Major Issues in Public Administration - Essay Example

Final Exam: Essay Questions Question Norton Long focused on public administration particularly the administrative power. Long argued that power is a very essential element in administration and this power is the force behind administration’s existence. In his work, Power and Administration, Long posits that administrative institutions including public agencies and bureaus are involved in a battle for political survival (Stillman 2010, p.97). For instance, the bureaucrats struggle for limited power resources from interest groups and others to sustain their organizations. Long argues further that the attainment, maintenance, increase and decrease of power are very important aspects that people cannot neglect. According to Long, there are many factors that act as sources of power of an administrator, and he claimed that legal authority and budget allocations are not sufficient bases of administration. More so, he claimed that the top hierarchy while structuring administration based on power is not relevant claiming that hierarchical power flows downwards. Long stated that “the political power flows in from organizational sides and also flows up the organization to the center from the constituent parts” (Stillman 2010, p.107). Therefore, long provided a structure of interests, which to him was an essential factor in determining the scope of possible action. Notably, the administrative power and political power greatly differ; first, the administrative power can be referred to as the ability to cover up the fund embezzlement whereas political power is the ability to order a cover up of embezzled fund. In administration, the power is limited whereas in politics, the power is unlimited due to the decision made by the majority via elections. There are many problems that public administrators face today, some of which include hierarchical order and the flow of power, coping with the expectations of the public, achieving technical competence, and behaving ethically among others. As long stated, the top hierarchy of the administration is not relevant but in reality, power and hierarchical positions truly affects public administrators. Many scholars have argued that power is the most important element in administration and this power is a significant challenge faced by administrators. Secondly, public administrators have trouble in trying to effectively satisfy public interest and coping up with the expectations of the public. In addition, public administrators always focus on how to effectively perform the tasks assigned to them by supervisors and citizens and so they are required to show technical competence in their work. More so, behaving ethically is also another challenge that public administrators face. They have to display high ethical standards in the course of their performance. Question 2: In his writings, Rosenbloom put a lot of emphasis on the idea of putting the public into public administration. He is known for his contribution to the discipline of public administration by suggesting various approaches emphasizing on understanding the public administration in America reflecting the concept of separation of powers including law, politics and management. Rosenbloom defines public administration as the use of managerial, political and legal approaches to fulfill the duties of the judiciary, executive and legislature to regulate and provide necessary services to individuals in the society. According to Rosenbloom, there are three interrelated approaches to public administration and these include the legal approach, managerial approach and the political approach that relates to the judicial, executive and legislative branches respectively. He believes that these specific approaches challenge the government to operate effectively, that is, to determine a problem, come up with possible solutions and successfully implement the solution. Firstly, the legal approach deals with ways to defend the basic rights of people. This approach is also concerned with equity and fairness in the public sector particularly in the procedural due process. Based on the legal approach, individuals are unique and operate under unique circumstances. The second approach proposed by Rosenbloom is managerial approach, which focuses on essential values such as efficiency, effectiveness and economy. This approach argues that individuals are not different and that the only thing that is important is the position in the hierarchy when determining individuals’ worthiness. Lastly, the political approach values representativeness, approachability as well as responsibility. The political approach of public administration tries to aggregate persons into various groups including social, political and economic groups among others (Rosenbloom 1989, p.22). This view is concerned with understanding how individuals remain responsible and accountable when performing their duties. Question 3: The main idea or subject of the works of Carl Frederich and Herman Finer was the exercise of bureaucratic power. The debate between the two about the most effective manner in ensuring accountability of public officials in democratic system was considered important because its contribution in public administration. The main difference between the arguments of these two scholars is that Friedrich’s major focus was on the nature of responsibility and accountability in public administration whereas Finer focused mainly on the responsibility of administration in a democratic government. According to Friedrich, public officials are capable of dealing with administrative challenges in a more effective manner through internal checks. These internal checks are established by professional standards and technical knowledge to promote accountability. Friedrich believes that politicians and legislators are not supposed to be involved in the responsibility of professionals but other professionals with similar technical and knowledge and standards can hold the position. Therefore, based on Friedrich’s rational perception, public administration needs professionals to handle ethical decisions since they are the only individuals that are well equipped with necessary knowledge to reveal the truth on how to tackle ethical issues effectively. In short, Friedrich argues that professionalism is the best approach in guiding administrative ethics since professionals’ technical knowledge is very important in ensuring that there are high ethics standards. On the contrary, Finer claims that the external control particularly by the legislators is very crucial in the maintenance of responsibility and accountability of individuals in public administration. According to him, professionals are not capable of making the right decision on what is the most effective action ensuring public good. Finer criticizes Friedrich’s idea on internal checks claiming that using internal checks in ensuring accountability among professionals will only promote corruption in the sector of public administration. Therefore, based on Finer’s anti-rational position, the best approach of administrative ethics does not rely on the technical knowledge of professionals. Professionalism is not associated with the establishment of ethical public administration. Finer suggests that administrative ethics are supposed to be created via the legislative branch reflecting the beliefs and wishes of the people. From the above, the ideas of these two scholars are conflicting and practically, the implication of adopting Friedrich’s opinion is that, the legislative body will be secluded when it comes to creation or promotion of ethical administration. On the other hand, adopting Finer’s views implies that professionals and their technical knowledge will be abandoned and legislative body considered important in creating or ensuring ethical administration. Arguably, ensuring that ethical administration is established based on the adoption of either vies will be very difficult because legislative body may fail to effectively undertake its duties to ensure accountability and responsibility. In addition, professionals may fail to effectively use their technical knowledge to ensure accountability in public administration. In short, the use of either internal checks or external control may fail to ensure accountability in public administration. References Rosenbloom, David H. (1989). Public Administration - Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector. 7th Ed Stillman, R. J. (2010). Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More