Mark Opo Mr.

Jaypee Zoilo

BSA – IV BA -1

1. What is your understanding of the concept of governance? And What is your own
concept of governance? Explain.

The concept of "governance" is not new. However, it means different things to

different people, therefore we have to get our focus right. The actual meaning of the
concept depends on the level of governance we are talking about, the goals to be achieved
and the approach being followed.

The concept has been around in both political and academic discourse for a long time,
referring in a generic sense to the task of running a government, or any other appropriate
entity for that matter. In this regard the general definition provided by Webster's Third
New International Dictionary (1986:982) is of some assistance, indicating only that
governance is a synonym for government, or "the act or process of governing,
specifically authoritative direction and control". This interpretation specifically focuses
on the effectiveness of the executive branch of government.

The working definition used by the British Council, however, emphasises that
"governance" is a broader notion than government (and for that matter also related
concepts like the state, good government and regime), and goes on to state: "Governance
involves interaction between the formal institutions and those in civil society.
Governance refers to a process whereby elements in society wield power, authority and
influence and enact policies and decisions concerning public life and social upliftment."

"Governance", therefore, not only encompasses but transcends the collective meaning of
related concepts like the state, government, regime and good government. Many of the
elements and principles underlying "good government" have become an integral part of
the meaning of "governance". John Healey and Mark Robinson1 define "good
government" as follows: "It implies a high level of organisational effectiveness in relation
to policy-formulation and the policies actually pursued, especially in the conduct of
economic policy and its contribution to growth, stability and popular welfare. Good
government also implies accountability, transparency, participation, openness and the
rule of law. It does not necessarily presuppose a value judgement, for example, a healthy
respect for civil and political liberties, although good government tends to be a
prerequisite for political legitimacy".
 In terms of distinguishing the term governance from government, “governance” is
what a “government” does. It might be a geo-political, a corporate government, a socio-
political government, or any number of different kinds of government. Governance is the
dynamic exercise of management power and policy, while government is the instrument
that does it.
“Good governance” was initially expressed in a 1989 World Bank publication. In 1992,
the Bank published a report entitled, Governance and Development, which explored the
concept further and its application. In 1997, the Bank redefined the concept “good
governance” as a necessary precondition for development. Good governance is to
promote and sustain holistic and integrated human development. The central focus is to
see how the government enables, simplifies and authorises its people, regardless of
differences of caste, creed, class, and political ideology and social origin to think, and
take certain decisions which will be in their best interest, and which will enable them
class, and political ideology and social origin to think, and take certain decisions which
will be in their best interest, and which will enable them to lead a clean, decent, happy,
and autonomous existence.

2. Explain the shift of government to governance.

To control is to direct what each part of the system must do. It assumes that the
controller knows the goals and is certain how an action it requires can lead to it.
Deviation will be viewed as error in a context of full knowledge. This is how machines
follow orders unwaveringly. Controlling assumes a law using the term in the scientific
sense, but to manage is to act on a hypothesis. The manager works on incomplete
information and tests if the hypothesis is borne out in a given situation. A manager then
must be open to inputs from outside him/herself which might provide new information,
and to methods other than those originally promulgated that could lead to the specified
goal. Governance chooses management over control because its system is permeable,
admits of outside influences, assumes no omnipotence or omniscience on the part of the
decision maker, and subjects decisions to the evaluation and critique of all those with a
stake in them. All governing is an act of leadership, of moving a society towards a
preferred direction. While government can have a connotation of being interested only in
maintenance and in preserving peace and order, governance implies leadership toward
societal development.
 3. Discuss the theories of governance and New Public Management.

Governance refers to the development of governing styles in which boundaries between and
within public and private sectors have become blurred. The essence of governance is its
focus on mechanisms that do not rest on recourse to 16 the authority and sanctions of
government. Governance for is about the potential for contracting, franchising and new forms of
regulation. In short, it is about what refer to as the new public management. However,
governance is more than a new set of managerial tools. It is also about more than achieving
greater efficiency in the production of public services. Peters and Pierre agree, saying that
governance is about process, while NPM is about outcomes.

Governance is ultimately concerned with creating the conditions for ordered rule and
collective action. Governance refers to the development of governing styles in which boundaries
between and within public and private sectors has become blurred. The essence of governance,
and its most troublesome aspect, according to its critics, is a focus on mechanisms that do not
rest on recourse to the authority and sanctions of government As should be expected, all efforts
to synthesize the literature draw from theories found in the separate traditions. Berman owes
debts to Van Meter and Van Horn and Goggin, among others. for a description of reform
movements in the public sector that collectively comprise “New Public Management” (NPM). I
adopt her definition of NPM as a series of innovations that considered collectively embody
public choice approaches, transaction-cost relationships, and preferences for efficiency over
equity. notes, the outputs of governance are not different from those of government; it is instead
a matter of a difference in processes. Five propositions to frame our understanding of the critical
questions that governance theory should help us answer. He acknowledges that each proposition
implies a dilemma or critical issue.

