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From Crisis to Adaptation: A Model for Educational Service Area Offices
Chorpha Supradith Na Ayudhya,
Ed.D student, Semester1,2000
The University of Melbourne.
Abstract
This paper studies the importance of strategic thinking during the Thai economic crisis period from July 1997. Self-adaptation or reform and ‘Krabuankarn Prachakhom’ or civil-society are strategic directions to survive the crisis. The paper also focuses on strategic alert regarding what will happen to the Thai Ministry of Education by 2002 through its educational reform, particularly in administration and management. What kinds of leadership, skills and values do government officials in the Ministry need to be prepared for successful change? Transformational and quality leadership, promoting double loop learning and practice in strategic thinking including appreciation of the values of good governance and a service orientated mind will be necessary. These initiatives are expected to build up Educational Service Area Offices—the new decentralized pattern of Thai educational administration to be Quality and Learning Organizations. Their accountability can be demonstrated by their efficiency/effectiveness in government budget expenses, including providing quality services to people; at the same time government officials in the Area Offices have professionalism and integrity to serve people accordingly and create an impact on society.
When I exchanged Thai bahts to Australian dollars in late June 1997
to revisit Perth, I was delighted that the currency was very strong at
about nineteen bahts a dollar, instead of more than twenty. One
week
later, when the devaluation was announced, I realized that the
country had been fighting the currency war with overseas
speculators. Initially, it seemed that Thai authorities won but, finally,
they lost the battle, with all foreign reserves exhausted. Dating back
to the colonial
*********************************************************************
*********
This paper has limited resources on Thai history. The writer can access
information from Thailand, written only in English versions through the Internet.
period about a hundred years ago, King Rama V strategically
thought of ceding power over some small areas of land to Britain
and France to protect the greater part of the Kingdom, instead of
fighting in the battlefield where traditional weapons could not
compete with the more advanced war equipment of the Europeans.
When reinforced by implementing a strategic alliance with Russia to
balance the superpowers, the country was saved and became the
only one in the region never to have experienced being colonized.
However, in the dynamic pattern of the economic battleground in
the era of Globalization when ‘information and currencies move
across the national border at lightning speed’ (Prawase Wasi, 1998),
the country was defeated. Historic Thai wisdom, containing the
ability to think strategically had been lost. With the weakness of the
macro-economic structure (the details can be read from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) statement, released in August 22, 1997
in Washington, on the approval of stand-by credit for Thailand), the
country collapsed in July 2, 1997 and the negative results of this
collapse were felt by all Thais.
Theory: Strategic Thinking
Before further considering the concrete details of this loss of
strategic thinking, the concept of strategic thinking will be
examined.
What is Strategic Thinking?
Strategic thinking for Mintzberg (1995, pp. 79-83) is the ability to
‘see through’ building up from three pairs of components:
Seeing ahead-seeing behind (having a good vision of the future
based on an understanding of the past);
2
Seeing above-seeing below (having a ‘helicopter’ perspective,
from a wide scope, then taking a walk to see reality); and
Seeing beside-seeing beyond (having lateral thinking and the
capacity to envision the future).
From the above definition, strategic thinkers are described as
‘visionaries’ (Ibid, p.79), who ‘can see differently from other people
and pick out the precious gems that others miss’ (Ibid, p.81).
The ability to see precious gems depends on the ability of
‘synthesis’ resulting from ‘intuition and creativity’ (Mintzberg, 1994,
p.108). The outcome of strategic thinking is a broad vision of
direction or an integrated perspective (Ibid).
For Garratt (1995, quoted in Caldwell, 2000, p.2), strategic thinking
is the process which results in direction-givers rising from daily
operational activities and gaining horizontal scope regarding the
internal and external environment and, therefore, providing more
effective direction to their organizations. This type of strategic
direction, similar to that of Mintzberg, needs the skills of being able
to
looking forward to the future and backwards to the past, including
an understanding of the present situation.
For Kaufman and Grise, (1995, p.90, quoted in Canole, 1999),
strategic thinking is defined as ‘knowing’-to know what to achieve,
being able to justify the direction, and then finding the best ways to
get there’.
The Difference between Strategic and Operational Thinking
3
From the definition of Kaufman and Grise, the level of thinking is not
made clear, although it appears that this definition is based in the
operational thinking level. Hanford, (1995, p.190) provides helpful
key
concepts for understanding the difference between strategic and
operational thinking in eight pairs:
Longer term versus short term;
Conceptual versus concrete;
Reflective/learning versus action/doing;
Identification of key issues/opportunities versus resolution of
existing performance problem;
Breaking new ground versus routine/on-going;
Effectiveness versus efficiency;
‘Hands-off’ approach versus ‘hands-on’ approach; and
‘Helicopter’ perspective versus ‘on-the-ground’ perspective.
Developing Strategic Thinking
Hanford (1995) suggests that the ability to think strategically
require development in terms of:
Thinking concepts which consist of (1) thinking holistically or
thinking in breadth (2) thinking in depth by thinking more and
questioning values, beliefs or assumptions;
Thinking skills which consist of (1) content thinking types:
‘either/or thinking, ‘more/less’ thinking and ‘both/and’ thinking;
(2) process thinking types: ‘stay put thinking’ (routine
adjustment), and ‘major or minor from/to thinking’ (increasing
both the breadth and depth of thinking);
Thinking styles to be able to realize new ideas, describe what is
true and judge what is right including understanding the different
styles in thinking among the synthesist (seeks synthesis), the
4
idealist (seeks ideal solutions), the pragmatist (supports
whatever works), the analyst (seeks the one best way), and the
realist (seeks solutions that meet current needs) ; and
Thinking techniques using the ‘both/and thinking’ technique to
map the dilemma and determine some ways out of it; mind
mapping to identify essential elements in achieving strategic
challenges; and Priority-setting Technique to concentrate on only
the important issues.
