...Performance" in 2005 (1) to discuss the critical role of people and human resource management (HRM) in effective public administration, with a particular focus on developing countries and transitional economies. (2) This report discusses recent reform experiences and provides valuable lessons for modernizing human resource management in the public sector.

The purpose of this article is as follows: (1) to identify major contents of and lessons learned from the measures for reforming 'HRM in the public sector' (hereafter, PHRM) proposed by the 2005 report; (2) to critically review the PHRM reform measures suggested in the 2005 report and to suggest additional issues for consideration for effective PHRM reform; and (3) to propose scholarly research agendas to provide developmental and structured PHRM reform measures that are required by the public sector in both the developed and less-developed countries in the future.

Major Contents and the Lessons of WPSR 2005

WPSR 2005 is comprised of a wide-ranging public management agenda. It includes: the globalization of public sector reform, HRM and government performance, socioeconomic challenges facing HRM, the mixed results of HRM reform, managing people as a strategic resource, and promoting organizational learning in the public service. The recommendations in the WPSR 2005 are summarized in Figure 1.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The report provides informative advice for many countries to first establish an effective HRM institutional framework as an infrastructure to achieve sustainable high performance in the public sector (see WPSR 2005's Chapter V). An HRM system should then build on the infrastructure based on three core values--impartiality, professionalism, and responsiveness (Chapter I and V).

The HRM system that is grounded on these three values develops and fundamentally transforms a governmental organization into one that realizes organizational learning, which is essential for effectively responding to a rapidly changing environment (Chapter VI). To strategically develop an HRM system and to transform a public organization into a learning organization, transformational leadership is essential (Chapter VI). WPSR 2005 explains that through such systematic efforts, governments can unlock the human potential for public sector performance, and at the same time, establish responsive governance as a new paradigm in public affairs.

Managing human resources is one of the core functions that government should commit to, but PHRM faces tough challenges around the world. (3) Problem-solving in government becomes increasingly complex and difficult so that it is critical to have competent, professional human resources in any organization. WPSR 2005 provides the following several lessons to many countries around the world, particularly to developing nations and transitional economies.

First, WPSR 2005 clearly states that governments should not become deeply immersed in the dominant administrative models or doctrines at the time they pursue an effective HRM reform or public sector reform. WPSR 2005 attempts to self-examine and to search for lessons from the public sector reforms undertaken by developing countries and transitional economies spearheaded by international organizations including the OECD and the World Bank since the 1990s. New Public Management (NPM) as a new set of principles and practices was diffused as a "global model," often assisted by the weight of influential international agencies. The lessons learned from the "lost decade" of the 1980s in many developing countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America, with its emphasis on downsizing and structural adjustment policies and more recently, from the experiences of many transitional economies during the 1990s, show that the promotion of economic growth and poverty reduction is not associated with the weakening of government institutions, but quite the contrary. (4) Thus the report asserts HRM really matters because efficient HRM can enhance government performance and national development.

Second, WPSR 2005 sets forth values that should be established as principles for HRM reform in integrating diverse existing public administrative models or doctrines. The report explains that to enhance government performance and national development, efficient management of human resources is essential. The report also searches for a new synthesis that involves striking a balance between three broad models or schools in public administration, namely, traditional public administration; public management, including new public management (NPM); and a newly emerging model of responsive governance that emphasizes networks, greater openness and partnerships with civil society and the private sector. The HRM synthesis advocated in this report proposes a public service that is impartial, professional and responsive. Due to weaknesses which will be elaborated in the latter part of this report, however, establishing the synthesis as a principle of HRM reform should be discussed more broadly and thoroughly in the future.

Third, the report recommends a holistic approach rather than a fragmented approach to conducting effective HRM reform. By promoting a consistent approach across all HRM activities, the framework helps to ensure that HRM contributes effectively to achieving the government's objectives. In this vein, WPSR 2005 proposes a two-stage development model according to which, an institutional foundation for HRM that guarantees impartiality and integrity is established, along with a career-based civil service, prior to promoting a public management and responsive governance-oriented HRM reform, which entails complicated legal and institutional reform. Based on the model, the report presents measures and considerations necessary, for reform in each area of HRM from a strategic HRM point of view. The report...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.




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