Academic_Discourse

Angie Joseph ENC 4138 04/05/2011 Academic Discourse Final Draft “Exploring the Community of Public Administration” Introduction: Public Administration is all around us! It is the man who picks up our garbage, the police man who catches criminals, the farmer’s who ships fruit to our markets or the candidates who represents all 50 states. The definition of P.A. cannot plainly be defined in one sentence because of the complex political, legal, managerial and occupational nature of this community according to Borick. Public Administration is a vast community with many aspects within its array of organization. The discourse community of P.A explores several dimensions in policy making, law enforcement and overall management of government affairs. The members of the P.A. community who manages the functions of government are known as bureaucrats. The vast departments and agencies within the government all share different political cultures, goals and attitudes but as a whole a common understanding, language and purpose connect these separate organizations. My interest in the P.A. field lies in the managerial sections of this community and the P.A. degree I will receive from FAU will steer me in that direction. In the Discourse community of Public Administration I will explore management roles, nature of the environment, ways of communication, and practices necessary to be productive and skillful. I will also highlight the authorities behind the P.A community that make making it legit. Background: Public Administration has been around since the beginning of time for decades evolving into sophisticated synced organizations managed by government. The duties of Public Administrators are to “focus on responsibility to serve and empower citizens as they manage public administration” with the peoples interest at heart as stated in the constitution. (Denhardt p. 549). One of the most important functions in public administration is the process of policy making. The world is changing fast with new and efficient ways of communicating, technology, or going from coins dollar to paperless. The government is never ahead with these changes so policy adjustments and rule making are made to accommodate them. Policies help keep our country, cities, and communities safe and far most protect the rights of its citizens. The structure of government has branches consisting of three governing bodies (Judicial, Legislative, and Executive) and a national government which distribute the flow of power and “denies certain power to national government by reserving them for the states and the people” (Borick). The constitution is the foundation and architecture of P.A. and its operation is valid or legitimize under such articles. The age of public administration has moved to a “new public management” era of business like thinking for efficiency. The reorganizing of Public Administration has changed the environment and goals expected from administrators along terminology and skills imperative for management roles. Methods: The main source I will utilize for information about the overall nature and background of P.A. is a textbook by Christopher P. Borick. The title of the textbook reads “Introducing Public Administration”, it serves as a comprehensible reading material for entry and graduate level courses. I will be interviewing Professor Hugh T. Miller who is a professor at FAU teaching Public Administration and Management. Professor Hugh T. Miller was a former employee at HUD who has acquired knowledge and skills as a management analyst. A peer-reviewed Journal article by Robert B. Denhardt will provide insight on the new direction of P.A. and its evolution present practices in the industry. Artifacts such as the official website for Hud (www.hud.gov) will further provide informative details about the community’s goals, visions and authorities who call the shots. The approach in the discourse community of P.A. as a community will take an informative/formal stance. Findings & Analysis: What is Public Administration' It is all around you. The road you drive on, the school you attend, the park you enjoy and the bank you utilize for your finances are all part of Public Management. Our government does not run entirely perfect but it is the reason we not over charged for items you purchase or have a secure property that is rightfully yours. Public administration is a governing body comprised of many departments that carryout different task which enables the country and its citizens to function. It is the managing of public facilities, enforcers of the law as well as a problem solver for issues. One of the most important functions in public administration is the process of policy making because “Policy creates orderly structures and a sense of direction” (Borick p. 40). In the policy making cycle there are five elements as followed: agenda setting, policy decision or non-decision, implementation, program evolution and feedback. Agenda setting is presenting an issue to the public making valid arguments in attempt to reel in supporters. The agenda setters are usually activist, lobbyist, or any group that has a cause concerning a public issue. The mission of these individuals is to make enough noise to get supporters and the attention of the executives and legislators. Once an agenda has been considered a decision must be taken on whether the government will or will not get involved. There are two theories to keep in mind in the decision making process which are rational and incremental decision making. The single calculating decision maker all comes down to experience and ability to solve the issue at hand. Implementation stage is the translation of bills into policies. The policies are put into the force the law and police officers, auditors and ect who ensures the rules are followed (administrators). Evaluations of each program are conducted to measure effectiveness or outcomes to make adjustments. The feedback on evaluations may arise a new issue or help to make program a more effective. The public managers who overlook these policies are “influenced by pluralistic notion of American governments” because political views are defined by many factors (Borick). There are several definitions of bureaucracy; I perceive it as a place of where all public officials who see to its daily operation work at. Max Weber’s definition of bureaucracy is a structural organization with ten sets of criteria’s. The criteria’s describes an ideal type of bureaucracy such as a “free individual with approved technical qualifications working under strict disciplines in a bureaucratic office” (Borick p 250). Each bureaucratic office has specified functions in which free individuals devote their careers maintaining and executing its appointments. All bureaucracy offices are arranged in hierarchical importance as well as office positions, salary and promotions. The criteria’s of Weber’s definition of bureaucracy all come together to form a structural organization. Weber’s definition is similar in how the bureaucratic system operates today where a modern structure is adopted. Organizations today are created to specialize in specific function, professions, and productions in which efficiency is gain by coordination and organizational control. The Department of Housing and Urban Development purpose is to provide affordable