Public Management Exam PDF

1. Public management includes management in general and organizational management Political pressure and will Dynamism Diversity Complexity Processes and routines Organizational structure and culture … (re)distribution of welfare, regulation and...

1. Public management includes management in general and organizational management Political pressure and will Dynamism Diversity Complexity Processes and routines Organizational structure and culture … (re)distribution of welfare, regulation and goals Tax - service vs tax - benefits 2. Different eras in public management history: - Classic Public Administration (CPA) - Rooted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, heavily influenced by Max Weber’s bureaucratic model. - New Public Management (NPM) - Emerged in the 1980s as a response to the perceived inefficiencies of the CPA model, driven by neoliberal ideas and the rise of market-based governance, especially in countries like the UK, New Zealand, and Australia. - Neo-Weberian State (NWS) - Emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a reaction to the limitations of NPM, especially in European contexts. It seeks to blend elements of Weberian bureaucracy with lessons from NPM. 3. Comparison: Classic Public New Public Aspect Administration Management Neo-Weberian State (NWS) (CPA) (NPM) Limited role; Central and Role of the State emphasizes Strong but collaborative role directive role privatization Decentralized, Hierarchical, Organizational flexible, Hierarchical but modernized rule-based Structure performance-ori and responsive bureaucracy ented Customers, with Subjects, passive Citizens as partners in Citizen’s Role choice and recipients governance expectations Results-oriente Management Process-oriented, Balance of both: outcomes d, focus on Focus formalprocedures and rule of law outcomes  Blurred Public-Private boundaries, State-led, but with private Clear separation Interface with sector collaboration privatization Decentralized, Top-down, Top-down with citizen Decision-Making managerial politician-led engagement discretion Efficiency, Values Impartiality, legality, Legality, professionalism, competition, Emphasized equality citizen service responsiveness Innovation, Stability and Modernization of Reform Focus market-like predictability bureaucracy, participation reforms 4. Public administration VS governance: - Public Administration: The implementation of government policy and the management of public programs and services, including the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of government operations. Process oriented - Governance: The processes, systems, and practices by which entities are directed and controlled. In the public sector, this often refers to the way public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources, and consider stakeholder interests. Goals oriented 5. Public vs private management: Public Administration Private Industry Trends Organizational Bound by law and political Autonomous goal Customer goals decisions definition orientation In the interest of people and Market and profit societal wellbeing oriented Organizational Binding norms and detailed Big scope of action Process structure regulations organization Small scope of action Deregulation Standardisatio n/ certification Economic Focus on costs Focus on profit Target costing efficiency Strict budgets Long term integrated Process Financial weakness planning costing 6. Public management and politics: - Legitimacy of Executive Power: Parliament grants legitimacy to the executive by establishing laws and policies that govern public administration. - Role of Public Administration: Public administration focuses on practical implementation, executing policies and programs in alignment with political goals. - Feedback Loop: Political decisions inform administrative actions, while administrative feedback can influence future political considerations and reforms. 7. Politics vs policy: - Policy: A deliberate system of principles or guidelines that govern decisions and actions within an organization, institution, or government. It serves as a framework for addressing specific issues, setting objectives, and outlining strategies and procedures for implementation. Policies can be formalized in documents, such as laws, regulations, or organizational guidelines, and are designed to provide direction for decision-making. Process oriented - Politics: the activities, processes, and interactions associated with governance and the exercise of power and authority within a society or organization. Politics often involves the interplay of differing interests, ideologies, and values in shaping public affairs and governance. It influences decision-making and policy outcomes. Goal oriented 8. What is policy making: - The process by which the government translates their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver „outcomes“ – desired changes in the real world. - A course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business or individual.  9. Policy tools: Regulatory Laws and regulations Standards and codes Economic Taxes and subsidies Grants and loans Administrative Programs Public procurement Information Public awareness campaigns Research and data collection Market-based Cap-and-trade systems Certificates or credit Collaborative PPP Stakeholder engagement Incentive-based Performance-based funding Rewards and recognition Capacity building Training and educational programs Technical assistance Self-regulation Voluntary agreement Code of practice Co-regulation 10. Stakeholder engagement: What is the difference of: Real consultation and selling Consultation and totally open debate? 