Public Organizations
Public Organizations
Governmental or public organizations and the people in them are greatly affected by the developments that occur in the governmental and political context where they operate.
Public citizens rely on the services provided by public organizations, making such services crucial.
The governments of different countries try to improve their government agencies’ performance and management by employing a pattern of “organizing, reorganizing, reforming, and striving” (Rainey, 2014, p.4).
The organization and management of public organizations are greatly influenced by political processes and authorities, laws, and constitutional provisions.
The management of public and private organizations is very different from each other.
The study of organizational behavior originated from social and industrial psychology. It focuses on the behaviors of groups and individuals in organizations and analyzes the behaviors and attitudes of organizational members, as well as the work-group dynamics, leadership, work satisfaction, and motivation.
Organization theory is based more on sociology. It focuses on subject matters such as structure and design, change and innovation, strategy and decision making, goals and effectiveness, and organizational environments.
The generic tradition is prevalent in the fields of general management, organizational behavior, and organizational theory.
Political scientists focus on public organizations’ political role and their relationships with interest groups, chief executives, courts, and legislators.
Economists assert that the absence of outputs from the economic markets cause public organizations to become more resistant to change, less efficient, more bureaucratic, and more prone to political influence as opposed to private organizations.
In the 1970s, there was a divergence from the generic tradition and a move towards organizational behavior and organization theory, which offered more comprehensive concepts and models for the analysis of leadership, motivation, environments, strategy, decisions, change, and organizational structure.
The generic tradition ignored the issue on whether exposure to the economic market and government ownership made a difference for organization and management.
There was very little research on general public management.
There has also been a debate on the quality of public management education.
The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration is responsible for accrediting the public management education programs. The association required programs for master of public administration (M.A.P) to put emphasis on technical knowledge and management skills rather than on the provision of a modified master’s degree in political science.
In 1979, a conference at the Brookings Institution was organized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Here, the government experts indicated a need for public management research.
In 1990, a group of scholars conducted a series of 5 National Public Management Research Conferences, which resulted in the publication of books where the research findings reported at the conferences were documented. In 2000, the group of scholars formed the Public Management Research Association.
Some of the weaknesses of public managers are that they fail to effectively motivate their subordinates; design their work processes and organizations; and actively manage their responsibilities.
Some of the constraints that politically-appointed and elected officials face include complex rules and laws and the short terms in office, which hinder them from making the changes they want to make. They can also be constrained by their lack of experience, as well as by intense external political pressures. Civil servants and middle managers are also not given enough incentive, and some government officials have little concern over effectively managing their organizations.
Experts contend that public bureaucracies are more effective than they are given credit for.
Public management involves difficult conflicts and complex objectives.
Government managers can use general organizational and management concepts, but they must be placed in the government context, along with its unique aspects.
References
Rainey, H. G. (2014). Understanding and managing public organizations (5th ed.). San
Francisco, CA. John Wiley & Sons.
