Naidu calls for ''leaner, techno-savvy'' Govt.

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 8. the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, today stressed the need for ``the organisation of Government to be flatter, leaner and more techno-savvy'' and reorienting ``the mindset to future''.

Inaugurating a session on ``Challenges of transforming organisations'', by Prof. Jitendra V. Singh of Wharton University, U.S., at the Dr. M. C. R. Human Resources Development Institute, he likened the Government's growth to a pachyderm and quipped: ``The challenge now is to teach this elephant how to dance!''.

The entire administration seemed to have virtually moved to the Institute with the Cabinet Ministers, the Principal Secretaries, Heads of Departments and the top-brass of the Police, attending the one-day programme.

To make a SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent) Government, which we had been talking, Mr. Naidu called for a massive transformation in organisational structures, processes and most importantly in thinking. ``We should not adopt a textbook approach but show great ingenuity, entrepreneurship, creativity and leadership at all levels for transforming something as big and complex as the Government. We need to have a bold vision and clear strategy and a set of people who are committed to change in letter and spirit''.

He spoke of the need for Governments to create the conditions for individuals and organisations to realise their potential and become world class. In line with this, the State Government has taken up re-engineering of procedures and processes, besides peoples' empowerment.

He said the Governments like private sector corporations should be learning organisations, if they are to succeed. ``We will have to adopt the best practices and measure and benchmark ourselves against the best in the world. Only then can we hope to succeed in an increasingly competitive world''.

In his presentation, Prof. Singh dealt with the ways of reframing one's thinking about organizational change, and how these can be adapted to a Government or department setting. He listed them out and cited examples ranging from Gdansk and Szcecin Shipyards in Poland, Mr. Bill Gates and Microsoft, the transformation of California to the ninth largest economy, to our own economic reforms.

He said a challenge in organisational changes, was adapting to discontinuous change, which often destroyed existing competencies and capabilities. ``The aggregate experience of firms suggests that leaders in the old regime rarely make the transition to leadership in the new one'', he added and cited the example of the impact of the 1991 reforms on the incumbent firms.

He said because of the presence of a strong private sector in India, reforms in the public sector would be easier than in China. Market economy had the inherent capacity of forcing the organisations to change, by encouraging competition. How can Indian firms develop world class capabilities? His recipe was, ``go global and compete with best firms in the world''. The best examples are Infosys, Satyam Computers, Reliance Industries, Ranbaxy, Wipro etc. On the decline of Indian public sector, he compared Air India with Singapore Airlines. In 1950s, Air India had the first rate international reputation and Singapore Airlines used to train their pilots and service planes in Mumbai. Air India is now a struggling airline, while the Singapore Airlines is one of the world's best.

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