Opportunities for the Future: Globalization, Democracy, and the New Public Service

Acidre | Dimay

The Importance of Public Service

 Over the past decade, Americans have seen tax reductions and tax reform at the federal level, as
well as tax limitations at the state and local levels.
 In several important areas – notably education, economic development, and environmental
concerns – the states are taking positive actions.
 Public confidence in state and local governments is growing.

Trends in Public Service

 Globalization
 Increasing democratization and the expanding role of citizens in the government process

Economic Changes and Redefining Government

Direct implications for those in public service:

 Public managers face challenges in areas where traditional industries, such as steel or timeber,
have suddenly declined, as “high tech and high touch” has become a banner for economic
growth.
 Those at the state and local levels must play new and important roles in economic development,
including international economic development, which may require them to know as much about
business decisions.
 There are also challenges for those operating public programs, especially in the human services,
who have found government spending severely restricted at a time when the need for those
services seems ever increasing.

 Subprime and near-prime mortgages were offered to buyers who historically had not been able
to qualify because of low credit scores or insufficient resources for a down payment, often with
little or no documentation of income.

 Banks also made it easier for homeowners to refinance loans and withdraw cash from homes
that had gone up in value.
  This expansion of credit fueled global speculation in real estate and mortgage-backed securities,
reinforcing risky lending practices as the lines between traditional investment banks and
mortgage lenders were blurred by government deregulation.

 In responding to these challenges, government is not alone. Public service work is no longer the
work only of government, but an effort in which governmental agencies, non-profit and third-
sector organizations, and corporate and business interests participate.

Examples:

 In many states, the number of people employed by private security forces exceeds the number
employed by local police departments.
 In some cities, the chamber of commerce is so involved in public programs that it receives more
funding from government than it receives from private business.
 In major urban areas, fewer than half of human services are delivered by government; the
majority is delivered by nonprofit and private agencies.

 Some of these trends such as privatization and contracting for specific goods and services, are
becoming familiar; others are quite distinctive because they involve third parties’ discretion in
the use of public authority and in spending of public funds.

 Trends associated with the reform agendas in the public and nonprofit sectors reflect more
recent responses to our changing social and economic condition.

 An important consideration with respect to the reform movements relates to the application of
entrepreneurial practices and business values in public service. Although transforming the
relationship between a government and its citizens in economic terms may generate cost
savings and lead to more stream-lined public organizations, the question remains as to what the
long-term impact will be for issues of citizenship and public participation.

Globalization

 Some argue that globalization “defines the fundamental challenge to the role of government
and public administration in the twenty-first century”.
 City managers, for example, find that to be effective in local economic development activities,
they must be experts in international business. But global interdependencies will affect us in
other ways as well.
 Several diverse views have emerged relating to this globalization trend. They range from a
critical perspective, in which the trend is seen as an attempt by developed nations to introduce
 Western values into other regions, to what supporters believe to be a chance to extend
employment opportunities and wealth creation into impoverished nations.
 Relating to the internalization process is a pattern that carries perhaps even greater
implications: decentralization. Central governments are handing over new powers and
responsibilities to local and regional authorities.
 As we continue to live in our “global village,” we will be challenged to deal with opportunities
and threats that defy national boundaries. Our systems of governance will need to reflect our
concern for the public interest – both at home and abroad.

The Role of Citizens in the Governance Process

 More countries than ever before are working to build democratic governance. Their challenge is
to develop institutions and processes that are more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens,
including the poor, and that promote development.
 Moving beyond their role as recipients of government services, citizens increasingly are involved
in helping shape the policies and programs that affect their lives.
 This form of participation represents a return to important principles that underlie our system of
democracy, such as becoming more concerned with equity and justice, as opposed to merely
efficiency and performance.
 Public administrators often associate civic engagement with public hearings, legal and
administrative arbitration, and other formal mechanisms that tend to be time-consuming and
highly confrontational.
 Such limited forms of civic engagement not only result in policies that are detached from the
actual needs of affected populations but also create barriers between the local institutions of
government and citizens.
 Despite these concerns, public officials at all levels have established open governance processes
to encourage more substantive forms of engagement. For example, the federal government
encourages citizen participation in the rule-making process through a website.
 The move to more direct forms of civic participation opens the door for effective and
responsible citizenship, but in order for these forms to be successful, those in the government
must be willing to listen and act in a responsive manner.
 In order to achieve effective participation, both public administrators and citizens need to
change their behavior, adapting the roles they play in governance process which will acquire
new skills.

