QUESTION ONE:
Significance of Public administration
This paper provides a critical reflection of the significance of effective public administration structures within the society. The content is developed from the aspects incorporated in “the blast in Centralia”. It is pertinent to note that public administration is a multidimensional aspect that is influenced by many stakeholders.
Some of the concepts articulated include decision making processes, management, as well as implementation process. This is discussed within the context of multiple social, economic as well as economic changes. Within the present day society context public administration is influenced by both the public and the private sector. This is unlike in the early days when the public sector was the only player in the public administration. Many decades ago in 1947 when the blast of Centralia happened the public administration concept was different from the present day concept. However, there are multiple lessons we can draw from the incident and apply them in the present day scenario. The blast had enormous implication to the families of the more that 110 miners who lost their lives. Friends and relatives of those who lost their lives as well as the injured suffered significantly. The events preceding the blast paint a picture of ineffective public administration structures within the relevant government agencies and departments. The robustness as well as the effectiveness of a public administration can be determined by different internal characteristics of public administration. Moreover administrators bearing the most significant responsibility must have adequate experience and knowledge to succeed in their functions. It is pertinent to note that just before the blast safety officers from the relevant government agencies had visited the mine and indicated that it was non complaint to different safety standards they went ahead to indicate that the safety levels were wanting. However, the officials did not do anything that would be instrumental in preventing the disaster in waiting at the mine.
The science of administration seeks to explain the optimal methods of scientific administrative practices. The decision to take no action against the mine operators can be termed as ignorance on their part. Moreover, the inability of the public administration officers to effectively enforce regulations established to protect the interest of the public is a clear indication of a failed system. On the other hand the company managing the mine was keen on making more profits at the expense of the safety of its employees. The hazardous environment the miners were working in was a risk to their life’s as well as the sustainability of the business.
Another party that had a role to play in enforcement of the safety standard of the mine was the mine unions. The union represent the public opinion and once the public opinion principle is embraced there is slow reform. The union might have been compromised and ignored the deteriorating working conditions of its members. The union is expected to proactively propose solutions that solve the problems encountered by its members. Accountability and transparency in a public administration system are instrumental in ensuring the interests of the public are reflected in different decisions across the public and private sectors. In the case of the Centralia blast, the state of Illinois officials should be held a countable for every decision they make.
Transparency in enforcing regulations could have easily engaged private sector and other stakeholders in coming up with regulations that are comfortable for everyone. On the other hand the management of the company operating the mine should be held responsible for their actions. The local governments play significant role in ensuring that the public administration system is effective and strong. The decentralization of legislation and enforcement is critical in solving unique problems faced across different geographical areas. For example the state of Illinois safety department was responsible for ensuring full compliance of the safety standards within mines. Another aspect that is key in public administration is the economic and political environments. These two have a key role in the legislative or policy direction to be taken within a specific jurisdiction.
Implementation of checks and balances across different government agencies and arms is instrumental in ensuring an effective public administration system. The executive arm of the government responsible for enforcement and implementation of policies should be continually checked to ensure that there is no abuse of authority. The principles of separation of powers are also key in successful exercise of government authority. Public administration activities seek to protect the interests of the society.
Personal observation and conclusion
Any public administration system should be structured in a manner that ensures that the rights of the disadvantaged as well as the minority are protected. In the blast incidence the workers were the disadvantaged and their voices could not be heard since their unions might have been compromised by the management. Protective measures in areas such as security, fire and other disaster events should be incorporated in public admiration structures. However, to ensure that these protective measures and objectives are achieved partnerships between the public and the private sectors must be promoted. These partnerships as well as decentralization help in matching policies with the local reality. Failure or ineffectiveness of many public administration systems has been attributed to practical limitations when they are drafted by armchair decision makers who are not in touch with the reality on ground. However, to avert this active participation of all stakeholders must be incorporated at all levels of public administration.
Question two
The second section of the paper articulates the formal elements of Weber’s model of bureaucracies and a critical analysis of the different points of view of the model. Weber’s model captures six key principles of bureaucracy.
The first principle is the existence of a formal structure that is hierarchical in nature. The structures allows for a centralized decision making process where each level controls the levels beneath itself. The second principle is that rules are the basis of management. All the functions of management are clearly defined by rules that are developed at the highest level of management. The lower levels are expected to consistently follow the rules defined by management.
The third principle is that an entity should be organized on the basis of functional specialty. This implies that at all levels work should be done by specialists with skills necessary for completion of task. The units created within an entity for ease in management should be defined in-terms of specialty.
The forth principle involves in-focus or up-focus. If an entity’s mission is up focused, it follows that all its activities are aimed at satisfying the interests of the stockholders. On the other hand, an in-focused mission requires a holistic view of all the players within the entity. The activities in such a mission should serve the interest of multiple players.
The fifth principle expects entities to be purposely impersonal. This implies that different customers or employees are treated in an equitable manner. Moreover, individual differences should not be put into consideration when making decisions. Another principle captures the aspect of job placement with regard to technical qualifications. This implies that certificates play a significant role and not performance. This discourages favoritism within an organization but on the other hand inhibits ambition within the entity.
There are multiple attributes of bureaucracies that Weber’s model fails to capture. First the model does not capture the predisposition of staff growth. However, it was later noticed by Parkinson who postulated that the rate of growth of professional staff as well as management can be easily predicted.
The model also fails to recognize to aspect of decentralized ability in many entities in the present day scenario. Moreover, the model does not differentiate between its propositions and defiant ions. The model further fails to capture the practical application of bureaucracy in a democratic environment. This implies that bureaucracy is highly limited in a representative government. In the present day society the need to accommodate a high level of flexibility is eminent. Moreover, administrators find it hard to completely fit into the hierarchy based structure.
Weber’s model has several shortcomings that make some of its conclusions in-accurate. However, the model is comprehensive enough to be applied within any entity with small modifications. There are multiple differences between the present day administration demand and the demands when the model was developed. The changes that have happened in the political environment demand that models such as the Weber model are readjusted to suit present day complex problems. The challenges are in determining the areas to be restructured. Moreover, the model encourages a tense relationship with any democratic entity. It also dehumanizes individuals and makes them artificial elements of an organization. The contradiction of bureaucratic principles with multiple democratic norms creates a significant resistance to adoption.
Critics of the Weber model have indicated that the model perpetuates its own destruction. This is contained in the irrational limitations postulated by the model. The model presents an ideal scenario where everything is formalized. This is a key inaccuracy since in every economic or political environment there are multiple informal activities.
Personal observations
It is pertinent to note that the usefulness of the model transcends both the public and private sectors. However, the idealistic model of bureaucracy presented by Weber seems perfect at first glance of the principle. However, the practical implementation becomes a challenge following the key principles outlined in the model. Public performance within an administrative setting is a pertinent consideration that the model ignores. There is a need to meet the social as well as the political needs of individuals within an entity. Once these needs are consistently ignored then it becomes challenging to create a harmoniously working entity. As a result of these issues the ideal model becomes hard to implement across board. Another key impediment of bureaucracies as described in Weber’s model is their unresponsiveness to public opinion. Moreover, they are hard to control in instances where rapid initiatives are necessary. This makes bureaucratic entities to be perceived as distant from reality. The effective application of the model requires concentrated effort to ensure that some aspects are customized to suit the scenario. Another critical misgiving of the model is the ignorance of the role informal organizations in formal context. Some of the informal elements that are critical to the success of an entity include but not limited to leadership, human interrelationship as well as motivation. Human character as well as identity is ignored and they play a significant role in achievement of organizations objectives.
