Accountability in Public Administration

Accountability in Public Administration Introduction Public accountability is one of the noble concepts immensely supported by scholars in the discipline of public administration. In the political discourses coupled with policy documents, the term finds an imperative usage since it portrays an image of trustworthiness and transparency (Forrer, et al., 2010).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Accountability in Public Administration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These two aspects are crucial since citizens who are also the clients of a state become satisfied that a system of administration is able to meet their anticipations in the public sector without exposing their resources to risks of fraud. In this extent, accountability emerges as one of the key values in the public administration. The aim of this study is to discuss the issues involved in making public organizations accountable. A consideration is also given to discuss the people whom public offici als are accountable to, and the most effective means of ensuring a balance between the demands for accountability and the need to have high-performing organizations. Issues involved in making Public Organizations Accountable Accountability involves making organizations transparent and responsible in their dealing in the effort to enhance their trustworthiness. For them to realize the goal, they need to address a number of issues concerning accountability. One of such issues is the development of the capacity to deal with emerging matters that may impede their efforts to attain their dream of being accountable. For instance, the advent of globalization presents many challenges to corporations and institutions of public administration seeking that to be accountable in many nations. Kearns (2003) supports the argument by further adding, â€Å"Globalization plays the role of shaping the current trends in the global economic markets and the increasing interactions among nations and peop le from different parts of the world† (p.76). Emergence of new interactions driven by the dawn of globalization introduces challenges to institutions of public administration in that they handle emerging new roles and expand their functionality sphere. The more expansive an institution or any system requiring checks is, the harder it becomes to handle all the individual facets of an organization, which may provide loopholes for acts of fraud. Emerging new issues such as those prompted by globalization also present challenges to accountability efforts of an organization due to â€Å"the need to understand the dynamics of global value chains, creating trade facilitation structures, developing partnerships, and the establishment of value chains and networks† (Kearns, 2003, p.81).Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Existence of such new challenges means th at public administration officials have to constantly change their tactics for enhancing accountability since traditional approaches or styles for public administration cease to be effective in handling all the contemporary situations that may prove to be a challenge to the efforts of becoming accountable. From the above discussion, it is essential that an organization that seeks to be accountable in a globalized market to consider looking for new approaches of enhancing transparency as opposed to the traditional approaches for enhancing intelligibility in the public administration. In fact, this factor is yet another crucial issue involved in making public organizations accountable. The history of public administration reveals that the main approach for enhancing accountability is through exercising of control and close monitoring of persons who are mandated to execute certain affairs that are of public interest. This task entails â€Å"bureaucratic discretion through compliance w ith some tightly drawn rules and regulations† (Forrer et al, 2010, p.477). Alteration of such an approach is critical in the modern world that is driven by hefty interactions so that, rather than using a direct-control paradigm, an organization has to consider implementation of strategies for enhancing accountability. The strategy must be driven by the concerns of delegations as a methodology for breaking down the bureaucratic approaches to public accountability. The relevance of this issue for an organization that wants to be accountable rests on the platform that, although delegation is an effective way for enhancing accountability, it has its limitations. A challenge facing an organization that is determined to be accountable is the establishing of balance and determination of the extents and permissible thresholds of accountability in the organization. Thirdly, an organization needs to deal proactively with the issue of balancing levels of accountability anticipated from v arious stakeholders. In support of this argument, Forrer et al. (2010) reckon, â€Å"public managers report not only to a multitude of elected officials, but also to a plethora of interest groups, clientele, media, and other actors† (p.478). This argument means that public administrators serve many conflicting interests of different stakeholders, both formal and informal, through the deployment of appropriate mechanisms for enhancing accountability.