IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/njopap/v7y2014i1p22n2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Profile and Work of Officials in Central and Regional Administration Compared: The Case of the Czech Republic

Author

Listed:
  • Veselý Arnošt

    (Associate Professor, Institute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic)

Abstract

This paper examines the profiles and work tasks of officials in central and regional administration in the Czech Republic. It analyzes data from surveys among the officials of eleven ministries in 2013 (N = 1351) and fourteen regional offices in 2012 (N = 783). First, the profile of ministerial officials (MOs) is compared with that of regional-level officials (ROs). In accordance with our hypotheses, on average it is found that MOs are, when compared to ROs, older, more educated and have spent more time in civil service. Th ere is also a higher proportion of men in ministries than in regional offices. On the other hand, ministerial work seems to be affected by higher levels of fluctuation than jobs in the regional offices. Second, we compare work tasks of MOs and ROs. As expected, MOs are more involved in analytical tasks and research than ROs. In contrast, ROs are more likely to implement policies or programs, direct and monitor programs or lower-level bodies, provide advice for political bodies of the region, negotiate with elected politicians, communicate with citizens and provide methodological guidance, train or lecture. Contrary to our theoretical expectations, we found a strong positive correlation between analytical and brokering tasks (communication and negotiation). We thus reject the hypothesis that analytical tasks are at odds with negotiating and communication. Instead, it is concluded that most officials are multitaskers, and it is especially so in regional offices. It is hypothesized that this might be caused by the fact that regional offices are smaller and have a lower capacity to specialize

Suggested Citation

  • Veselý Arnošt, 2014. "The Profile and Work of Officials in Central and Regional Administration Compared: The Case of the Czech Republic," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 7(1), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:njopap:v:7:y:2014:i:1:p:22:n:2
    DOI: 10.2478/nispa-2014-0002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2014-0002
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/nispa-2014-0002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Hoppe, 1999. "Policy analysis, science and politics: from ‘speaking truth to power’ to ‘making sense together’," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 26(3), pages 201-210, June.
    2. Michael Howlett, 2011. "Public Managers as the Missing Variable in Policy Studies: An Empirical Investigation Using Canadian Data," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 28(3), pages 247-263, May.
    3. Bouckaert Geert & Nakrošis Vitalis & Nemec Juraj, 2011. "Public Administration and Management Reforms in CEE: Main Trajectories and Results," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 4(1), pages 9-29, July.
    4. Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling, 2009. "Sustainability of Civil Service Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe Five Years After EU Accession," SIGMA Papers 44, OECD Publishing.
    5. Liesbet, Hooghe & Gary, Marks, 2003. "Unraveling the Central State, but How? Types of Multi-level Governance," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(2), pages 233-243, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Colebatch H.K., 2017. "Policy, learning and regime change: Western concepts and CEE experience," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 11(2), pages 2-10, December.
    2. Salih Ozgur SARICA, 2014. "Regional Economic Growth. Socio-Economic Disparities among Counties," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 3(4), pages 25-36, December.
    3. Khadzhyradieva Svitlana & Slukhai Sergii & Rachynskyi Anatolii, 2020. "Public Administration in Ukraine: Adjusting to European Standards," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 13(1), pages 81-108, June.
    4. Heike Schroeder, 2010. "Agency in international climate negotiations: the case of indigenous peoples and avoided deforestation," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(4), pages 317-332, December.
    5. Rosta, Miklós, 2013. "New Public Management: opportunity for the Centre, thread for the Periphery," MPRA Paper 68474, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Tóth, Balázs, 2021. "Milyen kapcsolatban állnak a közszféra reformjai a gazdaságpolitikai paradigmákkal? [How reforms of the public sector relate to the paradigms of economic policy]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(2), pages 205-222.
    7. Frank, Alejandro Germán & Gerstlberger, Wolfgang & Paslauski, Carolline Amaral & Lerman, Laura Visintainer & Ayala, Néstor Fabián, 2018. "The contribution of innovation policy criteria to the development of local renewable energy systems," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 353-365.
    8. Alina CIOBANU & Armenia ANDRONICEANU, 2018. "Integrated Human Resources Activities - The Solution For Performance Improvement In Romanian Public Sector Institutions," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 10(3), pages 60-79, September.
    9. Nemec Juraj, 2018. "Public Administration Reforms in Slovakia: Limited Outcomes (Why ?)," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 115-134, June.
    10. Libman, Alexander, 2010. "Internal centralization and international integration in the post-Soviet space," MPRA Paper 21882, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Virginia Băleanu & Sabina Irimie, 2011. "Mentoring in Public Management: Conceptual and Practical Approaches at the National and International Level," Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics, University of Petrosani, Romania, vol. 11(4), pages 33-44.
    12. Arnošt Veselý, 2017. "Policy advice as policy work: a conceptual framework for multi-level analysis," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(1), pages 139-154, March.
    13. Moes, Floortje & Houwaart, Eddy & Delnoij, Diana & Horstman, Klasien, 2020. "Questions regarding ‘epistemic injustice’ in knowledge-intensive policymaking: Two examples from Dutch health insurance policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    14. Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling & Will Lowe & Christian van Stolk, 2016. "Silent professionalization: EU integration and the professional socialization of public officials in Central and Eastern Europe," European Union Politics, , vol. 17(1), pages 162-183, March.
    15. Agustin Leon-Moreta, 2015. "Municipal incorporation in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(16), pages 3160-3180, December.
    16. Ochrana František & Plaček Michal & Půček Milan Jan, 2016. "Shortfall of Strategic Governance and Strategic Management in the Czech Republic," Central European Journal of Public Policy, Sciendo, vol. 10(2), pages 30-47, December.
    17. Borce Davitkovski & Irena Kikerkova & Ljubomir Drakulevski, 0. "Current Reforms in Professional Development through Training of the Public Administration in the Republic Of Macedonia," Administrative Consulting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. North-West Institute of Management., issue 8.
    18. Wei JIANG & Xuhui ZHANG, 2017. "Energy Labeling System of Urban Residential Buildings: Market Effect and Operating Mechanism — A Case Study of Energy-Saving Renovations in the Netherlands and Its Implications," Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies (CJUES), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 5(04), pages 1-14, December.
    19. Mazur Stanisław & Możdżeń Michał & Oramus Marek, 2018. "The Instrumental and Ideological Politicisation of Senior Positions in Poland’s Civil Service and its Selected Consequences," NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 63-89, June.
    20. Kern, Kristine & Löffelsend, Tina, 2004. "Governance beyond the nation-state: Transnationalization and europeanization of the Baltic Sea Region," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Civil Society and Transnational Networks SP IV 2004-105, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:njopap:v:7:y:2014:i:1:p:22:n:2. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.