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CHALLENGE OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
By
Chandra-nuj Mahakanjana, Ph.D.
GSPA, NIDA
9/11 Weakness in the way agencies were
organized and managed Organization and managerial problem
inadequate communication and handling crucial info
More authority & responsibility to Dept. of homeland security
Go against the trend of anti gov. movement
Resentment of taxes and ineffective government performance
Politicians attack Bureaucracy Red tape
Both government & private activities have strengths and weaknesses
Both are still very crucial for its existence
Challenge designing the mix and balance of the two while attaining effective management of both
Dilemmas of improving public management
Improving Reform Negative, control-oriented Damage public service at the end
Image problem
Bumbling bureaucrat (stereotype by media & politicians)
Inept bureaucrat national economy Too simple ignore the benefit of
government programs in economic growth (ex. infrastructure)
Social security program more opportunity for young generation (not having to take care of their parents)
causes 1) Bureaucrat bashing by the media &
politicians easy to do and draw more attention than trying to explain how complex their situation is Public policy process is so complicated and
involve trade-off (usually not notice by the media)
2) Bureaucrat avoiding choices Using vague language to avoid choices Making choices draw criticism (both from
internal & public in general)
3) Extreme Formality (red tape) Rely on written communication Focus on accountability Habit Leads to in effective and costly management
practices negative image
4) Public managers lack of control over goal setting (unlike those in private sector)
Private sector BOD is controlled or related to org managers
Public sector BOD = elected legislators and executives )who are more focusing on their political popularity more than organizational performance
Political interests always change without much warning
Successful public managers = 1) adjust programs rapidly, 2) foresee changes in policy direction, 3) build org capacity for change
สู�ตรแห่�งความล้�มเห่ล้ว 1) Negative image Bureaucrats’ self perception
negative thinking psychology of failure Ex. Roper family (p.5) self-defeated = define ‘success’ as ‘the absence of
failure’ Low expectations Ignore sense of vision Make fun of those who are ambitious Same manager in private sector fired In public sector impossible to fire hard to measure
performance objectively Hard to measure ‘success’ (unlike balance sheet in
private sector
2) Letting the constraint constrain you Accept problems and obstacles (instead of
searching for solutions) explanation for nonperformance
Give up easily Due to the love-hate relationship with
government (need government to do things ‘for’ them but not ‘to’ them)
3) Allowing caution to become inertia
Caution paralysis New projects are abandon once tentative
negative signals are received (ex. some other powerful public orgs do not favor the project proposal
Ex. Internet & USPS (p. 10) Emphasize ‘process’ over ‘product’ Standard operation procedures (SOP)
4) Hiding behind ambiguity Use of unclear language Ex. disturbed man Hide their actions behind unclear phases, passive
voice, refuse to agree to logical conclusions To prevent outsiders from understanding who is doing
what to whom!! To hide poor or nonexistent performance (using vague
statement of goals, unclear assignments of responsibility)
Create impression that they are achieving goals while actually achieving very little
Focus on image more than actual performance Ex. preventive-retaliatory = invasion Ex. revenue enhancements = tax increases
5) Forgetting that people matter
Forgetting that org = people people count
Effective Management = art of getting people to do the right things obtain resources to create incentives to achieve org goals
Org as organic entities (living, breathing, being) = organism need nourishment from envi
Public managers usually ignore this essential concept forgetting to interact and communicate with people who work for them deal with staff as abstractions productivity impaired org lost ability to attract resources from its envi
** “Effective public manager must understand the psychological, economic, and social needs that motivate their workforce” **
BUT, normally, public managers are not trained to manage
Rudeness dealing with subordinates as they were not valuable human beings
Have one personality for their staff/another personality for their boss
Example p. 15
Purpose of public organizations Public organization = “inevitable
components of free-market economies” (Downs, 1967)
Thomas Hobbes State of Nature
Politics & Market
Political Hierarchy “Polyarchy” Political authority social control
People willing to stop at red light vs. paying them to do so
Can be clumsy, ineffective, poorly adapted to local circumstances, resistance to change
Market voluntary exchanges Producers
induce customers to engage willingly in exchanges with them
incentive to produce what consumers want, as efficiently as possible
Freedom & flexibility Efficiently use of resources
However, have limited capacity in handling certain problems (ex.?) that require government action
Public goods & Free riders tragedy of the common Services that benefit to everyone in society Free-riders get common benefit, let others
pay
Individual incompetence People lack sufficient edu or info to make wise
individual choices in some areas ex. medicines, food safety need government regulations
