THE POLITICS OF HRM: WAITING FOR GODOT IN THE MOROCCAN CIVIL SERVICE 1 Khadija Al-Arkoubi (Al Akhawayn University,

Ifrane, Morocco) Willy Mc ourt (University of Manchester, United Kin!do")

We !ratefully acknowled!e the contributions of the !overn"ent officials who a!reed to be interviewed for this study$ %he authors can be contacted on k$alarkoubi&alakhawayn$"a and willy$"ccourt&"an$ac$uk.

THE POLITICS OF HRM: WAITING FOR GODOT IN THE MOROCCAN CIVIL SERVICE A'(%)A % This study illustrates the fundamental importance of a political understanding in order to improve HRM in both public and private organizations. It complements studies that have found a statistical relationship between public staff management and economic growth by presenting a case study of Morocco, using the strategic human resource management ( HRM! model as a framewor". There are several reasons why HRM in the Moroccan civil service has stagnated, notably unfamiliarity with HRM models, and the #rench administrative heritage. and where political actors are reluctant to ta"e bold initiatives. $ut the fundamental reason is Morocco%s political system, where real power resides in the &alace, Thus a focus on the management level is currently misplaced, and fundamental political action harnessing the authority of the &alace without disempowering other political actors is needed. The study implies that a political analysis is sometimes a prere'uisite for improving HRM in both public and private organizations. Keywords (trate!ic *)M, international *)M, e"+loyee selection, +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent, Morocco, civil service, +olitical will

INTRODUCTION: MANAGEMENT

GROWTH,

GOVERNANCE

AND

HUMAN

RESOURCE

'y now "ost *) scholars are fa"iliar with the bold contention that the way or!ani,ations "ana!e their staff can i"+rove their +erfor"ance ('ecker and -erhart, #../0 -uest, #..10 *uselid, #..2)$ 'ut in another scholarly 3uarter, an even bolder contention has e"er!ed, one that we seek to e4+lore in this article5 that the way !overn"ents "ana!e their +ublic servants can i"+rove the +erfor"ance of an entire national econo"y$ It !oes a!ainst what was until recently the received wisdo"$ %hrou!hout the #.67s and well into the #..7s, the hu!ely influential IM8 and World 'ank had +ro"ul!ated the view that !overn"ents hindered rather than hel+ed econo"ic !rowth - 9:o !overn"ent or little !overn"ent was better than bi! !overn"ent;, as one of the World 'ank;s staff +ut it ( haudhry, #..<5 #..) = and they had conse3uently e4horted their soverei!n clients in the develo+in! world to abandon !randiose ca+ital +rojects that crowded out +rivate invest"ent, sto+ wra++in! investors u+ in red ta+e, and so on$i 'ut in the "id-#..7s a "ore indul!ent view e"er!ed $ It contradicted the 9"ini"al state; view by e"+hasi,in! +ositive actions like creatin! sound bud!etary institutions0 the #..1 World >evelo+"ent )e+ort (World 'ank, #..1) was its first substantial "anifestation$ It was in this chan!ed +olicy conte4t that researchers workin! under World 'ank aus+ices be!an to brin! forward evidence of a +ositive connection between !overnance and !rowth$ A ?2-country study uncovered a si!nificant +ositive relationshi+ between "erit-based selection of civil servants (which ()R *++, had also e"+hasi,ed) alon! with rewardin!, +redictable career +ro!ression on the one hand, and !rowth on the other (@vans and )auch, #...0 )auch and @vans, A777)$ A little later, Kauf"ann and Kraay, usin! a new #12-country dataset and different definitions, a!reed with @vans and )auch (Kauf"ann et al., #...), althou!h they went on to 3ualify their view by develo+in! an e4+lanation of those econo"ies which were !rowin! but were !overned badly (Kauf"ann and Kraay, A77Aii)$ %here could, it see"ed, be !rowth without !ood !overnance$ %he "essa!e was that !overn"ents should not rely on the risin! tide of +ros+erity to lift the !overnance boat but should take deliberate ste+s to i"+rove !overnance$ (uch correlational, cross-sectional studies have "ethodolo!ical li"itations that are fa"iliar to anyone who has followed the *)M-and-or!ani,ational-+erfor"ance debate$ %heir findin!s
A

are broad rather than dee+, identifyin! +atterns across a ran!e of countries but not e4+lainin! the character of any sin!le country, even thou!h we know that the outco"es of !overn"ent refor" +ro!ra""es de+end on co"+le4 co"binations of "any factors, al"ost none of which a++lies unifor"ly across countries ( a"+os and @sfahani, A7775 AAA0 :elson, #..70 Whitehead, #..7)$ %hey sto+ short of understandin! how the relationshi+ they have uncovered actually o+erates, "akin! it hard to e4tract +olicy +rescri+tions fro" the" to offer to !overn"ents (thou!h Kauf"ann and Kraay do "ake su!!estions about +ro"otin! "echanis"s for e4ternal accountability, +artici+atory voice and trans+arency as a way of dealin! with the +roble" of 9state ca+ture; by +articular interest !rou+s$) (uch li"itations are evident when we consider Morocco, the subject of this article, for which @vans and )auch;s data is confined to a 3uestionnaire filled in by two unidentified 9e4+erts;, while Kauf"ann and Kraay;s is based on +re-e4istin! survey data fro" the @cono"ist Intelli!ence Unit, 8reedo" *ouse and the like$ We +oint out these li"itations not to dis"iss the studies that we have just discussed, but because we want to co"+le"ent the"$ Where those studies are broad, shallow and 3uantitative, ours is narrow, dee+ and 3ualitative$ %hus we ho+e that our study will !ive an insi!ht into how the relationshi+ between effective !overn"ent and econo"ic develo+"ent actually works$ >o !overn"ents hel+ or hinder !rowthB %hrou!hout the #.67s and well into the #..7s, the IM8 and World 'ank a++eared to believe it was the latter, e4hortin! their soverei!n clients to abandon !randiose ca+ital +rojects that crowded out +rivate invest"ent, sto+ wra++in! investors u+ in red ta+e, and so on$ It was a +eriod where the do"inant view was 9%hat no !overn"ent or little !overn"ent was better than bi! !overn"ent; ( haudhry, #..<5 #..), as one of the World 'ank;s staff +ut it$iii %he #..1 World >evelo+"ent )e+ort (World 'ank, #..1) was the first substantial "anifestation of a "ore indul!ent view, one that contradicted the 9"ini"al state; +osition by e"+hasi,in! +ositive actions like creatin! sound bud!etary institutions$ @"boldened by this +olicy sea chan!e, researchers workin! under 'ank aus+ices be!an to brin! forward evidence of a +ositive connection between !overnance and !rowth$ @vans and )auch ca"e first, with a ?2-country study that uncovered a si!nificant +ositive relationshi+ between "erit-based selection of civil servants (which ()R *++, had also e"+hasi,ed) and rewardin!, +redictable
?

