Discussion 3

Module 4 Managing Public Organizations

Yanbing Han ([email protected])

PAD 3003 Introduction to Public Policy and Service

Summer B 2020

Florida International University

Note: Please do NOT share any part of this lecture note with any third party without a consent of the author.

Let’s recall what you have learned from Module 3 and link them to this new Module.

In module 3, we have learned the process of how policy decisions are made.

After the decisions are made, we need to implement them. Who is going to implement the policy decisions? Public Organizations.

This module deals with efforts to improve public organization management, addressing related subjects of organization theory and the evolution of U.S. civil service administration

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

Define Weberian bureaucracy

Discuss the challenges to bureaucracy

Define public organizations with examples

Describe the major themes of U.S. civil service reforms

Understand the content of Public Service Values

Theory: Bureaucracy

Define Public Organizations (Required Reading 1) • An “organization” is a group of people who jointly work

to achieve at least one common goal (Shafritz et al., 2016).

• When the term comes with an adjective “public”, it means the organization has to achieve societal public goals, not private goals.

• We have learned the public-private distinction in module 1. If you forget, you must reread Pesch’s (2008) article.

• Remember, what is “public interest” and what is “public good”.

• Required Reading 1: Mayer (2014) Selected Characteristics of Private and Public Sector Workers

This chart shows the structure of Miami- Dade County Government organizations

Miami-Dade County Human Resources Department. (2019). Know your county government: A county employee’s guide to Miami-Dade County Government. https://www.miamidade.gov/humanresources/library/know- your-county-government.pdf

Shafritz, J. M., Russell, E. W., Borick, C. P., & Hyde, A. C. (2016). Introducing Public Administration. Routledge. Pesch, U. (2008). The Publicness of Public Administration. Administration & Society, 40(2), 170–193.

Public Organization Theory

• Public organization theory is a set of propositions that seeks to explain or predict how public employees and organizations behave in differing organizational arrangements.

• Generic Organizational theory is also a core course for business management. But it has given little attention to nonmarket and political factors in the policy process.

• One of the most prominent organizational theories is Max Weber’s Bureaucratic Model.

Weber’s ideal type of bureaucracy (Required Video)

• The video explains the Bureaucracy Theory as defined by Max Weber. https://youtu.be/zp554tcdWO8

• You may need to pause and take notes when you watch the video. Pay special attention to:

• The six characteristics of the ideal type of bureaucracy • Red Tape and Iron Cage

• It is required to use this source for Discussion 3.

• You can cite this video in-text by (Weber, 1946)

Weber, M. (1946), From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, tr. H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, New York: Oxford University Press.

Controversial Bureaucracy

• While Weber’s identification of bureaucratic organization is perhaps the most comprehensive statement on the subject, it is not always considered satisfactory as an intellectual and practicable construct.

• One side of this prolonged discussion praises this administrative form as the ‘rational’ way to run an organization. It provides needed guidance and clarifies responsibilities, which enables employees to become more efficient. • However, the opposition claims that in a non-linear world, such an

organizational form stifles creativity, fosters red tapes, and causes pressure on employees.

Yüksel, A. H. (2014). Visiting the Iron Cage: Bureaucracy and the Contemporary Workplace (pp. 277–289). Springer

Pros: Weberian bureaucracy and its legacy for public administration

• The theory of Weberian bureaucracy significantly affects how our governments are structured. American public administration has emulated many elements of Weber’s model.

• In a nutshell, Weberian bureaucracy consists of a hierarchically structured, professional, rule-bound, impersonal, meritocratic, appointed, and disciplined body of public servants with a specific set of competencies (Sager & Rosser, 2009).

• Nowadays, most public organizations are based on written rules, an impersonal order, and a division of labor.

Sager, F., & Rosser, C. (2009). Weber, Wilson, and Hegel: Theories of Modern Bureaucracy. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1136–1147.

Cons: A Bad Reputation of the Bureaucracies (Recommended Video)

• Bureaucracies tend to be associated with a bad reputation. • Red tape: official routine or procedure marked by excessive complexity which

results in delay or inaction • Conflict: the goals of various bureaucratic agencies just don't match up, and

they end up working at cross purposes. • Duplication: Sometimes government agencies seem to be doing the very same

thing. Both the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Customs Service, for example, try to prevent illegal drug smuggling.

