Introduction
Public administration is concerned with the implementation of government policies and management of the behavior of non-elected officials before they are inaugurated to work in the public service. People who are willing to join the public administration personnel should be competent and well informed. They are required to maintain a high degree of devotion and adherence to the rule of law by setting a good example to the citizens since they bear the responsibility of implementing government policies.
The development of effective pubic administration personnel is paramount to the success of organizations that operate in the public sector. This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of four key components that include employee rights and responsibilities, democracy and bureaucracy, constitutional competence, and ethical competence, which are essential for public administrators.
Employee Rights and Responsibilities
Effective public administration personnel should have diverse knowledge concerning the rights of the labor force. At the outset, employees have a right to a workplace environment that is free from any form of discrimination, harassment, and/or abuse. According to Farazmand (2007), employees should not be discriminated based on personal characteristics such as color, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, and/or disability, among others.
Employees are also entitled to equal employment and promotion opportunities in organizations. This right entitles all employees to enjoy various benefits in the organization equitably. Hiring and placement practices should provide equal grounds for employment to qualified candidates regardless of their race, beliefs, age, and gender, among other factors (Farazmand, 2007).
Furthermore, employees have the right to fair and correct payments. In that manner, they ought to know the terms and conditions concerning salary, allowances, pension recompenses, bonuses, payments for extra work, and performance rewards, among others. Moreover, they should be allowed to discuss their pays with colleagues to identify any differences (Farazmand, 2007). Public administration workers also have a right to correct types of annual, personal, and public holidays among others.
They are entitled to pay off on public or annual holidays. Besides, the employees in the public service have a right to dress and act in ways that adhere to their respective religions. Most importantly, they have a right to work in a safe and healthy environment. This circumstance entitles them to the fair benefits, free safety equipment, proper control of health risks, stopping and leaving work for safety if reasonable risk concerns arise, and rest breaks during working days. Employees should also be free to tell their employers about various health and safety concerns (Klinger, Nalbandian, & Llorens, 2010).
The United Nations Global Combat (UNGC) stipulates ten principles for human rights protection in businesses. The principles are based on labor standards, environment, human rights, and anti-corruption. The central role of the stipulated guidelines is to ensure that business corporations adhere to the protection of human rights during their operations. They agitate for fair employee treatment, workplaces that are free from discrimination and abuses, elimination of forced labor, and supporting and respecting internally proclaimed human rights (Arnold, 2010).
Responsibilities
Employees are charged with a number of responsibilities in the course of work. Their roles include arriving on time and ready to work, wearing the appropriate uniform or style of dress, and carrying out their jobs to the best of their abilities, among others.
Health and Safety Responsibilities
Employees are entitled to a number of occupational health and safety responsibilities. The foremost health and safety responsibility entails taking reasonable care of their wellbeing. Other key responsibilities include protecting other employees by avoiding activities that can pose them to risks in the course of duty. This state of play is also ensure through the proper use of facilities provided for their health safety and welfare, reporting any injuries or unsafe situations in the workplace, and co-operating with the employer to ensure proper training and understanding of the Company’s Health and Safety Policies.
Other responsibilities include adhering to occupational health and safety policies such as lifting items correctly, cleaning up pills, and using equipment such as the protective gear, among others, for the right job. They should also be familiar with their employers’ fire escape and evacuation plans. Employee rights and responsibilities are essential in promoting a healthy workplace environment that underpins successful work outputs. Employee rights guarantee them protection in their course of pubic duties. The responsibilities are driving factors for work as well as guiding principles for ensuring a safe and healthy workplace environment.
Bureaucracy and Democracy
Bureaucracy and democracy are both termed as approaches to providing governance to the society. Bureaucracy can be analyzed from two different perspectives in its applicability in public administration (Peters, 2010). Organizational bureaucracy refers to the rules, regulations, and procedures that must be followed by an organization. Bureaucracy is highly prevalent in public organizations in comparison to private ones.
It is a formal and rational organization of rules, routines, and regulations in an institutional environment. Bureaucratic organizations are governed by the administrative rules, regulations, and procedures that limit the authority of administrators. Any civil service action taken by the bureaucratic administration is legitimate, provided it falls within the limits of the rules governing the organization (Peters, 2010).
In public administration, bureaucracy is viewed as hierarchical and authoritarian (Ionescu, 2011). Organizational rules, regulations, and procedures can be good or bad depending on the way employees perceive them. They are good when employees regard them as satisfactory and consistent. In this case, employees can be either satisfied or dissatisfied with red tape in an organization. For instance, if the rules and regulations imposed by collective bargaining limit the ability of managers to make personal decisions, employees can feel satisfied due to reduced feelings of alienation and exploitation (Ionescu, 2011).
