Category: Reforms

Introduction

The public sector or rather known as the state sector is that part of the government that deals with provision of services to the public. Though the administration and type of services provided differs from country to country, the most common services provided through the public sector include; health care facilities, roads, street lighting, military and police just to mention but a few. In other words, the public sector is responsible for providing the public goods and services which all have access to despite whether they have paid tax or not.

The public sector of any nation has an important role to play in the political, social and economic sectors. Thus most countries are yearning to establish a sizeable public sector and China is no exception. It is for this reason that China has been seeking to make reforms in its public sector for effective government of the national resources as well as other reasons.

However, the process of making public reforms in the public sector of China has not been an easy one as it has been faced with many challenges and difficulties during implementation. This paper is therefore an analysis of the process of reforming Chinas public sector while looking at the challenges and difficulties faced during the implementation process.

The historical narrative of public sector reforms of China

For a long time now, Chinas government has ventured into the process making important reforms to the public sector in a bid to achieving good governance as well as improving the performance of services of the civil society. The process of Chinas public sector reforms began as early as during the Second World War.

During this time, Chine was dominated by capitalist who wanted everything for themselves. There came the Neo-liberals whose ideas were to blend in the liberal political views with the sole aim of improving the economic growth. This is therefore what initiated the beginning of making reforms in the public sector so as to ensure that resources were equally distributed to the nationalities.

At the same time China was undergoing severe fiscal crisis which in turn affected the economy of the country thus the economic crisis. This came about due to the great Asian crises which were more serious than the current global crisis. This is because they had a great impact on the economies of Asian countries by for example increasing the unemployment levels in that continent among other factors.

The crises also had a great impact on the education and health sectors of the Asian countries, China inclusive. Since government intervention was difficult, the crises affected the poor people in the society. As a result, the government of China saw the need of making reforms in its public sector so as to ensure some of the essential facilities were available to the society and especially to the poor people.

In addition to this, China has been trying to quench its thirst for effective and efficient public sector. The government has been yearning to improve the performance of civil services as well as improving the services to the public through accountability.

Despite the fact that in the recent past improvements has been made, serious changes are yet to be made on the key sectors and systems of the public sector (McMillan and Naughton 132). Another thing that influenced the need to make reforms in the public sector of China is the influence of neo-liberal ideas and consequential criticism of the Weberian based public administration.

This emphasised on economic growth of china which could be effectively improved by the efficiency in the public sector. This was a two way, in that citizens who are happy with the government will be willing to work hard thus improving the economy growth. At the same time, reforms on the public sector would lead to cost benefit to the government thus contributing to the productivity hence economic growth of the country.

Public reforms made in China

Beyond the historical background of the public sector they are seen to have a very high degree of heterogeneity characterised by the following pre-reform regime (Burns 104).

• The public sector was neither a government department nor a state owned enterprise.
• It was fully owned and managed by the central government.
• This sector got its funds from the national budget which it used to finance all its projects.
• The activities of the public sector were to be conducted in accordance with the state plan
• The staffs of the public sector were to be controlled by the civil service personnel.
• The operations of the public sector were barred from the market operations.

From the aforementioned points, it is clearly seen that there was need for the reforms to be made on the public sector of China. Some of these reforms include;

Decentralisation from central to local government

This was among the initial reforms made to the public sector whereby the local government was bestowed the duty of managing and providing public services. This was meant to ensure efficiency in terms of transparency of the provision of the public goods and services unlike when under the management of central government.

The breakdown of duties from the busy central government to the less occupied local government was a good move since the society benefited from the services provided equally while the government reduced the amount of resources that initially went to waste due to inefficiency.

Reduction of public services provided by the state

As mentioned above, public goods and services are usually provided to the entire society and accessed by all despite whether they have paid taxes or not.

The funds to provide these services are usually from the taxpayers money. Thus reducing the amount of public services to be provided by the state was a good move by Chinas government as the money could be channelled towards other developmental projects. A good example was the withdrawal of free education while still providing essential services such as military and roads among others.

Increasing the practise of local government of charging fees for basic services

These services were initially free thus the government had to fund their provision. Therefore the decision to charging little fee on these services enabled the government to save while at the same time earning from the fee charged. This would therefore upgrade the economy of the country.

Market sector implementation in EPZs

The Export Processing Zones have the benefit of earning foreign exchange for the country as well as providing employment. Since provision of employment to the public is among the core functions of any public sector, Chinas government plan to implement the export processing zones was one of the important reforms which benefited the society.

De-collectivisation of the rural commune system

The rural areas of any nation form part of the great contributors to the countrys economy. As part of its reforms in the public sector, China decided to de-collectivise the rural commune system such that it would control it towards efficiency of the whole system.

These are just some of the reforms made on the public sector, however, the process is continuous with reforms being made each time there is a need for one. This is due to the rapid rate of globalization which calls for each and every government to be on the lookout before being beaten up by the global competition.

Challenges Facing Public Sector Reforms

The process of making reforms on the public sector has not been a bed of roses for the Chinese government as it has been forced to meet and overcome many challenges in the process line (Jincheng 5). To begin with is the problem of introducing the new public management service in the country. The new public management is among Chinas reforms on the public sector which entails the transformation of the mode of governance in public departments.

It therefore requires them to be market and enterprise oriented such that the process of administration is modernised in the country. The implementation of the new public management is a big challenge to the government of China given its difficulty in administration which is only best suited to the private products and the service demanded products that can be provided by the market.

The other challenge that the Chinese government is facing as a result of the public reforms is that of protecting the civil servants from arbitrary removal. For a long time in China, the civil servants have been faced with arbitrary removal from their positions given the high rate of corruption.

This is something very difficult to overcome despite the fact that the public sector reforms have catered for it. Therefore, for the public sector under the local government to protect the civil servants is a big challenge. The third challenge facing the government of China as a result of public sector reforms is protecting their political neutrality.

After the public sector reforms, the political environment in China is deemed to be neutral. This is a new development whose chances of achievement and survival are very minimal given the fact that the political environment was heterogeneous from time immemorial. This abrupt change is therefore bound to pose a great challenge to the public sector once the reforms are effectively implemented (Schiere 78).

In addition to the above challenges, there is also the challenge of policing the set rules by an independent body from the government. Since the public sector is not able to pollicise all the rules on its own, it has to subcontract some of them to an independent body to help in the implementation and policing. This is a challenge as it will require financial resources from the government as well as some formal training on the processes.

In some cases acquiring the right independent body is a challenge as well getting one that will efficiently pollicise the rules. Last but not least is the greatest challenge of the merit reforms of the public sector of China. The merit reform of China encompasses the merit pay systems of the public sector such as the health facilities, teachers in schools just to mention but a few. The aim of the merit system is to stimulate the enthusiasm of the workers in the public sector so that they can work efficiently and effectively.

The government will face a big challenge in implementing the merit reforms as it will require supplementary funds which may not be available in the government. Therefore, the government will face the challenge of sourcing the additional funds which could be from the taxpayers or donors among others.

How does it harm or benefit the Chinese citizens and government

The process of reforming the public sector has both positive and negative impacts on the citizens and the government. The same case applies to China, whose reforms have resulted to benefits to the government and its citizens while at the same time causing draw-backs. If the objectives of the China reforms of the public sector are attained, then the citizens will enjoy many benefits among them being;

Improved performance of the public sector- The public sector is enacted by the government to take care of the public needs. Therefore, if reforms are made regarding its governance, then it means that the Chinese citizens will have access to the essential public services such as the military at all times without instances of failure (Chen et al, 217).

Accountability- This means that the funds allocated to the public sector will be well spent since the responsible officials are obliged to give an account of how the funds are spent. This will therefore reduce the cases fraudsters thus ensuring that the public services are available at all times in adequate levels.

Improved Service Delivery- This was among the objectives of Chinas reforms on public sector such that when achieved, the public services and goods will be provided in the right way. That is to mean that the service delivery will be upgraded so that the citizens have access to them and in the correct form and quality. For example, the military will be well equipped with good ammunition to safeguard the citizens.

Increased user satisfaction- After the reforms, the citizens will be satisfied with public services in accordance to their provision and efficiency of the system. This satisfaction will therefore increase the zeal of the citizens to pay taxes since they can effectively determine where their money goes to.

For instance, if citizens lack services like street lighting, good infrastructure and poor military and police forces, they will not be motivated to pay taxes since their money is just being consumed by the government officials without serving the right purpose it is supposed to.

The Chinese government will also benefit from the public sector reforms by first gaining trust from the citizens. After the reforms, public services will be efficiently provided thus making the citizens gain a lot of trust in the responsible government since it will have efficiently managed their funds in addition to caring about the welfare of its citizens (Copenhagen 1).

Other than this, the government will have an easier way of managing the public services since it will now be the duty of the local government and not the central government unlike before. This is due to the fact that the central government has a lot of operations to carry out as compared to the local government which additionally is closer to the citizens.

Negative impacts of the public sector reforms

It can be born witness that the reforms on the public sector have more benefits than harm on both the government and Chinese citizens. Nevertheless, the process of making the reforms is very costly to the government consuming a lot of financial and time resources.

Other than this, the reforms require that the government be very effective and efficient in the provision and management of the public services while taking care of the resources. This obligation poses a threat to the officials since they are accountable of any procedure and activity they carry out.

