Introduction
Public administration is defined as the systematic and detailed application of the law. The public administrative system can be jeopardized if the politics are allowed to affect the decision-making process. The society expects the best services from the public sector, and hence the importance of ensuring the public administrative system is effective. Public administration is aimed at providing better services to all without discrimination. The bureaucracy in the public sector is a major challenge that has hindered the effectiveness of the public administration system. The objective of the essay is to justify why it is essential to ensure that the public administrative system is effective. The justification will consider Woodrow Wilson and ‘The Blast in Centralia No. 5’ case studies when it comes to public administration.
Public administrative system
The public administrative system has been in the limelight due to the inability to effectively serve the public with the accusation of its inability to work together. Understanding the mandate of each system in the public administration is the initial start point that would ensure the public sector is appreciated. The bureaucracy in the public sector can be positive if every individual in the sector is determined to undertake their responsibility. The obligations given to the public sector are enormous, and that is why enhancing the administration of the sector is crucial to the provision of services to the society. The evaluation of the public administration system is one way of ensuring the personnel in the public sector are responsible enough. The presence of incentives for the administrators, a public-private partnership, and deadlines and outsourcing through contractual responsibilities would ensure that the sector is managed well.
The society has also hindered effective public administration through ignoring the inequalities and the poor performance of the administrators. The only way these issues reach the respective authority is when avoidable incidents happen. At that time, the relevant authorities are exposed due to the presence of loopholes that could have been fixed to avoid the death or accidents. The public administrative system can be effective if the necessary steps are taken. In the departments that require sharing of information or communication, the presence of a common database that reflects the activities of each department is essential to ensure the right informed decisions are made.
Woodrow Wilson is regarded as the founder of the public administration after he proposed the need to separate the politics from the public administration. Wilson observed that politics deals with the formulation of policies while public administration deals with the implementation of the policies. Wilson argues that if the two disciplines are mixed then there will be overlapping confusion, inefficiency and unstable administration. Wilson states that politics does not have all answers to questions of administration hence the need to ensure that the administration is politically neutral and technically competent. A distinction between the politics and administration should be imminent in any public setting to ensure that none of the institutions or organizations is viewed politically.
‘The Blast in Centralia No. 5’ was not meant to happen but the relevant authority responsible for the mitigating the incident failed to take action. The miners had complained about the issue of safety while in the mines, but the Illinois Department, which had the authority to act on the issue, failed to do so hence the death of 111 miners. The Fed. 1 Bureau could have acted on the issue but lacked the power to enforce the safety compliance issue. The bureaucracy imminent within the public administration resulted in the lack of compliance with the set policies hence the absence of any administrator to act on the safety issue raised.
Justification of an effective public administrative system
Efficiency in the public administration system is one sure way that would guarantee the society a better life. Acting on a matter that has raised concern among the members of the society is the obligation of the public administrators. To effectively and efficiently ensure quick response to these issues is through the introduction of policies that bring to book those administrators who fail in implementing their responsibilities. Communication within the public administration and ethical as well as professional practices should guide the administrators in their service to the society. The administrators are trained for the jobs they undertake, and it is quite ethical for them to ensure that they undertake their obligation in the expected manner. The presence of effective public administrative system will assist in reducing bureaucracy in public administration hence enabling the administrators to respond to societal needs promptly. An integrated and coordinated administrative system would help in the provision of efficient services to the public, which is the obligation of the administrators.
Conclusion
An effective public administrative system would assist in the efficient provision of services to the society hence eliminating situations or incidences that can be avoided. The bureaucratic nature of the public administrative system is essential to solving societal problems and eliminating it would lead to poor services to the people. Each department within the public sector has its mandate and working together for the benefit of the society is essential. The application of the Weber's Organizational theory and the inclusion of coordination and integration of departments is a sure way to ensure that the public administrative system is effective.
Reference
Stillman, R. J. (2010). Public Administration: Concepts and cases. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
