human resources management in southeastern asia’s...

International Journal of Recent Advances in Organizational Behaviour and Decision Sciences (IJRAOB)

An Online International Research Journal (ISSN: 2311-3197)

2014 Vol: 1 Issue 2

133 www.globalbizresearch.org

Human Resources Management in Southeastern Asia’s Local

Government Case Study: Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand

Aya Maher,

The German University in Cairo, Egypt.

E-mail: [email protected]

Randa El Bedawy,

Misr International University, Egypt.

E-mail: [email protected]

_______________________________________________________________________________

Abstract

The objective of this theoretical study is to diagnose and to analyze some of the positive and

negative experiences of the human resources management (HRM) specifically recruitment

and selection practices in southeastern Asia’s local governments in three countries,

Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand in order to derive some lessons learnt for the local

government in Egypt and on the international level. The methodology used was based on

analyzing and studying in depth the different literature reviews related to the contemporary

framework for HRM at the local government in the three countries. The significance of the

study lies in the attention given to the HR practices in the local governments to render a

better public service at the local level. _______________________________________________________________________________

Key Words: Public Administration, New Public Administration, Human Resource

Management, Local Government

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mailto:[email protected]



2014 Vol: 1 Issue 2


1. Introduction

New public management and other reforms converging on performance and accountability

have greatly affected the human capital role in public service provision as their increased

focus on results requires managers to have greater flexibility over their fiscal and human

resources (French, 2011). The HRM is a crucial pillar in the core of most nations’

development plans and a boosting growth icon for any country’s economic development.

Over the past two decades, scholars and practitioners in the field of public administration

have witnessed a number of reform initiatives aimed at enhancing the efficiency and

effectiveness of public management. Major changes have included increased focus on service

performance and outcomes in organizations at the local levels of government, and the

implications of these reform efforts for personnel policy have been significant. The HRM

approach requires both organizational and cultural changes for the public entity and its

managerial structure. Increased management discretion, increased flexibility and

responsiveness, enhanced performance, and utilization of private sector tools have fueled this

reinvention movement (Battaglio et al., 2009). As many public organizations shift toward a

performance-oriented approach to the delivery of public services, HRM personnel are

expected to provide valuable input into the decisions regarding staff management and core

objectives of the governmental entity. The changing nature of work in public sector

organizations requires a new emphasis on human capital management to support and improve

the public entities’ operational and strategic objectives (French, 2011; Goodman, 2012).

In spite of a growing interest of research on the role of HRM in organizations, local

government HRM has not received the attention it deserves in developing countries as in

Egypt. The purpose of this study is to explore, describe and understand the contemporary

Human Resource Management at the local government level as well as to explore the major

challenges in HR development capacity building which local governments may face based on

studying three cases studies reflecting some of the international experiences in Indonesia,

Philippine and Thailand. Many of the reinventing government ideas in public human

resource management have focused on bureaucratic rules and procedures, labor–management

cooperation, employee training and assistance, and hierarchical organization designs and

structures. This study evaluates the perceptions of human resource managers at the local

government level regarding the importance of several functions and activities related to

staffing and selection, compensation and benefits, performance appraisal, labor relations, and

job design and process to assess the impact of HR functions tied closely to recent reforms at

this level. Accordingly, this study intends to demonstrate how HR departmental processes can

contribute positively to the performance of local government and provides a good starting




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point for those concerned with HR policy within the local government arena in focusing

energy and attention on those HR processes that are considered to be of most benefit.

Therefore, the research question would focus on:

What are the lessons learnt from the experience of Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand in their

application of HRM at the local government? And how can it be of benefit to improve the

HRM at the local government in Egypt and internationally?

The research is divided into six parts. Part one to three covers the introduction, objective and

importance of the research and the research methodology. Whereas, part four to six covers the

positive and negative cases from Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand, the recommendations

and conclusion.

2. Objectives and Importance of the Study

The importance of this study arises from its contribution at both the academic and practical

levels as it tends to reflect the importance of the HRM at the local government as it is

urgently requested for the growth and the sustainability of the economic development of

Egypt especially after the Revolution 25thJanuary, 2011. This study tends to reflect the new

applications that can be used by the Egyptian Government to manage efficiently and

effectively the HR at the local government as well as the challenges that can face the

Egyptian government to manage efficiently and effectively the HR at the local government.

On the academic level, the importance of this study arises from the fact that there are few

studies within the Egyptian context that highlighted the new trends for improving the HRM at

the local government. On the practical level, this study tends to shed the light on some of the

international experiences in the three countries Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand as a

learning experience that can be applied successfully for the HRM at the local government

internationally.

