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Objectives

� To define key terms and concepts of leadership

� To establish the groundwork for building leadership skills

� To describe the constitutional basis for public sector leadership

� To introduce leadership themes covered in this book

INTRODUCTION

Public leadership is undergoing a vast change. Instead of being centered in bureaucratic organizations, leadership is now more collaborative, involving new partnerships with businesses and civic groups. Public leaders are be- coming more enterprising, taking on the roles of entrepreneurs, innovators, and team facilitators. The new roles of public leaders require not only a thorough understanding of principles of democratic governance, laws, ordi- nances, and regulations, but also skill in interpersonal relationships and or- ganizational effectiveness.

These changes offer many stimulating challenges as well as unique re- wards. Public leaders are at the forefront of governance. They participate in the legal systems and processes that spell out what and how people define, enact, and regulate their rights, interests, needs, and aspirations. The partic- ipation involves the give and take of negotiation and policy making, the managerial skills of administration, and the dynamics of incorporating di- verse stakeholders in problem solving and decision making. Public leaders are individuals who require high levels of technical knowledge; skills in understanding complex interactions among lawmakers, executive-level pol- iticians, and citizens; business and civic concerns; sensitivity; and personal integrity. The great challenge of public leadership is to develop these com- petencies simultaneously in a fishbowl-like environment.

The Dallas Morning News ran a series of articles on “The We Decade: Re- birth of a Community,” highlighting the renewed collaboration between government and its varied constituents to achieve common purposes. In one article, Tarrant (1996) quoted the director of a citizenship project, who

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LEADING PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS: AN INTERACTIVE APPROACH CAROL RUSAW

joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka joka 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said, “The evolving relationship between government to community really demands a new look at who is going to be working on the local challenges.” Tarrant went on to say that

…what is spurring all this activity, according to community experts and activists, is a tectonic shift in societal attitudes to a belief that no one institution — particu- larly government — can solve all our problems. New times require new strategies.

Serving as a public leader, however, brings special rewards. Public lead- ers find satisfaction in bringing together people from many differing back- grounds and facilitating solving some of the most nettlesome problems fac- ing the social order. In the process of problem solving, public leaders learn how to tap potential talents both in themselves and in others to bring about creative solutions. This promotes self-actualization and the creation of pur- pose. As catalysts of meaning, public leaders discover new information, cre- ate and utilize resources for problem solving, and make decisions through the synergy of group interaction.

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

Catalytic, collaborative leadership is necessary in bringing together a wide range of resources and activating talents and interests in achieving a central goal or purpose. The skills of public leaders involve a balance of achieving goals and motivating followers in arenas that are often ill-defined and sub- ject to change. Because of the multiple demands and ambiguity of purposes, defining collaborative public leadership precisely is difficult.

A definition of public leadership needs to take into account the numerous facets of who public leaders are and what they do. The nature of public lead- ership is, in large part, defined by the constitutional basis of their work. Pub- lic service is chartered by legislation, meaning that the content, scope, and re- lationship of work is related not to enterprise, but to the authority of law.

Public leaders also use interpersonal skills, individual style preferences, and technical expertise to make decisions. They accomplish objectives ac- cording to performance standards established by the nature of an organiza- tional mission and operating objectives. But they also achieve “success” ac- cording to how their followers perceive their manner of carrying out duties. In the public sector, “followers” include not only subordinates, but also leg- islators, interest groups, taxpayers, and governmental agencies.

In further examining the legal nature of public leaders’ tasks and the rela- tionship qualities that distinguish public leadership performance, four in- terrelated themes can be observed.

The Four Themes

1. Public leadership is based on a form of representational governance. Public leaders require openness to debate, toleration of ambiguously

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defined laws and regulations, and a willingness to incorporate demo- cratic values and processes in making decisions. In terms of leader- ship, public leaders take their cues from legislation and from popular consent. Public leaders are more servants than initiators of action. Public leaders exercise a great deal of discretion in performing their roles as servants, however. Through their technical expertise, the re- quirements of local conditions, and the particular interests and needs of followers, public leaders develop a sense of how to define and carry out their responsibilities.

2. Public leadership is based on participation and consensus. Public lead- ers make decisions on behalf of others in accordance with what they believe will benefit the majority. To gain an accurate perception of what stakeholders need, desire, and expect, public leaders gather in- formation from a diversity of followers, build common agendas, set broad goals, and achieve results through follower involvement. Public leadership encourages democratic participation in order to achieve constituent satisfaction with and commitment to ends.

3. Public leadership is based on the concept of ultimate resource account- ability to the people. Public leaders are not accountable to a governing board or trustees, as in the private sector. Rather, both their authority to act and the means to do so stem from the legal–representational form of governance. The “public” in general sponsors the work of public servants through elected and appointed officials. This means that stakeholder accountability is indirect, but maintained through elaborate legal checks and balances. To fulfill responsibilities to the public as ultimate “owner,” public leaders need a governing set of val- ues that make accountability a high priority.

4. Public leadership is based on the values of administrative effectiveness and efficiency. Because public leaders are servants or trustees of material, financial, human, and technological resources, they must use the re- sources conservatively and wisely. Many of the notions of effectiveness and efficiency of public leaders come from “Scientific Management” con- cepts (Rainey, 1997), which stipulate that leaders create measurable stan- dards for job performance and coordinate resources to achieve quantita- tive and qualitative outcomes. This suggests that public leaders develop abilities not only in administrative management but also in using human resources to promote cooperation, creativity, and compliance.

DEFINITION USED IN THIS BOOK

The four themes suggest that public leadership encompasses a cluster of abilities and relationships that enable individuals to mutually solve prob- lems associated with governance, create and mobilize resources, develop so- lutions by consensus, and make and implement decisions. Public leadership

D E F I N I T I O N U S E D I N T H I S B O O K

may thus be defined as an interhuman process of identifying, defining, and carrying out goals using democratically sanctioned norms and behaviors.

The definition has five major implications:

1. Leadership is based on the development and use of endearing per- sonal characteristics as perceived by followers;

2. Leadership consists of a sequence of interrelated behaviors that others come to expect in solving problems and making decisions;

3. Leadership entails use of power and influence in fulfilling responsibil- ities;

4. Leadership is a relationship based on preferred communications styles, as well as identified needs, interests, and capabilities of followers, and on situational requirements; and

5. Leadership involves personal integrity in assuming responsibilities and working with diverse stakeholders.

The definition and the five implications are described in greater depth in the book’s chapters.

PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

This textbook was written to provide the knowledge and skills public sector leaders need to perform their multiple responsibilities with confidence and competence. It assumes that public leadership differs substantially from pri- vate sector leadership in its relationship structures, its legally based mission, and its technical content. In the many leadership texts that have been pub- lished to date, there is little mention of the unique facets of public leadership and no methodology for teaching it. This textbook fills this gap by examining leadership from a theoretical as well as practical view. It is based on research as well as experience in 8 years of teaching leadership to students in a Mas- ters of Public Administration program. The textbook provides foundational theories, examples in the public sector, and experiential learning activities to further develop skills and competencies. The aim of this textbook is to help students understand the phenomena of public sector leadership, including the nature of work, clientele, and environment, as well as to develop skills that will transfer to their particular work settings. By connecting knowledge acquisition, practice, and reflection, students will be prepared to meet the challenges public sector organizations are facing and will continue to face.

PLAN OF THIS BOOK

To achieve its aim, this textbook is divided into three parts: Part I includes foundational leadership theories with public sector appli-

cations. Part I consists of chapters concerned with power and influence in

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developing and carrying out public leadership roles, motivating followers, and tailoring leadership styles to both the needs and interests of followers as well as to the situations leaders and followers encounter.

Part II probes the interhuman or relationship aspects of leadership. It de- scribes leadership characteristics, skills for developing effective human rela- tionships, skills for communicating with a variety of followers, techniques for using the uniqueness of diverse followers, and methods for building and maintaining teams.

Part III describes special abilities public leaders need to fulfill their re- sponsibilities. These include competencies in decision making, conflict reso- lution, transforming follower values and behaviors, innovation, and ethical integrity.

At the end of each chapter are learning activities that enable students to re- flect on the concepts in the reading, discuss central content questions, and assess their leadership abilities. This leads to developing a critical capacity to analyze assumptions, values, beliefs, and actions in social settings. Through the applications exercises, students are encouraged to continue to learn beyond the course.

OUTLINE

Part I: Foundational Concepts of Public Leadership

CHAPTER 1: TRANSACTING LEADERSHIP ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES This chapter introduces the concepts of roles and relationships as behaviors lead- ers and followers negotiate in meeting mutual goals and interests. It discusses how ideas of public leadership roles have developed from per- spectives of Scientific Management, human relations, and situational man- agement. The chapter describes the organizational and political contributors to the development of public leadership roles. Chapter 1 also discusses com- mon problems public leaders face in defining and acting their roles and re- sponsibilities, such as role credibility and role stress. CHAPTER 2: LEADERSHIP AUTHORITY, POWER, AND INFLUENCE This chapter defines authority as the right to lead. It also discusses formal and informal power as derived from legal as well as ascribed authority. In examining vari- ous theories and bases of power, Chapter 2 distinguishes power from influ- ence. Emphasizing influence as a product of follower inferences, the chapter describes some techniques leaders use to create positive impressions. Among the techniques are use of political and shared power strategies. CHAPTER 3: MOTIVATING OTHERS This chapter explores the uses of values, motives, needs, and organizational processes and arrangements that influ- ence follower compliance with leader requests. The text contends that mo- tives are complex forces within individuals that stem from needs, drives,

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and socialized learning. Historically, different leadership approaches have specified how to activate motives to achieve leader purposes. The chapter analyzes the approaches and describes applications from Scientific Manage- ment, reward-based theories of management, human relations schools of thought, and organizational development models of enriching worker envi- ronments and skill development. CHAPTER 4: APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP: NORMATIVE AND SITUATIONAL This chapter introduces conditions, such as individual characteristics, cul- ture, types of preferred power and influence strategies, and conditions within environments that make using any particular style of leadership faulty. To examine how situational leadership has evolved and how it is used today, Chapter 4 highlights several prominent theories, including Fiedler, Hersey and Blanchard, Vroom and Yetton, House, and Kerr and Jer- mier. By knowing individual preferences and readiness for independent de- cision making, degree of environmental ambiguity, and tasks that do not re- quire leader supervision, availability of leadership substitutes, leaders can attain the results they desire through different followers.

Part II: Developing Interhuman Relationships

CHAPTER 5: BUILDING TRUST Effective leader–follower relationships are built on mutual trust. To transact roles and responsibilities and achieve ends, leaders must create conditions that followers accept as valid and use- ful, and followers need to commit their resources fully. The chapter dis- cusses some conditions that facilitate trust building, such as aligning inten- tions with actions, personal integrity, self-control, degree of perceived similarity of interests and goals, ability to disclose one’s personal thoughts and feelings and use information to improve other and self-understanding, and organizational politics and climate. By developing sensitivity to self in relationship to others, leaders can facilitate trust and enhance collaboration among followers. CHAPTER 6: CREATING MEANING: APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP COMMUNI- CATION Based on the works of Jablin and Putnam, Chapter 6 describes four central approaches to analyzing communications relationships: mechanistic, psychological, symbolic interactionist, and systemic. The chapter discusses the formation and use of symbols in creating meaning as well as some com- mon perceptual errors that occur in interpreting verbal and nonverbal lan- guage. The chapter depicts key leader roles in producing organizational cul- ture and managing interpersonal communications networks. Describing impediments that occur frequently in hierarchical organizational structures, the chapter points out distortions in conveying and decoding messages. CHAPTER 7: LEADING DIVERSE FOLLOWERS This chapter contends that there are multiple forms of “diversity” that affect the character of leader–follower relationships. These include not only race, gender, and age, but also socio- economic background, culture, thinking styles, and viewpoints. Many con- ditions that stem from a lack of “diversity,” as defined here, produce bias

