Scholars believe that there is nothing more omnipresent than public policies in our daily lives, where we are directly or indirectly affected by policy decisions. This leads to the view that almost every aspect of our life is directly regulated through policy decisions, some of which we are often unaware of. Hence, nobody can escape the consequences of public policies wherever they live, in their own country, or elsewhere. In the implementation equation, the role of leadership is considered critical and irreplaceable. But more often than not, such role is either forgotten or mixed up with other stakeholders. The objective of this study is to find out the role of leadership in policy implementation in selected federal public institutions in Ethiopia and come up with possible way- forward suggestions for policymakers. The study used a descriptive-explanatory design with combined research approaches. The findings show that leadership role in policy implementation is decisive and incontestable, while their commitment is not found to the level expected; accountability for implementation deficit is either little or non-existent. Underlying causes were ascribed to lack of meritocracy in leadership recruitment and promotion, absence of spelt-out accountability code of conduct, continuous leadership turnover, and disempowerment of the bureaucracy by the political institution in place. In response, it is recommended that a continuous capacity building plan be executed to raise leaders’ knowledge, skills and commitment; apply a merit-based leadership assignment through performance-based evaluation; install accountability code of conduct in public institutions; maintain institutional memory and policy stability by reducing leadership turnover; and relax the decision power of the bureaucracy, particularly at policy implementation side of the scale.
| Published in | International Journal of Science, Technology and Society (Volume 9, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16 |
| Page(s) | 188-208 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Public Policy, Policy Implementation, Leadership, Stakeholders, Public Institutions, Federal
| [1] | Adamus-Matuszynaka A. 2001. Implementing new public policy in Poland: barriers and stimuli. Journal of European Studies, 9 (2). |
| [2] | Alebachew Asfaw Y. 2019. Exploring the Strategic Engagement of Middle Managers in Civil Service Organizations: The Case of Selected federal and regional Offices in Ethiopia (PhD) A. A: ECSU. |
| [3] | Anderson, James E. 2006. Public policymaking: an introduction (6rd edn). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. |
| [4] | Atsbeha Aregawi. 2012. The Practice of Policy Making Process in Ethiopia. The case of HPR. Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University (Master’s Thesis). |
| [5] | Bardach, E. 1977. The Implementation Game: What Happens After a Bill Becomes a Law. Cambridge: The MIT Press. |
| [6] | Bass, B. M. 1992. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Palo Aloto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. |
| [7] | Barrett, S. M. 2004. “Implementation Studies: Time for a Revival? Personal Reflections on 20 Years of Implementation Studies”. Public Administration 82 (2): 249-62. |
| [8] | Bekker, J. C. O, and Heyningen, H. Van. 2011. A Strategic Leadership Model for Policy Implementation. African Journal of Public Affairs, Vol. 4, Number 1, June 2011. |
| [9] | Berman, Paul. 1978. The Study of Macro and Micro implementation of Social Policy. The Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, California 904406. |
| [10] | Bhola, H. S. 2004. Policy implementation: planning and actualization. Journal of Educational Planning and administration, 18 (3), 295-312. |
| [11] | Birkland, A. Thomas 2011. An introduction to the policy process (3rd edition). USA: M. E. Sharpe. INC. |
| [12] | Biruk Shewakana. 2014. Public policymaking in Post-1991 Ethiopia: The Case of Land Lease Policy. MA Thesis, AAU. |
| [13] | Blanchard, K. Zigarmi, P. and Zigarmi, D. 1994. Leadership and the One Minute Manager. London: Harper Collins Publishers. |
| [14] | Bryman, A. 1992. Charisma and Leadership in Organization. London: Sage Publications. |
| [15] | Burns, J. M. 1978. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. |
| [16] | Cochran, L. Charles & Malone, F. Eloise. 1999. Public Policy: Perspective & Choices. USA: McGraw-Hill. |
| [17] | Cottrell, Stella. 2005. Critical thinking skills: Developing effective analysis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. |
| [18] | DeLeon, Peter & DeLeon, Linda. 2002. Whatever happened to policy implementation? An alternative approach. http:// J-Part: Oxford Journal.org. |
| [19] | Dereje Terefe. 2016. The extent of public opinion to endorse or halt public policies: A review of recent change of policy goal posts in Ethiopia. Public policy and Administration Research. Vol. 6, No. 10. |
| [20] | Donald, S. Van M. and Carl E. V. 1975. The performance-based budgeting system: A study of poverty reduction policy implementation in Thailand. |
