I felt the vibration from my phone and got a push notification from a Mobile App. It was a message reminding me to renew my library books. I clicked on the message and accessed the App. With a few clicks I have finished renewing all books. There is a wide range of public services available “at your fingertips” nowadays in Hong Kong and people get used to this kind of convenience. The new generation might be shocked if someone tells them how public services were delivered 20 years ago. We shall know more about the old-fashioned way by reading the book “Public Management and Administration”.

The book was first published in 1994 and is now in its fifth edition. It provides comprehensive coverage of the development of public administration and public management. It is a good way to understand relevant key principles and theories.

In the 20^th century, public administration would mostly come with a bureaucratic form, or what the author calls a “traditional model”. The “office” is the key component of bureaucracy, a place for working and storing files. Citizens access to public services in a public office but customer service is never a priority there. Rather, you see a civil servant sitting behind a desk, acting slowly with a long queue in front of him. Civil servants in the traditional model would usually be hired in the terms of appointment for life and promotion based only on seniority. Incentives and motivation for improvement are seldom shown. The author argues that in most developed countries the “Public Administration” approach has already transformed to the “Public Management” approach in the 21^st century, where a public manager is personally responsible for the achievement of results and becomes the key to facilitating improvements.

The contribution of information technology to facilitating good public services is emphasised in the chapters, but we are reminded that services with new technology do not necessarily bring good results. “Centrelink” was an agency launched in 1997, handling public payment services in Australia. Telephone and online support services were available, administrating welfare payments from the government. Unfortunately, the citizens found it difficult to communicate with the officials as their phone calls were always unanswered. Besides, some citizens, especially the elderly and those less educated, did not know how to use online services at the time. These users ended up in a long queue in the government offices with frustration or lost their benefits simply because of service failure.

I am confident that the performance of the Australian public services should have significant improved today, benefitting greatly from the fast-growing technology. As the author argues in the book, the improvement in the private sector would likely bring improvements to the public sector. For instance, an excellent service model is provided by a private service provider, where the staff are equipped with portable devices, patrolling around the shop and proactively reaching customers. It is an encouraging sign that similar approaches have already been employed in some government services in Hong Kong. With abundant resources and efficient implementation, more new services based on advanced technology will soon be running, and you should get your fingertips ready.