Everybody wants to lead a good comfortable life with esteem and peace in the society. People pay taxes to their government and in lieu of that government makes policies and implements them through an operational system. There are a number of officials and executives who look after the needs of the society and implement the policies made by the government. These officials and executives serve the society and people as stewards and they are not the masters. They are believed to serve or help the people and this is why they get all the rights, pay, perks and facilities. They are not supposed to dominate the society or people in any case.
Buddha, indicating towards the behavior of public servants and their conduct towards the society said that “If a public servant neglects his duties, works for his own profit or accepts bribes, it will cause a rapid decay of public morals. People will cheat one another, take advantage of the poor and there will be no justice for anyone”.
These officials and executives are responsible for almost all the needs and services of public and directly affect the life of people. Their behavior should be very humble towards the public and any incident of misbehavior by these officials can create grave negative impacts on the society and government. Their conduct should be role model for the people of society. They should never practice anything in their public life or even in personal life which they do expect other people not to carry out because if any wrong thing, done by them is revealed, they will be unable to find the faith and respect of public.
Public interest is related to welfare of public and this is considered most when the policies are made and implemented by the government or authorities. The concept has no definition of its own but it does not affect the importance of public interest. Public interest is contrary to private interest or a specific group interest and helps or sometimes compels the government to make the policies that are meant to benefit the people. Governments are guided by the public interest and considering this pressure they can not do any thing that is against the interests of public.
Administrative responsibility is related to the behavior of public servants and the expectations of society arising out from their behavior. If the expectations are fulfilled or are according to the behavior then the behavior is said to be responsible but if it is not in accordance with the expectations of the society, the behavior is said to be irresponsible. In a democratic system of government, Administrative responsibility and administrative efficiency both are equally important and there are many thinkers who consider administrative responsibility more important because it serves a larger number of public causes in the government. There are four types of Administrative responsibility recognized by sociologists; these are civil, objective, political and professional responsibility.
A dilemma is a very grave situation in the public administration for the public servants and one should not mistake it as the problems. Problems are easier to solve but dilemma are difficult in the nature. For example, if a public servant is approached by any influential minister of his department to do a favor which is illegal, this would be a dilemma for that official because he can not disobey his minister but he obeys the minister, it would be against the ethical values. Such dilemmas prevent public servants from fulfilling their administrative responsibilities ethical way.
Privatization of government functions means to convert a public sector organization into a private sector institution. In privatization, few or absolute rights are transferred and the people who decide the policies and operations of the organization are replaced from government employees to the private sector people. This practice is not new and many governments are practicing the privatization mode in their countries. It has been observed that in many countries, apathy of public servants is the main reason that compels the governments to take such decision. The privatization is criticized every then and now by the workers union and they often cry about their exploitations by the private employers. Privatization of government has produced both positive and negative results for the people, depending upon the facts and circumstances.
Conclusion
After having observed a detailed analysis it is clear that there are several Issues and Dilemmas in Contemporary Public Administration but there are methods to improve the situation. If Administrative responsibilities are duly performed by the public servants, the problems will be minimized and a better situation can be brought in the society. In a democratic country, the role of public servants is no less than any other thing and this is in the Public interest that these officials should be allowed to work freely but under the provisions of the constitution. For a smooth operation of the democratic system, the role of public servants is very imperative but ethical values should not be compromised in any case.
References
Mr2166. (2011, February 7). Socyberty. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from www.socyberty.com: http://socyberty.com/philosophy/issues-and-dilemmas-of-contemporary-public-administration/
Stillman, R. J. (1996). Public administration: concepts and cases. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
