Question #1:
Chairing a committee is not an easy task though leadership entails doing the right thing (Rosenbloom, et. al., 150).The new responsibilities that I have been granted are quite challenging in the sense that I will be handling individuals with different personalities and views. The issue at hand is also political and emotional in nature thus requires strategic solutions. It is however my responsibility as the chair of the committee to come up with a harmonious group. My concerns are whether my committee members will be cooperative and fully participate in coming up with a sound solution. My other concern is whether the governor and mayor will be satisfied with the amendments that the committee might make on the existing daycare policies.
Question #2:
The committee members will include; care providers for children, specialists in early childhood, parents, pediatrician, and general public members. These members will be on the committee because they are involved with children either directly or indirectly. Childcare providers for instance work with children closely thus understand their needs and how they ought to be handled. These people also understand the complexities and challenges that day care centers face. Parents on the other hand have a say on how they wish their children to be taken care of. They are the ones who incur the cost of raising a child thus are better positioned when it comes to suggesting better ways and means of caring for these children. The pediatrician on the other hand will assist in assessing the physical, mental and social needs of the infants. General members of the public also have a say on how institutions such as day care centers ought to be managed in the community.
Question #3:
Different people have diverse personalities and perceptions regarding life issues (Shafritz & Hyde 72). My views may not be in tandem with the mayor’s views and this is quite normal. My choices may or may not always be right. This also applies to the Mayor. It is not easy to come up with right choices especially if they are personal. It is clear that the Mayor is a great friend of the Governor and hence his decisions will most likely be in favor of his counterpart. Since I am an employee of the Mayor, I will have no choice but to heed to his advice. I will go ahead and make the necessary replacements on my committee list just as the Mayor expects. Since the Mayor strongly suggests that the changes be made and he is not ready to back down, I will go ahead with his decision. Obeying the Mayor’s orders does not mean that I do not have a say in anything. It just means that I am respecting those in authority. At this juncture, I will believe that the mayor is wise enough and knows what is appropriate for his community. Despite the fact that I have handled other projects, this particular one is quite complex such that it involves public figures whose interests are at stake. Replacing the three names might just influence the decision in favor of the mayor and Governors interests which may or may not be necessarily sound.
Question #4:
The committee only has ten members because the process is expected to be fast and active since the issue at hand needs a quick solution. I picked most of the committee members and a few were selected by the Mayor. The committee is heavily weighted with representation from the day care industry because these are the people who are affected directly with the issues facing day care centers and also have first experience with the children and hence understand best want is needed. The instructions that the committee has received are to review the day care center policies and make the necessary changes. The committee plans to address these issues by reviewing the safety requirements, day care staffing qualifications, children supervision, child transportation servicers and procedures and general records for these particular institutions.
Question #5:
The first important step that I will take is to recruit other two members as soon as possible since there is no enough time left and the committee has to commence its duties immediately. I will address the concerns of the grassroots organization by holding a separate meeting with them and discuss the probable cause of their resignation. It will be wise to arrange a separate meeting with the major stakeholders so that they may be briefed on the situation at hand and provide their own views regarding the circumstances.
Question #6:
It is clear that the committee member who keeps on challenging items from previous meetings has particular objectives, which the entire group may not be aware of. I will discuss this matter with the Mayor and find out his position. If the news finds out about the member everything will blow out of proportion since and the committee will lack transparency and accountability which are fundamental aspects in any organization. People will lose faith in the committee and some might even revolt against it especially with the current intense political environment. Leadership and politics are complex realms (Coles 112).
Question #7
It is true that the committee is dragging its feet and this is because of the one member who keeps on revisiting past items every now and then. I will inform the reporters that the committee just found out that one of the committee members was an employee of one of the owners of a day care center and this particular individual has been bringing up past items in every meeting thus wasting a lot of time. I will add that the day care policy committee is nonetheless doing its best to correct the situation since it greatly understands the urgency of the matter. The committee is committed to coming up with quality and lasting solutions. I will assure the reporters that the committee is in its final stages and in no time feedback will be communicated.
Questions #8
It is clear that the committee member who is an employee of one of the owners of a day care center was selected by the governor. However, I will not drag the governor’s name into this since it will create more problems and the reporters will ask more questions. I will therefore inform the reporters that this particular member was essential is unraveling the real picture regarding what exactly happened at that particular day care center and how operations are carried out at that place. The committee will not stop functioning because of this one incident. I will consult the mayor one more time and inform him of the complexity of the matter. I will also try and explain to the member that he is dragging the committee behind and that he needs to adopt to go along with the rest or further action will be taken.
Question #9
The major lessons that I have learnt from the whole process is that handling a group of people with diverse opinions and personalities necessitates a great deal of patience and determination (Elcock 105). In case of a similar situation, I will make sure that I have critically analyzed and evaluated all committee members before accepting them as team members. I will not allow to be caught unawares just like in this particular case.
Question #10:
I believe in accountability therefore I will appear before the legislature as an expert witness. Not appearing before the legislature might render me sly. It is important to understand that nothing or no one is perfect. Daily events and occurrences teach us a lot and the best we can do is learning from these incidents and try our level best not to repeat the same mistakes. Trying out tasks and learning from mistakes makes one a better person than he was. Besides politics is a tough game (Walker 199).
Work Cited
Shafritz, J. M. & Hyde, A. C. Classics of Public Administration, 7th Ed. Boston, MA:
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (ISBN 978-1-111-34274-6), 2002,Print
Rosenbloom, D. H., Kravchuk, R. S., & Clerkin, Richard M. Public Administration
Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector, 7th Ed. New York,
NY: McGraw Hill (ISBN 978-0-07-340389-2). 2009, Print
Elcock, H. J. Political leadership. New York: Edward Elgar, 2001, Print
Walker, S. G. Beliefs and leadership in world politics: methods and applications of operational
code analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2006, Print
Coles, Robert. Political leadership: stories of power and politics from literature and life. New
York: Modern Library. 2005, Print
