Civil Service Reforms in Hong Kong and Thailand: different paths, similar ends?

Civil service reforms are viewed as a key strategy for dealing with problems in public administration and enhancing capacity and competitiveness of the public sector. Hong Kong and Thailand share similar characteristics of a... [ view full abstract ]

Civil service reforms are viewed as a key strategy for dealing with problems in public administration and enhancing capacity and competitiveness of the public sector. Hong Kong and Thailand share similar characteristics of a strong bureaucracy and the civil service plays a key role in the development of both units. They have undertaken numerous reforms in their civil service systems, apparently motivated by the same global trend. However, the paths of the civil service reforms taken by Hong Kong and Thailand were different.

Civil service reforms in Hong Kong focused mainly on management through the processes of re-engineering, streamlining of procedures and organizational review to strengthen financial management, economy and efficiency. Changes were introduced to the entry system and terms of appointment and conditions of service for new recruits. This were revisions to pay scales with a view to ensuring parity with private sector, disciplinary arrangements were streamlined, with further emphasis on performance management, training and development.

The main emphasis in recent civil service reforms in Thailand, on the other hand, was on governance. A new Civil Service Act was promulgated in 2008. A new human resource management system was introduced to enable civil servants to work professionally with emphasis on the principles of ability, integrity, transparent and accountable performance of duties, and position classification system was introduced to create a flexible and adaptive system. The reforms were expected to restore public trust and confidence in the civil service.

The proposed paper intends to compare recent reforms in the civil service of Hong Kong and Thailand. The paper will review the proposed reforms and subsequent developments to assess their progress. This is expected to yield insight on the adoption of different strategies for similar improvements in the civil service and society in general, and the factors that impacted the outcomes.