The Concept of Public Administration - Lindblom - Essay Example

Introduction The concept of public administration and the development that is associated with this particular field of study has also led to different approaches and concepts in mastering the skills required. Defining the specific approaches that are required to master this field also build a different association with how one is able to create alternative perspectives to administration. A renowned individual which understood the process of public administration was Charles Lindblom. The associations which he developed with public administration were based on understanding and probing the processes of public administration. This was based on the understanding of economic development and how this was affected by the public administration which one was a part of. The different developments with public administration ultimately led to a large amount of differences with public administration and how it should be probed. Summary of Lindblom The concepts that Lindblom was associated with were developed with public administration and the different arenas which it affected. Lindblom was interested in how the public administration could easily affect the structure and process of economics, social and cultural viewpoints. The concept of public administration became essential specifically by the need to control and develop the different structures which were associated with public administration. The first point which Lindblom shows is based on the social and organizational control structures. The belief is that any type of organization requires control structures to continue functioning and to balance out the social and economic order which one is a part of. Lindblom claims that the best way to do this is through unilateral controls, which consists of a hierarchy. He also states that it is possible to have effective controls with polyarchies and the market; however, these are limited based on the type of structure which one is in. The focus of each of these controls is based on maintaining, controlling and developing society under the leadership of a specific set of individuals. At the same time, there is the ability to control and monitor the public administration through the commands which are used by the administration (Fry, 264). The concept of controlling different social and cultural orders through social administration expands with the understanding that there has to be a balance between the rights and privileges of individuals while creating the necessary approach to different needs of those in society. This leads to Lindblom’s belief in the policymaking which is required for those in administration. This is meant to be an interactive process between the social and cultural structure and those in the administration or hierarchy. The approach which Lindblom is most interested is the rational – choice or synoptic model. The information which is associated with this is developed with a decision process that is able to look at the ethical issues which one is associated with, specifically which is developed with the lay knowledge which is available. The policies and decisions are then developed through a scientific process that invites development through several decision makers as well as one which is based on more than information and basic problem solving required. The concept is then able to build and develop different objectives and approaches to the administrative structures which are approached and developed in terms of finding the best approaches to creating ethical policies that are considered according to various needs (Fry, 271). Contributions to Public Administration The approach which Lindblom took in terms of public administration has made a large contribution in terms of the functions, processes and policies which are associated with the administrative approaches used. The synoptic model is one of the main contributions which have been looked into, specifically because of the categorization that Lindblom has used for the public administration. This was specific because of the different approaches which Lindblom used in terms of hierarchies and how policies should be created to link to the public and cultural order. This was combined with the understanding of how to create policies outside of limitations of ethics and the developments within society. Lindblom because instrumental with the concept of developing policies and measuring the different administrative concepts which were being used at a given time. Those in public administration were able to apply the models and create different approaches from this foundation for implementing new processes and policies within the administrative bodies. Application of Models The philosophies that Lindblom developed built a deeper understanding of my own agency or organization. This begins with understanding the policies and processing that is required for public administration. Instead of believing in a separation between the hierarchical structure and the basic employee relations, there is the understanding of how each is intertwined. The agency or organization is creating the culture and social structure. It is from this that the hierarchy is required to respond and create the right approaches to the policies and processes that are required. By altering the amount of education and the procedures which are used with those in the culture and social environment, there is also the ability to change the policies and procedures which are used. This combines with understanding the powers that Lindblom refers to when describing the main models and implementation of procedures for policy making. The checks and balances which are incorporated into this are seen with those that are in an organizational structure and which are able to build and develop a different understanding of the hierarchy and the social and cultural structure. The unification between these two components then makes a difference in how one is able to work with the procedures that are a part of the policies and applications within the administration. Challenges and Opportunity for Change After reading Lindblom’s contribution and thoughts, there is an understanding of the challenges and opportunity for change with public administration. The first is through the understanding of policies and procedures. There is a requirement for the hierarchical structures to have a better balance and sense of contribution to the policies and procedures which are set. This is developed specifically with the understanding that the cultural and social organization changes and develops with the hierarchy that is created. The concepts of Lindblom’s main model show how these can work together in a different manner, as opposed to having different hierarchical beliefs and policies which are implemented without the proper contributions and analysis of both the needs of the hierarchy and the external environment which one is in. The opportunities which Linblom presents are then based on redeveloping and expanding the structure into a different application which is a part of the needed procedures with public administration. While Lindblom is able to present new challenges and procedures for those working in a hierarchical structure or administrative area, there are also challenges that come from the main structure that is developed. The critiques which are associated with Lindblom begin specifically with questioning who has the power when using the model that Lindblom has created. It is expected that the hierarchy and those making the policies and procedures are able to create an elitist group which does not allow the social and cultural structure to have powers. The amount of control which Lindblom gives to the hierarchical structure is one which may not develop the correct forces and needs for those working under public administration. The problem is one which develops into a question of power as well as how this links to the amount of control which the hierarchical structure should have over a public administrative area. More important, the lack of emphasis on the ability for the social and cultural structure to contribute actively develops more of a power struggle with the hierarchy and the developments which are associated with this. Conclusion The concepts which are associated with Lindblom are based on the development and understanding of the policies and procedures required by the public administration. The concept of using specific models that match with the social and cultural order as well as the hierarchy that Lindblom focuses on are based on changing the overall structure with organizations and administration. The approach which Lindblom used was based on altering the economic, social and cultural structure through the procedures and policies which were implemented. The focus on balance, while offering new solutions to hierarchical decisions, also are limited with the active developments and the belief in control and power over a given structure that Lindblom emphasizes