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~.K titcf~y Limited: Changing an Economy Sy Changing its Public =ec`or Page 11 The SSC also recommends to Ministers the appointment of departmental Chief Executives who sign performance agreements with their Ministers that specify the targets they and their departments are expected to meet. • The major public service union is the Public Service Association (PSA). Since 1987 the PSA has joined most of its private sector counterparts in one national "umbrella" organisation, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (CTU). Problems that led to the public sector management reforms In common with most governmental models, New Zealand's pre-1984 public service structure exhibited a number of problems that required resolution. For at least two decades Government Departments had been grappling with the problem of greater management accountability for the effective use of resources. Reforms were clearly required in - • information procedures; • corporate planning of departmental programs; and • more explicit definition of the departmental mission. Specific problems included - • The respective responsibilities of Cabinet Ministers and their senior public servants (particularly departmental heads) was often confused, with unclear delineation of responsibilities and lines of communication. • The system encouraged structures that - - suppressed information; - -encouraged the "concealment" of cross-subsidies; - created conflicts of interest, with many departments having a number of responsibilities, including policy development, advice and implementation, regulation and/or the provision and/or delivery of service; - weakened performance incentives because of an overall lack of focus. State Sector Act 1988.