- a seminar about quality, competence, and service

This seminar was originally created for the Swedish Administrative Development Agency in 1999. The purpose of the seminar is to concretise issues concerning the reception and treatment of citizens as well as quality and ethics. Further, it serves as a platform for open and fruitful discussions regarding these matters.

How should public authorities exercise service and control in a way that ensures the confidence of the country’s inhabitants and its industry?

The participants of the seminar will have the opportunity to test their thoughts and ideas in a realistic scenario, through which they will gain experience and insight into the possibilities as well as the difficulties when developing an organisation.

The dramatic session takes place in a fictional public agency that is about to go through a service and quality development process. Erika is a young and ambitious unit manager, responsible for the introduction of this development process. Erika’s boss, Tord, is an older department manager who has been involved in the decision-making but has no practical insight nor any particular interest in the project.

In one of the units where the development process is to take place,
Erika faces great resistance from Mona, an administrative official with an unofficial leader role. Nonetheless, there is also interest in the process, especially from Jonas, another administrative official in the same unit.
Jonas, however, is the quiet type and does not have the courage to express his opinions openly. The characters of the play, as well as the audience will be faced with a series of questions;

· How does the way we treat each other within the authority reflect upon the way we treat others outside the authority?
· Is there a contradiction between service and control?
· In what way should ethical principles be exercised?
· How does one inspire involvement?
· For whom and on whose conditions should the changes be made?
· How can we improve communication between co-workers?
· How should I act if I believe a colleague is neglecting his or her duties?

“Serving the Citizen” offers practical examples of service and quality in the daily responsibilities of a public authority. Abstract and hypothetical issues are given a concrete form that can easily be used as a base for discussions and reflection upon the ensuing effort. The aim is to inspire the continuous process of forming a workplace that combines quality and ethics with team spirit and efficiency.

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