As for the case of the Chinese citizens, the tax evaders will be disadvantaged as the government will be on the lookout for them so as to ensure uniformity of all citizens without oppressing other. Another demerit on the citizens is that some of the services that were initially free for them will be withdrawn making them pay for them. In other instances, they will be required to pay higher taxes so that the government can efficiently provide the public utilities to the citizens.

The difficulties faced in implementation of new public sector and the possible solutions

Just like most countries, China has the dream of being an all-round well off society by the year 2020. This vision is to be achieved only if the political and economical sectors of the country are up to date. This is to mean that the government should broaden their vision to think of sustainable human development instead of only concentrating on political issues.

The government should also be prepared to overcoming disparities in the service delivery sector thus ensure transparency, efficiency as well as integrity. The process of achieving all these is not an easy one as there are very many difficulties that have to be overcome in order to ensure proper implementation of reforms in the public sector.

The biggest difficulty that China is facing is how to ensure that the public services are adequately provided to the society. This is because the public good s and services are available to all regardless to whether they have paid taxes or not. It is therefore unfair for the tax evaders to enjoy services which they have not paid for yet their counterparts the tax payers have struggled to pay for them. This is what brings about the free-riding problem which is very difficult to overcome.

Hence, the public sector has at times faced inadequate funds to cater for the provision of these essential services, thus posing a great threat for them. In other instances, the funds to provide the public service have landed in the wrong hands of fraudsters who embezzle the funds thus no services to the public (Broadman 852).

Secondly is the problem on how to develop an efficient public sector one that will be characterised as a modern market economy as well as a well-off society. A modern economy is characterised by transparency in its dealings and effectiveness in service provision. This is difficult to achieve given the bureaucracy required in the provision of the public goods and services as well as the presence of tax defaulters.

Therefore, to overcome these implementation difficulties and the many minor ones, the public sector reform should be enacted to begin with a vision which the sector should be entitled to look at and achieve. Thereafter a strategy with implementation plans should be put in place so as to ensure efficiency in the public sector is achieved.

Conclusion

Given the above discussion on the public sector reform of China, it is evidenced that the decision by the Chinese government to make reforms on its public sector was a worth making decision.

The historical factors that facilitated the need for reforms such as the economic and fiscal crisis, quest for efficiency and effectiveness in the public services, the post world war two neo-liberals as well as the influence of neo-liberal ideas and consequential criticism of the Weberian based public administration all have much contribution to China s current position.

However, the road to achieving the reforms has not been an easy one for the Chinese government which has been faced with many challenges together the difficulties during implementation of the new public sector to the country. On the other hand, it has been seen that the new public sector after the reforms has had both benefits and negative impacts on the citizens as well as the government.

All in all the public reforms have changed the face of Chinese public sector thus contributing greatly to its economic growth. The question then remains, Are the reforms in the public sector permanent or prone to change? It can be argued that reforms are prone to change given the changes in globalisation and technology.

Works Cited

Broadman, H. The Business (es) of the Chinese State. 2001- World Economy. 24 (7). Pp.849-875.

Burns, John. Public Sector reform and the state: The case of China. 2001. McGraw Hill publications.

Chen, K, Jefferson, G, and Singh, I. Lessons from Chinas Economic Reform. 1992- Journal of Comparative Economics, 16 (2). pp. 201-225.

Copenhagen. Globalization and Public Sector Reforms in India and China. 2011. Web.

Jincheng, Li. Chinas Human Resources Development and Public Sector Reform Facing Economic Globalization. 2001. Web.

McMillan, J. and Naughton, B. How to Reform a Planned Economy: Lessons from China?- 1992, Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 8 (1). Pp.130-143.

Schiere, Richard. Chinas Development Challenges.  2009. Routledge Print.

Almost all reforms are caused by a desire to improve society, but they cannot be free from the impact of the community. It is valid for the turn-of-the-century United States, where people understood that specific germs and bacteria resulted in diseases. That is why medical professionals invested much in the prevention of illness. However, the prejudices that existed in American society in the late 19^th-early 20^th centuries stipulated that the health reform implied various outcomes for the poor, immigrants, and African Americans.

To begin with, one can state that the population mentioned above was associated with a disease menace. Terence Powerdly, commissioner-general of immigration, sees a connection between the tide of immigration and the spread of Favus or Trachoma in America (The gospel of germs: Microbes, strangers, and habits of the home, 1880-1925, 2001). Thus, he insists on the necessity to control the inflow of the immigrants and the poor.

Consequently, it was prohibited in Europe and Asia to sell steamship tickets to people suffering from either Favus or Trachoma. In addition to that, it was identified that African Americans were more subject to tuberculosis. Here, Allen, a physician, indicates that the negro health problem is one of the white mans burdens (The gospel of germs: Microbes, strangers, and habits of the home, 1880-1925, 2001, p. 250). The physician explained that it was necessary to draw more attention to the health of African Americans to protect whites from the disease.

In conclusion, no one can deny that reformers try to make the world better and safer. However, their intentions can have adverse consequences, which is caused by the prejudices that exist in society. When it comes to the turn-of-the-century US, the health reform was significantly influenced by lofty contempt to the poor, immigrants, and African Americans. However, the change was negative for the poor and immigrants, who could not reach the US if they have some diseases and positive for African Americans, who faced more attention to their health.

Reference

The gospel of germs: Microbes, strangers, and habits of the home, 1880-1925. (2001). In J. H. Warner & J. A. Tighe (Eds.), Major problems in the history of American medicine and public health: Documents and essays (pp. 159-195). Houghton Mifflin.

Introduction

When planning public reforms, the government usually wants to accomplish a range of changes in the governance forms of public sector activities. Public reforms signify a push towards regulation or deregulation, centralization or decentralization, privatization or nationalization (Lane, 2011). While the developed countries often pioneer in adopting social sector reforms, less developed nations often mimic them in pursuit of achieving similar results (Lane, 2011).

However, the models of reforms cannot be borrowed entirely as they need to be adapted to accommodate the local peculiarities in less developed countries. The present aims at reviewing public sector reforms in three BRICS countries, including Brazil, India, and Russia. The central goal of the present paper is to critically evaluate public sector reforms in these countries and understand how the ideal models were modified to meet the unique needs of countries.

Background Information: BRICS Countries

BRIC is an acronym for the association between five countries, which are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Even though these five countries are referred to as developing, they are expected to become leading suppliers of manufactured goods, services, and raw materials in the world (Majaski, 2020). Even though these countries are often referred to as a group, they have not established coherent trade unions (Majaski, 2020).

The critique of the organization is that it ignores the finite nature of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, uranium, and metals (Majaski, 2020). However, the economies of the countries continue to grow, and, in 2014, 30% of the global gross domestic product (GDP) was accounted for by BRICS countries (Majaski, 2020). However, economic development is impossible without equitable growth (Smorgunov, 2018). This implies that countries need to adopt public policies based on citizen participation, which will improve their quality of life (Smorgunov, 2018). However, there are no universal public policy models that can be adapted to meet the unique needs of each BRICS country.

Public Sector Reforms

Brazil

Brazil is one of the largest federal states in terms of population and territory. It has homogeneous from linguistic, cultural, and religious viewpoints; however, the country experiences significant disparities in terms of the distribution of land and population among its 27 states (Jha, 2007). Moreover, the distribution of income is also uneven, which leads to the emergence of social problems (Jha, 2007). Brazil has experienced a series of public sector reforms since 1985 when the military dictatorship regime fell, and the country began to move towards a federal presidential republic (Ter-Minassian, 2012). The country enacted a constitution in 1988, which signified a push towards decentralization (Jha, 2007). Since then, the country has become one of the most decentralized federations, which had positive and negative implications.

After decentralization started, it became unclear how the resources of the country should be distributed to address the economic disparities of Brazilian states, which was evident when looking at the public center. Brazil is a regionally uneven country, which implies that some regions are more economically prosperous than others are (Jha, 2007). Decentralization allowed local governments to set public sector policies, which had a mixed effect on society.

On the one hand, decentralization had a negative impact on the economic development of the country since it made resource-rich regions even more prosperous, while other states became more disadvantaged (Jha, 2007). Even though the government is trying to address the problem from different angles, it has failed to achieve any measurable success (Jha, 2007). On the other hand, decentralization helped to develop local education and healthcare facilities, as municipalities are more aware of local needs and could distribute resources adequately (Jha, 2007). Therefore, it can be stated that decentralization was successful only partially.

Brazil had limited success in terms of deregulation due to increased bureaucracy and unstable monitory policies in the country. World Bank Group (2019) puts Brazil only in 109th place out of 190 nations in terms of attractiveness of doing business in the country. Currently, Chile, Colombia, and Peru outperform Brazil, even though their economies are significantly weaker (World Bank Group, 2019). The central problem is that small local business struggle to operate and open, as they need to go through multiple institutions and acquire different certifications (Nino, 2019). Therefore, in August 2019, the government introduced a package of deregulation reforms that aim at helping small businesses (Nino, 2019). However, the measures have met limited success, as it will require time to feel the change.

As for privatization, it can be said that Brazil was successful in the matter, as it managed to maintain a stable privatization discourse since the fall of the dictatorship. In 1985, the country was left with a public sector, which was laggard in performance (Ter-Minassian, 2012). In 1990, President Collor made privatization a central discourse in his policies, allowing private entities to purchase enterprises in mining, electrical, telecommunication, and other sectors (Ter-Minassian, 2012).

