A Lecture was arranged on the topic “In Defence of Public Sector and Civil Service” by BIC on 14th February, 2007 at 5.30 PM.

Prof. David Sims, who is the Director of Centre for Leadership, Learning & Change, CASS Business School, London, UK, delivered the lecture.

Prof. J Philip, President and Director Emeritus, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, presided over the programme.

Mr. P R Dasgupta, Director of the Centre, welcomed Prof. David Sims and Prof. J Philip.

In a spirited defence of the Public Sector and Civil Service, Prof. Sims pointed out that it has become almost fashionable to blame them for all the ailments of the Civil Society. As a matter of fact the distinctions between the Public Sector and the Private Sector are increasingly getting blurred. Much of the criticism against Public Sector is based on theoretical considerations without taking into account the ground realities. It is generally presumed that Public Sector is slow, inefficient, irrational and generally not result-oriented. Prof. Sims emphasized that this is not, and can not be, the universal truth, just as the entire Private Sector cannot be categoriesed as efficient or result-oriented or even competitive. Drawing example from U K, he pointed out that the National Health Service in the Public Sector was doing a find job till it was decided to privatize it on the model of the Manufacturing Industry in the Private Sector, which was known for its inefficient functioning. This, he thought, was a good example of taking a decision on the presumption that all the public sector units are bad and all private sector units are good. Prof. Sims highlighted that competition and profit motive could not be the touchstone and objective of every economic activity and that there are several public utilities, like water supply, or generation of power which can not be left to the whims and fancies of the private sector. He also gently reminded the audience that perceptions and public relations play a great role in the making of images for both the public sector and the private sector, that competition in the private sector which is supposed to lead to survival of the fittest is often a glorified myth, and that profit is a subjective measure which is often a result of luck or manipulation. It is also a fact that a well-performing public administration is often neither seen or heard. Only when the lapses appear in the working that it gets noticed and commented upon. Prof. Sims conceded that the working in the public sector or public administration may sometimes appear to be slow, but that is partly due to the fact that there is an inbuilt system to ensure public accountability at several crucial stages. The charge that Public Sector and Public Administration is totally against innovation is also, at best, only partially correct; it is a fact that public sector is sometimes weary of untried innovations on the ground that these may not necessarily be efficient. In the ultimate analysis, privatizing the public sector or shrinking its domain need not necessarily be the ideal solution. As Prof. Sims put it, shrinking an elephant need not lead to a working mouse.

In the lively interchange, which followed the lecture of Prof. David Sims, the following views were expressed:

a) In the ultimate analysis, the performance in any sector, whether in the Public Sector or in the Private Sector, depends on the passion, dedication and leadership with which it is run. It may therefore be incorrect to lebel any sector as either inefficient or wasteful merely by highlighting a few bad cases.

b) In so far as the general public is concerned, the label of any sector is largely irrelevant. Most of them are interested in knowing as to whether they can get the services or the products or the public utilities at a reasonably acceptable level and whether there are any norms or yardsticks by which these could be effectively measured or monitored from time to time. It was agreed that this should be applied across the board to both the public as well as the private sector.

Several well-known personalities of Bangalore had attended this extremely informative lecture and the discussion that followed.

The meeting ended with the Vote of Thanks proposed by the Director