(Hanford, 1995, pp.207-218)
The above developments require professional training, which will
provide details and ‘how to’ knowledge in depth. However, Well
(1998) suggests that thinking strategically can be conducted in
three steps, called the Strategic Thinking Cycle:
1. Perceiving what seems to be happening by acquiring insight into
what has happened and is currently happening, then developing
foresight of what could be happening;
2. Understanding what possibilities to face by identifying strategic
levers for competitive advantage and matching levers with
capabilities; and
3. Reasoning what to do about it, choosing a core strategy and
making the strategy work.
(Wells, 1998, pp.65-67)
Three Levels of Strategic Thinking
Similarly to Wells, Morgan (1998) indicates that strategic thinking is
the process of three levels of thinking which consist of:
1) Divergent thinking or gathering data. The divergent thinking
involves thinking about the environment as broadly and
5
comprehensibly as possible to include a wide variety of different
and even conflicting factors that could have impact on the
organization;
2) Integrative/system thinking or creating the patterns of the data;
and
3) Convergent thinking or strategic knowledge, which is a result of
gathering, creating and validating the information as a platform
for a course of action.
(Morgan, 1998, http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview_page/9840858/4)
Morgan’ s ideas of divergent, integrative and convergent thinking
can fit with Wells’ ideas of perceiving, understanding and reasoning.
In addition, both of them refer to strategy as the consequence of
strategic thinking.
Rhodes (1995 pp. 95-96) illustrates clearly the relations between
strategic thinking as process and strategy as content which
organizations need to keep both right, otherwise things in the
organization will not function correctly. For a better understanding,
the concept of strategy will be examined.
What is Strategy?
Strategy is defined as ‘the general plan of actions that describes
resource allocation and other activities for dealing with the
environment and helping the organization attain its goals’ (Daft,
1999, p.136). From the definition five inter-related elements can be
observed, these being plan, resource, activities, environment and
goals. Among these, environment seems to be the most critical
factor in the Globalization era as it can be easily changeable,
especially in a crisis period. Morgan (1998) states that organizations
need to strive with the uncertainty of environment in order to
6
produce and maintain an effective or viable strategy
(http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview_page/9840858/15). Daft (1999, p.136) suggests
that one way of developing an effective strategy requires actively
listening to people both inside and outside the organization, as well
as examining trends and discontinuities in the environment.
Another definition of strategy is as ‘the process of focusing effort
and performing the right job or taking the right path’ (Morgan, 1998,
http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview_page/9840858/15). Unlike the
former definition, the latter regards strategy as a process. It pays
attention to implementing the right strategy. This is correct, as the
wrong one can affect the growth or the survival of organizations.
From both definitions, strategy, therefore, can be the contents and
processes that connect from thinking strategically. To understand if
a particular strategy will be right or wrong, strategists need to be
alert to what is happening or will happen and adjust their strategy
appropriately so that there is a balance between the organization
and its environment.
The Role of Strategy
Daft (1999, p.135) indicates that strong missions and guiding visions
are not sufficient in building strong and powerful organizations; but
strategy plays an important role in figuring out how to translate
vision, mission, values, and purpose into actions. In Daft’s view,
strategy is like a pathway leading visions to achievements. He
indicates further that formulating and implementing appropriate
strategies will help achieve ‘a competitively superior fit between the
organization and its environment’ (Ibid, p.135). Morgan (1998)
agrees that it is this advantage that must be maintained in a rapidly
changing and complex environment. When chaos is all around,
strategy provides the focus for daily activities and keeps each
7
individual, and therefore the entire organization, on the path
towards its future
(http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/preview_page/9840858/14).
In summary, like the Irish proverb that says one will never plough a
field by turning it over in one’s mind, therefore, thinking
strategically needs to be reinforced with strategic actions. Similarly,
strategic actions without roots in strategic thought can be in vain.
Both ingredients will result in excellent products facilitating the
survival and prosperity of the organizations.
Reflection:
When I returned to my home country in late January 1998, the
economic crisis was more serious than it had been in 1997. The Thai
people called it the worst year in business history. The currency was
weakened increasingly. One Australian dollar was 35 bahts and one
American dollar was worth about 70 bahts climbing from 25 bahts
before the crisis. I could feel the difference in the social atmosphere
between before I left and after I came back. Looking back to the
crisis period with the concept of strategic thinking in mind makes
me better understand my country.
Through Thai history, the ability of ‘seeing through’ was vital to the
country’s survival in the colonial period. King Rama IV had a good
command of English. King Rama V had royal visits to many countries
in Europe and he sent his sons to study overseas in politics,
economics, military and medical science. One of them was sent to
study in Russia and was in the care and responsibility of its
monarch. Seeing the world helped Thai monarchs ‘see through’ or
8
perceive, understand and reason in selecting appropriate strategies
to prepare the country for modern changes.
However, the modern authorities in the time of the economic crisis
also had good education from overseas and had long financial
working
experiences. What complication in the system gave them
inadequate strategic thinking, lacking, what Garratt (1995, p. 2,
quoted in Caldwell, 2000) called ‘different perspective of the
internal and external dynamics’?
Considering the IMF’s statement, released in August 22, 1997 in
Washington, on the approval of stand-by credit for Thailand, the
main wreckage of the Thai financial system can be summarized as a
lack of financial discipline, adverse development and a series of
serious currency attacks.
However, it is well understood that the economic crisis was not only
a problem. It reflected the real political problem ‘in which politicians
buy their way to power and then devote their energies to recouping
their investment’ (Bangkok Post, April 14, 2000) resulting in
inefficiency and weakness of administration. Political management
based on good governance was called for as the key to restructuring
the financial sector (Desai, 1997, Far Eastern Economic Review,
December 25, 1997). Considering the above opinions, I would like to
propose, as illustrated in Figure 1, that strategic thinking in the Thai
contexts must be based on good governance. Without this value as
an essential foundation, strategic thinking for the public good
cannot be attained.
