Reorganization

The Meaning of Reorganization

In political science and public administration, reorganization usually refers to government reorganization. But one can talk about legislative reorganization and judicial reorganization as well. Reorganization refers to the imposition of a new way of organizing, or “to organize differently,” which often involves an extensive alteration of the structure of government.

Any such reorganization or “shake-up” introduced must by definition produce extensive and drastic changes to government; minor changes in government are not considered to be an act of reorganization. In addition, there may be a wide range of goals in reorganization, but the assumption is that these goals—efficiency, effectiveness, and changes in policy—are all being addressed through structural changes in the public sector.

The expression “government reorganization” has a neutral connotation. It does not directly praise or condemn the Old System as being good or bad. The emphasis is on the introduction of a different way of organizing government. On the other hand, the word reform is value laden. Reform refers to a change for the better as a result of correcting [Page 2269]abuses, as in the common statement, “Corruption in government is rampant, so there is an urgent need to reform government.” So the words government reorganization and government reform are different, although at times they tend to be used interchangeably.

Recent developments in the field of political science and public administration have emphasized “reform” over “reorganization.” The new buzzwords are, for example, “administrative reform,” “government reform,” “governance reform,” “NPM reform,” “reinventing government,” and “revitalizing government.” One reason why the phrase word government reorganization is being replaced by these new words has to do with the beliefs among practitioners and scholars that the old government machines are in an urgent need of being changed drastically. This has been true in both the developed and the less developed countries. The phrases administrative reform and government reform are very broad and do not specify the intended nature of reform. In fact, administrative reform is a broader term than government reform because the latter focuses on the reform of government, while the first covers broader areas such as the public sector and civil society. Meanwhile, the terms governance reform, new public management (NPM) reform, and reinventing government are driven by specific doctrines or principles of reform. We will return to this topic later in the entry.

The Targets of Government Reorganization

There are many ways to implement programs for government reorganization. The most common kind of government reorganization is structural. For example, government reorganization may involve the creation of new ministries and departments, the merging of several lower level units into a higher one, and the structural expansion of a government agency. The assumption is that the manipulation of structural variables is the key to improving how the system operates. Other targets of reorganization are more focused on procedures. For example, one of the common targets for reorganization has been budget processes. Other targets have included personnel policy in government, policy making, ethics, and strategic management.

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