As a result, the government generated more than US$73 billion in revenues from selling 52 federal and 28 state enterprises, which allowed the companies to prosper under private management (Ter-Minassian, 2012). The endeavor was successful because several consecutive administrations agreed that privatization was the key to the successful development of the country (Ter-Minassian, 2012). In summary, privatization had a positive impact on the growth of the Brazilian economy.

Russia

Post-Soviet Russia needed to restructure its public sector entirely due to the fall of the authoritative regime in the 1990s. As a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia began to rapidly decentralize the public sector to improve its efficiency (Andreeva and Golovanova, 2006). The idea behind decentralization was that local authorities could make budget spending more rational when it comes to the provision of public services because local public authorities are closer to the population (Andreeva and Golovanova, 2006).

However, decentralization reforms were somewhat chaotic during the first decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, which led to increased corruption and lacked positive outcomes (Andreeva and Golovanova, 2006). However, in the early 2000s, the process stabilized and decentralization began to positively influence the public sector (Andreeva and Golovanova, 2006). In particular, local authorities received more power in terms of distributing revenues, which resulted in improvements in education and healthcare. However, the decentralization trend did not last long in Russia.

After Putin came to power, several consistent steps were made towards the centralization of power. One of the most significant steps to centralization was the reform of 2004, which banned the election of regional governors (Busygina, Filippov, and Taukebaeva, 2018). Instead, they were nominated by the central government, which drew the local power away from the population (Busygina, Filippov, and Taukebaeva, 2018).

Even though the practice of elections of local governors was reintroduced in 2012, the candidates had to be approved by the president (Busygina, Filippov, and Taukebaeva, 2018). As a result, the public sector became mostly dependent on federal financial help, which could be acquired if the governor implemented all the policies promoted by Kremlin (Busygina, Filippov, and Taukebaeva, 2018). Therefore, even though reforms in the public sector were formally initiated by the local government, they were dictated by the cabinet of the President.

Russia also made some attempts to privatization, the majority of which failed. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the new government of the Russian Federation needed to manage and control the overgrown and inefficient public sector of the Soviet Union (McFaul, 1995). As a result, the government wanted to sell the majority of its assets in the oil industry, banking, and other large-scale industries to private owners to improve their efficiency and decrease their dependency on subsidies (McFaul, 1995). However, the combination of an undisciplined Central Bank and a soft Congress resulted in an explosion of state transfers to ailing enterprise (McFaul, 1995, 235). As a result, enterprise debt increased from 37 billion to 3.2 trillion roubles from January to July 1992 (McFaul, 1995). Therefore, early privatization attempts can be considered a failure as they failed to achieve the goals, and new reforms needed to be introduced.

After Putin came to power, he was somewhat inconsistent with his policies concerning privatization. The overall trend was the increase in emphasis on strategic nationalization in the energy sector (Russia Business Today, 2019). As a result, such companies as Sibneft, TNK-BP, Yukos, Avtovaz, and United Machinery were nationalized (Russia Business Today, 2019). This led to the increased presence of the government in the Russian economy, which was estimated to be 46% in 2016 (Russia Business Today, 2019).

Even though nationalization was made to improve the efficiency of the Russian economy, it also failed to achieve its target as the economy became less flexible and could not integrate efficiently into global business (Russia Business Today, 2019). However, Kremlin made several attempts to privatization after the economic crisis of 2008. In 2009, the Russian Finance Ministry hoped to make 1 trillion roubles (around $15.5 billion) to replenish these diminishing reserves by selling shares of banks as well as oil and transportation companies (Gaaze, 2016). However, the course towards privatization ceased its existence after the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, when Putin banned the selling of stocks abroad and returned to the idea of strategic centralization.

India

Decentralization in India had different incentives in comparison with Brazil and Russia. Since acquiring independence from England, the central goal of the Indian government was to reduce the poverty rate (Johnson, 2003). Indeed, in the 1950s, the poverty rate was almost 50% and reached 65% in the 1970s (Datt, Ravallion, and Murgai, 2016). If implemented carefully, decentralization leads to increased efficiency of the public sector, which is expected to improve financial performance and decrease poverty (Johnson, 2003). Therefore, the Indian government made several crucial steps to provide local authorities with enough power to address the needs of citizens.

In 1957, Balwantrai Mehta Commission started the reformation process by establishing the Panchayat structure at district and block (Samithi) levels (Johnson, 2003). However, the early Panchyati Raj system was non-productive, as local authorities became another bureaucratic institution that implemented the policy dictated by the centralized government (Sheikh, 2014). There were several attempts to reform the structure until 1990, which all failed when considering large-scale results (Johnson, 2003). However, in the early 1990s, India started a reform that improved the situation considerably.

In 1993, the 73^rd Amendment was introduced into the Indian constitution, which provided village, block and district level bodies a constitutional status under Indian law (Johnson, 2003, p. 17). The reform introduced three tiers of Panchayati Raj institutions with elected bodies at the village, block, and district levels (Johnson, 2003). The representatives were elected for five years, and three-thirds of the places were reserved for women (Johnson, 2003).

These institutions are monitored by the state financial commission, which assesses their efficiency and effectiveness (Johnson, 2003). The results of the introduction of the Amendment were outstanding, as the decentralization gained momentum. The World Bank rates India among the top performers in the world in terms of decentralization (Sheikh, 2014). The reformation had a positive impact on the public sector, as it became more motivated and accountable for the results (Johnson, 2003). In summary, it can be stated that Indias decentralization attempts can be considered a success.

India had less success with privatization in comparison with decentralization. According to Gupta (2001), the government of India did not support the full privatization of the public sector and allowed selling only minor shares of enterprises. The process had little impact on corporate behavior, and the efficiency of the public sector did not see a rise (Gupta, 2001). India introduced a privatization policy in 1991, and since then the process was slow with an average of 16 percent of the equity in 44 of 258 centrally-owned firms sold in the ten years (Gupta, 2001, p. 2). However, even partial privatization had a positive impact on the performance of the companies that are partially privately owned (Gupta, 2001).

The changes in performance attributed to improved management, as the companies had to bear responsibility before their private owners (Gupta, 2001). Stock trade also had a positive impact on the financial performance of the public sector (Gupta, 2001). However, the reforms stay unfinished and greater privatization seems to be needed for India to integrate into the global economy.

The recent news show that privatization may be revitalized in India due to the attempts of Prime Minister Modi. In 2019, Mr. Modi announced that four large government-controlled enterprises would be put on sale in the nearest future (Aiyar, 2019). The companies include Bharat Petroleum, the Container Corporation of India, the Shipping Corporation of India, and Air India (Aiyar, 2019).

Such announcements were made after a confident victory of Mr. Modi in the election in 2019, which left the opposition disorganized and devastated (Aiyar, 2019). Changes towards democratization are expected to improve the performance of the public sector and the financial well-being of the country (Gupta, 2001). In particular, the revenues from selling the shares were expected to close the budget deficit of 4 percent (Aiyar, 2019). With a course to privatization, India will make it more attractive for the investors and invite international actors to participate in the Indian economy, which will help its revitalization.

Analysis

Decentralization

In terms of decentralization, the three countries had different successes. The most successful was India as it arrived at the most balanced solution among the three countries under analysis. The central reason for the favorable outcome was that India was able to address the regional peculiarities and adapt the models that were implemented in western countries to meet the needs of Indian citizens. The 73^rd Amendment ensured that women could participate in the creation of policies, which is vital for India due to the high level of gender discrimination. At the same time, the reformation process created the State Election Commission, which ensured that all elections were democratic (Johnson, 2001).

This was crucial as local candidates had to ensure the support of the poor, which meant that addressing the needs of the financially disadvantaged population became the key to winning the elections. Thus, decentralization addressed the problem of poverty as the poverty rate went down from a shocking 65% in the 1970s to 17% in the 2010s (Datt, Ravallion, and Murgai, 2016). At the same time, the reform ensured that economically disadvantaged regions received financial help from the central government (Johnson, 2001). This is also vital, as India is a diverse country with varying economic prosperity levels in different areas.

Disparities in terms of the distribution of financial wealth were the central issue for all the three countries under analysis. While India succeeded in finding a balance between decentralization and financial support to economically disadvantaged regions, Russia decided to return to centralization. The central reason for that is the will of President Putin and the current government to hold to its position. Giving more power to local authorities could threaten the security of United Russia as the governing party (Russia Business Today, 2019). At the same time, Russia is known to be the largest country in terms of land, which implies that the central governing body is geographically distant from some of the regions. Therefore, the reforms did address local peculiarities and were unsuccessful for the public sector.

Even though Russian reformations were unsuccessful, the resources are evenly distributed inside the country, which is a positive outcome, as the economically disadvantaged regions do not suffer from the lack of help from the central government. This allows slow but stable development of the economy and the public sector. The situation is significantly worse in Brazil, where the public sector suffers from an unequal distribution of resources.

As mentioned in the overview of the country, Brazil is one of the most decentralized countries in the world. Decartelisation can be a positive development only if all the elements of the society actively participate in political life, the central government provides fiscal and political support, and the country has competitive political parties (Johnson, 2001). However, none of the mentioned above is present in Brazil, which implies that rapid decentralization was not the correct path for the country. At the same time, it is worth noticing that India has been working on decentralization since the 1950s, while Russia and Brazil had significantly less time to adapt decentralization strategies to meet the local needs.