9
Strategic Thinking
Public Good
Value: Good Governance
Figure 1: Strategic thinking for the public good requires the value of
good governance as its essential foundation.
The results of inadequate strategic thinking were huge. During the
crisis, thousands of companies and factories permanently closed
their businesses. Millions of people were laid off. They had no money
for living after their savings plus their three or six months of
compensation were spent. They could not pay for their children to
go to schools. There were high rates of transferring children from
private to public schools. Many people could not even send their
children to public schools. Consumer goods’ prices and taxes
increased. Some people responded to their immediate financial
problems by committing suicide. Overcoming the crisis, the
government sought financial loans from the IMF and was required to
follow the IMF’ s rigid rules and regulations. It was said among Thai
people that the country lost its independence to the IMF. In social
sectors, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gave loans to ease
difficulties in education and employment aspects. Japan also
provided the Miyazawa Fund to assist Thailand in the crisis.
Strategic thinking in an era of crisis: the focus on
the social sector
10
Among the turmoil and difficulties of the time, leadership in people
without authority also played an active role in the social sector.
There were many academics sharing their opinions with the public
on how to progress through the crisis. The common prominent ideas
were of self-adaptation or reform and ‘Krabuankarn Prachakhom’ or
civil society as a tool to achieve the goal. These strategic directions
were diffused and discussed through all kinds of media, creating a
common strong acceptance of the urgency for reform and of a new
value-civic responsibility. In Reform of Thai Society: A National
Agenda (1998), a reform advocate clearly illustrated the social
changes in Thai society:
…Thai society is confronting the most drastic social changes ever from within and from its interconnectedness with the complex and rapid changing outside world. For thousands of years, Thai society had been based on the system of relationship and codes of conduct of small village communities. Nearly overnight, it has radically changed into a complex society with a modern economic system, information technology and know-how…Combined with the currency trade, speculations and the tidal waves of modern culture and technology, they all add-up into severe attack on Thai society. Meanwhile, Thais have yet to set up and effectively regulate a system in which people can live and cope with changes in the dynamic new society. In addition, social institutions- be they political, bureaucratic, educational, religious, judicial and media systems-have failed to adapt themselves to cope with the formidable social changes. The result is organizational weakness, confusion, conflicts and sufferings…
http://www.bkkpost.samart.co.th search by words ‘prawase wasi’
It is clear that from every aspect of changes in society, the old way
of doing things could not support Thailand through the current crisis.
Thai society urgently needs a new value of civil mindedness and
reform in all sectors: finance, economy, politics, bureaucracy,
education, mass media, and legal system (ibid). However, reform of
all aspects of society cannot be accomplished by individuals or a
single organization. The success of reforms depends on a civil
society where:
11
All segments in society must come together to think and take
action. Individuals and different sectors in the bureaucracy, politics,
business, academics, religion, non-governmental organizations and
the mass media must all take part in the process. This requires Thai
to change their old mentality from a non-of-my-business attitude to
civil-mindedness, that is, emphaty for others’ problems and
teaming up to solve problems together.
(Bangkok Post July 30,1998, Reform of Thai society: a national
agenda, http://www.bkkpost.samart.co.th)
The civil minded atmosphere was widespread and this strategy
helped Thai people overcome the turbulence. Instead of the
previous none-of-
my-business attitude and the expected higher rate of crime and
robbery, people were sympathetic to others and helped whatever
they could. Non-partisan groups tried to help solve national
problems and troubled people. Many free-food centers were set up
in Bangkok and the provinces. Vocational training programs for laid
off people were arranged. The emergent problem of lacking foreign
reserves was solved by the ‘Thais Help Thais Fund’, gaining
donation for 1.7 billions baht in gold and cash from people around
the country, which was given to the government to become a new
national foreign exchange reserve. Ruam Duay Chuay Kan or
‘Everybody Help’--a radio station, teamed up with all police stations
and other organizations to act as a coordinating media center for
everyone to phone for immediate help or offer help in all social
problems on a twenty-four hours basis. The civil mindedness could
also be seen in the dynamic participation and involvement of people
discussing reform matters necessary to reach a better society.
12
A civil society was translated not only as one having civil
mindedness in social activities but also in the economic perspective
of grouping local people to strengthen the local economy. An
economic definition was given to civil society as:
The society which groups people into clubs, association, foundations, cooperatives and communities to develop the economy and improve the spirit, morals, culture and the environment. Groups would be strengthened as members joined together to act, work and manage.
(Prawase Wasi, 1997, http://www.bkkpost.samart.co.th search by Prawase Wasi).
An example is that villagers involved in farming, handicraft making,
agricultural processing and so forth joined to form a saving fund.
Members could seek loans and profits were arranged to create
welfare
in the form of education and medical services (Ibid). It was
necessary for the government to encourage people to form
community groups that work together to strengthen local
economies. This strategic direction is regarded as development from
the bottom up, as the country ‘even with IMF assistance would find
it hard to survive if the economic foundation remained weak’ (Ibid).
Fortunately, the strategic thinking of establishing civil society has
come into the parliament. Most of the members of the new senate
who were elected by people according to the Constitution of 1997
were reported to support this strategy. They are moving to push for
the strengthening of communities and local groups including
integrating this strategy in the Ninth National Development Plan
during 2002 -2006 (Bangkok Post, April 16, 2000).
13
Regarding reform, matters on reforming were widely discussed and
broadcast by media: television, radio, newspapers and publications.
Thailand today has reform in all sectors as a main agenda,
especially political reform, which is regarded as one of the critical
success factors of recovery. Information disseminated to the general
public encouraged strong participation from the people in
exchanging opinions, apart from public polls and being scrutinized
by scholars. Public seminars and public hearings were organized on
a continuous basis. In educational reform, for example, a total of
254,318 persons participated in seminars and eight public hearings
in all regions were conducted before creation of the National
Education Act, 1999, taking one year and eleven months (ONEC,
1999a).
