Rethinking customer orientation and public service reform: Customer satisfaction or citizen-centered

The customer orientation approach has been accepted by many countries as a basic element of public sector reforms. However the apparent consequences of this approach can not address two vital facts: its basic conception of "customer" and "citizen" is blurred. Their assumption, which the relationship between government and the public is taken as a producer-consumer relationship, is also simplistic and insufficient. A reform approach which attempts to increase efficiency and responsiveness should strengthen, rather than weaken, the public interest. The government is not a company, nor is a citizen merely a customer. The challenges of this approach are not only political but also operational. The structuring of relationship between government and citizens as a market exchange has been damaging to public confidence to government. The customer concept overstressed also leads to political rights and duties of citizens being diluted. Being opposite to the emphasis of "customer focus", a citizen-centered perspective with democratic dialogue and public participation mechanism should be considered more seriously in the public service reform process.