GOOD GOVERNANCE IN PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT OF THE MUNICIPAL MAJORS IN THE AREA OF NORTH EASTERN PROVINCES IN THAILAND

Abstract

          The study was designed to investigate the factors influencing the good governance-based personnel administration of municipal mayors in the areas of Northeastern Thailand and to propose the recommendations for the strategy with regard to the better use of good governance in the personnel administration. The study was mixed in nature-quantitative and qualitative methods. With respect to the quantitative method, the sample of the study was comprised of 345 people, the population of the study was 2541 municipal mayors, officers and those concerning about personnel administration from 20 provinces in the areas of Northeastern Thailand living in the areas under the jurisdiction of the municipalities studied.  and the sample size was determined by resorting to Yamane's formula  .The study instrument was a set of self- administered questionnaires containing questions having a five-point rating scale. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis (stepwise method).
The quantitative data analysis has thrown light on the facts specified below.  

          -  The personnel administration was moderately correlated with the use of good governance (r=.52, significant at the .01 level).  
          - The adjusted R² value is .42, indicating that 42 percent of the variation in the  use of the good governance is explained by the four independent, predictor variables. The four independent variables included rule of law, justice, accountability and the cost-effectiveness; the dependent variable is strategy of good governance creation by the mayors.
           - Based on the beta weight, it can be said that the factors influencing the use of good governance in descending order of degree are as follows: accountability, justice and rule of law, and cost-effectiveness.
           - In regard to the qualitative method, the needed data were derived from documents, observations, audio-visual materials and in-depth interview with 17 key informants. The informants were composed of high ranking officials who had great experience and in-depth knowledge of the personnel administration of the municipalities in Northeastern Thailand.
           - The qualitative data from all sources were qualitatively analyzed by means of content analysis, narrative analysis and analytic induction. As a result of the qualitative data analysis, the researcher has discovered a great many facts. They were, among others, as follows:
           - The personnel administration problems and difficulties were in large measure caused by the rent-seeking activities, the corruption practices or  the appointment of the personnel. Both local politicians and local administrators, as well as some public employees conspired to appoint whoever they like to appoint regardless of their qualifications. To wit, all kinds of the patronage system (favoritism, nepotism, etc.) were commonly used. Needless to say, the appointment of public employees based on the personal gain of those in charge of the appointment was prevalent. The personnel administration and the general administration without the deep knowledge and good understanding of laws and regulations resulted in the municipal administration that characterized as the lack of transparency, accountability, consistency and equity. With the loopholes of some laws and unethical administration enabled administrators to seek their personal gain with ease and with impunity.