TNAG-0364-FCO40-410-McKinsey-Report-on-strengthening-the-machinery-of-government-1973 — Page 67

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the approved vote on any category or sub-category of expenditure can be exceeded. This necessary control prevents overspending, but it does little to ensure that money is well spent and nothing to prevent what may be equally damaging, namely under spending.

Explains the aim but not the

method.

While we believe the new approach would be more effective than the present method of managing departments' activities, the difficulty of re- educating large numbers of senior staff to think in a new way, while they have to keep the Government machine operating, should not be underestimated. Further, given the size of Government, the change could not be achieved over- night; a practical period for full implementation would certainly be measured in years rather than months.

Although we believe from our limited assessment that the staff are capable of adapting to this new approach while dealing with current issues, at this point of time it is not certain whether all the difficulties of implement- ation can be overcome. Moreover Government should not embark on such radical change without a thorough evaluation and test. We have therefore recommended a cautious trial in one or two sample areas before embarking on full scale implementation. Such trials have the further invaluable advantage of allowing detailed development of the new processes in practical surroundings.

When the initial tests are completed around the end of March, 1973, Government should decide the priority for extending the implementation of the

new processes.

3. IMPROVING PERSONNEL

MANAGEMENT

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To achieve the objective of personnel management - i. e., to meet the manpower requirements of each grade four basic tasks must be carried out: recruiting people to fill vacances; retaining people by providing a satisfying career package; developing people to fill more senior posts; deploying people to positions where they are most useful.

Measures of effectiveness applied to the present performance of these tasks suggest a number of problems. The overriding problem is the serious shortage of manpower in Government, overall and in key grades such as the Administrative Class or the Police. There is also evidence of problems in general morale; in the speed and effectiveness of response to changing personnel needs; and in the way resources are used in achieving personnel objectives.

McKinsey & Company, Inc.