Public Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Public Management - Essay Example But then, by virtue of its composition, its structure and operation, and the purposes it chooses for the polity or system of the government as expressed in the laws it passes, the representative assembly has a far-reaching impact on the character of the polity, and how it develops over time. (Cook 1998) Based from the definitions prominent of public management that generally talks about political strategy and political skill, it could be concluded that this orientation in public management is definitely a short-term goal. (Cook 1998) However, there is a variety of definitions concerning public management. These various ides are too narrow resulting into a weak and undeveloped literature of public management. In particular, Laurence Lynn concluded that "public management is essentially concerned with the performance of the executive function in government at the heart of public management... is a strategic judgment: a choice concerning goals and actions in specific settings that satisfies reasonable criteria" (qtd in Cook 1998) Lynn (1996), at the same time quoted Ott, Hyde, and Shafritz with their definition of public management in order to represent and differentiate the term from public administration for which public management is often confused. "Public management is a major segment of the broader field of public... A few of these techniques and competencies are: position classification systems, recruitment and selection procedures, management by influence, budget analysis and formulation, supervisory skills, long range or strategic planning, program and organizational evaluation, feedback and control mechanisms (typically through management information systems), contract management, project management, and reorganization." (qtd in Lynn 1996) Even highly developed countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have different public management policies. The people who make up the society of both countries have played an important role in the development of the country's public management strategies. The United States' Public Management The federal government of the United States in 1980s and 1990a were found to have several similarities with the Benchmark Case such that changes were too evident in most areas of public management policy. "Institutional rules and organizational routines in the area of audit and evaluation were affected by the Government Results and Performance Act, the Chief Financial Officers Act, and the National Performance Review's service quality initiative. Change was also evident in the area of procurement, with legislative changes known as "procurement streamlining" and major changes in routines within the General Services Administration. To some degree, change was evident in the area of civil service and labour relations, with rules and routines developed to downsize the federal workforce and to reform the Office of Personnel Management (Barzelay 2001)." The change in the area of organization and methods in the American public