Research Topics: Public Administration

Research Paper Public Transport in Hong Kong

Public Transport in Hong Kong   INTRODUCTION             Hong Kong, being one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is also one of the most visited areas in the world. Many tourist attractions lie in wait for the traveler. Furthermore, due to the increasing number of citizens, and the increasing number of tourists every year, Hong Kong has come up with one of the most modern and convenient transport systems in the world. However, as tourists, foreigners must comply with certain requirements in order to be able to be eligible to use the transport system. The requirements are:  1.        Require more information than regular/local users •           Times •           Schedules •           Price •           Locations (getting on and off) •           Signage  •           Require multilingual (graphic/pictorial) information •           Access to information through different channels •           Information on safety net (for safety/security issues) 2.         Provision for luggage (especially families) such as luggage racks and for those with restricted mobility (kneeling buses), etc. 3.         Higher expectations of service quality than local users •           Employee efficiency courtesy (inc. language skills) and with good attitude towards tourists 4.         Good connections (seamless integration) 5.         Integrated ticketing (tourist ticket)             These requirements are seemingly harmless, even helpful to foreign tourists. However, the government should go out of their way to be able to meet the needs of the foreign visitors. In the following pages, we shall discuss, describe and evaluate the transportation systems in Hon Kong.   ROAD TRANSPORT             Road transportation in Hong Kong has a long history. Road transportation, however, can be divided into two subcomponents: buses and taxis. Buses have a variety of uses for tourists as well as the general public. They provide transport from one place to another. Some of them provide transport from one tourist attraction to another, other buses provide transportation from the airport to the hotels, and still others provide transport to virtually anywhere in Hong Kong as public transport buses. Generally, buses in Hong Kong cater to many transporters everyday, almost half of them foreigners, so most of the crew of the operating bus liners is English speaking. Furthermore, with the use of the octopus card, it is a lot easier for foreigners to pay the fair.             Taxis in Hong Kong are one of the most complex and the most easily manageable taxi systems in the world. Hong Kong Taxis can be divided into three sub categories, which are: the Red Taxis, the Green Taxis, and the Blue Taxis, with the latter being the cheapest and the first being the most expensive. The division of labor of transport is divided between the three accordingly. Each colored taxi is designated a specific area to which he can only operate. The red taxis, called urban taxis, cater to most parts of Hong Kong island, with occasional trips to Landau via Tang Chung, Cheek Lap Kook and Disneyland. The green taxi, called New Territories taxi, caters to most of the New Territories with the exception of Cheek Lap Kook and Disneyland. The blue taxis, called Landau taxis, cater to the whole of Landau Island.   CRITICISMS             Though the mode of transportation via taxi is highly modern, it is quite difficult for foreigners to grasp the idea of the taxi system in Hong Kong, especially for those who have not been to Hong Kong or who are not informed about the arrangement. Furthermore, in theory, taxis are not supposed to demy transport to passengers. However, using the Hong Kong mode of transport, passengers, especially foreigners, who are not aware of the routes taken by these taxis can be quite confused.   AIR TRANSPORT Cathay Pacific Airways Limited is an Asian commercial airline founded in 1946 which is based in Hong Kong and offering passenger services and cargo services to 102 destinations world-wide. It is a flag carrier of Hong Kong with its main base at Hong Kong International Airport. Cathay Pacific is the major shareholder in ASK Air Hong Kong Limited, an all cargo carrier that offers scheduled services in the Asia region, and is a shareholder in Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited. Despite the various challenges in which airlines faces, there is an opportunity for e-business. It has been known today that travel and the Internet have a natural association. Cathay Pacific Airways has the potential of this partnership and be successful in consumer e-commerce. In 2000, Cathay Pacific Airways forged ahead with an ambitious goal to become Asia’s leading e-business airline and promptly set up a new cross-functional department staffed by experienced airline people and newly recruited e-business professionals. Cathay Pacific Airways is committed to invest in services that enhance value to their customers while improving productivity and reducing information technology costs. With this, the company has leveraged to e-business.             Cathay Pacific Airways is known to be Hong Kong’s leading airlines gives them the opportunity to acquire more customers and generate more revenues. People would have more confidence on airlines that are recognized by the award winning bodies because it would make the people have more confidence on flying with the said airlines.             In addition, with Cathay Pacific Airways’ online booking, they give more convenience to their customer giving them the chance to attract more customers especially with people that have no time to go to airlines branches for bookings.             The airline has also an opportunity of technology advancement for easier transaction and operations and for more convenience for customers and employees. Moreover, with its recognition, the airline attracts more opportunities of expansion.             Furthermore, the company has design learning experiences for the employees to deliver consistent good services to customers. The company has encouraged a culture of self responsibility, courage to innovate and openness to collaborate within the organization. TRAINS             Railway transport in Hong Kong is accomplished via use of the octopus card. BOAT TRANSPORT             Ferries are a popular transport mode in Hong Kong. Traveling via boat or ferry gives the passenger enough view of the whole Kowloon Island.    DISCUSSION Tourism is an invisible industry which encompasses the transportation, lodging, and entertainment industries. However, tourism is also invisible to many planners, so tourism development is often left to private developers and leisure service providers. According to Instep (1988, p. 360), scholarship on tourism planning remains scarce some 15 years after it was announced as one of planning’s emerging specializations. Tourism with its substantial positive and negative impacts on social, economic, and environment, planners can no longer afford to dismiss tourism as tangential to other planning functions. According to Ape (1992) and Ape & Crompton (1998), most tourism planners consider maintaining and improving resident-tourist relations critical to the long-term viability of tourism destinations. Resident attitudes toward tourism development range along a continuum from negative to positive. Despite positive feelings toward tourists, residents often noted specific negative impacts (Mailman and Pizza, 1988). These impacts included increases in unsafe traffic conditions, crime, drug addiction, and alcoholism. Benefits perceived by residents included increased employment opportunities, income, tax revenues, and quality of life. Many tourism researchers have assumed that determining sources of negative impacts can result in policies that mitigate them and improve resident attitudes (Lankford, 1994; Lankford & Howard, 1993). McCool and Martin (1994) hypothesized that residents with strong feelings of community attachment were more likely to have negative attitudes toward tourism development than less attached residents, but their results refuted this notion. Therefore, quality of service is a significant factor that helps in differentiating service products. According to various literatures, satisfaction of customers is obtain with the deliverance of high quality service and products (Getty & Getty, 2003; Gupta & Chen, 1995;  2000). The concept of service should be approached from the customer’s point of view, since it was his/her perception of the outcome that constituted the service. Customers may have different values and different grounds for assessment and, most of the time they may perceive the same service in different ways. Hong Kong faces two major areas of potential focus with regard to customer service, that is, passenger service and ticketing.  Previously, studies on the services of airlines have commonly focused on the effect of the five service dimensions of the SERVQUAL on passenger satisfaction and passenger loyalty (Altai, 1992; Sultan & Simpson, 2000;  2002). However, according to Haynes and Percy (1994), “the perceptions of airline service quality are quite diverse and do not seem to fit any single existing quality model such as the SERVQUAL or the SERVER.” This can be implied that the quality of service attributes and dimensions should be aligned to the investigated service environment. Therefore, it is worth deriving the nature of airline service quality dimensions and investigating the effects of derived dimensions of airline service quality, rather than just applying the SERVQUAL dimensions and items. Value can be defined as customer’s overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given (Zenithal, 1988). Value-added services are ways in which companies can gain competitive advantages in the airline industry (2000). For example, value-added strategies such as frequent flyer programs increase the long-term value of the relationship with the airline, offering greater benefits to repeat passengers than to occasional passengers (1998). The price to be paid for a service determines, in the passenger’s mind, the level of quality to be demanded (Tobol, 1991). Airline passengers have raised their expectations with regard to the level of service quality, while seeking better value for their money. Satisfying the customers is the ultimate ends of every service-oriented company and is a significant concept in marketing. Quality management in public administration should be geared towards transportation that is efficient, transparent, and accessible and provides excellent quality service to customers. As a result of quality initiatives, number of governments developed comprehensive strategies to improve public service delivery. To implement such strategies, a number of organizations/organizational divisions have been set up at the central or local levels to facilitate quality management in the public sector. Moreover, private sector is actively involved in government quality initiatives through consulting, training and professional services. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Research Paper Public Transport in Hong Kong