| [21] | Downton, J. V. 1973. Rebel Leadership: Commitment and Charisma in Revolutionary Process. NY: Free Press. |
| [22] | Dunn, N. William. 2004. Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction (3rd ed,) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. |
| [23] | Dye, Thomas R. 2013. Understanding public policy (13th edn.), Pearson Education, INC. |
| [24] | Edwards, George & Sharkansky, Ira. 1978. The policy predicament: Making and implementing public policy. USA: W. H. Freeman & Company. |
| [25] | Egonmwan, J. A. 1991. Public Policy An analysis: Concepts and Applications, Benin City: S. M. O. Aka and Brothers Press Focus on Citizens: Public Engagement for better policy and services. 2009. Executive Summary: OECD. |
| [26] | Elmore, Richard F. 1979-1980. Backward-Mapping Implementation Research and Policy Decisions. Political science Quarterly, Vol. 94, No. 4, PP 601- 616 USA: Ac. Psc. |
| [27] | Gebre Mirutse. 2015. Civil Service Reform and leadership Role in Ethiopia: The Case of Tigray Regional State. Public Policy and Administration Research. Vol. 5, No. 1. |
| [28] | Gerston, N. L. 2010. Public policymaking: process and principles, USA: M. E. Sharp. |
| [29] | Goggin, M. L Bowman, A. O Lester, James P. &O’Toole. L. J. 1990. Implementation theory and practice: Toward a third generation, New York: Harper-Collins. |
| [30] | Grindle, M. S. 1980. Politics and Policy Implementation in the Third World. NJ: Princeton University Press. |
| [31] | Guillory, B. & Galindo, L. Empowerment For The Performing Organizations> Salt City: Innovations International Inc. Publishing Division. |
| [32] | Habiba Siraj. 2016. The status of popular participation in public policymaking process in Ethiopia. The case of Oromia Regional State. MA. ECSU. |
| [33] | Hargrove, E. C. 1975. The missing-link: The study of implementation of social policy. Washington Urban Institute. |
| [34] | Heneman, III, H. G. & Judge, T. A 2010. Staffing Organizations. Middleton: Mendota House, Inc. |
| [35] | Hichlin, Alison and Godwin Erik. 2009. Agents of change: The role of public managers in public policy. Policy Studies journal. Volume 37, Issue 9. |
| [36] | Hill, Michael and Hupe, Peter. 2009. Implementing Public Policy, Second edition, USA: Sage Hirschman, A. O. 1975. Policymaking and policy analysis in Latin America: A return journey. Policy Sciences, 6. |
| [37] | Honadle, George 1979. “Implementation Analysis: The Case for an Early Dose of Realism in Development administration” in, International Development Administration: Implementation Analysis for Development, George Honadle and Rud Klauss (eds.), New York: Prager. |
| [38] | House, R. J. 1976. A 1976 Theory of Charismatic leadership. Carbondale: University Press Howell, J. 1992. What is development policy management? DPMN Bulletin (Pilot issue): 4-5. |
| [39] | Ingram, H. M and Mann, D. E (eds).1980. Why policies succeed or fail. Beverly Hills: Sage. |
| [40] | Ikechukwu, Ugwuanyi, Bartholomew & Chukwuemeka, Emma E. O. 2013. THE OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE POLICY IMPLEMENTATION BY THE PUBLIC BUREAUCRACY IN DEVELOPING NATIONS: THE CASE OF NIGERIA. Kuwait Chapter of Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review Vol. 2, No. 7; March. 2013. |
| [41] | Knill, Christoph & Tosun, Jale. 2012. Public policy: A new introduction. UK: Palgrave Macmillan. |
| [42] | Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. 2007 (3rd) Edn). 2007. The Leadership Challenge (4thed.) Sanfrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. |
| [43] | LaMonte, B. 2004. Winning the NFL Way: Leadership Lessons from Football’s Top Head Coaches. New York: Harper Business. |
| [44] | Lasswell, D. Harold. 1951. “The Policy Orientation”, in Policy Sciences: Recent Development in Scope and Method. |
| [45] | Lemma Degefa. 2012. Leadership: Living and Serving. Third edition. Addis Ababa: An African Practioner’s Perspective. |
| [46] | Lester, P. James, Ann O’M Bowman, Malcolin, L, Goggin, and Laurence, J. O’ Tool. 1995. Public policy implementation: Evolution of the field Agenda for Future Research, Research in public policy analysis and Management, Volume 7, pp. 71-94. |
| [47] | Lipsky, Michael. 1980. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individual in Public Services, New York: Russel Sage Foundation. |
| [48] | Matland, Richard E. 1995. Synthesizing the Implementation Literature. The ambiguity-conflict model of policy implementation, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory: J-PART, Vol. 5, No. 2, pp 145-174. |
| [49] | May, P. J. 1991. Reconsidering Policy design: Policies and Publics. Journal of public Policy, 11, (Part 2): 187-206. |
| [50] | Maxwell, J. C. 1998. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Georgia; Maxwell Motivation Inc. |
| [51] | Mazmanian, Daniel and Sabatier, Paul. 1983. Implementation and Public Policy. Glenvie:, IL Scott Foresman. |
