Canberra (Australia), August 1996

The Executive at the Political Vortex: SOG Conference in Canberra

The Conference was officially opened by Professor Ingrid Moses, Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University. Right at the outset of the first working session, a friendly controversy developed about the meaning and the source of the term 'vortex' which Oxford Dictionary defines as 'a mass of whirling fluid' or 'a system swallowing up those who approach it'. What did the organizers intend to suggest by the term 'political vortex' as the central theme of the Conference? Did they want to refer to relationally overloaded executives burdened by an 'intricate web of reciprocities and obligations' which swallow up all their energies and whirl their brains close to the state of perpetual confusion? Bert Rockman's paper presented a strong argument against the 'vortex' thesis in the context of general downsizing of governmental enterprises and activities nearly everywhere. It also provided a useful theoretical framework which forced each participant to take a position and to relate the thesis to his/her own specific research topic. The introductory papers by Joel Aberbach and John Power were equally stimulating and thought provoking.

Not surprisingly, the largest number of papers dealt with domestic bureaucracies and their role in recent government reforms. These included: Guy Peters (USA) and Donald Savoie (Canada); Bidhya Bowornwathana (Thailand); Poul Erik Mouritzen (Denmark); Mark Considine (Australia); Bob Gregory (New Zealand); Sylvie Trosa (Australia); and Richard Phidd (Canada). Selected interest group issues were addressed by Harvey Feigenbaum (USA), Hal Colebatch (Australia), and Aynsley Kellow (Australia), while papers by George Szablowski (Canada) and Yvonne Fortin (France) discussed executive-judicial relations and law as an instrument of management reform, respectively. In the concluding session, Ulrich Klöti (Switzerland) and Martin Painter (Australia) dealt with aspects of the Swiss and Australian federalism, respectively, and Jenny Stewart (Australia) addressed the issue of international competition. The overview was provided by John Halligan and John Power following Colin Campbell's seminal presentation of the crisis of executive leadership.

The Canberra Conference was jointly organized by John Power and John Halligan who deserve full marks for their efforts. Special thanks should go to Paddy Onton and all the staff of the Centre for Research in the Public Sector Management who worked as the Secretariat of the Conference.

George J. Szablowski