Public Transport in Hong Kong INTRODUCTION Hong Kong , being one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is also ...

Research Paper

Overview             Public administration has never achieved a definition to identify its essence and its core characteristics. In all modern nations, public administration is identified with the executive branch.  Public administration is the administration of governmental affairs. Quite simply, public administration connotes public authority (1996).             The function of public authority is essential to deliver and maintain a level of general satisfaction through legislations and ensure compliance with existing standards. The use of policy measures shall stimulate responsible behaviour (2004).  More practically, the public authority is obliged to serve citizens and to protect the rights and freedoms of persons and citizens. The notion of such comprises all authorities in legal structure as well as for those organisations which have been entrusted by State to exercise powers on their behalf ( 2001).             Traditionally, property rights can be owned by individuals or in common ( 2007). Properties can be immovable or movable, tangible or intangible and personal or abstract. The possession of a ‘valuable’ thing conforms with an exclusive right of ownership.               A property right, according to Emily Sherwin, has three essential elements: an object, an owner and a range of permitted uses (2007). These elements are of determinate form. Such form is derived from determinate legal rules. Intelligently, a lease, an easement, a copyright or a share of stock are objects of property defined by an agreement or by law in comprehensible, commensally terms (2007).             As a modern conception, property theorist redefined property rights as a legal relationship existing between people in regard to resources. Through a varying context, property rights amounted to the outcomes of particular disputes over resources. Such rights exist only through a case-to-case decision-making of legal officials ( 2007).             According to , the transfer of ownership (or control), from private to government or public, make an economy more or less effective. The market values of property reflect preferences and demands of the society. The elimination of destructive competition is the fundamental purpose of property rights. In effect, well-defined and well-protected property rights replace competition by violence with competition by peaceful means (2002). Role of Public Authority in Property Rights Enforcement             The public authorities are responsible for (as patterned in Manual 1, Chapter 2 (Particulars of Organization, Functions and Duties) : ·        facilitation and acceleration of development of property rights laws through the implementation of various property programs   ·        effectively coordinating and interacting with other agencies towards achieving a strong system of property rights ( 2002) ·        gathering support, resources and technology required for the implementation of property laws ·        ensuring the effective transfer of information from the authorities to the general public through firms and other legal and legitimate entities as well as informing the public of political decisions regarding property laws ·        effective communicating and delivery of the programs and policies of the government regarding taxation, intellectual property laws, real estates laws and others of the same capacity ·        initiating changes in the mindset and attitude of the public through introduction of laws on economic, political, social, financial interests of the general public ·        refusing changes that will affect and harm the public and sacrifice their welfare                    The duties of public authority are as follows: a) to ensure proper planning for implementation of property regulations and policies, b) to ensure that the benefits of a well-established property law reaches all societal levels, c) to ensure that policies and the entire law are implemented according to governmental procedures, d) to secure coordination and cooperation for the effective development and upliftment of the public welfare, e) to maintain transparency by publishing periodicals and details of defending rights, property rights of owners and procedures in securing properties, f) to settle disputes whenever necessary and g) carry-out/aid in  researches and/or evaluation studies initiated by the state or government. Public Authority in Sweden             Sweden is democratic country with a parliament called the Riksdag. The country is also a monarchy with King  as the head of the state with no political power but mainly representative duties             The Riksdag and its 349 members institute laws and decide the level of state taxes. The parliament decides how the funds will be used and disposed. Together with its members, it also supervises the work of the government ( 2005).             The Riksdag appoints a prime minister who subsequently appoints the ministers and together they will form a government. The government rules the country and is responsible to the Riksdag. The political decisions are implemented through various state authorities, administrations and public companies ( 2005).             The government functions as a collective wherein all the decisions are directed towards a public authority. Through a government meeting, all missions and directives from the ministries to the public authorities are commenced. Compared to other governments, the Swedish model eliminates the concept of ministerial rule. Relatively, the Swedish ministries have few employees in comparison with ministries in other countries (2005).             There are 21 county councils in Sweden. Their main duties are: health and medical care services, health and care education, regional development and public transport. Accordingly, there are 289 municipalities and their main duties include: education, child daycare and geriatric care, community planning, rescue services, civil defence and garbage disposal among others (2005). Property Rights in Sweden              The Swedish government dealt with a system of allocating wealth resources through massive. Within that system is a progressive, efficient and equal economic and social issues orders of the day. However, the power and influence growth of democratically-elected legislatures made property insecure. Such legislature power is incomparable to courts’ and other institutions’ power. The undermining ability of the Swedish Constitution to protect property rights was the result (2001,).             The protection of property right was strengthened when the Swedish law incorporated the European Convention in 1994 ( ). The Swedish system allows the Law Council () in previewing certain new laws proposed for enactment of  and in reviewing the constitutionality of new statutes. The courts and other public authorities can refuse to apply a rule they find ‘manifestly’ unconstitutional ().               In some areas like taxes, social security entitlements and the housing markets, the rules are consistently shifting. The social insurance alone has thirty changes in the rules per year on average. In effect, changes in the law need to keep up with the changing society ( ).             Uncertainties regarding property law in Sweden are structural. It is the culmination of the ambiguous relationship between the constitution, changing legislation and the courts. In relation, it can be traced based on actual and perceived Swedish custom and the shifting public opinion. The philosophy of “allenmansratten” or ‘every man’s right’ () provides a custom example that connotes ambiguous interpretations and misconceptions. A)   The consequences of failing to protect property rights in Sweden             The country is an integral part of the global economy. Particularly, the increased integration of Europe in Sweden requires a large degree of co-dependence. Wherein, companies and/or investors in a country depend on legal systems of other countries. Those which do not conform to the legal form will be left behind.             In light of these, Swedish policy-makers know that they must attract foreign investments. Sweden can afford much financial investments. And though, the tax system favors ownership, still, the assets will stay in the country (). B)    Issues of Property Rights in Sweden             The country faces legal problems from the European courts. An article on the European Convention on Human Rights states: the right to property must be recognized and a right to compensation exists if the state interferes with property. Sweden is a signatory to the law and if the convention overrides Swedish law, the case may be decided by a European court.             Unarguably, the Sweden must strengthen property rights on its own. It would be disturbing for any government or state to have own property rights laws deemed insufficient by outside courts (). The Rule of Presumption             Practically, the most important factor which affects property rights in Sweden is that no change may be made regarding the use of land, water or buildings without political approval. In order to survive, landowners and business people must continually change plans and strategies in order to live up to economic changes ().             The public authority may grant or refuse a license to change about the on-going use of a property. Changes are only made if “there is a reasonable commercial justification for the requested change” (2001). A change can also be compensated when “it is probable that the new use being considered by the property owner is a permissible use at the owner originally purchased the property” (2001).             Rent Control (e.g.)             Sweden had experienced all known problems – housing shortages, distorted prices, inefficiencies and arbitrary wealth transfers, regarding rent controls. Relatively, the state imposes controls on landlord-tenant relations. If in case the landlord wishes to sell his building, he may as well face another control (2001).             The Rent Council is responsible for assessing the value of a real estate holding. According to the tax law, it should correspond to 67% of its market value two years before the taxation year ( 2005). The Rent Council guards rents which should be at a level determined by the principle of “bruksvarde” (value of usage”.  The management of rental contracts are also the duty of the council. They must see to it that provisions for just culture between tenants and landlords are being followed. The public authority regulate or prohibits the use of contract as part of a deal, either through swapping for a new contract or by selling the contract, whenever the situation necessitates (.).             The Rent Council has the right of first refusal over sales if the property is required for community development or to meet community housing needs. As such, under this rule, the buyers have little incentive to search for and purchase property since the community may buy the property at the highest negotiated price instead of the ‘best price’.             The process reduces the number of potential buyers certainly. This, in effect, may lower the market value of a property, discourage investors to build new units, lessen the maintenance investment and create a disincentive to build more buildings and housing units ( 2001).             According to  rent control in Sweden was a classic example of price-induced shortage without any greater physical scarcity (1999). As much as possible, the public authority attempts to minimize competition for apartments and discrimination. The authority regulates property rights which reduce competition based on monetary exchanges for goods and services and restricts competition based on personal characteristics (2002). To wit, rent-control measures, imposed by the Rent Council, compensate the deserving tenants and detriments those opportunistic-driven landlords. Reference List     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Research Paper

Overview Public administration has never achieved a definition to identify its essence and its core characteristics. In all ...

