Question

Distinguish the different public management levels which form the basis and activities of public institutions. (Typed answers please)

Answer 1

ANSWER-

What Is Public Management?

Public managers carry out the managerial operations of public organizations. In practice, public management is meant to improve the quality and efficiency of services delivered by public organizations. Managers interpret the public policy to implement public services in ways that are expected to achieve the most desirable outcomes for the interests they serve.

Public managers can operate in two different areas: the internal and external management of public organizations.

• Internally, public managers must understand how to manage risk and change within their respective organizations. This demands that they stay informed of societal conditions that may impact their organizations’ ability to function optimally. By acknowledging those risks, managers can act accordingly, taking preemptive measures to diminish identified risks and prepare their staff to adapt to the instability those adverse conditions may have on the organization.
• Externally, public management entails leading efforts to collaborate with private groups to support the adoption of public policy. In this capacity, public managers work with private citizens and other public organizations to keep public programs running smoothly. To do this, managers perform tasks such as coordinating public human resources to assist with specific projects or helping certain communities secure the necessary financing to implement public programs.

Basic assumptions and core elements of New Public Management Area Element

1. Business environment and strategic objectives

– assumption of strong external pressure, of a much more challenging and changing business environment

– conclusion that there is a need for a new strategy and that there is no alternative for the organization but to change according to larger trends and forces

– market-orientation: commodification of services under the slogan of ‘value for money’

– stakeholder-orientation: meeting the objectives and policies of strong and influential external stakeholders

– customer-orientation: service delivery from a customer’s perspective

– increased organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity defined and measured in technological terms

– cost-reduction, downsizing, competitive tendering, outsourcing, privatization of services

2. Organizational structures and processes

– decentralization and re-organization of organizational units, more flexible structures, less hierarchy

– concentration on processes, that is, intensification of internal crossboundary collaboration, faster decision-making processes and putting things into action

– standardization and formalization of strategic and operational management through widely accepted management concepts

3. Performance management and measurement systems

– systematic, regular and comprehensive capturing, measurement, monitoring and assessment of crucial aspects of organizational and individual performance through explicit targets, standards, performance indicators, measurement and control systems

– positive consequences for the people working with and under such systems such as increased efficiency, productivity and quality, higher performance and motivation

4. Management and managers

– establishment of a ‘management culture’: management is defined as a separate and distinct organizational function, creation of (new types of) managerial posts and positions, emphasizing the primacy of management compared to all other activities and competencies

– ‘managers’ are defined as the only grouMost organizations have three management levels: first-level, middle-level, and top-level managers. These managers are classified according to a hierarchy of authority and perform different tasks. In many organizations, the number of managers in each level gives the organization a pyramid structure.p and individuals who carry out managerial functions 5. Employees and corporate culture

– empowerment and subsidiarity, staff are expected to develop ‘businesslike’, if not entrepreneurial, attitudes – idea of leadership and a new corporate culture

Most organizations have three management levels:

first-level,

middle-level,

and top-level managers.

These managers are classified according to a hierarchy of authority and perform different tasks. In many organizations, the number of managers in each level gives the organization a pyramid structure.