In short, on the road through turbulence and recovery, strategic
thinking among Thai academic people who have no authority could
mainly help people get through the most difficult period and look
forward to a better society. I would like to propose that thinking
strategically in the Thai context, does not need to happen only from
the top-down hierarchy pattern or in a vertical line but can also
happen from the bottom-up and communicate throughout in the
horizontal line by mass media, as shown by figure 2.
Strategic thinking top-down
14
Strategic thinking bottom-up
Figure 2: Strategic thinking can occur from top-down, bottom up and
communicate throughout in the horizontal line by mass
media.
Strategic alert in an era of reform: the focus on education
From the economic collapse, Thais realized that developing only
economics was the wrong strategy, as education is an important
tool in human resource development. Some indicate that a weak
human resource base has been one of the underlying factors
causing the economic and financial crisis. Many have highlighted the
lack of Thai graduates capable of independent analytical thought as
one factor responsible for the country's economic downfall (ONEC,
1999b)
The criticism of Michelle Zack in the Far Eastern Economic Review,
December 4, 1997 is true. She comments that:
Educating people has never been a major focus of Thai government. Other Asian Tigers stressed education from the beginning of the boom times, but the Thais were trying to catch up in the middle of a major economic setback.
In addition, the highest-ranking official in the Office of the National
Education Commission also accepts that:
Defense and politics were given priorities during the cold war period. The nation enjoyed wealth during the economic boom in the last decade. It was not until the economic recession crisis in the past few years that Thai society came to realize that something should be done with the education system in order to speed up Thailand’s economic recovery and competitiveness. As educators, we cannot deny the responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and political ill effects since people who caused all these problems are the products of our current educational system.
15
Rung Kaewdang. (1999). http://www.onec.go.th/move/news/dec_16.htm
Through the institution of the National Education Act of B.E.2542
(1999), education in Thailand is entering into a new era. The
expected goals to achieve consist of:
1. Access to basic education for twelve years (nine years compulsory) will
be ensured. (Previously six year were compulsory);
2. The curriculum and learning process will be reformed;
3. Participation and partnership in education will be encouraged;
4. The educational administrative structure will be restructured;
5. Educational standards and quality assurance will be enhanced;
6. Teachers, faculty staff and educational personnel will be developed and
promoted;
7. Resources and investment for education will be mobilized; and
8. Technologies for education will be utilized in provision of education.
(ONEC,1999c, Chapter 10: The National Education Act 1999: Towards
the New Century of Learning:
http://www.onec.go.th/html_99/onec_pub/book/yr42/ed_in_
thailand99/index.html).
The above challenging goals are in the implementation process
scheduled to be achieved by August 20, 2002, which is three years
since the Act was published in the Government Gazette on August
20, 1999.
What will happen to the Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) in
terms of educational administration?
This paper focuses only on restructuring educational administration
and particularly Educational Service Area because this will impact
on me directly, as one of educators in MOE. By August 20, 2002,
some important changes that will have taken place are:
16
1. For unity in policy: three separated leading agencies in
education, Ministry of Education, Ministry of University Affairs
(MUA) and the Office of National Education Commission (ONEC--
the policy-making organization on national educational
development plan) will be merged into one educational authority,
called the Ministry of Education Religion and Culture. All
departments within the Ministry of Education, including
departments in MUA and ONEC will be dissolved. The New
Ministry will consist of only four organizations:
The National Council for Education, Religion and
Culture;
The Commission for Basic Education;
The Commission for Higher Education; and
The Commission on Religion and Culture.
These organizations will be responsible for policies and plans at a
national level, including educational quality, resource support,
monitoring and evaluating the progress of the local branches.
The merging is to solve the problem of lack of unity in policy with
many overlapping authorities and redundancies. It does not
mean it will be bigger and more highly centralized, but rather
that, its structures will be downsized, its labourpower will be
reduced and its authorities will be decentralized.
2. For decentralization: One element of decentralization is the
administration and management of basic education and
higher education at lower-than-degree level. This will be
based on the Educational Service Area, which will be newly
established throughout the country. Previously, MOE
delegated authorities in a limited way to the provincial and
district levels and had some staff to take responsibility in
17
Provincial /District Educational Offices. According to the
National Education Act, the new Ministry will decentralize
powers in four aspects: (1) academic matters (2) budget (3)
personnel and (4) general administrative affairs, to
Educational Service Areas (instead of provinces and districts)
and educational institutions in the areas (Section 39, p.17). At
present Educational Service Areas are being mapped out by
considering the number of educational institutions, population
and other appropriate conditions to make each area, as the
Permanent Secretary of MOE stated the ‘optimum size’, which
is not big or small but can be managed efficiently and
effectively.
(More details can be searched from Education Law at
http://www.onec.go.th/Act/5/english/cover.htm OR Chapter 10: The
National Education Act 1999: Towards the New Century of Learning:
http://www.onec.go.th/html_99/onec_pub/book/yr42/ed_in_thailand99/
index.html)
3. For quality assurance: An Office for National Education Standards
and Quality Assessment will be established. All educational
institutes need to receive external quality evaluation at least
once every five years (National Education Act, pp.20-21).
Reflection from the coming changes:
To downsize structure also means to downsize the number of
personnel. There are civil officials at the central office of MOE in
fourteen departments, totaling 24,352 (Data as of June 22, 1998:
http://www.moe.go.th/nu/psn-98.htm) including 26,046 in provinces
(Somsak Dolprasit, 2000). Where will the large number of
18
government officials be transferred to? The above four bodies in the
new Ministry, the Office for National Education Standards and
Quality Assessment, and Educational Service Areas will be the new
working places for government officials after merging. As the central
offices in the new Ministry will not be large, most of them might be
in Educational Service Areas that will have about 300 Service Areas
(Ibid). This paper will focus on working in these new challenging
environments. The questions can be raised of: what kinds of job will
government officials in the Areas be responsible for? What might
the new organizations require in terms of leadership, skills, values
and outcomes?