• Iron Cage: People were trapped in calculated systems that threatened individual freedom and innovation.

• (Benzine, 2015) https://youtu.be/I8EQAnKntLs

Challenges to Bureaucracy (Required Reading 2)

• Weber was constructing an ideal type, and we should expect bureaucracy to vary from the ideal type in practice.

• Meier & Hill (2005) discussed six challenges to the Weberian bureaucracy.

• Some of the challenges are intellectual; others are practical and take place in the political debates that shape the direction of governments and governance. For this introductory class, it is required to understand the practical challenges. The intellectual challenges are recommended for those students who want to pursue graduate studies in this field.

• It is required to understand the following practical challenges to bureaucracy. Please pay special attention to those sections in the chapter:

• Political—bureaucratic relationship (Sec. 3.2) • New Public Management (Sec. 3.3)

• replace bureaucracy with liberated contract managers • liberate bureaucratic managers by freeing them from the rules and restrictions

• Network vs hierarchical bureaucracy (Sec. 3.6)

• The authors link Weberian bureaucracy with those challenges in Sec. 3.7 and 3.8. Please read them carefully and try to answer: Why do the authors believe that the bureaucracy will not only survive but will flourish, even with those challenges?

• It is required to integrate this article in Discussion 3 original post.

Meier, K. J., & Hill, G. C. (2009). Bureaucracy in the Twenty-First Century. In The Oxford Handbook of Public Management.

Practice: U.S. Government Organizations Now, let’s see how the bureaucracy theories apply to the real world.

Get to know your government organizations (Recommended Reading)

• The following short reports will let you get more knowledge about your local government organizations: • Hogue (2013) Government Organization Summary Report • Census Bureau (2011) Exploring the Intricate Layers of State and Local

Governments: Florida 1

• Miami-Dade County Human Resources Department. (2019). Know your county government: A county employee’s guide to Miami-Dade County Government. https://www.miamidade.gov/humanresources/library/know-your-county- government.pdf

(1 If you are from other states, you can get a report for your state at https://www.census.gov/govs/pubs/topic.html#cog)

Number of U.S. Government Organizations

• One federal government • 2.7 million individuals working for the federal

government in civilian positions

• About 80,000 units of state, county, metropolitan, and local governments

• In all, state and local governments employed about 20 million

Where do state local government employees work? A focus on how education jobs vary between state and local governments

Local State 8.1 2.7

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 State and local employees (in millions)

Education

Hospitals

Poli

Corrections

Public Welfare

Highways

Health

J dicia

Fire

12

education employment primarily consists of lementary and econdary ducation, while .

Elementary and Secondary Instructional

Elementary and Secondary Non-Instructional

Higher Education Instructional

Higher Education Non-Instructional

Other Education

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll The data and survey methodology can be found at www.census.gov/

govs/apes/>.

The Pre-Modern Period (1789 to the 1950s)

• Now, let’s discuss how the public sector progressed in the United States and how it links to the theories of bureaucracy.

• Frederick C. Mosher’s book Democracy and the Public Service (1968) is the classic historical guide to the formative years of public service. His chapter “The Evolution of American Civil Service Concepts” divides the pre-modern era into five eras.

• The watershed moment was the passage of the Pendleton Act in 1883 (or Civil Service Reform Act in 1883).

• The Act rejected the spoils system and established the merit system within the federal government.

• Spoils system practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts.

• Merit system is the process of promoting and hiring government employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than on their political connections.

Frederick Mosher’s Evolution of the American Civil Service Source: adapted from Mosher (1968: pp. 96–97).

Five Eras of Civil Service Development in the Pre-Modern Period

Shafritz, J. M., Russell, E. W., Borick, C. P., & Hyde, A. C. (2016). Introducing Public Administration. Routledge.

Weberian bureaucracy: Occupation of offices based on expertise.

The Modern Period (1960s - )

This picture shows the share of public employees in three levels of government.

This picture shows the share of government employment in total nonfarm employment.

The current share of government employment is actually very low, and one has to go back to 1960 to find a lower number. The highest point is in 1975.