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that limits effective group performance. Some conditions the chapter high- lights include attributions, ideologies, past experiences, lack of direct and continuing contact, authoritarianism and ethnocentrism, and degree of physical attractiveness. Strategies that fail to integrate follower differences may be based in prejudice and may manifest themselves in stereotypical leadership behaviors. These produce low trust, poor individual motivation, reinforcement of existing stereotypes, and creation of sharply defined role behaviors. Leaders can develop more inclusiveness in thoughts and interac- tions, however, by understanding the importance of critical thinking, self- reflection, discussion, and participation. To foster collaborative work, lead- ers can also understand and practice sharing power. CHAPTER 8: TEAM LEADERSHIP IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR This chapter points out that using teams is central to developing collaborative leadership, par- ticularly in view of the growing interest in public sector productivity and competition with private corporations. Following a distinction between teams and groups, Chapter 8 describes common task and interpersonal roles leaders play in collective settings. The chapter also describes stages of team evolution and pitfalls typical at each. Identifying conflict as one of the most pervasive impediments to team development, the chapter describes seven types that frequently disrupt teams. The chapter concludes by dis- cussing skills leaders need to acquire in order to manage conflict and enable team members to produce high-quality results. CHAPTER 9: LEADING CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN PUBLIC ORGANIZA- TIONS Expanding on the use of conflict resolution strategies leaders may use in team building, this chapter describes in greater depth the concept of conflict and relates it to establishing collaborative relationships in nonteam settings. Chapter 9 emphasizes the management of conflict among a myriad of external public organizational stakeholders and constituents. In particu- lar, the chapter describes stages and levels of conflict. It also discusses typi- cal responses. Using techniques from Fisher and Ury’s principled negotia- tion strategy, the chapter describes some ways leaders may achieve ends that benefit both their interests and those of stakeholders.

Part III: Special Leadership Competencies

CHAPTER 10: RATIONAL AND NONRATIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECI- SION MAKING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR Asserting that problem solving and decision making are intertwined and occur on a continuum, this chapter ex- amines both rational and nonrational approaches. Rational approaches, which concentrate on purposeful methods to achieve specified ends, are based in economic theories that proscribe one “best” way to manage. Processes include problem identification, developing and weighing alternative solutions, selecting the optimal choice, and implementing the al- ternative. Nonrational approaches approaches involve factors that depend on individual and group perspectives. The chapter discusses three of the most common nonrational approaches, incrementalism, satisficing, and

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garbage-can. Chapter 10 cites and assesses examples of each in the public sector. The chapter also discusses techniques that enhance creative thinking. CHAPTER 11: PUBLIC LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION In contrast to transac- tional leadership, which involves exchange of resources to achieve a desired end or payoff, transformational leadership involves changing follower mo- tivations and goals to reach larger purposes. The chapter points out that in- novation is more difficult in the public than the private sector, but can be achieved under certain conditions. It defines innovation as changes in ser- vices or products resulting in something new to industries, organizations, or individuals. This chapter discusses several forms of innovation in the public sector, such as reinvention, reengineering, and Total Quality Management (TQM). It enumerates conditions for successful innovations and depicts skills leaders need. CHAPTER 12: THE ETHICS OF PUBLIC LEADERSHIP Because roles of public sector leaders have been changing to adapt to a myriad of new demands for innovation, responsiveness, productivity, and accountability, ethical stan- dards for evaluating leadership behavior have become more complex. In this changing context, Chapter 12 examines foundational concepts of ethics and discusses particular implications for public leaders. This chapter also analyzes conditions affecting ethical development, and organizational, so- cial, economic, and political attributes that facilitate ethical climates in pub- lic organizations.

CONCLUSION

As you read the text, think about your development as a leader in the public sector. Through the interactive exercises, discussions, and supplemental classwork, you will be able to connect your experiences with theories and practices in the field of public administration. The combination will enable you to meet the many challenges of public leadership today. As the public sector inte- grates more elements of business, nonprofit, and civic interests worldwide, it joins an increasingly complex web of globally connected organizations. Now is the time for public leaders to build capacities through a life-long learning process and, in so doing, shape the character of the now and future public organization.

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. What are some key challenges you see facing public leaders today? How are they dealing with difficult challenges? What are some oppor- tunities that encourage personal growth? democratic practices?

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2. In your opinion, what qualities are important in leading public employ- ees and organizations today? How do leaders acquire the qualities?

3. Distinctive identities of public and private institutions are changing as a result of more cross-sectoral interaction. What can these two sectors learn from each other to improve service to the public?

4. What are your skills and strengths as a leader? Which would you like to improve as you read through this book?

SUPPLEMENTAL READING

Welcome to the Brave New World of the New Public Leader: Roles and Responsibilities for the Twenty-First Century

DIRECTIONS

As you read the following article, consider the new roles public leaders play in transform- ing the social order around them. In many ways, the article describes the innovative and collaborative relationships public leaders are forming increasingly. Note particularly how the leader defines his roles and how followers, in turn, define theirs. These skills and strategies are seeds that will burst into bloom in the chapters to come.

CYBER VILLAGES — NEW CITY RECOVERY FORMULA

Neal Peirce, Washington Post Writers Group

ST. PAUL, Minn.—As America’s cities get ready for the 21st century, Weiming Lu would like to see them building and perfecting “urban villages” that embody the best we’ve learned through the urban tribulations of the 20th.

Lu’s millennial villages would have a mix of tastefully recycled historic buildings and artfully designed new ones. People would flock to them for their varieties of age and eth- nic groups, offices, homes and jobs, urban parks, street art, and entertainment.

The villages would be both arts districts and “cyber villages,” attracting companies fo- cused on the Internet, new media and telecommunications industries. Indeed, Lu sees a creative combination of artists and computer software designers, working in the same neighborhood and linked globally through extensive fiber optics and satellite uplinks.

The village would have its own shared heating and air conditioning through under- ground conduits, an environmentally sustainable neighborhood reducing pollution and saving energy. And it would be economically successful — an engine of urban growth.

The fact is that Lu, a Shanghai-born designer– developer– visionary, has already created just such a village. It’s in St. Paul; it’s called Lowertown. It’s become a prime model for merging historic preservation, successful design, economic rejuvenation, and lively street life, even along streets once threatened with abandonment.

Q U E S T I O N S F O R T H O U G H T A N D D I S C U S S I O N

Lowertown is situated where St. Paul was born — on the city’s “lower” Mississippi River landing. By the late ’70s it had declined into a shabby district of mostly abandoned warehouses, railyards, and parking lots. Yet Lowertown had the residual charm of turn-of- the-century buildings, narrow alleys, and tree-lined streets. And it had crucial location — on the Mississippi, close to downtown and the state capital district.

George Latimer, then St. Paul’s mayor, decided Lowertown’s economic risk might eas- ily frighten off developers. So in 1978 he persuaded the Twin Cities-based McKnight Foun- dation to put up $10 million, not in a grant but in a “program-related investment” for Lowertown.

Weiming Lu, former urban design chief for Minneapolis and Dallas — he’s been called “the Zen master of urban design and administration” — took over and still heads the Low- ertown Redevelopment Corporation (LRC). LRC’s apparent secret: In one body, it’s a fi- nancial deal maker, design watchdog, preservation advocate, and indefatigable promoter of the neighborhood.

