PUBL 211 Test 1 Revision Terms & Concepts
Will bureaucracy stick around? (Meier & Hill)
Despite their predictions of ongoing challenges to bureaucracy and pushes towards smaller, private bureaucracatic organisations Meier and Hill purport that yes - large bureaucracy will remain, because: -there will always be a need to break big complex tasks into more simple ones. -Consistent, stable administration will still be highly prized -Public policy will continue to demand expertise. Bureaucracies are exceptionally good at storing expertise since they are built around the principle of specialization. -Accountability concerns will also favor the continuation of bureaucracy. The easiest solution to problems of accountability is hierarchy, establishing that A is to be accountable to B for task C.
Give examples of Low-congestion/collective/club goods and why they are such
Examples include cable television and mobile network connection because these are non-rivalrous and excludable
Give examples of common goods and why they are such
Examples include fish in the open sea, the atmosphere we breathe and public waterways because these are rivalrous but nonexcludable
Give examples of private goods and explain why they are such
Examples include food, clothing, cars and houses because these are rivalrous and excludable
Explain Excludability in the classification of goods with examples
Goods can be classified in regards to the ability to exclude non-payers. I.e. It is easy to exclude non-paying customers for apples. But it is impossible to exclude free riders on public radio signals. E.g. Excludable= food, cars, houses Non-excludable= Fish in the open sea, atmosphere, public waterways
Name the three sectors/realms discussed which yield 'hybrid zones'
Government (State/Public-sector) - authority Business (Private Sector) - exchange Civil Society/Third Sector/Voluntary and Community Sector - reciprocity
Rationale for partnerships in Networked Governance
Improving the quality of services: When the State does not have the capacity to deliver public / social goals - one solution is to involve other sectors: -Complex and shared 'wicked problems' Improve efficiency and responsiveness of services - sharing complementary resources (assets, skills and powers) and avoiding duplication —> Improve cost-effectiveness of services Overcome the limitations of hierarchical / statist and market-based approaches (i.e. minimise risk of policy 'silos' and not representing community needs) Budget enlargement - to obtain new or additional funding from a third party -what does the community actually want? Shared knowledge / learning - idea that public agencies' work benefits from the expertise and ideas of the private and third sectors
Why is it useful to understand developments in public management including the comparison of pubic and private management?
It is important in helping us to understand public management issues and challenges. Bozeman: Those who ignore either publicness or privateness, either organizations or public policies, should not be surprised when their students seem ill prepared to take on the challenges of mixed economies in all their perplexing variety. How can graduate students in business or management thrive, having little knowledge of public and governmental institutions? Arguably, such critical business world issues as the near worldwide collapse of housing markets, the threats facing the Euro zone, and the near universal wave of bank failures have a great deal to do with public policy... It is not all about finance, marketing, and strategic management. Public policy holds lessons that warrant study.
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to MODE OF ORGANISATION
OS: Large Welfare bureaucracies linked to elected political authority (primary bodies) HoS: Fragmentation of government bodies and use of arm's-length agencies linked to appointed authority CS: Complexity of organisational domains and responsibilities leads to emergence of meso-level mediating partnerships (tertiary bodies)
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to ROLE OF SENIOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
OS: Policy advice and administration HoS: Tempered, managerial CS: active, networking
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to ROLE OF THE PUBLIC
OS: passive community of recipients and voters HoS: active customers re. service and delivery CS: active citizens and stakeholders re. the policy process
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to PATTERN OF ACCOUNTABILITY
OS: reliance on representative democracy HoS: Development of accountability through patronage and market-based systems CS: plurality of forms of governance and mechanisms of accountability
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to EXTENT OF TRANSPARENCY
OS: visibility of key decision-centres HoS: partial visability of key decision-centres CS: invisability of key decision-centres
List types of accountability applicable to the public sector
Organisational accountability (superiors) (corporate accountability - to the organisation) Legal accountability (courts) Political accountability (elected reps and parties) Administrative accountability (auditors, inspectors and controllers) Professional accountability (professional peers)
Differentiate between the key features of the Overloaded State, the Hollowing Out State and the Congested State (Skelcher) with regard to Politcal Agenda
Overloaded state: Desire to deliver on mainstream welfare programmes Hollowing-out state: Desire to deliver on state reduction Congested state: Desire to deliver in relation to wicked issues
Give examples of public goods and why they are such
Public goods include law, national defense , free to air television because these are nonrivalrous and non-excludable
What Insight is given by Ashworth on modern development of Public Management
Reviewing successive reform programmes suggests that we can identify the emergence of a hybrid model of public service governance where forms of bureaucracy, market and network operate simultaneously; services are planned and delivered, both separately and collaboratively, by public, private, third sector and service user; organizational and individual actors are informed by multiple and contradictory institutional logics and, in turn, exhibit hybrid and multiple identities; and where there are many publics, which continue to value and demand high levels of public service.It is likely that we shall see a further reconfiguration of public services with governments' attention turning to novel organizational forms, such as the mutual where employees have a partnership stake in their organization.
