Public sector executive development in the Asia-Pacific: different contexts but similar challenges / Andrew Podger -- Developing leadership and building executive capacity in the Australian public services for better governance / Peter Allen and John Wanna -- Civil service executive development in China: an overview / Yijia Jing -- Building capacity: a framework for managing learning and development in the Hong Kong Police Force / S. Chan and Joseph Wong Wing-ping -- Building executive capacity in the Japanese Civil Service / Hiroko Kudo -- Innovating training and development in government: the case of South Korea / Pan Suk Kim -- Civil service training the Macau government / Pauline Lai Pou San -- Building executive capacity in the public service for better governance: the Philippine Civil Service / Alex B. Brillantes Jr and Maricel T. Fernandez-Carag -- Milestone programs for the administrative service in the Singapore Public Service / James Low -- Senior civil service training in Taiwan: current concerns and future challenges / Su Tsai-Tsu and Liu Kun-I.

Sharpening the Sword of State explores the various ways in which 10 jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific enhance their administrative capabilities through training and executive development. It traces how modern governments across this region look to develop their public services and public sector organisations in the face of rapid global change. For many governments there is a delicate balance between the public interest in promoting change and capacity enhancement across the public service, and the temptation to micro-manage agencies and be complacent about challenging the status quo. There is a recognition in the countries studied that training and executive development is a crucial investment in human capital but is also couched in a much wider context of public service recruitment, patterns of entry and retention, promotion, executive appointment and career development. This empirical volume, authored by academics and practitioners, is one of the first to chart these comparative differences and provide fresh perspectives to enable learning from international experiences.

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