Proper Local Public Administration: A Mechanism in Achieving Collaborative Governance

MARASIGAN, Medelyn Clarisse O. November 8, 2014 (Saturday)

4POL1 POL224

Proper Local Public Administration:

A Mechanism in Achieving Collaborative Governance

INTRODUCTION

The intent of this paper is to critically analyze the article written by Joanna Lucio entitled

“Customers, Citizens, and Residents: The Semantics of Public Service Recipients”. The

article mainly revolves around three variables: public administration, local public

administrators, and customers and citizens. The main argument in the article is that

local public administration can make a residency-based citizenship plausible. While the

sub-argument on the other hand, is about reconstructing the conceptualization of Public

administration on “citizenship”. In addition, the author is trying to posit the idea of

inclusive public participation in order to have the collaborative governance. I would like

to support both the main and sub-argument of the author regarding the local public

administration as the prime mechanism in constructing a residency-based citizenship.

To prove the supporting argument, a discussion on why the local public

administration is the key to achieve collaborative governance will be presented by: (1)

explaining the reason in focusing the collaborative governance on a local public

administration (2) discussing the reason why customer and citizens are not compatible

to be interchanged, (3) identifying the concept of citizen-based governance (4) and

lastly, by stating procedures toward a more inclusive, residency-based citizenship.

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SUMMARY OF “CUSTOMERS, CITIZENS, AND RESIDENTS: THE SEMANTICS OF

PUBLIC SERVICE RECIPIENTS”

Lucio claims in the article that the terminology of urban governance for individuals being

served by public sectors is being influenced by private sectors which resulted to some

alteration. The main purpose of the article is to illustrate how customer and citizen can

be limited in the present context in which governance exists and to propose a paradigm

shift of public administration’s citizenship. A new conception of perspective of

citizenship based in residency has been called by the scholars due to its absence from

public administration literature. While movements in defining and engaging citizenry at

the local level is strongly present.

The role of public administration is to facilitate and to ensure that a discriminated

and disfranchised group’s voices and opinions are taken into consideration and that the

services are equally delivered. A broader view facilitated by local administration on

broader view of citizenship is necessary for the benefit of the society. The entire article

is divided into three parts; the first part is a description of the context for the argument

that a new concept of citizenship is needed. Following the chronology of discussion is

the summary of how customer and citizen are exclusive in their applications to low-

income residents and documented immigrants. The last part is a development of an

argument for residency-based citizenship.

Under the discussion of the context for reconceptualizing citizenship is the

presentation of two trends that contributed significant changes by globalization. The first

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 Proper Local Public Administration: A Mechanism in Achieving Collaborative Governance

of the two trends is the shift toward a market model of public administration and the

movement for public administration to empower citizens at the local level.

Moving on to the public customer portion of the article wherein the discussion on

how privatization of government influence the perspective of administrators and view

“the public” in a different way. The trend in which the government incorporates

strategies and business-like techniques from private sectors is referred to as the New

Public Management (NPM). Under this, the differentiation between customer and citizen

related services has been expounded.

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