Explain Rivalry (subtractability) in the classification of goods with examples
Some goods, like apples, are subject to consumption rivalry. I.e. If I eat the apple, it is no longer available to anybody else. But other goods are not subject to consumption rivalry. Many people can tune in to the same radio signals at once without degrading them. E.g. Rivalrous/Subtractable goods= food, clothing, cars, houses Non-rivalrous/non-rival goods= Cable television, satellite radio
Explain the differences in underlying THEORY between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007) = governance through...
TPA= Public Goods - whereby certain resources can only be organised and delivered by government (Public goods are distinguished from private goods here by being non excludable and having low rivalry of consumption) NPM= Public Choice NG= Public Value ( • first, what the public values; • second, what adds value to the public sphere. ) Publicness refers to consumption, not production Provide solutions to market failure to serve societal benefits
Explain the differences in the CHARACTERISATION of ACTORS between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007)
TPA= Public Servants (key actors of 'administration' are employed by the state) NPM= Purchasers & Providers / Clients & Contractors -separation of policy design and implementation NG= Civic Leaders
Explain the differences in REGULATION between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007) = REGULATION through...
TPA= VOICE (of the electorate) NPM= EXIT/choice (utlization or dropping of services/support) NG= LOYALTY / Social capital = 'trust' within economic relationships and local development
Explain the differences in GOVERNANCE between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007) = governance through...
TPA= governance through HIERARCHIES (resources and power organised in clear structures) NPM= governance through MARKETS (layering some form of market place in state sector, relationship between state and market place -looking at market for solutions) NG= governance through networks and PARTNERSHIPS
Explain the differences in HUMAN POPULATION CONTEXT between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007)
TPA= homogeneous (societies relatively contained and bounded (compare this to globalisation and increasing movement of people)) NPM= atomised (1980s neoliberal ideologies privileging the individual over the community, the consumer over the citizen = the rational individual looking for best situation for themselves) NG= multiple identities - diverse & connected
Explain the differences in SERVICE STRATEGY between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007)
TPA= state and producer centred - public services designed and delivered by government (Keynesian economics whereby the answer to economic recession was to stimulate the economy through some combination of two approaches: reduction in interest rates (monetary policy), and increased Government investment in infrastructure (fiscal policy) NPM= market and customer centred ideology (informed by neo-liberal economics and theories of rational or public choice (where individuals are seen as the primary unit of analysis, and the maximisation of self-interest as the main determinant of both economic and social behaviour). NG= shaped by civil society (generalised notions of a "third way" which combines a competitive market with a redistributive state, and balances economic innovation with social justice.)
Explain the differences in NEEDS and PROBLEMS between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007)
TPA= these are straight forward and defined by professionals ( 'producers' defined and determined the value of public services - for example through political goal-setting, expert policy analysis and professional standards. (problems are singular, can be defined and understood - the idea that civil servants would not only define the problem but funnel money into particular problem areas) NPM= wants and needs are expressed through the market (key idea, supply and demand- determines need and wants) NG= complex & multidimensional, VOLATILE & PRONE TO RISK
Explain the differences in ENVIRONMENT between TPA, NPM & NG (Benington framework 2007)
TPA=stable (forces that affect the supply of resources are predictable) NPM=competitive (1980s neoliberal ideologies privileging competition over collaboration- government contracts available for tender) NG=Dynamic (evolving - i.e. continuously changing)
Explain Agency theory in a general sense and examples of problems/imbalances it tries to tackle
The agency theory is a supposition that explains the relationship between principals and agents in business. Agency theory is concerned with resolving problems that can exist in agency relationships; that is, between principals (such as shareholders) and agents of the principals (for example, company executives). Principal-agent - asymmetric information Adverse selection (pre contract problems) Moral hazard (post contractual problems) Incentives issues Monitoring problems Alignment problems
Explain the application of Bozeman's continua of 'publicness' (1987, 2013)
Using a graph plotting Economic authority vs Political authority graph - Bozeman provides an interesting lens on the 'public vs private' nature of organisations. "The central idea behind the dimensional publicness theory is that, rather than thinking of public and private organizations as distinctly different, differentiated by their respective sectors or legal status, it is often more useful to think of all organizations as being influenced by both external political authority and external economic authority (Bozeman, 1987). Political authority is usually but not always associated with government and private authority is usually but not always rooted in markets. The dimensional publicness model holds that public and private are dimensions, not dichotomies, and that much can be learned by knowing the particular mix of political and economic authority affecting organizations"
What is accountability? Are there types (H + V)
'obligations that arise within a relationship of responsibility, where one person or body is responsible to another for the performance of particular services' - -obligations - first to account for the performance of their duties, second to accept sanctions or redirection (Mulgan, 2000) Vertical (hierarchical) - traditional principle-agent Horizontal (network) - organisational complexity
Skelcher's "Changing images of the State" helps in understanding the changing paradigms of public management. What are his three images?