Therefore, the objective of the study will be:

a. To demonstrate the current framework for the HRM at the local government.

b. To review the international experiences of some countries regarding the application

of the HRM at the local government level.

c. To provide a set of recommendations to improve the HRM at the local government in

Egypt and internationally.

3. The Research Methodology

This research is based on a descriptive analysis to review the literature review related to

the contemporary framework for HRM at the local government. Data collected for the

research was taken from secondary source from the different academic literature related to

that topic. Moreover, this research is also using the case study approach to review the

international experiences application of the HRM at local government in Indonesia,




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Philippine and Thailand, in order to reach a set of recommendations that can be applied at the

local government in Egypt. The researches’ choice for Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand

stems from the fact that in these countries there appears to be positive and negative HR

experiences in their local governments through which lessons learnt can be derived for the

Egyptian case and internationally.

4. Literature Review

4.1 The Current State of HRM in the Local Government

The HR functions in private and public organizations are challenged today by strategic or

more business and customer-oriented roles, especially in the public sector, along with

modernization and efforts to become more efficient and cost effective in delivering products

and services. There are increasing demands for the HR function to play a more strategic role.

The adoption of New Public Management (NPM) thinking in public organizations has

resulted in increasing pressure to pay more attention to the management of their HR and adopt

private sector processes and principles in themes such as performance management and

strategic orientation (Lindstro¨m et.al, 2011).

According to French (2011), HRM plays a very crucial role in the operations of

government at all levels since this function is charged with aligning personnel practices and

objectives with the mission and goals of the public organization. A shift from the more

traditional functions to strategic planning and performance measurement has occurred over

the past several decades as HRM embraced this strategic emphasis. However, the traditional

values and core administrative functions of HRM are still important. Moreover, many of the

HRM functions related to the flexibility and mobility of the workforce have also seen an

increase in importance over the past decade and are projected to remain relatively stable or

continue gaining in importance in the future. These functions and practices include training

and skill development, professional development, cross-training, managing diversity,

alternative dispute resolution, defined benefits, skill-based pay, and merit pay (French 2011).

In order for public managers and employees to execute a public sector vision, public sector

reformers have to be careful with regards to issues and processes related to the following

(Antwi et.al, 2008):

Selection and recruitment of suitable public managers and workforce

Career development and promotion opportunities for public employees

Provision of a motivating incentive system for public employees

Adequate interaction between the entire public workforce, managers and their

superiors

Team building, taking into consideration leadership, communication and control




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Since public organizations have a different focus and are more complex environments than

private companies, the applicability of HR as a strategic partner is perceived as an even

greater challenge in the public than in the private sector. The lack of executive authority held

by the function and the volume of routine work combined with a lack of resources in the local

government context has a negative impact on the strategic ambitions of the HR function.

Consequently, it is difficult for HR departments to adopt the strategic role often required by

the prevailing HR policies. It is seldom enough that an HR manager has the will to act

strategically or decides that the function will become ‘more strategic’. Actually, various

factors influence this objective. Organizational aspects such as public sector context, absence

of a shared meaning for strategic HRM and the large size of organizations complicate the

function’s strategic ambitions (Lindstro¨m et.al, 2011). The “experts” astutely anticipated the

increased importance of HRM as an innovative player in the strategic management of public

organizations; however, several changes they envisioned for HRM a decade later may not

have progressed as quickly as projected (French et.al, 2011).

Heads of HR felt that the involvement of a broad range of stakeholders was critical to

ensuring that the HR strategy was relevant to the organization. Equally, the heads of HR

noted that the HR strategy had to be responsive to the broader legislative environment and

changes within the public sector. Relations with senior line managers were also critical, since

their support was essential. The heads of HR also explained that relations with line managers

were vital to ensuring HR policies were successfully implemented (Truss, 2009).

Alongside the more strategic elements of the role, there was an expectation on the part of

the senior managers in particular that the HR function would focus on employee welfare,

ensuring a reputation for the council as ‘good’, ‘fair’ or ‘equitable’ employer. Equally, the

training and development of the workforce and organizational development were seen as core

strategic HR priorities. HR also had an important role to play in employee communication,

both to employees and upwards from employees to senior managers (Truss, 2009).

Moreover, the top management has a crucial role if HR issues are to have sufficient value

in the organization. The dependence on top management and the example it sets for the entire

organization is emphasized: It’s really difficult to follow through with matters in the

department if the top management team isn’t committed to them (Lindstro¨et.al, 2011).

