Improving Service Outcomes and Public Value in the US - Case Study Example

RUNNING HEAD: Improving service outcomes and public value. Student Name Name of Institution Course Code Date of Submission Introduction The general idea of improving outcomes and public value has been attracting attention in its call for public servants to ensure on deliverance of ‘public value’. This concept has attracted attention across the globe since the need of public servants to show distinctive public service to deliver distinctive outcomes in their actions came into the limelight. This general concept improving outcomes and public value has a strong normative appeal (Martin & Greg, 2006). However, the concept is complicated empirically when viewed along the lines of continued irresponsibility of public service managers, poor policy formulation, and the dominant lack of staff accountability. All these issues hinder the quality of outcomes and public service. However, outcomes are viewed as the core of all public services. Outcomes as an Engine of Change Commendable changes aimed at improving the value of public service can be sparked by a bringing successful re-evaluation of outcomes. This is possible through uncovering innovations resulting from assumptions of inherent assumptions that are typical of many public services. For example, the security departments have developed various innovations aimed at improving police patrolling. Most police departments for instance have introduced community policing that help police in enhancing patrolling public spaces thus improving its value and ensuring reassurance to the public. The need for heightened and improved value of public services has stimulated support for ideas that and innovations that guide public service officers to improve their service delivery. However, it is understood that the growing demand for high value of public services may be limited by poor reforms and implementation. The privatization of prison services in the United States for instance is a reform that came up the early 1970s is viewed to have threatened the entire idea of public value (Martin and Greg, 2006). Although privatization of this sector is viewed to be efficient and effective, most critics argue out that it poses serious challenges on issues such as safety, justice, rehabilitation, and legitimacy. Although poor outcomes in the public sector can be blamed on irresponsibility and poor accountability of public sector officers, other factors such as training and motivation would be considered a major challenge that result in poor value of public service. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) for example funded a research on identifying various ways with which youth corps would be helpful in enhancing expansion of education, unraveling issues of unemployment, and their civic engagement and finding opportunities for economic growth. Other innovations such as Engaging Veterans with Disabilities Initiative launched in the year 2010 was crucial in ensuring the value of public service outcomes through effective recruitment and incorporation of veterans with disabilities as volunteer members in the public service (CNCS, 2010). This is crucial since it makes the entire concept of improving outcomes and public service and all inclusive idea. Another very hypothetical belief on how reassessing and reconsidering outcomes may enhance fruitful innovation in the public sector is rooted in education. Today, almost every institution of learning is developed based on the very assumption that knowledge is relayed to students in structures with physical buildings running on certain specified length of time and operating under regulated curriculum to ensure that students acquire age-appropriate grade levels. However, critics ponder the question of whether such assumptions of full-time learning and the mix of schooling and working are more effective than online delivery of education. The point that students would get better knowledge and prepare themselves for future lives if education is delivered differently is unavoidable. Therefore, the public service managers can derive methods and strategies for innovative ideas through examination and critically evaluate of the assumptions that underpin each of the outcomes for a given public service. Competitive Dynamics Competition typical of the private sector is the major factor pushing for improved outcomes and values. It is therefore necessary to evaluate he dynamics of competition of the private sector to identify what the public sector can leverage for better performance. Private sector engage themselves in a stiff competition for the customer and the capital markets. To win in the market for customers, private sectors engage themselves in strategic marketing that include the development and delivery of products or services that meet customer preferences and are and strategically design the price of the prices in a manner to attract more customers than their competitors. On the other hand, private sectors look for strategies to generate an economic return on the capital employed that goes higher than that generated by competitors in order for them to win the capital markets. This therefore means that a product or service that is appealing to customers yet cannot generate profits cannot be successful in the market. In a well structured and competitive industry, several corporations may positively compete in the twin linked markets of capital and customers. The basic son behind the competition is to gain advantage over competitors in the form of improved sales and profitability. However, competitors copy and adopt successful measures of competition, thus making advantages realized to erode with time and hence the need for new competitive strategies. Furthermore, in an efficient market, competition always leads to ongoing improvement in the value of services and products delivered while at the same time increasing profitability. However, the public sector does not enjoy this idea of competition since it does not aim at making profits other than delivering services to members of the public. Therefore, this results in poor outcomes and public value in the public service value as compared to private sector. Creating an Appetite for Experimentation in the Public Sector The experimentation process aimed at using competition and competition as seen in the private sector can be more difficult in the public sector. Considering an example of public service organizations in the United States, . Traditionally, public service organizations in