- the overloaded state of the 1960s/1970s (i.e. = TPA) - the hollowed-out state of the 1980s/early 1990s (i.e. = NPM) -the congested state of the late 1990s. (i.e. = N(c)G)
What Distinctive Organisational roles, structures and processes are offered by R & C to characterize Public Management? (Rainey and Chun, 'Public and Private Management Compared' 2007)
-Goal ambiguity, multiplicity and conflict, trade-offs -Managers often have more "political" role -Institutional constraints on leaders -More bureaucratic structures (?) -Motives and incentives may be more value-laden
List Christopher Hood's doctrinal components of NPM, and which one is the constitutive element?
-Privatizations (constitutive element & megatrend of NPM) DCs: -hands-on professional management (Active, visible discretionary control of organizations from named persons at the top, 'free to manage') -explicit standards and measures of performance (Definition of goals, targets, indicators of success, preferably expressed in quantitative terms) -output control (Need to stress results rather than procedures) -disaggregation (Need to create 'manageable' units separate provision and production interests,) -competition (Move to term contracts and public tendering procedures) -private sector styles of management ( greater flexibility in hiring and rewards; greater use of PR techniques) -discipline & parsimony in resource use (Need to check resource demands of public sector and 'do more with less')
What components does Rhodes highlight about Network governance?
-Self-organizing networks - involving complex sets of organisations drawn from public and private sectors -Interdependence between organisations -Continuing interaction between network members -Game-like interactions -Significant degree of autonomy from the state
What Distinctive Environmental factors are offered to characterize Private Management? (Rainey and Chun, 'Public and Private Management Compared' 2007)
-Supply & Demand principles -Firm internal governance, market, regulation with some external control -accountability to shareholders
Name the three underlying assumptions of Traditional Public Administration offered in lecture
-That governments should organise themselves according to hierarchical, bureaucratic principles - the best way! -That once involved in a policy area, government should be the direct provider of goods and services through the bureaucracy -That political and administrative matters could be separated - the administration as an instrument to carry out the instructions of the political leadership (with principal-agent accountability)
Explain what do Rainey & Chun mean when they discuss public managers and external control faced by politically constituted authorities?
-They highlight the Presence of more elaborate and intensive formal, legal constraints on public managers as a result of oversight by legislative branch, executive branch hierarchy and oversight agencies, and courts.) • Public management operates under more constraints on domains of operation and on managerial procedures (public managers have less autonomy in making such choices), and under more formal administrative controls. • In democratic republics as well as some other types of governments, public managers work under the authority of multiple formal authorities and influences, with greater fragmentation among them, than private sector managers.
in COMPARISON, What Distinctive Organisational roles, structures and processes are offered by R & C to characterize PRIVATE Management? (Rainey and Chun, 'Public and Private Management Compared' 2007)
-Usually clear goals and mission -May have significant autonomy -Constraints more related to the market than the institutions -Motivation and incentives often geared to performance (monetary rewards)
Name some other critiques of bureaucracy given by Hamel
-a formal hierarchy overweights experience and underweights new thinking "perpetuating the past" - misallocation of power to the most politically astute rather than the most prescient or productive -this discourages dissent and breeds sycophants -as a tool for control, bureaucracy can alienate and prevent innovation and adaptability in a 'conformance-obsessed culture' "you can't endorse a top-down structure and be serious about enhancing adaptability, innovation or engagement"
What Distinctive Environmental factors are offered by R & C to characterize Public Management? (Rainey and Chun, 'Public and Private Management Compared' 2007)
-absence of economic markets, reliance on governmental appropriations for financial resources -External control - politically constituted authority, public scrutiny - ACCOUNTABILITY TO PUBLIC -stakeholder influences and need for support -back drop of government tax support & bailout (criticism of there being no bottom line?)
What are the main facets of NPM
-competition in services -government "enabling" services - 'steering not rowing' -consumerism (beneficiaries as consumers, clients) -performance management culture -notion of efficiency (centralisation of power) -governance of organisations and thinking about how markets run them = privatization!