For what kinds of job will government officials be
responsible?
As the new system promotes participation and partnership in
education, each Educational Service Area will have a committee,
comprised of representatives of the community, private and local
administration organizations, teacher associations, religious leaders,
and scholars in education, religion, art and culture (National
Education Act, 1999, section 38, p. 17). The Director of the Office of
the Educational Service Area will be secretary and member of the
Committee. The Office on the advice of the committee will be
responsible:
To oversee educational institutions at the basic and lower-than-degree
levels;
To establish, dissolve, amalgamate or discontinue educational
institutions;
19
To promote and support private educational institutions in the
educational service areas;
To promote and support local administration organizations so as to be
able to provide education in accord with the educational policies and
standards;
To promote and support education provided by individuals, families,
community organizations, private organizations, professional bodies,
religious institutions, enterprises, and other social institutions offering a
variety of training; and
To oversee the units responsible for religious, artistic, and cultural
affairs in the area.
(National Education Act, 1999, section 38, p. 16-17)
The above responsibilities suggest that government officials in the
Service Areas need to work with stakeholders in the Area
(individuals, families, schools, communities, other public/private
organizations and so forth). They still have educational authorities
but also need to work as facilitators (Tribus, 1994f) and consultants,
assisting individuals, schools, organizations in providing quality in
education. Their styles of working require flexibility, academic
knowledge and the ability to mobilize/synthesize different sources of
opinions from public participation.
What might the new organizations require in terms of
leadership, skills, values and outcomes?
An organizational model: As a staff member at MOE, who will be
working in one of the Educational Service Areas in the near future, I
look forward to the future with the knowledge from the Leadership
Class in mind. An organizational model of what the Area offices
should look like for successful change is illustrated in Figure 3.
20
OUTCOMES
*Accountability
QUALITY &
--Efficiency/Effectiveness
LEARNING --professionalism/integrity
ORGANIZATION --Impact on society
Quality
Leadership STRATEGIC
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Transformational
Leadership
Quality service orientated (quality starts at me)
VALUES
Moral values: good governance
Figure 3: A model of Educational Service Area Offices.
Explanation: The Area Offices adopt moral values of good
governance and a quality service orientated culture as the essential
foundations of
organizations providing services to the public. The transition to the
new pattern of decentralization requires transformational leadership
to accommodate changes and quality leadership to assure both the
provision of quality service to people and continuous improvement.
As
the office has an important role affecting the growth and prosperity
of the responsible areas, strategic thinking is necessary in giving
21
Dou
ble
-Loop
Learn
ing
Str
ate
gic
Th
inkin
g
direction for people, policy, planning, resources, work processes and
technology for successful change. In addition, ability in double-loop
learning will foster staff in seeing and solving real barriers to
development, including the creation of real progress. All these
attributes would help the Offices to achieve expected outcomes of
being Quality and Learning Organizations. They can demonstrate
their accountability by their efficiency/effectiveness in government
budget expenses, including providing quality services to people; at
the same time, government officials in the Area Offices enhance
their professionalism and integrity to serve people accordingly and
such development will create a positive impact on society.
Reflection based on theories:
Why transformational leadership (TF)?
Decentralizing powers from the new Ministry to the Area Offices
requires leaders who have the ability to ‘bring about significant
change’ (Daft, 1999, p.427). From Table 1: Comparison of strengths
and limitations between transactional and transformational leadership
including relations between them can be observed that traditional
transactional leadership (TA), although it has the strengths of:
Excelling at keeping an organization smoothly and efficiently;
By clarifying expectations, leaders help build followers’
confidence;
Satisfying the basic needs of subordinates which may improve
productivity and morale; and
Emphasis should be given to transformational rather than transactional leadership.
Transformational Leadership (TF) Transactional Leadership (TA)
Strengths
Promote change and ability to lead and bring about
significant change in both followers and organizations’
vision, strategy and culture;
Strengths
Excel at keeping an organization smoothly and
efficiently;
By clarifying expectations, leaders help build followers’
22
Focus on intangible qualities ( vision, shared values,
ideas) to build relationship;
Strive for a moral commitment and motivate followers
to transcend self-interests toward the higher collective
mission, purpose and vision of the organization;
Develop followers into leaders; motivate followers to
take initiative and to solve problem, and help people
look at things in new ways;
Paints a vision of a desired future state and
communicates it in a way that makes the pain of change
worth the effort;
Give larger meaning to diverse activities and find
common ground to engage followers in the change
process;
Promote innovation in products and technologies;
(Daft,1999)
TF behaviors are positively related to a number of
important organizational outcomes including extra
effort, organizational citizenship behaviors, causing job
satisfaction and high performance (Bryman,1992;
Abbott,1999);
Limitations
Leaders have some sort of monopoly on moral truth,
knowledge and wisdom, which they exploit to draw
followers up to their own perceived ethical standards
(Allix, 2000).
confidence;
Satisfying the basic needs of subordinates may improve
productivity and morale;
Good at traditional management functions such as
planning and budgeting;
(Daft,1999)
Limitations
Exchange relationship between leaders and followers.
Followers receive rewards for job performance while
leaders benefit from the completion of tasks (focus on
tangible qualities);
Focus on the present;
Involving a commitment to ‘follow the rules’ TA often
maintain stability within the organization rather than
promoting change;
(Daft,1999)
Relations between TF and TA: a leader can be both TA and TF (Bryman, 1992). TF builds on TA but not vice versa. Both
approaches are linked to the achievement of some goals or objectives. The models differ on the process by which the leaders
motivates subordinates and on the type of goals set (Ibid). Daft (1999) indicates that effective leaders exhibit both TF and TA
patterns, though in different amounts e.g. Franklin D. Roosevelt, a political leader, having fireside chats, inspiring speeches but
he was skilled in the give-and-take of political rewards to achieve his ends.