It is increasingly important for the local governments to take a team approach for HRM

and to ensure that team members consult with one another frequently. There are also newer

ideas that are taking hold within local government, one such idea is to conduct regular field

audits by having HR professionals and/or attorneys visit worksites to visually review

practices for compliance with rules and regulations. A second idea is to encourage the HR




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team to focus its attention on troublesome areas by conducting spot-checks in areas of the

organization suspected of non-compliance (McDowell et.al, 2011).

New approaches to increase managers’ ability to remove poorly performing employees

include empowering managers, removing constraints on their ability to manage, and

instituting performance management systems that connect employee efforts with results.

Approaches to improve managers’ ability to reward employees include increased reliance on

the performance appraisal process and pay-for-performance schemes (Brewer et.al, 2012).

Employees are more likely to be confronted with stress if their efforts are not sufficiently

rewarded or recognized either subjectively or objectively by their organization. Such an

expression of organizational gratitude can be given by means of provisioning material

rewards, such as pay rise or career advancement, or by means of intangible rewards, such as

promotion, training, and so on. In other words, a job that is too demanding is harmful when

tangible and intangible recognition for work is not commensurate with the efforts made by

employees (Giauque et.al, 2013). It was apparent that the expectation at all levels was that the

HR department should excel in the ‘nuts and bolts’ of HRM practice. This included the

renewal and modernization of HR policies in line with legislative changes and government

imperatives (Truss, 2009).

Moreover, there is a continuing tension between government imperatives on one hand, and

the experiences of local government HR departments on the other. In the prevailing climate

which privileges measurement and audit against national benchmarks over adaptation to local

contingencies. It was noticed that such reforms were not only are associated with the New

Public Management movement of the 1990s, which sought to improve the performance of

public agencies and bring business practices into government, but also persist today as

governments seek to implement serious programs and cutback management aimed at reducing

the huge public debt that was amassed during the recent global economic recession (Brewer

et.al, 2012).

Actually, effective human resource strategies should play a crucial role in navigating the

legislative, policy, and technological changes that are required by this increased emphasis on

performance and results-oriented government service. Reforms in work design, performance

appraisal, training, compensation, recruitment and selection, and labor–management relations

are ongoing and necessary to transcend the changing nature of public service. As a result,

these reinventing government initiatives have introduced several important concepts to the

management of employees in the public sector environment (French, 2011). Moreover, HR

professionals play multiple roles and should combine them to achieve professional and

organizational success as HR professionals should deliver competitive advantage and focus

more on adding value to their organizations (Lindstro¨m, 2011).




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Previous studies imply that, the role of HRM in public organizations has developed in a

direction similar to that of their private sector counterparts. On the contrary, a few studies

focusing specifically on the local government context suggest that the HR function is, in fact,

rarely involved in shaping the organization strategically. The HR function is instead

responsive to higher management’s policy initiatives and confined to the traditional

administrative functions of the personnel department (Lindstro¨m, 2011).

Moreover, it was apparent that decentralization has the potential to improve local public

service delivery and to ensure good governance. However, for this would require several

human resources initiatives, policy actions and interventions to be taken. As Antwi (2008)

noted, it might be useful to focus on the basic strategic initiative which is to improve the core

competencies of staff and management in decentralized local governments. This initiative

should be based on promoting an integrated approach to organizational learning and the

development of three inter-related HR capabilities: human capital (knowledge, skills and

competencies); social capital (network of reciprocal relationships and support); and corporate

capital (an embedded organizational culture with appropriate assets and management

information systems (Antwi, 2008).

After reviewing the current state of HRM in the local government, it was noticed that

many of the traditional HRM practices are still considered very essential by human resource

professionals at the local government level. Also, several anticipated changes have taken

place at this level of government at a much slower progression than anticipated. The second

part of the study below tends to review the HRM in the Southeastern Asia local government

(Case Study: Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand) revealing more of their positive and

negative experiences in handling HR practices at their local government.

5. Case Study: Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand

This section discusses the HRM practices in local government in Indonesia, Philippine and

Thailand3. The study discusses the proper HR practices in Indonesia, the negative experience

in “Case A” in Philippine and “Case C” in Thailand. Like many countries in Southeast Asia,

the Philippines and Thailand had experienced the transitional period of decentralization since

1990s, but its results were considered to be poor and associated with corruption (Ishii et.al,

2014).

