How effective are training programmes in promoting civil service reform? How do organisational and institutional factors affect the implementation of new techniques learnt during training? This article, published in Public Administration and Development, examines a training programme for senior Manpower Management Officers (MMOs) in Tanzania in relation to these questions. It argues that the institutional context in which public sector staff work does have an impact on the effectiveness of training as a vehicle for reform.
Civil service reform in Tanzania has concentrated around a reduction in the size of the civil service. Manpower Management Officers (MMOs) are expected to lead this reform from within the local government system. MMOs are typically responsible for both human resource matters and management of the central administration. However, they face a number of problems of implementation due to restricting institutional arrangements. Barriers such as low wages, inadequate training, poor office amenities and lack of control over the employment of new staff have created problems of low morale amongst MMOs.
The MMO role is crucial to the implementation of reform at local level and there is subsequently a very strong case for providing effective training to this group. The success of training depends on a combination of factors including the content, process and environment in which the training is undertaken. The MMO training, which was designed and run by a number of UK organisations, tried to address these three elements in the following ways:
- The course content was designed through a pre-course planning visit and members of the training team were met by key stakeholders.
- A key part of the training was to allow time for skills practice and engaging the participants in scenarios similar to those they would find at work.
- Pre and post course work, including an on-site visit, consolidated new learning and helped keep the course relevant to the real working environment.
The participants’ course evaluation was positive. Although no formal assessment of their learning or evaluation of the impact of the training on the organisation was subsequently carried out, there was evidence of behaviour change in the short term. However, there was scepticism about the level of organisational change which was hampered by the following factors:
- The structure and culture of the organisation and the commitment of the individual line manager can lead participants away from the behaviour promoted on the course.
- Formal administration systems took up participants’ time and prevented implementation.
- Organisational-level interventions may be necessary to make training more effective.
- Factors that support learning in the workplace should be seen as an integral part of the course.