Table 1: Comparison of strengths and limitations between Transactional and transformational
leadership including relations between them.
Being good at traditional management functions such as
planning and budgeting;
(Daft, 1999, p.427-428)
it has notable limitations as well; those being that it:
Exchanges relationships between leaders and followers.
Followers receive rewards for job performance while leaders
benefit from the completion of tasks (focus on tangible qualities);
23
Focuses on the present; and
Involves a commitment to ‘follow the rules’, TA often maintain
stability within the organization rather than promoting change;
(Daft, 1999, p.427-428)
The limitation of TA in only promoting stability is an important
obstacle to reform. In contrast, TF will be the kind of people able to
lead the Areas through major changes. The strengths of TF consist
of:
Promoting change and having the ability to lead and bring about
significant change in both followers and organizations’ vision,
strategy and culture;
Focusing on intangible qualities ( vision, shared values, ideas) to
build relationships;
Striving for a moral commitment and motivating followers to
transcend self-interests toward the higher collective mission,
purpose and vision of the organization;
Developing followers into leaders; motivating followers to take
initiative and to solve problem, and helping people look at things
in new ways;
Painting a vision of a desired future state and communicating it
in a way that makes the pain of change worth the effort;
Giving larger meaning to diverse activities and finding common
ground to engage followers in the change process;
Promoting innovation in products and technologies;
(Daft, 1999) and
TF behaviors are positively related to a number of important
organizational outcomes including extra effort, organizational
citizenship behaviors, causing job satisfaction and high
performance (Bryman,1992, quoted in Fuller et al (1999);
Abbott,1999);
From the above strengths it can be stated that TF would be able to
help create change in the Area’ s Offices and government official
24
staff. However, TF has a limitation. Allix (2000) indicates that TF
leaders seem to have some sort of monopoly on moral truth,
knowledge and wisdom, which they exploit to draw followers up to
their own perceived ethical standards. This limitation can be
improved when integrated with quality leadership to be presented in
the next part.
Relations between TF and TA: Bryman, (1992, quoted in Fuller et al,
1999) suggests that a leader can be both TA and TF. TF builds on TA
but not vice versa. Both approaches are linked to the achievement
of some goals or objectives. The models differ on the process by
which the leaders motivates subordinates and on the type of goals
set (Ibid). Daft (1999) indicates that effective leaders exhibit both TF
and TA patterns, though in different amounts. The way of making
changes in Thai contexts should emphasize transformational rather
than transactional leadership.
Why Quality Leadership (QL)?
Quality leadership helps improve the top-down gap, identified as a
limitation of TF, by focusing on a shared common culture and
system of quality.
The concepts of quality and quality assurance:
Bogue & Saunders, (1992) stated that quality is conformance to
mission specification and goal achievement within publicly accepted
standards of accountability and integrity. According to this
25
definition, organizations including public organizations are guided by
their goal and mission, and their performance should meet social
needs. The public organizations’ accountability to society is to
provide good services to people.
Quality principles: Western Australian Department of Training
(1997) suggests that the principles of quality include six main
points:
Focus on clients;
Focus on core business;
Leadership;
Staff participation and ownership;
Decision making based on data; and
Continuous improvements.
From the above, it can be said that the quality principles are to
guarantee quality to the customers according to their needs and
expectations and to improve the service continuously. The quality
principles enhance the performance of organizations allowing them
to become more efficient and effective, by ensuring good direction
from leadership, comprehensive database and the commitment of
all staff.
Regarding quality assurance systems, D’Angelo, (1996, p.5)
summarized:
Quality assurance is most pro-active in that it seeks to prevent the occurrence of problems and errors through the implementation and maintenance of a quality management system. Here the work product is not the only focus, but also the process and people that are involved in its production.
According to the above definition, it can be concluded that a quality
management system helps to guarantee quality by caring for all
26
elements of the system (work process, people who work and work
products/service).
The aims of quality assurance are:
To identify client requirements;
To achieve those requirements;
To provide evidence of the achievement.
(D’angilo, 1996, p.6)
From the aims questions can be raised such as who are the
customers in the Educational Service Areas? What is the customers’
focus? How to achieve the requirement? How to guarantee the
quality?
Considering this in the Thai context, the external customers are
communities, parents, students, individuals, and private/other public
organizations in the Areas; and the internal customers are staff. The
external customers demand high quality services, whereas the
internal customers need good management and good leadership so
that they can work to the best of their ability. However, an internal
quality assessment will be required, as the ‘ultimate determinant of
the quality in any organization is within the organization itself’.
(Pauline, 1990) whilst the external assessment will be validation
through unbiased and professional judgement, ‘like a clear well
polished mirror’ (ibid).
Components of quality assurance: there are four components of
quality assurance:
Everyone in the organization has a responsibility for maintaining
the quality of the product/service;
27
Everyone in the organization has a responsibility for enhancing
the quality of the product/service;
Everyone in the organization understands, uses and feels
ownership of the systems, which are in place for maintaining and
enhancing quality; and
Management (and sometimes the customer or client) regularly
checks the validity and viability of the systems for checking
quality.
(Frazer, 1991, p.11)
The above components stress the importance of ownership,
participation and responsibility of all staff in maintaining and
enhancing quality. In addition, this, the importance can be seen in
the management process opening for quality reviewing internally
and externally from the customers.
The concepts of quality and quality assurance lead to quality
leadership which motivates ‘others in the organization to serve their
customers, internal and external, with devotion’ (Sallis, 1994,
p.238).