career +ro!ression on the one hand, and !rowth on the other (@vans and )auch, #...0 )auch and @vans, A777)$ A little later, Kauf"ann and Kraay, usin! a new #12-country dataset and different definitions, a!reed with @vans and )auch (Kauf"ann et al., #...), althou!h they went on to 3ualify their view by develo+in! an e4+lanation of those econo"ies which were !rowin! but were !overned badly (Kauf"ann and Kraay, A77Aiv)$ %here could, it see"ed, be !rowth without !ood !overnance$ -overn"ents should not rely on the risin! tide of +ros+erity to lift the !overnance boat but should take deliberate ste+s to i"+rove !overnance$ (uch studies have fa"iliar "ethodolo!ical li"itations$ %heir correlational, cross-sectional desi!n "eans that their findin!s are broad rather than dee+, identifyin! +atterns across a ran!e of countries but not e4+lainin! the character of any sin!le country, even thou!h we know that refor" outco"es de+end on co"+le4 co"binations of "any factors, al"ost none of which a++ly unifor"ly across countries ( a"+os and @sfahani, A7775 AAA0 :elson, #..70 Whitehead, #..7)$ %hey sto+ short of understandin! how the relationshi+ they have uncovered actually o+erates, "akin! it hard to e4tract +olicy +rescri+tions fro" the" to offer to !overn"ents (thou!h Kauf"ann and Kraay do "ake su!!estions about +ro"otin! "echanis"s for e4ternal accountability, +artici+atory voice and trans+arency as a way of dealin! with the +roble" of 9state ca+ture; by +articular interest !rou+s$) 'oth li"itations are evident when we consider Morocco, our subject, for which @vans and )auch;s data is li"ited to a 3uestionnaire filled in by two unidentified 9e4+erts;, while Kauf"ann and Kraay;s is based on +re-e4istin! survey data fro" the @cono"ist Intelli!ence Unit, 8reedo" *ouse and the like$ We +oint out these li"itations not to rubbish these studies, but because we want to co"+le"ent the"$ Where their studies are broad, shallow and 3uantitative, ours is narrow, dee+ and 3ualitative$ %hus we ho+e that our study will !ive an insi!ht into how the relationshi+ between effective !overn"ent and econo"ic develo+"ent actually works$ STRATEGIC HRM We focus on just one of the deliberate ste+s that !overn"ents can take5 i"+rovin! hu"an resource "ana!e"ent$ %his is "uch the sa"e as @vans and )auch;s focus, althou!h narrower than Kauf"ann and Kraay;s, for who" !overn"ent effectiveness was only one of five !overnance ele"ents$ 'ut whereas @vans and )auch went back to Weber (#./6) for their
<

"odel, i"+lyin! that we have learnt nothin! about staff "ana!e"ent since Weber left us in #.A7, we have +referred to derive ours fro" the body of work on hu"an resource "ana!e"ent (*)M) that has !rown u+ in the last fifty years, and in +articular fro" the develo+"ent of the strate!ic *)M ((*)M) "odel$ It !ives an account of how staff "ana!e"ent contributes to achievin! an or!ani,ation;s +ur+oses (such as +rofitability where +rivate co"+anies are concerned), and we have stron! e"+irical evidence, subject to the usual "ethodolo!ical li"itations, that a++lyin! it does actually "ake a difference ('ecker and -erhart, #../0 >elery and >oty, #../0 -uest, #..10 *uselid, #..20 Catterson et al., #..10 %sui et al., #..1)$ *) +ractitioners and scholars, a so"ewhat downtrodden sub-+rofession only #2 years a!o, have ac3uired a sudden self-confidence, reflected in a leadin! scholar;s clai" that the favoured *) +ractices have a universal validity (Cfeffer, #..6)$ %ranslatin! all this into the lan!ua!e of !overnance, it offers !overn"ents a way to i"+rove their effectiveness, and in so doin! achieve their overall +ur+oses, includin! facilitatin! econo"ic develo+"ent$

T e SHRM Mode! %he (*)M "odel is by now e4tensively docu"ented on both sides of the Atlantic (se"inal te4ts include 'eer et al., #.620 8o"brun et al., #.6<0 and -uest, #.6.)$ >es+ite its current co"+etitors, such as the so-called 9resource-based view; (Ka"oche, #../), we jud!e that it re"ains the do"inant nor"ative "odel, !iven the +owerful theoretical and e"+irical su++ort which it has obtained, and which we outline below$ We have chosen to analyse selected features of it in detail, rather than to atte"+t a "ore co"+rehensive but inevitably su+erficial analysis$ While so"e writers reject the idea of a "onolithic "odel, distin!uishin!, for instance, between 9hard; and 9soft; *)M ((torey, #..2) or 9lean; and 9tea"; +roduction (A++elbau" and 'att, #..<), there are several features on which "ost writers a!ree$ Crobably chief a"on! the" is the notion of strate!ic inte!ration5 9All definitions of hu"an resource "ana!e"ent a!ree on one +oint5 that there "ust be a link between a fir";s strate!y and D the hu"an resource; (Curcell, #..25 /?)$ (trate!ic inte!ration "eans ali!nin! staff "ana!e"ent syste"s with or!ani,ations; overall strate!ic objectives and with each other (Anthony et al.,
2

#..?0 'ecker and -erhart, #../0 8o"brun et al., #.6<0 -uest, #.6.0 Wri!ht and McMahan, #..A)$ While it has e"er!ed fro" the nor"ative *) literature, there is so"e e"+irical su++ort for the i"+lication that the whole is !reater than the su" of the +arts (*uselid, #..20 Macduffie, #..2)$ Indeed 'ecker and -erhart (#../) su!!est in their review of the +erfor"ance debate that it is what they call the 9strate!ic architecture; rather than individual *) +ractices that has a universal validity$ (trate!ic inte!ration i"+licitly chan!es the *) s+ecialist;s relationshi+ with line "ana!ers$ %he s+ecialist is su++osed to desi!n the *) syste"s that will ali!n with strate!ic objectives, while the "ana!er is su++osed to carry the" out$ -uest (#.6.5 2#) observes that al"ost all writers say that *) "ust be "ana!ed by line "ana!ers5 9*)M is too i"+ortant to be left to the +ersonnel "ana!ers$; %hus at the strate!ic level we concentrate on the twin 3uestions of 9strate!ic inte!ration; and 9line "ana!er ownershi+; of *)$ Re"r#$%&e'% ('d Se!e"%$o', ('d Per)or&('"e M('(*e&e'% We also address two *) o+erational activities, e"+loyee selection and individual +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent and a++raisal$ We have chosen the" because5 #$ We have !ood evidence for their effect on or!ani,ational +erfor"ance$ %he evidence for e"+loyee selection is +articularly robust ((ch"idt and *unter, #.11)$ %he evidence for +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent is also robust, althou!h obli3ue5 it docu"ents the effect of objective settin! and feedback on +erfor"ance, both central features of +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent (Walters, #..2)$ A$ 'oth are relevant to @vans and )auch;s research$ @"+loyee selection is one of the two 9Weberian; ele"ents on which they focus, and +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent is i"+licit in their second ele"ent, +redictable career +ro!ression$ Moreover, we have seen already that ()R *++, e"+hasi,ed "erit-based selection, and it also a++ears in several of the surveys that Kauf"ann and Kraay draw on$ ?$ We know fro" +revious studies that there are substantial national differences in the +ractice of +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent$ ountries as far a+art as >en"ark and Ea+an have resisted the An!lo (a4on "odel that focuses e4clusively on the individual;s +erfor"ance ('rewster and *e!ewisch, #..<0 Fove et al., #..<0 Milli"an et al., #..6)$

)eaders who are bo!!lin! at the a++arent i"+lication that the elaborate (*)M "odel and associated *)M +ractices are widely a++lied, or even a++licable, in develo+in! country !overn"ents should be reassured that the 3uestion of a++licability is one which our study e4+licitly +oses$ THE POLITICAL CONTE+T OF REFORM Gur case study focuses on +ublic staff "ana!e"ent in one develo+in! country$ Why