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Accountability in Public Administration specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The balancing mechanism that an organization that seeks to become accountable must deploy includes hierarchical accountability, public accountability, while not negating deploying of mechanisms for enhancing accountability to impersonal standards. Organizations that embrace the relevance of accountability as a way of development of trust among various stakehol ders must appreciate that one of the important issues they must put into perspective is that they must conform precisely to a myriad of legitimized but also competing anticipations for accountability. To whom are Public Officials Accountable? Public officials have to be accountable to various people. Essentially, accountability is a â€Å"means through, which public agencies and their workers answer to the citizens directly and indirectly for the use of their power, authority, and resources† (Kearns, 2003, p.9). From this definition, it is paramount to note that, in the first degree, public officials are accountable to the citizens who are also served by other persons and interest groups to whom public officials must also be accountable. Such other persons include city councils, administrators such as presidents, states’ legislatures, media, and professional associations among others. With the rise of and advocating for governance approaches that portray the exercise o f democracy as the chief mechanism of ensuring equal presentations of all citizens’ concerns and interests in the tools of administration, concerns have been alarming on the mechanisms that can ensure that governments are held accountable effectively. Consequently, with regard to Kearns (2003), internal means of enhancing accountability including â€Å"official rules, codes of conduct, administrative hierarchy, performance evaluation, organizational culture, and professional ethics† (p.65) have dominated the discussions of public accountability. Some of these mechanisms of enhancing accountability have been pinned in the constitutions of many democratic nations. All systems of power comprise executives, judicial, and legislative divisions of government. These divisions have the responsibility to keep public administrators on the check to limit their discretion to ensure they are achieving their noble mandates placed on them by citizens.Advertising Looking for report on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, in the US the progressive era marked the establishments of â€Å"independent government regulatory agencies, public commissions, and corporation to oversee government bodies through the executive branch† (Forrer et al., 2010, p.478). From the context of the roles of congress, public officials have a duty to ensure that they meet the requirements placed on them in terms of meeting the demands for accountability as stipulated by organizations for agency oversight and committees for budget appropriations among others. Since citizens cannot directly regulate the operations of public officials, such organs exercise control and monitoring of the activities of public officials on behalf of the citizens to ensure that they are accountable to any repercussions of the policies formulated and implemented by the public officials. Public officials are accountable to legislatures. Legislatures have roles to play to investigate the operations of various public officials and de mand to provisions of information on certain aspects that they may believe have comprised the national ethics and codes of practice in public offices including accountability. Organizations such as GAO can also be employed by legislatures and congress to scrutinize public agency programs. Consequently, public officials must be accountable to them. Since the goal of accountability is to ensure transparency to all interest groups and stakeholders in the operations of public administrators as argued before, public officials are also accountable to media, professional communities, and client groups. Client groups are interested in the implications of public policies. Such groups have specific anticipated outcomes from public officials. Should the public officials fail to meet these anticipations effectively, or do things at exorbitant and inflated costs, the officials have to be held accountable for the failure or embezzlements of funds. Conclusion: Balancing the Demands for Accountabil ity and the Need to have High-performing Organizations Accountability implies that public officials have to evaluate every policy or decision they take to ensure that it does not expose the interest of various stakeholders and interest groups at risk upon its implementation. This argument means that decisions and policies that have high potentials of yielding optimal results but possessing high-risk vulnerabilities may not be implemented. Measuring performance from the paradigm of the magnitude of returns, for instance, in terms of social benefit, failure to implement projects having high risks of failure but having high levels of returns means that the performance of a public institution is impaired. Public officials must balance demand for accountability and the need to have high-performing organizations. For instance, considering the experience of hurricane Katrina, it is arguable that the government ought to have invested heftily on strategies and equipments for dealing with aft ermaths and or for detection of both the likelihoods and the magnitudes of natural catastrophes in the bid to enhance effective disaster awareness through its established institutions for disaster management. Such a measure would make disaster management institutions highly performing if the investments turn out commensurate to the anticipated levels of response to human and logistical challenges posed by hurricane Katrina. However, in the effort to ensure that such organizations become highly performing, the question that emerges is whether indeed public officials charged with running such institutions would be willing to venture into risky decisions that would compromise their levels of accountability in the public domain. Koliba, Zia, and Mills (2011) support this line of thought by noting that it is important to develop both theoretical and empirical constructs â€Å"to identify and assess how and whether failures of accountability lead to failures