The New Public Service Critique - Essay Example

Running head: A BOOK REVIEW A Book Review on “The New Public Service: Serving, not Steering” December 12, 2008 The New Public Service: Serving, not Steering. Janet V. Denhardt & Robert B. Denhardt. M. E. Sharpe, 2007. 222 pp. Janet Denhardt and Robert Denhardt have identified two main objectives for writing this book, namely, synthesizing the voices summoning the reassertion of democratic values, citizenship and service in the public interest as bases for public administration and, secondly, challenging the readers to rethink and redefine the values and importance of public service, and the reasons for and the ways of doing it. The authors have expounded the New Public Service by comparing it with traditional and contemporary schools of thought as regards public policy and public administration. The authors emphasize the necessity for running the government like a democracy and not a business, and opine that elected and appointed public servants worldwide are working on this principle. Their renewed commitment to public interest has helped them find enhanced value for their service and earn more dignity and respect for themselves. They have also realized how much they can accomplish by “listening to” and not “telling” the public and by “serving” and not “steering” the public. As a result, the public servants have inspired the public so much so that common problems are being addressed and resolved by the common public as well as the public servants through mutual cooperation. The authors call this new attitude and new involvement in public administration along with the renewed commitment towards public interest as the new revolution called the New Public Service. The book stresses the importance of societal value in the work of public servants, wherein lies the soul of public administration. Public servants are responsible for improving public health, maintaining pubic safety, enhancing environmental quality, etc. which ultimately amounts to enhancing and maintaining good, quality life for all. The traditional approach to public administration is referred to in this book as the Old Public Administration. The authors throw light on several approaches to the Old Public Administration. Woodrow Wilson’s approach to public administration was followed for more than half a century in America. This approach differentiated between politics and administration, which associated accountability to elected leaders and assured efficiency of the administrators. This also necessitated creating structures and strategies. In this context, the authors point out the difficulty in distinguishing between politics and administration in all settings. The creation of hierarchical structures was based on several schools of thought, mainly related to management, developed by theorists like Frederick Taylor, Luther Gulick, Leonard White and W. F. Willoughby. While Taylor’s scientific management was based on time and motion studies, Gulick’s theory focused on POSDCORB (planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting). White and Willoughby, however, stressed the importance of creating organizational structures marked by unity of command, hierarchical authority and strict division of labor. The authors draw the readers’ attention to the criticisms against these approaches by many, including Marshall Dimock, who referred to its mechanical efficiency as “coldly calculating and inhuman.” He stressed the need for successful public administration to be warm, vibrant and human. Justice, liberty, freedom and equality are other issues that were noted to be of equal, if not more, importance than efficiency in public administration. The authors, additionally, educate the readers on the various models of public administration developed over the years. Herbert Simon’s approach to public administration, the rational model, is based on the concept of rationality. Simon propounded the theory that rationality is concerned with coordinating the right means to achieve the desired ends. In this view, rationality equates with efficiency. Simon opines that human beings are limited in exhibiting sufficient rationality in the face of problems, which inadequacy can be overcome by working in groups and organizations. Subsequent to all these theories was developed the public choice theory. This theory assumes that the individual decision-maker is rational and self-centered. It assumes that public goods are products of public agencies, which when provided to one will be provided to all. Another assumption is that different decision situations lead to different approaches to choice making and, hence, decision rules should be structured so as to influence human behavior. Again, the authors draw one’s attention to the criticism against this theory for giving excessive importance to rationality and not enough importance to other human values. The authors give a great deal of credit to the Old Public Administration for its efficiency and its contributions to the society in the fields of national defense, social security, public health, transportation, environmental protection, etc. The New Public Management, according to the authors, seeks to use private sector and business approaches in the public sector. Here, the public managers have to achieve results either through new and innovative methods, or privatize functions that earlier had been provided by the government. The effectiveness of the New Public Management were proved by countries like New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain, and United States, whose governments had adopted these reforms made to public management. The efforts made to and the extent of adoption of the reforms are influenced by the culture of a country’s governance and its government structure. The performance-driven and market-oriented ideas of the New Public Management have been more favored by countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and the UK. The authors have effectively organized and thrown light on the strong viewpoints and contributions made by the New Public Management. According to this approach, the resolution of complex problems required the expertise and training of the administrators and hence it was essential that they played a significant role in the development of public policies. It was also essential that the role of values in public administration be recognized. The authors give a deep insight into the New Public Service that has eventually evolved based on the theories of democratic citizenship, community and civil society, organizational humanism and new public administration, and postmodernism. Though the New Public Service has borrowed some core ideas of the Old Public Administration and the New Public Administration, it has also evolved some essential concepts and guidelines for public administration. Janet and Robert Denhardt have elaborated explicitly and interestingly the essential ideas of the New Public Service. According to this approach, public interest is all about shared values, and public servants serve citizens and not respond to the demands of customers. Public interest involves sharing interests and responsibility and not finding quick solutions based on individual preferences. Public interest is better served by public servants and citizens who are committed to the welfare of the society rather than managers who act according to personal beliefs, interests and choices, using public money. Policies and programs may be drawn strategically and executed effectively and responsibly through collective efforts and collaborative processes. Public servants should be accountable to the society in that their actions should be consistent with the constitutional laws, the community values, the political norms, the professional standards and the citizen interests. Instead of controlling the society, the public servants should practice a shared, value-based leadership and help the citizens meet their shared interests. People should be valued above productivity. Collaborative processes run with the help of shared leadership with mutual respect are more likely to be successful in the long run. The authors have drawn from several authors and their theories the importance of sharing responsibility. According to Ronald Heifetz, leadership is, instead of telling people what to do and getting things done, adapting to unusual circumstances and aiding the group or the community to realizing its own vision. According to John Bryson and Barbara Crosby, in contemporary situations of complex problems involving different organizations of different styles with varied concerns, where conventional leadership fails, a leader may evolve who may not be invested with authority but who may emerge successful in mediating differences and solving problems by leading by example, persuasion, encouragement and empowerment. As against Osborne & Gaebler’s Reinventing Government, in which they lay heavy stress on a market-oriented government which should give importance to the interests of the community as well, Janet Denhardt and Robert Denhardt give supreme importance to the interests of the community. Janet Denhardt and Robert Denhardt have been successful in achieving the dual objectives of writing this book, as mentioned by them in the outset, namely, advancing the dignity and worth of public service and reasserting the values of citizenship, democracy and public interest as the preeminent values of public administration. The authors enlighten the reader on the origination of the Old Public Administration and its evolution through the New Public Management to the New Public Service. The authors have given enough food for thought in terms of rethinking and redefining public service, especially in the contemporary situations that prevail in the world of chaos, deprivation, terrorism, insecurity, etc. The concept of shared responsibility, as described by the authors, kindles in the citizen or rekindles in the public servant a sense of responsibility towards his/her fellow citizens and a sense of service to his/her community. The book has been written in the wake of the response and interest inspired in the public by the online articles on the same subject written by the same authors for the American Society for Public Administration following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Read More