Privatization

Brazil was the leader in terms of privatization among the three countries under analysis. The country realized its need to integrate into the global economy, which would help it to improve the efficiency of the public sector. As a result, Brazil attracted international investors to help the economy survive through times of reconstruction. Russia had less success due to inconsistencies in policies concerning privatization. However, such inconsistencies were due to the initial failure to structure the privatization process. Therefore, it can be said that the reformation in the public sector addressed local peculiarities of the country, as President Putin needed to mitigate the negative impact of the first wave of privatization that led to unfavorable outcomes in the late 1990s.

At the same time, Indias policies were inconsistent with the characteristics of Indias economy. According to Majaski (2020), India aims at becoming the world leader in the provision of services due to cheap labor. The massive public sector does not support the rapid development of the service sector, as it depends on infrastructure and transportation. Therefore, recent reforms introduced by Mr. Modi can be seen as potentially beneficial for the development of the Indian economy. However, the results will be seen only when time passes. Until 2019, India failed to grasp the opportunity to improve the performance of the public sector by selling the shares to private entities.

Conclusion

Every country needs to introduce public sector reforms to improve the efficiency and performance of the economy. Emerging economies, such as BRICS countries, often try to mimic the models of their more developed partners. However, the success of reforms largely depends on how well the processes are adapted to local peculiarities. The analysis of three countries, including Brazil, Russia, and India, demonstrates how well can countries adopt public sector reforms.

The ability to adapt the borrowed models requires time and commitment, as unstructured reforms can damage the economic and political structure of countries, as in the case with Russia that managed to survive through uncertainties only due to high oil prices. In conclusion, all three countries under analysis had limited success in public sector reforms, and further steps are required for the development of their economies.

Reference List

Aiyar, S. (2019) A burst of privatisation looks imminent in India. The Financial Times. Web.

Andreeva, E. and Golovanova, N. (2006) Decentralization in the Russian Federation. CAEI Working Papers 19.

Busygina, I., Filippov, M. and Taukebaeva, E. (2018) To decentralize or to continue on the centralization track: The cases of authoritarian regimes in Russia and Kazakhstan. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 9(1), pp.61-71.

Datt, G., Ravallion, M., and Murgai, R. (2016) Poverty reduction in India: Revisiting past debates with 60 years of data. VOX. Web.

Gaaze, K. (2016) How the battle for Russian privatization was fought and lost. The Moscow Times. Web.

Gupta, N. (2001) Partial privatization and firm performance: Evidence from India. Web.

Jha, P. (2007) Decentralization and federalism in Brazil. The Indian Journal of Political Science, 68(1), pp. 157-171.

Johnson, C. (2003) Decentralisation in India: Poverty, politics and Panchayati Raj. Web.

Lane J.E. (2011) Public sector reforms, in Koch R., Conrad P., and Lorig W.H. (eds.), New public service. Wiesbaden: Gabler, pp. 41-54.

Majaski, C. (2020) Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). Web.

McFaul, M. (1995) State power, institutional change, and the politics of privatization in Russia. World Politics, 47(2), pp. 210-243.

Nino, J. (2019) Brazils senate approves deregulation measures. Advocates for Self-Government. Web.

Russia Business Today (2019) Putins nationalization to strengthen state role in Russian economy, analysts say.. Web.

Sheikh, Y. A. (2014) Democratic decentralisation in India: An overview. International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research, 3(7), pp. 196-203.

Smorgunov, L. (2018) Inclusive growth and administrative reform in the BRICS countries. Public Administration Issues, 2018(5), pp. 80-95.

Ter-Minassian, T. (2012) Structural reforms in Brazil: Progress and unfinished agenda. Web.

Timoshenko, K. (2008) Russian public sector reform: the impact on university accounting. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 9(2), pp. 133-144.

World Bank Group (2019) Doing business 2019. Web.

Introduction

The current model for promoting national security is designed in such a way that there are different agencies pursuing diverse roles. The major ones include the Intelligence Community, the HPSCI, and the SSCI. The proposed initiative seeks to replace such organizations with a single joint committee of both House, Senate members, and the staff. This new committee will be tasked with monitoring the entire intelligence enterprise and authorize funds. The purpose of this paper is to explain why such a proposal needs to be adopted and implemented.

Supporting the Proposal

My role as the representative of the independent management consortium is to provide evidence-based opinions for introducing superior reforms that can improve the efficiency of different agencies and government-based institutions. The selected source that guides the final decision is National Intelligence Program (NIP) Budget Formulation and Justification, Execution, and Performance Evaluation. According to this document, all the existing agencies and houses focus on different activities that are intended to deliver the intended IC goals (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2013). The presented proposal seeks to address various challenges and obstacles that affect the way various security gaols are pursued in the targeted country. The one factor that explains why there is a need to support this idea is the need to reduce role duplication and streamline operations (Weinbaum, Parachini, Girven, Decker, & Baffa, 2018). Over the years, these agencies have been forced to file specific documents before funding is eventually made. Such a model means that all organizations should have their unique missions, visions, and goals. Consequently, there is a need to maximize coordination and ensure that positive results are recorded.

When this recommendation is adopted, chances are high that the new committee will be empowered to make appropriate policies and implement them in a timely manner. The agencies will go further to combine the existing infrastructure and resources to streamline security operations. This practice will maximize the level of coordination for all activities or programs (Matei & Halladay, 2019). Currently, there is a complex procedure through which the NIP budget is formulated, justified, and executed. For example, the NIP budget justification and formulation process needs to be aligned with the objectives of the NIS. Similarly, projects falling with the Department of Defence (DoD) need to submit the intended NIP budget. It is also notable that the Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, State, and the Treasury have to submit its budget to ADNI.

The IC uses performance indexes to justify the resources of the NIP and eventually maximize the level of efficiency. From this analysis, it is evident that there are different hierarchical and mandatory requirements that explain why there is a need to have the proposed committee established or adopted (Mattis, 2019). This move will create a new opportunity for ensuring that the established agency has coordinated decision-making processes for security needs and resource allocation. Such a move will create the best opportunity for managing and launching new security-related projects successfully (Johnson, 2018). Additionally, the presence of different members of the Senate and the House will ensure that every initiative is pursued in accordance with the established laws.

Conclusion

The above discussion has identified non-partisan policy consortium as meaningful organizations for presenting additional insights for improving the operations of the government. The paper has supported the proposed formation of a single joint committee to minimize duplication and streamline operations. Such an initiative will make it easier for the government to launch new security projects efficiently and protect all critical infrastructure systems against potential attacks.

References

Johnson, L. K. (2018). Spy watching: Intelligence accountability in the United States. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Matei, F. C., & Halladay, C. (Eds). (2019). The conduct of intelligence in democracies: Processes, practices, cultures. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Mattis, J. (2019). Summary of the 2018 National Defence Strategy of the United States of America: Sharpening the American Militarys competitive edge. Web.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence. (2013). National Intelligence Program (NIP) Budget Formulation and Justification, Execution, and Performance Evaluation. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Weinbaum, C., Parachini, J. V., Girven, R. S., Decker, M. H., & Baffa, R. C. (2018). Perspectives and opportunities in intelligence for U.S. leaders. Boston, MA: RAND Corporation.

Abstract

Globalization and newly emerging technologies are having a profound impact on the political environment and changing the way people, businesses, and governments interact. From the standpoint of public administration, the adoption of e-government is now an inevitable and unquestioned objective because it signifies a shift towards a new, customer-oriented management paradigm and has the goal of reducing costs and maximizing value during the provision of services to citizens.

This paper focuses on an examination of factors defining the success and failure of e-government programs, as well as specific methods and frameworks utilized to implement them. It begins with a review of the topics background and proceeds to a review of e-government projects implemented in the Dubai Police Force. It discusses the organizations achievements and the challenges it currently faces. Also, it provides recommendations for further improvements based on its findings.

Introduction

Globalization, as a process of worldwide integration, is changing the face of public administration and governance. It modifies the way the public perceives governments because, with the help of technology, people have become able to advocate for their rights and interests more actively and to provide feedback to leaders, and thus require greater transparency and democratization. E-government platforms are regarded as an instrument to address these changes by improving the way governments interact with citizens.

The obvious advantages of e-government include facilitated access to services and information, organizational and individual cost-efficiency, and others. However, to ensure the effectiveness of e-government, it is critical to establish performance measures and make sure all necessary prerequisites for excellent performance are provided at the institutional and organizational levels. Therefore, this paper will aim to explore these factors, as well as methods utilized to deliver public administration reforms, while focusing on the analysis of digitalization efforts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Dubai Police Force.

Globalization, E-Government, and Privatization

Definitions

Globalization is characterized by substantial changes in the way people interact, and these changes are driven by different forces. Technological innovation is one and probably the most remarkable of them. The newly emerging information technologies (ITs) have made it possible to remove artificial barriers that hinder learning and have substantially facilitated the overall process of knowledge development and economic growth (Farazmand 2006). Nevertheless, the impacts of the technological revolution extend beyond the economic sphere  they shape modern cultures and politics as well. The widespread construction of e-government platforms indicates that state leaders and public administrators recognize the significance of digitalization.

Overall, e-government implies the utilization of ITs within public service delivery value chains (Bwalya & Mutula 2016). Digital government platforms are considered to be an essential means for greater stakeholder accountability, government transparency, and democratization (Kassen 2013; Tolbert & Mossberger, 2006). During the initial stages of the Internet era in the 1990s, e-government was regarded only as a method for modernization and shifting away from traditional paper-based systems in public organizations (Kassen 2013).