Externalities/Spillovers Costs that spill over to other people who are
not part of a market exchange (air pollution, water contamination Government intervention (EPA – Environmental Protection Agency)
Government correct problems that economic market creates or unable to address
Monopolies Income redistribution Provide services that are too risky/too
expensive for private competitors to provide (facility for handicaps)
Conservative economists think that market will eventually solves all
these problems Government makes these problems worse
Political Rationales for Government
Maintain law, justice, social organization Maintain individual rights & freedom Provide national security and stability Promote general prosperity Provide direction for the nation & communities Provide services that are not exchanged on
economic markets (but based on general social values, public interest, politically imposed demands of groups (politics)
Meaning and Nature of Public Organizations & Public Management
Public (Latin) peoplePrivate (Latin) set apart from
government as a personal matter
Distinctive Characteristics of public Management
Environmental Factors Organization-Environment Transactions Organizational Roles, Structures, and
Processes
Environmental Factors
No economic markets for outputs Depend on governmental funding
No incentives for cost reduction, efficiency, effective performance
Low efficiency allocating resources Weak reflection of consumer preferences Weak supply-demand relations Less clear on market indicators and info that
lead to managerial decisions
Heavy formal legal constraints Oversight by legislative branch, executive branch,
courts Constraints on operation procedures Managers have less autonomy in making choices Leading to more and more formal administrative
controls External formal authorities involved
Intensive external political influences Bargaining, negotiating, lobbying, public opinion,
interest groups, constituent pressure Need political support
Rules and regulations in public sector Not designed for rapid and effective
operation
But to combat fraud and improper political influences
If rules and regulations are ignored media & public will suspect fraud or corruption
Fishbowl atmosphere always negative image of public manager
Organization-Environment Transactions Production of public goods Handle externalities Outputs are not transferable to economic market
at a market price Gov activities are coercive, monopolistic,
unavoidable, unique sanctioning power Financing of activities are mandatory Activities have broader impact and greater
symbolic significance Involve public interest Pressure on public managers Expectation of fairness, responsiveness, honesty,
transparency, and accountability
Org roles, structures, and processes Unclear goals
Vagueness, intangibility, hard to measure goals and performance criteria
Debatable & value-laden goal (clean envi, public safety, better living standards for the poor, etc)
Multi goals Efficiency, accountability, transparency,
responsiveness Fairness, equality, distribution, moral correctness
Conflicting goals Involve trade-off (due to limited resources) Value conflicting
Efficiency vs. transparency Efficiency vs. social equality Efficiency vs. accountability
More political roles More meetings with external interest groups
and political authorities More skill on balancing external political
relations with internal management functions Weaker authority over subordinates (due to
institutional constraints, ex. civil service personnel system, purchasing & procurement systems
Turnover of top executive leaders (elections, political appointments
Structure More red-tape, elaborate bureaucratic structure More constraints on administration
Environment of Public Organizations “public organizations tend to be subject
to more directions and interventions from political actors and authorities who seek to direct and control them”
Public manager ability to analyze and monitor their environment
General Environmental Conditions
Technological conditions knowledge and capability in sciences, etc
Legal conditions law, regulations, legal procedures, court decisions
Political conditions political process, institution, and forms of government in a given society capitalism, socialism, communism, electoral outcomes, political party system
Economic conditions prosperity, inflation, interest rates, tax rates, labor, capital, economic market
Demographic conditions age, gender, race, religion, ethnic
Ecological conditions physical envi, climate, pollution, natural resources
Cultural Conditions predominant values, attitudes, beliefs, social customs, socialization process, family structure, work orientation
Examples of Political and Institutional Environments of Public Organizations
General values Political & economic traditions Constitution provisions (ex. democratic
elections and representation/ unitary state/ fused power, etc.)
Values & performance criteria for government orgs
Efficiency Effectiveness Timeliness Reliability Reasonableness Accountability Legality Responsiveness to rule of law Responsiveness to public demands Ethical standards Fairness, equal treatment Openness to criticism
Institutions & actors with political authority & influence
Chief Executive Legislatures Courts Other governmental agencies Other levels of government Interest groups (client groups, constituency
groups Professional associations News/media Public opinion Individual citizens with requests for services
Conflicting values Challenges to public managers
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