Collective set of values, beliefs, attitudes & behaviour that determines which employees of an org will interact as well as their attitude towards their client and other partner agencies.
- WC in CS crucial for effective functioning of PubAd
- WC of an org reflects philosophy & character of the org is usually formed over long period of time & is deeply influenced by the founders of the org
- eg. Google emphasizes WC of innovation, creativity, risk taking
- participative mgmt & sense of community
- Intel: capacity building programs
- Amazon: sets stiffed targets, doesn’t pay attention to work life balance
- Tata friendly work culture
Traits of healthy WC
- WLB
- healthy competition among peers
- culture of inclusivity
- democratic decision making
- flat org
Traits of toxic WC
- lack of clarity abt roles
- culture of negativity
- office politics
- fear of failure
- low motivation, high attrition
Ideal WC characteristics in CS
- integrity, avoiding CoI, maintaining transparency, acting in pubic interest
- promote responsiveness & compassion, esp. towards weaker sections of society
- transparency should be promoted in govt ops & should be open to public scrutiny
- eg. Right to Services Act, RTI, eGov
- accountability
- CSer be accountable for actions, take responsibility for their outcomes
- performance management systems
- professionalism, competence
- focus on continuous professional development through training programs
- inclusiveness
- diversity respected, valued
- teamwork & collaboration
- interdepartmental coordination to work on complicated projects
Challenges
- unique emphasis on R&R
- stifles innovation
- new ideas pushed aside
- cost/time overrun
- resistance to change
- institutional resistance
- adoption of new tech sufers
- attitude of complacency
- time bound promotions and career CS have made CS reactive in nature
- policies are myopic
- corruption & unethical practices
- bribery, favoritism, leads to inefficiency, loss of public resources
- secrecy in CS
- 2nd ARC: Secrecy is big problem in CS
- hide reasoning behind policy decisions
- insensitivity in CS
- hierarchical
- insulated from realities from ground
WC in different countries
US WC
- high priority on results, achievements
- highly individualistic, competitive
- employees are expected to work beyond office hours
- employees don’t enjoy lot of protection resulting in uncertainty and security
German WC
- punctuality
- no expectation of working overtime
- socializing & gossiping and not encouraged in the workspace
- WLB
Japanese WC
- cooperation & mutual respect
- process oriented, instead of result oriented
- contrary to German, Employees are expected to socialize outside wokr
Scandinavian
- short work week (30-36h/w)
- mental ell being
- 5w paid vacation
- org focus on flat hierarchy, encourage autonomy & independent decision making
Improving WC in CS
- Strengthen ethical framework
- ensure communicated effectively to all public servants
- training, development
- org. workshop on ethical decision making, leadership, new tech
- transparency, accountability
- strengthening mechanism for transparency and accountability by establishing independent oversight bodies to monitor compliance
- eg. lokpal, lokayukta, Citizen charter, RTI
- PRAGATI platform
- GATI Shakti
- supportive work env
- flexible working arrangements, providing support to maintain WLB
- promoting flexibility & innovation
- encouraging CSer to test new approaches, tech even if it involves enduring failure
- demonstrating commitment to organization values
- actions, leading by example
Exaples:
- Singapore
- efficiency, professionalism, +ve WC
- australia
- innovation, creativity
- Norway
- WLB, flexible working conditions