COMPARE AND CONTRAST NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT TO THE EMERGING GOVERNANCE MODEL. WHICH MODEL IS BETTER SUITED TO LEAD CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND WHY?

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE MODEL   Introduction             Canadian government is considered to have a significant effect on the lives of the people living in the states. The programs, policies and services have been the key aspect for having competitive economy. In addition, the government is the one which are responsible for ensuring the stability of the social and cultural infrastructure of Canada and the well-being of their citizens and communities. Hence, the key issue for the government of Canada is to have a good and effective management to achieve its objective. The goal of this paper is to determine whether the new governance model will be suitable for Canadian public administration or not. This will tend to compare the old and new public management system imposed in the country.   History             Canadian government implements a constitutional monarchy and recognizes Elizabeth II as the Queen of Canada. On the other hand, it also employs a parliamentary democracy with a federal system of parliamentary government which has strong traditions for democracy. Canada has taken over from Great Britain the principle of what is known as “cabinet government” or “responsible government.” This system is the result of a slow historical development. Its beginnings are seen in the seventeenth century ( 115). Like many other British institutions it was gradually developed for reasons of purely practical convenience, and only in the later stages of the historical development do we find the political theory stated in dogmatic form. It has been adopted without substantial alteration by all the autonomous dominions, and is the governing principle in a number of other European countries. Under this theory executive responsibility is shared by a group of high officials who individually preside over the chief departments of government. They are universally known as “the Cabinet,” and are legally described as the “Governor-General in Council,” but the formal phrase is never used outside official documents and may be ignored. It hardly need be said that the governor-general does not attend cabinet meetings and has no personal responsibility for their decisions, his duties in this connection being confined to signing the documents which are presented to him ( 43).             The largest organisation in Canada is its Government. The government of Canada is considered to have more than four times larger than the next largest employer and hake seven times more revenue than the next largest corporation in the country. The government of Canada initiates 1,600 programs and 2000 points of supports and services in the national and international environment. It plays a significant role in supporting international trade and security ( 148), in protecting the natural resources, regulating and overseeing commerce and in enhancing the stability of social safety systems. All in all, the major role of the Canadian government is to ensure that the Canadians will have social, cultural and economic well-being. The Government of Canada has been supported by 450, 000 federal public sectors employees including the civil servants, members of the military and the RCMP offices. These employees are dedicated in protecting the interests and values of the nation, specifically their people. In addition, the employees also ensure that they provide quality service for the Canadians.   Analysis             It is noted that the federal public servants of Canada come from every region of the nation. These employees embrace the diversity in Canada and have been able to contribute to the quality of life that Canadian enjoys. However, in spite of this the current government of Canada is facing new challenges in this particular period. Because of the emergence of information revolution, globalization, increased scrutiny and greater demand for openness, the government of Canada are facing pressures to strengthen its accountability, demonstrate results, enhanced transparency, and management across public sector and show value-for-money among Canadians. Hence, the realization of the members of the government is now trying to develop new governance which will adhere to the needs of the whole nation ( 84).              The conventional structure of the Canadian government is now ineffective in adhering to the needs of the public. The programs and services initiated by one sector of the government are sometimes not integrated with other sectors. Such problem makes it harder for government to respond to the changing needs because the human, program and financial resources are locked-in to structured defined by the home organization. In this manner, the result is that the public sector is facing greater challenges in terms of its ability to meet the expectations of the public for having quality service, openness and accountability within the Canadian resources.             There is a need to make a better utilisation of new information and communication technology to enhance decision-making, focus on citizen-driven service delivery and responding to changes. With this, the Canada is facing a transformative moment in terms of public sector management.  To be able to meet this challenge and to have the assurance that Canada will be able to initiate an effective management required to established a strong economy, social foundations and secure Canada’s position in the world. The Canadian has been able to transform its government and use a new governance model to be followed. In this manner, the government has worked efficiently since it came to office last December 12, 2003 to initiate a far-reaching program which enhances the strength of the public sector management within the country. The changes for the Government of Canada includes comprehensive measures to enhances the stability of comptrollership and oversight, review the government practices and modernize management practices, ensure accountability, good governance, transparency and enhanced role for parliament and to build capacity across the federal public service (10). Further, the new governance model gives focused on five key priorities for Canadians. These include the cleaning up government by initializing the Federal Accountability Act, protection of the Canadian families as well as communities by improved justice system, delivering the health care Canadian need by addressing the fiscal imbalance and creating a patient wait times guarantee with the provinces. It also include the support that will be given to the parents for child care choices by giving direct assistance or by establishing more daycare spaces and by lowering the taxes for taxes. Accordingly, if the government officials will effectively implement such new governance model, Canada may be able to strengthen its position the world.   Position             Being able to realise the shortcomings of the old public management approach in Canada, it can be said that the New Governance model has a potential for enhancing the management efficacy within public sector of Canada. The main goal of a nation is to impose a government which will meet the needs and expectations not only the people within the nation but also in the outside environment.  I can say that I will choose to use the new governance model to ensure that Canada will be able to meet the challenges of globalization and other significant factors that may affect the delivery of the quality service among Canadian.             With the objective of the Canadians of achieving good governance, I can say that the new government model is the most suitable approach in the public administration and public management. Through this, Canadian will have the assurance that their government and public administration are being managed effectively for the betterment of the whole nation. Through the new government model, it can guarantee a quality public sector management which will reflect the effectiveness of the Parliament as well as the quality of the federal public service. Furthermore, through this new government model, the government departments will certainly assure that the information will be disseminated properly in all levels. With the features and objectives of the new government model, I can say that Canada will not only enhance the capability of the public sector but also the capability of the nation to have a place and be recognized in the world.   Conclusion             The main purpose of this report is to analyse whether Canada should apply the new government model or not. Analysis shows that because of the challenges of different factors (globalization, information technology); the traditional public sector management is faced with greater challenges. With this, Canadian government tried to solve such problem by imposing a new model for managing the public sector. The new model focuses on enhancing the management ability of the Government of Canada to ensure quality service delivery and quality nation. It can be concluded that the new model will be a big help for the country and I recommend that Canada should continue to impose the new model for public sector management.   Reference Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