in performance† (p.210) . Directly congruent with this proposal, it is of paramount importance that public officials be made to account for success rather than just failures. Such a strategy can help to balance demands for accountability and the need for high performing organizations. Obtaining a balance between accountability and the need for high-performing organizations is a challenge that public officials need to proactively address especially bearing in mind that the citizens whom they owe the ultimate responsibility while making their decisions do not directly elect them. Consequently, public officials may consider complying with political accountability roles since, according to Bovens (1998), â€Å"public officials are not rigidly constrained in their performance by narrow legal or procedural settings† (p.31). This case means that the capacity to form and operate public institutions driven by the motive for high performance may be compromised by the need to meet programmed guidelines issued by the appointing authority in hierarchical systems of administration. This argument is more imperative upon considering Bovens’ (1998) assertion that political accountability â€Å"tends to use outcomes as the main parameter for evaluation of performance rather than compliance with administrative rules and procedures† (p.31). As a repercussion, it is probable that public officials may fail to balance accountability with the need to create highly performing public institutions due to the need to satisfy the anticipations of the elected authority as opposed to direct anticipations of the electorate. Although in democratic and corruption-free nations, the elected persons may present the interest of the electorate. Hence, the anticipations of the elected and the appointing authority from the public officials have to measure up to the anticipation of the electorate. In the corruption-prone nations, the electorate interests are not presented by the elected persons. If publi c administrators appointed by the corrupt-elected persons have to be politically accountable, it means that a balance between accountability and the need to put in place a highly performing organization cannot be established. Reference List Bovens, M. (1998). The Quest for Responsibility: Accountability and Citizenship in Complex Organizations. Public Administration, 77(3), 455-474. Forrer, J., Kee, J., Newcomer, K., Boyer, E. (2010). Public- Private Partnerships and the public accountability question. Public administration review, 1(1), 475- 484. Kearns, P. (2003). Accountability in a Seamless Economy, in G. Peters and J. Pierre (eds.), Handbook of Public Administration. London: Sage Publications. Koliba, C., Zia, A., Mills, R. (2011). Accountability in governance networks: an assessment of public, private and nonprofit emergency management practices following hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 1(1), 210-20.

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Corporate social responsibility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate social responsibility - Essay Example al, 2005). Activities of Corporately Socially Responsible (CSR) Firms: Coca cola international claims itself as a socially responsible multinational firm. It is currently operating in dozens of countries while honoring its commitment of being CSR efficient. As a sure sign of success not only has it been able to capture and sustain a remarkable 49% of market share in beverage market around the world , rather the increasing revenues have consistently shown a better picture throughout (Cokecsr, 2011). Following are the activities claimed by coca cola as their Corporate Social Responsibilities. Energy Efficiency and Climate Concerns: The Company claims at reducing the carbon emissions throughout the value chain and making their processes more energy efficient (cokecsr, 2011). Emissions of harmful materials are carefully managed. Water Stewardship: Water consumption for running the operations is strictly need based; there is no excessive usage or wastage of drinking water. Water sustainab ility is ensured during operations at coke plants; what is consumed is returned to the environment (cokecsr, 2011). ... Community, Health and Employee Safety: The corporate makes significant investments to ensure a protected community, improved health and employee welfare; enabling the company to sustain its remarkable position as a world leader in beverage market (cokecsr, 2011). Factors to Enhance CSR Image: Companies employ different tactics to improve their CSR image in the eyes of their consumers, it is because they are highly concerned with the social needs of their consumers. The augmented exposure of customers to environment and social issues and crisis is a huge potential threat for large companies. To resolve these supposed threats from customers, large companies take specific initiatives. The basic purpose is to create a higher degree of customer satisfaction. If the society is growing, the environment is protected and people are healthy then it is quite certain that the customers will be satisfied. Media marketing or advertisements are the main aid to generalize the community about corpora te social responsibilities. The investments which a company makes in a community are the ones that really reap the benefits for the company in the longer run. It may include educational investments, health care initiatives and eliminating social evils from the society (Armstrong, 1977). Every company, that employs a CSR policy, publishes an annual report which covers the yearly operations, initiatives and achievements of the company (ckecsr, 2011). This coverage provides a complete picture of how the firm’s projects have turned out. For instance, if investments have been made in long term projects which are beneficial for the firm’s associations; this will create