McKnight hoped its $10 million would attract $100 million in Lowertown investment. The latest total: $428 million. Lowertown today has 4,300 jobs and 1,500 housing units, a quarter of them for low and moderate income people. Dynamic “yuppie” couples and re- tired executives, struggling artists and fixed-income seniors rub shoulders here. They seem to value the diversity.

Lowertown has had commercial ups and downs but now seems on a steady upward course with high occupancy rates both in office and apartment buildings. The cyber village influx is part of the growth, as fledgling firms select historic buildings for their operations.

Why? “They like the funky space, low cost, restaurants, being right next to a park,” says Lu — “It’s the right mix for folks breaking out of their basements.”

“There’s a cool, funky thing going on here in Lowertown that meshes well with an In- ternet company,” says Scott Bourne, founder of First-TV, a firm offering real-time Internet- based news coverage, music videos, and documentaries.

Another Lowertown cyberfirm is point2point communications, specializing in private, global television programming for corporations. It’s a spinoff of another Lowertown neighbor, Minnesota Public Television.

The Internet address go.fast.net constructs high-speed ISDN (integrated service digital networks) hookups for businesses. HomeStyles is America’s largest publisher of home plans (now on CD-ROMs and the Internet). And they’re several more like them, all on the lookout for shared opportunities with their new neighbors.

None of this would work, though, if Lowertown didn’t offer carefully assembled, pre- served amenities, from a farmers’ market to historic street lighting to cafes, theaters and galleries and a new children’s playground.

After years of effort, Lowertown’s Mississippi River connection has been made usable with an attractive riverfront park — now popular for running, walking, fishing, biking. “We want to see more trees planted there, and bring back the birds,” says Lu.

Is there opportunity for more such developments around America? The answer has to be yes. Such places as Denver ’s Larimer Square, the Portland (Ore.) Riverfront, Dallas’ West End, and Chattanooga’s historic downtown are already on their way.

Urban Land Institute studies indicate high vacancy rates in older buildings in cities across America. Just look for any grouping of old underused warehouses, for example, and you see a potential Lowertown.

Rather than sterile office parks or massive stadiums, Lowertown-type projects may be America’s “best practice” model for reviving desolate but historic center cities. It just takes leveraged financing, attention to detail, imagination, patience — and an organization like Weiming Lu’s Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation watching the store.

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A LEADERSHIP STYLE ASSESSMENT

DIRECTIONS

The following quiz looks at four types of leadership styles often found in the public sector. In each blank, rank the response on a scale of from 1 to 5 (1 = “not like me”; 2 = “not usually me”; 3 = “somewhat like me”; 4 = “usually like me”; and 5 = “very much like me”). At the end of the quiz, add your scores by the questions in each of the four columns. The total gives you an idea of your preferred public leadership style. Explanations of each style follow.

1. _____ I prefer clearly defined ends in making decisions.

2. _____ I have a “sense” for detecting political games.

3. _____ I prefer to solve problems and make decisions that involve working with others.

4. _____ I often look for new possibilities for doing tasks.

5. _____ I am comfortable dealing with multiple and often conflicting goals.

6. _____ I strive for consensus among my followers or organizational stakeholders.

7. _____ I rely on procedures in negotiating my viewpoints with others.

8. _____ I am someone who takes calculated risks to achieve a goal or purpose.

9. _____ I often use compromise and bargaining in making decisions.

10. _____ I like to work toward a goal that gives everyone a shared purpose.

11. _____ I usually succeed when the pressure is greatest.

12. _____ I see my role primarily as an agent of enforcing regulations in my unit or agency.

13. _____ I enjoy working with people from diverse backgrounds and styles.

14. _____ I enjoy competing to attain a valuable prize or goal.

15. _____ I am not frustrated if my plans are changed.

16. _____ I prefer to use “my head” rather than “my heart” when making decisions.

17. _____ I am usually one of the first to try something new.

18. _____ I often use humanistic values in matters involving interpersonal relationships.

19. _____ People see me as technically oriented, predictable, and thorough.

20. _____ Routine and administrative tasks bore me.

Add the totals by each question number in the corresponding column.

Trustee Adapter Collaborator Entrepreneur

1. _____ 2. _____ 3. _____ 4. _____ 7. _____ 5. _____ 6. _____ 8. _____

12. _____ 9. _____ 10. _____ 14. _____ 16. _____ 11. _____ 13. _____ 17. _____ 19. _____ 15. _____ 18. _____ 20. _____

Total _____ Total _____ Total _____ Total _____

Preferred style ______________________________________________________ Secondar y style(s) ____________________________________________

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EXPLANATIONS

Trustee: Uses regulations and rules to guide open-ended decisions; prefers clearly de- fined goals and procedures in working on tasks; tends to approach interpersonal re- lationships with logical reason rather than with subjectivity.

Adapter: Keenly aware of many political interests in decisions; uses bargaining and compromise to decide how work is to be accomplished; is means-oriented in devel- oping interpersonal relationships; decisions are often based on contingent condi- tions.

Collaborator: Is comfortable with complex decisions and works toward consensus; con- cerned with “people” in forming interpersonal relationships; bases decisions on in- tuitive assessment of what will produce decision benefiting all.

Entrepreneur: “Big picture” thinker who prefers strategic decisions; calculated risk- taker and focuses energies on high-value terminal goals; uses innovation and intu- ition in creating task and interpersonal relationships.

REFERENCES

Peirce, N. (1997). Cyber villages — New city recovery formula? Washington, D.C.: Wash- ington Post Writers Group.

Rainey, H. G. (1997). Understanding and managing public organizations (2nd ed.). San Fran- cisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Tarrant, D. (1996, March 5-12). The we decade: Rebirth of community. The Dallas Morn- ing News. http://www.pic.net/tdmn/wegen.html.

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O V E R V I E W

T r a n s a c t i n g L e a d e r s h i p R o l e s a n d R e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

Synopsis

The chapter introduces the concepts of roles and relationships as behaviors leaders and followers negotiate in meeting mutual goals and interests. The chapter dis- cusses how ideas of public leadership roles have developed from perspectives of Sci- entific Management, human relations, and situational management. Chapter 1 de- scribes the organizational and political contributors to the development of public leadership roles. This chapter also discusses common problems public leaders face in defining and acting their roles and responsibilities, such as role credibility and role stress.