COMPARE AND CONTRAST NEW PUBLIC MANAGEMENT TO THE EMERGING GOVERNANCE MODEL. WHICH MODEL IS BETTER SUITED TO LEAD CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND WHY?

PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE MODEL Introduction Canadian government is considered to have a significant effect on the...

Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission             Civil service is the entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the military and excluding elected officials (2002). And in this modern civil service, personnel are usually chosen by examination and promoted on the basis of merit ratings. According to  (1993), to keep pace with the trend toward a stronger and wider scope of administrative authority, quantitative and qualitative changes in public administration, in the areas of specialization, technology, and efficiency, governments seek more specialized civil servants to satisfy the idea of “government is best when it serves most.” In democratic nation’s recruitment and advancement procedures are designed to divorce the civil service from political patronage.             Developing political democracy depends on how well the executive and legislative branches can separate and coordinate their respective functions with the other; how well the legislature can perform its mandated inspections and, at the same time, maintain the balance of separation and coordination; and how well the legislature controls the diverse functions of the civil service system (  1958).             Civil service commission plays significant role. In the city, the role of the civil service commission is to advise the Mayor and the Personnel Director on problems concerning personnel administration in city service and to uphold the interest of the city’s merit-based civil service system, a role which is vital to the public interest ( 1981). The primary chores of the commission are to serve as an appellate tribunal for employee appeals; to rule on proposed changes to the civil service regulations and the classification and pay plans; and to rule on requests for exemptions from civil service and waivers of the residency requirement.             But then, the selection of civil administrators and staff on the basis of merit examinations is a late development in the West. The Roman Empire seems to have recruited and promoted officials largely on the basis of custom and the judgement of superiors despite important contributions to administrative structure and procedure.             There are historic movements that prompted changes in civil service. Accordingly, the establishment of the modern civil service is closely associated with the decline of feudalism and the growth of national autocratic states (1952). In Prussia, as early as the mid-17th cent., Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, created an efficient civil administration staffed by civil servants chosen on a competitive basis. In France similar reforms preceded the Revolution, and they were the basis for the Napoleonic reforms that transformed the royal service into the civil service. Development of a professional civil service came several decades later. What’s more, the killing of President in 1881 by a disappointed office seeker precipitated the passage of the Pendleton Act in 1883, re-establishing the Civil Service Commission after a nine-year lapse. The commission draws up the rules governing examinations for those positions that Congress places in the classified civil service. All Presidents since Cleveland have expanded the classified list, and the great majority of federal employees during peacetime are now classified. In addition to this, in 1939 the merit system was extended to sections of state administration receiving federal grants. The Hatch Act of 1940 forbade campaign contributions by officeholders, with the intention of divorcing the civil service from politics. A 1993 revision of the act allows most civil servants to engage in political activity on their own time.             Looking at the world’s civil services, British considers to be the most outstanding on several counts, extremely powerful because of its permanency, its extensive grants of power from Parliament, and its reputation for absolute honesty, even though it is criticized for a lack of flexibility and for class exclusiveness in its upper ranges (1944). In 1985, A Civil Service Commission and the beginnings of a system of competitive examinations were established in Great Britain, and the influential Whitley Councils, representing both government employees and administrators in questions dealing with service conditions, were set up after World War II. British civil servants were known to be strictly excluded from politics. On the contrary, in Communist nations, the official party and the civil service have tended to interpenetrate. The secretariat of the League of Nations and of the United Nations is possible precursors of an international civil service.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Civil Service Commission

Civil Service Commission Civil service is the entire body of those employed in the civil administration as distinct from the m...