MoroccoB 8irstly, because develo+in! an effective +ublic ad"inistration, includin! staff "ana!e"ent, in order to facilitate econo"ic develo+"ent is an e4+licit ai" of the !overn"ent;s refor" +ro!ra""e5 9Morocco has undertaken refor"s to ensure sustained econo"ic !rowth, "acro-econo"ic stability, o+enin! u+ to the !lobal econo"y D %heir success D is inti"ately linked to the 3uality of the civil servants involved; (MinistHre de la 8onction Cubli3ue, #..60 see also Croul4, #...)$ (econdly, as a :orth African "iddleinco"e country whose +ublic ad"inistration is coloured by the 8rench colonial le!acy, it is an interestin! contrast with a +revious study carried out of Mauritius, a "iddle-inco"e for"er 'ritish colony (Mc ourt and )a"!utty-Won!, A77?), !iven that the 8ranco+honeIAn!lo+hone divide is a "ajor fissure in +ost-colonial Africa$ E'd#r$'* Fe(%#res o) % e Moro""(' Po!$%$"(! Sys%e& An objective of our +a+er is to show how in Morocco, and ar!uably elsewhere, we need to understand the underlyin! +olitical syste" to "ake sense of or i"+rove +ublic staff "ana!e"ent, which in Morocco is becal"ed by two settled features of Morocco;s !overnance$ %he first is the centrali,ed yet dis+arate nature of !overn"ent$ Cower in Morocco centres on the +alace$ In for"al ter"s, the #../ constitution envisa!es a "ulti+arty syste" of de"ocracy, but also allows the kin! a lot of e4ecutive leeway$ *e +ersonally a++oints the Cri"e Minister, key central "inisters and re!ional !overnors$ While he often dele!ates his authority over "ore junior a++oint"ents (includin! officials), the +ractical contrast with, say, the 'ritish "onarch, who also has the theoretical ri!ht to select the Cri"e Minister, is stark$ Moreover, the late kin! *assan did +ass a stron! le!acy of skilful !overn"ent in its own ter"s to his son at his accession in #..., whatever one;s "is!ivin!s about certain as+ects of it$ 8inally, even at the start of the twenty-first century one should not
1

underesti"ate the kin!;s bara"a (rou!hly charis"a), a 3uasi-reli!ious 3uality which derives fro" the "onarch;s i"+ortant reli!ious rolev, and which he shares with Musli" saints (Munson, #..?)5 the +o+ular !rief at the death of Kin! *assan in #... attested to it$ 'ut it is a sur+risin! fact that so"e have ar!ued that the "onarchy;s +ower essentially consists of holdin! the rin! between stron! autono"ous elites5 the urban bour!eoisie, includin! senior !overn"ent officials0 +rofessors and intellectuals0 the ar"y0 and the rural notables ( le"ent, #..7)$ %he "odel state"ent of this view is still Waterbury;s (#.17)$ 8or hi", the kin! was like a :uer chief who, in @vans-Critchard;s classic analysis (#.<75 see es+ecially #1A-/) had little for"al authority, and "erely "ediated between tribes in the event of dis+utes, in a society where rebellion has been ende"ic for "uch of its history vi, and which was held to!ether, +arado4ically enou!h, by o++osition between its 9se!"ents;$ In this view, %the kin! is then finds hi"self obli!ed to tri" between and +lacate +owerful rival !rou+s$ (o"e see Waterbury;s view as over-in!enious (@ickel"an, #..60 -ellner, #.6#), but there is a!ree"ent that whether fro" a +osition of stren!th or of weakness, the +alace has +layed !rou+s off a!ainst each by the well-jud!ed use of +atrona!e, albeit the "oderni,in! bent of both the +resent kin! and his father "eans that recent reci+ients of +atrona!e have often been hi!hly 3ualified technocrats (Eoffe, #.660 Cennell, A7770 %essler, #.610 Jart"an, #.61)$ %he Calace;s resort to +atrona!e is an e4+ression of Morocco;s dee+-rooted clientelis"$ While in other countries favouritis" relates to a sin!le feature of identity, such as ethnicity in )wanda or reli!ion in :orthern Ireland, in Morocco it is 9fluid;, to use -ellner;s word (#.6#5 1A)5 9Any individual D will seek a +erson who can hel+ hi" fro" any +lace in the country, any +osition in the official hierarchy and on the basis of any +ersonal connection that best serves his +articular +ur+ose at that "o"ent; ()osen, #.1.5 2?)$ Individuals are thus reluctant to co""it the"selves irrevocably to any sin!le as+ect of their identity, as that "i!ht +reclude e"+hasi,in! another as+ect that "i!ht be to their advanta!e later on0 and by e4tension, to nail their colours to the "ast of a sin!le +olicy, as they "i!ht need to es+ouse a different one later on$ 'oth 9stron!; and 9weak; kin! views a!ree on so"e features of Morocco;s +olitics$ A +ositive feature is that, within a stable syste", +olitical actors have develo+ed the instinct to consult and seek consensus5 Morocco was a +ractitioner avant la lettre of what we have co"e to call 9stakeholder +olitics; (*utton, #..2)$ %he IM8 stabili,ation +ro!ra""e of #.6?
6

illustrates this$ In the face of IM8 +ressure to ado+t a ra+id, not to say brutal a++roach to refor", the Moroccan side entertained a wide ran!e of o+inions across !overn"ent, and even the IM8 ca"e to ad"it that the !radual +ace of the refor" +ro!ra""e that e"er!ed and the care taken to address the +ublic;s an4ieties contributed to its success (A,a" and Morrisson, #..<0 :souli et al., #..2)$ Involvin! refor" stakeholders has also been central to the !overn"ent;s ad"inistrative refor" strate!y, as we shall see$ *owever, a ne!ative feature, to which the +articular character of Morocco;s clientelis" also contributes, is a tendency to +assivity or attentisme in +olitical actors, leadin! to an 9abhorrence of bold initiatives, and the overall stale"ate that characteri,es Moroccan +olitics; (Waterbury, #.175 6)$ -overn"ent is funda"entally 3uietist, and does not so "uch take initiatives as react, "ore or less judiciously, to arbitrate between o++osin! interests when +ressin! eventsaction is unavoidable, such as in the stabili,ation crisis of the early #.67s$ @ven the dra"atic 9-reen March; which cul"inated in the 9liberation; of the (+anish (ahara was ar!uably +reci+itated by the i"+endin! colla+se of 8ascis" in (+ain (Cennell, A777)$ %his tendency, which has dee+ roots in Morocco;s royal history, is co"+ounded by the hostility to innovation of the "ainly conservative rural notables who are an i"+ortant +art of the "onarchy;s +owerbase+ower base (*a""oudi, #..10 Feveau, #.62)$ A!riculture;s de+endence on un+redictable rains, which fa"ously caused the late kin! to re"ark that 98aced with a choice between an intelli!ence re+ort and a weather forecast, I will +ut the intelli!ence re+ort on one side,; doesn;t hel+ either, as ->C has always tended to track rainfall levels (Cennell, A7775 ?A<)$ In this analysis, royal intervention beco"es the only way of overco"in! +olitical stale"ate0 and, +artly for this reason, o%hus any kind of +ur+oseful refor" in Morocco beco"es a sort of 9-odot; for whichther +olitical actors have tended to acce+t it5 9@veryone wants to believe in it, even when the soverei!n;s decisions a++ear to be !uided by the interests of the "onarchy and the social cate!ories closest to it; (*a""oudi, #..15 A?)$ *owever, the analysis is silent on whether, in the +articular case of civil service refor", that intervention will "ateriali,e or, rather, will rese"ble like the 9-odot; character Kladi"ir and @stra!on in 'eckett;s +lay (#.2A) for who" the other characters , are doo"ed to wait in vain +olitical actors see" doo"ed to wait indefinitely$

