Managing And Running A Public Agency

HEADER: PAD709 BOOK REVIEW 1 Book Review Maynard-Moody, S., & Musheno, M. (2009). Cops, Teachers, Counselors: Stories from the front lines of public service. Riccucci, N. (2005). How management matters: Street-level bureaucrats and welfare reform. Key Findings

"Classical Organizational Theory deals with the 'systematic processes necessary to make bureaucracy more efficient and effective.' Name three scholars that are credited with the development of classical organization thought that most correctly fit into this definition of Classical Organizational Theory. What were the basic arguments articulated by each in their contributions to the development of Classical Organizational Theory?"

The management of an organization plays an integral part in determining the direction and performance of the organization. The manner in which the management of an organization is handled has a profound effect on the organization. The success of an organization is dependent upon a flexible and skilled management and workforce. The management of an organization is responsible for shaping up the organizational behavior and ultimately the culture within the organization. Public management faces a multiple of challenges and opportunities, how the management deals with these issues translates to efficiency in management. The personal judgments and skills of public managers can make a significant impact in public management. If

One way to see public administration in action is by attending a city council meeting, whether it be in an urban or rural area, public administration still has a part in each event. As Kettl (2018; p. 244) referenced in his book, there is not a civil system that would be sustainable without strong leadership. This paper will discuss the author’s description, observation, and reflection during a city council meeting.

Bureaucrat is a dirty word to some people in modern society, so how can a bureaucracy be a good thing? Many Public Administration theorist, argue that bureaucracy is essential to the growth and expansion of the United States. Most of the criticism of the bureaucracy within the government is based on myth versus reality. Federal agencies play a critical and a valuable role within society and are indispensable to the operations of the federal government. Bureaucracy can be simply defined as the system in which decision are made by Public Administrators rather than elected officials (legislator) within the government. However, when the average citizen of just says the single word bureaucracy thoughts and images of evoked over how negative

The four departments of the Missouri state agencies, DSS, DESE, DMH, and DH, all relied on an authority of the director to implement initiatives and ensuring the actions aligned with the goals of the organization. The rules and policies of the departments were in place to "limit individual discretion and help ensure that behavior is predictable and consistent" (Bolman & Deal, 2013, pg. 52). Problems can occur though when rules and policies do not coordinate with those of other departments, such as the case with clients having to fill out the same paperwork for multiple state

In Understanding and Managing Public organizations, Hal G. Rainey states, “Blurring of the sectors” (Rainey,2014, pg. 57). Rainey basically says that private, public and nonprofit organizations are interweaved. Many public agencies are similar to private agencies. Private, public organizations provide services and goods within the United States and around the world. These agencies are mostly owned and operated by the government or public sector. These public sectors or government agencies provide loans to college students, people who want to buy a home, and farmers who own farms and banks. These organizations are owned and guided by the government.They operated as a private sector and as a result they generate their own revenue. Rainey

In this analysis we will review a case titled “The Dilemma at the Public Service Department.” We will be discussing different issues, amongst them are: opinions on the honesty, malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance, accountability, competence, and why these particular responsibilities are identified. We will also discuss certain trade-offs made by the commissioner’s loyalty to the department as well as the governor, and public interest. We will also be discussing three barriers when it comes to deciding how the governor will be approached, along with the basic elements that are recommended in strategic management planning.

On the daily basis, the Department of Transportation receives hundreds of letters and e-mails regarding various transportation related issues. However, that is one of the Department of Transportation weaknesses. Therefore, Steve Anderson a middle-level manager with exceptional skills in problem solving was up for the task (Lee, 2002). Moreover, Steve started analyzing the problem that the Department of Transportation had on responding the tremendous amounts of letter and e-mails. Therefore, Steve began implementing new strategies to improve the Department of Transportation responding time. Furthermore, the agency started posting 35 news releases monthly to have the public inform on various types of information regarding transportation issues (Lee, 2002). Likewise, another of the strategies that Steve begin utilizing citizen participation components. The Department of Transportation started using according to Lee (2002), “focus group sessions, conducting surveys, newsletters, and brochures” (p.205). However, despite the Department of Transportation effort the problem would not get resolve due to the lack of community participation. Moreover, as Steve notice that the number of complaints has not diminished significantly, he came to a conclusion. The conclusion that Steve came to is that the root of the problem is the absence of cooperation among different units either inside or outside the agency (Lee, 2002). Further, Steve believes that sometimes the answer to a citizen

To become a public administrator, you must have the ability to work with different people from different background, different age groups, and various economy classes. A Public administrator cannot be biased towards one group of people and turn around and be favorable towards the other. As an administrator, you have to be transparent to everybody that you encounter, even people that you will be working with, and people that you are working for. According to the publication, “Ethical Dilemmas in the Public Service,” by the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management, describes that the ethical issue that government officials face in any organization is nepotism and bias. The reason why this event occurs is that some of the individuals in the public administrative positions are not transparent in the workplace and are also influenced by personal gain.

Like most public agencies, DPSS operates under the elite model of organizational structure. This structure dictates that formal rules and process are followed in order to reach the organization's goals. Therefore, in order to effectively contract out and maintain and effective organization, management must engage in the practice of well-known management principles (POSDCORB). Practicing the principles of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting, management can make sound decisions about the implementation and management of contracts. The effectiveness and efficiency in which the agency is run and the manner in which the contract is managed is grounded in the effective practice of these principles.

Governmental policies and politics play a critical role in the realization of change in a public agency since the policies are developed and implemented at various levels (Dukeshire & Thurlow, 2002). Since these policies may range from formal regulations and legislation to informal guidelines in an agency, understanding them is important in the achievement of change in a public agency. A Public agency basically functions based on the established policies and politics in the government. Therefore, the accomplishment of the change in a public agency requires an increased understanding of the politics and policies of government.

Admittedly, it is important to have an effective government for the growth and development of a nation. Equally, it is important to maintain a democratic government. While there are different ways of understanding what constitutes a democratic government, in public administration, democratic government can be viewed as a government that is responsive to the perspectives of its citizens and exhibit responsibility to the citizens. This can be promoted by the public institutions and public administrators (King, Feltey, & Susel, 1998). They can use various processes to ensure a democratic government including collaborative governance, decision making, citizen participation, administrative reforms, and budgeting. This paper seeks to discuss and analyze the efforts that the public organizations and the public administrators can make with regards to collaborative governance, citizen participation, and decision making to maintain a democratic government.

UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI CHANCELLOR COLLEGE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE STUDIES FROM: GRANT ZIMBA TO: DR TAMBULASI REG NO: PA/04/12 COURSE CODE: PAS111 ASSIGN NO: ONE TITLE: ECOLOGY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DUE DATE: