Enhancing Public Sector Productivity in Ghana: A Qualitative Study
![](https://www.texilajournal.com/thumbs/article/2026.jpg)
Abstract:
In recent times, there have been calls on public sector workers to increase productivity in the public sector of Ghana. This comes against the backdrop that productivity in Ghana "s public sector appears to be consistently declining. While this seems to be the situation, it appears there is paucity of literature on the actual causes of productivity and how it can be improved in Ghana. Using secondary data and content analysis, this paper examines the phenomenon of low productivity in the public sector and recommends measures for improvement. Findings of the study revealed that poor remuneration systems in the public sector, political interference, and bureaucratic inertia are among the causes of low productivity in the public sector. The study recommended that public sector productivity could be enhanced through the establishment of a flexible bureaucracy, improvement in remuneration, regular monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the public sector and appointment of personnel based on merit. Political will as well as effective leadership is considered useful instrument to propel productivity in the public sector.References:
[1].
Asamoah, K. PhD, & Osei-Kojo.,
A. (2013). Enhancing Public Sector Productivity
in Ghana: A Qualitative Study. Macrothink Institute: Journal of Public
Administration and Governance. Vol 3, No.3.
[2].
Curristine, T., Lonti, Z., &
Journard I. (2007). Improving Public Sector Efficiency:
Challenges and Opportunities: OECD Journal on Budgeting Vol. 7, No.
1.
[3].
Curristine, T. (2005). “Performance Information In The Budget Process: Results of the OECD
2005 Questionaire” OECD Journal on Budgeting; 5 (2), pp. 87-131.
[4].
Abdulai, A. I. (2000). Human Resource Management in Ghana:
Prescriptions and Issues Raised by the Fourth Republican Constitution. The
International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13, 5, pp. 447-466.
[5].
Armstrong, M., & Helen, M. (2007). Reward Management: A Handbook of Remuneration. London: Kogan
Page.
[6].
Ayee, J. R. (2008). Ghana at 50:
Government, Politics and Development. In Ghana at 50, Trends in Public Sector Reforms, pp.163-196, Accra.
[7].
Curristine, T (2005). “Government Performance: Lessons and
Challenges” OECD Journal
on Budgeting, 5(1), PP. 127-151.
[8].
Ayee, J. R. A (2000). Saints, Wizards, Demons and Systems:
Explaining the Success and Failure of Public Policies and Programs. Ghana
University Press: Accra.
[9].
Ayee, J. R. A. (2007).Trends in
Public Sector Reforms, In Ayee, J. R. A. (ed.) Ghana at 50: Government and
Development.
[10]. Babie,
E. (2004). The Practice of Social
Research (10 ed.). Belmont: CA, USA: Wadsworth.
[11]. Battler,
S.(1991). “Privatization for Public Purposes”, In Willaim, G. Jr (ed). Privatization and its Alternatives. Madison:
University of Wisconsin Press.
[12]. Buchanan,
J., & Tullock, G. (1962). The Calculus
of Consent. Ann Abor: University of Michigan.
[13]. Caiden,
G .E. (2005). “Ten Major Flaws in Combating Corruption: A Cautionary Note‟, In
Huque, A. S. and Zafarullah, H.(Eds), International
Development Governance. CRC Press.
[14]. Chang,
E. C., & Wong, M. L. (2002). Corporate
Governance, Political Interference, and Corporate Performance of China's Listed
Companies.
[15]. Cleary,
R. E., & Henry, N. (1989). Managing Public Programs: Balancing Politics,
Administration and Public Needs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[16]. Cohen,
S., Eimicke, W., & Heikkila, T. (2008).The
Effective Public Manager: Achieving
Success in a Changing Government. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
[17]. Coleman,
J. S. (1990). Foundations of Social
Theory. Belkap, Cambridge, MA
[18]. Denison, E. F. (1985). Trends
in American Economic Growth: 1929-1982. Washington, D.C: The Brookings
Institution.
[19]. Downs, A. (1966). Inside Bureaucracy.
Boston: Little, Brown & Company.
[20]. Dye, T. R. (2008). Understanding Public Policy (12th
ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
[21]. Eddy, W. (1981). Public Organizational
Behavior and Development. Winthrop Publishers: MA.
[22]. Elster, J. (1983). Sour Grapes.
Cambridge: Cambridge University
[23]. Foulkes, F. K. & Livernash, E. R. (1982). Human Resource
Management: Texts and Cases. NJ: Prentice
Hall.
[24]. Friedman, D. & Hechter, M. (1988). The Contribution of
Rational Choice Theory to Macro Sociological Research. Sociological Theory, 6,
201-218.
[25]. Gould, D. J. & Amaro-Reyes, J. A.(1983). The Effect of
Corruption on Administrative Performance: Illustrations from Developing
Countries. Washington D C: World Bank.
[26]. Grindle, M. S. (1997).
Getting Good Government: Capacity Building in The Public Sectors of Developing
Countries. Harvard Institute for International Development: Harvard
University.
[27]. Gulick, L. (1993). Reflections on Public Administration: Past and
Future. Public Administration Times,16,
2.
[28]. Hackman, J. R., & Oldman, G. R. (1975). Development of The Job
Diagnostic Survey. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 60, 2.
[29]. Harnett, C. (2011). Public Broadcasting
and Political Interference. New York: Routledge.
[30]. Hardin, R. (1982). Collective Action. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins University Press.
[31]. Hozler, M., & Seok-Hwan, L. (2004). Mastering Public Productivity Performance Improvement from a Productive
Management Perspective (2 ed.). New York: Marcel Dekker.
[32]. International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board. (2010). Key Characteristics of the Public Sector.
