SHIFTING MANAGEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE IN THE ETHIOPIAN CIVIL SERVICE

SHIFTING MANAGEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE IN THE ETHIOPIAN CIVIL SERVICE

Effective management influences organisational performance. In private firms, CEO traits and management practices impact performance but there is limited research exploring how managerial styles affect performance in the public sector. In public administration many activities are non-contractible and tenures are long, making management styles particularly important but potentially difficult to modify.

This project evaluates how exposing public sector officials to different management styles influences their beliefs about effective management and organisational performance. The project aims to improve our understanding on ways to build state effectiveness through the improved performance of public administrators, estimating the demand for training and learning in the workplace, and the mechanisms by which managerial style can be changed in public sector organisations.

Researchers have partnered with the Ethiopian Federal Government's core training centres - the Ethiopian Management Institute [EMI] and Civil Service University [CSU]- and plan to expose public-sector middle managers to different management styles during their training sessions. Trainings at EMI and CSU generally aim to upgrade the skills of public servants towards new government processes and are therefore a key component in public sector performance.

The core intervention exposes officials to novel management approaches through videos that are educational but entertaining (known in the literature as 'edutainment') and an additional social media campaign.

Yetsedaw Emagne Bekele

Graduate Student, University of Messina

Harry Dienes

Graduate Student, Cornell University

Dan Rogger

Senior Research Economist, World Bank

SHIFTING MANAGEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE IN THE ETHIOPIAN CIVIL SERVICE