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Individualist WayDM 224-WY

Submitted by:Collado, Ma. Helen Grace H.

Ebora, Jonas Erik L.Escobin, Ricardo P.Javier, Marielle E.

One of the approaches to Public Management is the Individualist Way. According to Hood, itinvolves apathy to collectivism and a preference for handling every transaction by trading ornegotiation rather than by preset rules. It is a low gr id, low group style that employs anatomized approach to organization stressing negotiation and bargaining.

Such style or typology illuminates casual connections between the substantive types andphenomena outside it. Hood differentiated the Individualist Way from other styles bycomparison with respect to beliefs about the causes of organizational failure. For example, anindi vidualist tends to control through competition, and works on the concept of choicism. Onthe other hand, an individualist tends to blame faulty incentive structures and proposemarket -like mechanisms, competition and leagues. Moreover, there is the exi stence ofinformation to support choice. However, it must be noted that its characteristic Achilles heel isthe tendency to prioritize individual interest over collective benefit.

This style is said to have originated from the assumption that the world is populated byrational egoists who are bent on outsmarting one another to get something for nothing.

Rivalry and competition are key characteristics of how the individualist views publicmanagement.

In its application, the individualist style embodies four basic propositions which contradict theunderlying assumptions of hierarchism and of the egalitarian, which are as follows:

1. The state is not automatically the apex of the state;2. Rulers tend to look after themselves at the expense of the ruled unless institutions and

incentive structures are very carefully engineered;3. Markets will ordinarily produce better results than bureaucratic hierarchies; and4. Pig principle the assumption that human beings, from the highest to lowest, are

inherently rational, calculative, opportunistic and self-seeking.

In public management, material incentive structures are central and crucial for individualists.Hood emphasized the assumption that if you want to change or improve the performance ofindividuals in organizations , go for the bottom line, which is to find out what and how they arepaid, and also their pattern of rewards.

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On a more realistic application of the individualist style, certain organizations indeed employ areward and incentive system to encourage their employees to achieve targets and eventuallyexceed expectations. For example, one agrochemical company encourages its employees not

just to achieve quota, but also exceed them. Public organizations, on the other hand, require itsemployees first to identify target accomplishments, and at the end of each fiscal year, use

indicators to gauge their performance and later on identify their overall rating.

Both of these cases lead to their company or agencies rewarding positive results, increasingtheir efficiency and productivity.