housing for all who qualifies. Hud works with lending banks, real estate companies and construction industries who are expertise in the housing market. This association with hud and the housing industry promotes effectiveness of programs geared for low income individuals. Every organization has its own structural flaw but specialization and division of labor help to decrease insufficiencies. Hud’s mission statement states, their vision “is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities, and quality affordable homes for all ( www.hud.gov). In my experience this program has been successful and beneficial to the clients my father help become homeowners. Nature of Industry The environment between the organizations or bureaucracies within P.A. all seeks power, politics and influence as assets in gaining scarce resources. It’s a competitive environment where “influence can be based on factors ranging from an employee’s knowledge and abilities within a given filed” (Borick p. 67). Professor Miller described the environment inside the Department of Housing and Urban Development shaped by the construction, banking, and real estate industry. The three industries (real estate, banks, and construction) are dependent of each other because one build houses, the other lend money for purchasing of property and one seek buyers to purchase properties. Organizations seek this type of power especially the lower level organizations because they can utilize this dependence to gain access to private information, clientele, office space or discretionary funds (Borick p. 68). The environment of an organization or department can also be shaped by political culture. Public Administrators are all from certain regions in the U.S, have different religions and are part of a certain ethnicity which influences political views. Some may feel they are part of a certain class or have social advantages over others. All the above factors and more will have an impact towards the beliefs and social status of public managers as well as their organization. The New Public Management Managerial change encouraged more leeway for managers to execute tasks efficiently in the best way they vision. The business corporations and organizations give control to managers to operation their businesses in order to maximize good and services (Borick) In the 1980’s managerialism needed a change, the elite administrators with exceptional education and job position weren’t able to maintained a positive reputation for public sector nor keep productivity and services from taking a plunge. Today managerialism seeks to maximize total operation of an organization through strategies including technical advances, privation of businesses, and entrepreneurial. These terms are interchangeably used throughout public administration and administrators are expected to adapt with the nature of the organization to ensure its effectiveness. Privatization of government is the act of having private organizations or businesses provide service to the public that at one time was handled by the government. Concerns have been raised about government growing too large and with privatization responsibility or overseeing for a service, that might have open a new department in government, is instead given to a private source to execute. The nonprofit sector works with volunteer and charities to make up for certain shortcomings in the government. The non profit sector provides services that the government may not or fail to provide to society in means of improvement. The funds the nonprofit sector obtain from charities and service work are put towards the agency for its operations. Reengineering is a force that transforms an organization into a 360 degree change. This idea is an intervention of re-structuring operation processes, goals and management within an organization in order to promote increased productivity, performance and efficiency. The reengineering process includes process mapping (viewing operation), customer assessments (acknowledging needs), and processing visioning (a strategy). The issues some Administrators run into in the reorganization process are employee resistance or skeptics of visions effectiveness. Professor Hugh T. Miller was a “management analyst” at hud and he was involved in “reorganizing” the different offices under the Department of Housing and Urban Development. An issue Professor T. Miller encountered was the short abbreviations each office used to code different tasks within their department computer database. The communication was not clear between the offices and reorganization became a tedious task. Entrepreneurialism is visionary changes necessary for reorganizational intervention. The society we live in is evolving particularly in technology and in order for a business or organization to remain operational it must also evolve to keep up with its competitors. A key characteristic crucial for managers is competence to evaluate issue and create solutions which best solves them applying a business like concept. According to Denhardt, Administrators are “challenged to find new and innovative ways to achieve results or privatize functions previously provided by government”. As a result, the public sector privatizes some of the governments operations to businesses who can better manage changes in our society. Managers have to accommodate operations effectively to changes in the business society “involving transaction similar to those occurring in the market place (Denhardt p. 550). Communication The American society for public administration is an association for Administrators and student who share interests in P.A. This association has been established since 1939 and provides an array of opportunities including “networking and professional development”, annual conferences, and professional and academic recognition. Professor Hugh T. Miller informed me of this association. Conclusion: This discourse community is concern about the world we live in and develop careers in making it a better place for people to live in. Administrators work in several organizations throughout the U.S. bureaucracies creating policies, providing healthcare or managing the U.S budget. The existence of the public administration is established from the constitution and it’s the foundation and key holders of our well being. Public Administration has evolved just has humans did to accommodate its environment and requires business like skill such as entrepreneurial of its members keep up with competition. My future and career lies in this community because the symbol, purpose and work of public administrators have helped me in different phases of my life. Work Cited Denhardt, Robert B, and Janet Vinzant Denhardt. "The New Public Service: Serving Rather than Steering." Public Administration Revew 60.6 (2000): 549-559. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 4 Apr. 2011. Miller, Hugh T. Personal Interview. 7 Apr. 2011. Hugh T. Miller is a Professor at FAU teaching in the College for Design & Social Inquiry. Professor Hugh T. Miller is especially known for applying postmodern concepts to the fields of public policy and public administration according to FAU faculty and staff description. Shafritz, Jay M, E W Russell, and Christorphor P Borrick. Introducing Publich Administration. United States: Pearson Education, Inc, 2009.