through his models. Introduction The responses to disaster by the federal government and different regions often don’t hold the correct approaches. When looking at the case study of Louisiana and New Orleans, it is found that the responses to the flooding taken from the time led to a disaster that had been waiting to happen for several years. Examining this case study also gives insight into the importance of re-examining both the ideas of budget and the cost which is required for protection against natural disasters which may occur. The ability to re-evaluate the different applications are then able to provide a different approach to the federal government and what is required for setting policies, investing in the need to protect the areas and understanding what the potential consequences are when moving into a specific region. The result is one which is able to offer different approaches and new solutions to the potential harm which may come to those who are looking at potential disasters. How a City Slowly Drowned The case study chosen showed how there were a variety of problems with the city of New Orleans and the natural disasters which occurred. The case study begins by looking at the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the results which came from the natural disaster. This hurricane drowned the city and caused the population to be left without resources or other abilities from the disaster. This was combined with the understanding of the destruction, which was forecasted but which was not acted upon. The lack of action and the inability to meet budgetary needs are continuously questioned, specifically because of the known problems that were a part of the development of New Orleans and the disaster which followed. The study shows how there was a continuous understanding of the danger of having the city in this area as well as how this is going to continue to lead to the disasters and flooding in the area. The main analysis of Hurricane Katrina is one which is not looked at with the natural disaster which occurred. While the hurricane was not expected to ruin the city with the general public, New Orleans had a history of being in a space which did not work correctly. The historical components were based on the development of the city and the understanding that the geography was below sea level. This immediately led to the area being a space for natural disaster that would continue to be problematic and could lead to tragedies. However, the political agenda overrode the understanding of geography when the area was established in the early 1700s. After this time, the government continued to set objectives in case of flooding or other natural disasters. However, the federal budget and the requirement for the area to fund the area often caused the building of man – made elements to not be completed in case of flooding. The assumption was that the flooding or other natural disaster would likely not occur or cause harm because of the inconsistency with the natural disasters. The result was that the budget for the flooding or other natural disasters was never met to create and maintain the different levels of protection for New Orleans. The continuous debate with the budget and building protection with New Orleans led to other precursors to the problem with Hurricane Katrina. Other floods and problems were noted before this particular disaster. However, the problems were not as significant, leading to the government having a low amount of response. The specific reasoning always moved back to the budgetary problems and the inefficiency of funds for maintenance by the city. This was combined with the ecological questions which continued to blockade the ability to receive the right amount of help for the region. The viewpoint of the author from this case study shows that the several precursors and the different problems could have been stopped before but were ignored because of ecology and budget. The author also states that the problem with Hurricane Katrina may be a precursor to other problems with natural disasters in New Orleans. If there isn’t a swift response to the needs through the government and city, then more disasters are likely to continue flooding out the city and the development which has been created. Concepts of Incremental Choice The decisions which were associated with the case study are defined with the ideology of incremental choice and how this is built and developed in terms of the needs for cases such as Hurricane Katrina. The problem is one which begins with the competing bureaucratic systems. This is defined as the public administration which continues to move against the other in making decisions. The dominant decision is what begins to be found in the different case studies. The decisions and the responsibility by public administration is then not developed on the unification of what needs to be done within a specific region. Instead, the bureaucratic systems compete against each other and develop a different approach to the specific needs for those that are working within the system. The decisions which are made with different case studies are then developed because of the competition between systems and the stronger voice which comes from this. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, this was developed specifically between the city and federal government and the amount of budgets which were competing against the ecological factors in the region. The incremental choices which were developed are another association to the case study which shows how the development and implementation of structures easily alters. The policies and the implementation of procedures is one which often doesn’t have the necessary implementation because of the association which is created in the different cities. The lack of making decisions, policies and finding different reasons to not implement a program is often the dominating factor with the decisions which are made or which are ignored. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, this is noted with the choices which were associated with the budget and the excuses which followed. For instance, deciding that the natural disaster would only happen every 200 years led to the decision to not create the right approach to the problem. This was combined with looking at the budget and the likeliness of the problem. Not responding and making the choice to decide of the unimportance of the decision then becomes one of the main components with the implementation or lack of response from the government. The case of Hurricane Katrina shows the theory of the implementation of choice by the different decisions which were not made. The government, both local and federal, understood the problems with New Orleans and what could happen. There was also a direct understanding of what would happen if the correct structures and responses were not made for preventative measures of the situation. More important, there was a set of choices which were based on trying to build a set of protection. However, these remained incomplete and the responses which were associated with the need to have protection were set aside. The concept of incremental choices then combines with this, specifically by not using the powers and deciding to worry about budget or the lack of problem which would occur from the natural disaster. More important, both the federal and city government had competing issues where the powers decided not to respond or take the necessary choices for the needs which were associated with this. The gap that is in this theory is based on the concept of choice, competition and believing that this was the only problem with the case study. Even though this was associated with Hurricane Katrina, a different perspective may have altered the association with the problem of New Orleans. The lack of budget and the unresponsiveness could have been attributed to other problems that were based on the federal and local level. The lack of choice may have been associated with concepts such as issues the government was facing in other states or with other problems. Tragedies which were occurring and other decisions which were being made at the same time led to more complexities with the decisions that weren’t made. The choices and the implementation that was created then leads to a different association and question of whether New Orleans was from a lack of choice and implementation or whether other external factors were associated with this. The theory would need to be expanded in understanding other relationships and outside associations with why the actions were or were not taken as well as what could have changed in the approach in terms of both budget and education about the relevance of the potential natural disasters in New Orleans. References Fry, Brian, Jos Raadscheiders. (2008). Mastering Public Administration: From Max Weber to Dwight Waldo. Washington DC: CQ Press. Stillman, Richard. (2010). Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Read More