T e De*ree ('d S"o,e o) Re"e'% C ('*es :ow so"e would object that while our account "i!ht have been true for "ost of the late kin!;s rei!n, his last few years, when he deliberately s"oothed the way for his son, and the first few years of his son;s rei!n itself, have chan!ed everythin!$ %his brin!s us to the second relevant feature of Morocco;s !overnance, the i"+act of recent dra"atic chan!es on a syste" that had been stable to the +oint of sclerosis$ At issue here are the de!ree and the sco+e of chan!e$ :o one dis+utes that there have been real chan!es$ Already in #..1 the !eneral election had ushered in Morocco;s first centre-left !overn"ent, +o+ularly known as 9le !ouverne"ent de l;alternance; (the !overn"ent of the chan!eover), and the old kin! had a++ointed res+ected o++osition leader Abderrah"ane Loussoufi as his +ri"e "inister$ %he new kin! continued the trend throu!h sy"bolic actions like dis"issin! the +owerful Minister of the Interior, >riss 'asri, and allowin! lon!standin! o++onents to return fro" e4ile$ @ven A"nesty International, +reviously critical of Morocco;s hu"an ri!hts record, welco"ed the initial chan!es, and has continued, with reservations, to welco"e ensuin! "easures such as the !radual release of +olitical +risoners (A"nesty International, #... and A77A)$ Gutside !overn"ent, civil society !rou+s have "ushroo"ed$ Morocco with its se"i-absolute "onarchy is still one of the "ost de"ocratic rM!i"es to be found between the Atlantic and the Cersian -ulf$ 'ut how +rofound have all the chan!es beenB After three years in office, the 9!ouverne"ent de l;alternance; re+resented 9a kind of continuity rather than a break with the +ast; ('ouachrine, A77#5 #7)$ 8ollowin! the A77A elections, as well as his usual 3uota of five key "inisters, the kin! a++ointed an unelected business"an and +olitical neo+hyte as his +ri"e "inister, +icked faute de mieu- when the s3uabblin! +olitical +arties failed to yield u+ a credible candidate$ (It is i"+ortant to note that recent !overn"ents have been coalitions drawn fro" the +lethora of +olitical +arties, with all the +roble"s of a!reein! a co""on +ro!ra""e that bedevil coalitions everywhere$) %he new +ri"e "inister is even "ore the creature of the +alace than his +redecessor, who at least had an inde+endent +olitical base$ %he kin! continues to chair the "eetin!s of his 9inner cabinet; of a++ointed "inisters, at which all the bi! decisions are taken (@cono"ist, A77A)$ Accordin! to one critic, even the !overn"ent;s +rivati,ation +ro!ra""e, which was +roceedin! and even acceleratin! at the ti"e of writin! (Al-*ayat, A77A), has beco"e ensnared in the +atrona!e !a"e so as to
#7

stren!then the state;s links with the co""ercial elite (:aje", A77#)$ %hus while we do not acce+t the cynical view of one of our interviewees that the 9!ouverne"ent de l;alternance; was no "ore than a device .to facilitate the transfer of power from the old "ing to his son% , we consider that recent chan!es have been real, but not funda"ental$ @very "ana!er will reco!ni,e the kin!;s dile""a in this so"ewhat chan!ed conte4t5 should I facilitate, 9e"+owerin!; and buildin! u+ lon!-ter" ca+acity, or co""and, !ettin! thin!s done todayB Morocco;s se!"entary +olitical syste" !ives hi" the abidin! te"+tation to use his +ower to break the stale"ate0 the "ore so because the +ublic, whose confidence in its bickerin! and historically corru+t +oliticians is scant, is has "ostly been ha++y for hi" to use it, even where it has served a +articular royal interest, as we have seen$ 'ut each ti"e he does, he confir"s other +olitical actors in their +assivity and ne!ates his es+oused co""it"ent to de"ocracy and a stron! civil society$ *is uneasy solution, one that in the Waterbury tradition is ty+ical of the ti"idity of Moroccan +olitical actors, is to use his +ower s+arin!ly and hesitantly, with the result that areas that are not vital, or that are si"+ly outside his field of vision (this is the issue of the sco+e of chan!e), have been left to sta!nate$ We shall su!!est that !overn"ent effectiveness, includin! staff "ana!e"ent, is one such area$ METHODOLOGWe have used a case study "ethodolo!y for three reasons$ 8irst, it is es+ecially a++ro+riate to research on !overn"ent, since in the nature of thin!s each country has only one !overn"ent to study, +recludin! the 3uantitative, "ulti-fir" study that is the sta+le of the (*)MI+erfor"ance literature (Lin, #..<)$ (econd, 'ecker and -erhart;s review of that literature calls for 9dee+er, 3ualitative research to co"+le"ent the lar!e-scale, "ulti+le fir" studies that are available; (#../5 1./), a call that -uest (#..1) has echoed$ %hird, as noted already, it co"+le"ents the 3uantitative "ethodolo!y used by Kauf"ann and Kraay and @vans and )auch$ %he case data ca"e fro" both +ri"ary and secondary sources$ Usin! two "ethods sources of data collection increased the nu"erical re+resentativeness of the findin!s allowed so"e trian!ulation of findin!s$ (econdary data consisted of reasonably current !overn"ent re+orts and other official +ublications, donor a!ency re+orts, and so"e acade"ic +ublications$ Cri"ary data !atherin! in A77# and A77A in took the for" of +ersonal interviews and a focus
##

!rou+ "eetin!$

(econdary data co"+rised !overn"ent re+orts and other docu"ents,

includin! the re+orts of two worksho+s, or!anisedor!ani,ed by the ivil (ervice Ministry and by a trade union, and the acade"ic literature on Morocco$%he focus !rou+ brou!ht to!ether a hetero!eneous !rou+ (in ter"s of a!e, se4, and job +osition) of junior civil servants, rando"ly sa"+led fro" a lar!e +o+ulation of +art-ti"e University students$ An o+en invitation was sent to the +o+ulation !rou+ via notice boards and a fir" list of B was drawn u+$ %he rationale for usin! focus !rou+ data was to ta+ the +ers+ective of a 9junior; level of e"+loyee in the civil service hierarchy$ Gur "ain +ri"ary data-!atherin! "ethod was interviews with key stakeholders ('ur!oyne, #..<)$ A se"i-structured for"at (Fee, #...) was used, based on the the"es outlined in the +revious section (strate!ic inte!ration, line "ana!er ownershi+, e"+loyee selection and +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent)$ Interviews All interviews were conducted face-to-face and ran!ed in len!th lasted fro" one hour to one hour and a halfsi4ty to ninety "inutes$ %he two authors conducted the interviews jointly, with the e4ce+tion of two interviews, which the firstna"ed author conducted alone$ A non+robability jud!e"ent sa"+lin! a++roach was used, tar!etin! officials at the "ost senior levels$ Gur second a++roach was the face-to-face interview$ (even !overn"ent officials were selected for interview, identified by one of the authors, who is fa"iliar with the structure of the Moroccan civil service, as havin! a key res+onsibility for the desi!n and o+eration of *)M syste"sinclusion in the study$ In two cases, officials were acco"+anied by two subordinates$ As one of the authors is based in Mauritius and well ac3uainted with the network of senior officials in the Mauritian ivil (ervice, it was decided to ai" for a #77N res+onse rate by %his non-+robability 9sa"+lin!; ensurin! that all res+ondents were indeed interviewed$

a++roach was used, after consideration of ti"e constraints (the first-na"ed author bein! jointly involved in the interviewin! +rocess durin! a short visit to Mauritius) as well as of the research objective, bein!, to "ake a contribution to the theory and not to seek nu"erical re+resentativeness (as a wide-scale survey would, for instance)$ %he %he followin! officials were interviewedfourteen res+ondents were re+resentative of a broad s+ectru" of officials and other individuals involved in staff "ana!e"ent "atters in the Mauritian ivil (ervice and included5
#A

