• Title/Summary/Keyword: Participatory Government

Search Result 104, Processing Time 0.02 seconds

The Policy of Win-Win Growth between Large and Small Enterprises : A South Korean Model (한국형 동반성장 정책의 방향과 과제)

  • Lee, Jang-Woo
    • Korean small business review
    • /
    • v.33 no.4
    • /
    • pp.77-93
    • /
    • 2011
  • Since 2000, the employment rate of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has dwindled while the creation of new jobs and the emergence of healthy SMEs have been stagnant. The fundamental reason for these symptoms is that the economic structure is disadvantageous to SMEs. In particular, the greater gap between SMEs and large enterprises has resulted in polarization, and the resulting imbalance has become the largest obstacle to improving SMEs' competitiveness. For example, the total productivity has continued to drop, and the average productivity of SMEs is now merely 30% of that of large enterprises, and the average wage of SMEs' employees is only 53% of that of large enterprises. Along with polarization, rapid industrialization has also caused anti-enterprise consensus, the collapse of the middle class, hostility towards establishments, and other aftereffects. The general consensus is that unless these problems are solved, South Korea will not become an advanced country. Especially, South Korea is now facing issues that need urgent measures, such as the decline of its economic growth, the worsening distribution of profits, and the increased external volatility. Recognizing such negative trends, the MB administration proposed a win-win growth policy and recently introduced a new national value called "ecosystemic development." As the terms in such policy agenda are similar, however, the conceptual differences among such terms must first be fully understood. Therefore, in this study, the concepts of win-win growth policy and ecosystemic development, and the need for them, were surveyed, and their differences from and similarities with other policy concepts like win-win cooperation and symbiotic development were examined. Based on the results of the survey and examination, the study introduced a South Korean model of win-win growth, targeting the promotion of a sound balance between large enterprises and SMEs and an innovative ecosystem, and finally, proposing future policy tasks. Win-win growth is not an academic term but a policy term. Thus, it is less advisable to give a theoretical definition of it than to understand its concept based on its objective and method as a policy. The core of the MB administration's win-win growth policy is the creation of a partnership between key economic subjects such as large enterprises and SMEs based on each subject's differentiated capacity, and such economic subjects' joint promotion of growth opportunities. Its objective is to contribute to the establishment of an advanced capitalistic system by securing the sustainability of the South Korean economy. Such win-win growth policy includes three core concepts. The first concept, ecosystem, is that win-win growth should be understood from the viewpoint of an industrial ecosystem and should be pursued by overcoming the issues of specific enterprises. An enterprise is not an independent entity but a social entity, meaning it exists in relationship with the society (Drucker, 2011). The second concept, balance, points to the fact that an effort should be made to establish a systemic and social infrastructure for a healthy balance in the industry. The social system and infrastructure should be established in such a way as to create a balance between short- term needs and long-term sustainability, between freedom and responsibility, and between profitability and social obligations. Finally, the third concept is the behavioral change of economic entities. The win-win growth policy is not merely about simple transactional relationships or determining reasonable prices but more about the need for a behavior change on the part of economic entities, without which the objectives of the policy cannot be achieved. Various advanced countries have developed different win-win growth models based on their respective cultures and economic-development stages. Japan, whose culture is characterized by a relatively high level of group-centered trust, has developed a productivity improvement model based on such culture, whereas the U.S., which has a highly developed system of market capitalism, has developed a system that instigates or promotes market-oriented technological innovation. Unlike Japan or the U.S., Europe, a late starter, has not fully developed a trust-based culture or market capitalism and thus often uses a policy-led model based on which the government leads the improvement of productivity and promotes technological innovation. By modeling successful cases from these advanced countries, South Korea can establish its unique win-win growth system. For this, it needs to determine the method and tasks that suit its circumstances by examining the prerequisites for its success as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each advanced country. This paper proposes a South Korean model of win-win growth, whose objective is to upgrade the country's low-trust-level-based industrial structure, in which large enterprises and SMEs depend only on independent survival strategies, to a high-trust-level-based social ecosystem, in which large enterprises and SMEs develop a cooperative relationship as partners. Based on this objective, the model proposes the establishment of a sound balance of systems and infrastructure between large enterprises and SMEs, and to form a crenovative social ecosystem. The South Korean model of win-win growth consists of three axes: utilization of the South Koreans' potential, which creates community-oriented energy; fusion-style improvement of various control and self-regulated systems for establishing a high-trust-level-oriented social infrastructure; and behavioral change on the part of enterprises in terms of putting an end to their unfair business activities and promoting future-oriented cooperative relationships. This system will establish a dynamic industrial ecosystem that will generate creative energy and will thus contribute to the realization of a sustainable economy in the 21st century. The South Korean model of win-win growth should pursue community-based self-regulation, which promotes the power of efficiency and competition that is fundamentally being pursued by capitalism while at the same time seeking the value of society and community. Already existing in Korea's traditional roots, such objectives have become the bases of the Shinbaram culture, characterized by the South Koreans' spontaneity, creativity, and optimism. In the process of a community's gradual improvement of its rules and procedures, the trust among the community members increases, and the "social capital" that guarantees the successful control of shared resources can be established (Ostrom, 2010). This basic ideal can help reduce the gap between large enterprises and SMEs, alleviating the South Koreans' victim mentality in the face of competition and the open-door policy, and creating crenovative corporate competitiveness. The win-win growth policy emerged for the purpose of addressing the polarization and imbalance structure resulting from the evolution of 21st-century capitalism. It simultaneously pursues efficiency and fairness on one hand and economic and community values on the other, and aims to foster efficient interaction between the market and the government. This policy, however, is also evolving. The win-win growth policy can be considered an extension of the win-win cooperation that the past 'Participatory Government' promoted at the enterprise management level to the level of systems and culture. Also, the ecosystemic development agendum that has recently emerged is a further extension that has been presented as a national ideal of "a new development model that promotes the co-advancement of environmental conservation, growth, economic development, social integration, and national and individual development."

