DQ 7-2

DQ 7-2 responses

1.

The original bureaucracy has often been called a “government by gentlemen,” which persisted through the Jeffersonian era. Bureaucrats were thought to be public-spirited, independently established farmers or merchants who could put aside their own interests for a while to serve the public good. Thomas Jefferson, Albert Gallatin, and Alexander Hamilton all fit this mold—none of them ever made a dishonest dollar from public service.

By the 1820s, fraud was creeping into the executive departments, which in turn contributed to the Jacksonian revolution and a sea change in how the bureaucracy was staffed. Andrew Jackson believed that government by gentlemen had degenerated into rampant corruption, tilting public policy away from the interests of all the people (or at least his main constituency in the West) towards the elites. He instituted “rotation in office” as a tool to clean out the bureaucracy and make it more reflective of the general public, and hoped more responsive to the public good. But rotation in office soon became the corrupt “spoils system,” facilitating the graft and mismanagement that characterized the federal government during the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

More reforms would follow over the years, giving rise to the apolitical bureaucracy that we have today. Today there is one member of Congress for approximately every 5,150 civilian members of the executive branch, making it impossible for representatives to keep track of all bureaucrats. And if they cannot keep track, what is to stop the worst fears of Andrew Jackson from being realized?

The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups raises more questions about the nature of our government that the public has ignored for generations. It’s high time to revisit the issue of how the people can maintain control over those who are supposed to do their business. The targeting of conservative organizations by the Internal Revenue Service suggests that this risk is not insignificant. Career bureaucrats there—presumed to be above politics—unduly went after Tea Party groups, effectively denying them their constitutional right to equal protection, for years. All the while, Congress did nothing. The agency’s inspector general failed to blow the whistle in a timely fashion. The media overlooked the many transgressions. 

My organization, Parkland Hospital, is committed to creating an inclusive environment that inspires and leverages diverse thought and a wide range of perspectives. This commitment drives a continuous effort to enhance both patients’ and employees’ experiences. With 70 percent of staff members and 85 percent of patients at Parkland self-identifying as minorities, our Office of Talent Management's Inclusion & Diversity team strives to provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care to our diverse community.

Parkland Hospital support and enhance diversity, inclusion and employee engagement by engaging our talent and community. Parkland attract a diverse workforce by supporting black/African American for Excellence, LGBT and Veterans.

Cost, J. (2013). Our Masters, the Bureaucrats

https://www.weeklystandard.com/jay-cost/our-masters-the-bureaucrats

https://www.parklandhospital.com/phhs/draft-sectionb-a.aspx

https://www.parklandhospital.com/phhs/draft-sectionb-c.aspx

2.

There has been an evolution in public administration. The evolution came about with practices and personnel changes that were needed. There were seven major phases in this evolution. They are as follow: 1. Government by Gentleman (1789-1829) Constitution was written and ratified in 1789, established administration. Washington established an administration with no set patter. He used fitness of character test, individuals with high morals, education, loyal and good ethics. 2. Government by Common Man (1829-1883)

Election of Jackson caused a turning point; brought about the spoils system (assist the candidate getting a job)  3. Government by the Good (1883-1906)

Civil Service and the evangelical movement started. Those that worked in government were expected to meet certain qualifications. 4. Government by the Efficient (1906-1937) Scientific Management; promoted efficiency and effectiveness with one specific method to manage and borrow ideas from business. 5. Government by Administrators (1937-1955) Unity of command, hierarchy, and authority parallel with responsibility 6. Government by Professionals (1955-1995) 7. Government by Citizens, Experts, and Results (1995-Present) 

Diversity recruiting programs are about having diversity in the workplace. It is about having an inclusive work environment where there is are employees who are diverse. In the organization I work for diversity is defined as being flexible and open to all people. There is actually a county wide Diversity committee that has been created so that everyone is open and learns about diverse populations. I believe the way my organization is using diversity recruiting programs is by having job openings that are open to all based on experience and qualifications. There are written policies that are in place to ensure diversity in my organization.

Reference

Altman, R. (2016). HR Organizational Structure – Past, Present, and Future. Workforce Solutions Review, 7(4), 13-15.

3.

Government by gentlemen persisted through the Jefferson era. During this time, bureaucrats were mostly farmers and merchants who would put their own interests aside and serve the public.  In the 1820’s as fraud was becoming more prominent, Andrew Jackson implemented the rotation in office policy with the hopes of making the bureaucracy more reflective of the general public. However, this too became corrupt.  More reforms followed and eventually the solution was to hire the most qualified people (Cost, 2013).

Diversity is understanding that each individual is unique. It is accepting and respecting those differences which include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious and political beliefs.  Diversity benefits organizations and allows employees who have different backgrounds and experiences to contribute different viewpoints and ideas to the organization. In order to ensure organizations are attracting a diverse group of people it’s important for the organization to have a strong recruitment program. The organization I work for has a recruitment team that recruits applicants several ways.  The recruitment team will actively go out and recruit people face to face at job fairs, schools, and other events. These recruitments are done all over the state and reach all demographics. They use social media platforms and have programs that allow citizens to observe certain jobs that they are interested in.  According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2016), encouraging people from diverse populations to test, reevaluating the employment criteria in order to ensure the most qualified applicants are attracted, selected, and retained, and making sure the demographic makeup of the organization reflects the diversity of the communities they serve are essential.

 

References:

 

Cost, J. (2013). Our masters the bureaucrats. The Weekly Standard. Retrieved from https://www.weeklystandard.com/jay-cost/our-masters-the-bureaucrats

 

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/interagency/police-diversity-report.cfm