Political Science and History - Essay Example

? HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Please write here of Due paper Final Answer No Part: A Before going to discuss whether street-level bureaucrats should have discretion in their day-to-day work or not, let us get a better understanding of what discretion in work actually is. Discretion in public administration context refers to the level of freedom that a bureaucrat may have to decide what he/she should do in any particular situation. Street-level or front level government employees should have some discretion in their day-to-day activities because sometimes they have to take critical decisions on their own in order to implement government decisions and policies properly. “The moral structure of discretion remains essentially the same for all officials because they are all charged to obey and implement the law and respect legal process in exercising their power and judgment” (Victoria 1). Discretion is involved in every matter of professional life for a street-level government employee. A front line officer is usually more involved in dealing with public matters because he/she has to deal with public more than the higher ranked officials do. A front line government officer should exercise his/her discretion in resolving public matters instead of sending every simple case to higher authorities. For example, a police officer should have the power to decide whether he/she should resolve a conflicting situation on his/her own or he/she should send the case to the court to decide on it. However, it depends on the nature of the case. If a case is not very complex and both conflicting parties come to the police officer to suggest a solution for them, then the police officer should make the decision on his/her own. Such discretions in day-to-day work not only enhance the ability of front line government offices to the critical decisions but also reduce the load of work for the government agencies. For example, if a police officer resolves simple conflicts between people on his/her own, it will reduce the workload for the court which is usually already burdened with a number of cases. However, sometimes discretion in day-today activities does not work well for the society. The reason is that the reasoning and logic that a person at a higher level can give related to public administration matters is different from the mindset of a person working as a front line government employee. Higher appointments are done based on the level of qualification and intellectual ability of people. Such people can take wise decisions by looking all aspects of matters. For example, a decision that a judge can take is more wise and merit-based than the decision that a front line police officer takes. Similarly, a decision that the manager of an organization can take for employees is more applicable and rational as compared to the decision that an employee takes for his/her work. Therefore, we can say that the consequences if street-level bureaucrats have discretion in their day-to-day activities vary from case to case. However, the negative consequences are not able to overcome the benefits associated with discretion to day-to-day works, such as, enhanced intellectual ability and reduced workload for government agencies. “Every elected, appointed, and career official must exercise judgment and discretion in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of office” (Victoria 1). Part: B The fundamental assumption of administrative reformers in the late 1800s and early 1900s that politics could have only adverse effects on administration was true up to some extent. The reason is that the politics of that time had incorporated such elements which could have disturbed the administrative approaches and systems of almost every department. Some of such elements included thirst of power, reducing the rights of others, and political instability. All of these elements played their roles in running the political matters of Central European countries. Such elements could have broken the whole administrative system of that time. For example, the thirst of power which different governments of that time, such as, Germany, Britain, Austria, and Poland showed to get hold of other territories could have been too bad for administrations as people at higher ranks would have used their administrative powers illegally for personal benefits. Administrations can work well only when they are free of any kind of politics. For example, employees should not demonstrate their political views and beliefs while on job because it gives rise to administrative disturbance and bias and if we talk about the influence of politics of late 1800s and early 1900s on administration, we can say that the type of politics being done at that time could have produced nothing good for administration. We can observe some effects of the influence of politics on today’s administrative structures and practices. For example, in third-world countries, such as, Pakistan and India, politicians have direct influence on administration and they take personal benefits using their resources in administration. Such acts harm social equality, as well as destroy the overall administrative structure of countries. Therefore, the fundamental assumption of the administrative reformers of that time regarding politics and administration seem to be true. Politics-Administration Dichotomy According to Tahmasebi and Musavi, Politics-administration dichotomy is one of the main theoretical constructs in the field of public administration. In the field of public administration, the politics-administration dichotomy has always kept a unique and strange history as it always has been escalating and constricting, increasing and declining, but had never went behind the scene. The relationship between politics, politicians, and administrators has been the focus of public administration (Tahmasebi and Musavi). Woodrow Wilson and Politics-Administration Dichotomy In view of Woodrow Wilson, politics and administration were two different things. He viewed politics as policy formulaation and administration as the way to implement those policies. Wilson advocated for the development of a capable and politically unbiased administrative system. Luther Gulick and Politics-Administration Dichotomy Gulick advocated for interaction and discretion in context of politics-administration dichotomy. He believed that administrators need to show discretion in their works in order to make the administrative system function properly. Luther Gulick and Development of Public Administration Gulick was a second-generation scholar who designed an all-inclusive organizational theory in which he stressed on the use of executive control to run administrative