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
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