Objectives

� To discuss key concepts of roles

� To describe common public leadership roles

� To describe conditions affecting role development

� To define role stress and its varieties

� To describe the process of leader credibility development

Key Terms and Concepts

credibility

inducements as motivators

role

role stress

Scientific Management

scripts in playing leadership roles

transactional leadership

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LEADING PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS: AN INTERACTIVE APPROACH CAROL RUSAW

INTRODUCTION

In the Overview, we defined leadership as an interactive relationship involv- ing use of power and influence to secure goals and achieve satisfactory re- wards. Here, we discuss some important behaviors that leaders and follow- ers use to identify and achieve goals. This chapter defines roles as the development and use of behaviors that people expect of themselves and others in reaching commonly identified ends. We will see that the behaviors follow a standard “script” as people play them in certain social situations. We will observe conditions that enable people to produce the roles and to transact, or negotiate them. In this context, we will look at what influences role development, particularly as people encounter ambiguous or conflict- ing role situations. Finally, we will describe the importance of credibility in developing role relationships.

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP

Leaders and followers are involved in a continuous dynamic relationship centered on achieving goals and developing mutually satisfying outcomes. In the process of building this relationship, individuals develop behaviors that follow mutually expected patterns. These behaviors are roles and the relationship that leaders and followers create is based on role transaction. That is, the leader who asks or demands certain tasks of followers is per- ceived as legitimate because the leader is acting on some recognized and ac- cepted basis of authority. Followers comply to fulfill their interests and needs and to satisfy legitimate obligations.

Transactional roles are commonly used in completing tasks. Typically, a manager offers employees a reward in exchange for services and products. Although theories of exchange are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3, we note here that transactional leadership is based on perceived equity. That is, an employee must believe that the manager’s rewards will sufficiently satisfy a particular need and result in expected outcomes. This also means that a manager must identify which reward will produce the motivation and expected results in the employee.

Much of the transactional relationship is rooted in rational and economic principles of Scientific Management. Frederic Taylor (1911), the father of Sci- entific Management, believed that employees calculate costs and benefits of work (cited in Shafritz & Ott, 1996). They achieve goals in line with their maximum expectations. Because in Scientific Management managers con- trolled resources to promote greater employee productivity, managers regu- lated both employee motivation and actual outcomes in transacting work. The discovery in the famous Hawthorne experiments (in Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939) that humans had considerably more choices in performing work than just economic survival eroded this. The Hawthorne studies re-

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vealed that employees did not work for economic rewards from their man- agers alone, but also for intrinsic rewards that came from the work they did and the people with whom they associated informally.

Barnard (1938/1996) noted the importance of subjectively determined re- wards and levels of performance in The Economy of Incentives. Because such employee-driven goals are critical to end products, Barnard stated that man- agers induce employees to change rational and nonrational motives. This could come about through offering a combination of material and nonmate- rial rewards. Particularly important were opportunities to grow on the job, making the workplace physically attractive, developing warm interpersonal relationships, opportunities for more participation in decision making, and fostering communion, or a sense of belonging to a group having similar in- terests and goals.

Barnard saw the intangible inducements as critical to public leadership. He noted that public organizations have financial and material constraints and consequently cannot reward employees as abundantly as do private firms. Although public agencies lack such incentives as large merit bonuses, stock options, and gainsharing, they can offer employees opportunities to find meaning in their work and enjoy the prestige of service to fellow citi- zens. By drawing employees’ attention to the idealistic qualities of public service, managers could inspire extraordinary performance.

A CASE EXAMPLE

Being motivated by the worthwhile work they do often encourages heroism in public employees. One example is Anita Septimus, a New York City so- cial worker who works with HIV-infected children. After she had begun working with the children in 1985, she experienced a high level of emotional drain. After watching three of her tiny clients die, she turned for advice to Dr. Arye Rubinstein, head of the Pediatric AIDS Center at New York’s Al- bert Einstein College of Medicine. Rubinstein persuaded her to give it three more months, and Septimus did some soul-searching. She remembered a classmate who complained about working in poor areas: “My teacher said, ‘Well, my friend, you have not chosen a pretty profession.’ Those words were ringing in my head.”

The clinic has since grown to become the Family Comprehensive AIDS Center, and Septimus now heads its social work department. She and her staff look after more than 300 families with AIDS-infected children — going to their homes, teaching infection prevention, and helping parents plan for the future. They also give their young clients a semblance of childhood, with trips to the zoo, the circus, and summer camps. “She makes us feel wonder- ful about ourselves,” says Petra Berrios, the mother of a child with AIDS who is HIV-positive herself. That, Septimus says, is her job — helping families make the most of the lives they have. Happily, that time is expanding for

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some. One AIDS baby wasn’t expected to see her first birthday. Now she’s 10 years old. Such “long-term” clients give Septimus something in return — what she calls an “indestructible sense of hope.” As she puts it, “You don’t choose the day you enter the world and you don’t choose the day you leave. It’s what you do in between that makes all the difference” (Newsweek, 1995).

FORMING TRANSACTIONAL ROLES

Transacting leader–follower roles comes about through a dramatic process (Fondas & Stewart, 1995). In dramas, people play roles with actions and scripts that define character and advance plots. The behaviors actors pro- duce audience credibility by being consistent and predictable. In leader– follower relationships, playing roles and following characteristic scripts fa- cilitates transacting work. For instance, a supervisor of a grants review office of a federal agency acts such roles as overseer, rewarder, and consult- ant and, depending on circumstances, uses language commensurate with the roles. Employees accept these roles because they are consistent with what they expect of a supervisor and accordingly act corresponding roles of compliant, recipient of praise, and student. Transactional roles may come about through playing parts expected of certain organizational positions.

Transactional roles, however, also emerge from characteristics of leaders and followers dealing with particular circumstances; scripts are impromptu. Emergent leader–follower transactions often appear in novel, crisis, or com- plex problematic situations. If you are driving home one evening and see on the road in front of you victims of an apparent vehicle accident, you play roles associated with helping, such as stopping and checking the conditions of the victims, calling for rescue help, and flagging other motorists for assis- tance.

WHAT INFLUENCES ROLE DEVELOPMENT?

Although leaders and followers transact roles based on position, authority, influence, and the needs of particular situations, research studies have shown patterns that describe leader–follower role making.