Public Administration

“Public Ad”   INTRODUCTION      “The people cannot govern themselves; because if they can, what do you need a government for?”      Public administration broadly speaking, is the process and study of policy implementation in the federal, state, and local governments. Governments are made of all levels of bureaucracies and within these bureaucracies administrators manage workers to carry out the policies. Administrators are specialized in different areas such as budgeting, finance, policy analysis, management, and technology.  ()      A good working definition is, “taking care of the state’s, and international organizations’, business by civil servants within the executive branch of government, other than public policy.”  ()       Another term synonymous to public administration is public management.  This refers to ordinary, routine or typical management concerns, but in the context of achieving public good with public infrastructure.  ()           HISTORY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION      “There is an intricate and intimate relationship between civilization and administration. . . . Administration was present ‘at the creation.’ It was an integral part of civilization whenever and wherever civilization developed; and without the foundation and framework it supplied, civilization would not have developed” (1980)      In the earliest records, even in the most primitive and elementary social systems, there is evidence of decisions being made and implemented concerning issues of governance. As the idea of governance developed and extended, the area and influence of administrative systems grew.      Administration was present at the creation of the Republic, as well as throughout the nineteenth century as  (1943, 1951, 1954, and 1958) comprehensively recorded for us in his four-volume administrative history.       With the steady growth of the basic social systems into increasingly elaborate systems of governance, the idea of politics and political systems became increasingly linked with the concept of a public administration designed to implement the policy decisions of ruling regimes or governments.       pointed out that even though this dynamic development of administrative presence began since the earliest of ancient civilizations, the development of public administration in the United States has been essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon.       However, the mature elements of the public sector administrative systems in the United States did not become fully developed until the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries are only primarily in terms of:      The development of a self-conscious sense of professionalism;      The development of public administration as a field deserving serious scholarly study;      The explicit disciplinary commitment to the formation of a science of administration;      The persistent emphasis placed on the politics-administration and fact-value dichotomies, and the emergence of well-defined perspectives concerning the validity of these presumed dichotomies; and      The continuous efforts to resolve the clash between the values of democracy and the canons of management.      But when the American democracy moved into the period of a positive state, it could no longer afford the luxury of a dull government.  For it is an inherent implication of dull government that the dynamic of national life is not profoundly affected by its operation; and it is to the inherent dynamic of the positive state that the operations of government are profoundly important. From this it follows that the government of a positive state:  “if it is to be successful it must necessarily be a thinking government.” (1940) TRENDS AND ISSUE: GLOBALIZATION      Globalization means many things; it depends whom you are asking.  The economists consider globalization as a step towards a fully integrated world market.  While some political scientists view it as a march away from the conventionally defined concept of the state, with territorial sovereignty and the emergence of nongovernmental power players in the world order ( 1997). Business school academics and consultants apply globalization to a “borderless world” (1990).      And others view it as a phenomenon driven only by private-sector firms, not by governments ( 1996;1997).   Looking through all these discussions, globalization usually deals with the question of borders–”the territorial demarcations of state jurisdictions and associated issues of governance, economy, identity, and community” (1997).      Globalization as internationalization. This idea treats globalization in a narrow sense as an increase in cross border relations among organizations, that is, identities and communities that extend beyond national jurisdictional boundaries.  Such a development is due to the field international relations.      Globalization as border openness. This means large-scale openness of borders achieved by removing state regulatory barriers and protectionist measures, thus facilitating rapid financial transactions, communications, trade, and cultural relationships (1992).           Borderless world would be characterized by a unified global economy, global government, homogenous global culture, and, by implication, a global system of public administration (1997). The Internet and other means of information technology have contributed largely to this phenomenon.      Globalization as a process.  Using a political economy point of view, this idea refers to globalization not as a phenomenon, but as a process.  A continuing process of capital accumulation in modern capitalism that has been going on for centuries.      But recently, it has been intensified because of the availability of modern technology.  The beginning of this globalization process goes back to the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was marked by the transition from early (competitive) capitalism to late (monopoly) capitalism, which was boosted by the two world wars and produced capitalism’s “golden age” (1950-1970) at the height of the Cold War.      Globalization as ideology. The driving force behind the globalization of American and Western European liberal democracy is the Western capitalist democracy. The wealth of information, including propaganda, spread throughout the world like a wild fire through the media, the press, computers, and satellite communication systems, which offered an image of an ideal political system for other countries to emulate. The key words that have characterized this ideological force of globalization are freedom, individualism, free enterprise, and plural democracy (1977, 1990).      