| [52] | Mulugeta Abebe. 2005. A Critical assessment of institutions, roles and leverage in public Policymaking in Ethiopia, 1974-2004 (PhD Dissertation), University of Stellenbosch (S. A). |
| [53] | Ndah, Anthony Banyouko. 2010. Public policy and inappropriateness in Africa: Causes, Consequences and the way forward. Xiamen University: Coastal and Ocean Management Institute COMI). |
| [54] | Nnajiofor, Og, Ifeakor Cs, and Mgbemena, S. 2004. Nigeria and the enigma of policy implementation. Volume 7, No. 2. Microsoft Word - 12. Osita.doc. |
| [55] | Northouse, P. G. 2007. Leadership: Theory and Practice (4thed.). Thousand oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. |
| [56] | Nwagboso, Chris, I. 2012. Public Policy and the Challenges of Policy Evaluation in the Third World. British Journal of humanities and Social sciences, April 2012, Vol. 5, 91). |
| [57] | Omer Ibrahim 2014. Policymaking practice in Ethiopia: The case of Amhara National Regional State Council. MA: ECSU. |
| [58] | Policy Studies and Research Center. 2016. A Study Report on leadership accountability in selected public institutions: Addis Ababa. |
| [59] | Pollitt, C. 2003. The essential public manager. Mc-Graw-Hill Education (UK). |
| [60] | Pressman, J. and Wildavsky, A. 1973. Implementation: How Great Expectations in Washington Are dashed in Oakland: or, Why it is Amazing that the federal Programs Work All, Charless Cole, III Book Review. |
| [61] | Rein, M & Rabinowtz F. F. 1978. Implementation: a theoretical perspective, in Burnham, W. D. and Weinberg. M. W. American Politics and Public Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT. |
| [62] | Robichau, Waters, L. and Laurence, E. 2009. The Implementation of public policy: Still the Missing link. Policy Studies Journal, (37) 1. |
| [63] | Sabatier, Paul and Mazmaiman Daniel. 1980. The Implementation of Public Policy: A Framework of Analysis. Policy Studies journal, 8 (2): 538-560. |
| [64] | Scheberle, Denise. 1997. Federalism & Environmental Policy: Trust and politics of implementation (American Governance and Public Policy Series). |
| [65] | Schofield, Jill 2004. Time for a revival? Public policy implementation: a review of the literature and an agenda for future research,. International Journal of Management Review, Volume 3, Issue 3, pp. 245-263. |
| [66] | Signe, Landry. 2017. Public service delivery- What matters for successful implementation and can policy leaders do? OCP Policy Center. |
| [67] | Stogdill, R. M. 1974. Handbook of Leadership. A survey of theory and research. NY: Macmillan Publishers Co. Inc. |
| [68] | Surel, Y. 2000. The role of cognitive and normative frames in policymaking. Journal of European Public Policy, 7 (4), 495-512. |
| [69] | Taye Assefa (ed.). 2010. Digest of Ethiopia’s National Policies, Strategies and Programs. Addis Ababa: Forum for Social Studies. |
| [70] | Tiruye Alemu and Dereje Terefe. 2018. Assessment of the cause of policy-implementation dichotomy narratives in Ethiopia: The case of selected public institutions. Public policy and Administration. |
| [71] | Van Meter, Donald S. and Van Carl E. Horn. 1975. “The Policy Implementation Process: A Conceptual Framework”. Administration and Society, 6: 445-488. |
| [72] | Weber, M. 1947. The Theory of Social and Economic Organization. New York; Free Press Wildavsky, Aaron. 1975. If planning is everything, maybe it’s nothing. In A. P Johnston & J. F. McNamara (Eds.), Planning Perspectives for Education (pp 267-287). New York: MSS. |
| [73] | Weaver, Kent. R. 2009. But what will work? Implementation analysis to improve government performance. Governance Studies at BROOKINGS: Issues in Governance Studies (Numberb32/2020). |
| [74] | Wildavsky, Aaron. 1975. If planning is everything, maybe it’s nothing. In A. P Johnston & J. F. McNamara (Eds.), Planning Perspectives for Education (pp 267-287). New York: MSS Information Corporation. |
| [75] | Winter, Soren. 1990. ‘Integrating Implementation research’, in Dennis J. Plambo and Donald J. Calista (eds), Implementation and the policy process, Opening Up the Black Box, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, Pp. 19-38. |
| [76] | Wu, Xin, Ramesh. M., Howlett, M., and Fritzen, Scott. 2010. The public Policy Primer: Managing the policy process, London: Routledge. |
| [77] | Yukul, G. A. 2010. Leadership in Organizations. New Jersey: Prentice hall. |
| [78] | Zerihun Deressa and Tesfaye Debela. 2014. Leadership Effectiveness in Public Service Organizations of Ethiopia: Perception of Leaders in public service organizations. Journal of Law and Globalization, Vol. 26. |
APA Style
Dereje Terefe Gemechu. (2021). The Role of Leadership in Policy Implementation: The Case of Selected Federal Public Institutions in Ethiopia. International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 9(4), 188-208. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16
ACS Style
Dereje Terefe Gemechu. The Role of Leadership in Policy Implementation: The Case of Selected Federal Public Institutions in Ethiopia. Int. J. Sci. Technol. Soc. 2021, 9(4), 188-208. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16