At that time, the focus was on the provision of information, but early e-government frameworks did not provide sufficient opportunities for people to give feedback. Nowadays, with the advent of social media, digital governments have become more open and have begun providing interactive online services (Kassen 2013). This means that the e-government concept has obtained a more pronounced political significance over time by encouraging collaboration between the state and civil society.

To establish high-quality digital information systems, governments have to work together with partners operating within the IT industry. This need explains another important trend leading to changes in public management  public-private partnerships (PPPs). The number of PPPs has increased worldwide during recent years because governments see them as a way to better integrate e-business and e-commerce activities in distinct public entities, access expertise and professional knowledge offered by private entities, accelerate the construction of required infrastructures, and reduce costs (Kaliannan, Awang & Raman 2010).

In general, the trend for PPPs may indicate that public administration has become more entrepreneurial, competitive, and oriented towards customer satisfaction. It suggests a shift towards a novel, businesslike approach to public services, described by Pollitt and Bouckaert (2011) as the New Public Management (NPM) framework, which aims to maximize value for citizens and increase effectiveness.

As such, the appearance of competitive behaviors in the public sector is illustrative of broader environmental changes triggered by globalization. Such initiatives as PPPs make it possible to separate politics in its traditional sense from public administration. Additionally, by viewing the public as customers, the government gains an opportunity to become closer to citizens and show accountability for their interests. Thus, the existence of two-way exchanges of information, as well as public managers sensitivity to changes in customer attitudes, may be regarded as key to improving the cost-benefit ratio of public services in the NPM model.

Global Context

Nowadays, most countries are engaged in the process of e-government development, yet some of them are more successful than others. Kassen (2013) notes that from 1995 to 2007, when the e-government concept was first introduced, mainly the G-member states (Japan, the United States, Germany, and others) were included in the creation of the global information society while developing countries started to participate actively only after 2008.

When developing e-governments today, all involved parties implement such key features as the promotion of technology, private sector resources use, and the establishment of international and regional reform networks (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development [OECD] 2010; Cooper, Hughes & De Lombaerde 2008). Additionally, the main feature of current endeavors is the unification and standardization of platforms across the world (Kassen 2013).

Still, many countries remain excluded from the digitalization process because of a lack of the necessary cultural, infrastructure, and technological resources. For states with low Internet penetration and a high cost of access, it is difficult to have strong e-government platforms. Therefore, the overall socio-economic situation in the country may pose significant barriers to public governance reforms.

The OECD countries provide multiple examples of successful e-government practices. For instance, a program for online ration cards launched in Egypt, which aims to replace paper cards used by families for access to food subsidies, combines the features of e-government and PPP (OECD 2010). The program was supported by a private contractor that was able to accelerate the distribution of ration cards nationwide.

Moreover, an extra public value was added to the program by making it possible to utilize cards for accessing other services such as pension payments and others (OECD 2010). Another good example of a PPP is an Indian project, eSeva, whose purpose is to provide the government with hardware and software through multiple shops where citizens can access various online services, such as paying taxes and bills (Bhatnagar & Singh 2010).

These projects reveal the significance of e-government initiatives and suggest that public value, such as service and accessibility, may be a critical factor in defining the overall success of government digitalization. Successful e-government also requires a proper balance between the supply of online services and their demand by citizens and businesses. Therefore, the government should strive to mainstream digitalization and have a strong e-government vision as part of a comprehensive strategic plan. Figure 1 provides a summary of all the main e-government drivers.

UAE Context

The integration of e-government practices in all of its public service branches is one of the fundamental objectives of the government of Dubai. According to Al-Khouri (2012), the first e-service in the UAE was launched in 2001, and since 2004 the government has started negotiations and collaboration with Etisalat, a large local telecommunications company, for the development of e-government infrastructure.

Nowadays, thousands of miscellaneous online services are offered to UAE businesses and citizens through governmental portals. The majority of the UAE government departments currently offer online features, whereas 80% of all transactional services, such as e-stamps, e-Dirham, e-procurement systems, and others, are performed online (OECD 2010). Notably, the Dubai Smart Government Department has the mission of controlling all e-government initiatives in the emirate.

It ensures that e-government development efforts are in line with the overall national Vision 2021, which foresees high quality of life built on world-class public infrastructure, government services and a rich recreational environment (UAE mGovernment initiative 2018, para. 1).

Active collaboration with private partners and investment in technology infrastructure development and promotion of public awareness are signs of a supportive e-government culture in the UAE. Additionally, the country consistently receives high scores on various e-government indexes assessed across 193 countries by the United Nations (UN). As the results summarized in Table 1 show, the UAE received the highest scores in the human resource capital and telecommunication infrastructure categories.

These factors indicate the availability of human and technology resources, which are the basis for the success of e-government platforms because they ensure high quality of services and infrastructure maintenance, and they are a prerequisite for a greater level of stakeholder participation. Nevertheless, the current online services and e-participation scores are relatively low. The major reason for this is the formative stage of the UAE online services, insufficient level of citizens trust in those services, and the one-way direction of user-government communication (Alketbi 2018).

Nevertheless, the review of UAE digitalization initiatives makes clear that the necessary institutional framework for the enhancement of e-government is currently present in the country. Still, some improvements must be made to improve the effectiveness of the system.

Table 1: UAE Score on E-Government Indexes based on the 2014 UN Survey.

Analysis and Discussion: The Case of the Dubai Police Force

Globalization and technological advances have affected the work of the Dubai Police Force. Nowadays, it implements a plethora of innovative devices throughout the law enforcement chain and also integrates modern IT to enhance internal knowledge management systems and databases. The establishment of the General Department of eServices of the Dubai Police Force in 2001 can be regarded as a primary strategic change in the organizations governance (Government of Dubai 2018b).

This administrative body has the goal of providing the necessary support to different Dubai Police branches, and it coordinates digitalization processes among them. For instance, it focuses on differentiating online services offered by the Dubai Police Force to emirate residents. The list of over thirty services offered at the official Dubai Police website includes fine traffic payment, requests to open a criminal case, vehicle inspection requests, lost item inquiries, and many more (Government of Dubai 2018a).

Notably, the police referred to service use statistics to identify the most demanded services before transferring them into electronic form (Bishr 2012). By allowing people to access those services through various channels, including the Internet, specialized kiosks, mobile messaging, and others, the Dubai Police Force has managed to enhance the cost-benefit ratio at both individual and organization levels and has increased its competitiveness.

Ongoing technological innovation and widespread use of ITs have led to significant strategic changes in all public organizations. Specifically, these changes are related to staff training and recruitment of technologically savvy individuals, as well as the allocation of funds to IT infrastructure development and enhancement projects (Awadh & Al-Dhaafri 2010). The latter initiatives require a more detailed explanation in the case of the Dubai Police because the list of their PPPs is continually growing.

At the present moment, the police as a public entity work jointly with such private corporations as Avaya Inc. and Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). According to McBride (2014), these PPPs are motivated by the smart city vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which aims to improve the overall quality of life in urban environments. For instance, together with Avaya, the Dubai Police developed self-service stations that were meant to provide more real-time customer engagement opportunities than traditional call centers (McBride 2014).

Additionally, with the help of crime mapping and recording systems from PITB, the police were able to enhance operand-based search processes and the human resource management practices because the technology allows storing complete profiles on individual officers (Khan 2017). This innovation has several implications for social responsibility and stakeholder accountability strategies in the organization. The recording of officers histories demonstrates the Police Forces commitment to the principles of ethical conduct, minimizing the chance for workers misbehavior or violation of professional codes.

Nevertheless, with the utilization of ITs, the risk of data breaches arises and poses a significant threat to public security. According to Bishr (2012), this factor currently prevents the Dubai Police from meeting customers needs and expectations. At the same time, the organization recognizes the significance of the problem and is aware of the dangers to the entire government posed by it (Bishr 2012). However, current security measures require improvement to address public concerns.

To sum up the discussion, one can say that organizational readiness for e-government is defined by three major drivers: processes, technologies, and human capital. The examples of the Dubai Police initiatives reviewed here show that this organization is in the process of re-engineering various organizational processes, including law enforcement, human resource management, customer interaction, and others.

An excellent internal networking system developed through the use of modern technologies is one of the favorable primary outcomes for the Dubai Police in the nationwide digitalization reform. It is clear that, along with other departments, it is now taking a businesslike approach to public management and currently operates within the NPM framework to enhance customer satisfaction by maximizing benefits and value and minimizing costs.

Nevertheless, there are still some things to be done in regards to customer satisfaction with Dubai Police e-services, primarily a need for improvement in online transaction security. The organization should take into account the overall UAE scores in e-government performance and address the factors inhibiting the further success of digitalization and platform improvement. A low level of e-participation is currently the most significant factor. A more detailed summary of recommendations for performance enhancement will be given in the following section.

Recommendations

Security

Digitalization implies an increasing dependence on massive databases that frequently include sensitive and confidential information. Since the fear of fraud and hijacking is associated with a low level of citizens trust in online transactions, public organizations should aim to optimize data protection. The Dubai Police can use the same methodology in addressing this problem as the one that was implemented to design e-services.

It can analyze internal statistics to identify the most frequent type of incidents threatening the integrity of data and then design specific strategies to target them. For instance, Holtfreter and Harrington (2016) state that most data breaches take place due to internal factors: theft by employees, unintentional loss, and so on. The development of a corporate culture that incorporates the value of data security, staff training, and the implementation of relevant organizational policies will be appropriate steps toward risk reduction. For better outcomes, policies should specify which types of personal information can be legally disclosed in different circumstances.