Globalization as a phenomenon. As a cause-and-effect phenomenon in late capitalism, this kind of perspective treats globalization as a cause of world capitalism’s endless effort to reach global markets for accelerated accumulation of capital during the stagnant era of the 1970s.      Globalization has produced significant consequences for the state and other institutions, whose territorial borders have “not so much crossed or opened as transcended.  `Global’ phenomena here are those that extend across widely dispersed locations simultaneously. Territorial distance and territorial borders hold limited significance in these circumstances; the globe becomes a single `place’ in its own right” (1997)      Globalization as both a transcending phenomenon and a process.  This perspective considers globalization to be a process of accumulation by global capitalism.  A constant process of expansion into new frontiers and opportunities for increasing capital accumulation at the global level.      It also views globalization as a phenomenon caused by the process of global capital accumulation.  A phenomenon that has manifested its negative and positive effects almost everywhere.             GLOBALIZATION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION      Globalization has facilitated better connection and coordination among peoples, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Global accessibility is a big positive step toward human advancements. Yet, globalization is building the foundation of a new civilization characterized by many paradoxes. Nevertheless, the globalization of capital, politics, administration, and culture has affected virtually every nation; no country has been left untouched.      The following are consequences public administration faces because of the major changes in the character of the modern state (1998;1994; 1999; 1997) caused by globalization.           1) The globalizing state has forced public administration to do more with less.  Admittedly, public administrators must perform the impossible task of high output under severe psychological conditions of fear and downsized personnel, setting them up for failure only to prove the corporate claims of government inefficiency.      Public administrators should document their records of high performance as well as the failures of the corporate marketplace to make a comparison that the government does what ever it can to serve the public.        2) Professionalization of public administration is a response to the challenge of globalization. Professionalization brings both institutional and moral and ethical standards to public service at the global level, exposing the fallacies of globalizing transnational elites while learning from their organizational and technical skills.      The excesses of globalization and market failure will invite more government intervention. A professionally sound public administration should be ready to take future action.        3) Globalization pushes for increased privatization, which promotes greater opportunities for corruption (1991). Corruption turns societal resources into illegal, immoral, and unproductive activities. It also challenges the very foundations of societal health and destroys citizens’ trust in leadership and legitimacy of the government system.      Privatization is based on the market-based, rational choice theory of self-interested individualism in search of maximizing self-interests at almost any cost to community and society. This behavioral and normative philosophy puts individual interests above the interests of the community and society (1991;1995); which is exactly what the globalizing transnational companies are promoting in order to build a global culture of consumerism (1985). This global corporate culture is, managed through human resources management practices, many of which are in sharp contrast with national and community cultures (1986). Public administrators must resist these market-based concepts of treating citizens as consumers.          4) Globalization challenges the human conscience of the public administration community. Professional citizens of the global community have the opportunity and the responsibility to observe and examine what is happening around the corners of their global community.      There are many issues that can challenge them, including the conditions and deprivations of the poor, wage slavery and sweatshops in global factories, environmental destruction, global warming, and inequity and injustice. Raising consciousness about global issues, both positive and negative, is both important and necessary, as public administrators can make a difference when making decisions that affect their fellow citizens.      They should question the sincerity of the elites, oppose exploitation, and resist being used for undemocratic, unjust, and inequitable purposes around the globe. In the 1980s, public administrators played an effective role in the globally successful campaign against South Africa’s regime of apartheid. Raising such a global consciousness can challenge destructive forces of globalization and global elites on various grounds. Administrators can use the net or other forms of communication to communicate globally with fellow professionals.        5) Public administrators are the guardians of “global community interests.”  Public administrators in more- and less-developed nations have a global responsibility to act ethically and morally in a coordinated manner. They should expose and fight corruption at any level and at any time.      Political appointees and politicians are temporal officials, whom have intimate ties with global corporate elites; they are prone to corruption and abuse of authority, and their definition of public interest is narrow and mostly focused only on the powerful constituencies.   CONCLUSION       Globalization does not end the state or public administration. This is just a new global challenge that broadens public administration’s scope of research, practice, and teaching.      Public administration has just entered a new stage of human civilization, with a future that is both brightened and darkened by globalization and the hegemonic world order.                          Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Public Administration

