Public Administration Theory: Evolution and Impact - Essay Sample

Introduction

For a long time, different administrations and entities throughout the world have employed various theories to determine the public's submissiveness. These theories are as a result of the need to govern people based on logical rules based on human rights. Over time, these theories of public administration have changed and evolved into new archetypes seeking different goals than the goals of predecessor theories. In particular, the study aims to investigate a single approach of Public Administration, namely Citizen Participation.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Citizen Participation

Citizen Participation is the involvement of individual private citizens in the collective decision-making process of a particular state or institution. This type of public administration theory seeks to achieve the highest levels of democracy within a specific country or institution. Citizen participation is a battle cry against dictatorships and oppressive bureaucracies that have no regard for human life or its loss. Citizen participation involves a multitude of activities. This theory of Public Administration includes activities such as involvement in decision making for governments, management of public affairs, and deliberation of public professionals.

Citizen participation increases the citizen's satisfaction in their government. This sense of achievement results from the fact that the decision-making process happens partly or majorly by individual private citizens. Therefore, public laws and public policies are enforced and geared towards the betterment of the entire citizen populous. Citizen participation involves a robust involvement where citizens are finally able to control what the central government deems fit (Baum, 2015). This engagement in the decision-making process aims towards empowering citizens to accept and step up the process of development. Citizen participation advocates for the delivery of similar benefits to individuals, societies, and focus groups; also, these benefits could be in a variety of forms such as power, knowledge, freedom, and authority.

Unlike other forms of public administration theories, citizen participation in the first theory to incorporate citizen involvement in the decision making process. This engagement of citizens in the collective decision-making stage allows for meaningful laws to be put in place to serve the people of a particular state or institution. Citizen involvement works in tandem with the democracy of a country or an institution. This involvement means that equality of the people of a state or entity holds high regard. Therefore, citizen participation is one of the most successful public administration theories to date. Through the mandate of the United Nations, most countries throughout the world are prosperous, democratic republics that practice citizen participation in their decision-making activities.

Citizen participation activities are inclusive of events such as citizen forms, court proceedings where ordinary citizens are allowed attendance and participation. Citizen participation also includes community meetings and forums where significant and upcoming issues are put to an address, actually getting to listen to the citizen's grievances, suggestions and complaints. Citizen participation increases the community's level of satisfaction in their government of governing body. This sense of appreciation stems from the actualization of the citizen's ideas rather than ignorance by other forms of public administration theories. Despite the fact citizen participation may seem like a good idea, it may be incredibly biased. The bias in citizen participation results from the fact that it is highly likely that the chosen individuals are from high-income factions. The choice to include citizens from low-income camps may be subject to ethnic and racial discrimination. Therefore, citizen participation may not always be a correct way of determining the policies accepted by the general public since, in any society, a majority of its citizens are poor.

Sunstein's Meaning of Nudging Concerning Public Policy

Sunstein defined nudging as the slight changing of one's ideas or plans by suggesting other better opinions instead of less viable options. Nudging has taken a significant stake in decision making throughout various aspects of human life. Nudge theory has been used extensively in the marketing and food industry, and some multiple other industries successfully. Therefore, it was about time that nudging found its way into public policy. The use of nudge theory concerning policy making involves coming up with less harsh solutions to solve problems and displaying them as suggestions rather than simple alternatives. In doing so, researchers and policy makers are more likely to influence citizens into accepting specific policies rather than forcing them into accepting harsh policies such as taxation.

Nudge theory is reliant on the erroneous nature of human beings. Human beings are subject to making a lot of mistakes in all areas where their expertise is concerned. This incorrect nature includes policy making. Sunstein argued that nudging concerning public policy is a better motivator to get a state's citizens to agree to a change in policy as compared to forcing them to comply with new rules. Nudging the citizens involved presenting suggestions for otherwise erroneous policies that infringed on their freedoms, powers, and authority. The citizens would slowly accept them, and once it was common throughout the entire population, was made into law.

Nudging as a means of public policy is an effective way of ensuring that a state or an entity does not experience civil unrest resulting from the sudden and unexpected policy change. Nudging can happen on a specific populous of the citizens, say the high-income faction. By nudging them into accepting particular policies, the general public stands to accept the policy much faster than if the system integrates to low-income earners (Duen, 2018). If the high-income earners change into taking a particular product, the lower income classes are more likely to accept the policy as a fad, unlike if the nudge is done from the small income class upwards.