11. Levels of engagement: 12. Johnson, Scholes andWittingham’s Stakeholder Mapping Theory 13. Strategic management vs planning: - Strategic Planning defines an organization's strategy or direction and makes decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy. It involves setting long-term goals and determining the actions required to achieve those goals. Process oriented - Strategic management involves developing and implementing plans to help an organization achieve its goals and objectives. Extends strategic planning by focusing on the execution and continuous monitoring of the strategy to ensure that organizational goals are met. Goal oriented  14. 15. Global trends: - Global trends refer to significant, pervasive developments or changes that are occurring around the world, influencing societies, economies, and environments over the long term. 16. Strategic foresight: - The purpose of strategic foresight is to equip governments and societies with the capacity to explore and prepare for multiple plausible futures and associated opportunities and challenges, spurring new thinking and assessing that strategic plans and endeavors are future-ready. 17. Different type of changes: Technological change Digital transformation Automation and AI Policy and Regulatory change, i.e. Sustainability and Climate Policy Health and Social Policy Reform – health crises, digital health systems, interoperability Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Regulations Governance and Organizational Change Decentralization and Local Empowerment PPP Results-oriented management Incremental Reform Transformation  Core How can we do What rules shall we How do I make sense of this? question more of create? What is the purpose? thesame? What structures and How do we know what is Are we doing processesdo we need? best? things right? Purpose To improve To understand and To innovate and performance change thesystem and createpreviously its parts unimaginedpossibilities Power and Confirms Opens rules to revision Opens issue to creation of relationships existing rules newways of thinking about power Archetypical Copying, Changing policy, Visioning, experimenting, actions duplicating, adjusting, adapting inventing mimicking Tools logic Negotiation Mediation logic Envisioning logic logic 18. Differences in public and private sector:  19. 20. Kotter’s changes: Stage Actions needed Pitfalls ESTABLISH A SENSE OF Examine market and Underestimating the difficulty URGENCY competitive realities for potential of driving people from their crises and untapped comfort zones opportunities. Becoming paralyzed by risks Convince at least 75% of your managers that the status quo is more dangerous than the unknown. FORM A POWERFUL Assemble a group with shared No prior experience in GUIDING COALITION commitment and enough power teamwork at the top to lead the change effort. Relegating team leadership to Encourage them to work as a an HR, quality, or team outside the normal strategic-planning executive hierarchy rather than a senior line manager CREATE A VISION Create a vision to direct the Presenting a vision that’s too change effort. complicated or vague to be Develop strategies for realizing communicated in five minutes that vision. 21. Kotter’s changes Stage Actions needed Pitfalls COMMUNICATE THE Use every vehicle possible to Undercommunicating the VISION communicate the new vision and vision strategies for achieving it. Behaving in ways antithetical Teach new behaviors by the to the vision example of the guiding coalition. EMPOWER OTHERS TO Remove or alter systems or Failing to remove powerful ACT ON THE VISION structures undermining the individuals who resist the vision. change effort Encourage risk taking and nontraditional ideas, activities, and actions. PLAN FOR AND CREATE Define and engineer visible Leaving short-term successes SHORTTERM WINS performance improvements. up to chance Recognize and reward Failing to score successes employees contributing to those early enough (12-24 months into improvements. the change effort 22. Kotter’s changes Stage Actions needed Pitfalls CONSOLIDATE Use increased credibility from Declaring victory too IMPROVEMENTS AND early wins to change systems, soon—with the first PRODUCE MORE structures, and policies performance improvement CHANGE undermining the vision. Allowing resistors to convince Hire, promote, and develop “troops” that the war has been employees who can implement won the vision. Reinvigorate the change process with new projects and change agents. INSTITUTIONALIZE NEW Articulate connections Not creating new social APPROACHES between new behaviors and norms and shared values corporate success. consistent with changes Create leadership development Promoting people into and succession plans consistent leadership positions who don’t with the new approach. personify the new approach 23. Emotional barriers to change: - Mistrust and low sharing of useful and timely information– A “politics first” mentality that prizes appearance management above action. This causes a situation where no one wants to be the bearer of bad news. Problems will come to leaders’ attention only when it is too late. Strategic alignment is further hindered by information-hoarding among players who see their colleagues as competitors. - Low receptivity to effortful change – Effortful change is easy to profess, difficult to do. Leaders must demonstrate their own willingness and ability to change before asking it of others. - More talk than action, then misaligned action –Communication for intellectual understanding does not elicit emotional engagement to implement the new strategy. When leaders fail to inspire the collective toward a common goal, each team will tend to veer off in its own direction. It becomes impossible to integrate all the silos. - Mechanistic action – When under high time and performance pressure, employees become creatures of habit rather than taking risks to become innovative.  - Complacency – Confronted with the potential effort and risk of strategic change, the organization as a whole believes the status quo is good enough, so why do the hard work to change it? 24. Tuckman’s stages: 25. Behavioral insights (BI): To achieve desired public outcomes, governments around the world are using behavioral insights in the development of public policies. Behavioral insights inform public institutions by combining knowledge and research methods from behavioral science fields such as: psychology, economics, sociology, and neuroscience. Insights gained into bcan help inform public policy levers, potentially yielding more effective and representative policies and programs. Messenger – we are heavily influenced by who communicates information Norms – we are strongly influenced by what others do Defaults – we „go with the flow“ of pre-set options Salience – our attention is drawn to what is novel and seems relevant to us Priming – we are influenced by unconscious cues Affect – our emotional associations can powerfully shape our actions  Commitment – we seek to be consistent with our public promises, and reciprocate acts Ego – we act in ways that make us feel better about ourselves 26. Crisis is an unexpected and significant event or situation that creates a high level of uncertainty, poses a serious threat to the stability or functioning of individuals, organizations, or communities, and requires immediate response and decision-making to mitigate its impact. Crises typically involve risks that can lead to severe consequences if not addressed promptly and effectively - communication. 27. Where do crises come from? 28. Means of mitigating the impact of a crisis: Crisis Management Plan Risk assessment Communication Plan Training and drills Resource allocation  29. Digital transformation in the public sector… …the integration of digital technologies, processes, and data-driven strategies into government operations and services to improve efficiency, transparency, accessibility, and citizen engagement. This transformation involves modernizing legacy systems, automating processes, enhancing public services through digital platforms, and fostering a culture of innovation. It aims to create more responsive, efficient, and inclusive governance, while addressing challenges like cybersecurity, privacy, and digital inclusion for all citizens. …is about building a new type of organization around internet-era principles, not adding technical complexity to try and fix analogue organizations. It means changing how an organization runs itself in the background at least as much as changing whatits users actually see. 30. Digital state/digital society …a society or government that extensively integrates digital technologies into its public services, governance, and everyday interactions. In a digital state, citizens interact with the government, businesses, and each other through digital platforms and services, allowing for more efficient, transparent, and accessible public services. NB! Digital governance does not minimize bureaucracy; instead, it merely transitions it into the digital sphere. 31. 10 principles of service design and delivery 1.Identify the user's real problem and need. 2.Involve a team with diverse knowledge and innovative people. 3.Simulate possible solutions and choose the best one. 4.When considering solutions, also look to the future. 5.Create a necessary and simple service. 6.Develop the service together with users and other stakeholders. 7.Ensure interoperability, reuse existing solutions, and make your creation accessible to others. 8.Work agile. 9.Make and keep the service secure and transparent. 10.Manage your service. 32. Key challenges with digital transformation 1.Lack of Clear Distinction: There is confusion between digital transformation and public administration reform, causing ambiguity in policy formulation. 2.Decentralized Governance: The fragmented digital approach leads to inconsistent outcomes across ministries, lacking a unified vision and clear standards. 3.Legacy Systems: Outdated legislative and governance models hinder the full potential of digital transformation. 4.IT Over Strategy: The focus on technology over business architecture leads to inefficient service design and delivery. 5.Lack of Administrative Capacity: Civil service struggles with inadequate capacity to drive and manage digital initiatives effectively. 33. What is innovation? - Innovation: a new or improved product or process (or combination thereof) that differs significantly from the unit’s previous products or processes and that has been made available to potential users (product) or brought into use by the unit (process). - Invention: a new or improved product or process (or combination thereof) that differs significantly from the unit’s previous products or processes and that has been made available to potential users (product) or brought into use by the unit (process). 34. What is public sector innovation?  35. What is innovation: Radically disruptive – Innovation that harnesses new technology and creates a new business model. Has no clear competitors. Radically sustaining – Improvement on a product or process in an existing market that provides new value for the customer. Incrementally disruptive – An incremental improvement in technology that leads to a dramatic disruption. Incrementally sustaining – Small and cumulative changes in an existing product, technology or service. 36. 37. Enhancement-oriented innovation: … upgrades practices, achieves efficiencies and better results, without significantly altering the current system. It starts with the question: “How might we do X better?” The challenge: Rapid technological change, austerity policies and rising expectations of government services have put the public sector under increasing pressure to serve citizens better, faster and more efficiently, all while minimizing costs. Public sector organizations must enhance their current operating systems continuously, while at the same time demonstrating greater efficiency, user-centricity and value for money.  