“Public Ad” INTRODUCTION “The people cannot govern themselves; because if they can, what do you need a government for?” Publi...

PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION

“ Public Ad”   INTRODUCTION      “The people cannot govern themselves; because if they can, what do you need a government for?”      Public administration broadly speaking, is the process and study of policy implementation in the federal, state, and local governments. Governments are made of all levels of bureaucracies and within these bureaucracies administrators manage workers to carry out the policies. Administrators are specialized in different areas such as budgeting, finance, policy analysis, management, and technology.  (cited in )      A good working definition is, “taking care of the state’s, and international organizations’, business by civil servants within the executive branch of government, other than public policy.”  (cited in )       Another term sinonimous to public administration is public management.  This refers to ordinary, routine or typical management concerns, but in the context of achieving public good with public infrastructure.  (cited in )           HISTORY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION      “There is an intricate and intimate relationship between civilization and administration. . . . Administration was present ‘at the creation.’ It was an integral part of civilization whenever and wherever civilization developed; and without the foundation and framework it supplied, civilization would not have developed” ( 1980)      In the earliest records, even in the most primitive and elementary social systems, there is evidence of decisions being made and implemented concerning issues of governance. As the idea of governance developed and extended, the area and influence of administrative systems grew.      Administration was present at the creation of the Republic, as well as throughout the nineteenth century as  (1943, 1951, 1954, and 1958) comprehensively recorded for us in his four-volume administrative history.       With the steady growth of the basic social systems into increasingly elaborate systems of governance, the idea of politics and political systems became increasingly linked with the concept of a public administration designed to implement the policy decisions of ruling regimes or governments.      Waldo pointed out that even though this dynamic development of administrative presence began since the earliest of ancient civilizations, the development of public administration in the United States has been essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon.       However, the mature elements of the public sector administrative systems in the United States did not become fully developed until the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries are only primarily in terms of:      The development of a self-conscious sense of professionalism;      The development of public administration as a field deserving serious scholarly study;      The explicit disciplinary commitment to the formation of a science of administration;      The persistent emphasis placed on the politics-administration and fact-value dichotomies, and the emergence of well-defined perspectives concerning the validity of these presumed dichotomies; and      The continuous efforts to resolve the clash between the values of democracy and the canons of management.      But when the American democracy moved into the period of a positive state, it could no longer afford the luxury of a dull government.  For it is an inherent implication of dull government that the dynamic of national life is not profoundly affected by its operation; and it is to the inherent dynamic of the positive state that the operations of government are profoundly important. From this it follows that the government of a positive state:  “if it is to be successful it must necessarily be a thinking government.” ( 1940) TRENDS AND ISSUE: GLOBALIZATION      Globalization means many things; it depends whom you are asking.  The economists consider globalization as a step towards a fully integrated world market.  While some political scientists view it as a march away from the conventionally defined concept of the state, with territorial sovereignty and the emergence of nongovernmental power players in the world order ( 1997). Business school academics and consultants apply globalization to a “borderless world” ( 1990).      And others view it as a phenomenon driven only by private-sector firms, not by governments (, 1996; , 1997).   Looking through all these discussions, globalization usually deals with the question of borders–”the territorial demarcations of state jurisdictions and associated issues of governance, economy, identity, and community” (, 1997, 430).      Globalization as internationalization. This idea treats globalization in a narrow sense as an increase in cross border relations among organizations, that is, identities and communities that extend beyond national jurisdictional boundaries.  Such a development is due to the field international relations.      Globalization as border openness. This means large-scale openness of borders achieved by removing state regulatory barriers and protectionist measures, thus facilitating rapid financial transactions, communications, trade, and cultural relationships (, 1992).           Borderless world would be characterized by a unified global economy, global government, homogenous global culture, and, by implication, a global system of public administration ( 1997). The Internet and other means of information technology have contributed largely to this phenomenon.      Globalization as a process.  Using a political economy point of view, this idea refers to globalization not as a phenomenon, but as a process.  A continuing process of capital accumulation in modern capitalism that has been going on for centuries.      But recently, it has been intensified because of the availability of modern technology.  The beginning of this globalization process goes back to the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was marked by the transition from early (competitive) capitalism to late (monopoly) capitalism, which was boosted by the two world wars and produced capitalism’s “golden age” (1950-1970) at the height of the Cold War.      Globalization as ideology. The driving force behind the globalization of American and Western European liberal democracy is the Western capitalist democracy. The wealth of information, including propaganda, spread throughout the world like a wild fire through the media, the press, computers, and satellite communication systems, which offered an image of an ideal political system for other countries to emulate. The key words that have characterized this ideological force of globalization are freedom, individualism, free enterprise, and plural democracy (, 1977, 1990).      