The major functions of quality leadership are:
To have a vision of total quality for the organization; To be visible and accessible to staff; To have a clear commitment to the quality improvement process; To communicate the quality message; To ensure that customer needs are at the center of the organization’s
policies and practices; To ensure that long-term strategic quality planning takes place; To ensure that there are adequate channels for the voice of customers; To lead staff development and invest in training; To be careful not to blame others when problems arise without
considering the evidence-most problems are the result of the policies of the institution and not the failings of staff;
To lead innovation within their organization; To facilitate the process of continuous improvement; To ensure that organizational structures clearly define responsibilities
and provide the maximum delegation compatible with accountability; To be committed to the removal of artificial barriers, whether they be
organization or cultural; To build effective teams and motivate employees;
28
To develop appropriate mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating success;
To develop effective quality systems and procedures.
(Sallis, 1994, p.238)
From the above, it can be said that quality leadership has three
main important roles:creating a culture of working with quality,
establishing a quality management system and strengthening staff
with professional development. In the Thai context, quality
leadership would serve to cultivate a quality culture within staff, so
that each individual feels that quality ‘starts at me’ and it would
become a way of working life. Without such cultivation, quality
cannot be sustained in the long run, as it cannot be ordered from
the top-down, it is rather the business of everyone in the
organization to construct, maintain and enhance. QL would also help
install a quality system in the Area Offices. I propose that the Area
Offices in the future not only cultivate a quality culture but also try
one of the suitable quality assurance systems to become a model
for other public organizations. Last but not least, QL would promote
staff development to be more professional and to be able to provide
quality services to people with efficiency and effectiveness.
Another concern is that the Area’ s Offices would not only focus on
‘maximum customer satisfaction’ but also need to ‘keep costs down’
(Doherty, 1994f). As the country has limited resources, improving
quality with fewer resources (Freeman, 1994, p.156f) seems to be a
paradox but is necessary.
In summary, TF are leaders who promote change. They are
proactive leaders while QL would promote providing quality service
to people and continuous improvement. These two types of
leadership can complement each other.
29
Why Double Loop Learning?
Single/Double Loop Learning:
Argyris (1980) defines single-loop learning as detecting and
correcting error without altering underlying values or policies while
the double-loop concept entails detecting/correcting error
involving the changing of underlying values and policies.
From these contrasting definitions, the Area Offices need to promote
double-loop learning, as the country has become a complex society
facing many formidable changes. Petrie & Alpert (1982) suggest
that, when there is a balance between internal and external
environment, single-loop organizational learning is sufficient but
when an organization faces difficulties, double-loop learning is
needed. Thus promoting double-loop learning is necessary in the
Thai context of reform. Overmeer (1997) indicates that building
double-loop learning will assist in developing a learning
organization.
What is a learning organization? A learning organization can be
defined as:
An organization that has woven a continuous and enhanced capacity to
learn, adapt and change into the fabric of its character. It has values,
policies, practices, programs, systems, and structures that support and
accelerate organizational learning. Its learning results in changes in the
ways in which individuals and the organization operate.
(O’Brien, 1994, p.4)
From this definition, the Area Offices need to construct total
mechanism--values, policies, practices, programs, systems and
structures, to foster continuous learning. Garvin (1993, quoted in
30
O’Brien, 1994, pp.4-5) indicates that organizations should build in
the following systems:
Systematic problem solving;
Experimentation with new approaches;
Learning from their own organization’ s experiences or
from those of others;
Transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout
the organizations.
From the systems, staff can learn by evaluating their capacity in
comparison with others; updating their knowledge and skill bases in
accordance with the current changes; finding a chance to learn new
attitude and technologies; solving problems creatively and helping
others to learn to change and grow (O’Brien, 1994).
According to the above, learning becomes dynamic because people
learn and adapt as a continuous cycle. Senge (1990, quoted in
O’Brien, 1994) suggests another higher level of learning called
generative learning which not only adapts but also creates or
produces new solutions/new products/services. The abilities of
learning, adapting and creating are necessary to organizations’
survival and growth.
From the above concept, the essences of learning, adapting and
creating, are necessary to new organizations incorporating radical
changes, such as the Area Offices, where power is decentralized and
staff have to exercise responsibility. In order to grow, the office
leaders need to promote double-loop learning among staff and
strive to be learning organizations which are flexible, adaptive,
31
creative and capable of changing (O’Brien, 1994). In addition, as the
Area Offices
have the role of listening and responding to stakeholders, they
should encourage learning among communities as well. Wilkinson &
Pedler (1996, p.241) suggest that the public service should link
policy, strategy and operations with user ‘voice’ by encouraging
stakeholders to present their opinions through local papers,
questionnaires, group discussions or public seminars/hearings. Such
participation is a way of being ‘proactive in the open, real time
information nets of the public service as a learning organization’
(Ibid, p.242). In summary, the Area Offices, their staff and people in
the Area would together learn, adapt and create a better milieu.
Why strategic thinking?
In the transition to devolution, confusion may arise due to the old
familiarities of doing things. The new Area Offices certainly need
strategic thinking to give directions of managing people, policy,
planning, resources, work processes and technologies in the Area.
With strategic thinking based on the value of good governance, as
proposed at the beginning of the paper, the Offices would be able to
exercise decentralized power effectively leading to the expected
outcomes and the public good.
Why values?
Definitions: Schwartz (1992, quoted in Gurr, 2000, p.1) defines
values as concepts or beliefs which pertain to desirable end states
or behaviors, to transcend specific situations, to guide selection or
evaluation of behavior and events, and which are ordered by
32
relative importance. Jaques (2000) indicates that values are ideas
about the worth or importance of things, concepts, and people
(http://www.leader-values.com).