the United States have had little incentives from the federal government and local government to spend time and money on improving service provision in critical areas that may affect daily activities of human life. Having mentioned so, there are several examples of reforms in the public sector that we can point to and learn from. The idea to introduce congestion charging for instance, where leaders came out strongly in a bid to improve public service delivery was quite successful and welcome. The general idea of congestion charging brought about charging a toll for vehicles that driven to certain specific parts of a city at peak transit times thus minimizing the road usage while facilitating a high degree of reduced congestion. This was a successful idea for growing commute times within and around cities like New York always keep rising from time to time. Therefore reducing congestion is one of the critical public services that factors that enhance the efficient transportation of goods and people from one place to another. Furthermore, the case in the 2004 - 2005 Flu Crisis where the entire United States experienced experienced poor supply and a shortage of vaccine is one the outspoken public value failure in the United States. Surprisingly, the United States does not have any updated or current mechanism of supplying or distributing vaccine to areas facing crisis or individuals at high risks. In time of shortages, individuals at high risks are not considered to be given the first priority and therefore fail to be given their right to public medication, hence putting their lives at risk (Stacey, 2005). Issues such as a scarcity of vaccine producers, hoarding for economic benefits, and imperfect monopoly presents the government and federal agencies with a difficulty of developing comprehensive plans that facilitate the provision and distribution of medication to high risk areas. If the Federal and Local governments do not develop long term plans on how improve distribution of vaccines to high-risk individuals and healthy citizens wishing to be vaccinated, public value and failure in the United States will continue to be highly pronounced. With this specific example of the 2004 - 2005 Flu Crisis, it is evident he entire United States Health Care system is quite wanting in terms of reforms and agenda to ensure delivery of public value. This can be corroborated by the broad evidence that most citizens of the United States seldom get the medical care they deserve (Cooper & Pitman, 2006). This is in contrary and conflicts with the fact that the United States government spends a lot of revenue to improve health care per person than any other nation in the world. Furthermore, preventive medical care is still quite underutilized in the United States. This results in government spending more money on complex and highly advanced diseases. In most cases, individuals at high risk subjected to hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes do not access efficient treatment for effective management of their conditions. Therefore, reforming health care in the United States would much importance in bringing abut public value in the sector. Considering appropriate reforms to facilitate health care payment and delivery of health care services should be aimed at expanding coverage. Expanding coverage of health care services is critical in addressing issues of underuse in health care, a problem that faces most citizens who do no have access to medical insurance. Similarly, successful payment and effective delivery of health care services is critical in increasing the value of health care, with better quality care and slower cost growth (Curtis, 2011). This will encourage many individuals to consider the purchase of health care insurance across the United States. Public managers can improve public value by creating an environment where service delivery is possible; an environment where approved and successful new ideas and approaches of service delivery can easily be integrated to replace obsolete approaches; and an environment where any unforeseen failure does not disrupt the entire system of service delivery or discourage the integration of new models of service delivery. This can be facilitated through effective implementation of change in a defined public service environment first. Additionally, public managers can resort to a combination of various activities of various public sectors in a single unit, where economies of scale coupled with high value of service management can help foster the value of the outcome. In addition, legislators and public service officials should make appropriate funding in the public sector to ensure that there is a creation of increased public value. Improving public value significantly, especially in the United States, is going to require many innovations in the ways that public services are organized, managed and delivered. It is therefore important that public service managers and the government authorities consider appropriate measures to ensure effective achievement of public value outcomes in all public service sectors (Ronald et al., 2011). Conclusion Improving outcomes and public value are a requisite of every government to ensure well being of its citizens. In the United States, public value is an issue of government and public concern alike. Ranging from public transportation system, water and sanitation, public security, healthcare, and education system, citizens are more concerned with the outcomes and public value of such services. Therefore, predetermined government policies and reforms aimed at improving public services and value is of much importance. Reference CNCS. (2010). Stories of Americans With Disabilities in National Service. New York. Retrieved 28 March, 2013, from http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/factsheet_disability_stories.pdf Cooper, B. and Pitman, R. et al., (2006). Delaying the international spread of pandemic influenza. PLoS Med, 3:e212. Curtis, M. (2011). Affirmative Action in Medicine: Improving Health Care for Everyone. Michigan: University of Michigan Press. Martin, C. & Greg, P. (2006). Unlocking Public Value: A New Model For Achieving High Performance In Public Service Organization. New Jersey: John Willey & Sons. Ronald, M. et al., (2011). Changing the U.S. Health Care System: Key Issues in Health Services Policy and Management. New Jersey: John Willey & Sons. Stacey L. et al. (2005). The Threat of Pandemic Influenza: Are We Ready? Workshop Summary. Washington: National Academies Press. Read More