Awareness of e-Government Initiatives

Formally, the Dubai Police Force meets the e-government criteria as it has a well-developed infrastructure and the necessary resources. However, the implementation of digitalization projects may be compromised due to an overall insufficient level of public outreach. The low UAE score on e-participation can be partially addressed through strategies aimed at improving security and reducing error rates (as discussed above).

However, it is also essential to make citizens aware of the public value of online services and e-government in general. According to Jaeger and Thompson (2003), when people are insufficiently educated about the benefits linked to e-government, they will not likely seek to use the e-government, defeating the purpose of the development of e-government information and services (p. 390).

Therefore, public education programs should be launched, and they must emphasize such benefits of online government platforms as transactional efficiency; better quality of governance, including multiple ethical implications such as reduced incidence of corruption (Bhatnagar & Singh 2010); and service convenience. To increase public awareness, the Dubai Police should work jointly with other governmental departments because a comprehensive approach is preferable. Additionally, the utilization of its private partners advertising channels and expertise may lead to even better results.

Networking and Collaboration

A collaborative environment is crucial for e-government efficiency and success. The analysis shows that the Dubai Police Force is actively engaged in several PPPs. Nevertheless, a partnership between different government departments is pivotal as well. At the present moment, most services offered by the Dubai/UAE ministries and public service departments seem not to be integrated, and, as a result, inconsistencies between departments and waste of valuable resources occur (OECD 2010).

Along with collaborating with other organizations in the public sector to enhance public outreach, the Dubai Police should strive to engage in the development of a single country-wide e-strategy. To do so, the organization can provide evidence gathered over the years of active digitalization and during the implementation of its advanced internal networking system to help the government design comprehensive policies and cross-boundary governance structures that would target current performance inconsistencies more effectively.

Conclusion

Globalization has triggered a need for public sector reforms, and e-government can be regarded as an effective means for delivering them. Along with providing an opportunity to address stakeholder interests, e-government is associated with such benefits as cost reduction and operational efficiency. Nevertheless, the findings of the literature review make it clear that to achieve these benefits, states must ensure the presence of the necessary factors: resources, infrastructure, public awareness, culture, and strategic plans. It also was shown that PPPs allow governments to increase the chance for success in the implementation of effective e-government projects because by working with private entities, they may manage expenses and more effectively access important professional resources.

The UAE actively invests in the digitalization of public services and the development of online government platforms. The case of the Dubai Police illustrates this well: the organization currently provides a plethora of e-services and continually strives to increase its operational efficacy by using ITs and PPPs. Nevertheless, there are still some barriers to the success of smart government initiatives. These barriers include security risks, an insufficient level of customer trust and awareness, and a lack of collaboration among governmental departments. Therefore, to achieve better performance outcomes, the organization should engage in more networking endeavors, participate in public education and policymaking, and implement strategies to minimize the threat of data breaches.

Reference List

Alketbi, H 2018, An evaluation of e-government effectiveness in Dubai Smart Government Departments. Web.

Al-Khouri, AM 2012, eGovernment strategies the case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), European Journal of ePractice, no. 17, pp. 126-150.

Awadh, A & Al-Dhaafri, H 2010, The effect of training and information technology management on organizational performance of Sharjah police, Journal of Management Research, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 31-51.

Bhatnagar, S C & Singh, N 2010, Assessing the impact of e-government: a study of projects in India, Information Technologies & International Development, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 109-127.

Bishr, AB 2012, Government initiatives case study: Dubai e-government initiative. Web.

Bwalya, KJ & Mutula, S 2016, A conceptual framework for e-government development in resource-constrained countries: the case of Zambia, Information Development, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1183-1198.

Cooper, AF, Hughes, CW & De Lombaerde, P 2008, Regionalisation and global governance: the taming of globalisation?, Routledge, New York, NY.

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Farazmand, A 2006, Globalization: a theoretical analysis with implications for governance and public administration, in A Farazmand and J Pinkowski (eds), Handbook of globalization, governance, and public administration, CRC Press, New York, NY, pp. 3-26.

Government of Dubai 2018a, Dubai Police. Web.

Government of Dubai 2018b, Services for individual. Web.

Holtfreter, R & Harrington, A 2016, Employees are the weakest links, part 1: data breaches and untrained workers, Fraud Magazine. Web.

Jaeger, PT & Thompson, KM 2003, E-government around the world: lessons, challenges, and future directions, Government Information Quarterly, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 389-394.

Kaliannan, M, Awang, H & Raman, M 2010, Public-private partnerships for e-government services: lessons from Malaysia, International Journal of Institutions and Economies, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 207-220.

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Pollitt, C & Bouckaert, G 2011, Public management reform: a comparative analysis  new public management, governance, and the neo-weberian state, Oxford University Press, New York, NY.

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UAE mGovernment initiative. 2018. Web.

Introduction

The establishment of the UN organization took place in 1945, but soon after, the necessity of reforms became evident. The UN Secretaries-General have made attempts to implement the necessary reforms, but the more they tried, the more need for constant reforms was encountered. The frequency of reforms in this body represents it as more dynamic due to subjective and diverse reflection of interests. Such diversity primarily contributes to why the association faces difficulties in carrying out reforms (Azam, 2021). Few reforms such as the agenda for peace 1992, Brahimi Report, and freedom initiative by Koffi Annan were implemented, but still, the entity needs to reform the peacekeeping budget and the Peacebuilding Commission among other options.

The organization has struggled with reforms because of the following aspects. First, it is highly decentralized, complex, and multi-faceted, and therefore, the only solution for the members was to work under the concept of agreement (Azam, 2021). Unfortunately, as the Member States, the subjects have never united to support specific goals for reform because they commit to passing contradictory ideas, making any alterations complicated. Secondly, the union encompasses the Member States with deep-seated agreements on political interests. The worldwide interaction involves the poor, the rich, the powerless, and the powerful pursuing specific interests. These are the problems that shape decision-making in the UN, keeping it a divided and contradicted agency (Azam, 2021). Thus, the issues about reforms at the UN stay either unsuccessful or incomplete, and therefore, this term has been considered vague among the Member States. The achievability index is low because reforms in this association are politically capitalized, take time to be implemented, and require patience and resources, which remain unavailable. Regardless of these issues, there is a need to make reforms that when handled, can support the entire firm.

Previous Reforms

There is a record of reforms that have been worked on even if they were not successful. The first one is the agenda for peace 1992, which was elaborated as Boutros Boutros-Ghalis initiative, which was UNs, Secretary-General. The Brahimi Report, which was drawn up in 2000, was written by the independent experts high commission led by Rahim, an Algerian diplomat. The third reform was considered a freedom initiative submitted by Koffi Annan (Azam, 2021). This reports main intention was to implement the commitments of this organization as contained in its 2000 Millennium Declaration during the World Summit and to initiate the authorization of missions. The subjects permitting the mission were supposed to use force to ensure the mandate is fulfilled.

The Necessary Reforms

Peacekeeping Budget

The first necessary reform for the UN is the organizations need to refine the peacekeeping budget. The annual budget is formed from 1st July till 30th June, which needs to be done 12 months in advance. This principle demands every individual government to contribute concerning its salary scale and rank. The problem which has affected for long this reform is that the Member State contributions, which are done compulsorily, are late or fail to reach implementation time. Currently, it is becoming difficult to pay the troop-contributing nations as expected. The UN is presently indebted to the Member States for the sum of USD 3.5 billion (Azam, 2021). Such a scenario forces the UN to refill the annual assessments and other financial resources to settle the gap brought about by this situation. Reform is needed to affect the subjects to ensure funds are supplied to the UN appropriately and without fail to support the smooth running of events.

Peacebuilding Commission

Through the Peacebuilding Commission, the organization can achieve early warning and be empowered to comfortably execute internal monitoring. The peacebuilding center was established in 2010 and has supported the need to ensure a constant flow of information to delegates and missions security (Azam, 2021). Through this body, coordination of situational and political information from various sources to the UNs premises is executed comfortably. This center needs to be active and stable because when a crisis emerges, the agency becomes a facilitator. Therefore, to activate the crisis response mechanism, the organization needs proper coordination (Azam, 2021). Such architecture will only succeed if mediation and prevention capabilities, field mission, and the Secretariat are staffed adequately. It is therefore a recommendation to reform this structure to ensure it can carry out its mandates appropriately by considering proper human resources policy.

My Opinion

The UNs peacekeeping mission needs to cooperate with the host government, multilateral partners, and bilateral agencies to ensure gender issues are exhaustively addressed. Womens participation in such issues as reintegration, disarmament, and demobilization is essential since it will not only form a diversified workforce in the UN but also empower women (Azam, 2021). The Suh step would make it easier for the organization to manage any slow implementation and practical which occur as challenging to handle. It is essential to ensure the necessary reforms for this organization are initiated.

In conclusion, apart from the reforms which the UN has tried to handle, such as the agenda for peace 1992, Brahimi Report, and the freedom initiative by Koffi Annan, the performance of the entity still leaves much to be desired. The UN as an agency is confronted with the dilemma of managing its mandate because the union operates in a highly decentralized, complex, and multi-faceted environment. To smoothen its workability power, the organization needs to support peace-support architecture by ensuring it is properly equipped. Besides, host governments, bilateral agencies, multilateral partners, and others need to be included in even decision-making channels.

Reference

Azam, S. (2021). Reform of the United Nations Organization. Inter Press Service News Agency. Web.