Globalization as a phenomenon. As a cause-and-effect phenomenon in late capitalism, this kind of perspective treats globalization as a cause of world capitalism’s endless effort to reach global markets for accelerated accumulation of capital during the stagnant era of the 1970s.      Globalization has produced significant consequences for the state and other institutions, whose territorial borders have “not so much crossed or opened as transcended.  `Global’ phenomena here are those that extend across widely dispersed locations simultaneously. Territorial distance and territorial borders hold limited significance in these circumstances; the globe becomes a single `place’ in its own right” (, 1997)      Globalization as both a transcending phenomenon and a process.  This perspective considers globalization to be a process of accumulation by global capitalism.  A constant process of expansion into new frontiers and opportunities for increasing capital accumulation at the global level.      It also views globalization as a phenomenon caused by the process of global capital accumulation.  A phenomenon that has manifested its negative and positive effects almost everywhere.             GLOBALIZATION AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION      Globalization has facilitated better connection and coordination among peoples, governments, and nongovernmental organizations. Global accessibility is a big positive step toward human advancements. Yet, globalization is building the foundation of a new civilization characterized by many paradoxes. Nevertheless, the globalization of capital, politics, administration, and culture has affected virtually every nation; no country has been left untouched.      The following are consequences public administration faces because of the major changes in the character of the modern state ( 1998; , 1994; , 1999;  1997) caused by globalization.           1) The globalizing state has forced public administration to do more with less.  Admittedly, public administrators must perform the impossible task of high output under severe psychological conditions of fear and downsized personnel, setting them up for failure only to prove the corporate claims of government inefficiency.      Public administrators should document their records of high performance as well as the failures of the corporate marketplace to make a comparison that the government does what ever it can to serve the public.        2) Professionalization of public administration is a response to the challenge of globalization. Professionalization brings both institutional and moral and ethical standards to public service at the global level, exposing the fallacies of globalizing transnational elites while learning from their organizational and technical skills.      The excesses of globalization and market failure will invite more government intervention. A professionally sound public administration should be ready to take future action.        3) Globalization pushes for increased privatization, which promotes greater opportunities for corruption ( 1991). Corruption turns societal resources into illegal, immoral, and unproductive activities. It also challenges the very foundations of societal health and destroys citizens’ trust in leadership and legitimacy of the government system.      Privatization is based on the market-based, rational choice theory of self-interested individualism in search of maximizing self-interests at almost any cost to community and society. This behavioral and normative philosophy puts individual interests above the interests of the community and society (., 1991; , 1995); which is exactly what the globalizing transnational companies are promoting in order to build a global culture of consumerism (, 1985). This global corporate culture is, managed through human resources management practices, many of which are in sharp contrast with national and community cultures ( 1986). Public administrators must resist these market-based concepts of treating citizens as consumers.          4) Globalization challenges the human conscience of the public administration community. Professional citizens of the global community have the opportunity and the responsibility to observe and examine what is happening around the corners of their global community.      There are many issues that can challenge them, including the conditions and deprivations of the poor, wage slavery and sweatshops in global factories, environmental destruction, global warming, and inequity and injustice. Raising consciousness about global issues, both positive and negative, is both important and necessary, as public administrators can make a difference when making decisions that affect their fellow citizens.      They should question the sincerity of the elites, oppose exploitation, and resist being used for undemocratic, unjust, and inequitable purposes around the globe. In the 1980s, public administrators played an effective role in the globally successful campaign against South Africa’s regime of apartheid. Raising such a global consciousness can challenge destructive forces of globalization and global elites on various grounds. Administrators can use the net or other forms of communication to communicate globally with fellow professionals.        5) Public administrators are the guardians of “global community interests.”  Public administrators in more- and less-developed nations have a global responsibility to act ethically and morally in a coordinated manner. They should expose and fight corruption at any level and at any time.      Political appointees and politicians are temporal officials, whom have intimate ties with global corporate elites; they are prone to corruption and abuse of authority, and their definition of public interest is narrow and mostly focused only on the powerful constituencies.   CONCLUSION       Globalization does not end the state or public administration. This is just a new global challenge that broadens public administration’s scope of research, practice, and teaching.      Public administration has just entered a new stage of human civilization, with a future that is both brightened and darkened by globalization and the hegemonic world order.                          REFERCES:              Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION

“ Public Ad” INTRODUCTION “The people cannot govern themselves; because if they can, what do you need a government for?” P...