3 Acknowledgments and special thanks to the authors: Ishii, Risako; Rohitarachoo,

Piyawadee; Hossain, Farhad (2014) for their study titled HRM Reform in decentralized local

government: Empirical perspectives on recruitment and selection in the Philippines and

Thailand as the mentioned authors study was one of the very reliable source used in this study

in the absence of reliable data on HRM in local government in Philippine and Thailand.




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5.1. Indonesia

Marbun(2011) in his study discussed the power relationship in Indonesia that has been

changing over time from a moderate decentralized stage named “old order” from 1945-1966,

to heavily centralized named the “new order” from 1967-1988 and finally decentralized

during the reforming stage in 2001 and onwards. According to Hofman and Kaiser (2002), the

World Bank considered Indonesia’s 2001 decentralization a “big bang” that affected the

service of the local government positively. It was mentioned that about two third of the

central government employees were transferred to the local government responsibility. The

World Bank (2010) reported that almost one third of the total state expenditures was

transferred to the local governments under the decentralization program. The local

government also managed half of the public investments.

5.1.1 Human Resource Management (HRM) in Indonesia’s Local Government

Adye Cahyat (2011) in his study discussed how the human resources and capacity building

are done in Indonesia’s local government. Both the regional “Public Servant Administration”

and “Public Servant Training” act like the central government entity that are responsible for

managing the HR in the local government. The regional public administration designs the

local government organizational structure, while the “Public Servant Training” recruits and

selects candidates to ensure competency criteria in the selection process. The regional public

administration does not refer to the local government strategic planning for HR needs but they

just do it based on the national guidance or taken as a copy of other regions. Training for

local government employees is also organized by the “Public Servant Training” without

referring to the local government training assessment as per the employees’ performance

appraisals. Although the central government in Indonesia is handling the management,

training and development of employees at the local government, it was mentioned that

coordination between the central and local government was very poor with regards to some

issues related to the local government employees, this is due to the fact that the central

government seniors are in a higher position on the organizational structure than the local

government executives (UNDP, 2009).

5.1.2 Recruitment and Selection

The role of the central government in determining the employees’ need at the local level is

quiet obvious. Although the local government is concerned with the recruitment plan, the

final decision for recruitment and selection lies in the hands of the central government. The

three central governmental administrations are composed of the “State Civil Service

Administration Agency”, “National Institute of Public Administration” and “Ministry for the

Empowerment of State”. These three central administration bodies have units working for it

and are responsible for designing the local government administration structure, filling the

position with the right public administration candidate at the local unit to ensure consistency




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of all local government employees. These units are also involved with public administration

researches to help with the reform process and keeping a database of public servant

employees built by the hundreds of local government (Turner et al., 2009).

5.1.3 Structure Position

Recruitment in Indonesia is of two kinds, the first time recruitment and also recruitment

for structural positions. The first time recruitment means when someone did not work as

public servant before and is being recruited. While the structural position recruitment is to fill

vacant public positions by public servants. These structural positions are usually filled from

within the local government for public servants who have been working for a minimum of

two years in the government. The criteria for selecting the internal candidates is based on the

candidates level of education, competency skills, annual appraisal results, leadership abilities

and completion of leadership training. The structural position recruitment is considered a

mean for promoting public servant employees. The decision for this kind of pubic servant

promotion is usually in the hands of the head of the local government, but only few local

government have the approval of the governor or the Ministry of Home Affairs. In order to

reduce the political bias of the head of local government, a promotion advisory board is

always organized whose members are from the central and local government. There are some

cases in senior positions in the local government where the structural positions where opened

to the public but still under supervision of the central government (Crouch, 2010).

5.1.4 First Time Recruitment

As for the first time recruitment, the local government is responsible for filling the position

by advertising for it publically. The “Public Service Administration” supports the local

government with analyzing the jobs and assessing their employees future needs. The first time

recruitment allows fresh graduates to apply for the position, selection will be based on some

criteria set by the local government like the level of education and skills. The first time

recruiters are appointed at the first level of governmental position with salary and full benefits

given to them. These first time recruiters are not considered in the structural recruitment

positions until they spend two years in public service, pass a training exam and are given a

good score in their annual performance by their supervisors (Crouch, 2010).