%he secretary-!eneral (i$e$ the "ost senior official) of a central "inistry A senior official with a central res+onsibility for civil service refor" %he *u"an )esource >irectors of four Ministries %he director of the civil service trainin! acade"y

In addition, we interviewed a "e"ber of the national e4ecutive of one of the lar!est trade unions re+resentin! civil servants, and an international consultant based in Morocco who has conducted *)M +rojects with several Ministries$ We also conducted a "i4ed !ender focus !rou+ (Mor!an, #..1) of junior civil servants fro" different Ministries to !ive the +oint of view of a lower level in the hierarchy$ %he se"i-structured for"at based on identified the"es was a!ain used$ >ata ca"e fro" a focus !rou+ session held with a !rou+ of junior civil servants, !ivin! the +oint of view of a lower level in the hierarchy0 and fro" se"i-structured, ta+e-recorded interviews, subse3uently transcribed, lastin! between /7 and .7 "inutes each, with the followin! senior officials5 All but one interview, and also the focus !rou+ "eetin!, were conducted in 8rench .$$, and were ta+ed and subse3uently transcribed$ An interview schedule was +re+ared to ensure that essentially si"ilar data would be obtained fro" each res+ondent, althou!h so"e de!ree of fle4ibility was also a++lied$ All interviews were ta+ed, transcribedA content analysis was carried out in which interview and transcri+ts, our own interview notesdata was cate!orised into e"er!ent the"es$ (trate!ic inte!ration, line "ana!e"ent ownershi+, selection and +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent are the +articular the"es e4+lored in this +a+er$ and !overn"ent re+orts and other docu"ents were coded usin! the the"es +reviously identified$

FINDINGS %he +icture that we ho+e to +aint is of a new !overn"ent inheritin! a sta!nant, +artly corru+t ad"inistration leavened by so"e able technocrats in senior +ositions, and relyin! on weak central authority and a standard but very slow-"ovin! refor" "odel as a vehicle for chan!e,

#?

while a few technical "inistries have "oved ahead and introduced *)M initiatives of their own whose sustainability and transferability, however, are in doubt$ T e C$.$! Ser.$"e %he civil service +artakes of the centrali,ed yet dis+arate character of !overn"ent as a whole$ *ourani (#..#) has observed how different branches of !overn"ent in Arab countries tend to beco"e se+arate centres of +ower, a tendency stren!thened in Morocco by the 8rench ad"inistrative herita!e, ironically consolidated by Morocco;s haste to develo+ its own ad"inistrative +rocedures after inde+endence when 8rance the 8rench "odel was the only one available "odel (Moussa, #.660 (noussi, A77#)$ Morocco has re+roduced intact the 8rench syste" of +owerful +rofessional corps, the !rou+s of en!ineers, lawyers etc$, each with its own statut particulier, to which every senior civil servant belon!s ()ouban, #...)$ %hus the corps of en!ineers, with its !raduates fro" Melite institutions like the @cole des Conts et haussMes in 8rance, has its own favourable +ay and benefits which reinforce the se+arateness of the Cublic Works Ministry where "ost of the" work$ %his has created a rather divisive 9ad"inistrative feudalis"; (Marais, #.1?) but it does !ive "inistries so"e real autono"y$ A second desirable conse3uence, au!"ented by the "onarchy;s technocratic bent, is that the senior civil service is co"+etent, as @vans and )auch;s (A77?) infor"ants and :souli et al. (#..25 22) a!ree$ Another as+ect of the 8rench influence is that An!lo-(a4on "odels of strate!ic "ana!e"ent and (*)M are not widely disse"inated or +ractised in 8ranco+hone countries ('arsou4 and Fawrence, #..7)$ Moreover, a syste" where officials identify with a technical corps undervalues "ana!e"ent$ Gne of our interviewees noted that line "ana!ers tend to see the"selves as technical e4+erts rather than "ana!ers$ %he 8rench le!acy also affects the role of the Ministry of 8inance and the ivil (ervice

Ministry ( (M), the relevant central a!encies$ As throu!hout the +olitical syste", they have "ore +ower to block than to initiate$ 'ud!et a++roval for staffin! decisions has to co"e fro" 8inance$ (M, the !atekee+er of ad"inistrative law = its le!al re"it char!es it with 9ensurin! the a++lication of the statut g/n/ral of the +ublic service; ((bih, #.11) - is there "ainly to
#<

confir" that decisions confor" with law and re!ulations, just as one would e4+ect in a society where what *ofstede (#.67) called 9uncertainty avoidance; is hi!h$ >es+ite this cultural a++ro+riateness, few readers will be sur+rised to hear that line "inistries do not +articularly a++reciate (M;s 9finicky;viii role (.0ll that 1 M and #inance are interested in is following (M has in fact under"ined its credibility and contributed to the inertia of the regulations%), and we shall see that the decision to locate the civil service refor" +ro!ra""e in refor"$ C$.$! Ser.$"e Re)or& I"+rove"ents to *)M stand or fall with the national ad"inistrative refor" +ro!ra""e, which has been the vehicle for introducin! the"$ %he 9!ouverne"ent de l;alternance; wanted to turn over a new ad"inistrative leaf, aware that while there were able technocrats in senior +ositions, the e"+hasis on +atrona!e and security durin! "ost of the late kin!;s rei!n, when the Ministry of the Interior was the +ara"ount "inistry, "eant that the civil service had sta!nated, a view that a critical re+ort fro" the World 'ank (#../) confir"ed$ consultation, it launched a 9-ood Mana!e"ent %he !overn"ent +laced a s"all refor" tea" in (M and, followin! its custo"ary dia!nosis and harter; with three ele"ents5 action a!ainst corru+tion, bud!et rationali,ation and i"+roved co""unication$ %he latter included three *)M initiatives5 staffin! decisions should be based on "erit, +ay should be based on e3uity and desi!ned to "otivate, and the work+lace should be conducive to +roductivity$ (o"e actions duly followed$ ivil servants had to declare their +ro+erty in order to identify

+eo+le whose wealth had corru+tly increased$ %he !overn"ent sold off official vehicles and sto++ed +ayin! water, electricity and tele+hone char!es in senior officials; ho"es$ It also chan!ed +ublic +rocure"ent law and asked Ministries to take heed of +ress criticis"s and res+ond to citi,ens; re3uests and co"+laints$ %he ai" of the harter was as "uch to raise awareness as to "ake concrete chan!es$ (M

or!ani,ed worksho+s at which the harter was +resented, and "inistries and re+resentatives of overseas !overn"ents which had introduced thin!s like +erfor"ance a++raisal were invited to +resent to "inistries at lar!e, the ho+e bein! that the latter would reco!ni,e the value of the innovations and s+ontaneously ado+t the"$ .2ur only power,% said a central official, .Is the power to persuade.%
#2