Personal Traits and Characteristics

Many studies describe personal leadership qualities as paramount in role making. In an exhaustive review of 163 studies of leadership, Stogdill (1974) identified six leader characteristics associated with leader effectiveness: (1) physical characteristics, such as age and height; (2) social background;

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(3) intelligence and ability; (4) personality, such as adaptability, dominance, creativity, and ethical conduct; (5) task-related characteristics, such as drives for achievement and responsibility; and (6) social characteristics, such as ability to enlist cooperation, nurturance, and tact and diplomacy.

Follower Interpretations

Having positive personal characteristics and traits is not enough, however, to ensure effective leadership. Followers must recognize and interpret the characteristics and traits before they accept leader gestures. A great deal of the interpretation rests on the needs, motives, values, and beliefs of follow- ers. Followers undertake roles to meet inner purposes of which they may or may not have full awareness, or be able to define. Leaders gain followers’ confidence by the leaders’ abilities to articulate what followers may experi- ence as unexpressed feelings or emotions (Kelley, 1998).

Situational Conditions

In situations in which followers experience uncertainty, fear, crisis, or nov- elty, they seek out individuals who can promote direction, structure, and meet certain common needs or purposes. Charismatic leaders often come into prominence during these events (Bass & Avolio, 1994). As the situations pass, however, the need for the leadership role also fades; leaders lose their prominence and legitimacy.

The contemporary element of participation in decision making, ranging from constituent to employee team approaches, has changed the top-down, command-control form of leadership common in public bureaucracies. Banovitz (1994), for instance, observed that city managers’ roles are chang- ing from concern with political involvement toward those characterized by technical consultation: City managers are becoming more like “baseball coaches.” City managers have added roles as futurists, diplomats in inter- governmental relations, and brokers of interests.

The pervasive use of Total Quality Management (TQM) and the grass- roots projects designed to reinvent government have altered the ways in which both leaders and follower constituents interact. Vinzant and Crothers (1996), for instance, point out that the movements are pushing bureaucrats toward higher levels of responsibility; decision making, they note, is being pushed downward to the lowest levels of accountability. This has produced three primary effects: (1) an expanded range of decisions; (2) an increase in the complexity of decisions; and (3) a heightened importance of how deci- sions are judged in the larger constituent context.

Organizational Structures and Processes

Organizations influence how individuals define and play roles. Bureau- cratic organizations, such as governmental institutions, have highly work

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structures, flows, and characteristics that affect role definition and behavior. Merton (1957/1958 cited in Scott, 1992 ), for instance, described a phenome- non of goal displacement among bureaucratic workers. Goal displacement occurs as bureaucratic workers implement ambiguous goals. In this process, ends become means; workers become so preoccupied with “how” a goal is met they forget its purposes. One result is that such workers see themselves as forms managers rather than as decisionmakers.

Political Character of Public Organizations

Dependency on a political decision-making process also affects public lead- ership roles and practices. Rainey (1997) maintained reliance on legislative appropriations contributed to less incentive to cut costs and reduced decision-making autonomy. The subordinated role propelled leaders into roles as informal influencers, not only to receive support of political ap- pointees but also support from client groups.

Riccucci (1995) studied the political skills used by six career managers in the federal government and how the skills influence role development. She found that in the policy influencing role, the career managers had gained in- depth knowledge of the informal political process. This involved cultivating good working relationships with politically appointed people, but main- taining a distance with any specific appointee. At times, this resulted in ten- sion. But execucrats, as Riccucci terms them, resolved the tension by passing or doing end-runs around obstructive players. They also made direct use of iron triangles or policy issue networks to help them interpret laws and de- velop and implement programs. Moreover, they relied a great deal on inter- personal skills, honesty, and trustworthiness in confronting unethical be- havior and mobilizing public support.

In a survey of over 300 council–manager forms of local government, Gage (1993) found that leaders exercised a participative or consultative style when dealing with controversial public issues. In developing consensus for decisions, the leaders often used outside consultants for advice and in- volved the media throughout the process. The leaders also had high skill levels in building coalitions among diverse interest groups.

TYPICAL LEADERSHIP ROLES

Several research studies have identified common roles leaders play. Perhaps the most familiar study was conducted by Mintzberg (1997 cited in Grint, 1997), who identified 10 major roles based on structured observations and interviews of five executives over a month. Mintzberg grouped the roles into three major categories: interpersonal, informational, and decisional. In this scheme, however, leadership was only a subset of the interpersonal re-

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lationships. Mintzberg cited it as a chief condition in motivating, training, developing, and rewarding staff members.

Other researchers see leadership as more prominent in an array of mana- gerial roles. Yukl’s (1994) Integrating Taxonomy Model of Managerial Behav- iors shows leadership as the central element in four behavioral categories: (1) making decisions, (2) influencing people, (3) building relationships, and (4) giving and seeking information. In addition, Quinn, Faerman, Thompson, and McGrath (1996) show task structure as an integral part of defining work- flow management and interpersonal relationship roles.

STUDIES OF PUBLIC LEADERSHIP ROLES

Several studies of the roles of federal, state, and local government leaders revealed the elements of interpersonal, task, and organizational combining. Yet, the research revealed some ways that public sector leaders’ roles differ from those of the private sector leaders. Lau, Newman, and Broedling (1980) examined Mintzberg’s 10 managerial roles in relation to federal gov- ernment managers. In a survey of 370 Department of Navy executives, the researchers found only four of the 10 factors characterized public sector roles: (1) leadership and supervision; (2) information gathering and dis- semination; (3) technical problem solving and executive decision making; and (4) allocating resources. Lau and colleagues defined leadership in the public sector as including Mintzberg’s guiding and motivating employees; but the definition also included integrating individual and organizational goals.

In a study of local government leaders, Morgan, Bacon, Bunch, Cameron, and Deis (1996) identified four central roles. These included the following:

1. Interpreting and representing work unit’s interests. In this role, lead- ers develop policy responses to the issues of the day. They also meet to discuss the distribution of resources. Moreover, leaders define perfor- mance roles and standards of various constituents.

2. Lending and securing assistance. Leaders discovered ways of market- ing and delivering follower’s collective expertise.

3. Developing interorganizational relationships. Leaders were figure- heads or spokespersons for their groups and built relationships with external constituencies through negotiations.