5.2 Philippine and Thailand

Several studies revealed that decentralization at an early stage at Philippine, Thailand and

Indonesia has succeeded to increase citizen participation and deliver public services at the

local level more efficiently. Brillantes, et.al (2014) revealed that around 56 percent of mayors

in Philippine belong to political families while around 56% are business owners. Both

Thailand and Indonesia took from the Philippine experience in their decentralization of local

government as the Philippine government had devolved several years earlier. In Indonesia,




2014 Vol: 1 Issue 2


for the local government to bring revenue transfers from the central or national government

depends on political lobbying.

Ishii et.al (2014) in their empirical study came up with a comparative study for the HRM

in local government in two cities in Philippine and two cities in Thailand. They addressed the

problem of the local government in these two countries through the HRM practices and in

particular their recruitment and selection process. Findings of their studies in two cities in

Philippine and two cities in Thailand showed differences in the HRM of their local

government especially the recruitment and selection in “City A” of Philippine and” City C” of

Thailand which were characterized by poor HR practices, corruption, favoritism and

nepotism. On the other hand, Ishii et al. (2014) study showed proper management practices

in recruitment and selection at the local government at “City B” in Philippine and “City D” in

Thailand.

5.2.1 HRM Practices in Local Government in Philippines

Decentralization in Philippine was part of president Cory Aquino political agenda during

her reign from 1986-1992. The constitution of the Republic of Philippine in 1987 supported

the autonomy of local government and participation of people (Constitution of the Republic

of Philippine of 1987, Article X as cited by Ishii et.al, 2014). Many of the national services

that used to be provided by their central government and its offices were devolved to the local

government units like health, social services, environment, agriculture and others. The local

government which was developed became responsible for generating income, like collection

of taxes, local fees and charges. The share of these local government units in the national

taxes was raised from 11% to 40% (Local Government Commission (LGC), Sec.284 as cited

by Ishii et. al, 2014).

5.2.2 Weak Local Government HR Practices

“City A” in Philippine

The chief executive in the local government unit has been appointed the responsibility of

the human resource management and its development under the civil service body or so called

“Civil Service Commission (CSC)” within the boundaries of the civil service laws, rules and

regulations (Local Government Commission (LGC), Sec.77 as cited by Ishii et al., 2014).

The recruitment and selection process is governed by the “Civil Service Commission”

(CSC) as applicants for the local government are required to pass a competitive exam by the

CSC. The selection exam is designed to measure the candidate intelligence or mental abilities

more than his/her skills. The vacancy is usually posted in three different public organizations

for a period of 15 days. A personnel recruitment and selection board is organized to proceed;

the board is usually headed by the so called “local chief executive” or head of the local unit in

the presence of a representative from the “Civil Service Commission.” The role of the

recruitment and selection board is to assist the local chief executive in ensuring objective




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criteria in candidates selection and promotion of employees. On the other hand, the local chief

executive has the right to recruit and select temporary or contingent staff without referring to

the CSC as long as the duration of these temporary employees do not exceed six months. The

technical staffs who have been working long as civil servants in the local units are not

necessarily appointed on a political basis by the local chief executive like the administration

staff that takes care of the daily operation in the local government unit (LGU). Thus, it is

obvious by the decentralization reform that the local chief executive became very powerful

and has abused his power to his benefit in the absence of weak central government (Local

Government Commission (LGC), Sec.80 as cited by Ishii, et.al, 2014).

Therefore, from the above as came in the literature, it is obvious that “City A” is one of the

four major provinces in Philippines. Although the recruitment and selection process appears

to be very proper on paper but there is no actual compliance with any the HR rules and

regulations. The personnel selection board is formed but all what they do is to sign for

approval for the reports presented by the chief executive. It is also obvious that the decision

for recruitment and selection were usually politicized rather than based on objective criteria.

The recruitment of non regular staff is also done by the Mayor for political affiliation. A large

number of young employees are usually hired without announcing these positions publically.

They are offered very little money and are only hired to support the mayor. Therefore, it was

obvious that nepotism and favoritism were the moving factor in the recruitment and selection

process in “City A”, there were no plans for filling jobs but it all depends on the local chief

executive.

“City C” in Thailand

Haque (2010) discussed in his study Thailand decentralization which started by People’s

Constitution in 1997, followed by the “Decentralization Act of 1999” and the “Local Public

Personnel Act of 1999”. According to Green (2005), Thailand’s local government was

responsible for serving the local citizens’ needs. The local government was working but with

some supervision from the central government. Ishii et al. (2014) mentioned in his study that

the local chief executive or mayor was responsible for the HRM, administration and

budgeting of his local area. Applicants seeking jobs at the local government should pass an

entry exam. The central government may set the local government entry exam if the later can

not manage it, or they might refer to a third party like a university. The selection of candidates

in the local government depends mainly on the candidates’ success in the entry exam which is

based on specific criteria. The local government still has to abide by the rules and regulations

of the central government policies for managing the exams like the advertising duration for

the position, the criteria for candidate selection and formation of the committee. Similar to the

Philippine, the local government executive has the full authority to recruit contract workers




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who serve at non administrative positions. In 2010, the local officers requested that the central

government takes responsibility of the detailed procedure for recruitment and selection,

promotion and rotation to guarantee a fair practice for all candidates.

