Introduction
Criteria to Evaluate Robertson’s Success/ Failure
William Robertson is a key figure in the American administration office. He has earned himself acclamation from applying distinct qualities in leadership. Being the head of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, Robertson has to involve himself a lot with interacting with the whole community. This interaction with the citizens, especially in decision making and all lines of work defines his leadership success (Erick & Nancy, 2006). Robertson stands out to be a public leader-“a man of the people’’ his work include daily interactions with different kinds of people and he manages to cope with them. It is evident in some instances where Robertson enters a meeting hall only to find everyone angry, but he makes sure by the end all will be happy.
Another key criteria signifying Robertson’s success is the way he treats his juniors at work. He is entirely involved in mentoring the subordinates thus enhancing their morale to work harder (Cooper & Terry, 2006). He is also engaged in delegation of duties and responsibilities which acts as a training ground for the juniors. When an employee of lower rank is given the mandate to conduct a certain involving task, they feel more valued and this leads to them work exemplary. All these are geared towards the employees’ career advancement in the organization and also as future leaders. Delegation of duties leads to motivation which in turn results to good performance.
The other key skill attributed to the hi-tech success of Robertson is the way he would empathize with fellow service men and women. For instance, in 2005 during the winter, there were heavy rains which resulted to flooding of most of the Los Angeles streets, Robertson worked with his juniors without taking a single day leave. This determination shows the key quality to the success of any CEO (Cooper & Terry, 2006). He never went to stay in the office and supervise the juniors an action which left many awestruck. This and many other factors have led to the high acclamation of this CEO.
Robertson also applies John Gaus’s theorem about environment (Gaus, 2006). During the times of tragedy he responds swiftly and also consoles the victims of the tragedy. This can be seen in the 2005 case of two Bureau Street employees’ murder. He empathized with their relatives and other junior employees (Cooper & Terry, 2006). He understands the rule of leading by example and always to be in the front line. This has effectively helped him in the administration of the Bureau of Streets Services. Many are the people who adore the traits of Robertson and his way of governance which is free of prejudice.
A successful CEO utilizes the power of multiple strategies, Robertson is not an exception. We see him addressing different issues using different strategies unique to the situation. The way he formulates and implements the different strategies also depicts his outstanding qualities of a successful CEO. Strategy formulation and implementation highly relies on the ecology of the organization (Cooper & Terry, 2006). He notes this and bears it in his mind such that all the strategies he comes up with are all in line with the organizational goals and objectives.
The power of manipulation is evident in Robertson’s leadership. He is able to manipulate crowds that are angry to become happy in all the session with them (Erick & Nancy, 2006). His advice to fellow leaders is to embrace this power in their leadership roles so as to become successful. But for one to be good at manipulation they should ensure the group is well informed. Information can be relayed through teaching and advices from the people in the present environment as shown in Robertson’s case. There should be on the job training to enhance the knowledge levels of employees. There should also be mentorship programs designed to fit the employees’ schedule.
Partnership is another key to the success of any would be world class CEO like Robertson (Cooper & Terry, 2006). There is need to involve other stakeholders in the ecology of that particular organization. For instance, if one is involved in garbage collection as a private firm they should partner with the local authorities. This enhances the effectiveness and efficiency in the performance of the work. Some of the partnerships are of great value to the employees’ development and acquisition of skills necessary for work. A partnership is also observed in the way dealing natural disasters that affect the entire community. Robertson’s sense of responsibility has also been an attributing factor to his success as a CEO.
According to John Gaus’ theorem on Public Administration, it calls for one’s independent mindset to rule on factors that affect the decision making process (Gaus, 2006). For instance, in my working as a hospital manager in Saudi Arabia, I highly relate with my juniors which create conducive working environment. I involve myself in decision making. For instance, there was this time a new CT scan machine was urgently needed but the procurement officer said proper procedures should be followed , I overlooked that and ordered the new machine for the safety of our hospital. This trait is evident in the life of Robertson in his undertaking of the various duties at different levels of the economy. It is a trait that helps a CEO to make independent decisions that are free from personal bias and prejudice. The independence of mindset is also clearly depicted in the life and work of a pilot and the flight officers especially in the event of an emergency. For this case of a pilot will be required to make independent decision so as to save the lives of the people on board. The decisions made should also incorporate the junior employees and all other managers so as to realize the goals of an organization. Robertson also attributes his flare success to the educational training he acquired, he never had a chance to attend a formal university but he learned from the interaction with the people around him and more so from his mother. The career one chooses greatly affects their leadership levels (Cooper & Terry, 2006).
Why the Work of Public Officer is more difficult to Assess than in the Private Sector
Being a public officer it calls for one to be transparent and honest in all the dealings when holding the office. The case is very different in the private sector where the level of rules and regulations are somehow lenient. A public officer is to abide by a strict set of rules laid down by the governing bodies which sometimes may prove to be in applicable (Kathi, Praadeen, & Terry, 2005)From the ecology theory and its application to public Administration, it is evident that leaders in the private sector have more freedom to act as compared to their counterpart in the public sector.
In the private sector, a CEO will hardly interact with the public as compared to their colleagues in the public sector. This factor explains why it is difficult to assess the level of performance in the public sector as compared to the private sector. Most of the public sector organizations are governed by the laws set by government which may not have a clause on performance measurement, unlike in the private sector where the management sets out the rules and laws to be followed, thus easy to measure the level of performance. To increase the accountability levels in the public sector, there should be set guidelines to be followed by the management (Cooper & Terry, 2006).
The essence of managerial accountability at the cost of administrative responsibility is another explanation to difficulties in performance measurements. For instance, James Q Wilson in his work on American Public Administration notices the clear distinction of private and public officer. Take the case of a police officer whose main duty/ responsibility is to keep law and order and the resulting outcome is a society with good morals. In the private sector, the workers efficiency in their work is clearly measured by observing the way they follow procedures in all the processes. In my working as the hospital manager in Saudi Arabia, I have encountered problems in evaluating my fellow colleagues. Some of the problems are like; inefficiencies in the performance of duties by the subordinates, the issue of staff appraisal is also another problem in my work. I have handled the issue in an open mind and though critics are many but it calls the independence. The resulting effect is failure to get a good measure of performance.
Relationship with Gaus’ Argument on Importance of Ecology
The life of a public officer as depicted in the ecology theory of Public Administration is full of interrelationships. These relationships start from within the organization with fellow employees to the outside world with the civilians. In this theory, we find that one cannot exist in a world of their own, they have to depend on the external environment and this makes it hard to assess the work of a public officer as compared to that of private officer (Gaus, 2006).It is also evident that a public officer not only needs to work on the organizational goals but also on corporate social responsibility. This aspect of leadership is not strictly stipulated in the governing of private firms. Great emphasizes should be put on the externalities due to their impact in the running of an organization resulting effect on the performance.
Conclusion
Cooper, & Terry, L. (2006). The Responsible Administrator: An Approach To Ethics For
Administratives. San Frncisco: McGraw Hill
Cooper, Terry, L., & Juliet, M. (1999). The Potential For Neighbourhood Metropolitan
Governance. International Journal of Organisation Theory and Behavior .
Erick, E., & Nancy, S. L. (2006). Comparative Public Administration: Growth, Methods and
Ecology. Journal of Public Administration .
Gaus, M J. (2006). Reflections on Public Administration. Montgomery:University of Alabama
Press
Kathi, Praadeen, C., & Terry, L. (2005). Democratizing Councils and City Agencies. Public
Administration Review, 65(5), 559-67.
