Abstract:
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Over 15 years of existence of Public Organization (PO), many questions and
public issues have been raised over the performance, efficiency and cost-effectiveness
of PO. This study therefore has a goal to understand and present the performance of
PO, that have been established under the Public Organization Act of 1999. The main
objectives of this study are: 1) to investigate the performance of Public Organizations
in Thailand, 2) to explore the key factors affecting the performance of Public
Organizations and 3) to provide recommendations, in terms of policy alternatives, for
Public Organizations. This study uses a case study of 3 Public Organizations, which
are, Ban Phaeo Hospital (Public Organization), Geo-Informatics and Space
Technology Development Agency (Public organization) and Designated Areas for
Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization). A qualitative approach is
employed by using the techniques of secondary documentaries, in-depth interviews
and also participatory observation
In the exploration of Public Organizations in Thailand, this study confirms the
rationale and necessity for PO establishment for the provision of public services, as a
PO has flexibility and agility in management, specializes in public services for a
certain target groups, has good responsiveness to the demands of the customer; such
as satellite and science technology, medical services, and sustainable tourism. In the
resource utilization efficiency of PO, it was found that overall personnel utilization is
highly efficient due to the organization’s small size, flat organization, definitive
personnel budget ceiling and the introduction of performance pay and contract-based
employment. Budget spending efficiency is considered effective with the evaluation
of cost-effectiveness in both spending and investment, the optimization of resource
utilization, and networking for resource dependence. For management problemsolving is the implementation of management tools and skills and information
technology. The management autonomy of the PO is under regulation and
accountability in line with the rules, regulations and laws. For regulation and control,
overall the PO has no issue with ministerial supervision and board control and in line
with the Public Organization Act.
With regards to the performance of Public Organizations in Thailand, the
overall performance of the PO is empirical, due to its specialized public service and
responsive management style which is able to handle rapidly changing situations and
customer needs. Nevertheless, the study also discovers that performance is sometimes
only partial, because of unclear objectives or management guidelines for some POs,
or a bureaucratic-minded director lacking in the vision and willingness to drive the
performance of PO.
The key factors affecting the performance of Public Organizations which are,
in order of significance: the Director of a Public Organization, the officials and the
Board of directors of a Public Organization, the Budget and budgeting process, Policy
assignment and the continuity of policy, Characteristics of Public Organization and
also Networking and acknowledgement from the public. The policy suggestions by
this study to further improve and develop the public organization’s responsiveness
and performance are as follows: 1) the improvement of pre-establishment rationale
and the necessity for evaluation. 2) A focus on the development of the selection
process of a PO’s director to identify a genuinely capable person and attention to the
leadership succession plan and 3) Priory is given to the selection process of the board
members. This also includes the review and development of guidelines for
supervision and control methods, and role development of the central authority
agency related to the PO.
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