4. Leveraging time. Leaders attend meetings, perform tasks having un- clear purposes, and make decisions.

Morgan and colleagues observe some similarities of public leaders to those Mintzberg studied, but maintain public leaders differ in two ways. First, because public agencies’ performance and future appropriations are

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related, public leaders measure “good” service on the common denominator of funds expended to funds saved. Second, public leaders’ roles are enacted among a highly pluralistic set of constituencies. This makes coordinating ac- tivities across multiple boundaries of authority a primary role. The unique- ness of a public leader’s role is to make sense of multiple and often conflict- ing sources of information in order to motivate others to perform tasks.

ROLE STRESS

Co-participation in governance processes has its costs. Role stress results from a variety of conditions, and is usually felt as a tension between the ex- pected behaviors of a position one holds and actual demands upon it (Rizzo, House, & Lirtzman, 1970). Role stress has three variants: (1) role con- flict, a feeling of incompatible expectations; (2) role ambiguity, resulting from inadequate, unclear, and irrelevant information; and (3) role overload, felt in the pressure of incompatibility between work demands and time available to do them, insufficient resources or authority to carry out expected behav- iors, and complex regulations hampering individual discretion in decision making.

Often, public leaders’ job descriptions consist of “other duties as as- signed.” These are heuristic, nonstandard, and unwritten job requirements, which fall in the leader’s domain and call for immediate attention. Because public leaders serve multiple constituencies, ranging from elected and ap- pointed officials to internal and external constituents, they may feel pres- sure from numerous conflicting and ambiguous situations.

In a study of municipal clerks, Rusaw (1995) examined role stress in clerks’ job responsibilities and reporting relationships. Clerks define their roles by technical competence as well as in accordance with maintaining a positive professional public image. In carrying out this role, clerks saw many of their duties centering around keeping accurate public records and providing liaison with elected officials, taxpayers, public interest groups, and the media. Role stress came from having to give accurate information on ambiguous legislation, fostering interdepartmental cooperation in the context of insufficient resources, “political games,” and compromised re- source decisions. In their public liaison roles, clerks described the volume and variety of public “drop-in” requests, ad hoc referral questions, media requests, and fraudulent requests for information. Although clerks’ formal duties were described in various regulations, the incumbents noted “tradi- tion” as the major factor in defining and enacting role and role relation- ships.

Felt pressure from playing multiple roles can force developing new ways of thinking and behavioral patterns; it can also lower role performance and job satisfaction and willingness to remain on the job. In a study of a public

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sector hospital, for instance, Fennel and Alexander (1987) found that work- ers developed a great sensitivity to cues from actors in their external envi- ronment. Newton and Keenan (1987) found that role stress reduced the abil- ity to use technical competencies. Stress from lack of informal authority over external interest groups impaired communications flow in interorgani- zational networks, creating what Shrum (1990) termed “powerless elites.” Finally, the dissonance between professional ethos and bureaucratic norms lowered outputs (Bacharach, Bamberger, & Conley, 1990).

Responding to Role Stress: Balancing Power, Influence, and Authority

Public leaders and followers may address role stress by understanding and balancing use of power, influence, and authority. We shall note in the fol- lowing chapter that, although the three concepts are interrelated, they re- quire that leaders and followers negotiate their definitions and applications under particular circumstances. We will also note that leader–follower char- acteristics and traits, in addition to structural features of social interactions, create the setting for improvising role norms and behaviors. To the extent that leaders and followers can agree to share responsibility without negat- ing individuals’ expectations and their relationships, they can balance the quantity of role demands.

CREDIBILITY

Balancing public role responsibilities with pressures from numerous clien- tele followers can produce positive outcomes. One is that the public leader is not only knowledgeable and skilled in a variety of functions but also has the ability to instill confidence. This is credibility: a negotiated process that leaders and followers undertake based on mutual trust and esteem. Credi- bility results from at least five complex behaviors.

Components of Credibility

1. Consistency. Consistency appears in harmonious linkages between at- titudes and behaviors. It often appears as steadiness, predictability, and a sense of being in control of one’s emotional behavior. In times of crisis or ambiguity, followers find security and direction from leaders who appear unfazed and who provide clear instructions. Consistency is also the alignment of beliefs and actions. Consistent actions tell fol- lowers that leaders mean what they profess.

2. Visibility. Leaders are people who stand apart from others — in their characteristic behaviors, skill levels, expertise, and interpersonal

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relationships. Leaders attain presence through the quality of their par- ticipation in multiple internal and external networks. Leaders obtain information and pass along important data to followers. From the net- works, they connect themselves, their staff, their superiors, and their peers with each other, other units, and with the external political envi- ronment. Because leaders become recognized for their informational skills, they enhance their reputations for goal achievement as well as concern for what followers need to know and act upon.

3. Mutuality. Leaders involve followers in problem solving and decision making, and construct meaning through consensus. They seek to un- derstand the motives, interpersonal behaviors, and interests of others in social relationships. Leaders show empathy as well as support for followers. In the process, leaders use such tactics as counseling, coach- ing, negotiation, and mediation. Through involvement, leaders foster democracy, increased confidence among followers, promote greater task accuracy, and heighten follower satisfaction with task processes and outcomes.

4. Respect. Leaders show a high level of confidence in the abilities of fol- lowers. They also raise followers’ aspiration levels so that task accom- plishments become challenging and intrinsically rewarding. More- over, leaders value follower contributions to the quality of decisions. In addition, leaders have definite beliefs and values that their follow- ers understand and accept. These beliefs and values usually pertain to achieving ideals, similar to that discussed by Barnard (1938). Follow- ers come to realize the investment leaders make and value the leaders’ determination in the pursuit of ideals.

5. Legitimacy. Leaders gain the right to govern by making their goals and means conform to ethical and moral standards. If followers per- ceive that what the leader is asking makes sense, is proper, and will produce benefits to the followers as well as to the social order, follow- ers will grant leaders sanction. Because followers set the standards for judging the appropriateness of leader strategies, followers choose leaders who reflect common values, norms, and beliefs. When leaders do not align their personal standards with those of followers, they lose standing. If they force their personal bias on followers, however, they risk being considered tyrannical.

Briefly, gaining credibility is therefore critical to establishing a productive relationship with followers. The relationship is not to exact contributions from followers, but rather to enable followers to voluntarily accept the leader’s vision and contribute to the outcomes. The relationship-building process requires leaders to have a thorough knowledge of task require- ments, resources, and contexts in which tasks are performed. It also calls on leaders to develop an intuitive understanding of organizational power coalitions, strategies, and tactics for supporting efforts.