New York.
[33]. Iyaniwura, O., & Osoba, A. M. (1983). Measuring Productivity: Conceptual
and Statistical problems: Improvement of Statistics. In A. M. Osoba, Productivity in Nigeria's Proceedings of
National Conference NISER. Ibadan.
[34]. Jackson, P. M. (1999). Productivity and Performance of Public
Sector Organizations. International
Journal of Technology Management, 19 (7/8), 753-66.
[35]. Jamieson, A. (2000). The
antimafia: Italy’s Fight Against Organized Crime. MacMillan, Basingstoke.
[36]. Kull, D. C. (1978). Productivity Programs in the Federal
Government. Public Administration Review,
5-9.
[37]. Lienert, I. (2009). IMF Working
Paper: Where does the Public Sector end and the Private Sector begin? IMF
[38]. Mather, G. (1989). Thatcherism and local government: An
evaluation. In Arnold H. Raphaelson (ed). The
Future of Local Government. London: Macmillan.
[39]. Mathis, R. L. and Jackson, J. H. (2006). Human Resource Management. South-Western: Thomson.
[40]. McConnell, C. R., Brue, S., & Flynn, S. (2009).
Microeconomics: Principles, Problems and Policies.
NJ: McGraw-Hill.
[41]. Ollaoye, A. O. (1985). Total
Factor Productivity Trends in Nigerian Manufacturing, Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, 27, 3, 317-345.
[42]. Osbourne, D and Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing Government. Penguin
Books, USA.
[43]. Owusu, F. (2003). The Effectiveness Public Organizations. Iowa
State University.
[44]. Pollitt, C. (1993), Managerialism
and the Public Services: Cuts or Cultural Change In The 1990s? Oxford: Cambridge University.
[45]. Pratt, J., Plamping. D., & Gordon, P.(2007). Distinctive Characteristics of Public Sector
Organizations and Implications for Leadership. London: Norther
Leadership Academy.
[46]. Price Water House Coopers (2012), http://pwc.com/gh/en/industries/government-and-public-sector.jhtml
[47]. Putnam, R.D. (1993). Making Democracy
Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University.
[48]. Quao, N. (1998), Inaugural Address by Special Guest of Honor. In
Major E.O Bampoh (Rtd) and Nyasembi, J. K.(eds) Public Services Commission
Annual Lectures Inaugural Session, Accra: Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
[49]. Rauch, J. E. and Evans, P. B. (1999). Bureaucratic Structure and
Bureaucratic Performance in the Developed Countries. Discussion Paper 99-06, March. University of Carlifonia, San
Diego.
[50]. Reich, R. B. (1983), The Next
American Frontier. New York: Times Books
[51]. Sakyi, E. K. (2008). Challenges to the Implementation of Civil
Service Reform In Sub-Saharan African countries: Reflections from Ghana. Legend Journal of International Affairs,
53-87.
[52]. Sandbrook, R. (1993). The
Politics of Africa’s Economic Recovery, London: Cambridge University.
[53]. Sapru, R. K. (2004), Public
Policy Formulation, Implementation, and Evaluation. New Delhi: Sterling
Publishers.
[54]. Savas, E. S (1998), Privatization in State and Local Government. in
Arnold H. Raphaelson (ed.) Restructuring and Local ideas, Proposal and
Experiments. Connecticut: Praegeo Publishing.
[55]. Seah, K. L., Thong, J. Y., & Yap, C, S. (2000). Business
Process Reengineering in the Public Sector: The Case of the Housing Development
Board in Singapore. Journal of Management
Information Systems, 17,1, 245-270.
[56]. Stephenson (1999). Production and Operation Management, Boston,
MA: McGraw –Hill
[57]. Vora (1992). Productivity and Performance Measure: Who Uses them?
Production and Inventory Management, 33,
1, 46-49.
[58]. Smith, A., (1776). The Wealth of Nations. New York: Random
House.
[59]. Thornhill, D. (2006). Productivity
Attainment in a Diverse Public Sector. Dublin, April 21. Institute of Public
Administration.
[60]. Stoker, G (1996). Privatization of Urban Water Services in the
United Kingdom. In D. Lorrain and G Stoker (eds). The Privatization of Urban Service in Europe. London: Wellington
House.
[61]. Osborne, D and Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing Government Penguin
Books, USA.
[62]. Batler, S. (1991). “Privatization for Public Purposes’, In
William, G. Jr (ed). Privatization and its Alternatives. Madison: University
of Winsconsin Press.
[63]. Sherwood, M. K (1994). Difficulties in the Measurement of Service
Outputs. Monthly Labour Review, 117,
3, 11-19.
[64]. Stainer, A., & Stainer, L (2000). Performance in Public
Services: A Total Productivity. Approach. International Journal of Business
Performance Management, 24, 263 – 75
[65]. Quao, N. (1998). Inaugural Address by Special Guest of Honour. In
Major E. O Bampoh (Rtd) and Nyasembi, J. K. (eds) Public Services Commission
Annual Lectures Inaugural Session, Accra: Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
[66]. Grindle, M. S (1997), Getting Good Government: Capacity Building
in the Public Sectors of Developing Countries. Harvard Institute for
International Development: Harvard University.
[67]. Osborne, D., and Gaebler, T., (1992). Reinventing Government. Penguin
Books, USA.
[68]. Eddy, W. (1981). Public Organizational
Behavior and Development. Winthrop Publishers:
[69]. Reich, R. B (1983). The Next American Frontier. New York: Times
Books.
[70]. Turner, M. and Hulme, D. (1997). Governance, Administration and
Development, Making the State Work. Palgrave: London.