Developing and Effectuating Government Policies Essay

Introduction

Public administration is the study, development, and effectuation of the different subdivisions of government policies. Public administration goals involve quest for public good by improving public service that encompasses civil society. Civil servants are the key players in public administration whereby, they run all activities from data collection and analysis, through legislation to execution of government activities.

Research Methods

There is different research methods applied in public administration including applied and pure research. Pure research, also known as fundamental research involves carrying out research to improve knowledge on some given basic issues. Elementary, basic research is involved in rebutting existing theories.

On the other hand, applied research uses established theories and available information to study a given case to establish certain purpose. Literature review sets in here whereby researchers read the available literature on a given subject to draw as many points as possible addressing the question under study.

On the other hand, McNabb (2002) posits that, “Research is exploratory when you use no earlier model as a basis of your study” (p. 23). This research method is useful where there is earlier research on the subject under study.

Hawthorne effect is also a research methodology whereby “subjects improve an aspect of their behavior being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied, not in response to any particular experimental manipulation” (McNabb, 2002, p. 26).

Finally, research methodologies apply both dependent and independent variables. Independent variables are present at the start of study whilst dependent variables result from the study process and they depend on the independent ones.

Public Policy Analysis

Public policy analysis is “determining which of various alternative policies will most achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals” (Knoepfel, Larrue & Varone, 2007, p. 4). Policy makers have to write a scenario whereby they postulate futuristic occurrences in future and plan for them now.

After coming up with a futuristic scenario, policy makers now consider satisfying versus optimizing. Here they ‘suffice’ a situation by seeking to meet a given standards for sufficiency reasons as opposed to looking for an optimal solution in the optimization process.

Satisfying ties closely to bounded rationality whereby after failing to come up with an optimal solution, policy makers they apply bonded rationality to employ their reason only after having greatly modified the available choices. Eventually, they carry out cost-benefit analysis to establish how their planned proposal will turn out if implemented.

This involves adding all merits and subtracting all demerits and the difference points out whether a proposal is viable or not. A positive difference signifies a viable proposal whilst a negative balance signifies a null proposal. A well-quantified cost-benefit analysis is a clear indicator of how successful a policy would be if implemented.

After this period, policy makers look for opportunities when the probability of adopting the new policies is high usually above normal chances. According to Knoepfel, Larrue and Varone (2007), these opportunities are called policy windows (p. 18). If policy makers identify a policy window, they seize it and embark on policy implementation process.

This process involves putting to action the developed policy through the appropriate agencies to target groups. The crucial part of policy implementation is the transaction phase for it contributes largely to success or failure of any policy. Policy makers hand over to implementers; however, there has to be a feedback system for monitoring purposes.

Public Personnel Management

According to Klingner and Nalbandian (2002), public personnel management involves “public personnel and personnel administration whereby, public personnel are the employees of federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies” (p. 13). Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) deals with ensuring people get public service jobs on merit without favoritism.

Part of EEOC is to carry out performance appraisals to retain competent workers through analyzing quality performance. Corresponding managers carry out these appraisals but they are governed by EEOC stipulations. Generally, employees air their views through collective bargaining systems whereby they use trade unions to lobby for some bargaining like payment increment.

Public personnel management also involves unemployment compensation that seeks to give newly employed workers partial wages and to stabilize economy during rough economic times like recession time. Even though the U.S. Department of Labor Laws has the mandate to supervise these compensations, Klingner and Nalbandian (2002) states that different States run their independent programs.

Sometimes back, public administration managers tried to adopt the theory of scientific management theory, which states that, “workers should be paid according to the amount of production” (Klingener & Nalbandian, 2002, p. 37). However, this was rejected after realizing it was counterproductive.

In case a worker is injured, he or she is compensated through workers’ compensation systems that “provides compensation medical care for employees who are injured in the course of employment, in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee’s right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence” (Klingner & Nalbandian, 2002, p. 29). The compensation procedures here depend on worker-employer agreement.

Administrative law

Administrative law deals with disputing official power with heavy political influences. “Administrative law is concerned with defining the powers of the state, protecting, limiting the rights, and liberties of citizens” (Head, 2005, p. 1). Administrative law checks issues like misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance.

According to Head (2005), nonfeasance occurs when an employee fails to do work after realizing that, he or she has to do some duties not stipulated in contract (p. 16). Instead of absconding duties, an employee may decide to do them poorly, a situation known as malfeasance. Reasons for malfeasance vary.

For instance, workers may do work poorly to protest appointment of a manager they are not interested in. On the other side, misfeasance is “an action against the holder of a public office, alleging in essence that the office-holder has misused or abused his or her power” (Head, 2005, p. 23). Administrative law deals with all these forms of conducts.

Administrative laws encompass other laws as sunshine laws that allow individuals to access information kept by government. These laws postulate legal procedures through which individuals may follow to request and access information held by government. In many cases, to access government held information, one incurs high costs or barred by standard requirements; however, sunshine laws give a way out of this stalemate.

Decisions made by government agencies are subject to judicial review for the protection of bill of rights and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) governs this. Administrative law seeks to enhance accountability in public service through Ethics in Government Act.

This act requires upper level members of executive, legislature, and judiciary to give an annual account for the money earned in a year citing all the sources. Through this practice, corruption in public service is reduced to minimum levels if not levels.

