Predictions of state and county top civil servants regarding the abolition of county state administration offices : two sides of the same coin?

Lopižić, Iva (author), Manojlović Toman, Romea (author)

In January 2020, county state administration offices, as first-line state administration offices in Croatia, were abolished and their competences transferred to county second-level units of local self-government. This organizational change represents administrative decentralization. The purpose of this article is to examine whether there are any differences in the predictions regarding the effects of this organizational change between two groups of civil servants: state civil servants (heads of county state administration offices and heads of their internal organizational units) and county civil servants (heads of county organizational units), and which are the factors that shape their predictions. A questionnaire was sent to the respondents in June 2019. The statistical analysis of the data (response rate 52%) shows a statistically significant difference between the predictions of the two groups in relation to all four categories of effects of this organizational change (inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes). There is only one point where there is no difference: both groups agree that the county governor's role will grow. The difference in predictions is explained by two factors of cognitive biases: the organization's interest to survive and expand its power, and uncertainty (strategic, structural, and job-related). The paper offers an academic contribution to the field of administrative decentralization by giving insights into the predictions of different actors on the effects of such change before its implementation and by introducing factors of cognitive biases as explanations for discrepancies in the predictions.

• Language: English
• Keywords: civil servants' predictions, abolition of county state administration offices, administrative decentralization, factors of cognitive biases
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FU - Faculty of Administration
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: Str. 41-61
• Numbering: Vol. 19, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128492
• UDC: 353(497.5)
• ISSN on article: 2591-2240
• DOI: 10.17573/cepar.2021.1.02
• COBISS.SI-ID: 67556867

Note

Povzetek v slov. jeziku se nahaja na koncu revije, na str. 283-284.

• Publication date in RUL: 15.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Central European public administration review
• Publisher: Fakulteta za upravo
• ISSN: 2591-2240
• COBISS.SI-ID: 293849600

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 22.03.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Predvidevanja državnih in okrožnih javnih uslužbencev na vodstvenih položajih glede ukinitve okrožnih uradov državne uprave : dve strani istega kovanca?

Abstract

Januarja 2020 je Hrvaška ukinila okrožne urade državne uprave, njihove pristojnosti pa prenesla na okrožne enote lokalne samouprave. Ta organizacijska sprememba pomeni upravno decentralizacijo. Namen članka je ugotoviti, ali so različni javni uslužbenci različno predvideli učinek omenjene organizacijske spremembe in kateri dejavniki so na to vplivali. Raziskava je bila izvedena med uslužbenci državne uprave (vodje okrožnih uradov državne uprave in vodje njihovih notranjih organizacijskih enot) in uslužbenci okrožne uprave (vodje okrožnih organizacijskih enot) na podlagi vprašalnika, ki je bil sodelujočim poslan junija 2019. Statistična analiza podatkov (52-odstotna stopnja odzivnosti) kaže na statistično pomembno razliko med predvidevanji omenjenih dveh skupin glede vseh štirih kategorij učinka organizacijske spremembe (vložki, postopki, izložki in rezultati). Razlike ni bilo zgolj v enem primeru: obe skupini sta menili, da se bo vloga predstojnikov okrožij povečala. Razliko v predvidevanjih lahko pojasnimo z dvema dejavnikoma kognitivne pristranskosti: interes organizacije za preživetje in povečanje svoje moči ter negotovost (strateška,strukturna, zaposlitvena). Z analizo predvidevanj različnih akterjev glede učinka organizacijske spremembe še pred njeno izvedbo ter z uvedbo dejavnikov kognitivne pristranskosti za razlago razlik med predvidevanji članek predstavlja akademski prispevek na področju upravne decentralizacije.

• Keywords: predvidevanja javnih uslužbencev, ukinitev okrožnih uradov državne uprave, upravna decentralizacija, dejavniki kognitivne pristranskosti