Public Administration: Solutions for a Crisis Situation

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Table of Contents

Three Ethical and Legal Breaches
Lindblom’s Muddling Through
Scientific Management
Gulick’s Approach
Weber’s and Goodnow’s Concepts
Evaluating the Case
Reference List

Three Ethical and Legal Breaches

The case in question entails at least three legal breaches, which can also be regarded as three ethical problems. One of the breaches is provision of distorted data. Thus, Secretary Swinson revealed a huge surplus in budget even though there was a considerable deficit. The employee deliberately revealed distorted data to hide poor results of his performance and create a positive image of himself.

The second breach is the theft as $1500 was missing. Even though there is some evidence that proves Arnold’s guilt, this breach could be committed by the Secretary Swinson who also could access the money. The third breach was misconduct of the majority of employees who violated the rules, i.e. were late for work, used computers for personal use, and purchased expensive furniture for the office.

Notably, lots of public administration theorists considered issues similar to the events depicted above. To clean up the breaches mentioned above, it is possible to employ approaches of such theorists as Woodrow Wilson, Jane Addams and Frederick Taylor. Thus, Wilson stressed the importance of seeing public administration as an organization (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012).

Admittedly, revealing inappropriate data is likely to lead to huge losses in any company. At that, the mistakes are found rather easily in organizations as a number of employees have access to the data. Hence, public administrators should understand that their actions can lead to their organization’s ‘bankruptcy’ and their unemployment.

This approach can make the Secretary Swinson (and other public administrators) come up with effective ways to address issues rather than try to make everything seem fine and distort data. Hence, the first step to clean up the breech is to make each employee financially responsible for the efficient work of their department.

The theft is a serious breach which needs specific measures. Addams claimed that public administration should be based on the principles of community (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012). Clearly, the money is likely to be taken by one of the employees. The employees do not feel a part of community and this, in part, led to the theft.

Therefore, it is important to launch a series of team-building training courses. It is also crucial to develop a strong culture and make employees share the principles developed. Addams noted that public administrators could work hard when they understood they were a part of the community (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012).

Public administrators should understand that a misconduct (and especially such a serious breach as theft) committed by one of them will negatively affect the rest of them. Finally, it is important to install some surveillance (cameras) or use additional measures of safety.

Poor performance of the public administrators can be explained by inefficient human resources management. According to Taylor, public administration is an organization and, thus, its efficiency depends on effectiveness of its employees (Cox, Buck & Morgan, 2010). To improve the situation in the department in question, it is vital to focus on human resources management (motivation, development, etc.).

Lindblom’s Muddling Through

It is possible to note that the case in study can be regarded as an illustration of Lindblom’s concept of muddling through. According to Lindblom, scientific approach that presupposed collecting data and thorough analysis of information did not work in the real world (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012).

Admittedly, public administrators have to make lots of decisions and they tend to follow certain patterns which have been used rather than initiate a change. Thus, Karns and Peters did not look for some evidence but simply accused Arnold of stealing the money. Instead of trying to find the thief, they berated a person who seemed to be the guilty person.

Secretary of State Swinson also muddled through as he did not want to implement any changes. Instead of trying to analyze certain flaws in their budgeting, the Secretary fired the intern who could collect the necessary data and come up with a preliminary analysis. Swinson also fired Karns and Peters to help his friends with employment.

It is possible to state that Swinson did not want to work, but he simply acted in the way lots of public administrated had acted. He did not need the change even though the department was malfunctioning. Swinson was not interested in thorough analysis; he jumped to conclusions and tended to adopt the behavioral patterns which had been used by other bureaucrats.

Scientific Management

Charles E. Merriam believed that scientific method could positively affect the development of public administration (Cox, Buck & Morgan, 2010). This method involves collecting data, in-depth analysis, making decisions and implementing change. This approach could be applicable in the case under consideration as the efficiency of the department (as well as each employee) was insufficient.

However, the department is not ready to adopt the new approach and start working efficiently. The department should undergo certain changes to become more effective. To develop a new strategy for the department, it can be beneficial to consider the theory x and y. Thus, according to McGregor, employees’ performance could be considered in two different ways (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012).

