CHALLENGE OF EFFECTIVE PUBLIC MANAGEMENT

By

Chandra-nuj Mahakanjana, Ph.D.

GSPA, NIDA

9/11 Weakness in the way agencies were

organized and managed Organization and managerial problem

inadequate communication and handling crucial info

More authority & responsibility to Dept. of homeland security

Go against the trend of anti gov. movement

Resentment of taxes and ineffective government performance

Politicians attack Bureaucracy Red tape

Both government & private activities have strengths and weaknesses

Both are still very crucial for its existence

Challenge designing the mix and balance of the two while attaining effective management of both

Dilemmas of improving public management

Improving Reform Negative, control-oriented Damage public service at the end

Image problem

Bumbling bureaucrat (stereotype by media & politicians)

Inept bureaucrat national economy Too simple ignore the benefit of

government programs in economic growth (ex. infrastructure)

Social security program more opportunity for young generation (not having to take care of their parents)

causes 1) Bureaucrat bashing by the media &

politicians easy to do and draw more attention than trying to explain how complex their situation is Public policy process is so complicated and

involve trade-off (usually not notice by the media)

2) Bureaucrat avoiding choices Using vague language to avoid choices Making choices draw criticism (both from

internal & public in general)

3) Extreme Formality (red tape) Rely on written communication Focus on accountability Habit Leads to in effective and costly management

practices negative image

4) Public managers lack of control over goal setting (unlike those in private sector)

Private sector BOD is controlled or related to org managers

Public sector BOD = elected legislators and executives )who are more focusing on their political popularity more than organizational performance

Political interests always change without much warning

Successful public managers = 1) adjust programs rapidly, 2) foresee changes in policy direction, 3) build org capacity for change

สู�ตรแห่�งความล้�มเห่ล้ว 1) Negative image Bureaucrats’ self perception

negative thinking psychology of failure Ex. Roper family (p.5) self-defeated = define ‘success’ as ‘the absence of

failure’ Low expectations Ignore sense of vision Make fun of those who are ambitious Same manager in private sector fired In public sector impossible to fire hard to measure

performance objectively Hard to measure ‘success’ (unlike balance sheet in

private sector

2) Letting the constraint constrain you Accept problems and obstacles (instead of

searching for solutions) explanation for nonperformance

Give up easily Due to the love-hate relationship with

government (need government to do things ‘for’ them but not ‘to’ them)

3) Allowing caution to become inertia

Caution paralysis New projects are abandon once tentative

negative signals are received (ex. some other powerful public orgs do not favor the project proposal

Ex. Internet & USPS (p. 10) Emphasize ‘process’ over ‘product’ Standard operation procedures (SOP)

4) Hiding behind ambiguity Use of unclear language Ex. disturbed man Hide their actions behind unclear phases, passive

voice, refuse to agree to logical conclusions To prevent outsiders from understanding who is doing

what to whom!! To hide poor or nonexistent performance (using vague

statement of goals, unclear assignments of responsibility)

Create impression that they are achieving goals while actually achieving very little

Focus on image more than actual performance Ex. preventive-retaliatory = invasion Ex. revenue enhancements = tax increases

5) Forgetting that people matter

Forgetting that org = people people count

Effective Management = art of getting people to do the right things obtain resources to create incentives to achieve org goals

Org as organic entities (living, breathing, being) = organism need nourishment from envi

Public managers usually ignore this essential concept forgetting to interact and communicate with people who work for them deal with staff as abstractions productivity impaired org lost ability to attract resources from its envi

** “Effective public manager must understand the psychological, economic, and social needs that motivate their workforce” **

BUT, normally, public managers are not trained to manage

Rudeness dealing with subordinates as they were not valuable human beings

Have one personality for their staff/another personality for their boss

Example p. 15

Purpose of public organizations Public organization = “inevitable

components of free-market economies” (Downs, 1967)

Thomas Hobbes State of Nature

Politics & Market

Political Hierarchy “Polyarchy” Political authority social control

People willing to stop at red light vs. paying them to do so

Can be clumsy, ineffective, poorly adapted to local circumstances, resistance to change

Market voluntary exchanges Producers

induce customers to engage willingly in exchanges with them

incentive to produce what consumers want, as efficiently as possible

Freedom & flexibility Efficiently use of resources

However, have limited capacity in handling certain problems (ex.?) that require government action

