Since public organizations are state-owned, they can be influenced by political processes. This can create particular difficulties for public managers, who must maintain political neutrality and, above all, be concerned about bringing benefits to the public. To do this, public managers must effectively separate politics from administration, ensuring that their organizations remain transparent, impartial, and accountable to the public. Therefore, this essay will look at some of the management strategies for public organizations that help ensure their effective operation.
The separation of politics and administration is essential to good governance in public organizations. In The study of administration, Woodrow Wilson (1887) stated that administration is a separate field from politics. To effectively manage a public organization, public managers must remain neutral and impartial. Avoiding taking sides or engaging in politics is essential since it could compromise their objectivity or impartiality. In addition, the basic principles and procedures of the organization’s activities must be established (Wilson, 2009). They need to be transparent, consistent, and fair, ensuring they are not affected by political pressure.
Furthermore, public managers must clearly understand their roles and responsibilities to navigate politics and avoid conflicts of interest. It is necessary to provide regular reports and updates to the public and elected officials through established communication channels to demonstrate accountability and transparency. Moreover, coordination and cooperation are essential principles in administration (Wilson, 2009). For this, effective communication between the organization and the elected officials is a necessary factor. This communication implies that managers convey the goals and priorities of the organization to the authorities for joint activities. This approach will help balance the influence of political processes and responsibility to the public.
Thus, managers of public organizations must separate politics from administration. In this way, it is possible to reduce the influence of political processes on the organization’s activities and cooperate with government officials to achieve better results for the public. Furthermore, it is necessary to regularly submit progress reports to maintain transparency in the activities of the public organization. Such an approach to managing public organizations will help balance influencing their activities through politics and providing the necessary services to the public.
Reference
Wilson, W. (2009). The study of administration. In J. M. Shafritz & A. C. Hyde (Eds.), Classics of public administration (pp. 14-26). Cengage Learning.