Agricultural Technology Dissemination System in Africa and the ODA Implications for Korea (아프리카의 농업기술보급체계와 농업기술협력 전략 -에티오피아와 우간다를 중심으로-)

  • Hwang, Jae Hee;Woo, Soo Gon;Lee, Seong Woo
    • Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
    • /
    • v.20 no.4
    • /
    • pp.1045-1078
    • /
    • 2013
  • The purpose of the present study is to improve the effectiveness of Korea's ODA projects on agricultural technology transfer to Africa. This study investigates agricultural extension system of African countries and provides a direction of the systematic strategies of the Korean ODAs on agricultural technology. This study pays particular attention on Africanization of agricultural technology transfer of the Korean ODA strategies. Unlike the previous studies focusing mainly on micro level investigation on the ODA strategy development, the present study incorporates the agricultural technology dissemination system of Ethiopia and Uganda in a macro perspective to develop a desirable form of the ODA strategy. The findings illustrate that the technology dissemination systems of the case countries have different characteristics depending on the function and organization of extension agency. And their functional capability and role segmentation by the extension agency are differently configured, too. In case of Ethiopia, top-down structure for the agricultural extension system has been built. Farmers' group and field agent of the information delivery system has expanded their participation into the system. However, we also find that the system of Ethiopia still lacks effective use of its existing technology, since it puts more emphasis on management aspects than improvement of agricultural productivity for farmers. On the other hand, even though Uganda has established participatory extension system that encompasses the entire agencies of the extension system, government efforts to enhance the extension system are still concentrated on expanding research functions rather than technical dissemination. The results imply that promoting and strengthening localization of the ODA strategy has to be developed to make localization policy of the Korean ODA. The present study concludes with some specific policy implications for necessary conditions of the agricultural development in African countries.