Public goods & Free riders tragedy of the common Services that benefit to everyone in society Free-riders get common benefit, let others

pay

Individual incompetence People lack sufficient edu or info to make wise

individual choices in some areas ex. medicines, food safety need government regulations

Externalities/Spillovers Costs that spill over to other people who are

not part of a market exchange (air pollution, water contamination Government intervention (EPA – Environmental Protection Agency)

Government correct problems that economic market creates or unable to address

Monopolies Income redistribution Provide services that are too risky/too

expensive for private competitors to provide (facility for handicaps)

Conservative economists think that market will eventually solves all

these problems Government makes these problems worse

Political Rationales for Government

Maintain law, justice, social organization Maintain individual rights & freedom Provide national security and stability Promote general prosperity Provide direction for the nation & communities Provide services that are not exchanged on

economic markets (but based on general social values, public interest, politically imposed demands of groups (politics)

Meaning and Nature of Public Organizations & Public Management

Public (Latin) peoplePrivate (Latin) set apart from

government as a personal matter

Distinctive Characteristics of public Management

Environmental Factors Organization-Environment Transactions Organizational Roles, Structures, and

Processes

Environmental Factors

No economic markets for outputs Depend on governmental funding

No incentives for cost reduction, efficiency, effective performance

Low efficiency allocating resources Weak reflection of consumer preferences Weak supply-demand relations Less clear on market indicators and info that

lead to managerial decisions

Heavy formal legal constraints Oversight by legislative branch, executive branch,

courts Constraints on operation procedures Managers have less autonomy in making choices Leading to more and more formal administrative

controls External formal authorities involved

Intensive external political influences Bargaining, negotiating, lobbying, public opinion,

interest groups, constituent pressure Need political support

Rules and regulations in public sector Not designed for rapid and effective

operation

But to combat fraud and improper political influences

If rules and regulations are ignored media & public will suspect fraud or corruption

Fishbowl atmosphere always negative image of public manager

Organization-Environment Transactions Production of public goods Handle externalities Outputs are not transferable to economic market

at a market price Gov activities are coercive, monopolistic,

unavoidable, unique sanctioning power Financing of activities are mandatory Activities have broader impact and greater

symbolic significance Involve public interest Pressure on public managers Expectation of fairness, responsiveness, honesty,

transparency, and accountability

Org roles, structures, and processes Unclear goals

Vagueness, intangibility, hard to measure goals and performance criteria

Debatable & value-laden goal (clean envi, public safety, better living standards for the poor, etc)

Multi goals Efficiency, accountability, transparency,

responsiveness Fairness, equality, distribution, moral correctness

Conflicting goals Involve trade-off (due to limited resources) Value conflicting

Efficiency vs. transparency Efficiency vs. social equality Efficiency vs. accountability

More political roles More meetings with external interest groups

and political authorities More skill on balancing external political

relations with internal management functions Weaker authority over subordinates (due to

institutional constraints, ex. civil service personnel system, purchasing & procurement systems

Turnover of top executive leaders (elections, political appointments

Structure More red-tape, elaborate bureaucratic structure More constraints on administration

Environment of Public Organizations “public organizations tend to be subject

to more directions and interventions from political actors and authorities who seek to direct and control them”

Public manager ability to analyze and monitor their environment

General Environmental Conditions

Technological conditions knowledge and capability in sciences, etc

Legal conditions law, regulations, legal procedures, court decisions

Political conditions political process, institution, and forms of government in a given society capitalism, socialism, communism, electoral outcomes, political party system

Economic conditions prosperity, inflation, interest rates, tax rates, labor, capital, economic market

Demographic conditions age, gender, race, religion, ethnic

Ecological conditions physical envi, climate, pollution, natural resources

Cultural Conditions predominant values, attitudes, beliefs, social customs, socialization process, family structure, work orientation

Examples of Political and Institutional Environments of Public Organizations

General values Political & economic traditions Constitution provisions (ex. democratic

elections and representation/ unitary state/ fused power, etc.)

Values & performance criteria for government orgs

Efficiency Effectiveness Timeliness Reliability Reasonableness Accountability Legality Responsiveness to rule of law Responsiveness to public demands Ethical standards Fairness, equal treatment Openness to criticism

Institutions & actors with political authority & influence

Chief Executive Legislatures Courts Other governmental agencies Other levels of government Interest groups (client groups, constituency

groups Professional associations News/media Public opinion Individual citizens with requests for services

Conflicting values Challenges to public managers