The Modern Period: Two Themes

During the modern period (1960s - ), two themes predominate in administrative reform:

(1) The quest for management efficiency: “do more with less”

E.g., The 1993 National Performance Review (Link to Meier & Hill (2005) Sec 3.3: New Public Management)

(2) The desire for politically neutrality and professionalism

E.g., The establishment of Merit Systems Protection Board in 1978 (Link to Meier & Hill (2005) Sec 3.2: Political—bureaucratic relationship )

Problems of the Two Themes

• Under Weber’s bureaucracy model, public organizations are designed to pursue administrative efficiency.

• Value-neutrality is the key principle: the organization works like a machine and people are like bolts and nuts. It assumes that people are rational. Values and emotions are not relevant.

• The lack of value construction for public servants has led to an increasing number of serious problems, such as decreased interest in public welfare or the good of the community, failures to faithfully implement organizational goals and policy, and the mutual distrust between citizens and bureaucrats (see the right figure).

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/04/11/public-trust- in-government-1958-2019/

Wang, X., & Wang, Z. (2020). Beyond Efficiency or Justice: The Structure and Measurement of Public Servants’ Public Values Preferences. Administration & Society, 52(4), 499–527.

From Value-neutrality to Public Service Values

• In recent years, more and more public organizations call for the establishment of a “values-based public personnel management system.”

• The role of public servants has evolved from only providing instrumental public services into managing citizens’ expectations and identifying and responding to citizens’ values preferences.

• Different scholars have formulated different sets of public values.

• Here I list a set of values proposed by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), which is one of the leading organizations in our field.

ASPA Code of Ethics 1. Advance the Public Interest. Promote the interests of the public and put service to the public above service to oneself.

2. Uphold the Constitution and the Law. Respect and support government constitutions and laws, while seeking to improve laws and policies to promote the public good.

3. Promote democratic participation. Inform the public and encourage active engagement in governance. Be open, transparent and responsive, and respect and assist all persons in their dealings with public organizations.

4. Strengthen social equity. Treat all persons with fairness, justice, and equality and respect individual differences, rights, and freedoms. Promote affirmative action and other initiatives to reduce unfairness, injustice, and inequality in society.

5. Fully Inform and Advise. Provide accurate, honest, comprehensive, and timely information and advice to elected and appointed officials and governing board members, and to staff members in your organization.

6. Demonstrate personal integrity. Adhere to the highest standards of conduct to inspire public confidence and trust in public service.

7. Promote Ethical Organizations: Strive to attain the highest standards of ethics, stewardship, and public service in organizations that serve the public.

8. Advance Professional Excellence: Strengthen personal capabilities to act competently and ethically and encourage the professional development of others.

https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/About-ASPA/Code- of-Ethics/ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx

Wang, X., & Wang, Z. (2020). Beyond Efficiency or Justice: The Structure and Measurement of Public Servants’ Public Values Preferences. Administration & Society, 52(4), 499–527.

Understanding Public Service Values (Required Reading)

• Our next required reading will help get a deeper understanding of public service values.

• Required Reading 3: Molina, A. D., & Mckeown, C. L. (2012). The Heart of the Profession: Understanding Public Service Values. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(2), 375–396.

• It is required to integrate this material for Assignment 2.

Molina, A. D., & Mckeown, C. L. (2012). The Heart of the Profession: Understanding Public Service Values. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(2), 375–396.

List of Required Materials

• Required Reading 1: Mayer. (2014). Selected Characteristics of Private and Public Sector Workers

• Required Video: https://youtu.be/zp554tcdWO8 You can cite this video in-text by (Weber, 1946).

• Required Reading 2: Meier, K. J., & Hill, G. C. (2009). Bureaucracy in the Twenty-First Century. In The Oxford Handbook of Public Management.

• Required Reading 3: Molina, A. D., & Mckeown, C. L. (2012). The Heart of the Profession: Understanding Public Service Values. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(2), 375–396.

They are attached on the Canvas Module Overview Page.

List of Recommended Materials

• Benzine. (2015). Bureaucracy Basics https://youtu.be/I8EQAnKntLs

• Hogue (2013) Government Organization Summary Report • Census Bureau. (2011). Exploring the Intricate Layers of State

and Local Governments: Florida

• Miami-Dade County Human Resources Department. (2019). Know your county government: A county employee’s guide to Miami-Dade County Government.

• ASPA (2013) Code of Ethics

They are attached on the Canvas Module Overview Page.

Questions and Comments

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I am here to help.

Yanbing Han: [email protected]

Note: Please do NOT share any part of this lecture note with any third party without a consent of the author.