Name some Benefits of Weberian bureaucracy
-hierarchical system means that everyone knew their place, the extent of their authority -hiring based on merit and skill/expertise (free from bias or fervour) -someone always technically accountable from the bottom to the top -based on set, written-down rules -career public servant has steady, stable, secure, but slow progress through hierarchy -elegant organisational system, when system stable, it should work well
Name some drawbacks of Weberian bureaucracy
-hierarchical systems not necessarily the most efficient of organisations in sense of comparing inputs and outputs -bureaucracy may be ideal for control but not necessarily for management -allows for certainty but very slow -work may be standardised BUT at the cost of innovation? -model of political control always problematic in assuring accountability -conflict between bureaucracy and democracy? -dehumanisation -rise of technocracy -siloisation occurring -top-down structure stiffling of innovation and democracy? -inefficient, costly, rigid? -long, slow processes - "red tape"
Benington 2007 recognises what as being the main modern challenges to governments and public services
-how to complement improvement of basic services for individuals with strategies also to improve the context and culture within which individuals live and work; -to strengthen longer term preventive measures as well as short term remedial services; to create the pre-conditions for the development of communal and shared responses to needs; -to support and promote the development of citizenship, "the community" and the public sphere. -to develop more "joined up" strategies and "people-centred" approaches
Name the main characteristics of Weberian bureaucracy
-office hierarchy and graded authority -authority derives from the law and rules from the law -rational/legal authority maintained organisationally and it is attached to the position, not to an individual -recruitment by merit -Formal impersonal system -impersonal to remove arbitrariness with decisions made according to 'calculable rules' -specialisation of function -based on 'scientific management' - Taylorism -standardisation of tasks, the idea that management could be systematic
What observations of organization/environment transactions made in PM are offered by R & C to characterize Public Management?
-production of public goods, handling of significant externalities, or other activities in which private organizations do not readily engage. -Government activities are often coercive, monopolistic, or unavoidable. (Government has unique sanctioning and coercive power and often acts as sole provider of certain services and functions.) -Government activities often have a broader impact and greater symbolic significance. There is a broader scope of concern, such as for general public interest criteria. -Public managers often operate under greater public scrutiny than do private sector managers, from news media, interest groups, and oversight authorities. -Public managers face stronger expectations for fairness, responsiveness, honesty, openness, and public accountability than do private sector managers.
Explain Principal - Agent Theory /contract with examples
-roots in firms and shareholders, accountability in this context -chains of principal agent relationships -induce agents to maximise welfare of principals Agents carry out tasks on behalf of principals 'principal' receives the account (e.g. local community, Parliament, commissioning body, police authority) 'agent' renders the account (e.g. councillors; ministers, contractors, chief constable)
Name some good ideas of the main hypotheses/assumptions of the rise of NPM reforms
-the notion that increased market orientation and management focus would increase efficiency without having negative effects on other goals and concerns. -swept in with the ascendency of neo-liberalism and theories such as new institutional economics, managerialism, privatization, transaction cost economics, agency theory and public choice.
What is the best definition offered by Ashgate for privatization? (2 forms)
-the sale of government-owned enterprises (major because more profound privatization as govt totally out of business) -the contracting out of government services (minor because they still have the main voice when contracting out)
Why do we study public management?
-to better understand the changes and challenges to public service orgs -to better understand, evaluate and theorise the effects of government reforms Public Management is a melting pot of different philosophies/ ideas/ administrations -As a field: 'an arena for the play of intellectual forces and power relationships' -As 'art', 'science', 'profession' - 'craft'
What is the primary clue in finding the nature of a good?
Analysing the relationship between you, the good and others as to its status above.
According to Benington, Network (Community) Governance nowadays involves new patterns of governance and public service emerging how?
cutting across traditional boundaries and divisions between: • different sectors (the state, the market and civil society) • different levels of government (local, regional, national and supra-national) • different services (eg education, health, housing, policing), and (most significantly) between • producers and users of services, in various forms of "co-production" between public service workers and their clients and communities- for example the growth in "patient and public involvement " in the UK health service.
Explain what do Rainey & Chun mean when they discuss public managers and a presence of more intensive external political influences in comparison to private managers?
• Greater diversity and intensity of external informal political influences on decisions (political bargaining and lobbying; public opinion; interest-group, client, and constituent pressures). • Greater need for political support from client groups, constituencies, and formal authorities in order to obtain appropriations and authorization for actions.
What possible criticisms do Rainey & Chun raise in response to public managerial reliance on government transaction and absence of economic markets?
• Lower incentives for public managers to achieve cost reduction, operating efficiency, and effective performance. • Less ability for public managers to achieve economic efficiency in allocating resources (weaker reflection of consumer preferences, less proportioning of supply to demand). • Public managers have less availability of relatively clear market indicators and information (prices, profits, market share) for use in managerial decisions.
What are the Claimed benefits of partnerships within a Public Management context
•Pooling resources, skills, budgets •Sharing knowledge, cross-fertilisation of ideas •Sharing of risks •Learning •Coordination of policies, programmes and activities •Leverage additional resources from external bodies (eg central government) •Political clout •Potential for increased citizen participation
