Criticism is often a harbinger of a change in the mainstream model in science. Many sociologists, political scientists, economists, and historians have actively criticized the central concept of public administration, which is “the rational model of administration,” for several years (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014, p. 170). Three well-formulated ideas highlight the shortcomings of the rational model. The first one is that “the rational model is based on a limited and confining view of human reason” (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014, p. 170). The point of this critical perspective is that because the current accepted organizational theory was developed in an economy- and market-centered society, instrumental and technical rationalities take precedence over democratic morality (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014). Consequently, it leads to the limitation of the scientific and societal views on the role and character of the individual in society to their industrial function and the connivance of their rights and freedoms in decision-making regarding management. In a sense, these inferences are similar to Marx’s claims about capitalism.
The second stance of critique is related to the mechanisms of positive science within the structure of the rational model. Denhardt and Catlaw (2014) describe it as an “incomplete understanding of knowledge acquisition” (p. 170). Due to its set of principles, the methodology of positive science does not allow one to encompass the full diversity of behaviors of human beings and the entire range of their variation. Moreover, this model within organizational theory creates paradoxes related to the conflict between the objective and subjective sides of human experience in the research process. The last major issue of the rational model is the “inadequate link between theory and practice” (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014, p 174). Because of the positive science approach and the theorists’ lack of responsibility, any direct linkage between the theoretical and practical fields exists only in the provision of economic efficiency of administration. As one can see, the main downsides of the rational model are that it is limiting, efficacy-oriented and blind to the subjective aspect of things.
About the New Civic Service
There are two sources from the academic fields of political science, philosophy, and management from which the new public service draws its inspiration. These are democratic political theory and humanistic methods of organizational design and management of private and public institutions (Denhardt & Catlaw, 2014). According to experts, the democratic political theory is “an established subfield of political theory that is primarily concerned with examining the definition and meaning of the concept of democracy” and various aspects of governing in such a socio-political system (Laurence, 2019, para. 1). The dominance of these concepts in the ideological field of the new state service is most likely due to the significant contribution of Western scientific communities to the theory of public administration.
Citizenship, viewed alternatively and more broadly by a citizen, helps a society restore democratic citizenship and build a new public service by motivating community members to become sharing systemic actors. By developing knowledge about political institutions, systems, and social ties and improving their democratic morals, people strengthen their personal and collective self-rule and self-governance (Denhardt and Catlaw, 2014). The community’s contribution lies in the formation and participation of civil societies (Denhardt and Catlaw, 2014). These are such societal associations as families, sports groups, and clubs (Denhardt and Catlaw, 2014). They provide a unique setting in which the person can achieve personal interests through engagement and communication with other community members.
References
Denhardt, R. B., & Catlaw, T. J. (2014). Theories of public organization (7th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Laurence, M. (2019). Democratic theory. Oxford Bibliographies. Web.