Hence, it is possible to assume that Swinson was one of the representatives of the employees x, i.e. he was reluctant to work hard and cared about his salary only. The Secretary implemented policies which made the rest of employees reluctant to work harder. It is possible to assume that the rest of the employees could be initiative and responsible if they were motivated properly.

The use of this approach could be beneficial for the department in question as it would lead to the necessary change and creation of the appropriate atmosphere. The present case also shows that formal and informal cooptation can is likely to have a negative impact on the employees’ performance.

Employees were distrustful and did not cooperate with the intern. It is important to make all employees understand the importance of hiring new people to make them more cooperative.

Gulick’s Approach

Gulick believed in the effectiveness of the scientific approach and developed a specific type of analysis (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012). According to Gulick, it is crucial to plan, organize, direct, staff, coordinate, report and budget properly to enable public administration function properly (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012). To address short-term goals of the department in question, it is important to hire Karns and Peters (perhaps, temporarily).

It is also essential ask all employees (including Swinson, Karns and Peters) to make reports highlighting such aspects as budgeting and some projects. This will help reveal violations if any. Of course, those who have committed some breaches should be punished (fined, fired or even brought to court).

To address long-term goals, it is necessary to ensure proper functioning of human resources professionals. Each employee will have to adopt Gulick’s approach, i.e. they will have to plan and report on their performance. The department should also be restructured so that employees could have supervisors who guide them and monitor their performance. The department’s head should also be monitored in order to avoid breaches.

Weber’s and Goodnow’s Concepts

Weber and Goodnow were advocates of bureaucracy as they believed that only this approach could be efficient (Cox, Buck & Morgan, 2010). The theorists stressed that only professionals in specific fields could effectively ensure proper enactment of laws (Cox, Buck & Morgan, 2010). Therefore, the agency in question should adopt certain approach based on the concepts revealed by Weber and Goodnow.

As has been mentioned above, human resources management is the key to improvement in the present case. First of all, employees should be hired in accordance with their qualities and professionalism (skills, experience, etc.) to be able to fulfill the tasks given. Weber’s and Goodnow’s principles can help the agency become efficient.

The employees should have the necessary expertise in certain fields, which will make the agency effective. Swinson hired new employees instead of Karns and Peters, but he did not focus on the new employees’ expertise. This is unacceptable and leads to further violations and poor performance of the organization. The structure of the agency should also be well-developed.

Thus, supervisors should guide employees and monitor their performance. The actions of the Secretary should also be monitored as this will help avoid violations. Employees should also have monthly (or weekly) meetings where they should discuss the most burning issues.

Evaluating the Case

It is possible to employ different approaches and methods to evaluate the case. However, Herbert Simon’s concepts concerning individuals’ decision-making will be the most effective. Thus, Simon believed that it was possible to analyze and predict people’s behavior and decision-making within the organization and public administration (Shafritz & Hyde, 2012).

According to the theorist, individuals make decisions based on certain data as well on their needs. Thus, Swinson fired people because he wanted to employ his friends. He also made a decision to distort budgeting data instead of trying to understand the reasons for the deficit. The agency’s employees were inefficient and their poor performance can be explained by the lack of motivation.

It is possible to fix the crisis situation by monitoring its performance. Thus, employees’ (as well as the Secretary’s) performance should be monitored. To make the monitoring effective, the agency also needs improvement in the sphere of communication.

Thus, employees should be aware of the goals of the organization. More so, they should share the organization’s values and adhere to the agency’s culture. There should be monthly meetings and team-building activities. It is also crucial to introduce motivation practices to make the employees more efficient.

This strategy will be effective as the major issue is the ineffective human resources management. The Secretary Swinson violated a number of rules, which justifies introduction of effective monitoring.

Poor discipline and performance of the employees is also explained by the inappropriate practices adopted. The agency needs an inspiring leader who will create a team of professionals who share the same values and are committed to achieve specific goals.

Reference List

Cox, R.W., Buck, S.J., & Morgan, B.N. (2010). Public administration in theory and practice. New York, NY: Longman Publishing Group.

Shafritz, J.M., & Hyde, A.C. (2012). Classics of public administration. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

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