AMA Style
Dereje Terefe Gemechu. The Role of Leadership in Policy Implementation: The Case of Selected Federal Public Institutions in Ethiopia. Int J Sci Technol Soc. 2021;9(4):188-208. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16,
author = {Dereje Terefe Gemechu},
title = {The Role of Leadership in Policy Implementation: The Case of Selected Federal Public Institutions in Ethiopia},
journal = {International Journal of Science, Technology and Society},
volume = {9},
number = {4},
pages = {188-208},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsts.20210904.16},
abstract = {Scholars believe that there is nothing more omnipresent than public policies in our daily lives, where we are directly or indirectly affected by policy decisions. This leads to the view that almost every aspect of our life is directly regulated through policy decisions, some of which we are often unaware of. Hence, nobody can escape the consequences of public policies wherever they live, in their own country, or elsewhere. In the implementation equation, the role of leadership is considered critical and irreplaceable. But more often than not, such role is either forgotten or mixed up with other stakeholders. The objective of this study is to find out the role of leadership in policy implementation in selected federal public institutions in Ethiopia and come up with possible way- forward suggestions for policymakers. The study used a descriptive-explanatory design with combined research approaches. The findings show that leadership role in policy implementation is decisive and incontestable, while their commitment is not found to the level expected; accountability for implementation deficit is either little or non-existent. Underlying causes were ascribed to lack of meritocracy in leadership recruitment and promotion, absence of spelt-out accountability code of conduct, continuous leadership turnover, and disempowerment of the bureaucracy by the political institution in place. In response, it is recommended that a continuous capacity building plan be executed to raise leaders’ knowledge, skills and commitment; apply a merit-based leadership assignment through performance-based evaluation; install accountability code of conduct in public institutions; maintain institutional memory and policy stability by reducing leadership turnover; and relax the decision power of the bureaucracy, particularly at policy implementation side of the scale.},
year = {2021}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Role of Leadership in Policy Implementation: The Case of Selected Federal Public Institutions in Ethiopia AU - Dereje Terefe Gemechu Y1 - 2021/08/26 PY - 2021 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16 DO - 10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16 T2 - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society JF - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society JO - International Journal of Science, Technology and Society SP - 188 EP - 208 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-7420 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsts.20210904.16 AB - Scholars believe that there is nothing more omnipresent than public policies in our daily lives, where we are directly or indirectly affected by policy decisions. This leads to the view that almost every aspect of our life is directly regulated through policy decisions, some of which we are often unaware of. Hence, nobody can escape the consequences of public policies wherever they live, in their own country, or elsewhere. In the implementation equation, the role of leadership is considered critical and irreplaceable. But more often than not, such role is either forgotten or mixed up with other stakeholders. The objective of this study is to find out the role of leadership in policy implementation in selected federal public institutions in Ethiopia and come up with possible way- forward suggestions for policymakers. The study used a descriptive-explanatory design with combined research approaches. The findings show that leadership role in policy implementation is decisive and incontestable, while their commitment is not found to the level expected; accountability for implementation deficit is either little or non-existent. Underlying causes were ascribed to lack of meritocracy in leadership recruitment and promotion, absence of spelt-out accountability code of conduct, continuous leadership turnover, and disempowerment of the bureaucracy by the political institution in place. In response, it is recommended that a continuous capacity building plan be executed to raise leaders’ knowledge, skills and commitment; apply a merit-based leadership assignment through performance-based evaluation; install accountability code of conduct in public institutions; maintain institutional memory and policy stability by reducing leadership turnover; and relax the decision power of the bureaucracy, particularly at policy implementation side of the scale. VL - 9 IS - 4 ER -
Information
Email: