Can Ministries of Foreign Affairs Work Efficiently a Perform Well? The Danish MFA can.

Abstract

This article has two main aims: 1) to introduce generally, theoretically, and on the qualified basis, the issues of measurement, management and the evaluation of efficiency and performance within public institutions, and especially within Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The means are definitions and explanations of key words and the short description of the most suitable and the most often used approaches, methods and systems. 2) Nearly half of the article is dedicated to the case study of the Royal Danish MFA. Approaches and projects, which have been used and also basic priorities and (performance) objectives are explained here. In order to stress and prove the success story of the Danish MFA, there is also shown a quantitative benchmarking of fundamental parameters of selected European and worldwide MFAs. i In the conclusion, preferred recommendations, both generally valid and applicable in the MFA of the CR are introduced. The most important conclusion of the article is that performance and efficiency of MFAs are measurable, and that it is possible to evaluate and to improve them systematically. The essential tools for that are the performance contracts and reports, the competence development of employees, the consistent utilization of the information and communications technologies, the associated knowledge sharing, and the outsourcing. There are also shortly described the most widely used methods and management approaches in this field - Balanced Scorecard, Management by Objectives, benchmarking, Productivity analysis, and Knowledge Management.