Architectonics And Strategic Architecture Of Regional Public Administration Systems: Assessment Of Compliance

Abstract

The article presents the results of assessing the level of compliance of the existing architectonics of the regional systems of public administration of socioeconomic development of territories with the strategic architecture which means a qualitatively new state of mentioned systems as a response to environmental changes. The research hypothesis implies that in the conditions of increased change rate the sustainable development of any territory can be maintained due to the transformation of public administration system architectonics into strategic architecture. The success of this transformation is determined by how much the regional systems of public administration are oriented to the maintenance of the proper development of both economic and social processes. The purpose of the research is to develop the methods assessing the compliance of the existing architectonics of regional public administration systems with the strategic architecture. The research is based on the differentiated integral evaluation of the development level of social and economic processes, using the method of gap analysis. 85 subjects of the Russian Federation were evaluated within the framework of the justified system of criteria and indicators of strategic architecture effectiveness. The results of the research are presented by assessing the level of compliance of the existing architectonics of regional public administration systems with the strategic architecture for 2016. The limitations of application of the results obtained are associated with the necessity to alter the current legislature in the field of evaluation of effectiveness of executive bodies at the sub-federal level.

Keywords: Architectonicscompliance assessmenteconomic processeseffectiveness criteriasocial processesstrategic architecture

Introduction

Integration of Russia into the world social and economic space predetermined the need to ensure the transparency of activities of state and local authorities, as evidenced by the reforming of their structure and functions, the introduction of strategic management methods into management practice.

Success of implementation of strategies for the socioeconomic territorial development (hereinafter referred to as the SETD) is largely determined by the compliance of the strategic capabilities of the current structure of the public administration system (hereinafter – PAS) with the goals and objectives of socioeconomic development in a strategic perspective. However, the complexity and high inertia of the object of management, which is a combination of social and economic processes of territorial development, added by low dynamic capabilities of the current architectonics (structure) of PAS, poor development of professional competences in the human capital structure of public administration subjects, and, consequently, skills of strategic management do not allow for the rapid response of the management system to changes in the external environment.

Problem Statement

High risks of socioeconomic development of Russia and its regions caused by prolonged conservatism of economic structure and high level of dependence on the conjuncture in markets of raw materials, combined with the above-mentioned systemic contradictions, gave the impulse for institutional transformations which formed the basis of PAS architectonics transformation into the strategic architecture in order to increase its flexibility and adaptability to changes, provide the sustainable SETD, and improve the life quality of citizens. However, the given process is not over yet. That is why the assessment of the compliance of the existing architectonics of PAS with the strategic architecture is the important aspect of SETD public administration at macro- and meso-levels.

Research Questions

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the transformation of the PAS architectonics into the strategic architecture were discussed in details by the authors in a monographic research (Glushakova & Vaysberg, 2014). Theoretical foundations for the mentioned transformation are the statements of strategic management concept at the level of organization, significant contribution to it having been made by well-known scientists (Ansoff, 1965; Drucker, 1992; Kotler, 1999; Mintzberg, 1973; Porter, 1991; Thompson & Strickland, 1993; Chandler, 1962; Andrews, 1971).

Today, there are prepared models describing namely the activities of government agencies and departments, e.g. Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA). Methods, principles, and approaches used in it were applied in developing the USA Federal Architecture. In Russia, methodology of the FEA was used, while implementing the model of electronic government.

In our opinion, the notion of “architecture” contains deeper essential sense reflecting the strategic context of PAS functioning in the changing conditions.

As we understand, the strategic PAS architecture means the qualitatively new state of the mentioned system as a response to changes manifesting itself in the action of exclusively formal institutions, selecting of priority development processes, using of key strategic resources, information-telecommunication systems and standards of sustainable SETD, increasing of professional competencies of public administration subjects as one of the most important components of the human capital.

During the research, the approaches to assessing the level of compliance of existing SETD PAS architectonics with the strategic architecture (Glushakova & Vaysberg, 2014) were improved. First of all, the rating scales were changed, this having been caused by the extended public law bodies studied (hereinafter – PLB). Also, the system of indicators was changed due to the formation of new institutional conditions of SETD public administration.

Today, the performance assessment of executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments is carried out according to Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation No. 548 of November 14, 2017 and No. 607 of April 28, 2008, the special attention is paid to the achievement of both economic and social aims of territorial development which can give all opportunities of developing the human capital. Despite the fact that scientific community determined the human capital as a SETD factor-determinant in the second half of the twentieth century (Shultz, 1971; Becker, 1962, 1964, 1967), the significance of social processes in its extended reproduction was also recognized (Edvinsson & Malone, 1997; Psacharopoulos & Patrinos, 2004; Ozturk, 2008; Fukuyama, 1995; Roik, 2010; Mikhaylov, 2012; Kuklin & Gurban, 2012; Tatarkin & Andreyeva, 2014; Auzan, 2013; Mau & Stupin, 1995), the alteration of Russian public administration paradigm in the given context occurred only following the crisis of 2009.

Purpose of the Study

The foregoing implies the need to develop fundamentally new approaches to assessing effectiveness of the functioning of the SETD PAS.

In our opinion, to assess the level of compliance of PAS architectonics with the strategic architecture it is necessary to consider the specific administration object, namely SETD. At the same time, the significance of social processes in the extended reproduction of the human capital and sustainable territorial development implies the necessity to study social and economic processes separately.

The given conceptual approach allows formulating the criteria of effectiveness of SETD PAS strategic architecture in the conditions of high rate of environmental changes, the latter include:

• level of development of social processes and economic ones;

• rate of response of social processes and economic ones to a management action;

• gaps in the rate of response of social and economic processes to a management action.

Thus, the assessment of correspondence of SETD PAS to the criteria of effectiveness allows judging how close is the existing architectonics of PAS to the strategic architecture, and, as a result, how strategically flexible is it in the changing environment. This is the main purpose of our research.

Research Methods

To assess the level of compliance of the existing SETD PAS architectonics with the strategic architecture, we developed methods which we represent below.

Findings

Approbation of the methods developed by the authors was carried out on the example of the regions of the Russian Federation for 2016.

We studied the relation closeness (strength) between the above justified indicators. As a result, only 13.3% of indicator combinations demonstrated the strong relation (the value of the correlation coefficient was more than 0.7), this being estimated as an acceptable proportion of combinations demonstrating the strong relation between the indicators included into the assessment system. The reference points were determined as minimal and maximal values within the justified system of indicators for the period from 2003 to 2016 (table 02 ) accompanied by two falls of socioeconomic development in 2008-2009 and 2013-2016 caused by the conjuncture change in the markets of energetic resources (oil, coal).

The results of the assessment for 2016 are presented in figure 01 , for the example sixteen regions were taken with the SETD PAS which received the highest (19 points) and lowest (from 13 to 16 points) values of the level of compliance of architectonics with the strategic architecture.

See Full Size >

Conclusion

The methods developed allow evaluating the level of compliance of the current SETD PAS architectonics with the strategic architecture not only at the sub-federal (municipal) level, but also at the national one. The methods can be used in a similar research in any country of any government type. No doubt, this evaluation will require considering national characteristics of social and economic development, and, as a result, specifying the system of indicators formed by the organs of state statistics observation.

Generally, the research undertaken showed that no subject of the RF had the high level of compliance of the existing SETD PAS architectonics with the strategic architecture. This fact does not allow providing the rapid response of processes of territorial development to environmental changes.

Acknowledgments

The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in the framework of the scientific project No. 18-010-00244.

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