matters. He came up with some key developments in the field of public administration. For example, he promoted eight core duties of administrators which included planning, organizing, directing, staffing, reporting, coordinating, and budgeting. Answer No. 2 Labor Unions Before going to discuss the role of labor unions in organizations, let us get a better understanding of what labor unions actually are. Labor unions refer to the representation of employees belonging to any particular industry. They work to help employees get their rights from the top authorities of their respective companies. The main aim of every labor union is to get the demand of the employees and to provide them a safe and progressive work environment where they can work with a free mindset. The role of labor unions in the accomplishment of the goals of labor is very critical. They represent solidarity and harmony among different classes of labor and bring people close to each other to raise voice properly regarding provision of better employee rights, salaries, daily wages, and work conditions. Labor unions normally use strikes to get their voice to the top authorities. They also arrange formal meetings with authorities to convey workers’ demands about any particular issue. Leaders of labor unions play the front role in the struggle towards accomplishment of workers’ goals. They are usually from the working class and are fully aware of the needs and demands of the workers. They are good communicators and are able to communicate the need for the achievement of goals in the minds of the employees. It is important to know the factors that make workers join labor unions. When workers feel they their voice is not being listened by the top authorities properly, they move towards labor unions because they know that labor unions can help them in communicating their concerns to the top authorities in an effective manner. Some of the main factors that make workers join labor unions include the hope to advance to some particular social or political agenda, the increased level of dissatisfaction with the current work environment, the need to improve standard of life, opposition to some particular policy of the company, and opposition to free market system. Although all of these factors play a major role in making workers join labor unions, but dissatisfaction with the work environment and need to improve the standards of living are two such factors that are of significant value to almost every employee. Let us discuss these two factors in some detail in order to know the impact of these factors on the workers’ decision of joining labor unions. Dissatisfaction with the Work Environment One of the main factors that make people join labor unions is dissatisfaction with the work environment. Employees at all levels need a proper work environment to show enhanced productivity and job performance. When they do not get it, they face difficulties in concentrating properly towards work, which results in poor job performances. There are many factors that have the tendency to affect the overall environment of a company. Some of those factors include discrimination, harsh attitude of managers, and lack of employee benefits. Discrimination is one of the main factors that affect work environment for employees. For example, when managers start discriminating against employees from some particular race or ethnic group, a sense of discontent and frustration rises among employees which affects their level of productivity. The frustration does not let them concentrate on their work properly because they have in their minds that the managers are not going to appreciate their efforts in any case. The element of discrimination whether it is gender-based or race-based is not acceptable for employees and when they feel that there is no one to listen to their concerns; they join labor unions, which deal with the issue using a well-planned strategy. The leaders of such unions know what should be done in such situations. They use different ways to mold managers’ behaviors. For example, they use negotiations and strikes to make managers change their discriminative attitude towards employees. The leaders of labor unions start with negotiations with managers. They talk to managers regarding the concerns of employees to find a mutually acceptable situation. However, when they see that the behavior of managers has not changed, they call employees for strikes which usually results in favor of employees. Another factor, which causes dissatisfaction with the work environment, is lack of employee benefits. Employees may raise their voice in front of managers for the provision of employee benefits to them. Employee benefits plan is the key to improved employee performance. It not only motivates employees to show good work to achieve rewards and compensation but also creates a competitive environment at the work place. Lack of a compensation plan reduces employee productivity because employees do not put up good efforts when they know that the company will not recognize their performances. Therefore, employees join labor unions to convey their demand to the top authorities of the company in an effective way. Improve the Standards Of Living Improvement in the standard of living is also a major concern not only or employees but also for every other person in the world. It is a fact that people work to get money, which they can use to improve their lifestyles. For this, they do long-hour jobs and sometimes they even spend extra hours on job to earn more money. However, when their companies do not provide them with the salaries that they deserve, they become frustrated and that frustration forces them to join labor unions, which can effectively raise their concerns in front of the top authorities in case of private companies and to the government in case of government organizations. In the United States, employees raise their voice for increase in salaries, as well as for the provision of a proper service structure to them. Strikes for such causes are not an exception even in other parts of the world. Summing it up, we can say that every worker wants to improve his/her personal living style. When workers of a company do not get their rights through negotiations, they join labor unions, which are specialized in helping employees meet their demands from companies and from the government. Bibliography Tahmasebi, Reza, and Seyyed Musavi. “Politics-Administration Dichotomy: A Century Debate.” Administrative and Public Management. Accessed December 17, 2012, http://www.ramp.ase.ro/en/_data/files/articole/2011/17-09.pdf Victoria, Artur. “Career - Behavior Models.” Ezinearticles.com. Accessed December 17, 2012, http://ezinearticles.com/?Career---Behavior-Models&id=3193990 Read More