UN non-core functions could leave US

Mark Turner
March 7, 2006
The Financial Times
Original Source: http://news.ft.com/cms/s/75c6f1d4-ae13-11da-8ffb-0000779e2340.html

The United Nations is considering outsourcing or relocating several of its non-core headquarters functions out of New York as part of an ambitious plan aimed at improving the management of its operations.
The UN has made management reform a priority in the wake of several scandals, but it faces stiff resistance from developing countries which fear the erosion of their authority in the UN’s General Assembly.
Outsourcing is likely to meet opposition from member states, though the UN says it could help to distribute functions more equitably. The UN Secretariat plans to carry out a detailed cost-benefit analysis of outsourcing or relocating its translation, printing, medical insurance, IT services, payroll and staff benefits administration next year. Louise Freschette, the outgoing Deputy Secretary General, told staff that one preliminary study had already looked into outsourcing translation.
A report on the proposed management shake-up, released on Tuesday, said the UN had “just started experimenting with this practice” but examples were “encouraging”.
The World Bank has relocated some accounting functions to Chennai, India, and the UN Development Programme sent payroll functions to Copenhagen in 2003.

The UN has also called for an extra $280m (¬ 232m, £160m) a year to bring field-based staff benefits into line with those of headquarters staff, $120m to revamp IT systems, and tens of millions of dollars for a one-time buyout of hundreds of staff.
 Our sys
tems have not kept pace with the operational demands being placed on us,” said Kofi Annan, secretary-general, in his introduction to the UN’s 33-page proposal. “This is an opportunity which may not occur again until another generation has passed.”
The proposals remain broad, however, because the UN cannot dictate to member states how it should be run.
The core goal, however, is to break a debilitating pattern of politically motivated micromanagement at every level, to improve training and career paths, and restore an organisational ethic of accountability.
“A damaged culture, which is seen as limiting creativity, enterprise, innovation and indeed leadership itself, has meant that many managers have simply lost the capacity to manage,” the report said.
About 4,500 people work at UN headquarters in New York, where its main bodies – the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council – are located.