A Study on Art's Public Features and Social Intervention by Keith Haring (미술의 공공성과 키스 해링(Keith Haring)의 사회적 개입에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Jee-Young
    • The Journal of Art Theory & Practice
    • /
    • no.8
    • /
    • pp.59-87
    • /
    • 2009
  • This thesis started from the attempt to make it clear that 80's American artist Keith Haring(1958-1990) had conducted social intervention of criticism, resistance, and participation through his works, and so pursued public value. Haring of graffiti fame left popular and familiar cartoon style pictures on the street wall, the billboards, the posters and so on. Popular and playful works was explained as his unique characteristics, but Haring's creative way at the field has more value than just being grasped as artist's personal characteristics. Haring's work pieces became everyday art by joining with people's life, and are working as a social speaking place. So I think that these Haring's art works possess characteristics of 'the public sphere'. 'The Public Sphere' means that is independent and free from the government or partisan economic forces, so that is not connected with the interested relations, and that is the sphere of rational argumentation without 'disguise' or 'fabrication', and that is the sphere where general public can participate in and is inspected by them. The public sphere between the sphere of public authority such a nation and a market and the private sphere of free individual, it is mutually connected with them and works as the space forming public opinion. Private individuals communicate with this public sphere and perform a role of direct and indirect check, balance, and social criticism way off from power. Openness that should include the voice of not only leading power but also the socially weak such as citizens, women, homosexuals, minority races, and so on, and alienated class, is an index of the public characteristics. The public sphere is not working just with speech and mass media. Many artists as well as Haring open their mouth and act through an art at the center of society, and create another public sphere by an art. I understood that the real participatory and practical characteristics on the Haring's work is a phenomenon and current of a part of the art world including Haring. Such current started from 1960s is the in-depth effort to be connected with the life more closely, to communicate with people, and to improve problems of life. And it has pursued public value on the different way from the nation or public power. Artists have intervened in the society with strategic and positive ways in order to raise pushed-out value and sinked rights as the public agenda, and labored to accept the value of variety and difference at the society. The aspect of such social intervention is the notable features, findable on the Haring's works and process. Haring's works include art historical meanings and are expressed with familiar and plastic language, so they were able to communicate with various classes. And he secured various customers at the field and the street. This communicative and public approach factor raised the possibility much for his works to work as the public sphere. Haring presented critical and resistant speech toward society with his works based on this factor. He asserted his position and justice of gender identity as a sexual minority. And his such work continued to movement for alienated class and social week over his own rights. His speech and message on the wall painting, poster, T-shirts, billboard of the subway, and so on worked as a spectacle and pressed concern with social issues and consciousness shift. And he's been trying to protect and care people who is injured by HIV and drug and to realize social justice through social week protection. Haring's works planned to meet many people as much as possible performed its role of intervening in society through criticism, resistance, speech, and participation, and controlling and checking social issues. These things considered, Haring's works show his consciousness about public attributes of art, and obviously include public value seeking. And also we can find the meaning of such his work as that an art is working as the public sphere and shows the possibility to discuss and practice public issues.

  • PDF

Current State and Future Direction of Professionals of Records Management (기록물관리 전문요원의 운영 현황과 전망)

  • Lee, Young-Hak
    • The Korean Journal of Archival Studies
    • /
    • no.21
    • /
    • pp.323-353
    • /
    • 2009
  • This study examines current states of Professionals of records management after "Records Management of public instituition Act(공공기관의 기록물 관리에 관한 법률)" was enacted in 1999. The law forced to arrange records manager in Records Center. However the hire of Professionals of records management became in earnest in 2005. Records Manager among the research officials was established in 2005 February in the Participatory Government. Because of this regulation, in 2005 July, Professionals of records management were arranged in each of 45 central department for the first time. Going through many trial and error, Professionals of records management contributed to systemizing record management of center department and office. According to "Public Records Management Act(공공기록물 관리에 관한 법률)" totally revised in 2007, sixteen major cities and its public office of education decided to employ Professionals of records management until the end of 2007. In addition, minor cities which consists of people over 150,000 and public office of education which consist of the number of students over 70,000 are supposed to have Professionals of records management until 2008, but it is not accomplished yet. Furthermore, when recruiting professionalists of records management, it is necessary to employ not as a contract or a part-time employee or but as a regular or a full-time worker. Especially, if the specialists of record management were employed as a part-time employee, they would not concentrate on their work because of their unstable social positions. It means that changes from a contract worker to a regular employee are needed without further delay. At first, records managers who were recruited at the Central Department in May 2007 had various kinds of difficulties and experienced trial and error. These days, however, they show their expertise with finding their own works. Someday in Korea, the records manager is expected to be a professional career with their know-hows and active movements.