It is obvious that “City C” which is located in Songkhlaa area south Thailand share

common things with “City A” of Philippine in corruption of its local government HRM

system. Both are characterized by unfair recruitment and selection practices The mayor is

given more power through allocation of budget and decision making by central government.

It is quiet obvious that recruitment and selection in “City C” is completely politicized based

on connections of the politicians with the mayor who appoints their relatives or friends in

return for more benefits and budget. The mayor was given the full authority and right to rotate

or transfer people without returning back to the central government which affected

employees’ motivation negatively.

5.2.3 Proper Local Government HR Practices

“City B” of Philippine

It was mentioned that “City B” is one of the oldest cities in Philippines that is headed by a

mayor. The number of local employees in “City B” is about 900 employees between regular

and non regular staff. The recruitment and selection for “City B” was fairly strict as it was

organized by the personnel selection board. Staff recruitment was based on some major

criteria that assess the candidate educational background, previous work experience,

achievements, personality traits and potential to develop himself or her self. The board

members have to fill a personnel form and assess applicants based on some criteria. The

board decides on the candidate first then receives the Mayor’s approval. The HR program

named “PIP” was introduced in “City B” to help employees move away from the traditional

system to the new reform system. Both the Mayor and personnel director encouraged staff

motivation tool and development. The ‘PIP” program was taken by a “customer orientation

program” that received foreign currency.

“City D” of Thailand

“City D” is located in Nakhon province in central Thailand. The HRM system in “City D”

is run with transparency by the mayor. Jobs are advertised at the city center by the mayor with

known criteria for recruitment and selection. Applicants who only pass the exams are the ones

selected, which means selection is merit based. Existing staff who would like to be promoted

were also offered the opportunity to apply in the advertised vacant positions at the local

government. The mayor gained the confidence of the politicians and central government for

his reputation in his proper management style and his accomplished of most proposed projects

(Ishii, 2014).




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6. Conclusion & Recommendations

To sum up, this study revealed the most obvious difference in the HRM policy

arrangements in the local government in Indonesia, Philippine and Thailand. It also revealed

the HRM practices in some of the local governments in the three countries that are carried by

the local government but with supervision, assistance and support by the central government.

The central government supervision in both City A” in Philippine and “City C” in Thailand

are very weak. The central government in these countries only sign and approve the reports

they receive from the local government executives. On the contrary, in “City B” in Philippine,

“City D” in Thailand and Indonesia the government role was clear in monitoring and

supervising the HR practices to avoid bias and corruption. Recruitment and Selection in” City

A” and “City C” in Thailand were characterized by favoritism and nepotism and were done to

serve the mayor’s interest or the chief executive. On the other hand, the chief executives in

“City B” in Philippine and “City D” in Thailand handled the recruitment and selection in a

transparent manner, the central government role was supportive to ensure only a fair and

equitable HRM system. The same applies in Indonesia also, the central government role is

played in supporting the local government executive in assessing the job needs, setting

criteria for candidate examination and approving the selection of candidates by the local

government. To conclude, the study of human resources management especially recruitment

and selection in the local government in the three countries Indonesia, Philippine and

Thailand triggers further comparative studies to the HRM strategies in the rest of the eleven

South Eastern Asia countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia and

others which will be a real addition to the field of local government.

The lessons learnt from this study on the local level (Egypt) and also on the international

level, calls for governments to work on improving the HRM at the Local Government level to

improve their employees’ performance in rendering a better public service for the citizens at

the local level. It is crucial for governments to work on improving the core competencies of

HR management in their decentralized local level; to focus on the importance of the intrinsic

motivations of the public employees; to develop appropriate HR management strategies and

policies; to ensure a good communication system; and to establish a system for continuous

HR training and development for supporting the organizational development initiatives. Most

important, it is also recommended that the central government should ensure that the local

government HR practices in recruitment and selection should be based on objective criteria,

fair and transparent system and not on political favoritism and nepotism.




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