Being a Public Manager in Times of Crisis

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Theories
Evidence
Managing Political Masters with Political Astuteness
Leveraging and Empowering Collective Networks
Strengths and Weaknesses
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Throughout this essay, the article by Van der Wal under the title “Being a Public Manager in Times of Crisis” is about the management of resources during a stressful period. The COVID-19 outbreak has been called “the worst calamity since World War II” (“Coronavirus: Greatest test,” 2020). The public health problem quickly became political, economic, and social. This rare circumstance will decide how robust and hopeful civilizations are and how much confidence in their actions the government can give to the people. Administrators must be self-sufficient and competent to improve administrative capability. The academic paper is devoted to the undervalued administrative representatives that lead society through challenging times (Van der Wal, 2020). This essay discusses three important attributes that a general manager must possess to succeed. This paper aims to provide valuable information so that general managers can effectively handle their clients, political representatives, and cooperative networks in times of crisis.

To build administrative capacity, public administrators must be self-sufficient and competent. This article under the study is dedicated to those general managers who serve as the “unsung administrative heroes” who guide us through difficult times (Van der Wal, 2020). When it comes to dealing with crises, general managers must handle all interested parties successfully. This scientific work outlines three crucial qualities that general managers must have to succeed in this job.

Generally, management must deal with “unknowns” in terms of projected results and needed skills, methodologies, and criteria. The VUCA notion is intended to convey and portray in this research work (Van der Wal, 2020). Although volatility and unpredictability are becoming more well-known, they remain tough to cope with on one’s own (Van der Wal, 2020). They require a certain measure of agility, vision, and long-term strategic planning to succeed. To sufficiently navigate complex and confusing situations, experimentation and piloting are required as specialists with diverse skills and perspectives (Van der Wal, 2020). Managers in the public sector who are tasked with reacting to external and internal factors where there are no clear solutions have difficulties in today’s volatile and uncertain operating conditions.

These same circumstances also provide new opportunities for public service delivery or administration innovation, which may be achieved via collaboration with people who want to change pioneers from various industries. These days, a common saying is that organizations should never squander a good crisis. Public managers must possess a wide range of skills to take advantage of new possibilities. Examples are used throughout this paper to show the importance of the development of critical competencies in today’s crisis environment. COVID-19 shows how difficult it is in the present context. In a divided political setting like the United States, where municipalities and states push, execute, and phase activities in distinct ways, ideological opponents of differential lockdown measures may be insensitive to evidence-based counter-frames (Van der Wal, 2020). It is also worth noting that despite the fact that maintaining public awareness is of particular importance, officials should also contribute to the establishment of acceptable isolation measures. These actions should be directly based on permission from experts in the field of medicine and epidemiology.

Theories

The article is illuminated and influenced by Public Management and New Federal Governance. The market is believed to be diagonally structured by New Public Management (NPM), with competition, the pricing mechanism, and contractual connections as the key mechanisms for managing it (Van der Wal, 2020). Extreme NPM interpretations provide arguments that private-sector management practices are the most effective. Others say that market-like conditions are the most effective way to supply basic services (Van der Wal, 2020). New Public Management is built on network theory and social capital. It recognizes the link between people who provide public services and those who formulate policy.

Evidence

This section provides evidence-based information on a public manager’s competencies amidst a crisis. Stakeholder Engagement and Storytelling might be implemented to acquire the public’s confidence, and public managers need to understand how their citizens will view their ideas and activities (Van der Wal, 2020). Managers can map stakeholder behaviors and interrelationships before designing management strategies. A key objective is to build broad support while reducing opposition influence (Van der Wal, 2020). Public managers must become active storytellers to gain citizen support. Rather than stated, an argument must be skilfully framed (Van der Wal, 2020). General Managers must increasingly persuade other stakeholders to adopt their policies, projects, ideas, services and policymakers.