Sunstein observed that citizens' decision-making abilities were not always up to par, but were sometimes subject to errors. Sunstein found that research on policy makers assumed that citizens ever made logical decisions. Unlike this assumption, nudge theory understands that politicians are not always sensible and rational human beings and are subject to making wrong decisions. This difference in assumptions presented a new frontier where citizens' behaviors could be changed, and so could the conduct of policy makers. This approach resulted in increased efficiency in decision making. As a result of this discovery, politicians took this up to influence the citizens' behaviors seeing as the start of the century brought about a sea of lifestyle diseases. Policy makers deemed this an opportunity to undertake to a massive scale opportunity to change the citizen and consumer behavior by advocating for healthier living and healthier eating. This change happens by swapping positions of complementary items in supermarkets and offering healthier alternatives alongside products. This smart switch changed citizen consumer behaviors and in turn, enabled them to live much healthier lives. Nudging can also be incorporated into policy making to ensure that the citizens sway in the right direction. By changing the behavior of citizens, the policy makers can make sure the right laws pass.

Alasdair Roberts Large Forces

Alasdair Roberts defined large forces indirectly as the little possibly unseen forces that drive a state or an economy unlike the large forces presumed to manage a large portion of the economy, but whose efforts are mainly not felt. These large forces are inclusive of individual personalized practice, the effect of prominent personalities and socio-political forces. Concerning public policy, Alasdair Roberts termed these little forces as large driving forces that had a significant bearing on whether new public policies would matter or not.

The individual personalized practice is essential as a driving force for the acceptance of public policies to a state's citizens. Public policies are primarily suited for a specific group of people may be a particular set of workers. These public policies are put in place to either govern their conduct while at work or to safeguard them from external forces, whether seen or unseen. Despite this fact, Alasdair emphasized that having individually custom practices was essential for public policies (Roberts, 2016). It enabled public policies to be compartmentalized into various departments and distinguish the multiple workforces and remove instances of confusion in unions. Unions are one of the significant enforcers of public policies since other than a state's government; they are closest to the working citizens, therefore, enforce the strategies much more effectively and ultimately, contribute to public administration as a segment of the tremendous force theory.

Alasdair mentioned the effect of prominent personalities as a significant part of the tremendous force theory. Policy makers have been known over time to use the influence of famous personalities and celebrities to push their agenda. Even though they are not exactly a small unseen part of society, they fulfill an essential role of large force theory. A state's citizens are more likely to adopt a policy if it has received an endorsement from a prominent and well-liked figure. Case in point, as the world war raged on, America enlisted the services of Uncle Sam, who was a fictional puppet master but well-liked throughout the country (Flagg). The American Army got Uncle Sam to portray an "I want You" message to get the general public to join the military. The result of this message was a majority enlistment into the armed forces mainly because of the use of a prominent and well like figure. The US Army was able to push its policy of majority enlistment that was not too demanding but a mandatory kind of voluntary enlistment.

Socio-political forces are part of the unseen forces commanding a significant portion of the tremendous forces. Socio-political forces are the various social and political aspects of a country that determine the likelihood of a particular public policy's acceptance or not. The citizens of a specific state have certain social issues that policy makers have to put into consideration while making policies and coming up with various decisions. The social aspect is primarily concerned with the redistribution of national wealth and social services down to a nation's citizens. The better the policies made, the smoother the cohesion between social policy and the citizens, thereby contributing to the theory of the Large Force. Political forces, on the other hand, are inclusive of the various political factors affecting the delivery and actualization of public policies. These political forces are such as political unrest which may hinder the delivery of services.

Suitable Choices for Public Administration Theories and Practices

Sunstein's Nudge theory is a more appropriate and viable choice for public administration and practice. There are several reasons as to why Sunstein's nudge theory is suitable. Chief among these is the fact that nudge theory advocates for a smooth suggestive transition of policies. This seamless transition is the difference between peace and unrest that would prevail if large forces were employed. For example, in the case that a state wants to increase taxation, public policies reliant on large forces will implement a sudden and rush approach that may result in resistance from select groups or unions. The opposition may become d...