Recent studies of American literature have revealed Louisa May Alcott as a more significant figure, as her perception of the Civil War has shaped our understanding of her talents as a writer and as a philosopher. Her republished works have greatly contributed to cultural, philosophical, and literary studies. In particular, Madeleine B. Sternes L. M. Alcott: signature of reform is one of the aspects providing our vision of the writer. The book is a collection of experts of Alcotts writing, both non-fiction and fiction, that discloses the novelists sincere commitment to the reforms introduced to America from the 1830s up to the 1880s. In our discussion, we will focus on three specific reforms, the way they are perceived by Alcott, and compare them with other writings, namely, the analysis of domestic reform, educational issues, and feministic issues. It is also worth mentioning that Alcotts writings are saturated with gender views on the problem as well due to the rise of feministic movements.

The domestic reforms of the nineteenth century presuppose the introduction of conservative spirits where the priority is given to a healthy way of style. Hence, this lifestyle is associated with nobility and decency. This epoch also introduces the principles which will prove a safe guide to any woman of common sense& (Beecher and Beecher p. 21). Excessive concern with health gave rise to the introduction of different scholarly articles and experiments on animals that investigated useful components the food contains. Like in the food reform, the main logo of drink reform was total abstinence (Beecher and Beecher 23). The same is observed in clothing that was also subjected to healthy norms so that no stiff bone allowed to press in front, and the jacket should be so loose that a full breath can be inspired with ease (Beecher and Beecher 25).

However, Alcott has a completely different view on domestic reform thus criticizing this total abstinence in food, drink, and clothes. She argues that the food turns out into fashion, so that fashion dictates what should be consumed and what is forbidden. In her fictional writing on food, the novelist describes a classical picture of morning eating where the traditional course was oatmeal, since You are not a true Scotchwoman if you dont like the Parrish (Alcott 27). As it can be viewed, Alcott rejects everything that contradicted natural law. People should take care of righteous food consumption and demonstrate a spiritually and physically healthy way of life. In her essay, Alcott believes that women should be able to cook themselves to demonstrate their domestic skills. The purity and integrity with nature are observed in consuming different kinds of drinks so that everything that is considered unhealthy should be excluded from a daily meal. Alcotts drink philosophy agrees with the introduced reform, as she believes that alcohol makes men &waste their money, neglect their families, break their wives hearts, and set an example to their children (Alcott 31). Alcotts reflections on clothing reveal her striving the old fashion and simplicity and giving priority to the inner world over appearance. In her essay on the dress, she writes, &good old fashion of simplicity made the plain gowns pretty, and the grace of unconsciousness beautified their little wearer (Alcott 33). According to the writer, the orthodox view on a womans clothing should be harmonious with her mood and behavior; it is also a sign of a decent upbringing. The nineteenth-century dress should interpret individual taste and character.

The concept to feel right, to think righty, and act righty was also pursued in the scope of the educational reform (Peaboy 59). Being in the constant search of absolute moral norms, the English people were more focused on spiritual and ethical values. The above cannot but present the Bible as the main nurture for children and adults; the religious issues, therefore, came to the forth. However, strict rules and severe obedience are hardly accepted by children, which resulted in cruel punishments. Hence, absolute obedience and persistence are the main pillars of a successful education. In Alcotts opinion, the main problem of education reform consists in approaches to the learning process. In her essay Eight Cousins, she mentions, It is the fault of most American schools, and the poor little heads will go on aching till we learn better (Alcott 70). His vision of education does not confine to books and school attending; Alcott is more concerned with provoking the desire of children to enrich their knowledge about the world. Her pedagogical philosophy also presupposes the introduction of a natural way of thinking. Again, her outlook on the learning process is connected with female education.

The problem of love and male-female relations was also the greatest concern of nineteenth-century society. Hence, marriage is not perceived as a relationship bound with love but with obligations and traditions. Still, the relations revealed in William Alcotts essay, The Young Wife, are saturated with the themes of gender inequality. Therefore, the reforms in life are directed at the manifestation of moral excellence and purity of relations. The noble feelings of sacrifice and unselfish love were of great value so that it [was] more blessed to give than to receive (Alcott 1838 159). The writing also presents the co-called general rule in relations between a man and a woman Do everything for your husband which your strength and a due regard to your health will admit (Alcott 1838 159). The same image of a nineteenth-century woman is presented in Fullers essay that states, no married woman can represent the female world, for she belongs to her husband (161).

The above problem of gender inequality provokes Alcotts feministic views on the stereotypes established in her time that confine a womans world to a little society (Alcott 162). Unlike men, a woman should strictly observe all the moral and ethical norms, learn languages and behave properly. She also despises marriage as the main means of gaining acknowledgment in society. The natural and physical law, hence also spread on male-female relationships. Instead, Alcott advocates a womans right to reveal veritable feelings and moral preferences but to disguise by the marriage and a mans dominance.

The reforms introduced in the nineteenth century were confined to several general principles, namely, total abstinence, aspiration to the origins of human nature, simplicity, and purity. All these principles were directed at the improvement of peoples physical and moral perception of the world. In essays, Alcott reveals her disagreement with some of the above-mentioned rules thus ascertain that excessive conservatism contradicts the natural sense of life. Her writings also accentuate the problem of gender inequality where a woman is considerably limited in her desires and opportunities.

Works Cited

Alcott, William Andrus. The Young Wife. L. M. Alcott signature of reform. US: UPNE, 2002. 157-160. Print

Beecher, Catharine, and Beecher Harriet. The American Womans Home L. M. Alcott signature of reform. US: UPNE, 2002. 21-26. Print

Fuller, Margaret. Woman in the Nineteenth Century. L. M. Alcott signature of reform. US: UPNE, 2002. 161-197. Print.

Peabody, Elizabeth Palmer. Records of Mr. Alcotts School L. M. Alcott signature of reform. US: UPNE, 2002. 57-58. Print

Stern, Madeleine B., and Alcott Louisa May. L. M. Alcott signature of reform. US: UPNE, 2002.

The Affordable Care Act or Obamacare to some has its proponents and opponents. Those who support this bill cite better healthcare for the poor as their major point.

In my chosen article, Hurray for Health Reform, Paul Krugman presents several arguments for this bill (Krugman par. 2). Though they are good arguments, I do not entirely agree. There is a downside to this bill and the writer ignores this in his article.

In his first paragraph, the writer points out that the Affordable Care Act can be judged as good based on its opponents. He forgets that the law-making process is highly political; there must always be proponents and opponents. In this case, Democrats are the proponents and Republicans are the opponents.

Therefore, this is not a good criterion to judge whether this law is good or not. If Republicans had proposed the bill, obviously Democrats would have found political reasons to oppose it, no matter the content. This is because every political party is trying to create a good image in the eyes of voters.

Towards the end of the second paragraph, the author dismisses the arguments against the Healthcare Reforms as dishonest. This is a judgemental comment. Some of the opponents of the bill have very genuine reasons. He has not taken the time to understand why they do not support ACA.

I believe nobody would willingly want to deny other people healthcare. However, all the logistics must be considered before making such a decision.

The writer alleges that it is unfair when insurers are left free to decide who is covered or who is not. This is partly true, because businesses aim at making a profit and insurance is a business too. However, in the same breath, health insurers have to limit their risk to a certain extent or they will soon run into financial trouble.

When insurers run into financial trouble, everyone suffers. This was displayed clearly by the finance industry when AIG collapsed and had to be bailed out by the government. The writer also fails to recognize that young people who need the cheap cover more than the old do.

Many young people are unemployed or struggling in their first jobs. In contrast, many older people are financially stable with steady sources of income. Such people can afford to purchase any health insurance they need. Obviously, the health risk increases with age, therefore insurers charge higher premiums.

Nevertheless, the fact is that older citizens, having worked all their lives, can afford these premiums. Younger citizens need lower, affordable premiums. Insurance firms should not be criticized for creating products specifically for young adults. They are merely trying to serve the bulk of the countrys population currently.

In New York, insurance firms are required not to turn away people with pre-existing conditions. These are long-term or terminal diseases have already been diagnosed. The writer claims that this is not an effective policy.

I believe that this policy has helped many people with pre-existing conditions to purchase insurance. The premiums are high due to the expenses involved in treating such conditions. However, in the end, it is usually cheaper for such patients to pay for insurance than to cover their own medical bills.

This is another case of insurers trying to help but appearing as the villains. We must not forget that insurers have to make a profit too.

The compulsory requirement that everybody purchases insurance is not fitting for this age. The government cannot force people to buy products, and insurance is a product. In this article, the writer argues that this compulsory requirement and the subsidies provided by government will solve Americas health problems.

This is far from the truth. Actually, Americans will end up spending more on healthcare. The subsidies are obtained from taxes, which are collected from citizens. The same citizens are expected to pay compulsory premiums but obtain only basic healthcare.

If they need additional care, they need to purchase alternative cover and pay more premiums. This leaves them in a worse situation than before. Given the current harsh economy, this cannot be the best solution for American healthcare.

The author reminds us that this bill is meant to aid the Americans who fall through the cracks of the healthcare system. However, he fails to tell us that these are approximately 48-51 Million Americans. This number is quite huge. Trying to service all the health needs of everymen may turn out to be more difficult than the author portrays.

If all these people were to be put under compulsory cover, the profit margin for insurance firms would reduce to barely 15%. Many private insurers would have to close down. This industrys profitability would no longer be attractive.