38. Adaptive innovation: … tests and tries new approaches in response to a changing operating environment. In environments demanding both stability and the need to act quickly, such as during crises, adaptive innovation supports public administrations by simultaneously strengthening resilience and building adaptive capacity. 39. Anticipatory innovation: The nature of the issues that governments are confronted with today is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. Governments need to consider a variety of scenarios and act upon them in real time. Public sector needs to prepare for what is coming next, continuously identify, test and implement innovative solutions to benefit from future opportunities while reducing the risks through increased resilience of their public systems. 40. VUCA Volatility Refers to the frequency and magnitude of change. Example: Rapid shifts in market trends or technology. Uncertainty Reflects the lack of predictability about the future. Example: Unforeseen global events impacting economies. Complexity Involves the multitude of factors that affect decision-making. Example: Interconnected systems in global supply chains. Ambiguity Describes vague or unclear situations that can lead to misinterpretation. Example: Multiple interpretations of regulations or policies. 41. Messy wicked issues: - wicked problems seem incomprehensible and resistant to solution (Churchman, 1967; Rittel & Webber, 1973), - Every problem interacts with other problems and is therefore part of a system of interrelated problems, a system of problems... I choose to call such a system a mess... The solution to a mess can seldom be obtained by independently solving each of the problems of which it is composed... Efforts to deal separately with such aspects of urban life as transportation, health, crime, and education seem to aggravate the total situation. (Ackoff, 1974, p. 21, italics in original) 42. Types of problems: Type 1 - both the definition of the problem and the likely solution are clear to the decision maker (e.g., the manager or policy expert). Type 2 - definition of the problem is clear, but the solution is not—typically because the relevant cause- and-effect relationships are hard to discern—and therefore learning and discussion are required by both the governmental managers and the stakeholders they lead.  Type 3 - both the problem definition and the solution are unclear, and more extensive learning and discussion are required for all concerned. Black swan: Unanticipated, unpredictable events with large impacts (unknown unknowns), like the 9/11 attacks. Popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in 2007. Black jellyfish: Represents small changes within complex systems leading to significant impacts, such as human migration, triggered by feedback loops. The term stems from jellyfish population booms due to environmental changes. Grey rhino: Refers to highly probable, high-impact events (known knowns) that are often ignored, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Coined by Michelle Wucker in 2016. Black elephant: Describes events that are either unseen or ignored (known unknowns) but, once they occur, are often mislabeled as black swans. Examples include COVID-19. 43. Mission-oriented innovation: … the public sector takes an active role in convening and coordinating actors around complex, cross-sectoral issues that cannot be solved with existing methods or by individual actors alone. Mission-oriented innovation refers to any new or improved technological, social, or organisational solution (product, process, or service) that aims to respond to one or several objectives tackling grand societal challenges (missions) and create public value to society (e.g., climate mitigation, clean oceans, sustainable economic growth, and well-being). 44. Reasons why missions fail 1.Mission washing 2.Mission dilution 3.Mission fatigue 4.Missions as cure-all 5.Mismatched mission conditions 6.Siloed missions 7.Orphan missions 8.One–tool missions 9.Mission portfolio blindness 10.Politically-dependent missions 11.Ill-equipped mission teams 12.Under-resourced missions 13.Non-systemic mission evaluation 45. How can governments support public sector innovation? Institutionalizing innovation in organizations or whole systems through newroutines, rules, norms, tools: -Innovation funds within in gudgets and rules on innovation expenditures -HR practices: recruitment, rotation, training -„start-up“ culture in government (hackatons, mentoring, HR) -New tools creating new insights (big data, AI, ML, design thinikg, co-creationetc) -Institutional „ineffeciences“: sunset clauses on policies/organizations -Slack (not the app) Creating organizational variety into existing bureaucratic systems: -Central but politically insulated agencies (centralizing innovation) -Temporary networks, task forces -Innovation labs 46. Experimenting in the public sector means the limited trial of a solution to gather information necessary for decision-making. 47. It is all about comparability and evidence: Individual decision making is subject to a myriad of influences, including: persistent cognitive biases (e.g. risk or loss aversion)  complex time-based preferences (e.g. wanting to save for the long-term benefit, but spending for short-term satisfaction) limited capacity to take into consideration information and make choices (information and choice overload) 48. Regulatory and technological sandboxes: Regulatory Sandbox Definition: A controlled environment for businesses to test innovations with relaxed regulatory requirements. Key Features: Limited scope and duration for testing. Temporary regulatory exemptions. Consumer protection safeguards. Collaboration among stakeholders. Global adoption in various sectors. Technological Sandbox Definition: A testing environment focused on developing and validating new technologies. Key Features: Facilitates rapid development and prototyping. Encourages interdisciplinary collaboration. Provides access to tools and resources. Prioritizes research and development.