Introduction
Organizations mandated with the role of serving the public are normally influenced by politics as political actors seek to individually benefit from such offices from public funds. However, the impact largely defines the effectiveness and the efficiency of the organization to deliver services to the community. The impact not only affects the community but also employees and other stakeholders sidelined in decision making process. The interests from the key players in such organizations cause’s conflicts emerging from misuse of power resulting to misuse of resources.
The New York States Attorney General’s Office plays two major roles that is; “People’s Lawyer” and “The State’s Chief legal officer (New York State Attorney General 2012). The two major roles entail different implications in relation to interests, conflicts and power impact on workers and the society in general. Under the “People’s Lawyer,” approach, the Attorney General is able to serve as the guardian of the legal rights of the New York Citizens, the natural resources, and its organizations (New York State Attorney General 2012). Furthermore, under the role as State’s chief legal counsel, the Attorney General defends the actions and the proceedings on the behalf of the State and also advices the Executive branch of State Government. These roles entails interest among the players involved in such decision making process. The interests range from favors anticipated by close aides to stakeholders in such organizations.
Based on the fact that the Attorney General office services all New Yorkers on different matter that affects their daily lives, the politics forces are exerted on the effectiveness of daily activities executed by the office. These political powers and forces causes conflicts on effectiveness of service as those in higher political positions seeks their interest on different activities executed by the office such as reward of contracts and review on working standards apart from other entities (Beardwell 2004). The notion that the office is also charged with the common law powers and statutory towards protecting consumers and the investors, public health and environment, public health, civil rights, and also the rights of wage earners plus the business across the State, the interests and conflicts emerge on daily basis. The outcome is an office where workers are likely to be sidelined on decision making process, failed to be involved in communication, verbal bullying by those in power as they seek personal interests and rudeness among other entities (Shaw 2003).
Attorney General’s also has the authority over the activities and the investigations of the State Organized Crime Task Force and also Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The large involvement of the public and those in power indicates the increased cases on conflicts of interests among the involved stakeholders with employees largely affected from such cases. The office has over 650 Assistance Attorneys General and also over 1,700 employees’s hence large possibility of conflicts based on power among employees and from external sources (New York State Attorney General 2012). These employees ranges from legal assistants, accountants, investigators, scientists and support staffs serving in the Office of the Attorney General in different locations across New York State.
The proffered large number of employees and the high possibility of conflicts over interests from power emerging from both internal and external source are evident on the impact of employees. For instance, the file clerks in the Charities Bureau of the New York State Attorney General Office are likely to be treated with difficult behavior, lack of communication, verbal bullying, rudeness and inflexibility thinking. This is based on the fact that they are required to execute the required activities without questioning the validity or the transparency of such activities based on the influence from those in power in the office. They are likely to be subjected not only to verbal bullying but threats from both internal and external sources from parties seeking interests in the office.
In Conclsuion, conflicts of interests due to power misuse in public offices reflect marginal impacts on service delivery to the public. Furthermore, the impact is witnessed largely by employees in such organizations as they are mistreated by those in power due to their personal interests. Through developing a more dynamic and bureaucratic organizations, such effects can be averted based on the impacts reflected to the employees. Working environment where employees are treated with difficult behavior, lack of communication, verbal bullying, rudeness and inflexible thinking as provided in ways that file clerks are treated in the Charities Bureau of New York State Attorney General Office is likely to have marginal implications on the employee’s performance. Apart from performance, turn over cases, low job satisfactions, poor teamwork, and lack of innovation are some of the respective outcomes that employees working in such environments are likely to face. However, through developing effective human resource management policies aimed at ensuring that employees in such organizations are not involved in conflicts of interests and misuse of power, the office can witness increased employees performance and job satisfaction and innovation.
References
Attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman www.ag.ny.gov 2013
New York State Attorney General, (2012). Charitiesnys.com
Human Resource Performance Evaluation Systems Comparison in Public and Private Sectors. Aspridis, G. 2004. Doctoral Dissertation, Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach. Beardwell, I., L. Holden, and T. Claydon. 2004. 4th ed. Harlow: Financial Times / Prentice Hall.
Principles of Management Fish, C; Schoenfeldt L; Shaw, J (2003) (5th ed.) Boston:Houghton Mifflin
Differening Approach to Strategic Human Resource Management Kazmi, A; Ahmad, F (2002) Journal of Management Research Issue 3 p133, 8p