There are four types of values:
(1)Basic human values, such as freedom and respect for others;
(2)General moral values, such as social justice and fairness
(3)Professional values, such as adoption of business practices and
centrality of students; and
(4)Social and political values, such as participation and commitment
(Gurr, 2000, p.3)
The role of values: Values have an important role in guiding the way
people work. The following phrase well voiced the important role of
values in people:
If the CEO can established over-arching corporative values and
philosophies, which are nested within basic societal values, and
which meet people’s own generic values, he or she can get the
whole organization working effectively in the same broad
direction. It is our values that move us, bind us together, push
us apart, and generally make the world go round
(http://www.leader-values.com)
As bribery and corruption are among the problems which have
eroded Thai society, it is important to enhance moral spirit in
government officials. Crump (1993, p.74) recommended five related
issues of being moral:
Most decisions that have consequences for others have moral
dimensions;
Moral knowledge is not a separate or distinct form of knowledge;
33
Leaders and participating individuals should be open to moral
appraisal;
Educative leaders must create and promote learning throughout
all levels of their organization; and
To be educative means to promote inquiry, value problem-
solving, welcome criticism and encourage participation.
Why good governance? Good governance simply refers to good
public administration that promotes transparency, as people have
the right to know how decisions that affect them are arrived at, by
whom and under what circumstances; how public resources are
administered, by whom and why (Frisch, 2000). In this sense,
transparency will be a guarantee of good governance and is
essential to economic and social development (Ibid). The promotion
of good governance or doing for the public good involves a
determined campaign against corruption, which is one of the most
concrete expressions of maladministration (ibid). Some keys to good
governance are: the quality of the administration of resources that
explains its good or bad development performance; administering
scarce resources in accordance with the real needs of the people;
and leadership attacking the problem of corruption (Ibid).
To reform for the public good it is necessary to have values of good
governance as the basis, otherwise, there may be deviation from
the real target from the public to individual benefits.
Why quality service orientated mind?
Traditionally, Thai authorities do not focus on customer satisfaction.
They will not treat people as their customers. Their dealings are
controlled by rigid regulations. This concept is changing. The
34
country is aware of the decaying development of the country. The
Office of the Civil Servants Commission (http://www.ocsc.go.th) has
encouraged staff to have service-orientated minds. With the
customer focus, rigid regulations and long procedures would be
improved. Authorities would be delegated so that staff would have
more power in making
decisions. This value, when integrated with a quality management
system, would help ensure that people would received services with
quality, convenience, speed and responsive to their real needs and
benefits.
Why Outcomes?
Outcomes in this paper are regarded as ends or visions or focuses.
While TF, QL, double loop learning, strategic thinking and values,
are means or processes or strategies for achieving outcomes. The
transition of devolution to organization by Areas requires the Areas
to determine the expected outcomes and set the means to achieve
them. This paper proposes the outcomes of being quality and
learning organizations with accountabilities:
Decentralized power can be exercised with responsibility;
Efficiency and effectiveness in budget/resource expense
responding to the real needs of people in the Areas, can be
assured;
People can be guaranteed obtaining high quality services; and
Government officials in the Areas’ Offices can develop the
professionalism and integrity to serve people accordingly and
create a positive impact on society.
Further Reflection:
35
According to the above model, five functions in organizations can be
observed:
Leading;
Learning;
Action;
Development; and
Values.
From the model, strategic thinking can be mapped through leading
function; double-loop learning in learning; TF in action; and QL in
development. All four functions have values: good governance and
quality service orientation rolling over at the middle as illustrated in
Figure 4.
Figure 4: A dynamic pattern at the Offices of Educational Service
Areas of leading, learning, action, and development
including having values based in every function.
Figure 4 demonstrates leading, learning, action and development
becoming integral to each other (Wilkinson & Pedler, 1996, p.243f)
36
Learning (Double –Loop Learning)
Development Action (QL) (TF)
Leading (strategic thinking)
Values
Good Governance & quality service
oriented
and being based on values. There are influence or co-relation
between
Leading and learning (leading strategically and learning from the
results/feedback to lead better);
Action and development (doing tasks with some procedures and
techniques; continually improving and doing better).
Similar to each quarter, there is also correlation between
Leading and action (leading the way to do things);
Action and learning (when working, being able to learn from it or
from the problems arising from it and coming up with solutions
or new ways to do the job);
Learning and development (as Lakomski,1999, quoted in Begley
& Leonard, p.37 states that organizational learning helps
develop effective administrative practice and organizational
structure to maximize learning and correction of error through a
feedback system); and
Development and leading (improving the way to lead).
If compared to a human being, leading and learning are like the
brain. Values, represent the heart, whilst action and development,
represent the limbs. This competent person will be able to cope with
any kinds of changes and manage progress. Similarly the Area
Offices, with the five functions working properly, can create a
positive impact on society. This is the ultimate goal of the public
service, since ‘the business of public service is not to make money
but to make a difference--social change’ (Stewart, 1989, quoted in
Willkinson & Pedler, 1996, p.244).
37
The above initiative also raises an important question: how to make
it happen? This paper will be submitted for consideration by the
relevant authorities. The minimum expectation is that it will be
downloaded onto the Ministry’s homepage as an idea from a
stakeholder for further discussion.
However, in building up skills of TF, QA, double-loop learning, and
strategic thinking for prospective staff in the Area Offices, some
public training offices can be responsible such as:
The Institute for Development of Educational Administrators
(IDEA) (more details can be searched from
http://www.moe.go.th/idea).
The Civil Service Training Institution under Office of the Civil
Service Commission (more details can be searched from
http://www.ocsc.go.th/homepage/menu_e.htm)
Conclusion:
In the Chinese language the word, ‘crisis’ is represented by two
characters, one standing for ‘danger’ and the other for ‘opportunity’.
Since the crisis period, Thai people have become well aware of the
urgency to reform every aspect of society. New opportunities for
sustainable growth and prosperity lie ahead if organizations,
especially public organizations, develop skills in leading, learning,
action and development based on specific values. New Educational
Service Area Offices, which will have an important role in creating a
better society with education, require not only strong leaders but
also government officials to commit themselves to develop the
38
above functions to achieve the desirable outcomes. In wider scope,
the people in the Areas also need to be civil-minded to support such
development. If so, reform for the public good can be actually
achievable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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