strengthening workplace integrity notes prepared for a forum arranged by the philippine civil...

STRENGTHENINGWORKPLACE INTEGRITY

Notes prepared for a Forum arranged by the

Philippine Civil Service Commission

and The British Council, Manila

© Denis Osborne, 2007

Strengthening Workplace Integrity

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WHY? Because there are rights and wrongs… Because without integrity we are not trust-worthy And trust is very important. Why?

Because politicians want to win people’s votes Because trust promotes workplace harmony

and brings efficiency and economic advantages

But integrity is not enough to win trust We need

competence, transparency, accountability And once lost it is very difficult to win trust back


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THE CONCERNS OF GOVERNMENTS

Everywhere, concern about loss of trust In governments, companies, by citizens, clients, investors

Citizens increasingly educated and informed Discontent with governments shown by

numbers voting, media comment, protests, tax-evasion, etc

Wanting services as well as products Which private sector provides with standards

raised by competition (though not trusted?)


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UK CONCERN: Customer confidence CABINET OFFICE FINDINGS 2003

‘Customer confidence in the ability of the public service to deliver effectively declined from 54% in 2001 to 31% in 2003’ (‘Delivery and Reform: Progress and plans for the future’ 2003)

and that was despite efforts at continuing reform and improvement including ‘an unprecedented and sustained rise in investment in public services’

Concern about competence and integrity


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HENCE, THE CIVIL SERVICE …

must deliver ‘better services either directly to the public or through others in the public, voluntary and private sectors’.

This would require officials to demonstrate skills

and expertise that fitted the needs of the job

with first ‘leadership’ skill for top managers

as being ‘visible leaders who inspire trust’


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PUBLIC SERVICE TRENDS Traditional bureaucracy focused on RULES

Needed to protect citizens from exploitation by ‘governors’ ‘20th Century’ reforms focused more on RESULTS

Often with many targets that had to be met

Meeting target mattered more than meeting people’s needs

Employees stressed, public poorly served Now a new focus on RELATIONSHIPS:

To build trust diversify employment

Aim at peace-making, conflict-resolution, etc

Changing concepts of INTEGRITY


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UK CONCERN: TargetsRISKSWRONG DIRECTIONS? target measurable activities rather than the important?INFLEXIBLE? ‘I must meet my target’ rather than

‘I must do my best to meet this customer’s needs’ CORRUPTION? Hospital waiting lists As elsewhere for state farms, factoriesPERFORMANCE?


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TARGETS: AN EXAMPLEFINDINGS IN BRITAINReport to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that

‘several managers made untrue claims of achieving shorter waiting lists for health care’. In one hospital ‘A controlling mechanism delayed putting patients on the waiting list’ so that it appeared shorter than it was (Comptroller and Auditor General 2001)

Those who do this often justify their actions targets are unfair, set by politicians or bosses

who don’t know situation or why delays arise more important to treat serious cases than trivial


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THE NEED FOR DIVERSITY PUBLIC COMPLAINT ABOUT OFFICIALS (in UK)

‘They’ don’t understand’, especially if ethnic minority

Therefore get a more diverse workforce to ‘achieve a Civil Service better equipped to deliver, adapt and

innovate’ – and perhaps win confidence of all sections of the population

Diversity for gender, ethnicity and ‘disability’ targets set, initially for 2008 for percentage of

Senior Civil Service to be women, and from ethnic minorities or disabled


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PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Treat Staff As People! Death of ‘long hours culture’

Aim to be ‘family friendly’, have ‘work-life balance’

Diversity of working practices & times, career breaks1985 – staff protected by unions

1995 – performance criteria: to get promoted produce much, get noticed, come early, work late

2005 – career breaks, job-share, 11 month year

‘Late again? Not on top of work? Don’t you delegate enough’

Now ‘policy’, but implementation ‘patchy’


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STAFF CONFIDENCE & COMMITMENTOffice environment – social and physical Interactions, space, meetings, decor

Management style MBWA, MBGA, supportive, watch for weaknesses, etc

Flexitime How do staff travel? Core day and flexible start/finish? ‘Clock-in’? No! ‘Trust but verify’ = random checks

TOIL: Time Off In Lieu… Also transport issues… Family-friendly, but how can we avoid abuse?