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Summary

Leaders and followers transact roles based on a calculation of tangible and intangible costs and benefits as well as expected results and rewards. The calculations involve both objective assessments and psychosocial considera- tions. In influencing followers to act on purposes, leaders offer a range of in- ducements. In the public sector, appealing to followers’ sense of serving the greater needs and interests of the public are quite effective.

Roles are expected behaviors that people perform based on mutual inter- pretations of needs, goals, and surroundings. Roles may be formally desig- nated from a legitimate authority or emerge from environmental conditions. Qualities that contribute to role definitions and enactment include individ- ual characteristics, follower perceptions and expectations, degree of situa- tional urgency and ambiguity, extent of bureaucratic layering, pervasive- ness of politics, and available resources.

Leadership is a main ingredient in developing and maintaining inter- personal work relationships, coordinating information, motivating and de- veloping followers, making decisions, and structuring work. Public sector leadership studies show several different contributions, however. Public leaders spend a great deal of time representing and marketing their organi- zations to external interests, developing interorganizational ties, and attend- ing problem-solving meetings. Making efficient use of limited resources, coordinating information among pluralistic interests, and responding to in- quiries from political authorities and demands for service play particularly strong parts.

Pressure from multiple roles, incompatible constituent expectations and demands, and ambiguous information creates a generalized feeling of stress. Responding to the pressure can involve tapping a reservoir of cre- ativity, but it can also lower job satisfaction and performance. Finding a bal- ance in managing the demands, delegating responsibilities, and supplying sufficient informational, material, and financial resources poses a continu- ing challenge to public leaders.

Developing follower credibility can help leaders cope with role stress by involving followers in work decisions. Credibility, or trust, allows a leader to influence follower commitment. To achieve credibility, leaders may culti- vate five important skills over time. In particular, leaders develop credibility by showing consistency of beliefs and actions. They also form a rich supply of timely and significant information for follower use. By securing promi- nence in a variety of networks, leaders can effectively pass on information followers need and expect. Leaders can also create empathetic bonds with followers by sharing personal information and showing support and confi- dence in follower contributions. Lastly, leaders gain credibility by modeling ethical standards in morally ambiguous situations.

In Chapter 2, we will examine in greater depth how leaders and follow- ers develop power and influence in roles. That chapter also focuses on sources of authority that sanction leader activities.

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S U M M A R Y

Questions for Thought and Discussion

1. Why is credibility important to public leaders? How can leaders en- hance their credibility among those they serve?

2. In your opinion, what makes a “good” public leader? How do you be- lieve the media influences the public’s perception of quality leadership?

3. How does the political character of public organizations influence leaders’ roles and behaviors? How can leaders integrate politics and administration in an effective and ethical manner?

4. Think of some things that create role stress in your life. How do you deal with them?

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C H A P T E R 1 � T R A N S A C T I N G L E A D E R S H I P R O L E S A N D R E S P O N S I B I L I T I E S

CASE STUDY

When Tornadoes Hit: Developing Shared Leadership Roles

Time: Approximately 1 hour

DIRECTIONS

In the following case exercise, a task force has been assembled to create a plan of ac- tion to coordinate emergency services. The task force has been convened by the mayor and consists of three council members, the director of finance and budgeting, the plan- ner, the director of public works, the direc- tor of public health safety, the chief of police, the public relations director, a repre- sentative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and a repre- sentative from the governor’s emergency planning commission. Several community volunteers have asked to join the task force, including the owner of the major retail business, and several community workers.

Assume that it is the day after the storms occurred. After reading the case de- scription, form small groups and respond to the questions following the case.

BACKGROUND

In May 1999, a series of deadly tornadoes destroyed many communities and valu- able farmlands from Oklahoma to Ne- braska. Over 50 lives were lost. One com- munity, Summers, lost its main business

section and 10 residents of a retirement community in the center of town were killed. A community of about 33,000, Sum- mers is 70 miles south of the capital city. Surrounded by corn, wheat, and dairy farms, Summers’ nearest neighbors are Jerome (population 2,100), and Felicity (a town of approximately 25,000) about 20 miles to the west.

In addition to Summers’ retail busi- nesses and the retirement community, sev- eral tornadoes in succession struck the town’s 80-bed hospital. In destroying the town’s major business, the tornadoes caused over half the nonfarming residents to be out of work. Fortunately, the torna- does destroyed only the hospital’s laundry and maintenance facilities, and did not kill any patients. However, they did crush the hospital’s emergency facilities. Hospital personnel rushed many patients to the nearby high school gymnasium and set up a triage clinic with limited supplies. Initial estimates of the damage put cleanup costs at close to $20 million. Much of the costs are eligible for federal fund reimburse- ment. But some of the costs, such as for emergency food, clothing, water supplies, and medical equipment require supple- mental funding.

Some of the immediate problems the town faces are finding adequate emergency medical care; distributing food and cloth- ing; locating shelters for homeless per- sons and families; and coordinating state, county, and local protective services, such as fire and police and national guard units.

The committee scouts for information to help in the planning and coordinating of services. Key data include the following:

1. In addition to some farmers’ co-ops nearby, there is a large food ware- house in the state capital.

2. The nearest major airport is in the capital city. However, a major inter- state is a mile from Summers’ north- western border. A major railroad that ships agricultural products connects the town with other Midwestern cities.

3. In addition to a junior–senior high school, the town has two elementary schools, several large church build- ings, a recreational facility, and a sen- ior community center.

4. A medium-sized Air Force base is lo- cated about 100 miles away. It has a 30-bed clinic, a general practitioner physician, and a staff of 20 nurses, medical technicians, and assistants. The base also has a contingent of firefighters, electricians, plumbers, and security personnel.

5. Summers has a small daily newspa- per. The committee just learned that reporters from state and national me- dia will be arriving later that day and want to have accurate, up-to- date information on the casualties, the extent of damages, and plans for relief.

QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. What tasks, in your opinion, must be handled first? Why? Which tasks can be combined with others? Which can be delegated?

2. Select one of the problems and de- vise a plan of action.

a. Describe who or what you would use to help bring the ideas into ac- tion.

b. What resources do you need?

3. What obstacles do you expect? How will you deal with the obstacles?

4. Share your plan with other group members. Look for areas that may be combined or functions that will help meet your goals. Put together a coor- dinated plan.

5. Select a spokesperson to summarize your group’s plan and summarize key features.

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Q U E S T I O N S F O R T H O U G H T A N D D I S C U S S I O N

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