The workers feel satisfied with work because of the favorable rules and regulations. However, employees are dissatisfied with excessive bureaucracy when the imposed rules and routines are exploitative (Peters, 2010). According to Ionescu (2011), bureaucratic quality strengthens corporate development. It is essential for corporate growth in operating competitive environment. Bureaucratic quality also serves as an institutional security for shareholders (Ionescu, 2011).
According to Ionescu (2011), democracy is a governing system in which all the people are involved in decision-making. Supreme power is vested in the people involved in the system who control by electing the representatives of the organization. With democracy, all stakeholders have an active role in determination of the public leadership positions. Organizations are significantly affected by politics and civic life (Ionescu, 2011). Effective democracy is essential for the effective functioning of bureaucracy. In addition, the values of bureaucracy can also be effective for democracy. Therefore, bureaucracy and democracy are deemed complimentary practices (Ionescu, 2011).
Ethical Competence
Competence refers the performance of responsibilities to the required standard based on particular qualifications. This situation implies that an individual must have the required skills and capabilities to conduct duties satisfactorily. However, qualifications do not guarantee work proficiency. Other aspects such as personality, attitudes, and values among others also determine competency (Menzel & Cooper, 2013).
Ethical competence is a learned capability that results from harmonious relationships with the society based on ethical intelligence. Ethical competence builds on emotional competence that relates to with the way people handle themselves and their relationships with others. It can be viewed from three dimensions that include personal, social, and global competence (Menzel & Cooper, 2013). Each dimension is further divided into other components; hence, it is not possible to measure it, but it can be noticed in individuals (Menzel & Cooper, 2013).
Menzel and Cooper (2013) posit that ethical competence is an essential component of public administrators that helps them influence citizens. It is effective for creating a harmonious and peaceful co-existence in the society. Public administrators are policy implementers dealing and interacting with the citizens. Therefore, they should communicate the policies effectively, handle conflicts amicably, and ensure unity of the society, employees, and organizations. However, politically influential coercion does not bring peace and harmony to the society (Menzel & Cooper, 2013).
Constitutional Competence and the Role of the Government in TQM
According to Hahn-Lorber (2010), constitutional competences are stipulated in a statutory setting. Public administration in America is governed by the rule of law and government decisions. Constitutional competence for public administrators is important for promoting general knowledge amongst the members of the civil society. It is also stipulated that the lack of knowledge is not an excuse for infringing the rights of civilians. Therefore, public administrators should be aware of the fundamental rights of citizens that are stipulated in the rule of law (Hahn-Lorber, 2010).
The role of the government in total quality management (TQM) cannot be undermined in public administration. According to Hahn-Lorber (2010), public administrators can face criminal charges due to neglect of their professional responsibilities of protecting citizens. Public administrators take an oath of office that connects them to the government. By taking an oath of office, public administrators make a moral commitment to the constitutional processes that are expressed through their loyalty in administering the roles of government institutions.
It also implies that public administrators will be committed to their responsibilities by being answerable to their personal or official breach of constitutional laws in the course of work (Hahn-Lorber, 2010). Public administrators should be competent individuals who can solve conflicts and tensions professionally. They should integrate the stipulated constitutional laws into their work. Furthermore, they should be creative to resolve issues that arise amicably within the limits of the rule of law (Hahn-Lorber, 2010).
Conclusion
The essay has examined various factors that should be embraced to develop effective public administration personnel. Public administrators are individuals who should demonstrate a high-level of leadership skills. They should be aware of the constitutional laws governing their professional duties, rights, and responsibilities of employees. Public managers should portray high integrity and professional competence. They should set a good example to the people they are leading.
Moreover, they should be well informed and aware of the underlying constitutional laws and regulations for their job. They should also exercise a high degree of job performance inaugurating both ethical and constitutional competencies. The above values are binding factors of a holistic and competent administrative leader.
Reference List
Arnold, D. (2010). Transnational Corporations and the Duty to Respect Basic Human Rights. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(3), 371-399.
Farazmand, A. (2007). Strategic public personnel administration: building and managing capital for the 21st Century. Bloomberg, LP: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Hahn-Lorber, M. (2010). Are There Methods of Reasoning on ‘Meta-Legislation’? The Interpretation of Legislative Competence Norms within the Methodology of European Constitutional Law Methods of Reasoning on ‘Meta-Legislation’ European Law Journal, 16(6), 760-779.
Ionescu, L. (2011). Does Bureaucracy Work In The Public Interest? Economics, Management & Financial Markets, 6(4), 144-149.
Klinger, D., Nalbandian, J., & Llorens, J. (2010). Public Personnel Management: contexts and strategies. New York, NY: Longman.
Peters, B. (2010). Bureaucracy and Democracy. Public Organization Review, 10(3), 209-222.