Operationalizing functional analysis in public administration : a diagnostic framework for enhancing system efficiency in Eastern European parliamentary secretariats

Functional analysis (FA) is increasingly used in public sector reforms to assess organizational performance and guide administrative change. However, FA frequently stays procedural and descriptive in both theory and practice, providing little insight into the roots of inefficiencies. The paper addresses this gap by reconceptualizing FA as an organizational diagnostic framework and applying it to parliamentary administrations, a field that has not received much scholarly attention. Using a comparative qualitative case study design, the analysis examined the parliamentary secretariats of Armenia, Ukraine, and Serbia, drawing on functional review reports, institutional documents, and available employee self-assessment data. The proposed framework operationalizes FA across four analytical dimensions: governance and strategic management, structural design, staffing, and process efficiency. The findings show that system efficiency is shaped by governance arrangements and strategic management capacity, while structural design influences functional coherence and coordination. Staffing affects performance indirectly by mediating process efficiency rather than through staffing levels alone. Overall, inefficiencies appear cumulative and systemic rather than the result of isolated functional weaknesses. By advancing FA as a diagnostic approach, the study contributes to public administration theory and offers a transferable framework for assessing organizational efficiency in parliamentary administrations and other complex public sector organizations