If the government enacts legislation that makes the insurance industry unattractive to private investors, it may have to carry out the insurance functions itself. The government is not an efficient use of resources.

Neither is it an efficient provider of services. This is evident in public schools. If the government ends up as the sole or majority insurer, this industry would be in absolute chaos.

Finally, the author seeks to convince us to ignore the cost of this scheme (Krugman par. 6). He informs us that projections indicate that the actual cost of implementation has reduced slightly.

However, billions of dollars it will cost the government over the next decade is conveniently left out. The government is already operating on a deficit budget. An additional 900 billion will be hard to source.

Investors have also lost faith in the government with its reduced credit rating. The only alternative would be taxes. These will obviously make life harder for the citizens.

In conclusion, the writer does a good job of defending this legislation. He argues that the poor will benefit and everyone will have access to basic healthcare.

However, he ignores the important issues of the effect on the insurance industry and the cost of implementation. For these reasons, I do not agree entirely with the contents of this article.

Works Cited

Krugman, Paul. Hurray for Health Reforms. 18 March. 2012. Web.

Introduction

The law of employment also referred to as the labor law is a field of law that governs relations between employees and employers. It is adopted by every country with regard to its economic, legal, and mental specificities. This paper aims at investigating the primary features of employment law in the United Arab Emirates and determining how it is applied by organizations.

The overview of UAE law of employment

In the United Arab Emirates, labor matters are governed by one law  the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 Regulating Labor Relations (hereafter the Law). There were several amendments to the law designed and adopted during the subsequent years with the latest changes introduced in 2016. This legal act regulates all workplace relations beginning from employment including recruitment of women, children, and juveniles to determining all details of organizing and managing work processes and defining working schedules, disciplinary rules, and quitting provisions. It also offers information about vacations, professional training, handling labor disputes, controlling the quality of work, and penalties. Gathering all provisions in one comprehensive law is beneficial for both employees and employers because they do not have to investigate a broad legislative framework. It makes the UAE labor system effective and well-organized.

All staff and workers whether natives or foreigners are obliged to follow the provisions of the Law. However, there are several categories of staff and employees to whom the Law is not applicable. These groups comprise of people employed by the federal government and the government departments, public and federal government institutions, municipalities, domestic servants, people involved in agriculture and grazing (except employees of companies specializing in processing food), and members of armed forces, security units, and police (UAE Labor Law 4).

The Law specifies that employing expatriates is only possible after receiving the permission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Moreover, Chapter 3 of the Law highlights the necessity of signing employment contracts that determine all details of placing to the job including the date of starting work, scheduling, wages and remuneration, nature of work and its location, rights, and responsibilities, and the duration of the contract unless it is unlimited in time. It should be noted that it is permissible to conclude the contracts in oral form. However, in this case, they are automatically considered as those for an unlimited period (UAE Labor Law 12).

The fact that an expatriate should receive permission to work in the UAE is motivated by the active policy of Emiratization designed by the federal government. According to this labor policy framework, specific attention should be paid to making the native population a dominant group of those employed. High wages and standards of living together with a favorable tax regime made the UAE attractive to foreigners. To solve the problem of foreign domination in the workplace, the Ministry of Labor has introduced the labor quota  a target of 55 percent for UAE natives employed by an organization (Barnett, Malcolm and Toledo 296). This step is necessary for reducing the level of unemployment among the UAE natives. However, it can be disadvantageous for the organization that views expatriates as more productive (Marchon and Toledo 2254).

The new employment legislation of 2016

In 2016, the UAE labor system was changed. Now, the Law includes some new provisions. For example, it excludes what was earlier known as the employment ban. It is a provision that prohibited working for six months in the case of terminating the contract unilaterally and moving to a new employer (Bobker par. 2). What was introduced instead is the agreed compensation either in the form of financial remuneration or working until the vacancy is not filled (Chaudhry par. 14). There is also the obligation of early notification about termination that is to be at least three months. Another amendment refers to the fixed term of the employment contract. It is now determined to be two years (Kapur par. 18). The same provision is applicable to visas granted to expatriates. The period of their operation will be two years just like the duration of the employment contract. So, in the case, if a foreigner wants to continue working in the UAE, he or she should renew a visa.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that the operation of one comprehensive labor law is the strongest side of the UAE labor system. Even though there are several groups of employees exempted from the Law effect, it creates the framework of equality and uniformity because all organizations are obliged to function under unique provisions and cannot make up their own terms of employment. One of its weaknesses, however, is the fact that there is no legally established minimum level of wages and the possibility of concluding a contract in a word that makes it impossible for use in the case of legal disputes. Bearing in mind the amendments to the UAE labor legislation and the policy of Emiratization, it can be said that the country works at improving its labor system preserving its attractiveness for both native and foreign employees but shifting the focus to the native dwellers and caring for their welfare and prosperity.

Works Cited

Barnett, Andy, Michael Malcolm and Hugo Toledo. Shooting the Goose that Lays the Golden Egg: The Case of UAE Employment Policy. Journal of Economic Studies 42.2 (2015): 285-302. Print.

Bobker, Keren. UAE Labor Law Changes Affect Employment Ban Rules for Workers Moving Job. The National. 2016. Web.

Chaudhry, Nida. How UAE Employment Law Is Changing in 2016. 7 Days. 2016. Web.

Kapur, Shuchita. New UAE Rules to Follow when Resigning Your Jobs. Emirates 24/7 News. 2016. Web.

Marchon, Cassia, and Hugo Toledo. Re-thinking Employment Quotas in the UAE. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 25.16 (2014): 2253-2274. Print.

UAE Labor Law. 2001. Web.

Many Americans are familiar with the McDonalds spilled hot glass lawsuit that practically even became a joke. The court decision in favor of the plaintiff, to whom the restaurant paid compensation for the damage caused, is often parodied in the movies (Hot Coffee, 00:05-00:53). Without knowing the details of the case, an ordinary person can find it frivolous since it appears that anyone can get a massive amount of money just due to a hot drink spill.

However, the situation changes when one learns that the plaintiff Liebeck got severe burns and spent considerable financial resources to cover medical costs. Moreover, the trial revealed that Mcdonalds received more than 700 similar complaints, and these people never obtained any compensation at all. McDonalds policy of serving drinks at temperatures up to 205 degrees Fahrenheit has caused damage to hundreds of customers.

This kind of temperature is comparable to a hot radiator during a drive and sufficient to peel the skin from bones in just a few seconds (Batchelor). These and other circumstances, thoroughly investigated in the documentary movies Hot Coffee directed by Saladoff, testify that the Liebeck and McDonalds case is far from frivolous. On the contrary, the lawsuit reveals a critical national issue of tort reform.

Tort reform is one of the most sensitive topics in American politics. Tort actions represent such kinds of law claims that involve damage compensation for wrongful actions, primarily financially. The Liebeck and McDonald case has had a key influence on Texas tort legislation, provoking increased lobbying for the controversial reform that undermines citizens compensation rights. Major federal media were divided, arguing about how frivolous the case was. Some compared it to silly lawsuits like a student suing college because of a loud campus party. The problem is that many Americans had a fundamentally wrong perception of the national law system, assuming this systems error was resulting in flooding in frivolous lawsuits (Hot Coffee). In an attempt to correct this error and redistribute resources more efficiently, tort reform was born.

The idea of the reform was to reduce frivolous lawsuits and consequently limit what a jury awards, contributing instead to healthcare and more doctors working in Texas. However, the number of medical malpractice cases filed in the state dropped by two-thirds (Carter), weakening the power of citizens to claim compensation for received damages since medical malpractice suits can be expensive to pursue (Texas Tort Reform Didnt Work 03:1505:21).

Moreover, the reform practically displaced lawyers specialized in this field, forcing them to leave the state (Carter). Attorneys became less willing to risk when taking a tort case as the potential payoff often cannot recoup all the expenses associated with a particular tort. Therefore, it is evident that the reform did not reach its goal, conversely leading to unforeseen blasting consequences for the Teas civil justice system.

While ordinary buyers whose civil rights were in doubt suffered, some benefited from the reform. First of all, large companies and institutions, the irresponsibility of which remained safe, became the main winners of the new law system. In part, these players were able to achieve the implementation of the tort reform due to lobbying their interests and pumping money into jury elections (Jackson). Furthermore, medical malpractice cases have decreased in both number and value, which has been highly advantageous for physicians due to the dramatic drop in insurance costs (Vicens). In the end, in theory, the reform was designed to improve the lives of citizens, but in the end, it was far from ordinary Americans who won.

Overall, the tort reform restricts the right of people to go to court to defend their rights and obtain compensation for damages. Of course, a large stream of frivolous cases can harm the system. However, how and who should decide which case is just sinlessness and which one is worthy of the courts attention? More specific and feasible criteria for frivolity should be introduced to reduce the burden imposed on the law system and avoid civil rights being disrupted.

Works Cited

Batchelor, Suzanne. An Imaginary Crisis. The Texas Observer. 2019. Web.

Carter, Terry. Tort Reform Texas Style. ABA Journal, 2006. Web.

Hot Coffee. Directed by Susan Saladoff, distributed by HBO, 2011. Tubi.

Jackson, Jay. Legislators and Special Interests Are Making Sure We Get the State Court Judges They Want. ABA Journal, 2013. Web.

Texas Tort Reform Didnt Work. YouTube, uploaded by Stop MICRA. 2014. Web.

Vicens, Aj. How Dark Money Is Taking Over Judicial Elections. Mother Jones. 2014. Web.