All these were definitely ste+s in the ri!ht direction$ 9 This is the first time that we are tal"ing about corruption in Morocco,; said one senior official$ Another declared that 9 3ntil now we4ve been thin"ing that administration represents authority and power, but now we thin" that it should serve people and resolve their problems.% Moreover, rather than resent the endless worksho+s, .tables rondes% and the like, so"e of our interviewees a++reciated the atte"+t to consult$ 'ut there were difficulties$ A central official closely involved in the harter ur!ed us to .5o now and as" about the destiny of this 1harter. &eople don%t even "now what it is%. When we took hi" at his word, we found that junior civil servants did know about it but saw no si!n of it bein! i"+le"ented5 .(e are good at studying problems and proposing solutions, but they are rarely implemented. That%s why I haven%t even bothered to see what%s in the 1harter.% %he !overn"ent had been unable even to take the si"+le ste+ of reducin! the lon! 8rench-style lunch break, even thou!h a survey showed that over 67N of staff favoured it$ S%r(%e*$" I'%e*r(%$o' We turn now to the first of the *)M ele"ents on which our study concentrates$ In a word, there is virtually no evidence of (*)M-style strate!ic inte!ration in the civil service$ %here are favourable factors5 the +olicies of the new !overn"ent could be the basis for strate!y, +iece"eal thou!h they are0 there is so"e awareness of strate!ic "ana!e"ent a"on! central officials and in so"e technical line "inistries0 and the relative autono"y of line "inistries "akes it +ossible for the" to develo+ their own strate!ies, as one of the" was at +ains to +oint out$ 'ut one searches in vain for the strate!ic ele"ents5 there is no *) strate!y, and no conscious atte"+t to link individual *) activities such as recruit"ent and selection to an overall strate!ic +lan which in any case does not e4ist (vertical inte!ration) or to each other (hori,ontal inte!ration)$ What !oes on instead is what "inistries call 9!estion courante; or day-to-day "ana!e"ent, +retty "uch what %yson and 8ell (#.6/) called the 9clerk of works; "odel of +ersonnel ad"inistration$ %he "ore able technical "inistries, such as 8inance, *ousin! and, Cublic Works have taken +rofessional initiatives, introducin! co"+uteri,ed *) infor"ation syste"s or +erfor"ance a++raisal$ %he less able "inistries see the"selves as fi!htin!, and often so"eti"es losin!, a battle to "aintain basic inte!rity, with a de"orali,ed, +artly corru+t *)
#/

function which co"+etent staff "ake it their business to !et out of$ Able and unable alike are +inned down by +ersonnel files$ %o !et a civil servant +ro"oted, a "inistry has to satisfy itself that there is a case, before referrin! it first to (M and then to 8inance$ %he whole thin! takes u+ to three "onths, durin! which the an4ious civil servant bo"bards the "inistry with re3uests for an u+date (.you might have a couple of hundred a day% said one official, usin! dra"atic e4a!!eration to "ake his +oint)$ L$'e M('(*e&e'% Ow'ers $, Are "ana!ers free to "ana!eB Les and no$ At the to+, Morocco;s 9ad"inistrative feudalis"; "eans that line "inistries have "ore autono"y than they do in o""onwealth countries like Mauritius (Mc ourt and )a"!utty-Won!, A77?), and so"e have taken advanta!e of it$ 'ut dele!ation to lower levels within "inistries is constrained by the central controls that we have already discussed, and also by a tan!ible barrier (the hi!h +ay and education differential between senior and junior staff) and an intan!ible one (Morocco is +robably hi!h in 9+ower distance; O*ofstede, #.67P, just like other Middle @astern countries and also 8rance)$ It is sy"+to"atic that one of our infor"ants said that .6our relationship with your boss determines everything.% %he sa"e officials who !ru"ble about +etty central controls i"+ose the" on their junior collea!ues$ Eunior officials co"+lained that even a si"+le decision about +er"ission to attend trainin! "i!ht !o all the way u+ to the "inistry;s secretary-!eneral$ Re"r#$%&e'% ('d Se!e"%$o' %he Moroccan constitution sti+ulates that 9each Moroccan has the ri!ht of access, in e3ual conditions, to civil service jobs;$ Article (i4 of the )ahir, or royal decree, of 8ebruary A< which fleshes this out, states that the kin!, actin! on the Minister;s reco""endation, a++oints senior civil servants such as secretaries-!eneral and hiefs of Colice$ %he Kin! and Ministers have a !reat deal of discretion in how they do this, and "inisters have co"+lete discretion to a++oint who"ever they like to their +ersonal abinets$ Moreover, while the Calace and Ministers influence official a++oint"ents, there is "ove"ent in the other direction too5 the +ost of "inister can turn out to be the ne4t run! on an official;s +ro"otion ladder (@lMessaoudi, #../)$ At less e4alted levels, a++oint"ents have been re!ulated since #.1/ by a le!al te4t, which s+ecifies so"e criteria to which all but the "ost senior a++oint"ents confor"$ %hat is why laisse (#.615 2?) says that 9%he hi!hest and lowest levels of
#1

ad"inistration reflect the "ost traditional for"s of +atri"onialis" whereas the inter"ediate level is evolvin! towards "oderni,ation$,; thou!h there is the +roviso that +atrona!e a++ointees at the to+ are often hi!hly 3ualified technocrats$ Moreover, just as +atrona!e a++ointees can be co"+etent, 9"erit; a++ointees can be the o++osite$ . omeone with a Master4s degree in nuclear studies may be recruited as an administrator.% %he state still +lays the role of e"+loyer of last resort to an e4tent, even thou!h .Recruitment and promotion of people without the re'uired 'ualifications and training does not reflect commitment to reform. It is not with these practices that we are going to reach performance and 'uality.% In Gctober A777, the for"er Cri"e Minister used a circular to e4hort his Ministers to "ake key a++oint"ents on "erit$ *ow "uch notice did they takeB %hese days, vacancies do !et advertised, e4a"inations are ad"inistered, +rivate recruit"ent a!encies are en!a!ed, eventual a++oint"ents are "ade by a selection +anel = so"eti"es$ (uch initiatives by individual "inistries takin! advanta!e of the freer cli"ate of !overn"ent are s+oradic and not institutionali,ed,i4 and Ministers and senior officials continue to use and abuse their discretion$ We certainly do not have the "onolithic central civil service recruit"ent o""ission e4a"ination hankered after by @vans and )auch and by the World 'ank (#..1), which recently advised the !overn"ent to e"ulate the o""onwealth Cublic (ervice "odel by centrali,in! recruit"ent$ Per)or&('"e M('(*e&e'% %he civil service law sti+ulates that civil servants should be a++raised and !raded every year on their 9+rofessional knowled!e, effectiveness and +erfor"ance, and behaviour;, criteria va!ue enou!h to leave a++raisers +lenty of roo" to "anoeuvre$ %he !rade can affect salary, but only at the "ar!ins$ )e+orts, which do not have to be discussed with their subjects, have to !o to (M and 8inance, like "ost thin!s$ Gur interviewees a!reed that there is "uch effort for little return$ In other develo+in! countries such as %an,ania or Mauritius (Mc ourt, #...0 Mc ourt and )a"!utty-Won!, A77?), that is where thin!s have been left$ 'ut the Ministries of A!riculture, *ousin! and Cublic Works have taken the initiative by introducin! orthodo4 +erfor"ance
#6

