PEOPLE, STRUCTURE AND CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

GREY, ALEXANDER; SIMON, ANDREW

The article suggests that the faults of the British Civil Service stem more from its structure than from its personnel. The author notes that the structure derives from the system of procedures under which activities are allocated, coordinated and controlled within the organization. This system of procedures is identified as the organization's structure, which is seen as the main influence on its behavior. Due to political restrictions, the Civil Service is often prevented from structuring itself in the most appropriate way. A solution proposed to this has been to suggest measures which focus the attention of both Parliament and the Civil Service on matters of policy, providing them with appropriate information and enabling them to respond to a situation's underlying trends rather than the crisis itself.

UNITED Kingdom; ORGANIZATIONAL structure; CIVIL service; CHANGE; COMMITTEES; PUBLIC administration; PUBLIC officers; BRITISH politics & government; NATIONAL service; LAW enforcement; MANAGEMENT science; SOCIAL conditions in Great Britain

Journal of Management Studies (Wiley-Blackwell), 1970, Vol 7, Issue 3, p288

0022-2380

Academic Journal

10.1111/j.1467-6486.1970.tb00607.x