 Governance refers to institutions and actors from within and beyond government.
But there is a divorce between the complex reality of decision-making associated with
governance and the normative codes used to explain and justify government. The
question, as it relates to policy implementation, is one of legitimacy. The extent to which
those with decision-making power are seen to be legitimate (in the normative sense) will
directly impact their ability to mobilize resources and promote cooperation and build and
sustain partnerships. Thus, the normative dilemma has pragmatic overtones.
 Governance identifies the blurring of boundaries and responsibilities for tackling
social and economic issues.
This shift in responsibility goes beyond the public-private dimension to include notions
of communitarianism and social capital. (However, blurring of responsibilities can lead to
blame avoidance or scapegoating). An interesting research area that has grown in scope
and importance following the implementation of welfare reform is the study of faith-
based organizations’ role and 17 impact in service delivery. Public agencies have not
merely endorsed or encouraged this partnership, but in some cases have institutionalized
 these arrangements. This suggests a shift in responsibility beyond the more traditional
notions of contracting out and privatization. At the same time, all of these activities
contribute to uncertainties on the part of policy makers and the public about who is in
charge and who can be held accountable for performance outcomes. Implementation
theory must attend to the nature and impact of responsibility and accountability.
 Governance identifies the power dependence involved in the relationships between
institutions involved in collective action.
Organizations are dependent upon each other for the achievement of collective action,
and thus must exchange resources and negotiate shared understandings of ultimate
program goals. The implementation literature is replete with studies of coordination
barriers and impacts (for example, Jennings and Ewalt, 1998). (Nonetheless, power
dependence exacerbates the problem of unintended consequences for government
because of the likelihood of principal-agent problems.) For implementation scholarship to
contribute to a greater understanding of governance relationships, arrangements for
minimizing (and impacts of) game-playing, subversion, creaming and opportunism must
be explored.
 Governance is about autonomous self-governing networks of actors.
The emergence of self-governing networks raises difficulties over accountability.
Governance networks, in Stoker’s terms, “involve not just influencing government policy
but taking over the business of government” . The “hollow state” that networks have
triggered raises questions about how government can manage public programs when they
consist largely of entities outside the public domain. Network theory and governance
issues overlap, and they are both directly linked to questions of implementation.

 Governance recognizes the capacity to get things done which does not rest on the
power of government to command or use its authority.
But even so, government failures may occur. It is in this proposition that we find a natural
progression from the more encompassing theory of governance to the more prescriptive
notions of New Public Management. Stoker notes that within governance there is a
concerted emphasis on new tools and techniques to steer and guide. The language is
taken directly from reinventing themes. The dilemma of governance in this context is that
there is a broader concern with the very real potential for leadership failure, differences
among key partners in time horizons and goal priorities, and social conflicts, all of which
can result in governance failure. Stoker draws on Goodin as he suggests that design
challenges of public institutions can be addressed in part by “revisability, robustness,
sensitivity to motivational complexity, public defendability, and variability to encourage
experimentation”
 New Public Management (NPM) is an approach to running public service organizations
that is used in government and public service institutions and agencies, at both sub-
 national and national levels. The term was first introduced by academics in the UK and
Australiato describe approaches that were developed during the 1980s as part of an effort
to make the public service more "businesslike" and to improve its efficiency by using
private sector management models. As with the private sector, which focuses on
"customer service", NPM reforms often focused on the "centrality of citizens who were
the recipient of the services or customers to the public sector". NPM reformers
experimented with using decentralized service delivery models, to give local agencies
more freedom in how they delivered programs or services. In some cases, NPM reforms
that used e-government consolidated a program or service to a central location to reduce
costs. Some governments tried using quasi-market structures, so that the public sector
would have to compete against the private sector. Key themes in NPM were "financial
control, value for money, increasing efficiency identifying and setting targets and
continuance monitoring of performance, handing over ... power to the senior
management" executives. Performance was assessed with audits, benchmarks and
performance evaluations. Some NPM reforms used private sector companies to deliver
what were formerly public services.

4. Discuss the significance of governance in the development process.

Governance is a hard thing to measure. Even just defining what governance is can be
challenging, since different perspectives exist on what variables should be included. For
instance, some think of governance rather narrowly, equating it with anti-corruption.
First, there are the processes by which those in authority are selected, monitored, and
replaced (Voice and Accountability,Political Stability & Absence of Violence). Second,
there is the issue of capacity of governments to effectively manage resources and
formulate and implement sound policies (Government Effectiveness; Regulatory
Quality). Third, there is the degree of respect of citizens and state for the country’s
institutions that govern interactions among them (Rule of Law; Control of Corruption).
In practical terms, there are three particular features of good governance that makes it
significance in the working of the government.
 First, the empowerment and capacity of government to frame and implement
policies and discharge functions.
 Second, the form of political will.
 Third, the process by which authority is exercised in the management of country’s
economic and social resources for development. It also reflects the attitudes of the
people towards the functioning of the so many agencies of the government.