Managing Political Masters with Political Astuteness

A government official should have the opportunity to be allowed to express the truth without fear of ostracism. Under challenging circumstances, public managers must maintain a long-term vision while maintaining institutional integrity and policy consistency. Institutions’ strengths and beliefs should not be overlooked (Van der Wal, 2020). Bureaucrats gain power and influence by continuously providing outstanding policy recommendations. Furthermore, that was before the emergence of the internet (Van der Wal, 2020). An urgency requires public managers to provide a crucial recommendation to elected officials; in other words, leading is critical in many industries.

During a crisis, public managers must keep their calm and maintain institutional and policy continuity. Political responses to current unrest have exacerbated it, making the rapid and efficient implementation of pandemic reactions harder (Van der Wal, 2020). With the crisis, top administrators must do more than just “emergency management” to maintain institutional coherence and impartiality (Van der Wal, 2020). Some argue that being politically aware means ignoring essential institutional qualities and ideals.

Leveraging and Empowering Collective Networks

Individuals, non-profits, companies, charities, and social enterprises must work more closely together in crises. Managing partners with different aims, norms, working styles, worldviews, and motivation require managers to bring them together (Van der Wal, 2020). However, public managers may struggle to persuade their government to participate, especially once the “we’re all in this together” zeal passes and despite decades of talk about “whole-of-government” and “joined-up governance” (Van der Wal, 2020, p. 757). A broad range of goals, values, standards and working styles must be brought together for cooperation to succeed. For instance, consider how governments first fought over the procurement of medical equipment, the backing of specific sectors, and efforts to get vaccinations, all of which were areas where cooperation would have been beneficial.

Cooperation requires bringing together diverse objectives, attitudes, norms, and working styles. Consider how governments battled over medical equipment, sector support, and immunizations, all areas where collaboration might have been advantageous (Van der Wal, 2020). Several medical equipment manufacturers used the scarcity to hike prices dramatically. It is crucial while working with multilevel and supranational organizations like UN agencies and international health organizations (Van der Wal, 2020). Although the research focuses on intergovernmental collaboration, many challenges and opportunities are universal.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Uncertain issue definitions, complicated causes, competing aims and the absence of conventional solutions are all characteristics of complex problems. A multi-actor approach is the best way to address these issues: Make the most of the resources, Spur innovation, and create a sense of shared responsibility for cooperative solutions. In addition to their complexity, many circumstances are marked by turbulence, including the unforeseen, irregular, unpredictable, and unknown (Van der Wal, 2020). Chaos in hydrodynamics, such as that seen in stormy weather or the turbulence in river currents, is a natural fit for this model. In modern culture, the state service is often challenged with contentious topics (Van der Wal, 2020). A few instances are terrorist acts, climate change-related floods and droughts, and the global economic crisis. The COVID-19 outbreak is a more recent example. The author’s content is superb, giving the best approaches and skills for crisis management.

Conclusion

The paper finishes with four demonstrations for public officials in times of crisis. To supplement more conventional administrative talents, recruit and train current cohorts to improve their communication abilities and social media savvy. To achieve long-term support and legitimacy from stakeholders (both supporting and adversary), organizations should make an effort to engage them. A central position in conflicting advice streams aimed at political masters allows for a more critical posture when necessary, maintaining a nodal position.

It is vital to balance rigidity and adaptability when collaborating with various stakeholders and industries while also realizing that obtaining extra value through (ad hoc) partners will not eliminate all hazards. The work teaches the public manager how to work in a crisis without much uncertainty and failure. This literary work can also be characterized in a clear and concise form. The public manager’s competency is shown via stakeholder interaction and storytelling. The author’s content is superb, giving the best approaches and skills for crisis management. This essay covers political savvy, collaborative networks, stakeholder engagement, and storytelling. These are the most critical duties of a Public manager amid a crisis.

References

Coronavirus: Greatest test since World War Two, says UN chief. (2020). BBC.

Van der Wal, Z. (2020). Being a public manager in times of crisis: The art of managing stakeholders, political masters, and collaborative networks. In Public Administration Review, 80(5), 759-764.

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