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A CHANGING WORK ETHICFrom

rulers to servants of the people patronage and favours to equity (no discrimination) anonymity to ‘name label’ responsibility secrecy to ‘freedom of information’

from ‘tell nothing unless authorised’ to ‘tell everything unless’ management to drive, control, to encourage, protect deciding at the top to delegation, devolution flattery, subservience; to ‘telling truth to power’ because ‘Leaders need to know

what they do not want to hear’


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SABOTAGED BY CORRUPTION

BY ‘VHF’ CORRUPTION MORE THAN ‘LF’(corruption comes in many forms, all sizes, but two frequencies)

To reduce the risks to integrity from corruption

we need to Recognise the problem Understand VHF corruption Choose our objectives Balance our methods to ‘Trust but Verify’


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RESTRAINT AND OPPORTUNITY Change gives opportunity for corrupt practices Rapid changes reduce effective restraints

Compare one-off deals with having ‘regular customers’ Countries with developing and transitional

economies as ‘Areas of Rapid Social Change’ Hence especially vulnerable…

Initially much corruption came from ‘outside’ – from developed countries

But with increasing collusion, ‘all to blame’


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A CRIME OF OPPORTUNITYConsider the staff in an office

One short of cash…

makes fraudulent expense claim because he thinks he can get away with it ‘just for once’

He doesThen he does it again, and again…

he tells his friend, who tells her friends…

until ‘everybody does it’

That is VHF corruption


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THE CORRUPTION TRAP!Then somebody new joins the office staff…

If they don’t do the same, a problem… that may expose the crime of those who do

They are urged to join in and perhaps threatened if they don’t

as for the police recruits in Hong Kong…

Many trapped in patterns of corrupt activity If corrupt acts escape censure, many do it! Without restraints VHF corruption is normal Need to explain integrity rather than corruption


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BUT BEWARE … Nowhere is corruption zero, nowhere 100% Perception may not reflect reality

Perceptions and experience differ for surveys

in South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria, elsewhere… But perception is important, for …

trust, despair, encouraging the corrupt And many stakeholders gain when

corruption exaggerated (think who!)


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LF BRIBERY VHF

Strong Restraints: LF A few people bribe

to get unfair advantage Few employees abuse

position, take bribes Seldom discussed People, complacent Bribery shameful Guilty fear penalty, prison if not vhf

Few Restraints: VHF ‘Everybody’ pays

to get fair treatment Employees learn, justify,

demand Much discussed People complain, pay No shame Fear ‘group’ Trapped (HK)


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OBJECTIVES, AIMS, PRIORITIES

LOW FREQUENCY, LF Maintain integrity, trust Prevent corruption

(outsiders try to subvert) Sustain good behaviour Beware complacency Warn of risks Analogies Immunize, inoculate Repair, strengthen Defend against invader

HIGH FREQUENCY, ‘VHF’ Restore integrity, trust Reduce corruption

though risk never zero Help change behaviour Beware despair, disillusion Give people hope Analogies Cure, relieve pain! Rebuild Attack/war? Rescue!


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COMBAT OBJECTIVES? Where VHF, what measures of success?

Not to fill prisons with all who act corruptly But nobody in prison for ‘corruption’

because nobody continues to act corruptly Objectives?

Help people escape ‘corruption trap’ Help them change behaviour

Strategy? Hard/soft; tough/gentle To deter any tempted to act corruptly To encourage all to help reduce corruption


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ACTION TO DETERClarify laws, regulations, codes

to speed the courts, strengthen Public Service discipline

Chase the money remember, usually those who pay get the big benefits

Set up stings when corruption expected and offer rewards for catching those who pay or demand but warn ‘corrupt’ beforehand because aim is not ‘prison’, but change of behaviour

Test integrity


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ACTION TO ENCOURAGE Sell the idea – ‘social marketing’

aiming to improve and strengthen… Awareness

The damage done by corrupt acts

The success in some campaigns to reduce it Attitudes

Wanting change Wanting to help bring it about And for that, make it easy to report

Action


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STRENGTHENING STAFF INTEGRITY

‘TRUST BUT VERIFY’Need to win support of staff to see need for integrity Improve transparency and accountability with care

The best staff hate them – think them waste of time But trust may matter more than efficiency

Avoid excess bureaucracy with random checks Convincing staff of need for these

to convince outsiders


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PAPERS AT www.good-gov.info Published papers or recent notes ON Corruption issues – Cambridge lecture (notes) Transparency and Accountability Integrity tests

COMING SOON – by August 07… Changing directions of Public Service Reform Combating corruption: some unfamiliar truths? Text-messaging to improve governance New reviews

Better readability, better access, new home page

strengthening workplace integrity notes prepared for a forum arranged by the philippine civil...

Documents

trust slide

concepts of integrity

workplace harmony

public services concern

loss of trust

uk concern

actions targets

meeting target