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Coordinationa complex topic
Topics Last Week Gerry Martone on Personnel and
General Management Problems: Leading Planning Organizing and Coordinating Controlling
Topics Housekeeping:
paper? Coordination:
Afghan case Economic theory Management theory Coordination in the UN How to improve coordination
Not explicitly the military
Coordination When is coordination not
necessary? If there are no disasters If the government functions well If there is only a one-sector
problem (highly likely) If local coping mechanisms &
survival strategies are powerful enough
Then there is no need for a multitude of outsiders.
Course Contents The origins of--and the necessity for--
coordination lie in the processes of functional differentiation and integration. The process of differentiation takes place in three related ways, namely: Division of labor between employees and parts
of organizations; Functional differentiation between organizations
(mandates, demarcating domains); Separation of decision- and policy making and
their execution (=implementation).
Course ContentsTo coordinate literally means "to place or
arrange things in proper position relatively to each other and to the system of which they form parts; to bring into order as parts of a whole". Just like the coordinates do on the axes of a Cartesian system.
Course ContentsBenefits of coordination: Coordination can be used as a means for increasing the
quality of public service delivery systems; Coordination is a way to improve efficiency; Coordination enables organizations to cope with
shrinking resources by sharing them in such a way that it will: prevent "double dipping" of clients, economize activities by sharing the costs of new or
extended programs, reduce the risks of innovation (more users, shared
acceptance by several organizations).
Course Contents But: Why is it that everybody wants to coordinate
but nobody wants to be coordinated? Political Cooperation at the edge of competition
degree ofinterdependence
low low high
degree ofantagonism
independence cooperationcoordination
highdecoupling competition,
conflict
Afghanistan Which three forms of Coord. did Donini distinguish?
Coordination by command Aga Khan Resources & expertise (demining)
Coordination by consensus There rarely was consensus (Peshawar vs Kabul)
Coordination by default (insufficient)
What perspective does Nienhaus use? Economic
What would he say about coordination by consensus?
Economic theory Coordination deals with the problems in
providing public goods: HAid. A free rider problem: lack of sanctions marginal contributions
Neither commitment nor communication or consensus are sufficient enough to achieve a common goal if public goods and a large number of actors are involved.
Economic theory So we need institutional arrangements to
provide incentives and rewards. Principal/Agent problem:
Principal: the actor(s) who set goals agent(s): the actor(s) that work to achieve
goals The art is to design institutional
structures or to set up incentive systems which bring the aims of the principals into harmony with the agents
Economic theory Three main general problems:
Problem of information Conflict of interest/agents can shirk Problem of monitoring/performance control
These can partly be resolved through good contracting (out) and sound management (hierarchy, standards, codes of conduct, monitoring & evaluation). However, this all costs money not spend on aid.
Economic Theory Problems of Humanitarian Orgs
Internal External: Donors as Principals &
HAOs as agents: Standards for evaluation Performance Standards: Sphere
High Probability of Inefficient Allocation Beneficiary Involvement Performance Standards
Criticize Economic Theory Political aspects/economy of war
Local Population should be the principal Who sets the performance standards
Other substantial problems, e.g., demining
Stylized view of a person as an economic creature
Ch. 4 not important, Ch. 5,6, and 9 are more background reading. Perhaps management theory can help. Well….
Management theory Coordination can be an intra- as well as an
interorganizational phenomenon; Divide coordination mechanisms between "reducing the
need for information processing" and "increasing the capacity to process information;"
Coordination can be achieved as a process or as a structure.
Coordination, and its outcomes, will differ from organizational level to level. In the case of interorganizational coordination differences occur between the organizations. Hierarchy is in itself already a coordination mechanism;
Management theory Various coordination mechanisms can be
distinguished; The various coordination mechanisms can be
applied simultaneously in different combinations; The number and impact of antecedents to--or
conditions of--successful coordination remain unclear. Sometimes they even contradict each other. Moreover, despite hopeful expectations, it has been difficult to assess the consequences of coordination. The results of coordination have at times been mixed or negative
Improving Coordination?Questions to improve Coordination: What kind of interdependence exists? What is the intensity of this interdependence?
Antagonism: resources or local population? => types of standards (minimum or maximum)
Which organizational activities should be coordinated? (functional/regional)
Which organizational levels? (HQ/Field) How far will inter-organizational coordination go? Which mechanisms will be used to achieve coordination
UN Coordination Mandates/mission: often in one functional
sector, e.g., UNHCR & refugees In normal development situations: UNDP Res
Rep Complex emergencies:
HQs level: OCHA (formerly DHA), Don’t confuse with
“Afghan “ UNOCA & UNOCHA• secretariat of IASC• tools for the field• not an implementing org/no large resources.• other orgs retain autonomy
So, OCHAs effectivenss is limited
UN Coordination Complex emergencies (cont’d):
Field level: Lead Agency (Tom Weiss) DHA Humanitarian Coordinator (often now
ResRep) Special Representative of the Secretary
General (SRSG) NGO tend to go their own way Relatively small role for private enterprise Standards/codes of conduct
Conclusions Question: who coordinates the coordinators? Focus on implementation Coordination is a continuous struggle
more actors more complex situations (complex emergencies) different types of actors
govt(?), private enterprise, UN, NGOs different sectors linking relief and development
Not all problems are coordination problems, e.g., in Afghanistan there were substantial and political problems
Course Contents