Are viruses alive Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Are viruses alive - Essay Example Viruses are microscopic agents that survive only in the nucleus of cells of other living organisms. This implies that viruses live in any living thing both plants and animals. They replicate inside the cells and, in some advanced cases, they feed on the nucleus of the cells thus resulting in the death of the cells. Viruses have unspecified structure of deoxyribonucleic acid commonly referred to as the DNA (Dilcher, 2000). The DNA defines the structure of cells, the fact that viruses have indefinite DNAs makes them capable of changing their structure from time to time thus making it difficult for the body cells to identify and remove them from the cell structures. Among the most notorious virus is the Human Immunodeficiency virus that causes the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS (Nelson, 2010). This research article therefore employs an effective analysis of this single virus to describe the features of other viruses by extension. The structure of a virus A virus is an organis m with a simple structure, this is arguably the smallest organism on earth and due to its small size, the organism cannot survive on its own, it thus requires the cell of a host organism to thrive. Viruses have the simplest structures composed of only three components. These are the nucleic acid, the protein coat and the lipid membrane. The nucleic acid is the most essential part of the virus; it contains the deoxyribonucleic and the ribonucleic acids. The two acids define the virus; they contain all the necessary information for the virus to define its unique indefinite structure and to make it multiply (Theodora, Guoying & Dimitris, 2002). The nucleic acid is lightly dispensed in surrounding plasma all of which are enclosed in a protein coat. This is a light layer of pure protein elements that protects the components of the virus. The protein layer defines the virus. However, being purely protein, the coat lacks definite shape to constitute the definite structure of a virus. The s oft coat is highly permeable allowing free movement of molecules in and out of the virus. The structure of the protein further changes according to the protein composition of the host cell, this enables the virus to vary its acidity and alkalinity levels to suit that of the host cell thus permit its survival. Besides the two components of a virus is the lipid membrane. This is a layer found after the protein membrane. However most viruses lack this layer and survive only with the protein layer as the most outside coat. Viruses that lack this final outer coat are generally referred to as naked cells. The lipid membrane performs the edge formation function thus defining the virus. It also lacks such strong elements as keratin and lipid and therefore aids in the indefinite structures of viruses. Virus infection process Unlike other living organisms, a virus cannot survive on its own; viruses have no chemical composition to exist without the assistance of a host cell. Host cells on whic h a virus mounts itself is referred to as a receptor (Agalioti & Prekh, 2001). Viruses choose their receptor carefully taking into consideration the information in the viruse’s deoxyribonucleic and ribonucleic acid this implies that every virus has its specific receptor. Once a virus gains entry into the body of a living organism, they attach themselves to their respective receptor cells from where they thrive through the rigorous replication process (Dilcher, 2000). The flu causing virus shows preference for the mucus coating cells found in the lungs and other airwaves in the body. The HI Virus on the other hand shows indiscriminate preference to white blood cells in the body of a living organism. Since viruses cannot survive alone, they do not therefore freely exist in the environment but are carried in the body cells of other previously infected organisms. They thus transfer from these organisms to the other through contact of the bodies that possibly results in the exposu re of the body cells of the second victim.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin :: essays research papers

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was born on April 2,1928, in Columbia, South Carolina. He was son of Mrs. Marie M. Simon Bernardin, and the late Joseph Bernardin. Cardinal Bernardin attended Catholic and public schools and the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He was later accepted as a candidate for the priesthood by Most Rev. John J. Russell, then Bishop of Charleston. He studied at the following Colleges: St.Mary's, St. Mary, Kentucky, St.Mary Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland, where he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. He also attended the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C. where he received the Master of Arts degree in Education in 1952. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John J. Russell on April 26,1952, in St. Joseph Church, Columbia. His administrative skills were immediately recognized. During his 14 years in the Diocese of Charleston, he served under four bishops in many capacities, including the officed of chancellor, vicar general, diocesan consular, and administrator of the diocese. On March 9,1966, Pope Paul VI appointed Msgr. Bernardin Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta. In doing this he became the youngest Bishop in the county. On July 10,1982, Pope John Paul II reappointed Archbishop Bernardin to Archbishop of Chicago. His installation took at Holy Name Cathedral on August 25,1982. Later Archbishop Bernardin went to the College of Cardinals. On February 2,1983 he received his "red hat." On September 9,1996 President Clinton awarded Cardinal Bernardin the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In presenting the Metal, the President cited Cardinal Bernardin's work on behalf of racial equality and arms control and noted he â€Å"has been a persistent voice for moderation.† Cardinal Bernardin was Chancellor of the Catholic Extension Society and the University of St. Mary of the Lake,Mundelein,IL. He is a founding member and Vice-Chairman of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography. In the more recent years before his death, he was a member of the Catholic Charities USA National Development Task Force and the Board of