Organizational Theory

Organizational theory is “is the study of organizations for the benefit of identifying common themes for the purpose of solving problems, maximizing efficiency and productivity, and meeting he needs of stakeholders” (Barzilai, 2007). Organizational culture plays a key role the success of an organization.

According to Barzilai (2007), organizational culture is “the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization.” This culture comes with organizational values that define set strategies to achieve organization’s goal.

Communication in any organization forms the backbone of smooth running. However, communication barriers like assumptions hinder smooth flow of information and may affect running of an organization. Employers should learn to overcome these barriers and one of the ways to do so is through three-dimensional communication. This implies that information will flow upward, downwards and laterally to eliminate any form of assumption hence overcoming the barriers and improving overall communication for improved productivity.

Workers need motivation; this is achieved through applying McGregor’s Theory X, and Y. Theory X involves giving workers incentives to boost their morale in work while Theory Y involves creating good environment for ambitious workers to develop their abilities. In organization, social networks improve productivity just like human capital like education.

These social networks define social capital and organizations emphasize on it the same way they emphasize on college education, which defines human capital. Finally, working in informal groups enhance organization’s performance by bringing diversity together to achieve a common goal; group work prevents collapse incase a key worker resigns from a given department.

Ethics

Ethics in public administration addresses the issue of morality, dealing with concepts such as “good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue” (Sheeran, 1993, p. 1). In public administration, ethics are outlined in a code commonly known as code of ethics that governs conduct in work place. Code of ethics seeks to achieve several goals at administration and public levels.

Ethics in work place call for workers to have moral responsibility and do what they are obliged to do. By adopting such responsibility, organizations are run smoothly because workers know what to do. In public service, workers have different rights to ensure that ethics are upheld in work place.

For instance, contractual rights allow workers to highlight their claims to their principals for it lobbies for mutual understanding between employers and employees. Sheeran (1993) observes that contractual rights resonate with the golden rule that, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (p. 6). It is mutual understanding between two parties.

Public administrators come across both positive and negative rights whereby, the former describes the rights to take action whilst the latter describes the rights to take inaction. These rights may result from cognitive dissonance whereby individuals do not clearly know what ideas to uphold and which to discard.

Therefore, in a bid to cover this indecisiveness and inconsistency in beliefs, they may exercise positive or negative rights leading to action or inaction. Nevertheless, it is important to note that, exercising positive or negative rights does not emerge necessarily from cognitive dissonance. It may result from a genuine call in cases where workers feel any form of violation.

However, regardless of the motive behind action, whether it is a genuine one or not, workers have moral rights that permit them to air their views and call for integrity in work place. Moral rights may also entail inalienable rights not governed by the law.

Governmental Budgeting

According to Keith (2008), government budgeting is “the critical exercise of allocating revenues and borrowed funds to attain the economic and social goals of a country” (p. 4). Governmental spending sometimes involves discretionary spending which gives planners the option of making choices on whether to spend or not. Planners also opt to give tax deferrals enabling a taxpayer to pay his or her taxes in the future.

This form of tax payment is cheaper than paying tax now. Sometimes the deferral maybe indefinite meaning the taxpayer will never pay for the same. In the process of governmental budgeting, planners apportion finances to different projects that are projected in the fiscal plan. This is to ensure that the available finances are apportioned well and spread over all departments and sectors to avoid misappropriation.

In some cases, government planners resort to zero-based budgeting whereby, “planning and decision-making which reverses the working process of traditional budgeting” (Keith, 2008, p. 21). In traditional budgeting, departmental heads seek to rationalize why the current budget should allocate more funds to their departments than the previous budget.

However, in zero-based budgeting, all spending in every department is comprehensively reviewed to approve spending. To approve spending, managers are not allowed to refer previous spending; on the contrary, they are expected to justify spending from a zero-base.

To ensure that departments run smoothly, managers use balanced scorecard (BSC), “a strategic performance management tool – a semi-standard structured report supported by proven design methods and automation tools that can be used by managers to keep track of the execution of activities by staff within their control and monitor the consequences arising from these actions” (Keith, 2008, p. 36).

Government planners have to consider spillover effect, that is, the benefits that come with establishment of multilateral alliances with different states.

Conclusion

Public administration entails several processes aimed at development and effectuation of the different subdivisions of government policies. There are different branches involved in public administrations as discussed above.

Each branch plays a key role towards achieving the goals of public administration that include push for public good by improving public service. Public administration marries governmental issues with public interests to create smooth running of a country. Public service workers play a key role in the running of any government at any one given time.

Reference List

Barzilai, K. (2007). Organizational Theory. Web.

Head, M. (2005). Administrative Law: Context and Critique. 2^nd ed. Sydney; The Federation Press.

Keith, R. (2008). Introduction to The Federal Budget Process. Web.

Klingener, D., & Nalbandian, J. (2002). Public Personnel Management: Contexts and Strategies. 5^th Ed. New York; Prentice Hall.

Knoepfel, P., Larrue, C., & Varone, F. (2007). Public Policy Analysis. Bristol; The policy Press.

Mcnabb, D. (2002). Research Methods in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management. New York; M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

Sheeran, P. (1993). Ethics in Public Administration: A Philosophical Approach. West Port; Praeger Publishers.