operating principlesÐthe distinction between outputs and outcomes, purchaser and provider, government and departments; the principal instrumentsÐpurchase agreements between ministers and chief executives, delegation, performance measures. (& 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
New Zealand Engineering, 1989
This is the third or fourth time I have had the opportunity to speak to engineers, and it is a gr... more This is the third or fourth time I have had the opportunity to speak to engineers, and it is a great surprise to my staff as we do not have a lot of calls in the Ministry of Women's Affairs to speak to engineers. I believe they think it is part of the plot, a plot that sent me from the Electricity Corporation to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the first place.
It is argued in this thesis that over the past 15 years planning - and in particular expenditure ... more It is argued in this thesis that over the past 15 years planning - and in particular expenditure planning - has had three main functions in New Zealand central government: as a survival mechanism for elites; as a means to cope with the problems and deficiencies of organised knowledge; and as a symbolic act of reassurance in the face of economic and fiscal uncertainty. Expenditure planning is regarded in this work as a learning process. However, the thesis describes historical developments which illustrate that the imperative need to contain and manage conflict inside central government is such that real executive learning is effectively precluded. Dissonance between the political implications of significant information and the rational action that might be dictated by that information inhibits effective communication and control. The cybernetic malfunctioning of the central system arises not so much from political debate over the fiscal issues as from the need of certain elites to r...
Public Administration and Development, 1997
The article presents a policy-maker's view of one of the most radical and most-consistently susta... more The article presents a policy-maker's view of one of the most radical and most-consistently sustained policy and institutional reforms. It begins by reviewing factors affecting the nature and tempo of New Zealand's reform initiatives, including`woodenheadedness', the political capacity to deliver sustained economic change, the failure of universities and other centres of research and scholarship to generate new ideas; the resistance of entrenched systems; the signi®cance of generating a popular conceptual framework for reform in a literate, articulate society. Issues that are relevant in implementing policy initiatives include: the scarcity of competent managers, particularly associated with the country's small scale; the impact of geography and technology; timing and queuing; loss of institutional memory; the power of communication to fail; and the persistence of ideological, professional ways of thinking, backed by the power of unions and professional associations. This article surveys essential concepts and elements of New Zealand's state sector reforms, focusing on: the guiding philosophyÐtransparency and consistency; operating principlesÐthe distinction between outputs and outcomes, purchaser and provider, government and departments; the principal instrumentsÐpurchase agreements between ministers and chief executives, delegation, performance measures. (& 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
New Zealand Engineering, 1989
This is the third or fourth time I have had the opportunity to speak to engineers, and it is a gr... more This is the third or fourth time I have had the opportunity to speak to engineers, and it is a great surprise to my staff as we do not have a lot of calls in the Ministry of Women's Affairs to speak to engineers. I believe they think it is part of the plot, a plot that sent me from the Electricity Corporation to the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the first place.
It is argued in this thesis that over the past 15 years planning - and in particular expenditure ... more It is argued in this thesis that over the past 15 years planning - and in particular expenditure planning - has had three main functions in New Zealand central government: as a survival mechanism for elites; as a means to cope with the problems and deficiencies of organised knowledge; and as a symbolic act of reassurance in the face of economic and fiscal uncertainty. Expenditure planning is regarded in this work as a learning process. However, the thesis describes historical developments which illustrate that the imperative need to contain and manage conflict inside central government is such that real executive learning is effectively precluded. Dissonance between the political implications of significant information and the rational action that might be dictated by that information inhibits effective communication and control. The cybernetic malfunctioning of the central system arises not so much from political debate over the fiscal issues as from the need of certain elites to r...