a++raisal$ %he refor" tea" in

(M has +ounced on this initiative and, in its refor" broker

role (see below), has disse"inated it to other "inistries$ 'ut it has two li"itations5 it is not linked to any overall strate!y, which in *)M +ractice is essentially what distin!uishes +erfor"ance a++raisal fro" +erfor"ance "ana!e"ent, and it is not fully owned by !overn"ent, reducin! its chances of s+readin! to other "inistries or even of bein! sustained in the "inistries that have introduced it$ (everal infor"ants said that initiatives de+ended lar!ely on individuals, so that +ro!ress could co"e to a halt if that individual "oved elsewhere, as ha++ened when the dyna"ic secretary-!eneral of one "inistry was transferred$ C$.$! ser.$"e P(y ('d E&,!oy&e'% %here is one other i"+ortant *)M issue which is outside our research fra"ework$ Gbservin! that +ublic sector wa!e bills re+resent #AN of ->C (and ?7N of !overn"ent s+endin!, as the Minister for the ivil (ervice ad"itted in a recent %K interview), the World 'ank (A777) called for 9resi,in!; of the civil service to free resources for +roductive invest"ent$ While, as is often the case, a co"+arison with other countries in the re!ion "uddies the waters ((chiavo- a"+o et al., #..1), none of our infor"ants dis+uted the need to do so"ethin!$ As yet, action has been incoherent5 the for"er Cri"e Minister fro,e senior salaries +endin! a !eneral +ay review which failed to "ateriali,e$ %he +ay free,e built u+ +ressure, es+ecially fro" the grands corps$ %he !overn"ent !ave !round, at so"e cost to its credibility$ DISCUSSION T e $'(de/#("y o) ( &('(*e&e'% e0,!('(%$o' *ow can we "ake sense of our findin!sB A +arsi"onious e4+lanation would be to see the" throu!h a "ana!e"ent lens as an instance of !eneric resistance to chan!e (Kotter, #.1.), a view which duly e"er!ed in our focus !rou+ discussion, one lendin! itself to the use of standard techni3ues like force-field analysis to analyse chan!e, as one of us has done already (Al-Arkoubi, #...)$ Moreover, it was clear that current "ana!e"ent a++roaches, includin! the (*)M "odel which we focused on in our interviews, are not widely known$ %here is also sco+e for a "ana!e"ent restructurin!, whether to dele!ate stiflin! ad"inistrative controls fro" 8inance and M8C to line "inistries or even, "ovin! in the o++osite direction, to centrali,e recruit"ent and selection as the World 'ank has reco""ended$
#.

'ut +onderin! the role of (M shows why a "ana!e"ent e4+lanation is inade3uate$ As one of our interviewees said, .(e need to diagnose the 1ivil ervice Ministry itself 7 this Ministry is not appropriate to conduct reform.% (M is e4+ected to drive refor", but we have seen three reasons why it is weak$ %he first is its role in the 8rench tradition as the !atekee+er of ad"inistrative law, which dis+oses it to assu"e that refor" can +roceed by ad"inistrative fiat (Croul4, #...), and which "akes it all but des+ised by the line "inistries, and by "e"bers of the grands corps, who tend to look down on their ad"inistrative brethren, just like as they do in 8rance ()ouban, #...)$ %he second is the relative stren!th of the line "inistries, or!anised around their corps, and centres of +ower in their own ri!ht$ %he third is the dee+-seated inclination of +olitical actors to hold the rin! between o++osin! factions rather than to initiate, with the related clientelistic +reference for kee+in! every o+tion o+en without co""ittin! oneself irrevocably to any one$ All this is reflected in how the !overn"ent has dischar!ed its refor" "andate$ Clacin! refor" in (M was ar!uably its first "istake, tarrin! refor" with (M;s le!alistic brush$ ((ri Fanka corrected a si"ilar "istake by "ovin! refor" into the Cresident;s Gffice, the strate!ic centre of !overn"ent OMc ourt, A77#P, thou!h it is unclear where the strate!ic centre of Morocco;s !overn"ent "i!ht be located, if not in the Calace$) %he !overn"ent "iti!ated its "istake by +lacin! ty+ically able technocrats in char!e of the refor"$ %he technocrats +layed a weak hand skilfully, but also characteristically$ %he -ood Mana!e"ent harter raised awareness of new but not over-a"bitious a++roaches to refor", which so"e "inistries, who wield the real +ower in staff "ana!e"ent, "oved to e4+loit$ (M then used its central +osition to act as a broker of !ood +ractice, or!ani,in! worksho+s, circulatin! newsletters and so on5 .To those who are lagging behind we say8 9oo" what others are doing, try and imitate them$% 'ut in doin! all this they lowered their own e4+ectations of refor" = .there are some modest reforms which are also necessary%, as one of the" +ut it$ Gfficials who" one "i!ht have e4+ected to be cha"+ions of chan!e talked about .trying to be neutral, open to all e-periences%, and of .facilitating, not saying8 1%est moi, la r/forme%. %his was sensible in one way, but also allowed the" to kee+ their heads down in the way +olitical actors in Morocco like to do$ It +rovoked the observation fro" one of our interviewees that .the file of civil service reform has been opened, but very timidly$; More crucially, the observation was
A7

echoed in a U:>C evaluation re+ort that re!retted that the +ro!ra""e 9see"s a little ti"id to us;, and also, since 9concrete results re"ain(ed) so"e way off;, ulti"ately to the ter"ination of U:>C;s su++ort (Croul4, #...5 6 and <#)$ It all boils down to that classic refor" black bo4black bo4, 9+olitical will;5 .it is not so much (a problem of! having models to apply but having capacity to change; or, as another interviewee +ut it neatly, not so "uch of 9savoir faire; as of 9vouloir faire;$ In a way, (*)M-style strate!ic inte!ration is well suited to an assault on Morocco;s 9ad"inistrative feudalis";$ (ur+risin!ly +erha+s, it was a trade union official who "ade the +oint "ost forcefully to us that a .holistic and global% a++roach to *)M would be an antidote to the "ulti+licity of corps and the +iece"eal character of refor" initiatives to date$ Moreover, the fact that Morocco;s "inistries have !reater control over their staff than their o""onwealth counter+arts facilitates line "ana!er ownershi+$ 'ut the sheer unfa"iliarity of (*)M "eans that introducin! it would re3uire a considerable slice of the !overn"ent;s li"ited +olitical resources0 and even then, the underlyin! +roble" of +olitical will would re"ain$ %hus we jud!e that it is actually beside the +oint to reco""end that Morocco should ado+t (*)M or indeed any s+ecific "ana!e"ent a++roach at the "o"ent, because any and every a++roach is likely to fall +rey to the sa"e ti"idity that has +ut +aid to atte"+ts at refor" over the last five years, with the dan!er of each successive refor" failure erodin! the will of +olitical actors$ %here is no har" in carryin! on with "odest awareness-raisin! e4ercises which "ay bear fruit later on, but it is the underlyin! +olitical +roble" that needs to be solved before +ro!ress at the "ana!e"ent level will be feasible$ %his is what we now address$ Po!$%$"(! ("%$o' (s ( ,rere/#$s$%e )or &('(*e&e'% " ('*e *ow to +roceed in a syste" where no one wants to be the first to ju"+B We su!!est that the first ste+ is to refra"e the +roble" in +olitical rather than "ana!e"ent ter"s as one of overco"in! +olitical ti"idity and takin! +ur+oseful action, rather than of ado+tin! this or that "ana!e"ent "odel$ 8ollowin! fro" that, any action to address the +roble" "ust take account of the need to reco!ni,e the funda"ental reality of the +ri"acy of the +alace while not e4acerbatin! the ti"idity of other +olitical actors by an arbitrary royal fiat, so"ethin! that we have seen the +resent kin! is in any case reluctant to i"+ose$ A nu"ber of a++roaches are
A#