Seven Principles of The New Public Service (Janet and Robert Denhart)

 The primary role of the public servant is to help citizens articulate and meet their interests
rather than to attempt to control or steer society in new directions.
 Public administrators must make the creation of a collective, shared notion of the public interest
paramount.
  Policies and programs to meet public needs can be most effectively and responsibly achieved
through collective efforts and collaborative processes.
 The public interest is a result of a dialogue about shared values rather than the aggregation of
individual interests.
 Public servants must be attentive to more than the market, they also must attend to statutory
and constitutional law, community values, political norms, professional standards, and citizen
interests.
 Public organizations and the networks in which they participate are more likely to be successful
in the long run if they are operated through processes of collaboration and shared leadership
based on a respect for all people.
 The public interest is better advanced by public servants and citizens committed to making
meaningful contributions to society than by entrepreneurial managers acting as if public money
were their own.

 The New Public Service raises important concerns about pushing government toward the
adoption of the values of business. They also argue that if citizens are to regain their confidence
in the government, they must perceive public institutions as responsive.

 The New Public Service contends that the government shouldn’t be run like a business, it should
be run like a democracy, and the most important criteria for assessing administrative
performance should be to examine how effectively the work of public officials has engaged
citizens in the governance process and advanced the public interest.

Seven actions designed to promote shared responsibility and engage more citizens in efforts to build
and strengthen their communities:

 Government leaders and administrators should model civility, working to ensure that decision
making is conducted in a civil, responsible way.
 They need to sharpen skills, developing proficiency in convening and facilitation, conflict
resolution, mediation, and cultural competence.
 They must create opportunities for informed engagement, giving citizens a firsthand look at how
government works.
 They must support a culture of community involvement, helping citizens understand that the
problems cannot be solved alone.
 They must make the most of technology to inform and educate, solicit feedback, and conduct
community conversations.
 They must include everybody, involving citizens who traditionally have not been engaged and
reaching out to future voters and leaders.
 They must make it last, making participation an ongoing process rather than a one-time product.
  Developing an engaged community includes both citizen “exchange” activities that inform,
collect information, and solicit input and consultations; and citizen “engagement” activities that
promote collaboration, create dialogue, build relationships, and empower citizens in making
decisions and taking responsibility for their community.

Ethics and the Imperatives of Good Governance

 At the root of every act of every public servant, whether in developing or executing public
policy, lies a moral or ethical question. It means that public administrator must demonstrate in
their own actions the highest standards of behavior.
 The future public servant will likely be both active in policy development and responsive to the
public interest. Our constitutional structure not only permits but also encourages an active
executive and administrative role.
 Public administrators must assume leadership in establishing a high moral tone for the public
service generally.
 Public organizations and the values and commitments they represent should become models
for all organizations, at least those involved in the management of public programs.
 Ethical considerations have become a central theme in public administration around the world.
In Japan, the National Public Service Ethics Act, which took effect in April 2000, established a
national ethics board to continuously monitor the compliance of government officials and to
oversee investigations and punishment for violations of ethical standards.
 Only when our commitment to democratic practices and ideals is clear to all will we once again
be able to establish public service as the highest calling in our society.
 While “good governance” is difficult to define, Jreisat offers a list of core values that are useful
in thinking about what might be considered the ultimate purposes of public service. He suggests
that good governance:

 Is ethical and accountable

 Creates trust and promotes broadly shared values, particularly accountability and sustained
openness and transparency
 Is based on effective leadership both within government and across society
 Is where rules and legal standards for orderly conduct and progressive social transformation are
constructed
 Is based on new and modified political and administrative forms to replace hierarchical,
command and control sytems.