Politics and The English Language Response Essay

Clarity and simplicity, the only two factors that keep it real; at least the only two factors that help the readers understand the truth. Politics is always a tough thing to talk about, to follow, to express and even to educate yourself about. In the essay written by George Orwell â€Å" Politics and the English Language† he deliberately expresses that writing of today isn’t the same writing of yesterday. In other words, George Orwell expresses his thoughts; today we have developed habits both bad and good, which can challenge truth behind the text and can manipulate the reader’s understanding. As I came across the article ‘No plan B for pentagon in case of big budget cut† by Thom Shaker, an article which seems more for show than for information, seems to glorify the pentagon and the military. Numbers and statistics can easily be manipulated and played with so that the reader unless intuitive, has a hard time questioning, believing anything in print. The article states that if the white house and congress fail to an agreement there will be massive budget cuts, and the defense department has yet to plan for it. George Orwell would classify this article to be an example of good writing. George Orwell says to be simple and clear, almost as if so that the reader does not have to overcome any obstacles to understand the information thus presented. The writer while busy glorifying the pentagon and military, also states the issue spot on which was earlier mentioned of how the defense department has not planned for possible budget cuts, and soon enough the author backs it up and supports the issue or popular question presented. The author states that the reason behind not planning was to prevent preparedness and provide security, so that the congress does not invent to not agree with the White House. No specific jargon words, which Orwell mentions to dismiss in his essay(pg.3) There are no â€Å" bad habits† exhibited throughout the article, the author does a well done job at keeping it simple and clear at the same time as sophisticated and presentable, a young adult has the same understanding as a matured adult. No mumbo jumbo to â€Å" deficit, manned and unmanned, contingency† Comprehendible, at a a broad demographic  range. George Orwells quote from his essayâ€Å" but merely language as an instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought†. Keep it at a simple level, to not persuade a reader by their maturity of understanding from either side, matured adults vs. young adults. Through Orwell’s â€Å" rules of writing†you can truly understand how societies â€Å"bad habits† have influenced the writing of today. The improper use of techniques to seem sophisticated has lead to nonsense and confusion. Political writing always seems to be nonsense and confusion, unless you follow and do your own research the truth always seems to be manipulated. Politics and The English Language by Orwell influences that a change in political writing is needed.

The Columbian Exchange 1492 - 1248 Words

1. Columbian Exchange: 1492 †¢ The Atlantic world connected people, animals, and plants between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Europe brought many diseases that the Native Americans were not immune to to the Americas and took finished goods to Africa. Africa was a major slave trader and exporter of raw materials. The Americas also exported plants to Europe that helped health. 2. Jamestown: 1607 †¢ Englishmen went there in search of gold, but when they found little to none they did not realize that they had to work in order to stay alive. They had a hard time finding drinking water since they were between two different kinds of sources but as they spread down the river over the years they began to prosper. 3. Mayflower Compact: 1620 †¢ It†¦show more content†¦6. Pequot War: 1636-1637 †¢ The Pequots in Connecticut River Valley did not want the whites expanding onto their land. The whiles destroyed their towns and left the remaining survivors of the Pequot tribe to be sold as slaves. This represented a power shift from the populist Native Americans to the English and led to the opportunity for more Puritan expansion. 7. Iroquois Confederacy: 1640 †¢ The league was established before European settlement. Once they had interactions with the Europeans they were then used to take the land from other Native Americans that the English wanted. They were very cooperative with the British expect for when it came to them taking their own land. 8. Old Deluder Act: 1647 †¢ The act was the second of two education laws that Massachusetts made. It was the beginnings of mandatory public education. The act required towns in each colony to make, operate, and provide funding for schools. 9. Act of Religious Toleration: 1649 †¢ The toleration act was created as a result of the Catholics and the Protestants fighting over which denomination would use the city chapel in St. Mary’s, Maryland. The act gave more power to the government to be involved in religion through blasphemy. Maryland was the second colony to have the liberty of worship. 10. Half-way Covenant: 1662 †¢ The second and third generations of Puritans were not getting baptized and were not become saints to join the elect. The covenant allowed the children of baptized parents to be baptized