PP500: Public Administration and Management

Unit 9

The Social Context of

Public Administration

Professor Jamie Scripps

jscripps@kaplan.edu

Unit 9 Overview

In Unit 9, you explore the challenges and opportunities faced by public administration in the current environment of social change, and the impact of these forces on the study of administrative theory and practice.

Housekeeping

FeedbackQuestions?This is our LAST Seminar.

Readings

Read chapter 12 in the textAdditional readings:

Berg & Chandler (2006). “Movement and Change in the Public Sector.” Public Management Review.

Sachs (2009). “The Crisis of Public Management.” Scientific American.

Discussion Board Topics

Topic 1:In the article “The Crisis of Public

Management,” do you agree with the reasons Sachs claims the government “dropped the ball?” Why or why not? What alternatives should the U.S. have implemented to avoid the challenges they faced during those crises?

Discussion Board Topics

Topic 2:Share a brief summary of your interview

with the class. Whom did you interview? What does he or she do, and where does he or she work? What most surprised you? What interests you about the person's work? What are some important things you learned from the interviewee?

Final Project

Introduce your Public Administrator.

Whom did you interview? Where does he or she work, etc.?

This section of background information should be no more than one or two paragraphs in length.

Final Project

Reflect on the ways a current issue or situation impacts the administrative and managerial processes your Public Administrator uses to accomplish his or her job.

Final Project

1. Human Resource Management

2. Budgeting and Resource Allocation

3. Policy Creation (if applicable)

4. Policy Implementation (if applicable)

Final Project

5. Delivering Services to the public (if applicable)

6. Performance Evaluation (of people or of programs)

7. Legislative process

Final Project

8. Local Government Council meetings 9. Inter- and Intra- governmental

communication and negotiation (like the relationship between Federal & Local or State & Local)

10. Ethical decisionmaking

Final Project

Examine these processes by explaining how the issue at hand impacts the other goals and programs of your administrator

Finally, recommend the next steps that you think your Public Administrator should take toward accomplishing the goals and/or resolving the issues you discussed.

Final Project

Make sure to include the research you conducted on the role of your interviewee for your proposal. Be sure to use at least two or more resources beyond the class text material to discuss the roles of your chosen administrator.

Questions?

Social Context

The current state of public administration is characterized by considerable unrest, continuing fiscal stress, increased focus on global issues, and change, in and out of the field.

Social Context

These factors affect what it is, does, and its likely characteristics in the future.

Social Context

Modern public administration is expected to balance values such as accountability, efficiency, and public participation against contradictory values such as representativeness, expansiveness, and strong leadership.

Tensions

Tensions resulting from these conflicts are compounded by rapid social change, growth in economic and social diversity, the knowledge explosion, technological change, decline in the respect and influence of authority and religious fundamentalism.

Unrealistic Demands

Further, the demands placed on bureaucracy to resolve global problems may be unrealistic. Other problems facing public administration include a need to reassess economic growth as the foundation for continued governmental growth and chronic fiscal stress at all levels of government.

Discussion Question

Why can it be said that the public manager faces the problems of both pluralist democracy and administrative efficiency?

Suggest ways that a public manager might meet both types of challenges.

Paradoxical Developments

A series of paradoxical developments within society and government have also contributed to tensions within public administration. They are as follows:

Paradoxical Developments

Blurring of the line between private and public sectors;

A revolution of rising expectations regarding both the quality of life and individual standards of living;

Industrial society versus postindustrial (information and service) society versus reindustrialization;

Paradoxical Developments

Globalization and national patriotism versus loyalty to some other group (ethnic, province, tribe, etc.);

Rising violence versus a desire for the non-violent means of settling disputes;

A desire for limited government versus a desire for stronger government regulation;

Paradoxical Developments

Electoral politics and our antiquated electoral system;

A selfish attitude toward government of “I want mine,” versus hostility toward government; and

Conflicts between the old “overhead democracy” (rule by the majority) to the newer concept of rule by consensus among numerous minority groups and special interests.

Discussion Question

To what extent can we depend on nongovernment alternatives, such as faith- based and nonprofit organizations, to perform the most challenging governmental functions?

Is there a limit on the extent to which these types of organization can cope with natural and man-made disasters?

Issues and Changes

Some issues and changes affecting the environment of public administration are:

Issues and Changes

Internal and external participation in government, which includes the devolution of national government functions to state and local governments and the emergence of new more localized community associations which encourage participation;

Issues and Changes

The expansion of information technology and management science techniques, including e-government and the practices of outsourcing and contracting out;

Issues and Changes

Attempts  to eliminate public employee unionization and collective bargaining;

A renewed emphasis on budgets,  performance management and employee productivity;

Issues and Changes

Fiscal and budgetary constraints; Executive dominance and the use of

reorganization as an instrument of policy; and

Continuing efforts to de-bureaucratize.

Changes

Several changes have characterized public administration as a field of study, including its movement away from political science:

Changes

The growing importance of education in public sector-related fields for business students.

The proliferation of academic institutes and programs for public administration.

Changes

The influence of organizational humanism and organizational development; and

The increasing study and application of productivity improvement systems within the field.

Ethics

In addition, ethics has assumed a prominent place in public administration education. The wide-ranging academic field of public administration, which includes management, politics, social psychology, economics, and law, is changing rapidly.

Discussion Question

Is the field of study known as “ public administration” merely a restatement of principles from the fields of management, politics, social psychology, economics, and law?

Or are there other principles, distinct to public administration, that should be taught to those who intend to work in public service? If so, what are they?

Questions? Comments?