+ossible$ A first, low-key a++roach "i!ht be to enhance the ivil (ervice ouncil, envisa!ed in the tatut 5/n/ral of the ivil (ervice as lon! a!o as #.26 but only convened for the first ti"e in A77A$ *owever, it follows fro" our analysis that such an a++roach, which would not involve the Calace would fail to overco"e the inertia in the +olitical syste"$ A "ore a"bitious a++roach would be for refor" advocates to +ersuade the kin! to "ake a keynote s+eech settin! u+ so"ethin! like a 'ritish )oyal o""ission, a co""ittee of e"inent +eo+le which would take sub"issions fro" various 3uarters, includin! +ossibly fro" abroad$ (outh Africa;s Cresidential o""ission for the %ransfor"ation of the Cublic (ervice (-overn"ent of (outh Africa, #..6), set u+ after the first de"ocratic election, offers a "odel for such an e4ercise$ %he (ecretariat for such a o""ission, which would need to be in the Gffice of the Cri"e Minister or +ossibly even the Calace itself rather than in (M and which "i!ht include able staff involved in recent initiatives, would over ti"e evolve into an Gffice of Cublic (ervice )efor", which while s"all should have !reater resources than those available to recent refor" efforts$ %he advanta!es of such an arran!e"ent are that it harnesses the authority of the Calace while not dise"+owerin! +oliticians and officials0 it allows the +referred consultative style to continue, in fact e4tendin! it to Morocco;s ener!etic civil society, who could be re+resented on the o""ission and "i!ht su++ly a director of refor" who is untainted by the in!rained ti"idity of the civil service0 and it "i!ht be +ossible to interest an international donor in +rovidin! technical su++ort$ Moreover, one central official volunteered so"ethin! very like our Gffice of )efor" +ro+osal in an interview, thou!h without the Calace di"ension$ %he disadvanta!e, however, is that our arran!e"ent could beco"e "erely the latest talkin! sho+$ *owever, while a suitable head and secretary for the o""ission and +ro!ress-chasin! arran!e"ents would reduce this dan!er, essentially one would be relyin! on the kin! to act in his role of arbiter, for which Morocco;s history +rovides stron! +recedents, to reconcile the different views and decide the way forward$ %his would be a +olitical dra"a which, contrary to all e4+ectations, has a ha++y endin! (unlike 'eckett;s +layQ), with -odot turnin! u+ in the final act in the for" of a royal resolution of the refor" stale"ate$ *owever, the dan!er of vestin! so "uch in the whi" of an individual, albeit a royal one, who has a finite attention s+an will be obvious to "ost readers$ Lesso's )or HRM $' o% er "o#'%r$es
AA

In the face of those like Cfeffer who have su!!ested that favoured *)M +ractices are universally valid, our study has found that they are not widely known let alone widely +ractised in the !overn"ent of Morocco, des+ite it bein! overwhel"in!ly Morocco;s bi!!est e"+loyer and des+ite the abundance of able technocrats in senior +ositions$ %his corroborates a"+lifies the findin! of an earlier study of Mauritius (Mc ourt and )a"!utty-Won!, A77?) in a hei!htened for", since "ovin! fro" the An!lo+hone o""onwealth world of Mauritius to the 8ranco+hone world of Morocco increases the intellectual distance fro" *)M +ractices, includin! of course fro" the (*)M "odel on which our research interviews focused$ Moreover, while we noted that such +ractices would address real +roble"s that at least so"e officials reco!ni,e, the effort re3uired to i"+lant the" would be "is+laced, as it would be at the e4+ense of addressin! the underlyin! +roble" of +olitical ti"idity$ @very country is sui generis to a de!ree, but we su!!est that the i"+ortance of the relationshi+ between *)M and the underlyin! +olitical dis+ensation is an intrinsic feature of *)M in the +ublic sector, even if its +articular ter"s no doubt vary fro" country to country$ @vidence for this co"es in the ubi3uity of 9+olitical will; in World 'ank evaluation re+orts as an e4+lanation for the failure of so "any of the 'ank;s civil service refor" efforts (:unber!, #..1), and in +ublic ad"inistration sources !oin! all the way back as to aiden (#.17)$ :ow of course a +olitical view of or!ani,ations is 3uite well established in work such as hild;s (#.1A) or, sli!htly ironically, even that of Cfeffer (#..A) hi"self, albeit not "uch in evidence in the *)M literature$ 'ut such work a++lies the notion of +olitics "eta+horically to or!ani,ations, treatin! the" as if they were +olitical syste"s (Mor!an, #.6/)$ 'y tracin! a direct connection between a nation;s +olitics and the way its !overn"ent "ana!es its staff, we are talkin! about +olitics in the literal sense$ Gr!ani,ational +olitics, with all the shiftin! alliances and conflicts of interests that Cfeffer and Mor!an discuss, is still only as bi! as the or!ani,ation itself$ %he +olitics that influences *)M in a !overn"ent is as bi! as the society that the !overn"ent +resides over, and can enco"+ass, as in Morocco, a "onarchy, a de"ocratically elected !overn"ent and civil society$ %he i"+lication is that anyone researchin! ho+in! to influence *)M in the +ublic sector, and +ossibly also any senior *)M +ractitioner, necessarily beco"es a +olitical analyst$ %o "ake a difference, an understandin! of +olitics is every bit as i"+ortant as an understandin! of *)M itself$

A?

CONCLUSION: THE POLITICS OF HRM In this +a+er we have tried to understand why one develo+in! country, Morocco, has "ade so little +ro!ress in i"+rovin! the way it "ana!es its +ublic servants$ We have su!!ested that while the (*)M "odel has so"e relevance to its +roble"s, i!norance of the "odel "eans that the effort of introducin! it would be dis+ro+ortionate, and would be at the e4+ense of tacklin! Morocco;s funda"ental +roble", the institutional ti"idity of +olitical actors which is not a +ersonal failin! but is a conse3uence of the way in which Moroccan +olitics has evolved$ )ejectin! the 'eckett-like fatalis" into which an analysis like ours "i!ht easily slide, we have su!!ested +ractical ste+s that +olitical actors "i!ht take in this un+ro"isin! situation$ Ulti"ately, our analysis su!!ests that the elusive Monsieur -odot of civil service refor" and i"+rove"ents in +ublic hu"an resource "ana!e"ent is "ost likely to be found lurkin! in the +olitical under!rowth of refor", both in Morocco and elsewhere$ If we want staff "ana!e"ent to reali,e its +otential and contribute to overall !overn"ent objectives such as econo"ic develo+"ent and +overty alleviation, as @vans and )auch and Kauf"ann and Kraay have shown that it can do, or +erha+s si"ilarly to +rofitability in the case of the +rivate sector, then those of us whose disci+linary e4+ertise is in *)M will need to look beyond 9universal; "odels of *)M and en!a!e with +olitical issues, both the "eta+horical ones that we find in +rivate co"+anies in industriali,ed countries and the literal and very co"+le4 ones that we find in !overn"ents$

A<

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Lin, )$ (#..<) 1ase tudy Research8 )esign and Methods$ Fondon5 (a!e$ Jart"an, W$ (#.61) 9Kin! *assan;s new Morocco;, in W$ Jart"an (@d$) The &olitical Cconomy of Morocco, :ew Lork5 Crae!er, #-??$

??

%he view to which we are alludin! is +erha+s too well-known to re3uire rehearsin! here$ )eaders not fa"iliar with its ori!ins or the +olicies to which it led can consult Willia"son (#..?)$ ii uriously, these +a+ers don;t reference @vans and )auch;s research$ iii %he view to which we are alludin! is +erha+s too well-known to re3uire rehearsin! here$ )eaders not fa"iliar with its ori!ins or the +olicies to which it led can consult Willia"son (#..?)$ iv uriously, these +a+ers don;t reference @vans and )auch;s research$ v (i"ilar clai"s were still bein! "ade in 'ritain as recently as the start of the rei!n of the current Xueen, who re"ains the for"al *ead of the hurch of @n!land (Eones, #.1?)$ vi In Morocco;s case, %this view is enshrined in the 8rench colonial distinction between the bilad al:siba (,one of rebellion) and the bilad al:ma"hzan (,one of !overn"ent) (Cennell, A777)$ vii Xuotations fro" interviews and fro" other 8rench and Arabic sources are translated by the authors$ viii %his %hat is the word used in a U:>C evaluation of the refor" +ro!ra""e5 see Croul4 (#...5 <#)$ i4 (taff re+orted that an unantici+ated conse3uence for those "inistries that have i"+roved their +ractice is to raise the e4+ectations of staff a++ointed, only to dash the" when the a++ointee co"es face to face with the less !la"orous reality of Moroccan +ublic ad"inistration$