Public Administrator Restrictions
Public Administrator Restrictions
Keith Folger
Grantham University
Abstract
The discussion that public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties bears a great many implications. Whether or not they should have some amount of discretion in performance of their duties may vary greatly depending on the amount of oversight required for the particular level of administration. Administrators working in the U.S. capitol may not be allowed the same freedom to execute tasks as those working in a small municipality.
The idea that public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties is debatable, and dependent on the type of specific duties they have. Max Weber made it clear when he defined the roles for public administrators to discharge their duties. The original model of public administration spread all through the industrialized world at that time and assisted in the relative success of the industrialized economies. Guy Peters also summarized the principles of the original model by listing the major characteristics of that model. Apolitical civil service; rules and hierarchy; permanence and stability; institutional civil service; internal regulation; and finally internal and external organizational quality are all in Peters’ works.
Max Weber’s ideas made us ask ourselves what shall be done: in other words, who shall control policy? Who shall do it: That is, who shall implement policies? You have defined the policies, now as yourself how shall compliance be enforced? How can actual performance be measured? Weber described the role of the civil servant and the importance of hierarchical control in a bureaucratic system in this manner: you should take a stand; you should be passionate. It is not necessarily the politician's element but rather on occasion the opposite of that element that defines the principle of responsibility of the civil servant. The civil
Keith Folger
Grantham University
Abstract
The discussion that public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties bears a great many implications. Whether or not they should have some amount of discretion in performance of their duties may vary greatly depending on the amount of oversight required for the particular level of administration. Administrators working in the U.S. capitol may not be allowed the same freedom to execute tasks as those working in a small municipality.
The idea that public administrators should be restricted to only laid down rules in the discharge of their duties is debatable, and dependent on the type of specific duties they have. Max Weber made it clear when he defined the roles for public administrators to discharge their duties. The original model of public administration spread all through the industrialized world at that time and assisted in the relative success of the industrialized economies. Guy Peters also summarized the principles of the original model by listing the major characteristics of that model. Apolitical civil service; rules and hierarchy; permanence and stability; institutional civil service; internal regulation; and finally internal and external organizational quality are all in Peters’ works.
Max Weber’s ideas made us ask ourselves what shall be done: in other words, who shall control policy? Who shall do it: That is, who shall implement policies? You have defined the policies, now as yourself how shall compliance be enforced? How can actual performance be measured? Weber described the role of the civil servant and the importance of hierarchical control in a bureaucratic system in this manner: you should take a stand; you should be passionate. It is not necessarily the politician's element but rather on occasion the opposite of that element that defines the principle of responsibility of the civil servant. The civil
References: “Traditional Public Administration versus The New Public Management: Accountability versus Efficiency” Retrieved from http://gunston.gmu.edu/pfiffner/index_files/Page2533.htm Max Weber, Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Weber Miscellaneous Information, Retrieved from Public Administration book 9th Edition, Stillman