The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how routines carried out by government officials are modified, often unconsciously, by the interplay of the underpinning, internalised narratives they bring both individually and... [ view full abstract ]
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how routines carried out by government officials are modified, often unconsciously, by the interplay of the underpinning, internalised narratives they bring both individually and organisationally to their work, and to point to ways in which public sector managers can build in the 'human factor' to these routines.
This paper specifically contributes to the management literature by demonstrating how Actor-Network Theory is an effective approach for drawing out the narratives from officials’ day to day actions, and for revealing the different effects of these narratives on officials’ behaviour and on the results they were trying to achieve. A unique contribution is the consideration of the role of non-human actors in policy narrative.
By focusing on how government officials perform the routines of the policy process, and connecting narrative to action, this paper fills a gap in policy and public management literature. This contribution is particularly important in an environment where government officials are challenged with developing effective responses to problems and opportunities in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world.
The doctoral research this paper draws on examined how border management policy officials translated into action a public commitment by the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand to “reduce remaining barriers at the borders to ensure that people and goods can move more easily between the two countries” (Key & Rudd, 2009). The time-period covered was 2009-2011.
The research method involved tracing chronological stories of five strands of activity and then analysing the data with Actor-Network Theory. This paper focuses on one of the stories, about the introduction of SmartGate into New Zealand. The analysis was enriched by the experiences of officials involved in the work. Analysis included focusing on where translation occurred and its effects, identifying actor-networks and the effects of intersecting actor-networks on results. The focus was on tracing the collective effects of groups of officials rather than following individuals.
Primary data were written documents (public and internal to the government agencies), semi-structured interviews with officials involved with the events and, as a form of triangulation, my own recollections of the events, which I had been involved in as a policy official. An important part of drawing out the narratives was using exactly what people said rather than the double hermeneutic of interpreting interviewees’ interpretations.
The research found that officials worked with and created multiple narratives through their everyday practices; each story had its own set of narratives some of which overlapped. The interrelationships between these narratives affected officials’ practices, and therefore the results officials were able to achieve. The officials in the research operated within a system of public administration that defined their work but which in some respects could not control it. This lack of control manifested as variable results that came from the inherent uncertainties in policy practice, the ‘lived experience’ of officials and the concerns that mattered to them.
