Public administration Discussion responses 7

1. In many ways, the Pew surveys underscore the importance of government performance to improved public attitudes about government. While acknowledging the difficulty of many of the problems with which government deals, perceptions about poor performance are still seen as a primary reason for government failures. Despite some concern about misguided government objectives, most people say it is performance that determines their opinions (Pew Research Center, 1998).Privatization means that a service previously produced by a government agency is now produced by a nonprofit or private organization. Privatization is an effective way of providing necessary services usually provided by the government while overcoming the problem of shrinking federal, state, and local government budgets and ailing infrastructure. Privatization aims at creating a market-driven partnership for the betterment of taxpayers, although it faces resistance from citizens who fear elimination services (Berkley & Rouse, 2016)

2. Though citizens are generally not happy with government, Americans are divided on the key points on their ability to change how it is ran. According to a Pew research study “a major factor in the public’s negative attitudes about the federal government is its deep skepticism of elected officials. To the general public, elected officials are not much different from the typical American when it comes to their intelligence or their work ethic, but they are viewed as considerably less honest, somewhat less patriotic and somewhat more selfish.”Rouse defines privatization as "a service previously produced by a government agency is now produced by a nonprofit or private organization. The government may sell to private buyers, or a private concern may sell to government " (p. 289). Some of the benefits of privatization are improved efficiency. The significance of privatization is that private organizations have profit incentives to cut costs and be more efficient. Another benefit of privatization is the are free from politics. They do not have to compete for favors from the government, their sole focus is profit, and doing it how they see fit.

3. The fact that it is an election year, citizen held perceptions of government are particularly raw and acute. A commonly held perception is that the government is self-serving, power hungry, and corrupt. The current administration in fact ran on the premise in the 2016 election that change was necessary and that the Washington political “swamp” needed to be drained. Another held perception that an ordinary citizen has no real voice in government policy or an election. This perception of political impotence is reflected in the low percentage of voter registration and voter turnout. Another commonly held perception is that the government is slow to act and wasteful.  

Privatization is the transfer of ownership, property, or business from the government to the private sector. The process in which a publicly traded company is taken over and privately held is also called privatization. Proponents of privatization argue that privately owned companies run businesses more economically and efficiently because they are profit incentivized to eliminate wasteful spending. Furthermore, private ownership does not have to contend with the bureaucratic red tape that compromises efficiency and productivity. Privatization is quicker to accelerate technological progress and usually offers higher wages and as such may attract more highly motivated and qualified people. Greater efficiency and productivity translate to better product quality at lower prices. 

Rouse, Meyer, Noe & Geerts. (2016) The Craft of Public Administration, 11th edition. 

4. A citizen’s dissatisfaction with government performance has four points:

· Democracy is “messy”- It is supposed to be equal and fair however, the nature of our government is ineffective. Citizens only expect satisfactory performance from our government. 

· Government takes a “bum rap”- The media, politicians, and government oversight agencies make it seem like more is wrong with government agencies. They are not anti-minority, anti-poor, and homogeneous. However, they are a class of history, culture law, and custom which is subject to change and to be redefined.

· Government must “shape up”- Government systems should be rewarded instead of punished for taking risks. 

· The country must “shape up”- The performance of this country as a whole is important. Decision making between the average consumer can also be tied to the federal deficit because there are no long term commitments that include savings and investments for the future. 

Privatization according to Rouse means, “that a service previously produced by a government agency is now produced by a nonprofit or private organization” (Rouse, 2016). Privatization is said to be more efficient for a couple of reasons. To start there is no political interference which allows for better management. There is an increase in competition that brings pressure to the marketplace. Also, costs and benefits are placed on managerial decisions that incentivize profit.

 

5. By applying a variety of privatization techniques to state services, infrastructure, facilities, enterprises, and land, comprehensive state privatization programs can reduce program costs. Over 100 studies have documented cost savings from contracting out services to the private sector. 

 There is a growing consensus among citizens and members of local government that citizen participation is desirable for local government. However, in practice, there are differing perceptions between them regarding the level and extent of citizen participation. As citizen participation is a multi faceted concept, its meaning is construed differently by both the members of local government and the citizen groups. This paper attempts to describe the conflicts that arise from participation. The paper is based on the study of the process of citizen participation in local government carried out in Torbat-Heydarieh city, Iran. A qualitative research method is seen as the most suitable approach to collecting and analyzing the data. The method employed for data collection in this research is in-depth interviews. In-depth interviews were conducted to gauge the existence of conflicts regarding participation. The findings reveal four areas that give rise to conflicts. This study also attempts to highlight two different views regarding citizen participation; the people-centred view and authority-centred view.